"Imperial Advisor, is this journey auspicious?" "Fortune and misfortune are intertwined," Xu Zimo said. The Empress Dowager's brow was tightly furrowed. "Can we return safely? Will there be upheaval in the capital?" Xu Zimo replied, "Fortune and misfortune are intertwined—when the old man at the frontier loses his horse, who knows if it’s a blessing in disguise?" So, asking about good or bad omens was essentially pointless. "Your Highness, I will do my utmost to protect His Majesty." The Empress Dowager knew Xu Zimo’s abilities and understood he was no ordinary man. With him around, the Emperor would surely be safe. As for her own safety, that was another matter. Thus, she had to tread carefully throughout this journey.
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Shen Yunyun returned from the Empress Dowager’s quarters and immediately began researching how to remedy a drought. Having lived as the eldest daughter of the Qiao family for twenty years, she knew nothing about farming. So, she turned to the internet. Thankfully, the internet was all-knowing. It turned out she could plant sweet potatoes, potatoes, and pumpkins. She also looked up the planting methods for these crops. Then she headed straight to Tang Family Village. "Village Chief, have every household in Tang Family Village steam buns and make dumplings. Someone needs to buy them in bulk—as many as you can produce. Once they’re done, store them in the fridge. I’ll come to pick them up the day after tomorrow. Buns will be bought at market price, and dumplings should have more vegetables and less meat, all at ten yuan per catty." Hearing this, the Village Chief beamed with joy. Steaming buns and making dumplings were tasks everyone in the village could handle. "Ancestor, thank you for remembering the villagers. On behalf of everyone, I kowtow to you." "Hey, hey, hey, this habit of always kowtowing is terrible—it’s not in style anymore. I’ll send over a few freezers later to store the dumplings. Oh, and I have something else to discuss with you." "What is it?" "I need a large quantity of sweet potato seedlings. Can you provide them? I’ll take as many as you have." The Village Chief paused, taken aback. "The sweet potato vines are thriving right now. You want to transplant them? Just go ahead and cut them—there’s plenty to go around." "Really? Can you get enough for hundreds of thousands of acres?" The Village Chief was clearly choked by the question. "Not that many, but nearby villages also grow sweet potatoes. I can visit several villages and cut more, but it won’t cover hundreds of thousands of acres." "What about planting pumpkins? It’s such a waste to leave so much land fallow." The Village Chief nodded. "Pumpkins will work." In his heart, he was already in awe of his own ancestor—she actually owned hundreds of thousands of acres of land. How much money must she have? As he was thinking this, Shen Yunyun pulled out a hundred thousand yuan in cash. "Take this money to get things done for me. I’ll pay you a separate wage." The Village Chief felt uneasy. "This much?" "Yes, if it’s not enough, I have more. Money isn’t the issue—the buyer is paying well." The Village Chief didn’t refuse any further. No matter the time, money made things easy; without it, things were tough. Shen Yunyun didn’t waste any time and took the Village Chief to buy freezers. The Village Chief cheerfully led the villagers to start working. After arranging everything, Shen Yunyun bought a 4.2-meter refrigerated box truck for transporting goods. Though it wasn’t strictly necessary, it was useful for keeping up appearances. Her driver’s license allowed her to operate this type of truck. Two days later, she came to pick up the goods. Driving around to a secluded, camera-free spot, she stored everything in her ring space. She also bought some medicines for dysentery, cholera, and hepatitis A. Water, of course, couldn’t be overlooked. Feeding and hydrating hundreds of thousands of people was no small matter. After some thought, she hired workers to connect a water pipe from the main supply to her basement. As long as the goods were in the basement, she could control them freely once her trading hub was activated.