Tang Mingrui's mind was already calculating numerous business ventures - even the prices of these ingredients were part of his initial plan, especially for this delicious and refreshing grape wine, which he saw as an unlimited business opportunity.
This unlimited opportunity was not about how much it could be sold for, but rather its exorbitant price.
After countless collaborations, He Zhiran was very satisfied with the prices set by Tang Mingrui, so this time she didn't intend to worry too much either.
After all, their business was profit-sharing, so the high or low price not only affected the interests of the Mo family, but also how much Tang Mingrui himself could earn.
There was no need to keep the method of making copper pots a secret - anyone with a mind to learn could figure it out just by studying the pot a little.
He Zhiran's confidence in the exclusive hot pot business mainly came from the dipping sauce and soup base seasonings.
These were unique recipes of the Mo family, especially the raw ingredients, which others simply couldn't obtain.
Therefore, she firmly told Tang Mingrui that the hot pot could be a long-term exclusive business, and even if someone tried to imitate it, they would pale in comparison.
Unfortunately, He Zhiran had only brewed wine from the mountain grapes in the courtyard this year, and hadn't reached the stage of mass production.
Moreover, she could also see that both elders seemed to have a fondness for this grape wine.
So for now, this small amount of grape trellis could only be consumed by the family, and next year when the grape yield on the mountain was higher, she could produce it in large quantities. At that point, she could cooperate with Tang Mingrui again, which would surely be a very considerable income.
Tang Mingrui felt deeply regretful that he couldn't immediately cooperate on the grape wine business.
However, he wasn't greedy - as long as he and the Mo family maintained a sincere cooperation, all these businesses would eventually be his.
Over the course of one meal, not only did Minister Hao become even more fond of his daughter's side of the family, but He Zhiran also directly signed a contract with Tang Mingrui to open a hot pot restaurant.
As before, the Mo family would provide the ingredients and seasonings, Tang Mingrui would be responsible for opening the shop and doing business, and the profits would still be split 50-50 between the two families.
In addition, the mature vegetables from the Mo family's greenhouse could also be supplied in large quantities to Tang Mingrui's restaurant.
For this, Tang Mingrui was more than happy to oblige.
This trip, he felt, was his biggest gain from the Mo family.
How could someone destined to become a great merchant not see the enormous profits in the hot pot business?
In any case, Tang Mingrui returned fully satisfied, and immediately began preparations to open his shop upon returning.
Now with Mo Jiuye defending the western borders, the civilians in the northwest had fully resumed their normal lives.
His opening of the shop would not be affected by the war, and moreover, his shops had already expanded to other prefectures...
After the matter of cooperating with Tang Mingrui on the hot pot restaurant was settled, He Zhiran continued to develop other industries.
...
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, it was the twelfth lunar month.
On the road leading into Xi Ling Village, Mo Jiuye led a group riding hard to get home.
A month earlier, he had received orders from Nan Yu to capture the entire Barbarian Royal Family and nobles and escort them to the capital, in accordance with his instructions.
The remaining civilians would continue their original lives.
At the same time, this vast territory of the Barbarians also became part of Mo Jiuye's own fief.
Following He Zhiran's advice, he first distributed some provisions to the Barbarian civilians to help them get through the winter, in order to appease their hearts.
After spending a winter where no one starved to death, these civilians would surely be grateful to Mo Jiuye, and might even think that Da Shun's conquest of the Barbarians was a great blessing for them.
And indeed, that was the case - what did these ordinary civilians care about in their hearts?
Nothing more than having their families fed and clothed, so whoever gave them this life, they would support.
Sure enough, after receiving the provisions distributed by people sent by Mo Jiuye, the Barbarians knelt on the ground and imitated the Da Shun people, shouting "Long live the King of Defending the West!" Some even said they were willing to be cattle or horses for the King of Defending the West for the rest of their lives.
It was uncertain whether they could really become cattle or horses, but Mo Jiuye could be sure that these people's support for him was sincere.
When spring arrived next year, he would follow his wife's plan and send the Barbarians horses, cattle, and sheep in large numbers.
Although the Barbarian lands were quite barren, they were by no means completely devoid of resources - in fact, there were many.
It was just that the seeds planted by the civilians with their ordinary methods yielded practically nothing, so over time, much of the land had been abandoned.
Before leaving, Mo Jiuye had Liang Hao lead a group of men to stay behind, and appointed him as the governor of the Barbarian region.
This governor position was no ordinary one.
In the prefectures of Da Shun, there was usually a prefect as the head, and in some places the imperial court would also appoint a commander - that is, in most prefectures there would be one civil official and one military officer.
Of course, the northwest was a special case, as there was a large army stationed in the western territory, so the prefectures did not have the position of commander.
In Da Shun, a governor was a combination of prefect and commander - in other words, Liang Hao was both the prefect of the Barbarian region and the military commander, leading a force of ten thousand men.
These ten thousand men were the troops the imperial court had dispatched to attack the western territory. Under Mo Jiuye's capable leadership and with a large number of bombs at his disposal, the entire campaign had resulted in almost no casualties for Da Shun's side.
Since princes with fiefs were allowed to maintain a certain number of troops, and the newly conquered Barbarian lands could not be left unguarded, Mo Jiuye directly petitioned Nan Yu to request leaving behind some of the troops as guards.
When Nan Yu had originally dispatched the army to the western territory, he had expected two to three tenths of the troops to suffer casualties. However, the report he received from Mo Jiuye stated that there were practically no losses.
Since that was the case, he decided to go along with the circumstances and leave behind the portion of troops he had originally planned to lose in the campaign, while withdrawing the rest.
This way, not only did it satisfy Mo Jiuye's needs, but Nan Yu himself didn't feel any loss either.
After all, without Mo Jiuye leading the battle, those soldiers he had sent out might very well have never returned, so he didn't feel he was losing out at all.
Most importantly, it was because of his trust in the Mo family.
When he had initially requested Mo Jiuye to take part in the battle, it was with the mindset of "trust those you employ, don't employ those you don't trust", and that remained true now.
Mo Jiuye was not greedy either - he had his original veteran troops as private soldiers, and now this additional ten thousand imperial troops from Nan Yu.
After the new year, he could slowly build up his forces, and didn't need to worry about the number of troops at all.
After settling matters in the Barbarian lands, he swiftly led several of his brothers to hurry back home.
In the past when going off to war, he had never felt such a longing in his heart.
But now it was completely different - he missed his beloved wife and two adorable children terribly.
He had been gone for several months, and Ran Ran must have labored tirelessly for the sake of this family.
Would the two children even be able to recognize him as their father?
Full of eager anticipation, Mo Jiuye braved the bitter cold and traveled at top speed to reach Xi Ling Village.
After paying respects to his parents and briefly recounting the campaign in the western territory, Mo Jiuye hurried back to his own home without delay.
