Bai Xu looked at Shi Qingluo.
"What if I say that I can't get you the horses?"
Shi Qingluo raised her eyebrows. "Then I'll get it from somewhere else. After we finish our current business, I'll find others to do them too."
If he couldn't even agree in mutually beneficial situations, there wasn't a need for her to cooperate with the Bai family.
Bai Xu was speechless. This woman had crushed him again.
He didn't know why, but he had a feeling that this woman wasn't simple.
Aside from having some knowledge about publishing, she might also come up with something else in the future.
Hence, the helpless look on his face became even more apparent. "Alright, I'll try to help you.
"But it can't be more than 5 horses. The imperial court is very strict with the management of horses."
He added, "I was able to get a few horses because my youngest uncle is in the livestock business."
Shi Qingluo's eyes lit up. "Then is your uncle in the cattle, sheep, and pig business too?"
Bai Xu didn't know why Shi Qingluo had such a big reaction when it came to the livestock business.
"We do! My youngest uncle mainly interacts with the grassland herdsmen. The horses, sheep, and cows are all transported back to Daliang for resale.
"Of course, because we often have to go deeper into the grassland for the livestock, this business is very dangerous. It's equivalent to risking our lives."
This wasn't a secret.
His mother's family was a big merchant from the neighboring prefectural city.
Back then, his mother married his father purely because she had taken a fancy to him. Definitely a hypogamy.
Because of this, his family did not have a messy harem of wives and mistresses fighting each other.
He only had a brother and sister from the legitimate line of descent, and no half brothers and sisters.
Shi Qingluo smiled and said, "Apart from the five horses, I also want to buy a batch of cows, sheep, and pigs from your uncle."
Bai Xu raised her eyebrows. "My uncle is in a big business and sells at least 100 cows, sheep, and pigs in each transaction."
Shi Qingluo raised her eyebrows as well. "So what, you think I can't afford it?"
Bai Xu nodded. "Don't tell me you can afford it?"
Previously, not sure who was the one who was eyeing for the flower treatment's deposit.
It was only a small amount of silver, and how much would a hundred cows, sheep, and pigs cost?
Shi Qingluo said confidently, "I can't take it out now, but I'll be able to in a couple of hours."
Bai Xu burst into laughter. "Don't tell me you know how to perform magic tricks."
Shi Qingluo looked at Bai Xu with a silly look in her eyes. "I don't know how to perform magic tricks, but after you see how I turn yellow sugar into white sugar, won't the money come?"
She added meaningfully, "And you're the one who delivered it to my doorstep."
She was just short of saying that she was the one who had "plucked his wool".
Bai Xu took a deep breath.
He had almost forgotten it.
This woman had really taken everything into account.
"You're good." He didn't know what to say.
Shi Qingluo lifted her chin. "Of course!"
Young Master Bai was still too inexperienced to fight with her.
Xiao Hanzheng looked at his little wife's arrogant look and a smile appeared in his eyes.
He took out a handkerchief and reached out to wipe the tea foam on her lips.
Shi Qingluo didn't move and let him do it.
It also made Bai Xu speechless.
Xiao Hanzheng had really changed the way he knew him in the past.
How could such a handsome and elegant xiaosanyuan wipe his wife's mouth...
The three of them sat in the carriage and chatted.
When they were about to reach the village, Xiao Hanzheng suddenly said, "It seems that someone has been following us."
Bai Xu was stunned for a moment.
Then he opened a small hidden window at the end of the carriage.
As expected, he saw a servant boy riding a horse not far behind him.
He closed the window. "He should have followed me here. He's a servant of the Wu family."
He was displeased.
The Wu family was getting more and more outrageous.
They actually had sent someone to follow him to the countryside.
Hearing his words, Xiao Hanzheng and Shi Qingluo looked at each other and guessed that the Wu family was probably behind this.
However, they didn't say it out loud.
After all, it wasn't appropriate for Bai Xu to know about the explosives.
Moreover, they couldn't be completely sure whether they were targeting them or Bai Xu.
Shi Qingluo urged Bai Xu, "So hurry up and bring down the Wu family so that your Bai family can become the richest family in the county. You also won't be constantly watched."
Bai Xu rolled her eyes at him. "I wish I could, but it won't be easy to bring down the Wu family. They have the prefectural magistrates backing them up."
Shi Qingluo chuckled. "Then bring down the magistrates as well. I believe that your Bai family can do it."
Bai Xu uttered under his breath, thank you for your kind words.
This woman was trying to incite them to fight with the Wu family!
"You are flattering me. Our Bai family isn't that awesome." He smiled.
Yet, deep in his heart, he did agree with Shi Qingluo's words.
If the Bai family didn't destroy the Wu family and the magistrates, they wouldn't be able to stand out so easily.
The Bai family had many opportunities to interfere and expand in the business of the prefecture capital.
Unfortunately, they were deliberately suppressed by that magistrate and had no choice but to give up.
His uncle was framed in the capital and almost went to jail.
His family was forced to pay 10,000 taels of silver to bail him out.
If it weren't for the fact that they knew many people in the capital, his family might have been like other large merchant families that were destroyed by the Wu family and the magistrates and had their business assets annexed.
Anyway, there was deep hatred between the Bai family, the Wu family, and the magistrates a long time ago.
He reminded them, "You also have former grudges with the Wu family. In the future, Duke Xiao will have to go to the prefectural city for the countryside exam. Be careful."
He was more comfortable cooperating with Xiao Hanzheng than the magistrates after discovering the root cause of their grudges against the Wu family.
Xiao Hanzheng nodded. "I will."
There was still more than a year before his countryside examination.
He would try his best to bring the magistrates down before that.
He said with deep thoughts, "Perhaps, we still have other opportunities for collaboration besides in business."
Bai Xu was a smart person. He smiled and said, "That's possible."
He realized that Xiao Hanzheng wasn't simple either.
He excelled academically and was also highly skilled in martial arts.
Otherwise, it would be impossible for him to discover that they were being followed.
Xiao Hanzheng smiled and did not mention this topic again.
It was good that everyone was aware of it.
The three of them got off the carriage at Xiao's residence.
The servant boy from the Wu family who followed them left after they got off the carriage.
The three of them also ignored him.
When they reached home, Shi Qingluo placed the condiments and meat that she had bought in the kitchen.
She carried a jar out of the kitchen and handed it to Bai Xu. "This is the sugar that I made yesterday.
"If you don't mind, you can have a simple meal at our house. I'll get my sister-in-law to stir-fry a few more tofu dishes."
Bai Xu took the jar. "I definitely don't mind. Sorry to bother you."
He also wanted to try the tofu dishes.
He opened the jar and saw that there was a lot of sugar in it.
He stirred it with a spoon and found that it was full of clean white sugar.
He asked, "Are you making this from the sugarcanes?"
Shi Qingluo nodded. "No, I'm using a type of beet.
"In the future, our family will open a sugar factory and hire people to grow it on a large scale.
"If our cooperation is satisfactory, we can sell the white sugar mainly to your family.
Bai Xu smiled. "It will definitely be a joyous business collaboration since I can get as much sugar as I want."
He was even more interested in this. "Now, are you going to let me witness how yellow sugar turns into white sugar?"
Shi Qingluo sat down and asked, "No rush. Shouldn't we talk about the price first?"