Zhuo Zheng had eaten canned food a few times.
The workshop would have a dish with meat every three days. There were a few occasions with canned meat, and everyone would get a huge serving of it.
Although he was a picky eater, he had to admit that canned meat was really delicious.
In addition to the can of mutton, he had also eaten the can of red braised meat once, and he liked the taste even more.
Unfortunately, he had only eaten it once.
"Do you have canned braised pork?" he asked.
The shopkeeper smiled and shook his head.
"We don't have any. We only have a few types of canned mutton and canned fruit.
"As for the other canned meat, only thirty portions are sold each day.
"Each person can only buy one. For inns and restaurants like us which serve food, we have to queue up if we want to sell or eat them."
He also liked several kinds of canned meat, but it was too difficult for him to get one.
In the past, the people here didn't like to eat pork.
Not only did it have a strong stinky smell, but it also didn't taste good.
However, after eating all kinds of canned pork, he realized that pork was actually quite delicious.
There was also chicken meat.
It turned out that there were so many ways to cook it other than boiling it.
Zhuo Zheng was also a little disappointed. "Okay, then I'll have a can of mutton stew."
"How much does it cost?" he asked.
"55 wen for a can," the shopkeeper answered.
They purchased canned food at 45 wen from the workshop, which was five wen more than the limited daily sales of the workshop, but they could earn ten wen after reselling a can, which was not bad.
Every day, after the limited canned food sale at the workshop was sold out, it would be 60 wen a can.
They were selling 5 wen cheaper than the canned food workshop, so many people would buy them.
The key was that these eateries could sell them in smaller amounts.
A can of mutton weighed a catty.
Some people were reluctant to buy a can, so they would order a bowl of noodles and a few pieces of mutton slices at the food store, which cost ten wen.
There were still many people who were willing to eat it.
Or, they could add a few pieces of mutton to the stewed vegetables.
The dish would be tastier and one would be able to have a taste of mutton too.
Currently, all the big eateries enjoyed great business.
Everyone knew that the county magistrate and his wife were caring for them, and they were very grateful.
In particular, many caravans from the Western and Arab regions, and other places had come to their county to buy canned food, soap, and wool.
In the past, these caravans would not be willing to stay overnight in their county.
However, ever since the inns and food stores were renovated and there were more homestay accommodations, these caravans all stopped by.
Some of the caravans only wanted to stay for a day or two before leaving.
However, because there were more and more snacks in the county, homestays were cheap, and the inns were very comfortable, they would stay for a few more days.
The shopkeeper had encountered a rather wealthy caravan.
They had already stayed at his inn for seven days.
It was said that they wanted to stay for a few more days and line up to taste all the canned food before leaving.
In the past, it was normal for their inns to not have a single guest for a few days.
But now, they were basically full every day.
In addition to the caravans, there were also people who came from other places to buy canned food and taste delicious food.
The county magistrate and his wife had only been in the county for more than two months, and the county had already changed a lot.
Now, everyone could not help but be filled with hope for life.
Naturally, Zhuo Zheng was willing to eat it.
"Sure, hurry up and help me cook the noodles. I'm hungry."
The shopkeeper smiled and asked his wife to cook the noodles. Then, he heated the can and brought it to Zhuo Zheng.
Zhuo Zheng ate the mutton noodles and felt that this was life.
He also noticed that there were more people coming and going in the inn.
When he heard the shopkeeper's praise for Shi Qingluo and her husband, he thought to himself that Shi Qingluo was really a golden doll. If he carried her back, he would not have to worry about money to rejuvenate his country.
After he finished the noodles and the whole jar of mutton, Zhuo Zheng burped.
He bought another can of grapes and carried it back to his room.
A moment later, two men in black entered the room.
After the two of them entered the room, they half-knelt in front of Zhuo Zheng. "Greetings, young master!"
Zhuo Zheng's harmless and well-behaved appearance had changed, and he looked more imposing now.
"How's your investigation coming along?" he asked.
"Young master, the workshops are on high alert. We haven't made any progress yet," one of the men in black replied.
If it was in the past, Zhuo Zheng definitely wouldn't be able to help but comment that they were trash, but this time, he held back.
After all, he had also failed to steal the formula.
If he were to scold him, he would be scolding himself as well.
He instructed, "Then continue to investigate. You must find a way to get the formula.
"Yes!" The men in black replied respectfully.
Zhuo Zheng really didn't want to live a life without money.
He thought for a moment and said, "In the next few days, bring a team of people and pretend that my mother hired them from Northern City to find me and protect me. Also, bring me some silver."
This way, he could still order the guards if anything happened.
He could even let his subordinates do the work openly. Otherwise, it would be too painful to rely on him alone.
The men in black nodded. "Yes!"
Zhuo Zheng then waved his hand, "Alright, you may leave."
After they left, Zhuo Zheng saw that there were many storybooks on a bookshelf by the wall. He took out one and read it while eating some canned fruit.
Now that he was staying in this Inn, he really felt at home.
The room he was staying in was only a C-grade room.
He had just heard from the manager that the B-grade and A-grade rooms had built toilets and bathhouses.
He was prepared to wait for his men to pretend to come a few days later, and then he would spend his own money to change to another room.
While Zhuo Zheng was reading the story book leisurely, Xiao Hanzheng and Shi Qingluo also received the news.
Xiao Hanzheng had asked his men to keep an eye on Zhuo Zheng.
However, he only knew that some men in black had met Zhuo Zheng.
It was not convenient to eavesdrop in the inn, so they did not know what they were talking about.
However, Zhuo Zheng would definitely make a move.
Xiao Hanzheng guessed that Zhuo Zheng would let his people appear in public.
In this case, it would be more beneficial for his deployment.
After a while, a letter came from the capital, specifically addressed to Shi Qingluo.
Shi Qingluo was still a little confused. "Who would write a letter to her?"
King Jin had already sent Liang Mingyu over to discuss the road construction, so it shouldn't be King Jin.
Could it be from the troublemakers in the Xiao family?
Shi Qingluo opened the letter and read it with some curiosity.
After reading it, she couldn't help but frown.
Xiao Hanzheng, who was dealing with official business, put down his brush and asked, "Wifey, what's wrong?"
"This is a letter from Eldest Grandson Xiao," Shi Qingluo replied.
"He said that not long ago, King Jin's daughter, Princess Zhen, went to the general's office as a guest and met Ge Chunru.
"Ge Chunru told her that that scumbag father is good-looking and handsome.
"Ge Chunru told Princess Zhen that you, the son of Xiao Yuanshi, had a better appearance and temperament.
"Princess Zhen was immediately interested in you and asked a lot about you.
"Ge Chunru kept praising you. She even said that you are the man that all the girls in the capital want to marry.
"The old lady is now helping Tao Liu to manage the house. She bribed a servant girl of Ge Chunru and found out about this.
"She said that Ge Chunru probably doesn't have good intentions. She might want to encourage the princess to take you away. She asked me to be on guard."
This was also Old Lady Xiao's way of showing good will.
Once there was any sign of trouble in the general's office, she would ask Eldest Grandson Xiao to write a letter to inform her.