The spatial mist dissipated, and the mountain peaks gradually became visible. The mountain in the space was Yuanbao Mountain, located behind Zhao Family Village.
A river flowed from between the peaks in the space, exactly like the Yuanbao River in Zhao Family Village.
This point left Su Xiaoqi utterly bewildered.
Why was this place in her space?
She had originally thought it was a place independent of the mortal world, but in the end, it was still rooted in reality.
Su Xiaoqi couldn't understand the connection between her space and Yuanbao Mountain in Zhao Family Village.
She recalled the jade pendant that Su Yurou had mentioned their family had lost.
Su Xiaoqi's willow-like eyebrows furrowed slightly, then smoothed out quickly.
She wasn't one to dwell on things. Such miraculous occurrences were beyond her comprehension.
Thinking too much was futile; it was better to focus on the present.
She had been lost in thought for too long, too engrossed. Before she knew it, the sun in the sky had quietly shifted westward, shining directly through the west-facing window.
It was so bright that her eyes couldn't stay open.
She gathered her scattered thoughts and sighed, "The weather has been so good recently. I hope it won't be so sunny on the day our manor hosts the banquet."
It was already summer. If the sun continued to be this scorching, she worried that the hot spring manor would lack places to cool off.
"Madam, you might not know, but this servant sees that the weather is likely to stay clear."
Su Xiaoqi's heart skipped a beat. Something she had long forgotten suddenly resurfaced in her mind.
A chill ran down her spine, and she got goosebumps all over.
As if soulless, she murmured, "If it continues to be this sunny and doesn't rain, won't that lead to a drought?"
Not only that, but with drought came locust plagues in many areas. With both disasters occurring, the ravaged land would yield no harvest.
Without grain for the people, the land would surely fall into chaos.
Su Xiaoqi's heart pounded, and her desire to host the banquet waned considerably.
She had to do something.
Su Xiaoqi felt restless.
Just then, He Qiulei arrived, saying he wanted to discuss the many details of the children's playground the Princess's Manor was building at home with her.
Su Xiaoqi smacked her forehead. She had just suddenly remembered that matter and was too shocked to realize she still had people to seek help and advice from.
She, along with Nanny Zhao and Zhang Yu, went to the outer courtyard and met He Qiulei in the flower hall.
Before he could speak, she asked first, "How are things at Tianxia Liangcang recently?"
"Business is naturally good," He Qiulei said, his face beaming when he spoke of business.
"Very good. I want to stop promotions from now on. Can we try to sell less grain each day?"
"Wh-why?" He Qiulei looked at Su Xiaoqi with confusion.
Was she not going to do business even if there was any?
After all, the grains in their grain store were personally inspected by Su Xiaoqi, plump and delicious, making them very popular.
Those who bought once would choose to come back for the second time.
Even noble families with many manors, who were not lacking in grain, were willing to sell their own grain to buy from Tianxia Liangcang after tasting their grains.
According to Su Xiaoqi's wishes, the grains were directly milled into rice, packaged in bags, and sold at a price three times higher than that for ordinary people.
Yet, they bought them with great joy, without any complaints.
Though it couldn't be said to be earning a fortune daily, it was close.
The profit for the two of them in a month was several thousand taels.
Such booming business, yet Su Xiaoqi wanted to pause it.
This made it impossible for He Qiulei not to be surprised.
"This year's weather is exceptionally dry, with a long drought and no rain. I'm afraid a drought is coming. You should stockpile the rice and grain first..."
Before Su Xiaoqi could finish, He Qiulei frowned. He looked at Su Xiaoqi with disbelief.
He wondered if she intended to hoard grain in advance and then sell it to the public at a high price during the great drought.
If so...
"That doesn't seem right..." He Qiulei didn't want to be too direct, lest he upset Su Xiaoqi.
But making money in such a way made him feel uneasy, and he was unwilling to earn this money, no matter what.
Besides, neither of them lacked money, and there was no real need to do so.
"What people do, heaven sees. No matter what you do, don't do anything that goes against your conscience. If we hoard goods during a natural disaster, it would go against heavenly principles..."
He Qiulei earnestly tried to persuade Su Xiaoqi not to do this.
Su Xiaoqi saw how anxious he was in his explanation and persuasion, knowing he had misunderstood her intention.
She didn't explain further, but merely smiled at him.
After he finished speaking, she remained silent.
He Qiulei looked at her, then thought, and felt he should persuade her again: "Well, Madam Shen, look, Brother Shen just entered the Hanlin Academy.
I heard that without the Hanlin, there's no Cabinet. Once one enters the Hanlin Academy, they have the potential to enter the Cabinet and become a high official.
This is a time to build a reputation. Shouldn't you avoid making ill-gotten gains at this moment?"
He was afraid that his words might sound unpleasant and cause Su Xiaoqi to be displeased, but he had to say it, so he spoke hesitantly and tactfully.
In short, he didn't want to lose Su Xiaoqi as a business partner, but he also didn't want to be "tarnished by association," so he desperately wanted to persuade her.
"What if, what if I insist on doing it?" Su Xiaoqi teased him deliberately.
He Qiulei gritted his teeth and said, "Don't you think you're not earning enough now?
How about this: I'll give you an additional two percent from the profits of the slides, and from instant noodles and the grain store, I'll also give you an extra two percent, as long as you don't have any plans for the drought..."
"Alright, you said it. You share it, and I won't have any such ideas." Su Xiaoqi agreed readily.
She agreed so quickly that He Qiulei, who had prepared a whole speech to persuade her, didn't know where to start and could only stare at Su Xiaoqi with his narrow eyes.
"Pfft," Su Xiaoqi finally couldn't hold back and burst into laughter.
He Qiulei wasn't stupid. Seeing this, he understood everything.
He must have misunderstood Su Xiaoqi's intentions in his haste.
However, in his eagerness to persuade Su Xiaoqi to agree not to make ill-gotten gains, he had offered his highest bottom line, even exhausting his trump cards.
He instantly regretted his actions.
But as a man of his word, what was said was water spilled, and there was no turning back.
He continued to confirm with a frank expression, "You promised. You can't go back on your word."
Su Xiaoqi looked at his round, plump face and his not-so-large eyes, which he was forcing to look wide and round, making her want to laugh.
But she very seriously controlled herself.
He Qiulei had a truly sincere heart.
As a businessman, it was rare to maintain one's integrity and not be swayed by profit.
He knew what money should and shouldn't be earned, making him a very good business partner.
"Okay, I promise. I definitely won't make such ill-gotten gains." Su Xiaoqi stopped teasing him, fearing he would break down if she continued.
"Hmm, I've noted that," He Qiulei said, leaning back listlessly in the armchair.
Only now did he realize how much benefit he had offered to persuade Su Xiaoqi.
Thinking about it now, it was all money that would flow into Su Xiaoqi's hands in the future.
Alas...
There was nowhere to go to regret it, and he had no intention of regretting it.
Money was important to him, but trust and integrity were more important.
Moreover, he believed that by following Su Xiaoqi, he could earn back any amount of money if he wanted to.
He firmly believed this.
Su Xiaoqi watched the expression on He Qiulei's face change bit by bit.
From regret and heartache to firm trust, step by step. She had originally wanted to laugh, but suddenly she couldn't.