Since the opening of the two Zhuji stores in the capital, by mid-July of this year, the entire "Zhuji" chain had expanded to five physical stores in the vicinity of Bianliang. For many merchants doing business in the capital, this was an unattainable rate of expansion. However, from Ning Yi's perspective, the expansion during the first half-year had been relatively steady, not particularly fast.

In a certain direction, Ning Yi's main force in controlling expansion was not in the five physical Zhuji stores, but in the batches of "salesmen" constantly being dispatched to various states and counties. Starting with Ning Yi taking five disciples to Muyuan County in February, the entire layout continued to develop and operate as Ning Yi went to Jiangning and then returned to the capital. Su Tan'er didn't have a very clear picture of what her husband was doing. However, after returning to the capital, everything began to expand rapidly.

In the research courtyard outside Bianliang City, some small commodities that Ning Yi had previously guided the manufacture of had matured. Perfume, soap, mosquito coils, and floral water began to appear on the shelves of Zhuji, one after another. The "salesmen" who had initially achieved only mediocre results suddenly experienced a large number of successes in just over ten days. This was because Ning Yi began to collate a large amount of information, such as goods demand and government policy preferences, for his subordinates to use.

In this era's Wu Dynasty, although it was said to be the most economically developed time, it was generally still an information-closed agricultural society. Apart from some large cities and the wealthy gentry families who possessed a large amount of information resources, the information sensitivity of many small and medium-sized local landlords declined significantly in a step-by-step manner. For example, if a family collected grain, they would simply hoard it at home. Even if they wanted to sell it, they couldn't find a reliable buyer. If a family planted cotton and supplied it to a merchant for a long time, the price would remain basically unchanged. If the merchant went bankrupt or died one day, they wouldn't know who to sell the cotton to. Sometimes, when two families haggled over prices in a small place, one party would be unaware of the outside market price and would either ask for too much or too little, eventually realizing they had been foolish or lost out.

The so-called regulatory role of the market economy in later generations was based on a comparison of a large number of buying and selling intentions. The current regulation, perhaps, existed, but it was not obvious. The huge gap between rich and poor in the entire society also stemmed from this. Of course, the concept of officialdom being paramount was actually a disguised buffer for the huge gap between rich and poor. Money, to a certain extent, had little significance after all. A landlord in a small place, accumulating wealth his whole life, might have a considerable amount of savings, but the enjoyment and psychological superiority he obtained were often not as great as cultivating a scholar.

Ning Yi initially trained this group of salesmen to focus on how to make their speech sound grand and sophisticated. At this time, he added more abundant content. What goods were recently lacking in the capital, what were the prices nearby, which families were buying, where was the most cost-effective place to sell something, how should things be transported, how were taxes collected at the nearby checkpoints, how to grease the wheels, which officials were incorruptible, which ones wanted money… and so on.

Ning Yi had sent this information down in a targeted manner. His subordinates didn't need to say too much, just revealing one or two key points was enough to touch the hearts of some rural rich people. They wouldn't necessarily believe it immediately, but after hearing such things, it was only right to buy one or two bottles of seemingly exquisitely packaged perfume and two sets of clothing from the Su family's cloth shop.

In May, the salesmen outside made their first brokerage deal. One of the salesmen connected a merchant with a landlord not far away, thereby settling a deal. However, he didn't charge any commission for doing this for the first time, but both families bought a lot of goods from him. Ning Yi gave him a reward because of this.

At this time, in large cities such as Bianliang and Jiangning, there were actually people doing similar brokerage businesses. Most of them were idle people with many friends who helped make connections and took a cut, but they were not professional after all. Ning Yi, from the beginning, had partly intended to go in this direction.

Over the course of several months, other things were expanding and developing along with Zhuji. They complemented each other, extending horizontally and vertically like a spider web.

Firstly, the Elm Cannon that had emerged near Sipinggang in February had been transferred by Ning Yi to Qin Siyuan. Although its safety performance was still a concern, and handmade production, operation, and launch required experience and training, making its cost performance not high, it could already be considered a good weapon. It could at least play the role of a surprise soldier on the battlefield. Qin Siyuan transferred this firearm to the military manufacturing bureau for further research. At the same time, Ning Yi also retained the legitimacy of privately improving the Elm Cannon.

Secondly, while operating the outsourced team, Zhuji's business in the capital was also expanding at an astonishing rate. For Ning Yi, the reason why it was considered stable development was because the Right Prime Minister's office, Qin Siyuan, Yao Zunian, Ji Kun, and others were helping out along the way. In this society where relationships determined most things, the more or less help from these people, coupled with the appearance of strange items such as coal stoves, perfumes, and the introduction of exquisitely packaged fruit juices and quail egg cans on the dining table, as well as Ning Yi's packaging methods, poetry, and reputation, if the business couldn't be done well and the reputation wasn't big enough, then Ning Yi basically wouldn't need to do anything.

Thirdly, in the process of Zhuji's expansion, some of the remaining Liangshan bandits who were originally imprisoned near Dulonggang had now completed their "training". After screening, they were incorporated into the entire system as Zhuji's employees. These people possessed martial arts and ruthlessness, but by this time, they had completely changed from when they were captured last year. Most of them were quiet, humble, and courteous, extremely disciplined and rule-abiding, and some even exuded an ascetic aura.

When Ning Yi decided to use them, he actually took some precautions. During daily rest, he still kept them together collectively, either exercising or arranging for people to give them lectures, and also organized them to go out and help others, do good deeds, and supervise each other.

Among the five Zhuji stores inside and outside Bianliang, some of these people were arranged, and some were arranged in the courtyard outside the city. Some were also arranged among the outsourced people. Later, when they were preparing to run around with Zhuji goods in horse-drawn carriages, the usual members would be a salesman, a shop assistant from Su's cloth shop, a storyteller, and a shop assistant who sold odds and ends to poor people, plus two bodyguards.

The salesmen were mainly responsible for visiting wealthy households, and the cloth shop assistants would follow to measure the other party's figure when preparing to sell clothes. The storyteller told stories in the village to attract poor households and children, and the shop assistant who sold groceries would sell cheap snacks or cheap fabrics and needles and threads needed by each household. If anyone needed it, floral water, mosquito coils, and other items were naturally also available for sale. Poor families couldn't afford very expensive things, and if they bought perfume and soap, it was mostly for weddings and celebrations. This combination subsequently became standard.

Fourthly, when the disasters in the north and south began to become urgent, Ning Yi controlled Zhuji's expansion while participating in the disaster relief planning of the Secret Intelligence Division. Although he was busy, basically, neither side was delayed.

In terms of the overall situation, if Ning Yi hadn't had the credit for the Elm Cannon and the ability to participate in disaster relief planning and personnel deployment in an orderly manner, Qin Siyuan and others probably wouldn't have simply lent their influence to Ning Yi. On Ning Yi's side, at least in Su Tan'er's opinion, her husband was simply walking on a constantly tightening tightrope. As a businessman, the rapid expansion of Zhuji was simply a pleasing art, but on the other hand, this rapid expansion that directly stretched to the limit often caused worry.

The planning for Zhuji's third, fourth, and fifth stores actually began before Ning Yi returned to Bianliang. As the investment in the decoration of the third store began, and the results were launched in the courtyard outside the city, several specialized workshops quickly took shape. At the same time, Ning Yi summarized various information, directed his subordinates in other places to do things, and quickly released the second batch of salesmen, while entering the third and fourth batches of training. During this period, there were also other projects being carried out in the courtyard and the summons for disaster relief matters from the Prime Minister's office.

Over the course of several months, Ning Yi seemed like a machine with no limit for information collation and processing. Su Tan'er didn't quite understand why her husband still seemed to be handling everything with ease.

The business that was blooming everywhere first absorbed a huge amount of capital. But just when the money Ning Yi invested was about to run out, the trend of capital recovery was also constantly increasing, and the returned income was quickly invested in the expanding business, turning everything into a frantically expanding vortex within a few months.

Because the foundation wasn't stable, the original human resources reserves had begun to run out. The recruitment and addition of new people often led to increased system instability. If it were Su Tan'er, she would probably stop to take a look and see. But it seemed that, at least this month, Ning Yi was becoming more and more relaxed. In his hands, he seemed to be enjoying the thrill of walking the tightrope, and he had no intention of stopping at all.

Li Pin didn't know much about these things about Zhuji's rapid development. As far as he was concerned, what he was able to know were some rumors flowing out with Zhuji's large carts, including some news circulating among the Greenwoods that he had heard after inquiring. The conflict with Liangshan, the determination to kill Liangshan people, the title of Heart Demon, etc. That afternoon, he met Ning Yi under the guidance of the Zhuji shopkeeper. Some of the scenes he saw when he walked into the Ning family's courtyard made him even more worried.

Of course, when reminiscing with Ning Yi, Li Pin put away these thoughts and talked about his experiences as an official for more than two years, and also asked about the conflict between the Su family and Liangshan. Ning Yi still appreciated Li Pin, so this meeting was considered pleasant. Soon, a person's name that Li Pin mentioned caught his attention.

"...When I went to Nanhe as a county magistrate, I had a meeting with Lord Zong Rulin. Later, I exchanged letters and benefited a lot... The old gentleman's knowledge and mind are beyond our reach. Unfortunately, he retired to his hometown at the end of last year... He also offended people. At that time, he was probably a little disheartened..."

"Zong Rulin... Lord Zong Ze?"

"Yes, Liheng has heard his name too, right?"

"I've heard people mention it, but I don't know the specifics."

"It's good if you don't know." Li Pin shook his head. "It's always some messy things..."

Perhaps feeling that this matter had little to do with Ning Yi, Li Pin didn't say anything more. After eating dinner together, Ning Yi sent Li Pin out. Walking under the eaves, Li Pin sighed, "Liheng, do you know... the people are not having a good time."

He had been an official for nearly three years, and at this time, his sigh was quite heavy. Ning Yi listened and didn't think much about it. After a moment, he smiled and nodded. Soon, the two agreed to meet at the Prime Minister's Office tomorrow. Li Pin led his servant and aide away.

All the way back to Zhuji's guest room, the aide named Chen Pan who was with him stayed behind for the time being and chatted with Li Pin for a while. Chen Pan was curious, so Li Pin said something about the matter of getting to know Ning Yi in Jiangning. After a moment, he sighed.

"...At that time, I admired Liheng's knowledge and insights. Although he was a bit unconventional, we scholars can always uphold integrity... But three years have passed, and the path he has taken is far from what I expected... Alas, maybe I thought wrong, but what I saw today..."

He was a little embarrassed to say more. The aide Chen said, "According to what I saw today, this Zhuji and the Ning residence do seem to have some characteristics of a wealthy family... After all, he has the support of the Prime Minister's Office behind him, and he also raises so many house slaves..."

"Actually, being a merchant is a small matter. He originally married into a merchant family, and I thought he wouldn't get involved in these things. But unexpectedly, it's still like this... Although he avenged his family in the Jianghu disputes like Liangshan, there's nothing to say. But later, it got to that point, and his involvement with these villains is probably getting deeper and deeper. Brother Chen is right, pursuing the way of merchants, chasing after false profits, climbing the officialdom, making connections with villains, and raising private slaves are ultimately what wealthy families do. With Liheng's ability, it's not surprising that he can do these things. But according to rumors, Zhuji is still secretly collecting grain... Recently, with these natural and man-made disasters, he's still taking advantage of the situation to do this kind of thing. I really don't understand..."

The aide Chen thought for a while and couldn't help but say, "Master, it's better to stay out of these things..."

"How can I do that." Li Pin smiled and shook his head. "Maybe I see it wrong. I have to see things clearly in these few days. The friendship between gentlemen is about being upright and having a clear conscience. If he really goes astray, I must advise him. With Liheng's talent, he shouldn't be wasting his time on these things... Brother Chen, you know my personality, no need to say more. Even if this offends people, I should do it."

Ning Yi's relationship with Qin Siyuan was extraordinary. Li Pin had gotten a real position because Ning Yi had helped. If this really offended him, it would be difficult to say whether there would be bumps in his official career. But as a friend, Li Pin still decided to do what he could and give advice - of course, he also left room for his own misjudgment and decided to take a look these days.

The next day, Li Pin first went to the Ministry of Personnel to report, and then went to visit Qin Siyuan at the Prime Minister's Office, still thinking about this matter in his heart. However, a piece of news shortly afterwards somewhat diluted the thoughts brought about by this matter. It was not long after Ning Yi came that Li Pin met Qin Siyuan. After only a few words, an old man named Yao Zunian came in laughing, holding a piece of intelligence in his hand, and said excitedly, "Good news! Prime Minister! Liheng! Great news, hahahaha..."

Soon after, the entire Prime Minister's Office, the entire Bianliang City, and even the entire Wu Dynasty shared this good news from the north. Relatively speaking, everything else seemed insignificant.

In the north, there was a result in the battle between Guo Yaoshi and Xiao Gan. Guo Yaoshi, who had planned and then acted, defeated Xiao Gan in Yaopu. Afterwards, he rushed all the way, taking advantage of the victory to pursue across the Lulong Mountains, killing and wounding more than half of the Da Xi Kingdom's army. This pursuit lasted for several days. Xiao Gan was intercepted by Guo Yaoshi's subordinates during his escape and beheaded under the sword. Another important general star fell on the stage of this era. Guo Yaoshi finally completed a true victory in the Wu Dynasty's northern expedition.

When the news came, Xiao Gan's head was already on its way to the capital, and the Ever-Victorious Army was still rushing all the way to expand the results of the battle.

The world was shaken!