I support the army through farming and business.

Chapter 89 Never Raise the Price
On the 23rd day of the 12th lunar month, Song’s soybean oil shop opened for business.

Nanny Song was very dissatisfied with this day because Jing'an Temple calculated that it was not a good day for opening.

Tang Zhao didn't care. In her opinion, the day she chose to open the business was a good day, rather than choosing a good day to open the business.

If we listen to Jing'an Temple and wait until after the first lunar month to open, won't we miss the peak sales period during the New Year?

Gu Ci would never do such a stupid thing even if she was beaten to death!

Gu Ci frowned slightly. He always felt that there was something wrong with the way Tang Zhao looked at him.

Tang Zhao withdrew his gaze in disappointment, finished his breakfast, and took a carriage to the soybean oil shop.

In front of the soybean oil shop, many people had gathered to watch the fun, pointing at the ceramic bowls placed on the long table and talking non-stop.

"Have you heard? This is soybean oil, squeezed from soybeans!"

"What? Soybeans can be used to produce oil?" Some people were unconvinced.

"Hey, don't be skeptical! My aunt's daughter's in-law's sister-in-law's aunt works as a steward in the Meng family. She passed on a message saying that the eldest lady and daughter of the Meng family will come to the soybean oil mill today to buy 100,000 kilograms of soybean oil and donate it to the people in the northwest. She told us to wait in front of the soybean oil mill early with basins in hand, so that we won't be left without a share!"

"What? One hundred thousand pounds? My dear, that's all! How much will it cost?"

"Well, my aunt didn't say, but it's definitely not cheap. Soybean oil is still oil, so how can it be cheap?" the man said expectantly, holding the basin. "So this time might be the only chance in our lives to eat oil!"

The woman beside her slapped her thigh when she heard this and said, "Oh, what are you waiting for? Go home and get a basin." She turned around and ran back, saying, "No, the jar will hold more."

The people scattered and went home to look for the largest container in their homes.

The man holding the basin stood there in a daze for a while, then ran home to change the basin.

Manager Meng had just finished checking the soybean oil in the backyard and was about to go out to greet the neighbors, but when he arrived at the lobby, he saw that there was no one in front of the soybean oil mill.

He suddenly became anxious, "Where are the people?" Where are his large group of potential customers?

"Everyone's gone home to get their jars," Meng Da replied, and told Manager Meng what had just happened. Then he asked expectantly, "Dad, after we close the shop, can we still go get the soybean oil donated by the Meng family?"

Manager Meng glared at him and said, "Ten cents a pound, you can't afford it?"

"I can afford it," Meng Da scratched his head, "It would be a waste if I didn't want it."

When Tang Zhao arrived, he happened to see Manager Meng pinching his waist and scolding Meng Da, "Can you be more promising?"

Tang Zhao asked as he got out of the car, "What happened?"

Manager Meng said, "It's okay for me to teach him, but this kid actually wants to collect the soybean oil donated by the Meng family!"

Others don't know the relationship between Princess Xuan and the Meng family, but they know it very well. If they go to collect the soybean oil donated by the Meng family, wouldn't that be an embarrassment to Princess Xuan?
Tang Zhao had a different view. "Let's all go get it. It's a waste if we don't," she emphasized. "Just take the big vat we store oil in!"

Manager Meng:
Manager Meng looked at Gu Ci who was silent beside him.

Gu Ci nodded, "Let's all go."

Manager Meng was a little confused. Was it because he was old, or was it because he didn't understand the relationship between the princess and the Meng family?
While Manager Meng was in a daze, the time for opening had arrived. Tang Zhao personally pulled down the red silk, and the five big words "Song's Soybean Oil Shop" shone brightly.

Tang Zhao: "Fellow villagers, elders, ladies and gentlemen, good morning!"

The onlookers who came back with the big vat: "Great!"

"Everyone knows that firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar and tea are the basics of life. Unfortunately, the Northwest is poor and the economy is sluggish. Not to mention condiments like vinegar and tea, even the most basic oil and salt are out of reach for most people."

"Zhao Shan sees this with his own eyes and feels pain in his heart. Why can't the people in the northwest afford the food that the people in the south can eat?"

"Yes, why?" Manager Meng was puzzled. "Can the people in Jiangnan afford oil and salt?"

Gu Ci glanced at him lightly.

Manager Meng shut up instantly.

"Although Zhaoshan was born and raised in Luoyang, it is well known that Zhaoshan's maternal family has guarded the northwest for generations. Zhaoshan respectfully accepts the will of the foreign lease and is willing to continue to protect the northwest."

"Unfortunately, Zhaoshan was born a girl and could not wield a spear or a horse, so she could only work hard on the trivial matters of daily life. God showed mercy and helped Zhaoshan develop a recipe for making oil from soybeans, which she named soybean oil."

"This soybean oil isn't made from meat, so it doesn't have the same meaty flavor and aroma as meat oil. But Zhao Shan assures the folks, this soybean oil has the same benefits as meat oil!"

Tang Zhao dropped a heavy bomb, "Besides, because soybean oil is made from soybeans, the price is much cheaper than soybean oil, ten cents per pound!"

Some people shouted in shock: "Ten coins?!"

"That's right, ten cents. And Zhaoshan hereby guarantees that no matter which soybean oil shop you go to buy soybean oil from, it will be ten cents per pound, and the price will never be increased!"

Never raise the price! The people were instantly excited.

Doesn't that mean they can just grit their teeth and work hard for a few days to provide their families with good food?

One woman, fearing she had misheard, pressed on, "My Lady Princess, is what you said true?"

Tang Zhao stretched out his right hand, "I, Tang Zhao, swear in the name of Princess Zhaoshan that every word is true and every sentence is true. If there is even a lie..."

Gu Ci frowned. How could he swear so casually?

Gu Ci interrupted, "If you tell even a single lie, this general will die on the battlefield."

Oh my god! Tang Zhao turned around and looked at Gu Ci in amazement: Brother, are you crazy?
The woman quickly said, "General, there's no need to be so. I was just asking casually."

Gu Ci stepped forward and stood side by side with Tang Zhao. "If the Song soybean oil shop raises the price arbitrarily in the future, you can all go to Prince Xuan's Mansion and ask His Royal Highness Prince Xuan and the Princess to make the decision."

The people were immediately relieved and kept asking, "Princess, when can we buy oil?"

Tang Zhao turned aside and said, "Now."

The people rushed forward.

Gu Ci quickly pulled Tang Zhao back ten meters.

Tang Zhao patted his chest and watched Manager Meng and his men being lost in the crowd. They were serving soybean oil to the people while shouting at the top of their lungs that there were still sixteen soybean oil mills. He sighed.

Not far away, in the Meng family's carriage, Meng Shuer threw the teacup in her hand to the ground.

Mrs. Meng was so angry that her chest hurt.

The Jing'an Temple incident caused her and her daughter to be severely criticized by Old Lady Meng, and even Master Meng ignored her for the first time.

In the end, it was Mrs. Meng who came up with a way to restore the Meng family's reputation by donating soybean oil.

For this purpose, Madam Meng had already made arrangements with the person in charge of Cikangtang, and was just waiting for the Meng family to deliver the soybean oil so that she could mobilize public opinion. By then, not only would the reputation of the mother and daughter not be damaged, but their reputation for benevolence and charity would spread throughout the northwest.

But all of this was completely destroyed by Tang Zhao.

With the reputation of the Song family in front and the gimmick of never raising prices behind, the scenery of the northwest today is all concentrated on Tang Zhao!
Madam Meng: I’m so angry that I’m like a puffer fish!

Zhao Zhao: A little bit ~

(End of this chapter)