Grain Shop of the Gu Family; Original Character Lu Qiuxian

After agreeing to this business deal, Gu Lan looked at his family at the table with ease and contentment. The room was warm and quiet at this moment.

Two complex gazes fell on him. Mu Yuyan's autumn-like eyes were slightly reddened, unable to hide the inner emotions.

The Great Jing Nation was finally saved!

When Gu Lan uttered these words, it seemed like she saw light emerging from boundless darkness. Of course, what made Mu Yuyan even more moved was that she had never misjudged a person.

Gu Lan, though just a scholar, possessed a heart and demeanor sufficient to make even an female Emperor like her feel convinced.

"My lady, why are you crying again?" Gu Lan fixed his gaze on her, puzzled. After all, he had only agreed to sell some grain seeds; it wasn't something to be so moved about.

"No, master, you misunderstood." Mu Yuyan didn't want to lose her composure and quickly turned away, tightly pursing her lips.

Gu Lan shook his head inexplicably, looking at the other two and exclaimed, "Hey! Yexi, why are your eyes red too?"

"Oh my, Old Yang, cut it out!" Gu Lan rolled his eyes. Girls looked pitiful like this, but it was quite unbearable for grown men!

"Master, I just felt that, when you said you would sell the grains to our common people at the same price, you are so cool, hehe..."

Old Yang scratched his head, grinning.

If other wealthy merchants in the Great Jing had such precious grain seeds, they might sell them at a much higher price.

The fact that their young master, a commoner, made such a decision surprised and pleased him.

"Ahem, what a talker!"

Gu Lan replied with a smile, and continued, "Alright, I'll leave this business to you. If you're too busy, let Yexi help. In a couple of days, we'll open another Gu’s Grain Store next to Gu’s teahouse. The first deal will be to sell this batch of rice seeds."

"Sure thing, young master, rest assured!" Old Yang patted his chest, making a solemn promise.

...

Three days later.

Gu Lan had already absorbed most of the good things looted from Heavenly Sword Sect. His cultivation had stabilized at around 40,000 years.

Besides high-quality spirit stones and mermaid pearls, there was something else useful.

[Sacred Item: Blazing Flame Forge]

When Gu Lan first saw it, he was surprised. How could a second-rate sect like Heavenly Sword Sect possess a sacred item? However, upon closer inspection, he found that this item was actually damaged. Its spiritual being had been forcibly removed, leaving only an extremely sturdy shell.

With the spirit gone, the chances of repairing such an item were extremely slim. No wonder it ended up being neglected in the warehouse.

Gu Lan sighed with regret. However, he still carefully stored it away. After all, the materials of a sacred item were there, and perhaps it could come in handy one day.

In the afternoon, Gu Lan was peacefully reading by the window.

In the courtyard, the golden sunlight sprinkled on Mu Yuyan. She leaned on a bamboo chair, reading the new script Dream of the Red Chamber written by Gu Lan. Her face blushed with excitement, finding the story quite enjoyable.

At this moment, Old Yang's voice came from afar.

"Master! Master!"

"Something is wrong!"

Considering the declining national fortune, trouble in the Great Jing was normal. Old Yang tended to exaggerate things...

Gu Lan's voice came out faintly from the study, "You can speak; I'm listening."

"Oh, that's right. I've been following your instructions these days to open the grain shop. When I went out of the city to hire people this morning, passing by the city gate, I found many people gathered around the bulletin board. I wanted to take a look, and #%&*%￥#..."

"Get to the point."

"Oh! The bulletin board is covered with a proclamation about hunting demons in the capital. I heard that the Great Jing is going to war with the demon realm!"

Upon hearing this, Gu Lan was stunned. A national war?

Wait, didn't it start in the fifth year of Jiaqing in the original work? Could it be that killing a demon king accelerated the timeline?

"Are you sure you didn't read it wrong, Old Yang?"

"Of course. The proclamation has been spread across the thirteen states, and it even bears the female Emperor's seal!"

Old Yang finished speaking, and the study fell silent. Gu Lan tapped his fingers lightly on the wooden table, lost in thought.

In the courtyard, Mu Yuyan, upon hearing this news, was not surprised at all. She continued to leisurely read Dream of the Red Chamber.

Yes, the proclamation was drafted by Liu Yexi, who returned to the capital in the past few days.

It was both a preparation to mobilize the forces of the thirteen states in the Great Jing and a declaration to the world that, during the Jiaqing era, the female Emperor was not afraid to go to war with the demon realm.

Previously, she had to endure silently because there was no other way. But now, with the magical rice seeds cultivated by Gu Lan, the Great Jing would likely increase its strength several times in less than three months!

Want a war? Then let's have one! Do you really believe I'm easy to bully??

Mu Yuyan felt extremely relieved.

At this moment, Old Yang, seeing that Gu Lan was lost in thought, hesitated and asked, "Um... Master, since the national war is about to start, shall we continue to run the grain shop?"

In times of war, grain and money shops were the most dangerous. Once the war reached this place, looting and ransacking were inevitable.

Old Yang was quite worried about this matter.

However, Gu Lan smiled calmly after hearing this and said, "Don't worry, Old Yang. We are in Langzhou, not the western border. The demon realm can't invade this far."

Although the war started earlier than expected, Gu Lan was not worried. In the original work, even when the demon realm launched an attack in the fifth year of Jiaqing, they couldn't capture Yunzhou and Xiangzhou. They just further depleted the Great Jing's strength, and both sides ended up with losses. This war allowed the rise of grassroots forces.

"It's so absurd. The protagonist's luck allows him to pick up everything." Gu Lan thought silently, feeling envious.

There were two main reasons for the stalemate in the national war.

First, the demon emperor in the Demon God City clearly overestimated the unity of his subordinates, leading to internal strife later on. Second, a talented commander who had reached the emperor realm appeared in Xiangzhou, and his military tactics were almost divine, nearly turning the tide back.

"Keep the grain shop open. With the outbreak of war, the Great Jing will surely need more provisions. It's a good opportunity for our business to grow stronger."

Gu Lan instructed Old Yang.

"As long as Master says so, then let's keep it open." Old Yang breathed a sigh of relief. Although he didn't understand why Gu Lan was so sure that the national war wouldn't reach Langzhou, he would follow his instructions.

"Oh, remember, prioritize supplying the military garrisons in Xiangzhou with our grain seeds. Also, inquire if there is a military officer with the surname Lu. No, he might still be a foot soldier."

Gu Lan recalled and described some basic information about that person.

Old Yang listened carefully, but was unable to understand why the Master suddenly wanted to find someone.

However, he would follow the Master's instructions and replied, "Yes." Then, he left.

At this moment, Mu Yuyan, who was reading a book, heard the last sentence. With her charming eyes slightly wrinkled, she curiously asked, "Master Gu, do you know someone from the western border? I traveled there a few years ago and knew many literati in Xiangzhou. Maybe I know him?"

"He is not a literatus... He is called Lu Qiuxian. Have you heard of him?"

Seeing Mu Yuyan shake her head, Gu Lan smiled and said, "Let me tell you the story of that person, starting from the Battle between Jing Nation and Demons..."