Chapter 49: The Aftermath of the Auction

  Cao Jing left without saying goodbye to him, but only wrote a letter and left her contact address in Xuchang, hoping he would look for her when he had time. This made Zhuge Jun very depressed, thinking: "What is this little girl doing? It's making my brother's heart itch and feel so uncomfortable."

  Cao Jing actually wanted to spend more time with her lover, but reason told her it wasn't a good idea. He was surrounded by women and if she made it too easy for him, he might not cherish her in the future. It's better to play hard to get and make him care about her more. So she bit her teeth and left. But the pain in her heart was unbearable, and she secretly cried for half the night.

  Sun Quan listened to the report of the minister in charge of finance, and his mouth curled up with joy. He had unexpectedly obtained so much gold, who wouldn't be delighted? He thought to himself, "This brother-in-law is really formidable, he's also very generous, his business is like a money tree, I must support him well."

  He invited Zhang Shao and Zhuge Jin to discuss whether to give Zhuge Jun an official position, specifically to guide the economic development of Eastern Wu.

  Zhang Zhao handled matters impartially and strongly approved. Zhuge Jin, however, shook his head and said: "My younger brother is a lazy and idle person, he won't agree to it. If you really have this intention, why not let the princess do some work on him?"

  Sun Quan thought for a moment and then arranged for someone to find Sun Shangxiang, saying that he would have dinner with Wu Guotai together.

  Sun Quan knew his sister's temperament, so he first came up with a roundabout tactic, praising her for having good eyesight and finding a good husband. Sun Shangxiang smiled with her small mouth open. He took the opportunity to bring up the matter of Zhuge Jun becoming an official.

  Sun Shangxiang was in a dilemma, not to mention Zhuge Jun might not be willing, she herself didn't want to either. Now that Zhuge Jun can often stay at home, she can always be by his side. Once she becomes an official, it won't be comfortable for her, and she thinks it's inconvenient to be with him together. So she refused, saying: "Zhuge Jun won't agree, I don't want to either. Zhuge Jun sold you the horse lanterns for 2 taels, but sold them to others for 12 taels, and gave you so many more, not to mention the usual taxes are not small, just don't have designs on him. How about this, can't you let Zhuge Jun make a decision?"

  Sun Quan also believed that there was no problem in finding him to discuss, but he had to find a plan for the economic development of Eastern Wu. So he didn't insist on it anymore.

  Liu Bei and the others listened to Mei Zhuo's report, admiring him greatly. In their hearts, they thought: "How lucky Sun Quan is! If only he were here with us, how wonderful that would be!" They were also delighted that he was willing to help them open up the mines.

  Zhuge Liang was puzzled in his heart: "Xiao Jun is getting more and more powerful, he has never been to Guiyang before, how does he know the mineral deposits here, and how can he mine and smelt?" He no longer doubted Zhuge Jun's ability, but only found it strange how he grasped this ability.

  Liu Bei said to Zhu Ge: "You are in charge of this matter, immediately organize personnel to go to Guiyang, do the previous work well, and invite the military advisor's brother to guide at that time."

  "He has already sent a group of craftsmen, who have gone to the site for investigation. I will immediately organize the corresponding team and strive to start mining as soon as possible."

  Simayu reported the situation to Cao Cao, although he didn't get the glass formula, Cao Cao was not dissatisfied with him. He was also very satisfied with the information about Ma Teng and Sun Quan's contact, and praised him a few words. Sima Yi was very happy and thanked him before leaving.

  Cao Jing saw Cao Cao and paid her respects. Cao Cao was overjoyed, having not seen his beloved daughter for two months, and he had indeed missed her terribly.

  Cao Jing gave her father a detailed account of the trip, especially about the auction situation, which made him very interested. Upon hearing that Zhuge Jun's auction was successful, although he was also surprised, he didn't show much expression, but instead paid attention to his daughter's changing expressions. Seeing her bashful demeanor when talking about Zhuge Jun, he knew that his daughter had gained a lot from this trip.

  "He asked: 'Jing Er, have you seen Zhuge Jun? How did it feel?'"

  Cao Jing's face turned bright red, and she said with embarrassment: "Father." She didn't say another word. Cao Cao burst out laughing, knowing that his daughter had achieved a satisfactory result, and he was happy for her.

  Cao Jing had people bring over that golden statue, its majestic aura even made Cao Cao feel shocked and intimidated.

  Cao Jing said, "Father, he is offering this to you now, the only one in the world." Then she repeated what Zhuge Jun had evaluated him. She deliberately emphasized: "He doesn't know his daughter's identity, these words are absolutely sincere."

  Cao Cao looked at his daughter with satisfaction and said, "My daughter's vision is not wrong. This golden statue is worth more than ten thousand gold coins, which shows his sincerity. I'm very satisfied that you can have a good home, and I'm happy for you."

  Cao Jing leaned shyly against Cao Cao, with a happy expression on her face.

  After a moment, Cao Cao asked her with some concern: "Jing'er, I heard that he is about to marry Sun Quan's younger sister Sun Shangxiang. What do you think of this?"

  Cao Jing said calmly: "I know, it's okay, he won't let me down. As long as he treats me well, I don't care about the rest."

  Although Zhuge Jun had other women, Cao Cao was not satisfied. However, in this era, which excellent man did not have three wives and four concubines? As long as the daughter was willing, it was fine. Seeing her say so, he also put his heart at ease.

  Ma Chao was very satisfied with his trip to Eastern Wu, not only did he reach an agreement with Sun Quan, but also made friends with Zhuge Jun, such a great sworn brother, and solved the marriage of his cousin Ma Dai, achieving three goals at once. Reporting back to Ma Teng, he was also delighted and praised his son for being capable.

  After hearing about the auction, Ma Chao felt a bit regretful and thought he should have participated to witness his sworn brother's grandeur, feeling happy for his success and envying his business talent. He wondered how he could also create some high-yielding projects in Xiliang to boost local economic development.

  Ma Dai brought him a letter, saying that after a while, he and Ling'er would get married. Zhuge Jun would come to send his blessings, also to visit him, he was very happy. He then informed Ma Teng, notified Ma Dai's parents, and began preparing for the wedding.

  Everyone, if you think it's still readable, thank you very much.

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