"Young Master, Li Yihuo is here."

Zhang Chuchu came before Cheng Zongyang carrying a tray and reported his arrival. He then took the Long Saber from Cheng Zongyang and placed it back on the nearby weapon rack.

Cheng Zongyang took a towel from the tray, first wiping his hands, then using another to wipe his face. After placing them back on the tray, he started walking toward the main hall and said:

"Bring him in."

"Yes, sir," Zhang Chuchu replied. He then withdrew with the maid.

At that moment, a large bowl of congee, a side of pickled vegetables, and a cup of warm tea were set out on a table in the main hall.

This was the breakfast Cheng Zongyang was accustomed to, and it was quite refreshing.

As Cheng Zongyang was eating his breakfast, Zhang Chuchu brought Li Yihuo in.

"Young Master, this is Li Yihuo, formerly An Yiheng of the An Family," Zhang Chuchu introduced. He then turned to Li Yihuo and instructed, "Li Yihuo, this is the Young Clan Leader of the Cheng Family. You may address him as Young Master."

"No need. Just call me Young Master," Cheng Zongyang said after swallowing a mouthful of pickled vegetables. "Have a seat first. Allow me to finish eating; food shouldn’t be wasted."

He had always had a large appetite, so this small bowl of congee was just enough to take the edge off his hunger. Besides, while congee made you feel full, it digested quickly. It wasn’t much different from drinking water.

"It’s no problem at all, sir. Please, take your time," Li Yihuo said hurriedly. He didn’t sit, but remained standing to the side, waiting.

But Cheng Zongyang had already downed the remaining half-bowl of congee in one go.

"Take this away," Cheng Zongyang said, looking at Zhang Chuchu, who was waiting nearby.

Zhang Chuchu nodded, cleared the table, and carried the tray out. Before leaving, he exchanged a look with Li Yihuo.

Li Yihuo understood Zhang Chuchu’s meaning and gave a slight nod.

"Mr. Li, please have a seat," Cheng Zongyang gestured.

Just then, a maid brought in another cup of tea.

"Thank you, Young Master," Li Yihuo said, cupping his hands.

Cheng Zongyang didn’t ask about Li Yihuo’s past and got straight to the point. "Mr. Li, I presume Housekeeper Zhang has told you a few things?"

Li Yihuo nodded. "He mentioned a little, but I’m not yet aware of the Young Master’s specific requirements and ideas."

Cheng Zongyang smiled. "Does this mean you are willing to join the Cheng Family, Mr. Li?"

Li Yihuo replied, "I just don’t know if I can meet the Young Master’s requirements."

"Alright," Cheng Zongyang said. "The Cheng Family now controls West City and intends to establish businesses like restaurants, wineries, grain stores, and salt shops..."

Cheng Zongyang elaborated on his plans and supply capabilities, and briefly touched upon other matters. Finally, he asked:

"Everything I’ve mentioned can be developed in the future. The question is, how can we quickly restore West City’s proper commercial vitality? Do you have any suggestions?"

After listening, Li Yihuo asked a few questions and then fell into a long, deep thought.

Cheng Zongyang didn’t disturb him. He immediately changed his breathing, entering the exhalation mode of his automatic Breath-holding Technique cultivation. He then picked up the Celestial Human Chapter of the Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor from the side and continued to read.

He had flipped through this book countless times. He had long since memorized the contents of the Celestial Human Health Cultivation Skill within it and had tried to practice according to its methods, but there was no reaction at all.

There was no record on his panel either, but he still had a feeling that it wasn’t that simple. Thus, whenever he had free time, he would take it out to read again.

About a quarter of an hour later, Li Yihuo finally came to his senses. He stood up, cupped his hands toward Cheng Zongyang, and said apologetically, "Young Master, forgive my rudeness."

Cheng Zongyang put down the book and smiled. "Don’t worry about it. Tell me your thoughts."

Li Yihuo then said, "Young Master, I do have some ideas. If we want to restore the commercial environment in West City, we cannot do it without the cooperation of the other six families. Unless West City can operate independently, it will be very difficult to recover.

But if West City were to operate independently, it’s not impossible.

This would require a large number of business personnel to travel to other towns, County Towns, and the Commandery City. They wouldn’t need to do much, just establish a branch office. To avoid provoking ostracism and targeting from local powers elsewhere, a single storefront for each branch would suffice.

The goal is to quickly establish connections, allowing for the mutual exchange of resources between different places. We can trade for the resources we lack to fill the shortages of goods in West City’s market.

We need a more comprehensive range of resources, covering everything from the smallest necessities like needles and thread to the larger ones like food, drink, clothing, and household goods. Only by being comprehensive will the market in West City attract more people.

Only by having the common people spend their money in West City can we generate substantial profits that benefit West City.

With our money, we can hire people to work in West City, developing it to be more comprehensive and complete.

Gradually, the people will develop a habit of going to West City to shop, knowing that it has a comprehensive selection of goods and is bustling with activity.

Firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, tea, and wine, as well as clothes, cookware, furniture, and other supplies. Later on, with the restaurants, wineries, seed shops, the gang’s brothels and gambling houses, and so on... we will have many ways to make them spend in West City, thereby boosting its prosperity.

At that point, people from the other districts will automatically start spending their money in West City.

However, this process will take time. It cannot be achieved overnight, especially since we are on our own. But if the other six families were involved, the process would be much, much faster."

"As for the source of the people’s money..."

Li Yihuo frowned slightly. "That part is difficult to handle. Unless you can mint your own currency, we can only acquire it from the outside by trading resources. We would have to exchange a large amount of resources for money to be used in West City. This depends on the urgent needs of other places. Only by providing urgently needed goods can we have greater bargaining power. Our merchant caravans will need to investigate this thoroughly.