Chapter 54: Master Lu, Please Stop Keeping Us in Suspense

Despite the fact that Lu Chuan had launched a night raid which shattered Cao Cao's ten-thousand-strong army, this event hardly caused a ripple in the development of Lu County. In fact, many people there remained completely oblivious to it.

First, Cao Cao's expedition to attack Lu County was carried out without any fanfare; he intended to arrive stealthily and strike without warning, naturally keeping the circle of those in the know to a minimum.

Second, Cao Cao's army was ambushed by Lu Chuan on the very first night of their march. At that time, Cao Cao's main force was still a considerable distance away from Lu County. The battle could not possibly affect the town, and not even a single routed soldier managed to flee as far as Lu County.

Furthermore, Lu Chuan's night raid was executed with swift precision; the engagement was brief and of a modest scale, which prevented the situation from escalating. Even the local inhabitants nearby had no idea that a battle had taken place right on their doorstep.

Lastly, Lu Chuan did not mobilize a massive force—he utilized merely two thousand cavalrymen, leaving the normal defense and public security of Lu County entirely unaffected.

Even when reinforcements were later dispatched to escort the more than five thousand routed prisoners of war, only a fraction of the Lu County garrison was deployed, leaving local security completely undisturbed.

Consequently, it was not until Lu Chuan returned with over five thousand captives in tow that the populace belatedly realized their Magistrate Lu had quietly pulled off a resounding victory.

When the news finally reached Miss Mi, she was genuinely astonished. She immediately had her subordinates inquire into the details, and upon learning the full story, she was stunned all over again.

Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined that, while the Han Emperor still sat upon the throne, someone would dare mobilize an army of ten thousand to attack Lu County!

And she was even less prepared for the reality that the very same Lu Chuan—who had nearly driven her to stamp her feet in exasperation—possessed such formidable capability, single-handedly and quietly defeating Cao Cao and his host of ten thousand troops!

This was Cao Cao they were talking about!

Even though Miss Mi paid little heed to the grand struggles across the realm, she still caught wind of various affairs through Mi Zhu, including names like Cao Cao, Yuan Shao, Liu Bei, Sun Jian, and Yuan Shu.

In Mi Zhu's words, these figures were all towering heroes of the age.

Yet the legendary hero Cao Cao had actually been defeated by Lu Chuan, a mere magistrate of a small county?

How could such a thing be possible?

Miss Mi felt she needed to completely reevaluate Lu Chuan as a person. She even penned a detailed letter to Mi Zhu, informing him of every single circumstance surrounding the event.

Miss Mi was, after all, merely a woman of her time. Even though she had received a certain level of education since childhood and read her fair share of books, she only vaguely sensed that this matter was extraordinary. Lacking the insight to discern its true significance, she had to leave the judgment up to Mi Zhu.

Zhen Jiang experienced a nearly identical reaction.

However, alongside the letter she dispatched to the Zhen family, Zhen Jiang also had gifts prepared and delivered personally to Lu Chuan’s residence.

Her rationale was simple enough.

Magistrate Lu had fought heroically to vanquish enemies harboring ill intentions toward Lu County; as merchants conducting our trade within the safety of Lu County, shouldn't we express our utmost gratitude to the Magistrate?

When it came to social finesse and knowing how to handle people, Zhen Jiang undoubtedly surpassed Miss Mi by a wide margin.

Regrettably, Zhen Jiang's thoughtful gesture failed to win her a larger share of the refined salt market from Lu Chuan.

Lu Chuan was well aware that the Zhen family was deeply rooted in Hebei. Once Yuan Shao rose to prominence, the Zhen family would inevitably swing their full support behind him. As long as this underlying reality persisted, Lu Chuan could never place absolute trust in them.

Therefore, while he would gladly accept Zhen Jiang's gifts, Lu Chuan intended to play ignorant for as long as necessary.

After seeing Zhen Jiang off, Lu Chuan summoned Lu Shui and instructed him to prepare for a product launch event, inviting the very same individuals who had attended the previous pre-sale auction.

Lu Shui carried out the orders immediately, spreading the news of Lu County's inaugural product launch that very day. Those who received invitations once again felt a surge of curiosity.

They were burning to know what kind of commotion Lu Chuan intended to stir up this time.

Miss Mi had just finished her letter to Mi Zhu—which probably hadn't even reached him yet—when she received the invitation to the product launch.

She was dying to know what scheme Lu Chuan was hatching now, but Lu Shui had delivered nothing more than the invitation letter, offering not a single extra detail. Left with no other choice, Miss Mi could only wait.

Zhen Jiang, naturally, received an invitation as well. Having already guessed what Lu Chuan was up to, she did not harbor the same restless curiosity as the others; instead, she displayed a keen interest in the novel concept of a product launch itself.

She had noticed that Lu Chuan always managed to conjure up all sorts of wondrous novelties, just as he had with the pre-sale auction.

Perhaps this time, Lu Chuan would bring them yet another delightful surprise.

The event was held at the exact same venue as the pre-sale auction. The layout did not even need to be altered; all that was required was a rearrangement of the seating.

Consequently, once Lu Chuan issued the directive to convene the product launch, Lu Shui completed the arrangements on the exact same day.

Thanks to Lu Shui's high efficiency, Lu Chuan was able to hold the product launch the very next day.

Both Zhen Jiang and Miss Mi harbored great interest in the event. Arriving early on the day of the launch, they were surprised to find that several people had beaten them to the venue.

Although the invited merchants had no inkling of what Lu Chuan was planning, they knew one golden rule: the bigger the commotion Lu Chuan made, the greater the profits to be reaped.

Just look at the massive momentum generated by the pre-sale auction a few days prior.

And recall the tremendous stir created by the investment project in the northern outer city.

Therefore, they had long since hardened their resolve: there was no need to figure out what Lu Chuan wanted to do; they simply needed to follow his lead blindly.

Before the product launch even officially commenced, every single person who had received an invitation was already seated, waiting eagerly for Lu Chuan to emerge and instruct them on how to amass a fortune.

Lu Chuan was somewhat surprised by their overwhelming enthusiasm. Still, since everyone had already arrived, there was no need to strictly adhere to the schedule; he might as well get things underway immediately.

Stepping onto the stage, Lu Chuan bypassed any opening remarks about the product launch and instead invited everyone to dine first. At his signal, Lu Shui had servants bring out a spread of freshly prepared dishes.

Upon seeing the food, the guests grew even more puzzled.

Could it be that the new products Magistrate Lu wished to unveil were actually just these dishes?

While such cuisine was rarely seen elsewhere and few knew how to prepare it, in Lu County, these dishes had already become commonplace—accessible even to ordinary peasant households.

With the dishes fully served, Lu Chuan made a polite gesture of invitation.

"Please, make yourselves at ease. The matter I wish to discuss with you today lies entirely within these very dishes."

"Right here within the dishes?"

Exchanging bewildered glances, the guests hesitated no longer and picked up their chopsticks to sample the food.

At first, they noticed nothing out of the ordinary, but after chewing for a moment, expressions of astonishment began to bloom across their faces.

"This... these dishes carry a savory saltiness, yet there is none of the harsh bitterness characteristic of raw salt. How can this be?"

"I have no idea either. Could Magistrate Lu possess some miraculous method capable of stripping away the bitter taste of crude salt?"

"How is that possible? Countless people have racked their brains trying to find a way to eliminate the bitterness of raw salt, yet to this day, no one has ever succeeded!"

"That's other people—can they possibly be compared to Magistrate Lu? If you ask me, Magistrate Lu must have found a foolproof method to remove the bitterness from crude salt, which is why he has summoned us here today."

"That makes sense! If others cannot do it, does it mean Magistrate Lu cannot either?"

After a brief flurry of whispered discussions, the guests laid down their chopsticks and turned their burning, expectant gazes toward Lu Chuan.

Magistrate Lu, please, we beg you to stop keeping us in suspense!