Han Du hurriedly went up to greet him and said, "My father-in-law has worked hard, but I don't know what the emperor's will is."
The eunuch relayed Lao Zhu's meaning to Han Du.
Han Du looked confused. Wasn't he just thinking of ways to make treasure banknotes? Why are you still urging me?
Lao Zhu is really impatient, there are people like this who start urging him after only a few days. I also want to make the treasure banknote quickly, but there is no raw material. If you want to make treasure banknotes, you must first have raw materials, right? If you don’t have raw materials, then you have to wait for yourself to make the raw materials first, right?
How could someone start urging me in just a few days?
But Han Du didn't dare to say anything about this.
Who calls Lao Zhu the emperor? He has the final say.
"Please, father-in-law, report back to the emperor. I will keep this in mind and will make the treasure banknotes as soon as possible."
The eunuch smiled and nodded, "With Master Han's words, it will be easier for our family to go back and do business."
Han Du raised his hand towards the eunuch, and a small ingot of one tael of silver fell into the eunuch's hands without leaving a trace. This treasure note was given to Han Du by Miss Qingyun Yun a few days ago, saying that she couldn't go out without money.
The smile on the eunuch's face grew stronger, and he turned around and went back to resume his duties. Even Han Du wanted to see him off, but he stopped him with a casual wave of his hand and asked Han Du to stay.
Seeing the eunuch leaving, Xiao Hei came to Han Du.
"My lord, the kiln is installed. It is only appropriate to ask your lord to light this first fire."
oh? Installed so quickly? Then burn it quickly. Didn't you see that Lao Zhu was getting anxious?
If you make treasure money as soon as possible, you can get rid of the word "Dai Zui" as soon as possible.
Han Du came to the lime kiln and was about to light a fire when he suddenly discovered that the kiln was filled with wood.
"Sir, please light the fire."
Han Du held up the torch, shook his head, pointed at the wood and asked, "Why use wood and why not coal?"
coal?
The craftsmen looked at each other, not understanding what Han Du was talking about.
Han Du saw that they were confused, and he was also confused, "Didn't it mean that people began to use coal since the Yuan Dynasty? Why is this already in the Ming Dynasty? Judging from their expressions, they have never even heard of it. ?”
Maybe the name is different?
"It's a black, stone-like thing, mined from the ground or mountains, just like limestone. This kind of thing can be used for burning, and it is more resistant to burning than wood." Han Du tried explain.
The craftsmen were whispering, and suddenly one of them spoke loudly. "My lord, did you mean charcoal?"
"Yes, it's coal." Han Du's eyes lit up. Another name for coal is coal. "Do you know where it can be found?"
Han Du looked at a gray-haired craftsman.
The craftsman smiled dryly and looked at Han Du, a little at a loss. "Sir, I don't know where it is. I just heard others mention charcoal."
"Is there no coal in this capital?" Han Du frowned.
The craftsman shook his head, "No."
"Then what do the people burn?" How can there be no charcoal? With so many people in the capital lighting fires to cook every day, are they all burning wood? Isn’t the amount of wood needed every day an astronomical figure?
"My lord, ordinary people naturally burn wood. Those who are officials and officials burn charcoal."
Is it true that no one uses coal?
Han Du shook his head and sighed, then threw the torch in his hand to the ground.
It's impossible without coal. In addition to lime, the other raw material for making cement is coal ash. Therefore, coal must be used, and this cannot be replaced by wood fire.
Fortunately, Han Du still remembered that not far to the east of the capital, there was a coal mining area in Jurong that was discovered in later generations.
It should now be called Jurong County and belongs to Yingtian Prefecture.
This coal mining area may not even be ranked nationally. You must know that China is the country with the largest coal reserves in the world. There are dozens of coal mines across the country with reserves of more than 2 billion tons.
Although this coal mining area is not comparable to those real large coal mines, its reserves are about 100 million tons, otherwise it would not be recorded at all.
Han Du's eyes lit up, he thought he should make a fortune!
Since there is no trace of coal in this huge capital city, it means that this mining area must not have been developed.
If only I could buy it...
Then it is not just a matter of making a fortune for yourself, it is also a matter of generations of children and grandchildren having no worries about food and drink.
Buying and selling land was legal and legal in the Ming Dynasty.
Han Du threw the torch on the ground. The craftsmen around him didn't know why, and they didn't dare to come forward and ask.
In the end, Xiong Shi stepped forward and asked Han Du what he meant.
"My lord, what is this?"
Han Du shook his head twice and said, "You can't burn it with wood. It's too slow. The quality of the burned lime is not good. I'm afraid it won't meet my requirements."
"What should we do?" After hearing this, Xiong Shi had no idea for a while.
After all, everyone uses wood to burn lime. Now Han Du said that the lime made from wood is not good, so it can only be burned with pebbles. But there is no pebbles on the market. Could it be that this lime will not be burned?
"I will come up with a solution." Han Du responded immediately, then turned to everyone and said, "Everyone is tired after working all morning. Please disperse and go to eat first. I will wait for the matter of burning lime." We’ll talk about it after we get the coal back.”
Han Du dismissed the craftsmen and left the banknote bureau.
Although the craftsmen were very confused about Han Du's behavior, they even whispered and made a noise for a while.
However, they could not hear the word "eat". At this time, who would think about what Master Tiji wanted to do? Eating was the most important thing.
Ever since Han Du asked Xiong Shi to set up a canteen in the Second Bureau of Banknote Paper and Banknote Printing, all the craftsmen in the past few days have praised Han Du's approach.
But praise is praise, and hard work is indispensable. In line with the principle of eating more here and eating less when you go home, although Xiong Shi provided only simple meals, not even meat, the craftsmen still ate enthusiastically.
Some people even don't eat at home in the morning and don't eat when they go home in the evening in order to eat more free food. They just eat one meal a day.
Xiong Shi looked at the lively scene in the canteen. Although the food he was eating was not his own, it still made him very unhappy.
Han Du now has the only official under his command, so Xiong Shi has almost become the steward of the Baoqian Lifting Department. Seeing that the money from Tijusi turned into food and was devoured by these craftsmen, he was considered to have a good temper even if he didn't curse.
According to the rate Han Du is spending money now, he really doesn't know how long the remaining money can last.
A month? Or two months?
As for the income Han Du mentioned with red lips and white teeth, he couldn't even see a shadow of it.
Han Du came out of the banknote bureau and ran directly to his home.
As soon as he entered the door, he went to find his mother. At this time, her mother was sitting and resting in the patio with Jing Yun.
"Mom, how much money do you have at home?" As soon as Han Du came to his mother, he asked for money.
"Why are you asking this?" My mother was curious why Han Du asked her how much money her family had.
After all, Han Du never cared about this before, and in the past few days after he was released from prison, Han Du never mentioned it.
You're fine, why do you suddenly mention how much money you have at home?
"Mom, please don't worry about it. Just tell me how much money you have at home now, and give it all to me."
Seeing that her son's words were mysterious, Ms. Liu couldn't help but ask further questions. Anyway, his eldest son was the most successful. The whole family was thrown into prison by the emperor, but he was able to turn them over and find a turning point.
Compared to the loss of a family and a family, a little money is nothing.
"There are almost three hundred taels of silver and more than one hundred guan of treasure notes. The rest is some dowry for my mother. Do you want them all?"
"Forget about mother's dowry, just give me the silver and treasure notes." Han Du estimated that more than 400 guan would be enough.
After all, the coal mining areas that have not yet been discovered will definitely be barren mountains. More than 400 guan of silver may not buy much if you want to buy fertile land. But if you buy barren mountains, you can really buy a few of them.
People in this era did not realize the value of barren mountains at all, and they could buy a large piece of them for just a few dozen dollars.
Liu didn't say anything more, she raised her head and motioned to Jing Yun who was standing aside.
Jing Yun muttered and reluctantly turned around to get the money.
Soon Jingyun came to Han Du with a wooden box and said, "Brother, this is a treasure banknote. I can't move the money. What are you doing with so much money at once?"
Han Du reached out and took the wooden box. Seeing that the girl was squeezing it tightly and unwilling to let go, he smiled and comforted: "Don't worry, I won't spend frivolously. If everything goes well, brother, I will earn you another share." How about a big dowry?"
"What dowry? You...you talk nonsense all day long. There is nothing formal about it." As expected, girls are always very shy when the subject of marriage is mentioned. Han Jingyun was no exception. Han Du said that she still had the energy to take care of the wooden box in her hand.
His hand immediately relaxed, and Han Du easily put the treasure banknote into his arms.
Han Du was about to leave when he saw Uncle Mu walking over with a few people.
There were three women in total. Except for a fat woman who was in her thirties, the other two looked to be thirteen or fourteen years old. Although a few people were not well dressed, just linen clothes, they were clean, and the two young ones among them were quite handsome.
Uncle Mu asked the three of them to stop and stepped forward, "Madam, according to your request, these three people were carefully selected by the people of Lao Nu Tooth Shop."
"This is the cook, Mrs. Li," Uncle Mu said, pointing to the fat woman.
"These two maids are both girls from good families. They were introduced by the tooth shop and signed a living contract with us."
After Uncle Mu finished speaking, Han Du looked at him in surprise.
No wonder Uncle Mu was nowhere to be seen early in the morning these days. It turned out that he had gone to do this.
The Han family used to have servants, and there were quite a few, not only the maids who served the master, but also the bearers who carried the father's sedan chair.
