At noon, Li Hong, Liu Wenzheng, and Jiang Tiansheng came together again as if they had made an appointment.
I was busy with official duties, and I was so busy a year ago that I could only come over during lunch time and have a meal. I became very familiar with Xiao Chen, and I didn't take him seriously.
"I'm not telling you, Fatty Li, but your Ministry of Industry doesn't do serious things!" Jiang Tiansheng sat down and complained to Li Hong, "Look at the snow and ice on the street. I almost fell down when I came out of Libu Street just now. A bastard!"
"The snow is falling so hard that it can't be cleared away!" Li Hong said, "I don't know what happened this year. The snow is so heavy!"
"It can't be cleaned up." Xiao Chen said, "I saw a lot of big trucks dumping coal ash and slag outside the city yesterday. That thing is best used to pave the road. There is no need to spread it flat, just sprinkle it directly. The first layer will prevent slipping, and you can just sweep it away when the snow melts, and it won’t be too dirty.”
"Is that good?" Li Hong was overjoyed.
"It's definitely better than the sand you worked so hard to find. Besides, you don't have to spend money to transport the sand in? The coal ash and slag are thrown out anyway, so it can be directly used as waste." Xiao Chen said.
"I'll do it when I get back to the ministry in the afternoon. I'll try it on a few streets first. If it works, that'll be great." Li Hong said.
"What Li Hong said, can you still have the idea of Mr. Xiao?" Liu Wenzheng said with a smile, "When you rebuilt the temple in the palace, wasn't it because Mr. Hou gave you the idea and let you do it?" It’s a big win in front of the emperor!”
"Then I'll take advantage of the Marquis's wine and offer him a toast to express my gratitude?" Li Hong said with a smile.
"By the way, have you set up the examination room for the general examination?" Xiao Chen asked, "I'm afraid it will be cold in spring this year. Don't let your shed be ventilated. If a few people get cold-blooded during the examination, then It’s a joke.”
"Ha, that means you, Mr. Xiao, are worried about this. It's fine if you don't say it, but it makes you really angry when you mention it!" Jiang Tiansheng said, "In order to save money, Cheng Youwen built the examination room like a pig pen! Later, when you, the Marquis, took charge, you tore down the building and rebuilt it. This was not just completed, but we still needed tables, chairs, and benches."
"Mr. Jiang, you cannot ignore this. These candidates have great powers and can use any means to cheat. Don't let anything get caught in your tables, chairs and benches. Once something happens, it will be a big deal. The aftermath of Cheng Youwen's incident is still lingering, and if something happens again, the emperor will be angry to death!" Li Hong said.
"I am responsible for the desks, chairs, benches, pens, ink, paper, and inkstones. There will never be anything wrong. But I am afraid that those guys will carry pieces of paper in their clothes. There are thousands of people, but it is not easy to check. Anyway, there are cheating successes in every subject. It is really hard to prevent!" "Jiang Tiansheng said.
"This is really difficult to do." Liu Wenzheng said, "They are all pregnant, and they have some status. It is not good to have them take off their clothes for inspection. It is unbecoming. Besides, people who are cold in spring can't stand it. I will participate In the year of the scientific examination, several people took off their clothes and searched them, but nothing was found. They were so angry that they almost stopped taking the exam!"
"I think it would be better to uniformly dress in uniform, prepare a few hothouses, and have them all change into the clothes we have prepared when they come. This will not be indecorous, but will also show the emperor's grace, and can avoid them. Bringing private goods." Xiao Chen said.
"Okay, Mr. Xiao, it's easy for you to say. How much money does it cost to dress thousands of people? Their clothes are all regulated, big hats, green round collars, red silk boots, the materials are not cheap , the tailoring needs to be Chinese style. Since it is a gift from the emperor, it will definitely not be possible to deal with it. If it is similar, it will cost dozens of taels of silver!" Jiang Tiansheng said.
Thousands of pieces, that would cost more than 100,000 taels of silver. Where can I get it? Ask the household department for it? That's for sure if you don't come, you'll be safe from being scolded.
"This is easy." Xiao Chen said with a smile, "Can't we just find someone to sponsor it?"
"Oh, it would be great if the Marquis is willing to spend the money. Not only will our emperor be happy, but our Ministry of Rites will also benefit from it." Jiang Tiansheng said happily.
"What am I spending on?" Xiao Chen said, "Don't say I don't have money. Even if I have money, I can't be in the limelight."
"Then who can we ask for sponsorship?" Jiang Tiansheng was greatly disappointed.
"Since we are making clothes, of course we need to find people who make clothes to sponsor us." Xiao Chen said with a smile, "Whoever makes the best clothes in Fengyang City and has the biggest business is him."
"Shi Mingtao?" Jiang Tiansheng scratched his head, "But I don't have any friendship with him. Besides, it's hard to talk to him about a hundred thousand taels of silver..."
The idea is to let Xiao Chen come forward and say that Shi Mingtao has a good relationship with your Marquis. Besides, this is your idea and you must take care of it. Who told you to say it? You have to take care of what you said!
Before Xiao Chen could say anything, Xiao Yu came in and reported that Shi Mingtao wanted to see...
"Oh, it turns out that the Marquis has guests here, and they are all distinguished guests. The little one came unexpectedly, so why don't we just avoid him for now?" Shi Mingtao came in and saw the three adults sitting there with dignity, and he gave them a Li, turn around and leave.
In fact, he was just pretending. Xiao Yu told him that these three people were there.
"Boss Shi, why are you seeing me outside?" Jiang Tiansheng was particularly affectionate. He stood up and grabbed him in person, forcing him to sit down and not allowing him to leave, as if this was his home...
"It's not like we're strangers. We're all familiar with each other. It's just that the rules of respect and inferiority prohibit it!" Shi Mingtao said half-heartedly.
"Old Shi, please pull me down. You and Mr. Xiao Hou and Mr. Zhu Hou are sitting together to eat together. You think I haven't seen you? Now you are breaking the rules with us. Why don't we deserve to sit with you? ?" Li Hong laughed.
"Oops, what Mr. Li said is not good!" Shi Mingtao grinned, "This is a situation where I can't sit or walk. I'm in a dilemma."
"Then you have to do it for what it is, so much nonsense!" Liu Wenzheng said, "You are late and still being coy, I will punish you with three glasses of wine!"
"Accept the punishment and accept the punishment!" Shi Mingtao was happy, "I punished myself with three cups of wine, which is a punishment for the three adults!"
"No, no, no," Jiang Tiansheng said hurriedly, "Wen Zheng is joking with you, do you take it seriously? I have official duties in the afternoon and can't drink, so I will drink tea instead of wine and give you a drink, Boss Shi."
"Then I don't dare to drink this glass of wine." Shi Mingtao is such a shrewd person. He is not very familiar with Jiang Tiansheng. He is a dignified right minister of the Ministry of Etiquette and a third-rank court official. Why should he respect him? His wine?
If it was easy to say when the Queen Mother was around, it's hard to say now...
Seeing the strange smiles on the faces of Xiao Chen and others, I felt that something was wrong.
It's like a mouse has entered the cat's nest.
"Don't you dare to give me face?" Jiang Tiansheng said with a smile, "If you don't drink this wine, I won't be able to keep my face. It will fall to the ground with a clatter and break into pieces."
"Don't dare, don't dare, can't, drink, drink!" Shi Mingtao had no choice but to stand up and raise the glass with both hands, lightly touch the rim of Jiang Tiansheng's tea bowl, and drink it all in one gulp.
People say that for this reason, even if it is poisonous wine, you have to drink it!
