"Master, is it...windy?"
"Wait a moment, wait a moment."
In the Jinchengfang house, Li Ang and Chai Cuiqiao sat at the table, staring at the talisman on the screen window.
Huh...huh...
A weak breeze blew around the yellow paper talisman, blowing through the screen window into the room, slightly subtracting a hint of summer heat.
"Ahem, isn't this useful? Now let's eat it."
Li Ang clapped his palms without changing his expression. After studying in the academy for a month, the talisman he wrote can barely function normally. It is not counted as the [Qingfeng Talisman], let alone the [Cool Breeze Talisman], it can only be regarded as the [Wind Talisman]. symbol】.
"Well..."
Chai Cuiqiao looked away from the crumbling talisman suspiciously and picked up the spoon.
The most indispensable thing in late summer is iced watermelon. The master and servant ate half of the melon while enjoying the breeze.
Watermelon was brought to the Yu State by Hu merchants along the Silk Road. The original watermelon was small in size, had many seeds, white flesh, thick skin, and was hollow inside. It was completely unpalatable.
After more than two hundred years of improvement in the Academy, it gradually became larger, the skin became thinner, the flesh was plump, the flesh was red and the taste was sweet.
"Such a melon costs 300 yuan. It's really an exaggeration. It's enough to buy four kumquat trees full of fruits. The Dongting tangerines of Pingjiang Prefecture that are specially paid as tribute are just the price."
Chai Cuiqiao, who is in charge of managing the family's money, couldn't help but mutter while digging into the watermelon with a spoon.
These are all melons from greenhouses. If you think they are expensive, I still think they are expensive.
This sentence popped up subconsciously in Li Ang's mind. He shook his head and said: "After all, it is a Manichaean holy melon. Every year, as soon as the fruit farmers grow it, it will be bought by the Manichean temples in Chang'an City at a higher price."
"Mani Temple...is it Dayun Guangming Temple?"
Chai Cuiqiao thought for a while, "Why do they like eating melons so much?"
"Because of the doctrine."
Li Ang said casually: "Manichaeism, like the Yi religion, is a sect that originated from Persia. Its teachings believe that there are two forces of light and darkness in the world under the Haotian, competing with each other. If the light disappears, the darkness will grow, and if the darkness disappears, the darkness will grow. The longer it is, the clearer it will be.
The current world is darkly strong and brightly weak,
There is light factor in plants. As long as believers eat more vegetables and less meat, they can absorb the light factor and transmit it to the Kingdom of Light through their own will, which can help the King of Light return to the world, seal the darkness, and balance light and darkness.
And because melons have the most light factors, in the view of Manichaeism, the more melons you eat, the faster you can help balance light and dark.
Eating melon is equivalent to saving the world.
The largest and most delicious watermelon became their holy melon. "
Chai Cuiqiao opened her mouth and said in surprise: "Isn't this... too tortuous?"
"Who says it isn't?"
Li Ang took a mouthful of watermelon and said vaguely: "The same goes for the Haotian Temple. A long time ago, the Haotian Temple did not allow anyone to spread such things at all, and severely eliminated any non-Haotian beliefs. Later, for some reason, the restrictions were relaxed.
As long as they jointly recognize the supremacy of Haotian, some sects are allowed to exist.
That’s why there are all kinds of strange doctrines and worldviews.
Hmm... Logically speaking, Manichaeism should also award the honor of saint to the agriculture professors in the academy to thank them for improving such delicious holy melons. "
The Yu State was tolerant and open, but the status of the Academy was too high and too powerful, making it difficult for various sects to show aggression in Chang'an.
Zoroastrianism, Nestorianism, Manichaeism and other barbarian religions all stayed in their respective cities honestly. During holidays, I would also go out and deliver eggs, vegetables, etc. to my neighbors.
Li Ang said casually: "Dayun Guangming Temple will hold a holy festival in the autumn, and Chang'an citizens are invited to eat melons for free. The one who eats the most melons will also receive a hundred gold reward."
"Eh?"
An eager expression immediately appeared on Chai Cuiqiao's face.
"Forget it,"
Li Ang knew what she was thinking by looking at her expression, and said casually: "The last champion was their saint, and she ate ten watermelons in one breath.
To be able to eat so much without being stuffed to death must be a very talented practitioner.
The champion of the melon-eating crowd belongs to him. "
"That's it."
Chai Cuiqiao curled her lips in dissatisfaction and said: "Practitioners still come to participate in the competition, isn't this bullying ordinary people?
How did you eat ten melons..."
The two finished chatting and finished eating the watermelon. Chai Cuiqiao chopped the rind into pieces and threw it into the garden.
Li Ang got up and returned to the study, took out the last silver ingot at home from the drawer, and placed it two inches above the palm of his hand.
rustle--
The ink thread stabbed out automatically, and was about to consume the silver ingot, but suddenly stopped in mid-air.
"call."
Li Ang took a deep breath, circulated his spiritual veins, and forced Mosi to pause.
Mo Si swayed on the palm of her hand for a while, unable to touch the silver ingot, and finally slowly shrank and retreated under the skin.
It worked.
Li Ang let out a long sigh and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
After more than a month of trying, he gradually felt that Mo Si would change slightly according to the direction of the spiritual energy in the spiritual veins.
“Think of my aura as an electric current, myself as a generator, and the ink as a superconductor.
I can control Mo Si to a certain extent by adjusting the trend of spiritual energy.
For example, it attaches to bones and wraps them like a steel mesh to increase bone strength.
Or attach to muscles to strengthen strength and body.
Instead of relying on instinct like before. "
Li Ang thought silently: "This process will continue to consume spiritual energy. Maybe in the future, ink threads can be controlled to pierce the body surface and evolve into various shapes.
Such as gloves, blades, hammers, etc.
But all he can do now is to stop Mo Si from piercing his palms and swallowing the silver ingots.
If you change it to adamantine... I'm afraid it still won't work.
Mosi's devouring desire will exceed the control range of the spiritual energy. The Qi sea must be expanded and the total amount of spiritual energy must be increased. "
The kendo lesson using adamantine will be next month.
We're running out of time.
Li Ang had already tried to pull out the ink silk, but this thing had been deeply parasitized into the skeletal muscles, and it was impossible to remove it under the current conditions.
Unless he stood in a giant mine full of fine gold and let all the silk threads in his body crawl out of his own accord.
But in that case... can the bones and muscles that have been eroded by the cavity still support him to survive?
"In a sense, moth is more vicious than parasites like Guinea worm."
Li Ang shook his head, dropped the silver ingot in his hand, and watched Mo Si swallow it up.
The family didn't have much money. The 1,500 guan that Aunt Song sent from Zhenzhou and Yu Miaoshui got from selling his property had spent 1,000 guan on gold and silver, leaving 500 guan.
I don’t know when the remaining three thousand strings will be sent again.
“We can’t just sit back and settle for nothing, we have to find ways to make more money.”
Li Ang muttered to himself and took out a piece of white paper from the drawer.
There are many ways to make money after entering the Academy. Apart from the most basic drawing of talismans, the most direct and efficient one is to register a patent.
The Academy has always encouraged doctors, teachers, disciples and even ordinary Yu people to study things, delve into the principles of heaven and earth, and apply them in the world.
At the same time, the academy also knew that research would have no tangible benefits and would only make Neo-Confucianism the private property of a few wealthy and leisurely scholar-bureaucrats.
To this end, the Academy has set up a publication office and a patent office. Any inventions and creations of special value can be registered as patents. The Academy will negotiate with big business houses to fight for the interests of the inventors.
For example, Gong Yang Deming, a doctor of engineering whom Cheng Juxiu is currently studying under, has registered drawing patents for dozens of types of ships and can receive patent fees of 30,000 yuan per year.
His disciples who assist in research can also receive considerable amounts of money.
"Patent theft is unavoidable, and there will always be small workshops secretly producing. But those businesses that want to become bigger and stronger must pay patent fees to the Academy in full every year, otherwise they will be sued.
But in Yu State, if you want to file a lawsuit with the Academy, you are simply going to the toilet with a lantern - courting death. "
Li Ang silently thanked Ichiban Academy for its status and began to write and draw on the drawings.
"Master, what are you drawing?"
Chai Cuiqiao, who knocked on the door and came in, saw Li Ang writing furiously. He came over and stood next to the desk, tilted his head and looked at the drawings, and asked curiously.
Li Ang replied casually: "Soap."
"what is that?"
"It's what our family uses for bathing every day."
Li Ang smiled slightly. There are many ways for people to clean their skin, such as rice water, soap locust, and plant ash.
Wealthier families, in order to pursue the cleaning effect, would use bath beans - something that the scholar who married the prime minister's daughter accidentally ingested.
The recipes of bath beans vary. The most luxurious bath beans use white bean crumbs as the main ingredient, and add incense, white sandalwood, nard, musk, clove and other spices to make it fragrant and pleasant.
Egg white and pig pancreas, which can moisturize the skin, are also added.
The price is expensive, the cleaning effect is quite good, and the smell is very good. No wonder people mistakenly think it is something edible.
As for Xuegong, in fact, it has also made considerable improvements to the bath beans.
Sugar, lard, pig pancreas, spices and other ingredients are blended and ground in proportion, then heated and pressed into shape, which is called "pancreas".
Its ingredients are fatty acid soaps, which are just one step away from full soap.
When Li Ang was still in Zhenzhou, he had already made some simple soaps from plant ash, as well as high-end soaps made from beef and mutton oil, which were convenient for washing clothes and bathing at home, which Chai Cuiqiao was full of praise for.
What he has to do now is to draw a complete process drawing, register it at the Academy Patent Office, and make a fortune.
