Fu Zhirong picked up the document that Fang Jinshi had dropped on the table, looked it up and down and said, "Young Master only takes this small amount of money, is it enough?"
Fang Jinshi ignored him. Fu Zhirong took the initiative to take out a small seal from his arms and signaled to the accountant who followed him. The accountant took the seal pad from the cloth bag and Fu Zhirong stamped it on the document. He took a seal and handed it to the cashier, saying, "Go and hand it over to the counter."
The accountant took it and went downstairs. He took the initiative to show his kindness, and Fang Jinshi didn't want to show his face too much, so he said: "Thank you very much, shopkeeper Fu."
Fu Zhirong smiled and said: "It's all within the scope of my duties. The young master is so polite. By the way, I heard that the young master recently opened a cloth shop?"
Fang Jinshi said: "That's what happened. Don't worry, shopkeeper Fu, I will definitely follow the rules of Sihai Company and will not use Consort Cai's money."
Fang Jinshi said: "Shopkeeper Fu can say whatever he wants." He said nothing more and lowered his head to take a sip of tea. Judging from these simple words and Fu Zhirong's actions, this person is not a Easy to deal with.
The two sat in silence for a while, the atmosphere was a little awkward, but soon someone downstairs shouted: "Shopkeeper Ji is back."
Not long after, footsteps sounded on the stairs, and two people walked in. The one in front was Ji Changan, and the one behind was the Persian prince Li Ka'an, whose Chinese name was Wang An.
Ji Changan came in and said, "You two have been waiting for a long time. I just accompanied Prince Li Ka'an to the Yamen. I'm really sorry."
Fu Zhirong said: "Everyone knows that shopkeeper Ji is busy, so it is appropriate to wait a little longer. I just happened to get to know the young master well."
Ji Changan glanced at Fang Jinshi, which was quite meaningful, and then said: "Young Master is drinking tea with Prince Li Ka'an. Shopkeeper Fu and I have some official matters to discuss and will be back soon."
Fang Jinshi nodded in agreement, and Ji Changan and Fu Zhirong went downstairs and went out together. Soon another waiter brought good tea. Fang Jinshi looked at the Persian prince and thought, "I wonder if the Persian prince knows that the orb he bought has been given to me as a favor by Cai Meng."
While he was thinking, Prince Likaan took a sip of tea and said, "Good tea, really good tea."
Fang Jinshi asked: "The prince also tastes tea from the Central Plains?"
Prince Li Ka'an said: "I don't dare. I have been accustomed to drinking Central Plains tea since I was ten years old. I always have some at home, but I can only drink it, not taste it."
Fang Jinshi asked: "Can the prince's merchant ship carry tea when it returns?"
Prince Likaan said: "There are some similarities, but the number is very small. The most common ones are ceramics. Porcelain from the Central Plains is a precious thing in the Seljuk Kingdom, but tea is not liked by many people."
Fang Jinshi said: "The prince can make a lot of money if he returns in one boat."
Prince Li Ka'an sighed and said: "It is possible to make some money, but for a long time, the gold, silver, pearls and jade from Persia have been coming in a steady stream, and there will always be an end, and it will always be very bad, but there is nothing you can do about it, you can't stop it. live."
Fang Jinshi was stunned after hearing this, and he suddenly had respect for the Persian prince. You must know that what the Persian prince mentioned was Persia's trade deficit with the Central Plains dynasty in international trade, that is, exporting to China, which is detrimental to Persia in the long run. Yes, the Central Plains dynasty used clay and other raw materials to make porcelain and exchanged it for gold, silver and jade, which was a huge advantage.
It was not easy for the little prince to see this.
Fang Jinshi smiled and said: "When the little prince came, he also loaded some goods from Persia onto the ship, shipped them and sold them, wouldn't it make peace?"
Prince Likaan sighed: "It's not easy. We can only transport some spices to sell them, but it's just a drop in the bucket. People in the Central Plains don't like Persian goods."
Fang Jinshi felt something in his heart when he heard it. He pretended to be casual and said: "I heard that Persian scimitars are good. Prince Lika'an might as well bring some over and give them a try."
Prince Li Ka'an immediately said: "Young master, you are joking. Unless it is purchased by the government, who else would dare to buy weapons in large quantities? I have scimitars and piercing axes, but no one dares to ask for them."
Fang Jinshi heard this and asked curiously: "What is the piercing axe?"
Prince Likaan said: "It is a sharp ax from Persia, an ax that can cut through iron armor."
Fang Jinshi immediately said: "Does the prince have a real object? Can I open my eyes?"
Prince Li Ka'an smiled and said: "It's easy to say, I have it on the boat. I will send one to my house later, but as promised, this ax is not easy to use for chopping wood."
Fang Jinshi also laughed. Prince Ka'an here is easy to communicate with, and he is straightforward. He is a good friend. The two talked for a while, and Prince Li Ka'an said: "The tea in the Central Plains becomes darker the more you drink it. If you don't drink it for a day, I just feel bad.”
Fang Jinshi said: "If the tea is good, the water must also be good. When I have time, I will invite the prince to drink tea at Yunzhuang behind Hanshan Temple. There is mountain spring water there, and the tea has more flavor."
Prince Li Ka'an nodded, looked at the tea, and said: "When I was a child, my family was poor, and Persia was often a land of water-poor sand dunes. The water I drank was turbid, and the water there tasted bitter. How could I have thought about it? It will still smell so mellow after being soaked in water.”
Fang Jinshi remained silent, and Prince Li Ka'an added: "When I was young, I thought that I must find a way to turn turbid water into clean water to benefit the village. But today, I realized that it was just a fantasy. Water is just turbid water, how can it be turned into clear water?"
Fang Jinshi said: "Prince Li Ka'an does not need to be too anxious. It is not impossible for muddy water to turn into clear water."
Prince Li Ka'an raised his eyebrows and said anxiously: "Do you have any idea?"
Fang Jinshi stuttered: "This...let me...think about it..." It is not difficult to turn turbid water into clear water. It can be filtered and distilled, but it is not very practical for ordinary people. The best way is Hydrostatic agent, but Fang Jinshi has no idea what the main ingredients of this hydrostatic agent are and how it is made.
Prince Li Ka'an looked at his expression and said disappointedly: "Then... young master, help me pay more attention. If there is a way, I am willing to spend no matter how much it costs."
Fang Jinshi nodded in agreement, and suddenly he thought of something else, so he said, "I have a way, I don't know if it will work."
Prince Likaan said: "What can we do?"
Fang Jinshi said: "Let the prince have a try first." He went to the door and called a waiter and asked him to prepare a basin of turbid water. Then he took a piece of paper and wrote a prescription, and asked the waiter to go to the drug store to buy alum for him. Stone comes back.
The boy came back after buying the alum stone. Fang Jinshi crushed it and sprinkled it in the basin of turbid water. Then he said to Prince Li Ka'an, "Let's drink tea for a while to see if it's any use."
After purification, alum stone becomes alum. In addition to being used as medicine, alum can also purify water. This can be learned in junior high school chemistry. Fang Jinshi ate the alum stone given to him by Golden Cotton this morning and knew what alum stone looked like. I just remembered it.
However, this alum stone has not been purified, and Fang Jinshi doesn't know how effective it is. Prince Li Ka'an took the tea, squatted in the basin and stared at it. Fang Jinshi said with a smile: "Prince, don't be too anxious, this is very slow, you must It took a long time to do it.”
The alum stone was indeed effective. The dirt in the turbid water slowly condensed and settled, and the water slowly became clear. Prince Li Ka'an's feet were numb when he was squatting, so he thought of moving the stool over and sitting down to watch. Fang Jinshi was secretly amused, too. by him.
After a long time, at noon, the water in the basin was relatively clear. Prince Li Ka'an stood up straight, stretched his muscles and said: "Young master, this method is really good. What is this medicine? I am willing to pay a lot of money for it." , Young Master, just ask." He is wealthy and needs something urgently, so he should ask for a big price.
Fang Jinshi chuckled, took the prescription directly and said: "This thing is called alum stone. It is usually sold in drug stores. The little prince can just buy it from the medicinal material merchant. Between you and me, a small method is needed. How much money do you need?" .”
Prince Li Ka'an heard that he didn't want any money. He stood up straight and said, "Thank you very much. Based on these words of the young master, I have recognized you as my friend."
Fang Jinshi's mood suddenly became brighter, and the previous anger towards Fu Zhirong was gone. Although Prince Ka'an had not known each other for a short time, he could already feel his straightforwardness, kindness, and trustworthiness.
Prince Li Ka'an said: "Young Master, it's already noon. I'll treat you to a drink."
Fang Jinshi said: "I still have something to do with Shopkeeper Ji, so let's wait for another day."
Prince Li Ka'an was eager to go back and test the efficacy of the alum stone, so he said goodbye and went back. Fang Jinshi saw him leaving in a hurry, and suddenly remembered that he hadn't told him that the orb was already in his home, but it seemed that he was worried about it. For Li Kaan, this is not important at all.
Just after Prince Li Ka'an left, Ji Changan came back. He came back alone. Fu Zhirong did not come back with him. Ji Changan apologized repeatedly. He was busy with official matters and had not finished them until now. Fang Jinshi said: "Time That’s right, how about we go outside and have a few drinks?”
Ji Changan agreed, and the two of them left Sihai Bank and walked more than a hundred steps west. There was a medium-sized restaurant called "Songxia Ju". Ji Changan was a regular customer and entered first.
As soon as Fang Jinshi walked in, he heard someone shout: "Mr. Fang, what a coincidence, I meet you here."
Fang Jinshi looked up and saw that it was Shi Hao. He was sitting alone at the table in the hall. The table was empty. He had just arrived to wait for the food. Fang Jinshi nodded to him and said, "Mr. Shi, I'm glad to meet you."
Shi Hao said: "It's better to meet by chance than to invite. How about having a few drinks together?"
Fang Jinshi and Ji Chang'an inevitably had some secret things to talk about about the dispute between Cai and Zhao. They didn't want outsiders to come together, but since he invited him like this, Fang Jinshi was not good at rejecting other people's kindness, so he had to say: "Okay, Shopkeeper Ji , how about we have a few drinks together?”
Ji Chang'an said: "Let's go to the private room upstairs together." So the three of them went upstairs and found a private room to sit down. It was quiet here and few people came. From a distance, the scenery was pretty good.
