Take some bacon that has been dried at home, wash some bitter vegetables, cut into pieces, wait until the millet rice is cooked, put the sliced bacon and bitter vegetables and simmer for a while.
"Daughter-in-law, it's time to eat." Zhang Yang shouted towards Li Yue's room.
"Don't eat!" Li Yue replied sullenly.
The fragrant bacon stewed rice came out of the oven, and the aroma filled the yard. I served a bowl to the little bear and watched him bury his whole head in the bowl and eat happily.
Zhang Yang was eating by himself with a bowl in hand.
Soon Li Yue came out of the room. She consciously filled a bowl for herself, then sat quietly and started eating.
Zhang Yang reached out and pinched her tender cheeks twice more. Li Yue was still chewing food in her mouth, with dissatisfaction in her eyes.
It took three days to readjust the pulp recipe and seven days to dry a large bundle of asparagus.
Asparagus is a very cheap medicinal material, and some people also use this asparagus to make coir raincoats.
It is a very common weed in humid areas.
The medicine twister brought from the Imperial Medical Office is quite useful and comes in handy.
Crush the dried asparagus with medicinal twisters and soak it in water for two days.
Waiting for the pulp to be completed is like waiting for a good harvest. With raw materials and production technology, there are conditions for expanding the market. In Datang, where trade development is not yet complete, it is not difficult to find a market.
This is a big deal and a long-term deal.
It can bring considerable economic income to the family.
It is a gratifying thing to be one step closer to a better life.
Aunt Wang is reporting on the recent situation in the village. The two aunts are the managers of the village. Li Yue does not go to the village. The two aunts often go to the village to see the recent changes.
What Li Yue is most concerned about now is the situation of the children in the village. She wants to train these children to become a big help.
The business in the village has also reached its best period. The supply of braised pork and milk tea exceeds the supply, and the raw materials for milk tea are almost sold out.
Li Yue looked at the account, "When will the Turkic milk powder be delivered again?"
Zhang Yang observed the quality of the pulp and said, "There is no news."
"If there is no milk powder, our business will stop." Li Yue calculated, "I don't know how much Qingque has left. If there is no milk tea to sell, we will make a lot less money!"
As he said this, Li Yue slapped Zhang Yang's claws away with a fierce face, "I don't know what happened to my husband recently?" Why do you always like to pinch your face?
The weather was very good. Zhang Yang sighed heavily: "Maybe King Wei is already thinking of a way. Our family doesn't have to worry. That little fat man is more anxious than us."
"Sure enough, our family still has a surplus, so we're not in a hurry."
The couple reached a consensus and nodded in unison.
The courtyard under the sun was very warm and quiet. After a while, Li Yue stretched her back, stretched out her arms and took a deep breath. When she was tired from reading, she closed her eyes and lay down for a while.
In the village at the foot of Lishan Mountain, tables and cases were placed in front of the village, where a large number of people were sitting, drinking hot milk tea and eating meals.
Changsun Wuji looked very unhappy from a distance. As a counselor beside His Majesty, he has not suffered too many losses at the hands of others in these years.
Now that the business between King Wei and Zhang Yang is so good, the original members should not be allowed to be redeemed by His Highness King Wei.
The money I bought with one thousand gu before, this time Qiu Lie Zhang Yang has already earned back.
"Father, I've asked before. Today's braised pork and cakes have been sold out, and they may not be available in the next two days." Changsun Chong hurried over and returned empty-handed.
Seeing that his father was going hungry, Changsun Chong took out two more cakes and said, "There is still some dry food here."
Changsun Wuji turned his back and said, "You can eat it yourself."
Why did he listen to King Wei's words and redeem his shares?
King Wei is only eleven years old now, how can he have such deep thoughts?
After many calculations in my mind, this matter is indeed inseparable from Zhang Yang.
It's very unpleasant to be plotted against, especially by someone you despise.
Struggling a little in his heart, Changsun Wuji stroked his beard and sighed, "I still underestimate people."
King Wei was able to make money, and the Queen and His Majesty were not as unhappy as Changsun Wuji.
Earning money from one's own children can also relieve the pressure on the palace.
It's not good news that the prince is a businessman. After learning from the past few times, Li Tai is more cautious in doing business. He only uses relatives of the clan, so there is no problem in name.
Now Li Tai is very proud, walking next to his father, the emperor and his mother is always windy.
"Yue'er and her husband don't live in the village?" Queen Changsun whispered.
"I come here on weekdays, but not in recent days." Li Tai explained.
"Yue'er, this child is usually very quiet and doesn't like such lively scenes."
Looking around at the neatly arranged houses and clean and smooth roads, Queen Changsun praised: "This child has taken care of this place really well. How did he do it?"
After others have a fief, they will exploit it to some extent, and no matter how good people are, they will also give some benefits to the fief.
Who would keep sending money to the village like Zhang Yang?
In his words, this village is so poor that it is not worthy of exploitation. If you want to have exploitation in the future, you must first make the village rich.
Li Tai thought in his mind, just like Zhang Yang is raising that animal now, when the animal grows up and is fattened, sooner or later it will become Zhang Yang's meal and food in his mouth.
With this in mind, Li Tai took his father and mother around here and introduced everything here. From the beginning of the village's construction to now, he often works here to lose weight. He also contributed to the construction of the village.
He pointed to a wall and said, "Father, Emperor and Mother, this wall was built by my sons and ministers."
Li Shimin stroked his beard and nodded.
Li Tai pointed to a row of clothes drying racks in the distance, "These racks were all made by Er Chen himself. In order to cut these wood, Er Chen cut his hands several times."
"There is also this path. In order to build this road, Erchen carried sand and gravel for a day. Several stones of gravel were carried by Erchen himself in bags." Li Tai grinned, "I finished carrying the sand and gravel that day. , when I got up the next day, all my bones felt like they were broken, and I couldn’t stand up because of the pain, as if I’d been beaten.”
After sweating a lot in this village, Li Tai entered the village from the beginning and watched a small, run-down village change little by little to become as beautiful as it is now.
Li Shimin looked into the distance. It was Li Yuanzheng and Zhang Gongjin playing chess.
"You came here to do hard work to lose weight?"
"Well, I want to lose weight. Doctor Sun also said that being too fat is bad for your health."
"Yes." Queen Changsun nodded, "If you want to lose weight, you can eat less on weekdays."
"I just can't control my mouth. I can eat whatever I want." Li Tai grinned.
There are also furniture sellers in this village. The villagers in the village have already used these furniture. Li Shimin took a few more glances. Chairs, recliners, and flush toilets were already available in the palace.
But the exquisite waterwheel is very novel.
Returning to the Lishan Palace, Li Shimin listened to the guard's report that the village was governed by a man named Shangguan Yi.
"Who is Shangguan Yi?"
"Back to Your Majesty, Shangguan Yi was originally a scholar of Hongwen Hall. He left Hongwen Hall two months ago. He said that his family was poor and he wanted to earn more money outside."
"A scholar should have a good future, why should he worry about money?"
"In my humble position, I also found out that Shangguan Yi is Shangguan Hong's son."
Li Shimin opened his eyes and frowned: "Shangguan Hong? Shangguan Hong during the Jiangdu mutiny?"
"Yes, it is indeed Shangguan Hong. Shangguan Hong's father is Shangguan Xian."
"It turned out to be after the former Sui minister."
The court also used many famous officials from the former Sui Dynasty, and Yang Shidao and the others were the talents left over from the former Sui Dynasty.
"I remember it was the Daye Year, which was also the season when the grass grows and the orioles fly. There were heroes from all walks of life discussing with my father the raising of troops. At that time, Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty was touring the south of the Yangtze River. Yu Wenhua, his two brothers and the people of the Sima family initiated the He rebelled and killed Yang Guang, and many ministers who followed Yang Guang were also killed, Shangguan Hong was one of them."
Unexpectedly, Shangguan Hong still had a son left in the world. Li Shimin said doubtfully: "Yu Wenhua and others killed them all. I remember that Shangguan Hong's family members were also killed."
"Back to Your Majesty, I have inquired from my humble position. There is a record of when Shangguan Yi joined the Hongwen Hall. At that time, he was ordained as a monk in order to take refuge. Later, he was appreciated by Yang Gongren of Yangzhou, met the warrior Xun, and was recommended to the Hongwen Hall."
Li Shimin smiled bitterly, "When the world was in chaos, how many heroes were left..."
The guard lowered his head in silence and said nothing.
"Since he is a famous minister and has talent and learning, why didn't Hongwen Hall promote talents in the first place?"
"As a humble person, I didn't ask too much."
This person's talent can be seen from his management of this village. Zhang Yang's ability to build such a beautiful place must be related to Shangguan Yi's talent.
A young talent was right in front of him, but he fell into Zhang Yang's hands. Li Shimin felt heartbroken.
"Ask Zhao Guogong to meet Shangguan Yi and ask him if he has any plans to become an official in the court."
"Here."
After a busy day, Shangguan Yi returned to his home tiredly. Living under the same roof as Li Xiaogong also had disadvantages. On weekdays, his life was very poor. His clothes were scattered around. After taking off his boots, he threw them away and lay down. Just go to bed and don't wash your own clothes.
I'll discuss with Niu Chuang another day whether we can build a few more houses in the village and let Li Xiaogong move out. It's hard to rest and relax with the thunderous snoring.
The Supreme Emperor Li Yuan moved to the village, and Zou Guogong Zhang Gongjin also lived in the village. Even the King of Wei also placed a house in the village. At present, there is no room available and there is not enough room for people to live in.
Shangguan Yi was eating the food sent by the villagers and looked up to see Changsun Wuji coming to the door.
"I've met Zhao Guogong." Shangguan Yi cupped his hands and said.
Looking at the bowl in Shangguan Yi's hand, Changsun Wuji added, "You eat first. After eating, I want to discuss something with you."
Zhao Guogong is now a very popular minister in the court and is also one of His Majesty's most valued ministers.
Shangguan Yi did not dare to neglect, took a few more mouthfuls of food, wiped his mouth and straightened his clothes, then walked out of the house.
Under the starry night, several dogs barked from the village.
Shangguan Yi bowed slightly and said, "Mr. Zhao Guo, please speak."
Changsun Wuji clasped his hands behind his back, "Did you work in Hongwen Hall?"
"I'm lucky enough to be able to work in the Hongwen Hall due to the appreciation, but I feel that my knowledge is still shallow..."
"This village is well managed." Changsun Wuji interrupted.
"These are all given by Zhang Shilang." Shangguan Yi saluted again, "Zhang Shilang often said that we should learn from each other and make progress together. I have thought about the meaning of this. Everyone has their own strengths, and they should learn from each other's strengths to make up for their own shortcomings. If not, it’s all about learning from each other.”
"Taking advantage of others' strengths?"
"Learn from each other." Shangguan Yi smiled.
"Interesting statement."
"I also think so. From the beginning of the construction of this village to the present, the whole village has worked together, and I have not done much."
"And I also learned a lot from it, such as unified management, unified distribution, formulating three-to-five-year plans, increasing the village's output value, and rationally allocating manpower. These are all things I have never learned before."
"Have you ever thought about becoming an official in the imperial court?"
"Of course I have thought about it, and I also want to become an official in the court."
Changsun Wuji turned around and looked at him, "I can recommend it to Your Majesty. There is still a shortage of one or two secretaries in the court. What do you think?"
Shangguan Yi took a step back and said, "Mr. Zhao Guo, I have been able to get this far with the help of many noble people, and now I have to be looked after by Minister Zhang. If I am recommended by Duke Zhao again, I don't know how to repay you."
He smiled bitterly and could only salute again to the important figure in the court in front of him, "If one day I can rely on my own ability to become an official in the court, I will repay the appreciation of Duke Zhao."
"Are you rejecting me?"
"I don't dare. I just want to be able to manage this place well one day and make some achievements..."
"By then, you can join the court as an official without my recommendation." Changsun Wuji said solemnly.
"Thank you very much, Mr. Zhao Guo, for your kindness. I would also like to try the results of many years of hard study here."
"So, I understand what you mean."
Changsun Wuji patted his shoulder, said nothing, shook his head and left with a sigh.
After standing there for a long time, Shangguan Yi turned around and saw Li Xiaogong. He looked around again and said, "Prince Hejian, when did you..."
Li Xiaogong cleared his throat, "I saw you talking to Changsun Old Fox when I got up at night."
Shangguan Yi was stunned for a long time.
"Don't worry, I didn't hear your conversation clearly." While explaining, Li Xiaogong returned to the house and lay down on the bed. After two or three breaths, he started snoring again.
Falling asleep so quickly...
Shangguan Yi closed the door and sat down again to read the book.
"Go to bed early."
Li Xiaogong's words came from behind again, and the snoring stopped for a moment, then started again after saying this.
Looking back, Li Xiaogong was still snoring loudly and sleeping soundly.
Reading a book alone late at night, Shangguan Yi thought about this conversation. It was always right to learn more. If he stayed in this village for the time being, he could not live up to Zhang Shilang's good intentions.
It is indeed good to be recommended by Changsun Wuji, but what he owes must be repaid. Now that he has nothing, how can he repay Zhao Guogong? I don’t even want to become Zhao Guogong’s pawn and be manipulated by others.
Ever since I was little, I’ve heard my father talk about how dangerous power is.
(End of chapter)
