"The general can't let us repay him. If he gave hundreds of thousands of cotton-padded clothes to the army for free, we wouldn't be able to survive."
"The Ministry of War is here to buy it." Hou Junji said four words through his teeth.
Li Chengqian also smiled bitterly. If Zhang Yang wanted to be bought by the Ministry of War, he would just say so, and he would also say some embarrassing words.
This person has the word "making money" engraved in his bones.
Zhang Yang smiled and said, "General Hou, what's the price?"
"This..." Hou Jun thought about it for a long time, "I will report it to His Majesty when the court starts after the new year."
"Please tell your Majesty that the market price of our cotton-padded clothes is forty cents apiece. If the army wants to buy them in large quantities, our price can be cheaper. Everything is easy to negotiate."
"I hate dealing with businessmen most in my life." Hou Junji said in a low voice.
"The general is wrong. In fact, whether it is food, clothing, housing, or transportation, our lives are inseparable from dealing with businessmen."
In front of the prince, Hou Junji couldn't get angry, so he had to leave in anger.
Zhang Yang looked at Li Chengqian: "Our printing factory has been improved again, and now the output can be increased by 30%. We plan to continue printing this volume of extracurricular readings next year. What do you think, Prince?"
Li Chengqian nodded, "That's very good."
After another glance at the snowstorm outside the palace, Zhang Yang cupped his hands and said, "I will go back first."
"You must come to the New Year's Eve party."
As soon as he walked out of the palace, a gust of cold wind came towards him. He waved his hand towards the prince to indicate that he heard it.
After returning from the East Palace, they were blown away by the wind and snow. When they returned to their warm home, Xiao Wu and Li Yue were working on the topic.
Seeing Zhang Yang coming back trembling, Li Yue stepped forward to help brush the snow off his clothes.
After coming to the stove to keep warm, Zhang Yang took another sip of hot water and felt much better. "The imperial court has already recessed. From tomorrow onwards, we don't have to go to the East Palace to be on duty. It's a rare long vacation."
When serving the emperor as an official in the court, don't think about weekends and singles. Whether there is a festival that allows you to rest depends on the emperor's mood.
At any rate, officials will be given a holiday before and after the Chinese New Year, but this holiday is not very long.
Zhang Yang held hot tea and said, "When we were in the East Palace, a eunuch sent a message to let us participate in the New Year's Eve party."
Li Yue smiled softly, "Xiao Wu has never seen what the Great Dynasty will be like."
Xiao Wu raised her head in confusion, and then continued to turn the third-level Rubik's Cube in her hand.
With the quilt and the heated ondol, there is no need to worry about my wife getting cold, and Xiao Wu is with her.
Furthermore, her health has improved a lot now and she is not as weak as before.
"Also, the Ministry of War said that it wants to buy some cotton-padded clothes from our village, which will be very large and we need a lot of cotton-padded clothes."
Li Yue frowned and said: "With our current productivity, it seems we can't supply it."
"I discussed it with General Hou Junji from the Ministry of War. The Ministry of War cannot afford so much money at the same time, so we can just make it in batches."
"That's fine. Have you mentioned the price?"
"I didn't say anything. I have to ask your father about this. I'm afraid your father will default on the bill. I think it's more appropriate to deliver the goods when the money arrives."
Li Yue glared at her, "Is it so unreasonable for my father to have a husband?"
Zhang Yang picked up a book on the table and looked at the contents. This was the expenditure of various bonuses and remuneration in the village.
No one in the village gets a bonus during the New Year.
Well, the whole village is full of happiness.
The wind and snow were falling, and there were few pedestrians on Zhuque Street. Only a few passers-by hurriedly walked through the street.
Lu Dongzan brought a bamboo hat to the front of Chang'an City. He was shivering from the cold and took out a road guide and handed it to the defenders who stopped him in front of the city gate. Congratulations."
The defender took over the guide and first confirmed and replied: "Please wait."
Another gust of wind and snow blew, and Lu Dongzan hid under the gate of the city wall, which could block some of the wind and snow. He smiled apologetically at the other guards.
After waiting at the city gate for an hour, Lu Dongzan was also frozen for an hour. He kept looking towards the city and saw someone walking quickly towards here.
Lu Dongzan shook off the snow on his body and stood still.
It was finally a break from the imperial court. Xu Jingzong was drinking warm wine and eating mutton at home. It was originally a beautiful thing.
But the people from Zhongshu Province ruined this comfort.
After asking, I found out that it was Lu Dongzan from Tubo who had come and asked me to greet him. I couldn't ignore the arrangements of Sun Wuji, the current Duke of Zhao, so there was no need to offend him.
Xu Jingzong looked Lu Dongzan up and down and said, "It turns out that the Prime Minister of Tibet has arrived. I was too far away to welcome him. I was neglectful. I was neglectful."
First, he was polite and held out his hand so as not to hit the smiling person. Even though he was unwilling to come pick him up on this windy and snowy day, he still put on an expression of joy to welcome the guests.
Lu Dongzan also saluted in the Tubo etiquette, "I heard that the court has adjourned. I must have disturbed the Shangguan's rest."
Xu Jingzong waved his hand and said: "It doesn't matter, I can't let the Prime Minister stay like this."
Lu Dongzan's smile faltered when he heard this, but it was only for a moment, and he soon smiled in relief.
Zanpu said that Li Shimin was an ambitious king, and he was always on guard against Tibet. It is said that Datang and Gaochang have been moving closely recently, and there seems to be some exchanges and transportation of goods.
First, he suppressed his urge to ask questions, and then Lu Dongzan said, "I heard that Brother Xu was in the Ministry of Rites and is still the Minister of Rites."
Xu Jingzong sighed: "I don't have much ability. I'm just a servant and I'm already exhausted. I don't have to come here to greet you even if it's windy or snowy."
The Tibetan envoy met with the officials of the Ministry of Rites, and they had an unfriendly conversation, which was heard by the guards and generals on the side.
Xu Jingzong invited: "Brother Xiangxiang is the earliest among the envoys from all countries. Why don't you go to the post house to rest first?"
Lu Dong nodded, "That's fine."
The two walked into the wind and snow. Lu Dongzan looked at the situation on Zhuque Street. There were also restaurants and shops open in the wind and snow.
It was windy and snowy outside, but there were many customers in every wine shop.
In such a cold winter, Chang'an City is still so energetic, which makes Lu Dongzan envious.
Xu Jingzong took him into the post house and said, "There are no guests in the post house now. Brother Xiangxiang can choose a room here."
Lu Dongzan took off his bamboo hat and shook off the snow on his body, "I wonder how Mr. Zhang is doing?"
"Brother, why are you asking about Minister Zhang?"
"When Tuyuhun fought against Tibet, I had a taste of Zhang Shilang's strategy, and I admired him very much, so I was very concerned about him."
Xu Jingzong nodded, "You Zanpu are indeed very concerned about you. We captured many Tibetan spies near Lishan Mountain. After interrogation, we found out that it was you Zanpu who sent us to inquire about the news."
Lu Dongzan looked impressive, "There must be a misunderstanding here."
"Brother Xiang's Guanzhong dialect is really good. I think there must be a misunderstanding, and Tian Khan will understand. Zhang Shilang is no longer in the Ministry of Rites. He is now a close minister next to the Prince of the East Palace and is responsible for guiding the Prince. Compared with the previous The Minister of Rites, Minister Zhang, is no longer what he used to be."
Lu Dongzan smiled and said: "I would like to see Mr. Zhang again to see if he is still as high-spirited as before."
"Our Ministry of Rites will keep records of who you want to meet in Chang'an City. You must inform the Ministry of Rites before meeting Zhang Shilang."
Lu Dongzan didn't answer this, so he went to find a room on the second floor of the post house to rest.
Xu Jingzong stared at him and closed the door with an unhappy expression.
The boy on the side said: "It was like this last time. Among the envoys, the Tibetan envoy was the most arrogant."
Xu Jingzong said melancholy: "It's a good life to take care of."
The boy couldn't help but nodded, "Don't worry, Mr. Xu, I will take good care of you."
"Take care of the other rooms as well. Envoys from other small countries will be arriving soon."
"clear."
Xu Jingzong left here, looking at the wind and snow in the sky with a confused expression. Did the Tubo people not know how to treat guests? He finally braved the wind and snow to bring people in. When he entered the post house, he didn't even invite him to drink a bowl of wine. It's simply unreasonable.
I really don’t want to deal with the Tubo people anymore, and I don’t know if the other envoys will be more sensible.
Walking alone in the wind and snow, Xu Jingzong felt lonely in his heart.
Zhang Yang woke up from his sleep and pushed away the little bear that was lying on his quilt. Because it was too cold outside, he had to put it inside the house.
While putting on his clothes, Zhang Yang looked out the window. There was a lot of snow in the yard. The heavy snow had stopped. It had been snowing for two days and one night. Looking at the dark clouds in the sky, it looked like it would snow even more. Continue.
After walking out of his room, Zhang Yang washed his face and refreshed himself.
The little bear staggered behind. It was also in a drowsy sleep and probably hadn't woken up yet.
Pushing open the door of his wife's room, Xiao Wu and his wife were still asleep.
Looking at the mess in my home, sheets of paper with formulas written on them are all over the table. This is because the master and the apprentice went crazy teaching the class, and the little one went crazy doing the questions.
After a brief tidying up, the little bear was still squatting aside in a daze.
Putting the piles of paper on the cabinet and pressing them down with a paperweight, Zhang Yang took a deep breath and opened the door. When he opened the door, a lot of snow poured in, and a gust of cold wind blew in.
The little bear suddenly trembled, as if he was forced to turn on his phone from a drowsy state, like a corpse running into the room and crawling into bed.
Taking a deep breath of cold air, Zhang Yang stretched his muscles and stepped into the yard. The heavy snow just reached his knees.
For the climate in Guanzhong, such heavy snow is really rare.
It would definitely be even worse for the Turks coming to the north.
Moving his legs with difficulty, Zhang Yang picked up the small shovel in the yard and started shoveling the snow.
The weather was still very cold, and after shoveling for a while, my hands were so cold that I could no longer use them.
The two aunts next door also went out to clear the snow.
The window of Li Yue's room was opened, and she stood in front of the window with a smile. Being able to sleep warmly in the winter was a very happy thing for her.
"Hurry up and shovel the snow. After the cleaning is done, I will take you to ski together."
Xiao Wu was already holding her own small cup and Xiao Ya when she realized that the stove was not lit and the water was not boiling. She ran to the bathroom and twisted the valve several times but no water came out. She even stood on tiptoes to look at the pipe curiously. Look, it was confirmed that the water pipe was frozen.
I had to dig out some snow, put it in a pot, light the stove and start boiling water.
