Qin Ming put down his teacup and said in surprise:
"Hey, old man, you can guess this?"
Li Yuan sneered, picked up the teacup slowly, and said while drinking tea:
"Tch~~, is this difficult? Do you think I know nothing but eating, drinking and having fun?"
When Qin Ming heard this, he whispered in a low voice:
"Isn't it true? How many people in the world are better at playing than you? You are so old, but you still take a teenage girl as a concubine? You are not afraid of showing off your waist at night!"
Li Yuan slapped the table and said angrily:
"Boy, what are you muttering about? Are you criticizing me?"
Qin Ming quickly stood up and said:
"Grandpa, you are overthinking. My grandson is just expressing his admiration for his brilliance and prowess. Grandpa, please talk to your grandson about it. How did you guess this?"
After speaking, Qin Ming took the teapot from Uncle Fu and poured Li Yuan a cup of tea with great diligence.
When Li Yuan saw this, he nodded with satisfaction. Then he picked up the tea cup, raised his head, and looked at the roof with long eyes, as if he was lost in memories.
After a while, Li Yuan sighed and said:
"Hey, when I was seven years old, I inherited your great ancestor's family business. At that time, there were some people in the family who were dissatisfied with me, some who wanted to leave the family, some who wanted to harm my life, and countless people who seized power."
"When I first took charge of the family, I faced the dilemma of domestic thieves who wanted to seize the family property and wolves who wanted to annex the family. But I survived in the end and even earned a huge family fortune for my children and grandchildren. .....”
After Li Yuan praised himself for a while, he gradually deviated from the theme of the night, just like a broken faucet, out of control.
At first, Qin Ming, as a junior, thought it would be okay to hear about the old man's great achievements, so that he could gain experience.
Therefore, during Li Yuan's narration, Qin Ming would also praise him and add a few words when Li Yuan got to the key points.
"What happened next?" "What happened next?" "Awesome!" "Grandpa is awesome!" "Grandpa is mighty!"
But gradually the old man's words became more and more outrageous. In the end, he even boasted that he commanded an army of 100,000 people. Qin Ming really couldn't listen to it anymore.
He quickly stopped the old man's random fabrication by pouring tea.
【Damn it! It’s so ridiculous! If you can command an army of 100,000 people, what do you have to do with that old man Li Yuan? 】
"Grandpa, Grandpa, you see it's getting late. Should we finish talking about the business first? We can find a time to talk slowly about these glorious deeds of yours. Then my grandson will call everyone in the backyard and let them They all come to hear how you achieved such great achievements!"
Li Yuan pursed his lips with some unfinished thoughts. Originally, he just wanted to pave the way for his wisdom.
As a result, while talking, I couldn't hold back my words.
However, Li Yuan was very happy to be able to take this opportunity to talk to this junior who he liked more about the earth-shattering and shocking things he had done when he was young!
Especially this kid, the simple words he answered every time at critical moments scratched Li Yuan's itch.
He didn't know how long it had been since he had felt so happy, just like drinking a sip of ice-cold water in the middle of summer.
The only fly in the ointment is that although this boy looks admiring on the surface, there is always a deep doubt in his eyes!
There is even a hint of helplessness occasionally!
But it was also because of Qin Ming's eyes that Li Yuan was able to tell those old things that really happened without any scruples!
Li Yuan picked up the tea cup, took a sip of tea, smiled and said to Qin Ming:
"Brother Ming, where did we just talk?"
Qin Ming took a deep breath after hearing this and quickly replied:
"My grandson asked you just now how you guessed that no one from the other aristocratic families or gentry in Chang'an City came to the government office to contract cement roads."
Li Yuan nodded slightly when he heard this, put down his tea cup and said:
"This is not easy. I have been the head of so many families, and I led hundreds of thousands of troops to attack..."
When Qin Ming heard this, he was afraid that the old man would go off topic again, so he coughed quickly.
"Grandpa, it's business, business!"
Li Yuan glared at Qin Ming angrily, thought for a while and said:
"Your kid's idea of building a cement road is indeed a good one, but the problem is that you think of building a road too simply, and your calculations are too rough!"
"You are still too young. Is this official road so easy to repair? This is completely different from building a cement road in Zhuangzi! Five hundred strings per mile is enough for you to build a cement road in Zhuangzi!"
"But one mile of the official road must be at least a thousand strings, because building the official road must not only consider the transportation of materials, but also consider the time it takes for the people to arrive at the construction site and the impact of building the official road on passers-by."
"Calculated this way, it will cost at least hundreds of thousands of dollars to repair the cement road from Chang'an City to Lantian County. Not everyone can afford such a large amount of money."
At this point, Li Yuan took a sip of tea and continued to speak earnestly:
"This is why my grandfather came to see you tonight. My grandfather wants to advise you not to recruit so many people. The more people there are, the harder it is to manage, and the cost will be greater. It is better to recruit fewer people and build slowly. This way The cost will be lower.”
"In this way, when you finish building the road and start to make profits, other families will naturally be willing to go to your government office to buy the contracting rights once they have settled the accounts and made some profits."
"At that time, you will have made money, and the imperial court will also receive the credit. Isn't it wonderful! Listen to my grandfather's advice. Tomorrow morning, select half of the weak people among the recruited people, give them some money, and send them to the hospital. Send it back."
Qin Ming has been listening to Li Yuan's chatter quietly, feeling warm in his heart.
He knew that the old man told him this all for his consideration. Except for this grandfather, no one else would say these words to him.
Qin Ming looked at the wrinkles on the old man's face and his eyes full of hope, and felt sad for no reason.
[Hey, it’s all because of my unfilial piety that my grandfather still has to worry about his future (money) at such an old age. 】
Thinking like this, he walked to the old man, reached out and held the old man's hand and said:
"Grandpa, your grandson is unfilial and makes you worry!"
Li Yuan reached out and patted Qin Ming's shoulder and said happily:
"You kid, just understand. It's not a waste of my precious time to talk to you about this."
Qin Ming hummed, and then said:
"But grandson, I still want to build this Changlan cement road as soon as possible! Grandpa, please believe in grandson. Grandson is absolutely sure that the cost of road construction will be controlled within 50,000 guan!"
Hearing this, Li Yuan withdrew his hand from Qin Ming, then reached out and touched Qin Ming's forehead, and said sadly:
"Brother Ming, you are confused! Aye has made it so clear, why don't you understand!"
Qin Ming stretched out his hand and rubbed his forehead, then smiled and told Li Yuan about his construction of the engineering vehicle.
After listening to Qin Ming's story, Li Yuan said suspiciously:
"Are you telling the truth? Do we have such a car in our house?"
"Grandpa, can my grandson still lie to you? If you don't believe me, go to the village with me tomorrow and you will know."
.......
