Chapter 81 On this day, Wen Lingzheng went to find Qin Ren…

On this day, when Wen Lingzheng went to find Qin Ren, His Highness Prince Ying happened to be there as well.

Wen Lingzheng couldn't help but feel a sour taste in her mouth as she said, "Your Highness is here too? I wonder when Your Highness will leave this time in the South?"

Upon hearing this, Prince Ying glanced at him and said, "What? I've only just arrived, and you already want to drive me away?"

Wen Lingzheng: "How dare I? How dare I? I was just asking out of curiosity."

After Wen Lingzheng finished speaking, she dared not provoke Prince Ying any further.

On the surface, Prince Ying appears to be a very kind person—gentle, generous, dignified, and even noble.

In reality, very few people who grow up peacefully in the royal family are truly good people.

Don't be fooled by his consistently kind attitude towards Qin Ren, which makes him seem like a talent scout.

That's because Qin Ren was useful to him and to Da Yong.

If Qin Ren were useless, King Ying wouldn't even glance at him.

Perhaps, he had someone kill Qin Ren as soon as he tried to approach the Liu family's prison cart.

The most ruthless are those in the imperial family; whether it's Prince Ying or His Majesty, they are both very cold and ruthless.

Their current preferential treatment of Qin Ren is entirely due to the fact that Qin Ren is useful to Dayong and can make Dayong stronger.

In addition, Qin Ren is a man of principle who never expects more, which is why he is so wealthy and prosperous now.

Wen Lingzheng dared to speak sarcastically to Prince Ying only because of his close relationship with His Majesty; if it were anyone else, they would have lost their heads long ago.

Wen Lingzheng asked Qin Ren with a smile, "How long will it take to make the next batch of muskets?"

Upon hearing this, Qin Ren raised his eyes and replied, "I estimate we'll have to wait a bit longer. Making muskets requires iron ore, copper ore, and bullets. Bullets are consumables, and without enough bullets, making more muskets won't be enough."

"Aren't bullets made of saltpeter? The saltpeter I found for you before, isn't that enough for you to make bullets?"

“If we only use that saltpeter to make bullets, it will indeed be enough for us for a while. But I also need to use the saltpeter to make gunpowder, so that little bit of saltpeter is clearly not enough.”

When gunpowder was mentioned, Prince Ying, who was standing nearby, became interested.

"You mentioned in your previous letter that gunpowder is more powerful than a musket. I wonder if I'll ever have the chance to see it?"

Upon hearing this, Qin Ren looked at Prince Ying and said, "Your Highness, gunpowder is indeed more ferocious than firearms, and it is also more dangerous."

Wen Lingzheng quickly asked, "Then... can it be used on the battlefield like a musket?"

"It is possible, but because gunpowder is extremely powerful, its production is relatively small. My suggestion is that gunpowder would be more useful for blasting mountains and clearing roads and opening up river channels than for use on the battlefield."

Whether it's blasting mountains to build roads or opening up waterways, these are all major events concerning Yongzhou.

Better roads are essential for faster transportation.

It can not only help the various parts of Nanning become prosperous, but also enable the rapid mobilization of troops in the event of war.

Therefore, Qin Ren believed that the limited gunpowder could be used for more important things.

Prince Ying: "Will I still be able to witness the power of gunpowder?"

Qin Ren: "Of course, I'm going to blast the mountain in a couple of days. I would appreciate it if Your Highness could come and watch."

After Qin Ren left briefly for some business, Prince Ying smiled and asked Wen Lingzheng, "Is your sudden dislike for me because of the musket Qin Ren gave me?"

Wen Lingzheng remained silent, and Prince Ying was not angry at the sight.

Compared to Wen Lingzheng, who was in a bad mood, Prince Ying had been in a very good mood these past few days.

Sweet potatoes are now widely used in various regions. They have a high yield and are relatively easy to store.

Its emergence could solve the plight of many people who were starving to death.

Besides sweet potatoes, Qin Ren also produced cement, and now many places have started building cement roads.

Once all the cement roads in the country are built, and with the tires made by Qin Ren, the entire Dayong will be able to trade with all directions, and the army's control over various regions will be more stable.

All these good things put Prince Ying in a great mood, and he was in high spirits.

Prince Ying smiled and had someone bring over the musket, then waved it in front of Wen Lingzheng as if showing off.

King Ying: "Lord Yuling will soon be able to make more muskets. Are you getting angry with me over such a trivial matter?"

Wen Lingzheng: "Your Highness, I, I'm not angry with you, I'm just a little jealous."

One of these two improved muskets should have belonged to him.

"Alright, if you really want it, I'll give you mine."

"Your Highness, why are you suddenly being so agreeable?"

As Wen Lingzheng asked this, she couldn't help but feel a little uneasy.

Seeing this, King Ying said to him, "I'm not going to the battlefield, and I have so many guards around me, so I really don't need this kind of thing. Besides, I've come all this way and won't be leaving until next winter. During this time, Marquis Yuling will definitely be able to make more muskets, so it's not a big deal to give you this musket."

"Then, does Your Highness have any conditions?"

"Indeed, there is something I need you to do."

"What is it?"

Prince Ying: "Go and find someone for me."

The person that Prince Ying asked Wen Lingzheng to find was one of the Fourth Prince's mentors.

This mentor was incredibly skilled; most of the men sent by King Ying to find him were killed or injured.

Prince Ying wanted Wen Lingzheng to go and search for her personally, but at the same time he was worried that something might happen to her.

Coincidentally, he had a modified musket that Qin Ren had given him, so he thought he might as well give it to Wen Lingzheng to use first.

Regardless, Wen Lingzheng was the heir of the Marquis of Zhenbei, and he still didn't want anything to happen to him.

Having obtained what she wanted, Wen Lingzheng immediately obeyed her orders and left Qin Ren's fiefdom.

When he left, he had someone inform Qin Ren so that Qin Ren wouldn't worry about him.

After a year of getting to know each other, Qin Ren and he now have a pretty good relationship and are considered good friends.

After Prince Ying arrived in his fiefdom, Qin Ren rarely returned to the modern world.

The situation of Prince Ying is different from that of Wen Lingzheng. Wen Lingzheng is a bit simple-minded and easy to fool.

But Ying Wang was different; he always gave him the impression that Ying Wang was very difficult to deal with.

To prevent Ying Wang from noticing anything, Qin Ren had to be much more careful in his actions afterward.

Since the weather was a bit cold, Qin Ren simply brought Liu Qingyue and the child back as well.

As Liu Qingyue and her child began to live in ancient times for an extended period, he prepared many servants for them.

With so many servants taking care of them, Qin Ren could feel more at ease when he went out.

For the time being, they don't need a modern nanny like Qin Lianrui.

Qin Lianrui was supposed to go back to her hometown, but she thought about it carefully later.

She decided that after the New Year, she would still go to live in J City.

Qin Lianrui had made a lot of money taking care of Liu Qingyue.

This sum of money is enough for her to live in a big city.

She thought she might as well use the money to make money by painting in J City.

Having grown accustomed to the hustle and bustle of big cities, she, as a young woman, no longer wanted to stay in the countryside.

Big cities have better hospitals, more vibrant nightlife, and lots of fun places to visit.

Aside from going to school, she rarely left her hometown in her entire life.

Hometowns have many advantages, but they also have many inconveniences.

That's because she has too many acquaintances, which puts her under a lot of restrictions as a girl.

For example, many people can't understand why she earns money by painting at home.

They always felt that her painting wasn't a proper job, and they were always trying to persuade her to get married and have children as soon as possible.

But getting married isn't easy. If you marry someone you don't like, getting a divorce can be very troublesome.

Furthermore, she doesn't want to get married, let alone have children.

Today's society implicitly assumes that a woman's primary task is to give birth, and that once the child is born, the woman is responsible for taking care of it.

Even for women with careers, they will do everything they can to bring them back to the family.

But returning to family life seems good; it seems like having a man to take care of you and support you is a very happy thing.

However, returning to the family and taking care of children means that one is destined to have no career of one's own and to have to ask a man for money.

Then people will laugh at her for relying on a man to support her, saying that she is useless without a man.

Basically, it's all about belittling people.

If you have a bad husband, every time you ask him for money, you suffer the same humiliation as a beggar on the street.

He would say, "You're so lazy lying at home all day, can't you stop wasting money?"

"Can you please stop nagging me? I'm so tired from working every day. All I ask you to do is wash clothes and cook. No other woman is as troublesome as you."

"This is my home, the house I bought. I can make you leave, so you'd better think it over."

"All you do is make a fuss, cry, and cause me trouble every day. If it weren't for me, you and your children would have starved to death long ago."

...

She didn't like that kind of life, nor did she want to spend her whole life revolving around men and children, and she certainly didn't want to be treated like a slave by men.

This is a good opportunity. She has a lot of money now and can live in a big city with it.

She wants to work hard at painting and build her career.

Only if she truly achieves something through painting will her hometown stop suppressing her.

Also, Qin Ren said that if she wanted to stay in J City, she could continue to live at Qin Ren's house.

Qin Ren and Liu Qingyue are often not at home, so the place where she was previously settled is still hers.

This means that she doesn't need to pay rent in J City; she only needs to pay for her own living expenses.

In big cities, the most expensive thing to live on is rent.

Qin Ren solved her biggest problem, and the smaller problems that followed were no longer a problem.

After Liu Qingyue and her child returned to ancient times, Qin Ren could not return to the modern world often, but Liu Qingyue could only do so occasionally.

Sometimes, if Qin Ren needed something, he would go back in Qin Ren's place.

He was a man confined to his household, and Prince Ying rarely had the opportunity to see him. Even when he wasn't in the mansion, Prince Ying wouldn't know.

But Qin Ren is different. If Qin Ren disappears for a long time, King Ying will feel something is wrong.

That day, Liu Qingyue went back to help Qin Ren look up information, and brought back a lot of food.

Gunpowder, muskets, and Qin blades have already been made.

Qin Ren has been busy lately, mainly making a small car for Liu Qingyue.

Liu Qingyue returned to the modern world during the day, while Qin Ren happened to be taking Ying Wang out to blast the mountain today.

They were a large group of people who were going to blow up a small mountain outside the city.

This small hill blocks the main road, and taking a detour would require a very long journey.

Qin Ren wanted a more convenient route, so he felt that going through all the trouble of taking a detour was really inconvenient. He decided to try blowing up the small mountain.

Now that he has manufactured gunpowder, he can finally test its power.

If the gunpowder did not achieve the power he desired, he would continue to work with his team to find ways to improve it.

Looking at the mountain in the distance, Prince Ying asked, "Are you sure you can see it clearly from this far away?"

Qin Ren: "We can't see clearly, and we can't get any closer. Gunpowder is incredibly powerful; it can even blast a hole in a mountain. It would be very dangerous if we got too close."

As Qin Ren spoke, he waved a red flag in his hand towards the distance, signaling the people who were going to light the fire to begin preparing to do so.

They made the fuse very long, so that after lighting it, the person who lit it had to ride away on a bicycle immediately.

As for why they rode bicycles instead of riding horses?

The main concern was that the explosion would be too loud and startle the horses.

At this time, riding a bicycle is much safer and more convenient than riding a horse.