Chapter 40 Chapter 40 A person who wraps himself tightly...

I saw dense swarms of insects squeezing out from the crack in the door, forming several rows and heading towards a flower pot like pilgrims, and continuously drilling into the soil in the pot.

Bugs, all kinds of bugs swarming in groups, making people's scalps tingle.

Zhu Dan is not someone who is afraid of insects. She has seen countless disgusting insects in her three hundred years of alchemy career.

There are bigger ones and denser ones, but it is rare to see so many insects in Daqin. Zhu Dan was slightly surprised and walked towards the flowerpot curiously, wanting to see the specific situation.

Unexpectedly, Yun Qiu grabbed her and said in a trembling voice, "Mr. Zhu, don't go over there. Someone in my family died after being bitten by an insect."

Zhu Dan was startled, then looked at Yun Qiu's expression and immediately understood.

Her fear of insects is not only a girl's nature, but also due to psychological trauma.

He patted Yun Qiu's hand soothingly: "Don't worry, these bugs can't hurt me, even if they are poisonous."

Yun Qiu then realized that the Imperial Master was different from others. She had divine power to protect her body and would not be bitten by insects.

He took a step back awkwardly, thinking that it was all unnecessary.

Seeing this, Zhu Dan said, "Yunqiu, thank you for your concern." Then he looked at the others and said, "If you're scared, please move away."

Zhu Dan had anticipated this situation, after all, he had seen it in the simulation.

However, it must be said that what we saw in the simulation was still limited.

The simulation room didn't clearly depict the appearance of the insects, lacking realism. The differences between different insects were not listed, and those further away, in particular, looked more like fuzzy black dots, which greatly reduced the sense of fear they brought to people.

Of course, in reality, Zhu Dan was not afraid at all, she was just curious.

After carefully observing the thin bamboo in the pot for a full hour, Zhu Dan discovered a pattern:

Whenever the leaves of the thin bamboo spread out, they emit a very light fragrance, like fresh bamboo leaves, but not entirely, with a bit of fishy smell.

It is this fragrance that attracts the insects, and when the thin bamboos close up like mimosa, the fragrance disappears, and the insects nearby seem to suddenly wake up, and no longer flock to the soil like pilgrims, but instead run around in panic.

Driven by Zhu Dan, they left the room and scattered into the underground of the yard.

Zhu Dan walked out of the room and slowly immersed his spiritual sense in the entire yard, and discovered the limit of the insects that this pot of bamboo could attract.

The scope is reduced by at least three layers compared to the simulation.

Zhu Dan then placed the pot of bamboo in different rooms and compared them to find a pattern:

Although the medicine has been sprayed to attract insects, it cannot resist the nature of insects.

They still prefer dark and humid places, and the closer the environment is to that of a simulation room.

"That is to say, if there are insects that like dryness and the sun, the attraction of this fragrance will become very weak." Zhu Dan thought about it, but this small flaw was not a big hindrance.

After all, most insects prefer dark and humid places, and there are only a few insects that are not afraid of light or heat and insist on staying close to people.

It was another possibility that made Zhu Dan a little worried.

Does this pest control refer to the removal of harmful insects, or does it include both harmful and beneficial insects?

For example, earthworms can loosen the soil, and some flying insects can help pollinate flowers...

If they all fell into the trap and died without a chance of survival, then this restriction would be too great.

With this in mind, Zhu Dan decided not to release this medicine in a hurry, but to experiment with it on the farm for two or three years before considering promoting it.

With such ample time, we can also accumulate more inventory.

Then Zhu Dan used his spiritual sense to check the soil, and was even more surprised.

All the insects that entered it died, as well as the bamboo roots inside... Bamboo is very good at reproducing through its roots. If it is not restrained, it can spread from one corner of the yard to the entire yard in a few years, and even grow outside.

The bamboo that had been sprinkled with medicine also evolved on this basis, and it grew many bamboo whiskers as fine as hair.

Bamboo tendrils spread to every corner of the soil. All insects that enter the soil cannot escape the bamboo tendrils and are strung through them as fertilizer.

That scene... Zhu Dan, who saw it all through his spiritual sense, really got goosebumps.

In this case, it looks a lot like some hunting plants.

——Zhu Dan had heard that there were some natural plants in nature that could attract flying insects to fall into the net automatically. He didn't expect that under the effect of the elixir, ordinary bamboo would also have such an advantage.

"Mr. Zhu, Liu Bai is here." Seeing Zhu Dan staring at the bamboo in a daze, Yun Qiu reminded him in a low voice.

"Mr. Zhu, you called me here because..." Liu Bai was a little confused.

Zhu Dan pointed at the bugs on the ground that were still crawling into the potted plants: "This is your new task. You will be responsible for drawing bugs."

Liu Bai's face changed. He was not afraid of insects, but they were a bit disgusting. Which court painter would be proficient in painting insects?

Seeing this, Zhu Dan said, "Don't worry, I won't let you catch any of them. I'll make specimens of some poisonous insects, and you can draw according to them. I'll also post them in the future to educate the people."

In order to prevent the tragedy like that which happened to Yunqiu's family from happening again, she did not say it directly because she thought that she could not expose Yunqiu's scars.

But even though she didn't say it, Yun Qiu already understood it and looked at Zhu Dan with gratitude.

In fact, she knew in her heart that this was Zhu Sheng's habit, just like educating the people about which stones are poisonous and should not be touched.

But this did not hinder her gratitude and admiration for Mr. Zhu.

Over the years, have there been many servants killed by insects and snakes in your houses? Yet, no one has ever been injured. I want to spread this knowledge to them!

Only Zhu Shengping would treat them equally and cherish their lives.

The task of testing the range of insect hunting with bamboo was assigned to Fang Jinyi of the farm, and Zhu Dan also gave a pot to Zheng Ge and Meng Yi.

It was customary for Zheng Ge to bring some, and Meng Yi brought some extra. After all, the bamboo had undergone such changes because of the elixir refined using his luck.

Zhu Dan was kind enough to explain the relevant principles to him.

Hearing this, Meng Yi was deeply moved: "It turns out that my loyalty to the king is known not only to the king, but also to heaven and earth. I am truly fortunate to have met such a wise king in this life..."

He rarely talks much, and he just expressed his true feelings like this.

Zhu Dan was very touched. She liked people who were devoted to Zheng Ge.

As for Ying Zheng himself, who heard this confession, he also smiled.

Only Li Si sneered in his heart. He certainly knew that Meng Yi of the Meng family was loyal to the king, but Meng Yi's behavior might be a show.

At the same time, he became more alert. Even Meng Yi had grasped the intention of the Imperial Master, and he had clearly recommended himself, but he was actually surpassed by such a reckless latecomer?

No! We must urge the Imperial Master to refine that Nirvana Pill as soon as possible.

This Nirvana Pill sounds better than any Death Substitution Pill.

Li Si was very self-aware. He could not be as unyielding as Meng Yi in his devotion to the king. This was Meng Yi's advantage, and he would not learn from him.

Li Si has his own advantages, and he believes that the national teacher will make good use of them.

So when will his Nirvana Pill be refined?

Unconsciously, Li Si became impatient from his initial resistance.

In response to Li Si's urging, Zhu Dan chose to give him a pot of thin bamboo.

“…” Li Si’s expression was stiff.

Zhu Dan explained: "Prime Minister, if you have this, no mosquitoes will bite you in the future."

Li Si: "..." What a perfunctory response. It's winter now and there are no mosquitoes.

As if seeing the speechlessness on Li Si's face, Zhu Dan's mouth twitched and he asked, "Master Prime Minister Li, when can my Imperial Master Ceremony be held?"

Yes, Zhu Dan never expected that this national master ceremony, which had been scheduled a long time ago, would be delayed for more than half a year.

Zhu Dan herself was not in a hurry, and since no one came to urge her, she didn't think about it.

But didn't Yun Qiu mention this before? He complained about their low efficiency and reminded Zhu Dan whether he should tell the king.

Zhu Dan wondered what this had to do with Guan Zheng. Shouldn't he go directly to the person in charge?

For example, as the prime minister is the head of all the ministers, this is quite ineffective.

Yun Qiu had nothing to say about Zhu Dan's favoritism.

However, when Zhu Dan asked Li Si, Li Si displayed the qualities of a qualified top worker and said calmly, "The date has been set. The Imperial Master didn't specify the date. It was chosen by the King. It was the day before the Winter Festival. The day after that will be the day when the King will pay his respects to the ancestors."

Zhu Dan immediately grasped what Li Si was trying to say and said happily, "Your Majesty actually values ​​me so much? You're planning to tell the Ying ancestors about my appointment as Imperial Preceptor. What a virtue and ability!"

Li Si's mouth twitched. If you, Imperial Master, really feel that you have not earned the honor or the ability, then don't smile so brightly.

Of course, he also knew that the Imperial Master had always been this unassuming character. If she was happy, she was happy; if she was unhappy, she was unhappy. There was no need for people to guess what she was thinking, which saved them a lot of trouble.

But on the other hand, it is also quite easy for others to please her.

It was only a few days away from the Winter Festival. The day after Li Si said this, ceremonial officials came to Zhu Dan one after another to try out the sacrificial robes, accessories and other items needed for the ceremony.

And the most important thing is rehearsal.

Zhu Danchi felt that it was very cumbersome and was reluctant to participate, but he still participated once and used his powerful memory to record all the steps.

When she said that she had memorized it and there was no need to rehearse, Hu Taizhu looked at her with an incredulous look and advised: "The ceremony is of great importance. Even if the National Master is a disciple of an immortal and has always been nonchalant, I believe your master and colleagues will not find fault with you on this matter. But, but... this... please don't make things difficult for us." He sighed deeply.

This sigh seemed to bring out the bitterness of water.

Zhu Dan is a typical person who responds to soft words and not to tough ones. If Hu Taizhu keeps jumping around, she will choose to fight back without hesitation.

But the other party looked like a worker with a hard life, so Zhu Dan naturally didn't bother with him.

However, it is impossible to ask her to go through the process for half a month.

Zhu Dan thought for a moment and said, "I have indeed memorized the details of the ceremony. If Hu Taizhu doesn't believe me, you can test me."

"This..." Hu Taizhu hesitated, and Zhu Dan said decisively: "Don't worry, as long as you are doing your job properly, I won't bear a grudge against you. You are testing me because you are responsible for your work."

Since Zhu Dan had said this, Hu Taizhu naturally did not hesitate. With some careful thoughts in mind, he directly chose the part he thought was the most difficult and the part that was most likely to be overlooked.

However, it was not difficult for Zhu Dan. His every word and action, the curvature of his arm, and his walking posture all seemed to have been measured with a ruler, and were the standards instructed by the etiquette officer.

Hu Taizhu was stunned at first, then he realized that he had done something stupid.

The ceremony is complicated only for mortals. For gods, wouldn’t it be easy to remember it?

It is said that the State Master has a photographic memory. Although he does not recognize the small seal script of the Qin Dynasty, he can remember it all as long as someone reads it once.

This is true.

And such a Grand Master of the Imperial Household would be able to remember clearly everything that happened in the past half year, not to mention the past six months, probably for the past half of his life.

From then on, Hu Taizhu's last bit of anger subsided, and he behaved himself and didn't dare to do any unnecessary tricks anymore.

Everything went smoothly during the rehearsal. Zhu Dan only participated once and did not participate again afterwards.

The other ceremonial officials did not dare to do the same as her. In order to prevent mistakes in the national ceremony, they still rehearsed several times. However, they later selected someone to stand in Zhu Dan's position to facilitate rehearsal for others.

The rehearsal went smoothly and all the steps on the ceremony day were naturally flawless.

Others are not as confident as Zhu Dan in making mistakes. In such a solemn occasion, if you dare to make a mistake, the king will dare to make you lose your head.

Under the threat of losing their heads, everyone completed their part efficiently.

Zhu Dan wore the dark sacrificial robes of the Great Qin, a crown and a ribbon, and officially became the Imperial Master of the Great Qin on this day.

The imperial edict had been announced to the world a month ago, and today many elderly people were specially selected to watch the ceremony - no matter what era, except in troubled times, longevity is respected.

This is not specially prepared for Zhu Dan.

However, I don’t know if it’s because of Zhu Dan’s current gender, but more than half of the centenarians selected this time are women.

After the official conferment, the people in the Imperial Master's Palace suddenly changed their tone, and even the state and spirit of the palace servants seemed to have changed a lot.

Zhu Dan, however, remained the same as always. She didn't act like a national master, nor did she wear particularly luxurious dresses. She just did whatever was convenient for her daily activities.

The daily clothes that the Shaofu made for her were also based on Zhu Dan's preferences.

She didn't know that after the news spread, many people secretly imitated and learned it for various purposes.

Some people sincerely believe that by learning everything from the national teacher, they can get closer to the gods.

Some people think that they can please the king. Haven’t you seen that even the clothes the king usually wears have changed quietly?

A few days after the National Master Ceremony, Zhu Dan designed the Nirvana Pill, and the stars belonging to the Nirvana Pill were already hanging in the sky.

However, the materials involved in this pill are not so easy to find, so Zhu Dan is not in a hurry now.

Winter wheat has been planted, and crops like winter wheat that can survive the winter are quite rare, so Zhu Dan is not in a hurry to get the Nirvana seeds out now, as long as he can do it before spring comes and the flowers bloom.

Winter is the season for hibernation. Even though Zhu Dan is not very afraid of the cold, the people around her do not have her strong physique, nor do they have cotton to keep warm - the nobles can still use animal fur to keep warm, but other people cannot.

Upon seeing this, Zhu Dan urgently developed the kang, and the Xianyang Palace began to undergo a gradual major renovation.

She went to Lantian County again and frowned as she observed the situation along the way.

The brick and tile houses were fine, but the thatched wooden houses were really not warm at all. It was hard to imagine how the common people would survive the entire winter in such a room, especially if they didn't prepare enough firewood in the autumn...

Because it was snowing, someone climbed up to the roof shivering and pushed the snow down to prevent it from crushing the house.

Zhu Dan didn't even go to the Meng family's villa, but went directly to Liuye Li to inquire about the progress of Erlin Cement.

Because the direction given by Zhu Dan was relatively clear, she remembered more of the materials involved. As early as a month ago, Erlin's family had produced the cement.

However, the quality of the cement was not very good, so they did not rush to build a house. They continued to live in the willow leaves and prepared to research better cement.

They have keenly realized that cement is not like glutinous rice paste, which can be used for many years, and there is a lot of room for improvement.

If you build a house before the New Year, maybe new, stronger and more durable cement will have been produced by the time the new year comes.

Even though he is not short of money now that he works for the young lady, frugality is ingrained in his nature.

After discussing it, the family unanimously decided to stay in the willow leaves of the young lady this year. When they save more money next year, they can build a better house of their own.

In the past half month, due to the sudden snowfall and the sudden cold weather, the research progress was forced to slow down.

When Zhu Dan came over to inquire about the progress, Erlin's family felt a little embarrassed.

However, Zhu Dan was quite surprised when he checked the best quality cement they had produced so far. This family did have some talent in construction.

When she came here last month, the cement was strong but not very resistant to low temperatures. She didn't expect that it had made such great progress in just one month.

As long as they continue their research step by step, they may not be able to build six- or seven-story buildings as in later generations, but they can at least build two- or three-story concrete houses that are warm and windproof, and earthquake-resistant to a certain extent, so that the whole family can live in them.

During the Qin Dynasty, life expectancy was relatively short, and being able to have four generations living under the same roof was considered a good thing.

For ordinary people, a two- or three-story building would provide a room for each member of the family, with the remaining space used as storage or for other purposes.

If possible, Zhu Dan would like to carry out a large-scale demolition, tear down all the thatched houses that seem to be shivering in the cold wind, and build rows of beautiful concrete houses.

After special design, it is just like the new rural areas in later generations, and is no worse than the small villas in the city.

However, not to mention that there is still room for improvement in cement at this point, the ground is frozen after heavy snow, making it difficult to dig the foundation.

So Zhu Dan finally gave up this seemingly great idea and decided to wait until the spring to carry out this officially organized demolition and resettlement housing project.

Zhu Dan pursed her lips and looked up at the sky again. If her estimation was correct, it would snow again, heavy snow, and this winter was destined to be very difficult to endure.

Even though she knew that the people of Daqin had survived in this way before she came, but... Zhu Dan looked annoyed, because her mind had previously been on blast furnaces and improved seeds.

In addition, she herself is not very afraid of cold, so she forgot to popularize the kang first.

In traditional technology, yellow mud and clay are used to build kangs, and prefabricated cement slabs are not needed. She just roughly told the palace craftsmen about her ideas, and they tinkered with it for seven or eight days and it was almost done.

Taking a deep breath, Zhu Dan patted his face and said, "It's not too late to mend the fence after the sheep have been lost. I brought some craftsmen with me this time. I'll recruit a group of local people from Lantian County and train them. We'll soon be able to train skilled people. With Lantian County as the center, we can spread to the surrounding areas. Winter is only half over now, so there's still time."

"Erlin, besides checking the progress of cement, I also have an important task to assign to you when I come back this time." Zhu Dan's expression became serious as he arranged matters concerning the kang construction for Erlin.

"It's been so cold these past few days that the river is frozen, forcing the water mill to shut down. Few people come here, and they rarely go out, so I'll leave the promotion of the kang to you. You have to let everyone see the benefits of it first."

Erlin's face lit up with delight. After a moment's thought, he came up with an idea: "Young lady, how about this? We'll build a kang among the willow leaves first, and then we can invite our neighbors from the reeds to come over and show them the benefits of a kang. We'll also have the pig farmers there too. They have their own families, and as long as building a kang isn't expensive, I believe everyone will make the choice. Once they go back and build kangs in their own homes, it will be even easier to promote it."

Zhu Dan thought it made sense, as all things are difficult at the beginning.

As long as people see the real thing, no one would be stupid enough to not use the kang, but stick to the idea and live in a freezing ice house.

In the era without cotton, the poor and the lower class were the first to freeze to death.

They are very flexible.

The two discussed for another half an hour, roughly perfected the plan, and prepared to start construction tomorrow.

Zhu Dan smiled slightly. "I promised them a pig-killing banquet before. Why not combine these two things? Give them some places to invite relatives, friends, and neighbors to the banquet."

When inviting people to visit your home, there must be a reason, and a pig-killing banquet is a good reason.

Erlin didn't expect Zhu Dan to still remember this. He had heard people talk about it after moving in, but he didn't hold out much hope and had forgotten about it. He was pleasantly surprised when she mentioned it. "This is a great idea. I'll discuss it with Xiaohua about how to plan the pig-killing banquet."

"Xiaohua?" Zhu Dan was stunned. She tried hard to recall that the housekeeper seemed to have mentioned to her one day that Xiaohua would be the manager of Liuye Li.

The craftsman who had come with her from Xianyang seemed to have been settled by Xiaohua.

They have gone to rest.

The housekeeper is still in charge of Liuye Li, but his focus is on the Meng family villa, so he promoted Xiaohua. Unless it is a big deal, the housekeeper will not be alarmed.

When Zhu Dan found out about this, she was very surprised. Xiaohua had been eating and sleeping well for the past six months, and had long since gotten rid of the starving state she was in at the beginning.

She's not fat, but she has the body shape and physique that a girl of her age should have. But she's only ten years old after all.

...Okay, Zhu Dan quickly realized that ten years old was not considered young in ancient times. Some pampered noble ladies had already started to be taught by their mothers about housekeeping.

However, the housekeeper chose Xiaohua not for this reason, but because of Hu Tou.

Hu Tou is very capable at a young age, but he is busy running a tofu stall in the city and has no time.

After all, it was an emergency, and we couldn't just rush to the city to call Hu Tou back.

Hu Tou has multiple responsibilities and may not be able to take care of both sides.

So the housekeeper had to settle for the second best and chose Xiaohua.

He had observed that Xiaohua was patient and meticulous in her work, and had great prestige among the group of little beggars. She managed their small team of yuba-making people in an orderly manner.

I didn’t expect that after half a year, I would be pleasantly surprised to find that Xiaohua is very smart and learns things very quickly.

Except for being a little flustered at the beginning, nothing went wrong with his help.

It only took half a month for the housekeeper to let go.

After that, he returned to the villa and only had to reconcile the accounts in Liuye with Xiaohua every month.

As soon as Zhu Dan and his group arrived, Xiaohua made arrangements. After the craftsmen had taken a hot shower, she led them to their residence, which was simply furnished but clean.

If there is anything that needs to be purchased, just tell the maid and someone will immediately get it from the warehouse.

After they had rested, the meal was ready.

Thinking about the few times he had come to Willow Leaf to check on the progress and hadn't seen any mistakes, Zhu Dan recognized Xiaohua's logistical and organizational skills. "Well, you guys can discuss this matter. I won't interfere too much. However, I should be there on the day of the pig-killing banquet."

Leaving Liuyeli and riding in a carriage to the Meng Family Villa, Zhu Dan was a little worried: "Besides making a temporary kang, is there any other way to deal with this snowstorm?"

Even in later times, heavy snow is still very dangerous.

"I remember that the relevant departments seemed to use salt to melt snow, but relying on the powerful productivity and organizational capabilities of later generations, it will definitely not work in the Qin Dynasty." Zhu Dan thought to himself, but shook his head.

Salt is so precious, and the salt that can be used to melt snow is very pure fine salt. The Qin Dynasty still widely uses coarse salt, which is a waste of resources.

Even for the highly difficult project of blast furnace ironmaking, Zhu Dan tried his best to solve it.

But the snowstorm is different. It is a natural disaster that humans cannot resist.

If it were in the world of cultivation, Zhu Dan would naturally have a way, but as for Daqin... even if she wanted to, she didn't have enough spiritual power to dissolve the snow that was over her knees.

"Wutong, do you have any good ideas..."

Zhu Dan couldn't help but ask.

Suddenly, her expression changed, and she almost subconsciously summoned Tangyuan to cover herself and Gongsun Liu in the carriage.

All I heard was a loud clanging sound, as if something like a sword was chopping on the alchemy cauldron.

The alchemy cauldron remained motionless, but the surrounding carriages were affected by some invisible object and shattered into pieces.

Zhu Dan frowned and released his spiritual sense.

Daqin is not an ordinary Daqin. There was spiritual power here in the past. Even in the last days when it is impossible to practice Taoism, there will definitely be a group of masters who can cultivate the so-called Qi.

Of course, it is definitely not to the point where even flying flowers and fallen leaves can hurt people.

Generally, people become very skilled after training, but there are very few people who can truly cultivate the sense of Qi. Cao Teng, who was once responsible for protecting Zhu Dan, is one of them.

Zheng Ge has many such protectors around him, and now she has seen another one.

An enemy who wrapped himself tightly and came to kill her.

There was murderous intent in Zhu Dan's eyes.

Whoever dares to kill me, you'd better die first.