At this time, Zhao Xian hired a group of female workers in the workshop. Under the guidance of Shen Jianfeng and Wan Xiumei, they began spinning and weaving.

A few days ago, Zhao Xian bought a large amount of cotton and cotton wadding, so he didn't have to worry about a shortage of raw materials.

With more than twenty days to go before the Emperor's birthday celebration, Zhao Xian was still actively preparing birthday gifts for the Emperor. According to his original plan, the birthday gifts prepared this time should highlight the theme of "agriculture".

Zhao Xian had people make some snacks using potatoes and sweet potatoes as the main ingredients. These snacks had a very unique flavor and texture, and had never appeared before in this era.

These pastries, after being carefully packaged, became a very exquisite birthday gift, but Zhao Xian felt that something was still missing.

After careful consideration, he purchased some snacks from the system and repackaged them, thus making the birthday gift very abundant in terms of food.

Next, what Zhao Xian prepared was the highlight of this birthday celebration.

In those days, warm clothing was very scarce, far less abundant than it is today. So Zhao Xian made some cotton fabrics to present as gifts on the Emperor's birthday, which the Emperor would surely appreciate.

Wan Xiumei is skillful and quick-witted. Based on Zhao Xian's requirements, she quickly produced a variety of cotton products.

To highlight the cold-weather protection effect of the cotton-padded clothes, Zhao Xian asked Wan Xiumei to make cold-weather products such as cotton-padded clothes, underwear, cotton-padded shoes, hats, scarves and gloves.

In addition, some quilts and pillows were also made. In the cold winter, how important it is to have a quilt on the bed.

In the past, before cotton was widely available, it was very difficult to find a warm quilt for a family.

Families with better financial means typically have quilts made from animal fur, silk, or poultry down.

Impoverished families could only stuff their quilts with straw or reeds to keep warm, but this was far less effective than quilts made of cotton.

Looking at the birthday gifts that were about to be sent to the emperor, Zhao Xian was quite satisfied. The emperor valued the people's livelihood, and the birthday gifts he was sending were far better than sending gold and silver.

At this moment, Li Guang arrived and told Zhao Xian that the emperor would soon be celebrating his birthday, and he wanted to present the emperor with a birthday gift, but he didn't know what to give and asked Zhao Xian for advice.

Zhao Xian smiled and said:

"As a young prince, your birthday gift to the emperor should be unique and meaningful."

Regardless, the Emperor will like the birthday gift you sent.

Li Guang nodded and said:

"I plan to present my father with a map of the Great Northern Dynasty. I spent a month researching historical materials to create this map. I don't know if it is accurate."

"The gift for Father Emperor must be perfect. I'd like Brother Zhao to take a look and check if there are any mistakes."

“Really? Let me take a look at the map you drew,” Zhao Xian said.

Li Guang took out a map from his pocket and handed it over. Zhao Xian took the map, unfolded it, and began to look at it carefully.

Looking at the map in front of him, Zhao Xian was stunned. Although the map was not very accurate, it marked all the prefectures and counties of the Great Northern Dynasty, and the locations were basically accurate.

Li Guang also marked some countries surrounding the Great Northern Dynasty on the map. In the southeast of the Great Northern Dynasty, there was a sea area, and there were also some countries overseas, which Li Guang also marked.

It is truly remarkable that an ancient person who never left the country could draw such a clear geographical map of such a large area.

Zhao Xian came from the modern era and is very familiar with the geography of China and the surrounding areas.

He could combine his geographical knowledge to draw a more accurate geographical map, and thinking of this, he said:

“This map is very well drawn, but it’s not accurate enough. I’m going to revise it for you by combining it with some historical materials. This will take two days.”

"Thank you, Brother Zhao," Li Guang said excitedly.

With Zhao Xian's help, this map will be more accurate and complete.

Two days later, Zhao Xian finally finished revising the map and handed it to Li Guang.

Li Guang was pleasantly surprised as he looked at the revised map.

Looking at this map is like looking down over the territory of the Great Northern Dynasty; everything on the land is clearly presented before you.

The trend of the northern mountain range, the direction of the rivers, the distribution of lakes, and even the islands in the sea are all clearly visible.

This may be the most complete and clearest geographical map ever created.

Looking at this map, Li Guang felt his blood boil.

Next, Li Guang began to redraw the map. Zhao Xian told him that four colors could be used to draw the map, which would make the map clearer and more intuitive.

It took Li Guang and Zhao Xian a lot of effort to redo the map, and two days later, the redrawn map was finally completed.

When Li Guang unfolded the map, his family gathered around and were immediately awestruck.

This was the first time they had ever seen the landscape of the Great Northern Dynasty, and it was so beautiful.

Zhao Xian calculated the date and felt it was about time, so he packed the prepared birthday gifts and sent them to the capital.

Of course, the map that Li Guang had meticulously crafted was also carefully framed and sent to the capital.

Finally, the Emperor's birthday arrived, and the entire palace was filled with joy. The Emperor had the palace decorated to prepare for this grand festival.

In preparation for this day, civil and military officials and regional governors made careful preparations, and the birthday gifts they sent stretched all the way outside the palace.

These birthday gifts will be carried to the site, registered by a specialist, and then stored in a warehouse.

Because there were too many birthday gifts sent, the emperor could not possibly review them all.

When birthday gifts were being registered, eunuchs would read them aloud while the emperor listened.

If the emperor was interested in a certain birthday gift, he would have it presented to him so that he could personally inspect it, thus broadening the horizons of those present.

The first gifts presented were birthday presents from important members of the royal family and high-ranking officials of the court. To show the emperor's importance, he had to review all of these gifts.

If the emperor is interested in the presented gift, it will be the greatest honor for the presenter.

Zhao Xian was a fourth-rank official, a rank that was not considered high-ranking in the capital, so his birthday gifts were presented later in the day.

At this time, after the birthday gifts were read out and recorded, the emperor would generally not look at them, but would send them directly to the treasury.

When the eunuch read out the birthday gifts sent by Zhao Xian from Shuixian Village, the emperor's eyes lit up, and he listened attentively to the names of the gifts.

The birthday gifts presented by Zhao Xian were mostly food and household items, which the Emperor had never heard of or seen before. He then spoke:

"Bring the birthday gifts over; I want to see them."

Soon, several large boxes of birthday gifts were carried to the emperor.