Chapter 95 New Ways to Make Money
Not only did he have no money, Zhao Yuanxi also had no money.
The money given to the college was actually spent, even though the total number of students there was only about a hundred, but it was a bottomless pit.
Zhao Yuanxi must find a new way to make money before he spends all the gold in his hands.
When Zhang Liang came back from the academy and went to look for Queen Mother Zhao, he was told that Queen Mother Zhao had gone to the paper mill.
Zhang Liang still remembers the paper mill clearly, after all, that's where he woke up.
During the time he was helping Queen Mother Zhao, he also came into contact with a lot of things about the paper mill, which was a golden opportunity in the hands of Queen Mother Zhao.
Zhang Liang thought that Queen Mother Zhao was tinkering with her Yong paper business, but when he arrived at the paper mill, he saw the Queen Mother playing in the mud.
......
In addition to the Queen Mother, there were several other people there making mud sculptures.
"Why are you here?" Zhao Yuanxi's hands were covered with mud, and even her face was covered with mud at some point, but she didn't feel anything. Instead, she was wondering why Zhang Liang came here.
"I came to see you about the academy!"
Zhang Liang told Zhao Yuanxi about Chu's affairs.
Zhao Yuanxi said happily, "He's willing to send the child over, isn't that a good thing? Just ask them to send the child over, and as for this bundle of money, just accept it! Oh, by the way, I remember he has a child there, and there's only an elderly person left at home. Tell him to send the child over as well!"
She was worried about the academy being a money-eating beast, with people only coming in but not leaving.
Chu is willing to send his child to study here, and the college can receive normal tuition, which is also a good start.
"By the way, his family is in the tofu business. If the college canteen needs to buy any of these things, you can go to him. He guarantees to give you the best."
As Zhao Yuanxi was talking, his hands did not stop. After kneading for a long time, he finally made a little rabbit.
Zhang Liang was a little stunned by Zhao Yuanxi. The Queen Mother had such a good relationship with that man that even the children in his village knew everything.
"The Queen Mother seems to think highly of him?"
Zhao Yuanxi looked up and smiled, "He's a kind man, smart, and hardworking. Don't underestimate him."
Zhang Liang fell silent upon hearing this.
He did look down on the man named Chu. Zhang Liang was born into a noble family. Even though his father died early, his family still had a high status in Han. The people he dealt with were either princes or sons of nobles.
Even in Qin, the people around Queen Dowager Zhao were all children of aristocrats, and even the most simple-minded Xu Yi was not a commoner.
He had never dealt with real people.
"I understand." Zhang Liang lowered his head. To be praised so highly by Queen Mother Zhao, he must have some ability. It was just that he was blinded by these external things and could not see the essence of the matter.
"Anything else?"
Zhao Yuanxi grabbed another lump of mud and began to make another rabbit.
Zhang Liang saw that she was having a lot of fun and was curious, "What is the Queen Mother doing?"
"Making porcelain!" Zhao Yuanxi was full of confidence.
"Porcelain?" Zhang Liang was puzzled.
The utensils commonly used in this era were either copper or pottery. Even iron was very rare, and porcelain did not appear until hundreds of years later.
Zhao Yuanxi has always believed that if he wants to make a lot of money, he must earn money from the nobles.
So what are the things that can make them money? It must be all kinds of luxury goods!
Zhao Yuanxi didn't have any gemstones or jade, and couldn't find any, so she could only use her brain to make use of this seemingly worthless soil.
Zhao Yuanxi explained: "It's similar to pottery, but more beautiful and more valuable."
Zhang Liang felt that the last four words were important. However, everything Queen Dowager Zhao made was indeed very valuable.
"Do you want to try it?" Zhao Yuanxi saw that he was still curious and invited him with a smile.
A ball of soil was stuffed into Zhang Liang's hand. The delicate feeling made him notice the difference. Apart from the Queen Mother Zhao who was playing with little rabbits, the workers around him seemed to be working seriously.
The clay pieces in their hands are even more delicate, and no one knows what they will look like if they are successfully fired.
The Qin State had extremely advanced pottery firing technology, which Zhao Yuanxi had witnessed when he visited the Mausoleum of Qin Shihuang.
These potters were easy to find.
However, there is still a huge difference between making pottery and making porcelain. The soil used for pottery is clay, which has a high iron content. Gravel and fiber materials need to be added to the soil before firing. Porcelain mainly uses kaolin mixed with quartz and other mineral materials. The raw materials must be clean enough, and the calcination temperatures of the two are also different.
Zhao Yuanxi and his men searched for a long time before they almost found the formula for celadon.
This is the 108th kiln they are preparing to fire. If it doesn't work this time, Zhao Yuanxi can only try the 109th time.
Zhao Yuanxi successfully molded the second little rabbit. Seeing Zhang Liang still struggling with the lump of clay in his hand, he couldn't help but laugh out loud, "You seem smart on a daily basis, but your hands-on skills are really worrying!"
Not as good as hers! At least she made these two rabbits look pretty realistic.
Zhang Liang deeply felt the bad taste of Queen Mother Zhao, and ignored her and turned to ask the workers for advice.
He was so humble, and the workers, seeing that he was young and so eager to learn, were naturally happy to teach him.
At the beginning he couldn't even make a specific shape, but later on it gradually started to take shape, until he formed the lump of soil into a long-necked bottle.
Zhao Yuanxi couldn't help but feel a little jealous!
She had been learning here for three days, three whole days! Until now, she could only pinch an ordinary water cup. This kind of long-necked bottle was a one-time thing she made and then destroyed!
Zhang Liang ignored the resentful look on Queen Mother Zhao's face and carefully placed the bottle he had made into the kiln. Zhao Yuanxi's two rabbits were also stuffed in.
"We still have to wait for a few hours. Do you plan to go back for dinner, or are you going to have a meal here with me?" Zhao Yuanxi calmed down and asked casually.
Zhao Yuanxi has no plans to return to Liyang Palace until the porcelain is successfully fired.
Zhang Liang was also curious about what his creations would look like, so he simply chose to stay.
The food at the paper mill tastes average, but the portions are definitely filling.
Zhang Liang sat on the ground, holding a big bowl of food, and suddenly felt that he seemed to have a miserable life. But looking around, everyone around him was like this, and even the empress dowager didn't look much better.
He could only lower his head and eat in silence.
After rummaging around for a while, he found an egg in his bowl. He looked at the Queen Mother's bowl and saw two eggs...
"Just eat! Why are you so surprised? You should be glad that you are quite likable, otherwise the chef here probably won't add eggs for you!" Zhao Yuanxi didn't feel anything was wrong.
She is the boss here, so what if she eats one more egg!
Zhang Liang was the lucky guy. Even without her prior instructions, the kitchen staff automatically gave him an extra meal.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
