Chapter 104 Zhu Chong's Third Fire
"No, brother-in-law, I really didn't make any money. Why do you always say that I made money?" Qi Fei said with a sad face, "With Ye Song and others in the Ministry of Promotion, who can make any money? Brother-in-law, do you think there is any vacancy? If not, let me go to the East Palace to do odd jobs!"
Hearing Qi Fei say this, the clerk almost laughed out loud, "You went to the Eastern Palace. Do you really think highly of your brother-in-law? Do you think the Eastern Palace is run by our family? It seems you haven't learned your lesson yet!"
"Alright, that's all I have to say. Whether you listen or not, that's it for now. Even if you beg someone for help later, it won't be of any use. I still say the same thing. Stay quiet for now, or don't blame me for drawing a clear line between us and you, so that you don't get involved with me!"
"No, brother-in-law, how can you talk like that? You have to give the Buddha some consideration. What's wrong with you helping me for my sister's sake?" Qi Fei was a little unwilling.
"We are a family. If something happens to me, do you think you can really draw a line?"
Hearing Qi Fei's words, the petty official also became furious and sneered, "How dare you mention your sister to me? Just because of your sister, do you think I'm willing to get involved in this mess?"
"I'm telling you, Qi Fei, I've done my best to tell you this. Whether you listen or not is up to you!"
"Okay, that's all for today. Don't look for me in the future, no matter what. Even if the sky falls, don't worry, I can guarantee that you won't be able to get me into trouble no matter what. As for your sister, you and your sister can only wish you the best!"
"Hey, what do you mean?" Qi Fei was immediately anxious when he heard this. Seeing the clerk stood up and wanted to leave, he quickly stopped him and said, "Speak clearly, what do you mean?"
The clerk sneered, "You don't understand anything I mean. It's really a waste of your time as an official. I'm also puzzled. With your character, how could you have survived so long in the Baochao Tizhusi?"
When Qi Fei heard the clerk's words, he was stunned for a moment. Before he could react, the person had already gone out and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Looking at the empty yard outside, Qi Fei was speechless for a long time, stomped his feet in anger, and left in a hurry.
On the other hand, on his way back to the Baochao Tizhusi, Zhu Chong had already thought of the third fire he was going to start.
The existing banknote paper workshop had been destroyed by him, and he planned to build a new workshop.
Although he didn't see the original workshop structure, Zhu Chong could roughly tell from the ruins that the previous banknote paper workshop adopted very primitive technology, and he planned to improve it.
Of course, improvements require money. It would be extremely difficult for the Baochao Tizhusi to apply for funding now, so Zhu Chong planned to be self-sufficient and start with the details.
First, he planned to make the cement, for which he had already received detailed process instructions from the system.
Of course, he couldn't say that he could produce the same cement as that in Songming City right now, but it would be no problem to use it to build ordinary houses and to construct the materials needed for Zhu Chong's workshop.
But in order to make cement, you first have to find lime, and lime was actually quite commonly used during the Ming Dynasty.
Now many people know that after limestone is burned into powder, it can be directly mixed with water to fix stones, build houses or construct city walls.
Moreover, people in the Ming Dynasty already knew that lime could effectively repel mosquitoes. For example, in the palace built by Zhu Yuanzhang, a large amount of lime was said to be used at the lower levels to prevent insects.
But right now, Zhu Chong needs to solve one thing first, which is to unite the people in the Baochao Tizhusi.
To be precise, it was the hearts of the craftsmen that were the key to his next plan.
After returning to the Baochao Tizhusi, Zhu Chong already had a draft in mind. He then instructed Zhang Quan to gather all the craftsmen and start giving them a lecture.
Soon the craftsmen were gathered together, and they looked a little panicked and uneasy.
Zhu Chong's incident today made them feel at a loss as to what to do, because most of them knew that the reason they were anxious to stay here was that the court needed them as laborers without pay.
But now Zhu Chong has blown up the workshop, and what they will do next is definitely a big problem.
According to what they knew, the imperial court usually dealt with craftsmen like them who had worked in workshops of secret imperial agencies by either killing them or keeping them alive. Obviously, the latter was not realistic. After all, there was no point in keeping these people alive, so they had no choice but to kill them.
The result was just as they expected. Before Zhu Chong came back, all the Jinyiwei of the Baochao Tizhusi were replaced in an instant.
The craftsmen suddenly became even more panicked, because this was a sign that the court was going to take action against them.
So when Zhu Chong appeared in front of the craftsmen, almost everyone had a sad look on their faces, ready to welcome their final moment.
"Everyone, I have summoned you here for two reasons. First and foremost, something unexpected happened at the Banknote and Paper Bureau today, and the workshop needs to be rebuilt. Therefore, we need everyone's cooperation to rebuild the new workshop."
"The second thing is, you have all worked so hard in my Treasury and Banknotes Administration Office for so many years. I am very grateful for your contributions to the court. Therefore, from today on, I will pay you your wages every day."
"Of course, the money may not be much now, thirty coins per person per day, but I guarantee that this amount will only increase and not decrease in the future. If it does decrease, you can all curse my ancestors!"
Zhu Chong's words caused an uproar among the craftsmen present. They looked at each other with disbelief on their faces.
"Sir, are you serious? Will you pay us wages from now on?"
"No way! Is this true? Are you just trying to scare us for fun? There must be a conspiracy!"
"Yes, how could he be so kind? It's like a weasel wishing a happy new year to a chicken. It's just talk!"
"I think there's something fishy going on here. Everyone, be careful..."
After the initial uproar, the craftsmen unanimously believed that Zhu Chong was fooling them and wanted to appease them so that he could "take action" against them. He would definitely not be so kind as to give them money or something.
But not everyone thinks so. There are still some people with simple and kind hearts who are unwilling to think so badly of others. When they look at Zhu Chong, their eyes are full of hope, and they believe that the court really intends to improve their treatment.
However, even the people in the Baochao Tizhusi were not optimistic about Zhu Chong's actions and thought that Zhu Chong was fooling people.
"Sir, I'm afraid your delaying tactic is not appropriate." Zhang Quan heard the craftsmen's discussion and his face looked a little unhappy. He came to Zhu Chong and whispered to him in a low voice.
"Without the Emperor's approval, the Ministry of Revenue will not give us the money. Besides, now that you've opened this door, how will this end? If we're not careful, there will be a huge mess!"
Hearing Zhang Quan's words, Zhu Chong grinned at him, turned around and waved, and then everyone saw someone carrying a box in from outside.
When Zhu Chong opened the box and waved to everyone, they saw what was inside the box and their eyes almost popped out of their heads...
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