Chapter 374: A coal stove that doesn't need to be guarded
After confirming the burning time, combustion heat and cost of the coal balls, Fu Chenan was full of expectations.
"The process control and production of these coal briquettes will be handed over to your Ministry of Industry in the future."
The Ministry of Works was responsible for recruiting laborers to mine coal, soil, and stone.
At the same time, the craftsmen are required to control the proportion and quality of lime burning, coal and mud.
It is equivalent to separating the responsibilities of production and sales.
The Industry Department is responsible for production and quality; the Accounting Department is responsible for sales and channels.
In order to increase the enthusiasm of the Ministry of Industry, Fu Chenan also specially proposed a reward policy.
At the end of the year, in addition to salaries and wages, relevant personnel in the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Revenue also received bonuses.
Bonuses are paid out based on sales volume and quality, with 10 percent of net profits used to pay bonuses to the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Households.
And bonuses?
This is such a pleasant surprise!
The Minister of Industry was overjoyed: "Yes!"
Fu Chenan looked at the Minister of Industry with deep eyes: "There are some things I need to tell you in advance."
"This bonus is not something you naturally deserve."
"It is your responsibility to do your part well."
"It's just that the country is in need of vigorous development right now. If you do a good job, the country can develop faster."
“The bonus is just a stopgap measure.”
"After a few years, when the country has developed and stabilized, this bonus will be cancelled."
"Don't think that this is what the court should give you. If it's gone, you will be passive and lazy..."
After some persuasion, the Minister of Works naturally responded with "yes".
But in his heart, the Minister of Works had his own interpretation: "Make money as early as possible."
While the court is still giving out bonuses, everyone is working hard to get more money.
I am the head of the Ministry of Industry. If everyone takes money, I, as the top leader, will naturally get the biggest share.
If you can earn money through formal channels, who would be willing to risk being beheaded to be greedy and take advantage of it?
Once you have earned enough money, if you can no longer work, you can take the money home to live on in your retirement.
When the Minister of Works thought of this, he felt that his future in making money was bright and he almost drooled.
On the way out of the palace, Cui Chaoyong, the Minister of Revenue, was full of envy: "Old Qiu, you are so lucky."
"How many projects have we completed for the court? How much money have we earned? There has never been any talk of rewards!"
"But look at you, you made a coal briquette, and the formula and model were all given by the prince, and the prince actually gave you a reward..."
Qiu Zhishan looked at Cui Chaoyong doubtfully: "Really?"
Cui Chaoyong spread his hands and said, "Can I lie? Just go and ask..."
Qiu Zhishan believed it without much doubt.
The capital city is a circle, and many of the aristocratic families are related by marriage and old acquaintances, so the news cannot be concealed.
If the Ministry of Revenue had a commission, it would be impossible that there would be no news at all.
Did the prince really start the rewarding process because of the Ministry of Industry?!
The driver was about to drive him home for dinner, but Qiu Zhishan ordered enthusiastically: "Turn around and go to the Ministry of Industry."
"Finish your work first and then go home for dinner."
What to eat?
Work first! Oxen and horses!
If you guys start working earlier, I can earn more rewards!
The Minister of Works called a meeting of the leaders of various departments who were preparing to finish work and go home, and told everyone about the prince's idea.
The people below had no idea and were confused: "How much silver is that?"
The Minister of Industry glared and said, "This is all extra money. Why do you care how much it is? Just think of it as money falling from the sky!"
"You think the money falling from the sky is too little?"
"Just asking if you want it?"
Everyone below: “Yes, yes, yes!”
Seeing that their thoughts had been initially unified, the Minister of Works began to give sweet dates again.
"The Ministry of Revenue said that we will know the amount of reward money we can get after the coal briquette shop starts selling for three days."
"We can also offer a reward level based on the figures given by the Ministry of Revenue."
"At that time, everyone will get reward money according to how much effort they have contributed."
"This money was given by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, so take it with peace of mind."
"The weather is getting hot now, and the sales of coal briquettes are not that high yet. Once the weather gets colder, hehehe..."
"As long as you work hard, the court will not treat us unfairly!"
Everyone in the Ministry of Works was excited when they heard this and responded loudly.
“Yes!”
In just three days, the coal briquette shop quietly opened on a state-owned street.
This time the shop was very strange: there was no high-end decoration, and inside there were black honeycomb coal on one side and rows of coal stoves on the other.
The strangest thing is that there is a stove built at the door, with red-hot honeycomb coal burning inside.
There is a pot on top, and the dessert inside is bubbling away.
The sweet aroma wafts along the street, attracting people to try it.
Everyone was stunned when they saw that there was coal briquettes instead of charcoal or firewood under the huge iron pot.
The shopkeeper asked the loud-voiced waiter to stand at the door and shout: "Honeycomb coal burns for a long time; the fire is steady and you don't need to guard it..."
The various benefits of honeycomb briquettes were called out over and over again using the lotus flower method, and many people came to watch the fun.
But it’s almost summer, and everyone is complaining about the heat, so how many people will care about this?
This time, the newly opened state-owned store attracted more people to watch the fun than to buy.
Some people with ulterior motives started pointing fingers.
"Summer is almost here, who would buy this stuff?"
“That’s right!”
"This is not a Western product. It is something we dug out from our own land."
"The Ministry of Revenue has made a foolish deal this time..."
"I'm afraid we'll lose money this time?"
"I want to see who is the sucker who bought this honeycomb briquettes."
Amidst the crowd laughing and watching, the shopkeeper looked calm and composed.
He had been prepared for this and continued to let his men shout with the loud speaker.
Soon, the first victim appeared.
An old man in gray clothes and white hair stood by the coal stove at the door, observing the pot of sugar water on the stove.
Small bubbles were bubbling in the middle of the sugar water pot, maintaining a slight boil.
The fire is not big, but it is not extinguished either. It is indeed very stable.
After looking for a while, an old man in gray walked in.
"How long can one of these honeycomb coals burn?"
The shopkeeper saw that business had come and hurried forward to greet them.
"Old man, under high fire conditions, one of these honeycomb coals can burn for an hour."
"In low-fire mode, one honeycomb coal can burn for two hours."
"But this stove requires three honeycomb coals stacked together, with the fire burning from the bottom up..."
"After about an hour, use these pliers to pick up the coal ash at the bottom and throw it away, then put a new one on top..."
"If you want a big fire, open the bottom lid and put it in a ventilated place."
"If you want a low fire, just close the lid and leave only a small hole..."
"You don't need to send someone to watch the fire. Just take a look for half an hour or so will be enough..."
The shopkeeper demonstrated with tongs as he spoke.
The onlookers were amazed at what they saw, but the old man in gray kept nodding his head as he listened.
After watching the shopkeeper's demonstration, the father-in-law asked again: "I am making medicine for my wife at home. Will this honeycomb coal affect the efficacy of the medicine?"
When this question was asked, many people suddenly understood.
It turned out that the father-in-law wanted to buy it to make medicine.
Indeed, the most important things in making medicine are the heat and time.
If the time is not enough, the medicine will not be effective enough; if the fire is too high or too low, the medicine will not be effective either.
Normally, it takes half an hour or even an hour to boil the medicine, and someone has to watch over it, otherwise it will easily burn or stall.
That not only wastes medicinal materials, but also delays treatment.
In terms of stable firepower and the lack of need for people to guard the fire, this honeycomb briquettes are truly unique.
But they have never used honeycomb briquettes before, are they sure it won’t affect the efficacy of the medicine?
The shopkeeper smiled calmly, "Don't worry about that. We have specially asked the imperial physician to test it."
"After the imperial physician used it, he said there was no problem."
Everyone felt relieved at once: if the imperial physician said there was no problem, then there must be no problem!
The old man in gray immediately made the decision: "I want a stove and two hundred coal balls!"
(End of this chapter)
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