Chapter 38 The descendant of a peasant family who volunteered himself was…
Song Gu stood frozen in place.
The young monarch asked him with concern, "What's wrong?"
"No..." Song Gu hurriedly stammered, his mind racing, recalling the lonely and quiet young man he had met in his previous life and the various details he had learned from the palace in this life.
If it wasn't Liuzhou, could the new emperor's longing for his hometown be some kind of metaphor? Perhaps some cherished memory from his time in the palace…? Impossible. The second prince lost his mother at birth and endured much hardship in the palace; this was all information he urgently learned after his rebirth. If it referred to his maternal family, then the old patriarch was still quite vigorous when the new emperor ascended the throne.
Your Highness possesses such vast knowledge, ranging from astronomy and geography to farming and irrigation, from mathematics to culinary arts... even including how to govern a country and how to formulate national policies.
Previously, Song Gu had never doubted how these things were done.
The new emperor is perfect in his eyes, and he is diligent every day. Isn't it normal for him to learn these things? Even if there are no lessons to be learned, what's wrong with naturally knowing them? Your Highness is a descendant of the dragon, and you naturally possess nobility. You should know everything.
"..." But now, recalling all those details, recalling His Highness's wisdom and might, recalling how everyone praised the new emperor as a divinely appointed ruler, a talent unseen for centuries, before his rebirth...
Song Gu suddenly broke out in a cold sweat and dared not think any further.
No... really...
He's a god-given ruler.
Song Gu had not forgotten how many hardships the Second Prince had gone through since childhood. Without his rebirth, the journey would have been even more arduous. Even his ascension to the throne as the new emperor was a difficult one. He remembered his mother saying when he was very young that if the star lords in the heavens were to descend to the mortal world, they would face all sorts of setbacks, because they were there to undergo trials.
Could it be that His Highness... is a star lord who didn't drink the Meng Po soup? Did he come from heaven and thus deeply yearn for his so-called "hometown"?
In a flash, Song Gu recalled the figure of His Majesty gazing up at the moonlight under the night sky in his past life.
At that time, he didn't understand why the new emperor gazed at the moon for so long, so lonely and distant. Now, Song Gu guessed—perhaps His Highness's hometown is on the moon!
He didn't think his guess was far-fetched.
Otherwise, why was it him who was reborn? And received such bizarre and wondrous encounters? He remembered fainting amidst intense grief and weeping, and when he awoke, he had already received this divinely granted miracle…
Yes.
Even the early death of the new emperor fits the second half of the story my mother told me... those star lords, once they have completed their trials in the mortal world, will return to heaven.
Song Gu fell silent.
He thought of the young man's pale, gaunt face, and then of the confident, composed demeanor of the boy now—the contrast was too great. Song Gu felt it wasn't a figment of his imagination; although the new emperor always appeared aloof and indifferent, a qualified adult monarch, he seemed utterly weary of that kind of life.
Has His Highness endured too many hardships since childhood? Song Gu can understand.
If it were him... he would also sincerely hope to return to heaven as soon as possible.
"Steward Song?" Qi Chengming called out to him in confusion. Song Gu calmed his inner turmoil, took a deep breath, and tried to keep his voice steady as he replied, regaining his usual mature and composed demeanor: "I am here."
That's the meaning of his second life.
He harbored a small, selfish hope: if he could do his utmost to protect His Highness in this life and overcome all hardships, would the new ruler, whose peaceful and prosperous life on Earth meant his cultivation was still insufficient, return to Heaven a little later?
Song Gu hoped and longed for it.
...
"Ahem, Steward Song, could you tell me about the details of these land deeds we bought today?" Qi Chengming cleared his throat, awkwardly changing the subject.
He couldn't refuse Chief Eunuch Song's request, so he changed the other person's name to "Song Gu". After that, the young eunuch was so overjoyed that he was out of his mind. He was absent-minded, and his face turned red and then pale. He completely threw away his usual composure.
But Qi Chengming couldn't really care about any of that.
He lowered his head and pressed his fist to his lips, trying his best to conceal his slightly flushed cheeks as if nothing was wrong. It took him a while to calm himself down... What a close call! He managed to calm down before Steward Song came to his senses.
They say things like, "The memories you're looking forward to must be wonderful," or "I also want to become that kind of wonderful person..."
That's so unfair.
This is too unfair to a traveler who travels to ancient times and fights for the throne, and can never return to the modern world, only able to miss the past from a distant time and space!
Qi Chengming awkwardly looked away, waiting seriously for the introduction.
"Okay." Song Gu quickly composed himself and returned to business. He solemnly picked up the land deeds one by one and introduced them, "This is the land planned for a restaurant, this one is reserved for a soap shop, and this one is..."
Chief Steward Song is very capable and thoughtful; Qi Chengming listened for a long time but couldn't find any fault with him.
He not only bought two shops and three estates for the manor, but also two small courtyards, one near and one far. One was intended to be used as a factory for the craftsmen, and the other was to be used as a laboratory by Qi Chengming. Finally, there was the most remote and largest plot of land, which was the place where Qi Chengming planned to use night-blooming jasmine to make compost.
Steward Song reported in a very serious tone:
"...We've recruited most of the blacksmiths and carpenters in Liuzhou City, and the shops are expected to open in a month at the latest. The factory can start production at any time. Also, I bought a lot of servants for the Prince's mansion today, and they've all been sent to the estate to be trained in manners."
"Have Zhao the craftsman and his men make more soap to stock up. There's no rush to open the restaurant and shops," Qi Chengming suggested after listening quietly. He would immediately write a letter to Bai Xuan, asking him to send some experienced people over.
Prince Rui's mansion was never good at these things; it lacked both manpower and experience. Starting from scratch was extremely difficult, so it would be unreasonable not to leverage external resources. Qi Chengming also didn't intend to keep everything in his own hands—it was both unsafe and ostentatious. It was better to create the illusion that the Bai family's shops had expanded to Liuzhou.
He'll hand everything over then, and all he'll need to do is collect the money. If anything goes wrong, he can just contact Bai Xuan.
"Oh, right, help me tidy up the east wing. I plan to build some things there. Have the Imperial Guards keep a close watch at the gate, and no one should be allowed to enter or leave without permission." Qi Chengming suddenly remembered and instructed. Although he had asked Steward Song to buy a small courtyard to use as a laboratory, he also planned to clear out a small laboratory in the Prince's Mansion.
—That's pure laziness. Dangerous experiments can be conducted in the courtyard, while Qi Chengming's daily tinkering can be done in the palace.
"Yes." Song Gu lowered his head knowingly.
In the past, he might have been curious about what His Highness was up to, but after what had just happened, he had no doubts whatsoever. It was perfectly normal for His Highness to do whatever he wanted!
"And..." Qi Chengming gritted his teeth, his heart bleeding, and said, "Go buy a few glass bottles. I'll draw the shapes and you buy them. If you can't find them on the market, write to the caravan to ask."
He must immediately start researching how to make glassware! He'll need it all in the future. Otherwise, no amount of money will be enough to support his extravagant spending on glass bottles, and there are many chemical instruments of various shapes that glass bottles simply cannot handle.
Unfortunately… the infrastructure system didn't provide him with the glass manufacturing method. And the only vague recollection Qi Chengming had of it was that the raw materials seemed to be lime and quartz sand. As for what the other materials were, he'd completely forgotten!
The only option is to first build a brick kiln capable of firing at high temperatures in the experimental courtyard, and then slowly experiment to develop the formula.
...
Time passed slowly.
This week, Liuzhou City was immersed in a bustling and busy atmosphere.
The prince who came from afar is still the most talked-about topic. Because he needed a lot of people to do the work, the recruitment notice was advertised three times a day by the county yamen runners. After the first group of bold people applied, they sent back the details of the salary and benefits...
Two meals a day were provided, thick rice porridge in generous portions, and occasionally a few bits of meat. I was always happy to lick the oil off the bowl! The wages were paid daily, and there were no delays in payment. I was also not beaten or scolded while working.
As expected of a big shot from the capital, he didn't bother to bother with a bunch of commoners like them!
The news caused a sensation in Liuzhou. Initial hesitation and caution turned into jubilation, with people scrambling to get work. This led to several construction sites posting urgent notices that day, announcing they were temporarily full – if you wanted some work, wait until next time.
After much trial and error, Qi Chengming managed to produce a vat of crude ammonium sulfate solution. It took him another week to refine and polish the solution, and finally, he had enough fertilizer!
In fact, the infrastructure system teaches very clearly and simply, and the process is not complicated at all, but... it requires a large area and many furnaces, which is why it has taken so long to complete.
The experimental courtyard that Qi Chengming had Xiao Song, the head steward, buy was almost not enough, so they had to urgently expand it:
The courtyard now contains a bizarre and enormous structure consisting of ten furnaces connected to large porcelain vats, all constructed of bricks. The first two furnaces and vats are "dry distillation furnaces," the middle four furnaces and vats are "ammonia steaming furnaces," and the last four large vats are simply placed in the middle of a large kang (heated brick bed) filled with sand; this is the so-called kang sand tray drying device.
These things that take up the entire courtyard are just a device for producing a kind of fertilizer.
"It takes up so much space." Qi Chengming looked at the jar of finished product with a sense of accomplishment and sighed. He had a feeling that his small experimental courtyard would probably turn into a huge experimental courtyard in the future... and a very, very big one at that, because there would definitely be a lot of devices to be made in the future.
Next, we need to prepare to plant the potato seeds!
After Qi Chengming's day and night anticipation, the caravan's ships finally arrived slowly on the third day...
But they brought unexpected news:
In Longcheng, Liuzhou Prefecture, they encountered a young man who claimed to be a descendant of a prominent family from a farming family, and that he had come for the Second Prince.
Qi Chengming was caught off guard: "...Huh?"
Did you recommend him to help with farming?
Ready to plant potatoes? Has someone talented arrived?
Qi Chengming couldn't help but look up at the sky with suspicion; it looked perfectly normal. Was he really not some kind of favored child of the heavens? Or had he recently gained some kind of superpower where his wishes came true?
He was unsure exactly how to plant potatoes, including clearing land… How should he organize the people of Liuzhou to do it? Should he hire people? But if the people didn't genuinely feel that clearing land was a good thing, no amount of money would help. Should he let the county government organize and encourage it? Or what should he do…?
Qi Chengming only had a rough draft in mind, and his mind had been preoccupied with fertilizer lately. He hadn't even figured out a more concrete and practical method yet, and here came this talent?
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Author's Note: Second update today! That's all, I'm going to collapse now. (The steps in this article are all from "Animal Bone Dry Distillation for Ammonium Sulfate Production")
I forgot to mention in the last chapter that last night I dreamt that Qi Chengming was being chased and ran away all night. Everyone around him was killed, and he was panting and looked extremely weak and sickly, but even after running all night, he was still lively and energetic... hhhh
I woke up laughing so hard.
Enemy: Try one more time!
Try a little harder...
Keep trying...
Again……
The enemy was killed first.
.
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