Chapter 299 The Diligent Emperor Used as Cannon Fodder (Extra Chapter 1) Lin You…
After greeting Murong Yu, Lin You decisively left the current world, leaving only Nangong Rou and Li Tianle sizing each other up.
"Li Tianle, before I transmigrated, I was an ordinary office worker, and my side job was a handicraft blogger." Li Tianle took the lead in extending his hand and introducing himself.
“I’ve seen your videos before, you’re the guy who makes hand-made penicillin, right?” Nangong Rou extended her hand to shake his hand politely. “Nangong Rou is just an ordinary working person, I don’t have any side jobs that make money.”
Li Tianle echoed, "I've heard so much about you! You're the famous goddess of J University. Half the boys in the whole school are infatuated with you, and countless people are working hard to get into the Fortune 500 just to be worthy of you."
Nangong Rou seemed to have rediscovered her former self, smiling gently and exuding charm, "It's all just everyone's kindness, how can I compare to a big blogger like you with hundreds of thousands of followers?"
Murong Yu sipped his tea and listened quietly. Although he only understood bits and pieces, he could roughly tell that these two people were very capable.
After exchanging greetings, Nangong Rou stopped talking nonsense and quickly began discussing the soap business model with Li Tianle.
This thing may seem insignificant, but it is an essential item for people's daily lives. If it is processed in a more refined way, it can also be used as a skin care and cleansing product, which can make a lot of money.
Before long, the two of them quickly finalized the business model. Based on the carving competition model that Li Tianle had mentioned, Nangong Rou made further refinements and wrote a lot of sales pitches.
The two also recommended the Fifth Prince to be in charge, since he was the only one in the capital who knew how to have fun, loved excitement, and could keep the place in check.
Murong Yu took the project proposal and was increasingly surprised. What surprised him even more was that the two people in front of him did not do the work themselves, but handed it over directly.
Besides, even if he didn't do it himself, he could have handed it over to relatives and friends. So readily handing over the recipe and business model gave Murong Yu a strange feeling.
For many craftsmen, the recipe is more important than their own lives. It is passed down to sons only, and some even only to their eldest sons. They would not hand it over even if threatened with their lives.
“Everyone has different strengths. Instead of doing these things, we should develop more solutions.” Li Tianle answered frankly after hearing Murong Yu’s question.
After getting rid of the system, Nangong Rou felt a bit more carefree. "We don't have any relatives or friends. In this world, the only person we know well is His Majesty."
After saying that, she leaned closer to Murong Yu, which startled him so much that he quickly took three steps back. Realizing that he had overreacted, he coughed awkwardly and said, "Don't wander around. Sit still, or you'll fall."
Although the two had some intimate contact while doing quests, everyone knew it was all an act, and they were only there to complete the quests.
After learning about Nangong Rou's identity, Murong Yu no longer treated her as one of his concubines. Of course, the most important reason was that Murong Yu still had some psychological trauma from being possessed by an evil spirit, so he dared not have an overly intimate relationship with her.
However, she made significant contributions in dealing with the evil creatures, so her status should be elevated. Li Tianle should also be promoted and given a raise.
After the Fifth Prince, who was listening to music in the brothel, received the imperial decree to work, Li Tianle was also promoted to the sixth rank. Although he was still working in the Hanlin Academy for the time being, it was clear to everyone that he had won the emperor's favor and had a bright future.
Nangong Rou was also promoted to the rank of Consort, becoming the head of a palace, and had many more people serving her. The Empress, having been given some information by Murong Yu, became even closer to Nangong Rou.
With a comfortable life, work naturally went smoothly as well. Not long after, Li Tianle delivered something new: glass.
The industry of this dynasty was not too backward; some high-temperature furnaces could still be found, such as those used for firing porcelain and forging iron.
When Li Tianle was in modern times, he specifically studied how to fire glass using ancient methods. Much of the data was readily available, and with the Emperor's strong support, the materials were not difficult to obtain.
Although he couldn't make high-definition, high-transparency glassware, it was enough for making bottles, jars, and mirrors. Li Tianle even used his somewhat rough skills to make a glass cup for the emperor that looked a bit like an enamel mug.
Nangong Rou received news of Li Tianle's potential level of achievement as early as when Li Tianle began making glass, and the plan was naturally written in advance, so as not to delay things at all.
Murong Yu held the glass, which was larger than his rice bowl, and exclaimed in amazement. After confirming that the two of them had not specified anyone, he quickly selected a suitable person to take over the matter.
The reason Li Tianle made glass first was naturally because many of the other things he wanted to make required glass, such as distillation flasks for purifying alcohol.
Of course, alcohol and such will have to wait until later. The first thing to work on is refined salt. Coarse salt is not difficult to make, but refined salt has always been a relatively rare commodity in ancient times.
Those recipes were in the hands of powerful families, and often they were used as leverage to control the imperial court. Even though the court controlled salt prices, salt was still a relatively expensive commodity for many ordinary people.
After Murong Yu found out what Li Tianle was doing, he arranged for the highly skilled Seventh Prince to go over and act as Li Tianle's bodyguard, while also helping him out.
When Murong Xu first learned that he was to be sent to do something with Li Tianle, he thought he was going to learn from him.
Although he found the emperor's actions somewhat distasteful, salt was too important to the people of the land, so he was willing to go against his moral standards.
Unexpectedly, after he arrived, Li Tianle simply put his hands in his pockets and ordered him to do all the work.
From boiling coarse salt to filtering out impurities, adding water, adding other ingredients to continue boiling, filtering again, until finally the refined salt is produced.
Murong Xu once again thought that the added powder was the most crucial secret, but when it came time for the second purification, Li Tianle simply gave him the formula and told him to prepare it himself.
Even the entire purification process, including any unexpected events, was personally recorded by Murong Xu, while Li Tianle only had to provide verbal support.
Later, he needed to speak less often, and he even picked up a book. At first, Murong Xu thought he was studying, but when he glanced at it occasionally, he realized that he was looking at a picture book.
After Murong Xu successfully purified the material for the third time, Li Tianle submitted three consecutive practice reports, the tools and materials used for purification, and Murong Xu himself.
This matter is quite significant and needs to be kept secret for the time being. Therefore, Nangong Rou doesn't need to write a report. When she was bored, she even gave the glass workshop a lot of aesthetic suggestions.
Murong Xu's mother was a palace maid who served by the Empress's side. Once, when she shielded the late Empress from an assassination attempt, she was favored by the late Emperor and gave birth to Murong Xu. Murong Xu was raised by the late Empress along with his two sons, Murong Yu and Murong Ke.
This younger brother has practiced martial arts since childhood and dislikes vying for power and profit. He usually stays in the military camp. It was only with Murong Yu's token that Lin You managed to bring him back this time.
However, not vying for power and profit does not mean he does not value national affairs. After learning about Li Tianle's abilities, Murong Xu stayed by his side and refused to leave.
There haven't been any major battles in recent years, and the military camps have only been training soldiers. Other officers and soldiers could do those things too, so nothing is more important than keeping an eye on Li Tianle.
At first, Murong Xu was being directed to work by Li Tianle, and he only felt that this person was wholeheartedly devoted to the country and the people, selfless, noble, and upright.
It wasn't until they spent more time together and got to know each other better that he realized Li Tianle was simply too lazy to do anything himself and was just using him as a hired hand.
However, these are all minor matters. As long as it benefits the country and its people, he is happy to be ordered around. But every time Li Tianle makes something, he needs to rest for seven or eight days, which makes Murong Xu a little anxious.
"Lord Li, Mr. Li, look at the fine weather today, the wind is gentle and the sun is shining. Why don't you stop looking at your sketchbook and let's do something else?"
Murong Xu doesn't use his power to oppress people, but he's incredibly persistent, and being a prince, Li Tianle really can't just kick him out.
Whenever he was being pestered to the point of exhaustion, he would casually mention some trivial matters to get Murong Xu to conduct experiments, thus giving him a period of leisure.
For example, last time they gave us information on the making and playing of playing cards, which enriched the entertainment of the common people, and even the concubines in the palace enjoyed them.
The last time we provided the method for making honeycomb briquettes, which improved the utilization rate of coal. We also included blueprints for a coal stove. This kind of thing that can be used for cooking and heating is perfect for people in winter.
"If the Seventh Prince is really bored, why not help me experiment with something? I've heard that pigs that have been eunuchs since childhood not only grow fat and strong, but their meat is also more delicious."
Li Tianle had never actually done this himself; he had only heard about it many times in modern times. Murong Xu left, slightly shocked, after confirming that he wasn't joking.
Ancient people could not have imagined the situation of information explosion. In Murong Xu's view, everything Li Tianle knew was either something he had researched himself or something that others had taught him.
In other words, Murong Xu believed that he had studied and thoroughly understood everything Li Tianle said.
This Mr. Li is truly knowledgeable and well-traveled!
After Murong Xu left, Li Tianle finally breathed a sigh of relief. Although Murong Xu hadn't mentioned slacking off at work, being watched like that made slacking off feel uncomfortable.
After calculating the time, Li Tianle realized that Murong Xu would be leaving in about two hours. He searched around the library and finally picked out a novel that he could finish reading in four hours, and continued to slack off.
Castrating pigs isn't difficult, but we'll have to wait a while to know the specific results.
After making the arrangements and giving the orders, Murong Xu went to pester Li Tianle again, urging him to start the next plan.
Since Nangong Rou was confined to the palace and couldn't leave, she wrote a business plan for Li Tianle to keep an eye on the subsequent business strategy.
When she was bored, Nangong Rou would keep the Empress and other concubines company and chat about tips on dressing and grooming.
When Murong Yu came to his senses, he found that all his women had been unknowingly led astray by Nangong Rou, and they were all dressed up in gorgeous clothes, as if they had become ten years younger.
It made me look even older, now that I've started growing a beard.
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Author's Note: Ah, I fell asleep and forgot to change it. I've been too tired lately and haven't bothered with anti-piracy measures. I'll update normally from now on. [laughing and crying emoji]
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