Chapter 31 Chapter 31 This flower has a fairy spirit
Cao Teng brought the people to the county government office. Contrary to Zhu Dan's expectations, Da Zhao and others did not resist. Perhaps some guards wanted to struggle, but were stopped.
Da Zhao's expression was complicated, but Zhu Dan didn't care what he was thinking. She just looked at Er Lin and his group and asked, "How are your injuries? Do you need a doctor?"
Sanlin had already helped his brother untie the rope. Erlin rubbed his sore wrist and said, "Thank you, young lady. I have some ointment at home. Sanlin, go get it and apply it to my family."
"Okay." Sanlin responded and was about to go to his brother's house, but when he turned around, he saw his home that was almost in ruins. Tears welled up in his eyes and he wanted to cry again.
He raised his hand and wiped it casually with his sleeve, then found the door frame and started to pick at it.
Others who had recovered also began to clean up the rubble, feeling sad when they saw the broken things.
Zhu Dan was a little worried when he saw that they had no protective measures, but then he remembered that the house was only one floor.
And the structure used was mostly yellow mud, with no steel or bricks. He didn't say anything, but just asked, "What are you going to do next?"
Erlin smiled wryly, "I was planning to repair the house, so this is a good idea. We can just tear it down and rebuild."
Dalin was optimistic: "The weather has been getting warmer recently, so it's okay to stay outside for a while. We won't be cold. Today, thanks to the young lady, otherwise we..."
The whole family shuddered and quickly bowed deeply to Zhu Dan.
After the ceremony, we then clean up. If we are lucky enough that there is not much damage, we are very happy.
"Auntie, look, this can still be used." The little girl shouted excitedly while holding a half-broken bowl.
Erlin's mother took the bowl and praised her for being so good.
The other children clenched their fists in disbelief and searched even harder: "Big sister, I'm sure I can find more than you!"
"Haha, no one can beat me!"
Zhu Dan found that they were quite optimistic. They had just experienced a disaster but did not dwell on the loss, which made them very distressed.
Not only children, but adults too.
But children are more innocent, and you can tell at a glance that they are well protected by their families.
When Zhu Dan heard Erlin's father already calculating how many bricks and tiles to buy, how much lime to use, and how big a house to build, he was moved. "Erlin, I remember you said your father and eldest brother were both good at building houses."
Erlin nodded quickly and looked at the young lady expectantly. Could she find a job for her family?
Although the bluestone mine should be saved because of the young lady, Erlin is not planning to go there again, so it is really important for his family to have more livelihoods.
What happened today taught him a big lesson.
If he relies on himself alone, he will ultimately be powerless.
If he insisted on giving the bluestone mine to the young lady, and chose to mine for her and get some wages, then what would it matter if Erguzi attracted a coveted nobleman?
Do they dare to rob the young lady of her belongings?
What's worse, if he chose to cooperate with Changpingli, things would not be so bad.
Although Changpingli cannot compete with the Xiang family, it has so many people that it is likely that all the blue stones can be dug out in just one day. By the time people notice it, everything will be settled.
Even if it was the Xiang family, could they confiscate the entire Changping Village into slavery?
Xianyang will not allow them to be so rampant.
Zhu Dan had no idea how much he had reflected on in such a short time. He said something that had suddenly occurred to him: "I know of a building material that's very suitable for building houses and roads. If your family is interested, you can research it."
"Young lady, are you going to hire us?" Erlin looked at Zhu Dan expectantly.
Zhu Dan paused before saying, "This material is called cement. If your family can develop it, you will be a great contributor to both the country and the people. I will commend you to His Majesty."
Erlin didn't even have time to be surprised that the young lady had such a background and dared to speak directly to His Majesty, so he said quite bluntly: "Our whole family is willing to work for the young lady. Without the young lady, we would have offended the Xiang family and it would be difficult for us to survive."
"Even if I'm a slave, I'm fine."
"No, really." Seeing that he even mentioned the word "slave", Zhu Dan quickly waved his hand, "Isn't it just working for me? That's easy. Anyway, your house can't be built in a short time. Why don't you move to Liuye first, wait until cement is researched, and then build a new house in one go."
"Thank you for your consideration, young lady." Erlin said to his family without hesitation, "Mother, sister-in-law, and dear, we don't need those broken pots and bowls. Just pack up your clothes and we will go to Liuye with you. We can go to the market to buy the rest of the utensils tomorrow."
Everyone was stunned.
Even Zhu Dan was a little surprised at Erlin's ability to act, but that was also a good thing.
Although she has intervened, the Xiang family is unlikely to do anything to them in the short term, but the same old saying still applies: don't underestimate the malice of others.
Half an hour later, the group left Luhuali in a mighty procession.
Erlin's father simply repaired the door.
Erlin held the family's money in his arms and looked at the guards leading the way, feeling full of security.
Now no one dares to snatch the gold from him.
Dalin was holding a broken jar with great distress, which contained the lard that their family had recently boiled.
Fortunately, the lard has solidified, so it doesn't matter if some of it spills out.
It’s not clean, but you won’t get sick if you eat it.
The others were also carrying one or two things in their hands, and even the children were trying their best to keep up with the adults.
No one was tired and everyone felt full of energy.
After this group of people left, the reeds became quiet.
After a long while, someone finally spoke, as if in a dream, "Did Erlin and the others leave with the young lady?"
"The young lady actually came to rescue them?"
"It seems that the Erlin family has become prosperous."
He has already hooked up with a young lady, so how can he not be rich?
Suddenly, the neighbors who had previously made fun of Erlin for stealing the property of an important person in order to please the Xiang family felt embarrassed and a little scared.
Nobles are scary, but the servants around powerful nobles are even scarier.
Erlin was favored by the young lady. Will she take revenge on them?
Someone insisted, "We didn't say anything. Who knew those nobles in front were slandering Erlin? Erlin himself didn't explain."
This doesn't make sense.
Erlin has always given explanations, but even if he does, no one will listen or believe him.
Someone else gritted his teeth and said, "The young lady has always been kind. If Erlin dares to bite others at will, we can ask the young lady to make the decision!"
Maybe you can also take the opportunity to catch the young lady's eye.
I immediately started to imagine it.
Suddenly someone said, "Er Guzi cheated Er Lin like that, and since there's a previous grudge, Er Lin will definitely not let their family go!"
Everyone suddenly realized that they were not the ones who should be most worried.
Although Da Zhao and others were handling matters at Erlin's house, it was late at night and the county was not like the village where houses could be built at will and on any size of foundation they wanted.
Therefore, their conversation could be heard clearly.
With such a big thing happening, everyone couldn't sleep, so someone ran to Erguzi's house to see them make a fool of themselves.
The Erguzi family has always been arrogant because they have many male members in the family. It is not just the Erlin family that dislikes them.
Someone else thought of Jin Huan and stopped at Wang Po's house. "Last year, I heard your family wanted to marry into the Erlin family, but nothing happened. Now that Erlin is prosperous, Sanlin is also rising with it. I'm afraid they won't be interested in your Jin Huan anymore."
"You damn thing! My Jinhuan will never have trouble finding a husband! But you gave birth to two lazy ones, who are famous among the reeds. Instead of worrying about my Jinhuan, you might as well worry about them!" Wang Po scolded back without hesitation.
After a heated exchange of words between the two sides, the passersby left in disappointment.
But Grandma Wang looked at her granddaughter, opened her mouth, and stammered, "Jinhuan, you have good judgment. It's the eldest mother's snobbishness that has prevented your good marriage. I will go to Erlin's mother tomorrow and mediate between you two."
No matter how much you think Erlin is bold and capable of causing trouble, the fact that he has a daughter-in-law in his family makes the situation completely different.
Everyone knows that the young lady is a noble lady living in General Meng's house.
Even the Xiang family, the largest and most arrogant family in Lantian County, would not dare to do anything more.
Jin Huan was calmer now. "Mother, Sanlin doesn't really like me that much. Otherwise, if they had sold the blue stone, they would have hired a matchmaker to propose marriage."
"Their family is completely different from ours now. Erlin must want to find a good match for his younger brother. Our family has done nothing for their family, so why would we humiliate ourselves?"
"My Jinhuan is so smart, it's my mother who has misled you!" Wang Po hugged Jinhuan and started crying.
I didn't dare speak loudly, for fear that someone would hear me and laugh at me.
On the contrary, Jin Huan's eyes sparkled: "Grandmother, Er Lin can marry a young lady, so why can't our family do the same?"
"Erlin often goes to the countryside, so he can find the stones that the young lady needs. I don't have such convenience, but I can remember what the young lady needs. As long as we don't give up, there will be a day when our family will also be prosperous."
Jinhuan clenched his fists.
The acquisition of the young lady's tofu stall was only hot for a while at the beginning.
Because most people have not had enough to eat since childhood, their brains do not get enough nutrition, and all they think about is what to eat today and what to eat tomorrow.
The nobles think they are stupid and blockheaded. Even though the common people are different from slaves, who really takes them seriously?
Because it is useless to remember or recognize it, over time, no one is willing to bother with it.
But now Jinhuan sees the benefits.
Not only Jin Huan, but others also saw it.
If you can find something that can impress a young lady, it would be more than just the big money you make from selling the goods, right?
Only carefree children can fall asleep this night.
Zhu Dan brought Erlin and his group to Liuye and found an empty house for them to stay in.
Seeing that it was almost dawn, I stopped struggling and found a house to take a nap.
The housekeeper was away, so no one singled it out as inappropriate.
The next day, Erlin asked the women in his family to go to the city to purchase goods, while he brought his father and elder brother to listen to the young lady talk about cement.
"Cement is actually not complicated. I remember that the main raw materials are limestone, clay and some gypsum slag..." Zhu Dan really couldn't remember what they were.
After all, she is not in the construction industry.
Moreover, even the experienced workers working on the construction site now just buy cement directly. Why would they bother to find out what raw materials the cement is made of?
To boost everyone's morale, Zhu Dan diligently described the future of cement: "The cement, mixed with gravel and paved on the road, will dry in a day, and completely dry in two or three days, leaving it smooth as a solid slab. Of course, our initial expectations aren't that high. Even if the cement we make is a bit shoddy and doesn't hold up well, that's fine. We'll just get it working first and then improve it."
Zhu Dan remembers that when he was a child, he often saw cement roads being crushed by large trucks, but it became rare as he grew up.
Especially on some national highways, which are used by heavy trucks, it is rare to see anyone inspecting them.
It can be seen that the quality of cement can be gradually improved.
Erlin's father Damu was shocked when he heard this.
When he was young, he helped his father build houses. He cleverly learned from others and knew that he could use glutinous rice paste to build a house as strong as a city wall. He once thought about becoming an apprentice in a brick factory.
Unfortunately, I have no connections and no money.
Even if you want to learn from others, you can't enter their cave and can only see the bricks they make.
There was one time when he was particularly impressed. It was probably a brick customized by a noble person. It was exceptionally good, with a bluish-gray color and a hard texture.
Some workers threw bricks down with great force but they were not damaged much. The sight of bricks laid out neatly one by one once became Da Mu's yearning.
Because of love, even a big tree with its edges smoothed by life will deliberately listen and understand.
How is it possible that a repaired road can dry out in just two or three days?
And it needs to be as smooth as a slate?
But since the young lady said so, maybe this is the way the nobles build houses.
Da Mu thought seriously that he must study hard.
＊
Zhu Dan did not personally deal with the aftermath of the Erlin family. It was not that she did things halfway, but that the matter had been fully taken over by the housekeeper.
She didn't know where the other person's enthusiasm came from at such an old age?
But as for the elderly, they cannot be too quiet. If they are too quiet, they will feel lifeless. It is better to be a little active.
Zhu Dan had no idea that because she was too independent, she didn't need a housekeeper for many things. For example, tofu was under the management of Hutou, Xiaohua was gradually researching new products, and even pig farming was soon taken over by technicians such as Daniu.
The housekeeper looked at the others busy at work, and his long-lost fighting spirit was aroused.
Now that he has encountered Erlin’s lawsuit, isn’t this the perfect opportunity for him to show his abilities?
Zhu Dan goes out early and comes back late every day, looking for materials for the transformation pill. Before going to bed, he listens to the old man's energetic progress report and thinks this is good.
So even though she didn't go to watch the fun, she still learned a lot of things.
For example, once the official reported this, the Xiang family was implicated.
The county magistrate really wanted to give face to the Xiang family, but the housekeeper came to him and asked him to handle the matter impartially.
The bluestone mines are located in a no-man's land.
Don’t tell him that the property was transferred in the past two days but he said it had already been the Xiang family’s forest.
The county magistrate was so overwhelmed that he almost burst into tears and snot in front of the housekeeper: They have connections with the Meng family, and they are one family with you.
Why don't we all sit down and talk it over instead of making things so awkward?
The housekeeper snorted coldly: Who are they a family?
A side branch also wants to cling to Lord Meng and General Meng?
Of course, if it were the original him, he would not be so righteous. After all, the butler still knew his duties. He was just a family general of General Meng.
He was grateful for the care of Lord Meng and General Meng, so he couldn't cause them any trouble.
However, Meng Shangqing sent a letter telling him Zhu Dan's identity.
It couldn't be said before, because Meng Yi himself was not sure what the king thought of this alchemist.
What if the other party is also a liar and fails to meet the king's requirements within seven days, so he is dragged out and buried alive?
Wouldn’t the Meng family be embarrassed in this situation?
So at that time, the butler actually valued Fusu, who was pretending to be Monkey.
Because Fusu respected Zhu Dan and obeyed her orders, the housekeeper elevated Zhu Dan's status in his mind.
But now, the imperial edict to appoint him as the national teacher has been passed, and we are just waiting for the ceremony to be held and an auspicious day to be chosen to notify the whole Qin Dynasty.
What else is there to say?
Of course, we have to talk about it in detail.
Otherwise, if someone accidentally offends Zhu Dan, there will be no such thing as ignorance.
So the butler who knew the inside story was very confident and hinted at Zhu Dan's identity.
The Lantian County Magistrate's expression immediately changed, indicating that he understood.
Lantian County was not far from Xianyang. He was able to be appointed as the county magistrate in Lantian County, which meant he had connections with higher-ups. He knew more or less about the recent major events in the court - the emergence of a national teacher who was above all other ministers.
The county magistrate was so upset when he knew that such a big shot had come to his jurisdiction... Not to mention that he hadn't been able to sleep for two days, Zhu Dan has been extremely happy recently.
It's not that we are doing justice and eliminating evil, but that there are too many people coming to the tofu stall with unknown materials for identification recently.
Hu Tou was very concerned about making money. Except for those materials that could be confirmed to be ordinary stones and ordinary weeds that could be found everywhere, he brought all the others to Zhu Dan for help.
Then, with strength in numbers, Zhu Dan actually found a lot of materials for the transformation pill.
"Tiger Head, you're truly amazing! When I refine the Transformation Pill, I'll let you be the first to experience it!"
Zhu Dan rubbed Hu Tou's head vigorously and laughed heartily.
Hu Tou tried to dodge, but was caught by Zhu Dan. He had no choice but to say with a red face: "Mr. Zhu, I am already thirteen years old."
He had heard that in some villages, people could get engaged at this age.
"What's thirteen years old? I'll tell you in secret, I'm already over three hundred years old." Zhu Dan lowered his voice, as if whispering.
Hu Tou's eyes suddenly widened.
He didn't want to believe it, but Gongsun Liu told him a lot about Zhu Sheng's great achievements, and he knew that he was a god who had descended to earth.
When Hu Tou heard this statement for the first time, he was not surprised, but suddenly realized.
No wonder he is a god, he can tell fortunes.
"Okay, I won't tease you anymore." Zhu Dan picked out the ingredients for the Transformation Pill. "These are the ones you should focus on. It's best to collect as many as possible."
The Transformation Pill can transform into a wide range of things, and Zhu Dan wants to try more.
Although Zhao Gao's luck is limited, he can prepare the materials first.
After Hu Tou left, Zhu Dan muttered, "This tofu stall hasn't been buying ingredients for the first time. Why is everyone suddenly so enthusiastic?"
"Of course it's because Erlin's story has spread. I've heard about your reputation as a protective lady many times in Willow Leaf."
A male voice came from behind. It was Xiang Lichun, and Xiang Liyuan was always beside him.
"Why are you two here?" Zhu Dan wondered. "Are you tired of buns and want to try something new?"
Yes, Zhu Dan has already made the buns.
A cook was assigned to Liuye Li. He was the apprentice of the original chef. He was always there when Zhu Dan was teaching the chef new things, and his skills had been honed.
He has also started taking apprentices there, but he would come here from time to time to learn new dishes from his master.
Xiang Liyuan's mouth twitched. Is this the impression we have in your mind?
But Xiang Lichun's eyes lit up: "Something new?"
"What we've been eating these past two days is called Jianbing Guozi. It's a big pancake that can be wrapped around anything. It's rich in flavor and nutrition."
"Then I must try it tomorrow morning!"
Although he often ate flatbreads before, Xiang Lichun believed that Zhu Dan’s flatbreads were definitely not ordinary.
So, we went to Xianyang and brought them noodles and buns with various flavors.
Lately, he's been doing something different almost every day, so how could he get bored?
But if there is something new, who would refuse it?
Xiang Liyuan coughed heavily. He hadn't come back to discuss food this time. Seeing that Xiang Lichun's heart was completely distracted, he had no choice but to say to Zhu Dan, "The water mill has been debugged and is ready for external operation."
"Right, right." Xiang Lichun was reminded by this and stretched. "Finally, I got this thing done. I'm going to sleep for three days and three nights."
Zhu Dan ignored his holiday declaration, her eyes suddenly lit up: "Let's go, let's go and take a look."
"My Jianbing Guozi..." Xiang Lichun was very reluctant, but was directly pulled away by Zhu Dan. Seeing him like this, he said unhappily, "Don't worry, you won't suffer any loss."
"Cao Teng, you should also arrange a carriage for the chef. We will go over there and prepare a sumptuous celebration banquet for our great hero."
Now, Xiang Lichun's eyes lit up.
He was more proactive than Zhu Dan. He didn't want to be dragged along, so he took the initiative to walk ahead and told Zhu Dan about the difficulties they had encountered during the debugging process and how to solve them.
"I discovered it. Xiang Liyuan is not as good as me!" He was very proud.
Xiang Liyuan was not one to be modest when it came to this matter: "You were the one who discovered it, of course, but I was the one who contributed the most to the entire production process of applying this principle to the water-powered mill."
Zhu Dan listened to the two people quarreling with a smile, and didn't think they were noisy at all.
She has always been very patient with her heroes.
Xiang Lichun is very smart and always has some wild ideas, but his basic knowledge is not as good as Xiang Liyuan. Xiang Liyuan has strong manual operation skills, and some extremely delicate components involved in the water mill were polished by him.
Zhu Dan couldn't help but say, "Although you all chose durable wood, and that wood has indeed been treated and can be used to make boats, wood is still wood after all, and it has many limitations and is not as durable as iron. Have you ever considered replacing some parts with iron?"
The two people who were arguing looked at each other.
Of course they knew about iron tools.
But iron cannot be polished to the exact shape they want like wood, and iron is prone to rust and breaks easily because it is brittle.
Zhu Dan knows this.
"This is simply because the current level of iron smelting isn't high enough. However, I have a way to purify the impurities within the iron. If desired, I can even incorporate something else into it, creating an alloy even higher than iron. Of course, discussing this now is still a bit far-fetched. Let's talk about blast furnace ironmaking..."
A cunning glint flashed in Zhu Dan's eyes.
Now that the water mill is finished, you think you can take a relaxing vacation?
How is that possible! Climbing the tech tree means there is always a higher mountain.
After arriving in Liuye Li and grinding a few bags of flour himself, Zhu Dan generously satisfied Xiang Lichun's desire for delicious food.
Then he rejected his request for leave and sent them to try blast furnace ironmaking.
There was no way. Although Zhu Dan didn't want to lead a member of the Mo family astray and make them study iron tools instead of wood tools, who could blame her for having so few skilled workers around her?
Xianglichun and Xiangliyuan had the foundation of water-powered mills and already had the concept of engineering.
Although, making a big toy and smelting iron are two completely unrelated industries.
Zhu Dan didn't know the structure of the blast furnace, but the principle of this thing was somewhat similar to her alchemy furnace, so she gave them some inspiration based on her own understanding.
——completely ignoring the fact that blast furnace ironmaking was completely different from her alchemy.
Of course, Zhu Dan is not Zhou Baopi, she has no intention of just pushing the matter to them and leaving it alone.
She had originally planned to participate in it herself so that she could make adjustments at any time, but another matter happened that could not be delayed.
The materials for the Transformation Pill are complete.
The last ingredient comes from a little girl named Jinhuan.
She brought a very beautiful flower.
How beautiful is this flower?
Hu Tou had seen people picking flowers during this period, because someone had sent honeysuckle to him before. Zhu Dan said that this was a medicinal herb and he would collect it for a long time, so he would not refuse anyone who came.
This inspired everyone. It was difficult to distinguish the weeds that looked similar, but the beautiful flowers were too obvious. What if they happened to stumble upon a medicinal herb?
So Hu Tou can be considered knowledgeable.
But he was still amazed when he saw the flower for the first time.
How to put it, it gave him a somewhat familiar feeling.
"Its temperament is somewhat similar to yours, Mr. Zhu." Hu Tou said, holding the flowerpot in his hand and solemnly handing the flower to Zhu Dan.
Cao Teng looked at Hu Tou in disbelief, thinking that the kid was stupid.
Let’s not talk about how a flower can be compared with Mr. Zhu. What kind of temperament can a flower have and how can it be like a human?
But Zhu Dan was not angry when he was told this. Instead, he looked at him with appreciation and said, "You are right. It does look like me."
"This flower has a fairy-like aura."
Well, it's aura to be precise.
This flower actually contained a faint spiritual energy, which was far from reaching the threshold of a spiritual plant, but it added a touch of specialness to it, making it different from those ordinary flowers.
"Did you leave the little girl behind? I want to ask her myself where she picked the flower."
Zhu Dan is incredible.
The current concentration of spiritual energy in Daqin is simply not enough to nurture such a plant, even if it is not considered a spiritual plant at all.
Zhu Dan spent so much time in the wild looking for materials, but didn't find a single special one.
She wondered what was going on.
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