Chapter 10 Three Good
Although the Forbidden City is large, there is not much space left for palace servants. Most of the palace servants serving in various palaces live in narrow side rooms not far from the main hall. Even if the female officials and palace servants of the Six Shangs have single residences, the rooms are very small, with several people living in one room. Compared with the palaces of the empresses and the prince, the environment is extremely bad.
However, Hu Shanwei was different. The Six Shangs and Twenty-Four Departments were in charge of all matters big and small in the palace, and the Shang Gong was the head of the Six Shangs. If the palace was compared to a small court, then Hu Shanwei would be a figure like the Prime Minister. Even though they were both palace people, her living conditions were much better than those of others, not to mention that Hu Shanwei was highly valued. Since she took the position of Shang Gong, she has gone through the Hongwu and Yongle dynasties. No matter how the situation changed, Hu Shanwei remained standing, which shows her ability.
While other palace maids lived in one room, Hu Shanwei had her own separate courtyard. On weekdays, she had several new palace maids serving her personally. To the outside world, they were her "apprentices" and might take over her job in the future. Therefore, even if a palace maid was just serving Hu Shanwei, it was considered a good job in the eyes of most people.
Hu Shanwei's yard is decorated in a particularly elegant style, with many flowers and plants planted in the yard. However, because spring has not yet arrived, the yard looks a bit bleak.
Zhu Yuhuan looked around and asked, "Why isn't my aunt here?"
The female official quickly replied, "Aunt must be taking care of the crickets she raised for you in the backyard. I'll go and help you."
She had just taken a few steps forward when a voice rang out, "Alright, why are you being so reckless in front of the young master? What can I expect you to do for the young master in the future?"
Zhu Yuhuan looked at the visitor and said with a smile, "Aunt."
Hu Shanwei was dressed in the attire of a court lady and a hairpin with flowers on her head, clearly dressed for the occasion. Seeing Zhu Yuhuan approach, her serious expression relaxed a bit. She saluted Zhu Yuhuan before saying, "Today is the Crown Prince's birthday. I'm currently counting the gifts prepared by the six ministers, and will have them delivered to the Eastern Palace shortly."
Zhu Yuhuan pretended he hadn't heard the lady-in-waiting's words. He smiled and walked over to Hu Shanwei, took her hand, and walked towards the backyard. He asked excitedly, "Aunt, where are the crickets I asked you to help me raise? Are they all alive?"
Hu Shanwei greatly enjoyed this intimacy, his usually stern face finally showing a hint of smile. He said, "Young Master, rest assured. Your method is much more effective than those in books. Take that 'greenhouse' for example. Although the Song people also had it when they were growing flowers, it's not as convenient and economical as yours. The crickets are kept in the greenhouse, and my maids have raised them to enormous size and extremely loud vocalizations. If it weren't for the fact that so few people usually come to the palace maids' quarters, they would have been discovered long ago."
Zhu Yuhuan was sure that his method was correct, so he smiled with satisfaction and said, "That's good."
Although she advised the sisters Hu Shanxiang and Hu Shanwei to distance themselves from each other, and it would be best if Hu Shanwei could leave the palace as soon as possible and not "linger" in the position of Shang Gong in the Forbidden City, Zhu Yuhuan had to admit that Hu Shanwei's power as Shang Gong was sometimes greater than that of the "master" of the Forbidden City. Without Hu Shanwei, Zhu Yuhuan would have no place to use his skills.
The two of them entered the backyard together. A young palace maid was stoking the fire there. Seeing Zhu Yuhuan and Hu Shan approaching, she hurriedly saluted them and said, "Your servant greets the young master. May the young master be well. Your servant greets my aunt."
Zhu Yuhuan asked her to get up, then walked to the door and lifted the curtain with one hand. Sure enough, he heard the chirping of crickets from inside. Combined with the fragrance of soil and young sprouts from the seedlings in the house, Zhu Yuhuan seemed to be back to his childhood in his hometown.
In his previous life, Zhu Yuhuan often returned to his hometown as a child to catch crickets for fun, so he had some experience raising them. Raising crickets wasn't a difficult task, but the challenge was keeping them alive during the Ming winter. This required some modern knowledge, such as greenhouses. However, the Ming Dynasty at the time lacked modern materials, and while this was somewhat inconvenient, it wasn't completely hopeless. His aunt Hu Shanwei's connections and influence were a significant help.
Hu Shanwei hesitated, but still asked, "Young Master, this greenhouse method was proposed by Liu Shang... Will the Crown Prince believe it?"
Zhu Yuhuan picked up a bamboo basket and looked at the crickets back and forth. Just as she was about to reach out and take it, Hu Shanwei sighed and asked the palace maid to help Zhu Yuhuan get it.
"These bugs are dirty. Young master, please don't touch them. What if you get sick?"
Zhu Yuhuan handed the bamboo basket to the maid and then spoke, "It doesn't matter how this method came about. What matters is that it really works." She looked up at the beams and said, "Dig a flue from the ground and reinforce it with lime, clay, and copper slag mixed in the right proportions. Besides keeping the room warm, the stove can be used for cooking or baking bricks. If used properly, it can do much more than just the two things we have seen so far. If Dad is careful, he will discover many wonderful things."
Be it the fire dragon or cement, both are considered beneficial to the current Ming Dynasty. Zhu Zhanji cares more about the people's livelihood than expanding the territory. Therefore, even if this method was proposed by the Hu sisters, whom Zhu Zhanji disliked, Zhu Zhanji would not refuse. As for modern common soaps and perfumed soaps, Zhu Yuhuan did not intend to let it go. She had worked in a factory before and knew what it was. However, even if such things were useful, Zhu Zhanji might not take them seriously. It would be better to come up with something effective first.
Thanks to time-travel novels, although Zhu Yuhuan is not an expert in physics, chemistry, or biology, he does know a few ways to make a fortune.
——There are three treasures for time travel: sugar, cement, and soap. These are relatively simple. Although Zhu Yuhuan doesn’t know much about them, he has heard quite a few rhymes.
If she were a special forces soldier, she might even be able to make a pistol...
However, without a system and a golden finger, Zhu Yuhuan could only think about this kind of thing.
Seeing her acting like a little adult, Hu Shanwei couldn't help but stare at her for a long time and even forgot what he was going to say. For a while, the only sound in the room was the chirping of crickets.
While the two were silent, the palace maid had already picked out a few large, agile, and loud crickets. Zhu Yuhuan was about to ask her to put a cotton cover on the bamboo cage to keep it warm when Hu Shanwei said to the female official, "Go and collect these crickets first. Check to see if there are any inactive ones before handing them over to the young master."
The palace maid understood that the two men had something to say, so she immediately retreated tactfully.
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