Volume 3: Dragon and Snake Movement Chapter 431: Please Come Aboard
As an old acquaintance who had dealt with Zhang Shou many times in Cangzhou City, Lao Xianyu sensed something unusual in Zhang Shou's attitude towards Liu Zhiyuan from the beginning. When Zhang Shou asked a series of questions and the old man Liu really started to think, he knew that this seemingly shrewd and calm elder had been set up by Zhang Shou.
He himself is very good at fooling others, for example, Zhu Er was fooled by him, but there is always someone better than you, and when he met Zhang Shou, he was fooled by him in turn - even if the Xian Yunhe incident had not happened, he felt that the situation would not be different. Who made Zhang Shou always paint a beautiful future, and it is expected to come true?
When he left Cangzhou, the first harvest of cotton had been picked, the cotton gin was processing the seed cotton into cotton, and the new spinning wheels and looms were ready at the back.
On the other hand, the news of building a port in Cangzhou has spread like wildfire, and merchants from all sides have already started to move. However, no one is sure whether the matter can be accomplished, let alone where the location will be chosen, so they can only inquire about the news everywhere.
When Lao Xianyu left, he also felt that, not to mention other places for the time being, because of the high efficiency of new textile machines and looms, there would be a surplus of spinners and weavers in Cangzhou sooner or later. By that time, when manpower was needed to build the port, it would at least delay the problem of too many people and too little work in Cangzhou that was about to occur.
At this moment, Lao Xianyu was daydreaming when he suddenly heard someone calling his name. He sat up straight with a start: "Brother Yu Xian, you said before that you were selling dried seafood in Shuishi Street, Cangzhou. What do you think of what Dr. Zhang just said?"
Ask me? Old Xianyu almost popped his eyes out. For such a matter, you still ask a small person like me for my opinion? Just now, from what Zhang Shou said, it seems that the emperor has already agreed to this matter! You, Mr. Liu, are an old man who has been unemployed. People respect you and talk to you about this matter. Do you really intend to make decisions?
He had helped this old man on the road before, so he went with him. When others thought he was one of them, they told him that he seemed to know Zhu Tingfang, so he accompanied him all the way until now. At that time, he was a little complacent, but when he saw that the fat boy was fooled by Liu Zhiyuan, he felt that he was being fooled in return .
Lao Xianyu opened his mouth, intending to evade the question, but when faced with Liu Zhiyuan's eyes, he thought of the temper of this old man whom he had gotten to know a little along the way, and when he saw Zhang Shou nodding to him with a smile, he finally changed his mind.
"It is indeed easy to do business when there are many people. If everyone pays one or two coins, ten people will make 10 to 20 coins, and a hundred people will make 100 to 200 coins, which is enough for many people to live for several days. However, when there are too many people, problems will arise. I don't know about the capital, but at least in Cangzhou, every first and fifteenth day of the lunar month, when there are too many people burning incense, worshipping Buddha and going to the market, it is easy for problems to occur."
He emphasized his tone and said very seriously: "Back then, there was a rumor that touching the iron lion would bring good fortune. On Buddha's birthday one year, countless people flocked to touch it, and it ended up causing a stampede, killing seven people. At that time, there was also the governor of Cangzhou. Although he did not take care of the matter, he was still dismissed because of this. On the contrary, Xu Cheng, the magistrate of Changlu County who was supposed to be in charge of the matter, was only reprimanded."
Seeing Liu Zhiyuan's gloomy face, Zhang Shou sighed. Lao Xianyu knew that what he said was right, so he added: "In addition to trampling, there are also theft, kidnapping, etc. These are all things we need to be wary of when there are many people."
Hearing this, Lu Sanlang, who had just been pretending to be a good student, finally couldn't help but mutter, "Those officials in Shuntian Prefecture have been at ease for so long, it's time for them to get busy!"
Zhang Shou chuckled and said, "Don't forget the fact that you were framed. They were almost scared to death. For more than a year, the people in Shuntian Prefecture have been worried and frightened. They are tired enough. Of course, I am more afraid of them being perfunctory . If we are in the outer city this time, there is no need to send them out. I think we can just let Ah Liu lead a group of people to hold the fort."
Lu Sanlang almost popped his eyes out. "Let Ah Liu go? Are you sure you're not kidding, young sir? Are you planning to wipe out all those petty thieves in the capital?"
Zhang Shou couldn't help but laugh at Lu Sanlang's attitude of worrying about the chicken-crowing and dog-thieves. "Those who can help Lord Mengchang are the chicken-crowing and dog-thieves. The ordinary people are just good at cheating and deceiving, and they will slip away when the time comes. If we catch these people, we can still leave them a way out, but those flower-thieves...would we not kill a group of them and let them live through the New Year?"
Zhang Shou hated those kidnappers who trafficked women and children and forced people to live in foreign lands, so he said this with absolute certainty and without hesitation. The next moment, he heard a bang, and when he looked again, it turned out that Liu Zhiyuan had slapped the armrest. However, the old man seemed to be too excited, and the heavy slap was so severe that he gasped in pain.
However, while shaking his palm, Old Master Liu said with pain: "You are right, those flower-shooting gangs must not be tolerated! Dr. Zhang, if you really have capable people, it would be best not to use those runners from Shuntian Prefecture. Of course, if you can send out elite troops like the Ruiqi Battalion, that would be ideal, and you can give those evildoers a severe deterrent."
No, I have a better choice. Asking Ah Liu to lead the ghost hunting team was not just a joke. According to the emperor's personality, maybe he could use Hua Qi's group?
Zhang Shou thought so in his heart, and he was looking forward to seeing some evil guys run into the hands of these people. Although many people believe that there must be darkness where there is light, and crime is inevitable, he still hopes that some of the most heinous guys can be eradicated as much as possible.
He agreed with Liu Zhiyuan with a smile, and then used both soft and hard tactics to get the old man on board. When old man Liu learned that the people who would go to taste the food for the first time would include not only randomly selected representatives of the people, but also retired officials like him, Ge Yong, Qi Jingshan, and Chu Ying, as well as various other options, he immediately agreed.
Of course, what attracted Liu Zhiyuan, a "stubborn" old official, to come aboard was not just this seemingly festive event that seemed to bring joy to the people, but Zhang Shou's statement that such imperial chef selections would be held every year in the future, forming a trend and making full use of the large piece of once-abandoned land in the outer city. As for that large piece of land, it undoubtedly belonged to the emperor.
However, operating the land in this so-called royal chef selection competition, increasing its value through leasing or selling, and all the proceeds from subsequent activities will belong to the public school. This is the key to impressing Lord Liu!
Lu Sanlang was simply full of admiration for Zhang Shou - things like using the power of the people to hold the imperial chef selection competition, fully mobilizing the enthusiasm of the provincial guilds, increasing the participation of major well-known restaurants, and attracting people from the Gyeonggi area to come and watch (more) the excitement (consumption)... These were all things he quickly thought of yesterday with the inspiration of Zhang Shou.
However, he thought that if he invested in hoarding land, he could at most involve the Duke of Zhao's Mansion and let the emperor get involved, and then everyone would count the money happily. However, he did not expect that Zhang Shou was not only trying to make money by getting the emperor to do so, but also persuaded the emperor to invest the profits into public schools!
Is this what is called... using business to support education?
Seeing that Liu Zhiyuan had been persuaded, Zhang Shou smiled and said, "The emperor's taste has always been a bit fickle. After eating too many dishes, he will inevitably want to change the style. It is just right to change the imperial chef once a year. Those imperial chefs who retire can continue to serve as the signature of the old restaurant, and other skilled chefs will also have a place to show their skills. Of course, more importantly, by next year, many overseas ingredients can be used."
Lao Xianyu was naturally very happy at this time, but at the same time he felt a little regretful.
This time when he went to Beijing, he brought a lot of raw peanuts and two bottles of ketchup, but other things were not suitable to carry in the still hot weather during the day. He was even afraid that the ketchup would go bad... Speaking of which, Cangzhou is really far from Beijing.
But what if we could open a Zanghai Xiayuan in the capital?
Old Salted Fish was greatly encouraged, and suddenly he boldly took the initiative to speak: "Dr. Zhang, the wasteland you just mentioned in the outer city... I wonder if we can allocate some of it. I will ask Zang Hai to bring a few apprentices to Beijing and bring some overseas seeds over. We can plant, pick and cook them nearby, so that people can eat them clearly. I think this will help promote overseas seeds more quickly?"
How come you, old man, thought of farm stay so quickly?
Zhang Shou had long known that Lao Xianyu was a very smart person, so he said with a half-smile, "Don't you think that even if he had wings and flew over here, he might not have enough time to farm? What's more, Monk Zanghai should be a typical example of someone who is deeply attached to his hometown and rooted in his hometown. Would he be willing to abandon the people of Cangzhou and come to the capital?"
The dead monk was just like him, worried that he would be found by the guy who asked them to go out to sea to find the whereabouts of Taizu, so he just squatted in a corner like him. How can people not be short of money?
Thinking of this, Lao Xianyu simply said bluntly: "A penny can hardly kill a hero. This damn monk has so many disciples, but at most he can only feed them and keep them warm. How can he not want to make money?"
"Because of Taizu, people in Cangzhou City have many children and most of them are forced to raise them themselves. But outside the city is so big, there are many children that villagers can't raise and throw away, and most of them are girls. But he is a grown man, it's ok for him to raise a group of little monks, how can he raise girls? More than a dozen people are entrusted to a widow, and many of them are not even old enough to do needlework to support the family."
On the way, Liu Zhiyuan had heard the story of Lao Xianyu, the infuriating and surprising turmoil in Cangzhou, and he also knew that he had a nephew who almost died without a burial place.
So, when he heard that Lao Xianyu immediately wanted to make money after hearing Zhang Shou's idea, he couldn't help but raise his eyebrows thoughtfully. After listening to the inside story of Master Zang Hai and his apprentice, he nodded.
"I used to think that money is something outside of one's body, and as long as it is enough, it's fine. But when people get old, they experience a big change, and I know that people can't live without money. A little bit of money can change the lives of many people. If you can, Dr. Zhang might as well give it a try."
Zhang Shou had no intention of making things difficult for Old Salted Fish, so he immediately laughed and said, "In that case, I will let Lu Sanlang do the plan. I plan to let Yan Fang be in charge of the Guanglu Temple, and let Lu Sanlang take charge of this matter. Master Liu, please give him more guidance."
Lu Sanlang was stunned. He wanted to show his skills in Guanglu Temple, why didn't Zhang Shou let him intervene? No wonder he was not on the list before, he thought it was the chief who was not on the list! Fortunately, he was very smart and immediately said a lot of good things to Liu Zhiyuan with a smile.
It was not until he noticed the old man glaring at him that he quickly pulled Xiao Cheng over to the other side, then he made an excuse to go to prepare a welcoming banquet, and then he quickly left. Sure enough, not long after he left the house, he saw Zhang Shou coming out as well.
"Your ability is not shown in such a technical job as checking the accounts in Guanglu Temple, unless you plan to become a censor who has to confront others every day." Zhang Shou swallowed all of Lu Sanlang's complaints in a few words. He then said earnestly, "Think about it yourself. What do the emperor think are my strengths? What are your strengths?"
After hearing Zhang Shou say this and then turn around and call Ah Liu aside to instruct him on something, Lu Sanlang suddenly realized what was going on.
Zhang Shou's advantage - isn't it that he is about to marry Zhu Ying... Of course, that was a joke, Zhang Shou really has many ideas and a wide range of thoughts, and he often likes to find new ways to deal with things. As for his advantages... It is definitely not that he is fat, but that he is good at business, good at acting, and of course he is also very good at making people despise him, and then secretly stabbing people!
To be honest, he is really not suitable to go to Guanglu Temple to attack the enemy, especially when everyone knows that he is the head of Jiuzhang Hall and no one will underestimate him!
In this case, if he helps the emperor organize a royal chef selection competition, he can use all his skills to his heart's content and achieve much more!
So, he understood what he meant and immediately ran towards Zhang Shou with a smile on his face. However, when he was about to talk to him, he was stunned by Ah Liu's murderous answer.
"Those flower photographers deserve to die. If you dare to come, don't even think about leaving! I'll go talk to some people everywhere, and we'll have the manpower."
Neither Zhang Shou nor Lu Sanlang took the word "talk" literally, and even Lao Xianyu, who had quietly sneaked out, would not have made a mistake. When Zhang Shou turned around and saw Lu Sanlang and Lao Xianyu, he smiled and said, "Lao Xianyu, you don't need to come to me for your matter, just come to Lu Sanlang. I'll leave this matter to him."
Lu Sanlang was slightly stunned, then he instinctively asked: "What about you, young master?"
Zhang Shou chuckled: "Me? As the doctor of the Imperial College in charge of Jiuzhang Hall, of course I have to get busy with the second round of enrollment. I'll leave it all to you." A lot of people are busy with the first round of Jiuzhang Hall, and there are only a few helpers left. If Jiuzhang Hall wants to enroll students for the second round, he will have to recruit more people to do the work!
