After the whole family was swept away, I lay down flat

Chapter 66 It’s the end of the year
The glass workshop has been researching for a period of time, and finally successfully produced the first batch of samples of glass study utensils designed by Xie Wenzai, Cao Gengyun and Lu Bainian two years ago.

There are only three types: paperweight, pen mountain and water bowl, but no pen licking.Although this little thing is not difficult to burn, there are few people using it in the northwest. Haixi Ya feels it is a bit redundant and thinks that the time is limited and there is no need to waste it on it, so he dismissed it.

This batch of newly made samples are all thicker and stronger, but the shapes are still pretty good-looking. Unfortunately, they can’t be made into patterns, and they are all glossy.

Before several Dashi glass craftsmen tried firing glass stationery, they knew that they would be sent to Ganzhou to open a new workshop to teach more apprentices. In the future, they would have the opportunity to go to more prosperous big cities to develop their careers. Naturally, they no longer had to worry about themselves. life.They also want to save their true skills for the future. If they teach those high-level glassware-making skills to Suzhou apprentices who are about to say goodbye, how will they convince apprentices in big cities in the future?

Therefore, several big food craftsmen made excuses and declined to teach the apprentices in the Suzhou workshop the skills of carving patterns on the surface of glassware, and only agreed to teach more shapes.Hai Xiya made a prompt decision and agreed to their conditions, taking the opportunity to expand the product range of the glass workshop.

Now, it is said that most of the apprentices in the glass workshop have learned how to make wine vessels, tea sets and tableware independently. Including the newly learned stationery, the variety of products produced is quite rich, enough to support the entire workshop and provide Suzhou Wei with a wide range of products. Bring a considerable source of wealth.

One of the rather clever apprentices also managed to win the favor of the Dashi master who taught him his skills, and successfully persuaded him to start studying glassware with Dachu characteristics instead of sticking to the traditional utensil shapes of the Western Regions.The great chef presided over the firing of samples of stationery utensils, and has recently been studying the traditional decorative patterns of Da Chu.

Inspired by this, Hai Xiya sent two clever apprentices to Ganzhou together with the food craftsmen and several carts of new grain corn when Ganzhou sent another letter to urge him.The apprentices will accompany the masters as followers, and they will come back when the masters have settled down in Ganzhou and have new apprentices who are well-behaved and clever.

Anyway, the person in charge of Dusi is the eldest son of Zhou, who has always cared for his brothers, and it is impossible to rob General Wednesday's people.These two apprentices have always been quite clever. If they can stay with the Da Shi craftsmen for a few more months, they will definitely learn more glass firing techniques. If they can learn the technique of firing Da Chu style decorative patterns on glassware After also learning from it, Suzhou's glass workshop will be even more confident.

Hai Xiya is not worried that these two people will reach new heights from now on. They are both old households in Suzhou City. Their parents, wives, children, and family property are all local and cannot escape.

Now that the year is approaching, the newly built glass and wine workshops have temporarily stopped working, leaving only a few people on duty, while everyone else has gone home for the holidays.It’s just that everyone is prohibited from leaving the city, even to visit relatives, lest the craftsmen who have finally been cultivated in the workshop will be poached by outsiders before the workshop has produced results.

As the jars of newly brewed wine were opened, the newly made glassware was given to several respectable civil servants and military officers in the city for appreciation. The news gradually spread, and the soldiers and civilians of Suzhou knew that Suzhou Wei now had a new profitable industry. , there was a lot of discussion in private.The common people were just joining in the fun and discussing the possibility of their nephews and nephews entering the workshop to learn crafts. Those wealthy families with a certain amount of wealth began to consider whether they could get a share of the pie.

The adults in the health center are all on guard in private, fearing that someone will poach them.

As the head of both the glass and wine workshops, Hai Xiya has had guests visiting his home from time to time since the twelfth lunar month.When he was busy with official duties, guests would come in the evening, and Xie Wenzai had to accompany the guests every time to prevent his cousin from accidentally being tricked.Later, Haixiya went on annual leave, and guests began to appear during the day. Xie Wenzai was no longer enough to accompany the guests, and Cao Gengyun and Lu Bainian had to help take shifts.After the New Year, Hai Jiao was also called to the living room to keep him company.Although he was just a spectator, he also gained a lot of knowledge. At least he now knew that some people in the world were really surprisingly thick-skinned.

Hai Jiao complained to his sister in private: "These rich men are all very smart in their calculations, but they treat others as fools. When my grandfather built the workshop, so many people were not optimistic about it. It was a joke, overtly and covertly, but now the wine has been produced." , the glass was burned, and they were eager to get a share of the pie. If they were willing to contribute money and effort, that would be fine. They had nothing, but they opened their mouths and said they were willing to help sell glassware, and they were also willing to sell grapes from their own vineyards. They make wine for the workshop, but they charge a low price for the glassware, saying that the health clinic of the villagers should not make money from them, but they want to sell the grapes at a high price, not to mention the feelings of neighbors at this time. It is really greedy and stupid. , who wants to deal with such a person?!"

Haitang asked him: "Does everyone who comes to see Grandpa think this way? If they are all fools, why would Grandpa waste his time on them? After working for more than half a year, I go out early and come back late every day. Is it okay now? It’s easy to take annual leave, wouldn’t it be nice to take a little more rest?”

Hai Jiao sighed: "Grandpa just wanted to find a few more people to help the health center to share the burden. The health center is also a little tight on money now. He built two workshops in one go, collected materials, figured out formulas, and maintained staff. It costs money! Although the wine has been brewed and the glass has been fired, if the things are not sold for money, the workshop will suffer losses every day. Grandpa also hopes that the people who come to the door will be sincere and knowledgeable. Those who are capable and willing to sincerely cooperate with the Wei Institute can at least help sell things to the Central Plains. We can't always rely on passing caravans."

The Chinese New Year is almost here. At this time of year, are there any caravans passing through in the northwest?Most of the caravans returned to their hometowns a month or two ago.At the moment, the outside of Suzhou City is desolate. The wilderness is filled with snow and dust. The occasional living creature is mostly wild wolves and rats.If the weather is slightly better, there may be scattered Huqi.They will not come to Suzhou City, nor will they harass Guancheng. They will only go to surrounding villages and towns to grab some livestock and food.There are rumors that life has not been easy for the Hu people recently.

Hai Jiao spends half a day at the Weisuo Yamen every day, and now he often listens in on the conversations between his family elders and guests, so he is quite well-informed.After he complained about the greedy businessmen and wealthy households, he turned the topic to the barbarians.He still resented the three years of his life as a slave in his previous life. Now that he heard that the Hu people were not living well, he felt very happy.Anyway, his sister is an insider, so he doesn't have to avoid anything and can speak freely.

He told Haitang that the time for the peace talks has been set, and it will be arranged in April next year, after the spring flowers bloom, at Gaotaisuo between Gansu and Suzhou.There is a Dachu garrison in the area, but there are no heavy troops. When the Hu people's peace negotiation representatives come, they can camp on the spot without worrying about being surrounded by a large army.The Hu people refused to hold peace talks in Ganzhou and hoped to hold them in Suzhou because they were afraid that their personal safety would not be guaranteed.After back-and-forth discussions, the two parties finally decided on the location of the Gaotai Institute.

However, the Gaotai Institute is nearly two hundred miles away from Suzhou City, which is quite deep into the border of Dachu.The barbarians must first pass through Suzhou before they can go to Gaotai.Suzhou will also have to step up patrols next year to prevent the barbarians from secretly causing trouble.

On the other hand, the imperial court heard that some high-ranking officials who were expected to participate in the negotiations disliked the poor construction of the high platform, which was far away from the big city and not safe enough.

When Haitang heard this, he quickly asked his brother: "Who is the court planning to send to negotiate? Is this person reliable?"

(End of this chapter)