Red Mansion Huacai

Chapter 188 New Neighbors

King Zhongyong walked with his hands behind his back and said: "This east wind is good, but the cost is too much."

Just saltpeter and sulfur. These two are controlled materials in Dashun. Every major city has a saltpeter and a saltpeter. You have to go to the latrine to defecate. If you dare to defecate in the street, you will have to use a board. The sulfur can be purchased from RB, as there is no shortage of both.

What’s really expensive is the frosting.

At this time, the frost sugar in Guangdong and Guangxi was three taels per load, and it cost four taels to transport it to the capital. Coupled with the iron shell, this Dongfeng costs at least ten taels of silver, which is much more wasteful than a cannon.

Li Weijian came over and said: "Your Majesty, I have read through ancient books and found a good recipe for sugar extraction. When Xiaguan's factory is put into operation, I would like to go south to establish a sugar business for the imperial government. I dare not say that there are many. In the next year, I will still be able to earn tens of millions of taels per year."

"How many?"

"Ten million taels."

King Zhongyong looked carefully and saw that Li Weijian didn't seem to be faking it. He was surprised and said: "Fu Sheng is so confident."

Li Weijian smiled and held his hands, speechless. In the early days of industrialization, what were the first commodities in the world? One is textiles, one is spices, and the third is sugar.

I forgot where I saw it, but Li Weijian vaguely remembered that in the late Qing Dynasty, the annual cost of importing sugar was 30 million taels of wasted money.

Moreover, Suzhou and Hangzhou still use water-powered and animal-powered textile looms, so this trip south happened to bring those gentry on board.

Furthermore, there are only two most suitable coal-iron complexes in Dashun territory. One is to the northeast outside the pass, and the other is to Ma'anshan. In terms of economic radiation and convenient transportation, Ma'anshan is undoubtedly better than outside the customs.

Going south next year, Li Weijian plans to go to Ma'anshan to check it out. If there is a chance, he will definitely build a coal-iron complex.

King Zhongyong was very excited. The so-called money and silk moved people's hearts. The capital water affairs came first, and the Xishan Coal Mine followed. Li Weijian guaranteed that sugar extraction could make a living of tens of millions of taels a year. King Zhongyong really believed it.

Because the prince said cheerfully: "Since I have this idea in the resurrection, I will go south next year." Suddenly seeing Li Weijian smiling and moaning but stopping to speak, King Zhongyong asked: "Do you have any requirements for the resurrection?"

Li Weijian said: "My lord, this Dongfeng is a new type of firearm. I am afraid that no one in the world knows how to use this weapon better than me. I don't ask for anything else. I just ask that if the prince leads the army next year, please bring me with you." .”

"You want to go to Qinghai with me? Why?"

Li Weijian muttered: "Isn't it true that the lower officials also want to make progress, be promoted to uncles or marquises, and strive for a wife and a son?"

King Zhongyong glanced at him, nodded with a smile, and immediately walked around thinking.

At Li Weijian's age and having earned such a large fortune, he probably won't have to ask for money in this life. In addition, he is still young and cannot be promoted too quickly in this official position, so he can only seek promotion... Within common sense.

Previously, King Zhongyong and Emperor Zhenghe occasionally mentioned Li Weijian, and Emperor Zhenghe was worried that Li Weijian would become successful too early, become ambitious at a young age, and lose his enterprising spirit. Now it seems that Li Fusheng has not lost his spirit.

Then I thought again, Qinghai is vast, just leave it behind when the time comes, or keep it in the big tent for use. This Dashun has been prepared for a long time, and if it doesn't work, it will be an invincible situation. No matter what, the army will not be defeated thousands of miles away.

Because King Zhongyong stopped and nodded and said: "Let's see what Fusheng does. If we can raise a few more millions of silver before sending out the army, I will make the decision and I will definitely bring Fusheng with me."

millions? Isn’t it a piece of cake for Li Weijian?

Because Li Weijian happily held up his hands and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty for your favor."

............................................................

Lixiangyuan.

"Hiss... be gentle, be gentle."

Xue Pan was lying on the bed with his pants half off, and the imperial doctor of Rongguo Mansion was wiping the medicinal wine. After a long while, the imperial doctor stopped and said: "Uncle Xue has injured his muscles and bones this time. It is best not to injure the tail vertebrae again, otherwise there will be no need for treatment."

"It saves you money."

The imperial doctor nodded and left carrying the medicine box. After a while, Aunt Xue and Baochai entered.

Aunt Xue complained: "It's so easy, how could you fall off the horse?"

Xue Pan frowned and said fearfully: "Mom, don't say anything. Fortunately, my son left early. If it had been later, the man named Li might have used the Flying Monkey to blast him over. By then, even if my mother wanted to collect her son's body, there would be no place to look for it." .”

"Bah, stop saying these unlucky things!"

Xue Pan said disapprovingly: "I didn't lie? If you don't believe me, ask Brother Rong and Brother Qiang. I was just having a banquet with my friends and didn't disturb anything. That man named Li shot the Iron Sky Monkey over."

Xue Pan turned over in excitement and immediately pulled his tail vertebrae, hissing in pain. Then he carefully turned over and gestured: "Such a long iron pipe, if it is smashed from the sky, it will only fall by one foot." Hit me on the head."

After a pause, he added: "I just ran out and as soon as I got on my horse, there was an explosion in the garden on the side of Li's house. My mother and sister never saw it. The explosion of the Jinling gunpowder depot a few years ago was nothing like this."

The more Xue Pan talked, the more aggrieved he became. He said, "Everyone says that the man named Li is the God of Wealth. When I look at him, he is clearly the Living King of Hell. Sister, I won't go there and live there no matter what. That house may be sold or leased. , anyway, I don’t care.”

At this time, it was approaching night, and Xue Pan said some grumbling words that he could not stay any longer, so he left the house with the help of his servants.

Aunt Xue and Baochai Xian sat down. Aunt Xue kept looking at her daughter, but saw no expression on her face. Baochai lamented in her heart that she had offended her fourth brother Jian before, and her mother and brother looked down upon her, so she was the only daughter to sacrifice her face to ask for help.

Now that Fourth Brother Jian has gained momentum, how can it be so easy for the Xue family to restore their old friendship? If you deliberately make friends, you may be looked down upon and thought to be a follower of the crowd.

Sister Bao thought about it and decided to do the opposite. Since we were enemies, why not be happy enemies? In this way, he persuaded Aunt Xue to order Xue Pan and Li Weijian to live next to each other, and deliberately created some harmless dissensions, so that it would be easier for Baochai to interact with Fourth Brother Jian in the future.

However, fate is not as good as man. Fourth brother Jian did not know what kind of flying monkey he tried, but he was frightened to death. As a result, this plan naturally came to nothing.

Baochai and Aunt Xue had no choice but to leave Rongguo Mansion and go to the new house. If Li Weijian didn't improve, but instead lost Baoyu, wouldn't it be all in vain?

Sister Bao lamented in her heart, could it be that she and Fourth Brother Jian were no longer destined to be together?

Aunt Xue observed her expression and said, "My son, I think you might as well collect your thoughts. Now that Daiyu has returned to Yangzhou, why not take advantage of this opportunity to interact more with Baoyu."

What can happen now?

Baochai bit her lower lip and nodded: "Don't worry, Mom."

Aunt Xue said the same old thing and sighed: "It's not because of our family's situation that I wouldn't force you like this. My son is just suffering."

Baochai said leisurely: "Brother Bao is also very good...it would be better if he could make more progress."

Aunt Xue only said: "He is still young now. You have been admonishing him from time to time, but he may have changed his mind someday." "Mom is right." Baochai was very tired and stood up and said: " Mom, I’m a little tired, so I’m going to rest first.”

"Go."

Aunt Xue watched Baochai leave, wondering what was going on in her heart. In her daughter's heart, it was the person named Li who held more weight.

As for the new house, it cost a lot of money to get it, so it's not easy to sell it. It wasn't appropriate to leave it vacant, so Aunt Xue thought about renting it out later. It's a profit at least.

......................................................

In the twelfth lunar month, the cold wind is biting.

The carriage stopped in front of the house. Li Weijian jumped out of the carriage, rubbed his hands and swung his cloak and walked inside. At this moment, a soft sedan came from the alley. The curtain of the sedan was slightly opened, revealing half of his face. When he caught a glimpse of Li Weijian, his face was full of suspicion.

The soft sedan stopped in front of the second courtyard on the west side of Li's house. After getting off the sedan, a middle-aged lady came out, paid the money, and hurried into the courtyard.

When I entered the main room, I saw a pair of girls sitting side by side, playing playfully. The two girls yelled, and the woman let the maid take off her cloak and complained: "It's been nine winters, it's really cold to death."

Third Sister You said, "Mom, has our house been rented out?"

You Lao Niang let out a curse and said: "I don't know where the poor guy came from, and he made a price at the first sight. This is the capital, and the emperor is under the feet, not Yunnan and Guizhou. Why did he cut it in half when he came up? I and that poor guy are too lazy to argue, so we just start with it. came back."

The second sister couldn't help but said worriedly: "Mom, if we don't rent it out as soon as possible, this new year will be very difficult."

The third sister also echoed: "Yes, the second sister and I haven't made new clothes yet."

Mrs. You frowned and sighed: "Let's see again. If it doesn't work, I will continue to look for your eldest sister. There will always be a reprieve."

The third sister sneered: "Last time I even ate and took the food, and the eldest sister's expression was already wrong."

You Lao Niang said firmly: "So what? It was not my fault that I subsidized the dowry. How could your eldest sister marry into the Ningguo Mansion? Your cheap dad is just a sixth-rank official in the capital. He still lives in Qingshui Yamen. How much money can he get back at the end of the year?" Two silver coins? Didn't you all rely on my dowry in those years?

My dowry has been emptied. No matter how heartless your eldest sister is, you can't ignore me now. "(Note 1)

The maid brought hot tea, and Mrs. You sat down at the Kang table, thinking carefully about what she had just seen, and after a while she said, "Speaking of which, I seemed to have seen someone just now."

"Who?" asked the third sister.

"Li Caishen."

The third sister's face had not changed, but the second sister immediately raised her head and said, "Li Caishen? Where did you see me?"

You Lao Niang said happily: "You can't be wrong, it's Li Caishen. If you want to say that you have to listen to your mother, we, we moved here this time. It's the right move!"

Madam You has seen a lot, and is used to seeing men talk sweetly in front of them, but abandon them like worn-out shoes behind. Because she neither believed in love nor empty promises, she only believed in tangible and visible benefits.

My late husband's daughter, Youshi, married into the Ningguo Mansion as a second wife. She felt that she had taken advantage of it, so she planned to get her second and third sisters to marry in, either as concubines or as a second wife. Only then did you have wealth.

Her family was originally from the outer city, but as soon as she entered a small house, You Lao Niang usually interacted with people, so it was inevitable that people would look down upon her. So she started thinking about changing her house, but she didn't have enough money. After much deliberation, she simply rented a big house in the inner city and a small house in the outer city. This way, she only needed to make up for it by a few dozen taels of silver every year.

Unfortunately, the house in the outer city will not be rented out for a while. Madam You was a little worried before, but now she is satisfied when she sees Li Caishen next door.

That's Li Caishen, with a wealth of more than one million? Not to mention that he was given the title of second-class male the previous time. In addition, they are still young and their two daughters are as beautiful as flowers, but they cannot be the main wife, so they can be a side wife... Even if it is an outhouse, will they be able to save money in the future?

Because You Lao Niang said happily: "Isn't this opportunity coming? You sisters should be more attentive. If you really get married with Li Caishen, then this life will be fine!"

The second sister looked thoughtful, but the third sister said disdainfully: "Mom has a good plan, but Li Caishen doesn't look down on us sisters. Last time in Huifang Garden, our sisters talked with good intentions, but Li Caishen avoided her. Like a snake or a scorpion, he left after saying a few words."

You Lao Niang scolded: "You have such a temper, and men have the same temperament. It's strange that people are happy." After a pause, she looked at the second sister and said: "The second sister is different. When she sits there and looks at her, she becomes demure. I'll teach you some tricks later, and I'm sure I'll make Li Caishen fascinated."

The second sister's face turned red with embarrassment and she said reluctantly, "What did mother say?"

You Lao Niang said disapprovingly: "What are you ashamed of? I'm about to get my haircut during the Chinese New Year. It's because I really don't like the Zhang family. I can't say that my second sister will be married by then."

Second Sister You has been to Ningguo Mansion several times with Mrs. You, and has seen the wealth and wealth of Ningguo Mansion. How can she be willing to marry the son of a village head? Not to mention that the Zhang family is now involved in a lawsuit and has already lost. The two families have not been in contact with each other for more than ten years.

The second sister asked, "What are you talking about?"

The third sister suddenly said: "Second sister, now that we have become neighbors, the two families are not allowed to move around. In a few days, my mother will give birth to a baby, and there will be big things happening on both sides. Why not take the opportunity to invite Li Caishen."

The second sister wondered: "How could he be willing to come?"

"You haven't invited anyone to come or not. How do you know they won't come?"

The second sister muttered without saying anything, and the third sister said again: "I just happened to find the paper kite when I was sorting it out. The wind is blowing from the northwest right now. We released the paper kite, and the string broke, and it fell into Li Caishen's house. Isn't that right? Got Yuzi?"

Mrs. You praised from the side: "This is a clever method."

The second sister You was very excited. When the third sister saw this, she immediately pulled him out of the door.

But he said that Li Weijian was too busy these days. The training schedule was listed out, and Shenwu General Feng Tang was invited to give a lecture. With his reputation, he could suppress the arrogant and powerful generals. In addition, Li Weijian spent most of his time testing Dongfeng every day. Rocket.

Fortunately, in the past few days, he had found a few people with practical knowledge to help record the data obtained from the test, so Li Weijian had some free time.

After entering the inner house and taking off her coat, Qingwen folded her clothes and said, "Fourth Master, a new family has moved into the Xue family's house."

Li Weijian said happily: "It seems that Xue Wenlong was scared away by us."

Qingwen said angrily: "What's more, if the gunpowder magazine explodes, it will just be like that, right? If I were him, I would probably run faster than him."

No matter what, it's a relief this time. At this time, a maid came to report: "Miss Qingwen, two girls came outside. They said they were neighbors to the west and accidentally dropped the paper kite in the garden."

　He was able to ask Liu Xianglian to play the role of a niche, and he was also called a You Lao'an man. This shows that You Lao'an is a sixth-grade official. The combination of the two is a typical match between a rich and pretty widow and a poor official, which extends to why Mrs. You always goes to Ningguo Mansion to take advantage.

　　The second update is a little later, probably at night

　　

　

(End of this chapter)