In line with the principle of giving a sweet date with a slap.

Jiao Shun first let all kinds of people in the Secretary's Office freeze all morning, and at noon he specially ordered Qian to cook a meal of wine, food and hot soup on the stove to ward off the cold.

He also secretly instigated several kitchen assistants to analyze the big drama that morning in a few words, directing most of the people's anger towards Ying He, Chen Yongpeng and others in the Department of Affairs.

In the afternoon, they were mercifully allowed to pack up the two compartments and go out to work.

There were a few scoundrels on the spot who were grateful for this, saying that Mr. Jiao didn't seem to be as rude and unreasonable as the rumors said. He didn't have to be humble or overbearing in the face of Mr. Chen. Even those who angered people knew how to stop in moderation.

Not to mention these Stockholm patients.

However, at one o'clock in the afternoon, Jiao Shun, who had added a mattress, was squinting his eyes and taking a nap in the corridor, when he suddenly heard someone striding towards him.

He raised his eyes and took a look, but it was Liu Changyou and his apprentice Zhao Jijin who rushed over in a hurry.

"Don't you have to be on duty today?"

Jiao Shun didn't wait for him to come closer, so he turned over and sat up and asked, "Is there something wrong in the office?"

"Don't worry, sir, everything is fine in the house."

Liu Changyou hurriedly explained: "It's from the south delivering water...the kerosene has arrived. I have always been responsible for this matter, so the people below came to find me - I just took Jiujin to try it out, and I rushed it out earlier."

The kerosene lamp I have is quite usable, so I thought I would come over and report it to the Lord."

With that said, he motioned to Zhao Jijin to present two kerosene lamps, one large and one small.

The big one is very delicately carved, with lacquered gold and chiselled silver exuding radiance, while the small one is much simpler, using as little material as possible, and it is squat and looks like a spittoon.

But Jiao Shun's attention still fell on the small oil lamp. He waved it to Zhao Jijin and handed it to him. He first weighed the weight to make sure that more than half a pot of kerosene was filled in it, and then he held it upside down in his hand and pressed it hard.

Shaked a few times.

After carefully confirming that not a drop of kerosene had spilled, he nodded with satisfaction, stood up, looked around, and said to the small hall next to the courtyard door: "Go there and try it."

After saying that, he walked out from the corridor with a lantern and led everyone into one of the reverse seats.

Zhao Jijin directed the two apprentices to cover all the rear and front windows with cloth.

Liu Changyou offered the fire certificate with both hands.

Jiao Shun took off the torch and blew the flames, then unscrewed the glass cover and lit the wick of the kerosene lamp. Seeing the flames rising half an inch, he quickly put the glass cover back again.

Perhaps because the glass cover was not transparent enough, the brightness suddenly dropped a bit. It was almost on the same level as the tallow candles used at home, but now it is slightly inferior.

This made Jiao Shun slightly dissatisfied. As a person born in the 1990s, in his limited impression, this kind of lighting was used in rural areas, but it continued from the Republic of China to the early 1980s. Logically speaking, it should be better than candles.

Bar?

"Your Excellency, it is true that you can see thousands of miles away!"

At this time, I heard Liu Changyou praise: "This thing is several times safer and brighter than the old oil lamp, and it is not inferior to candles."

He was flattering him so much, but Zhao Jiujin couldn't help pouring cold water on him: "But the soybean oil lamp can be made with a broken bowl and a piece of cotton thread. This one has an iron frame and a glass cover. I'm afraid we need dozens of them."

It takes a new bowl to replace one.”

"What nonsense!"

Liu Changyou hurriedly scolded: "This thing and that old oil lamp have their own uses, how can they be compared together..."

Jiao Shun raised his hand to stop what he was saying, and said to Zhao Jiujin warmly: "Don't listen to your master. This thing hasn't been finalized yet. Tell us all the pros and cons so that we can improve it and make it more practical."

Zhao Jijin was encouraged and saw that the master did not stop him, so he pointed his finger and said: "The brightness of this thing actually depends on the length of the wick. How can ordinary people dare to use such a long wick in their homes? If it is cut short,

In fact, it is only better than an old oil lamp, but not as bright as a candle."

"Then there's that oil. Brother Xu and I looked through local records and found that this oil is rarely produced in large quantities - although Taizu mentioned it a few times back then, we have never seen it in real form."

"Since it is a scarce and rare object, the cost must be high. As a result, the selling price and lighting effect are not as good as candles. I'm afraid..."

Even though he was upright, he still knew why he shouldn't speak clearly, and he stopped talking in time at the end.

Jiao Shun nodded repeatedly after hearing this. After he finished speaking, he immediately asked: "If the supply of petroleum is opened and only the cost of extracting lamp oil is calculated, what will happen?"

"this……"

Zhao Jiujin scratched his head, counted on his fingers, and then said: "Although the lamp oil precipitated at the moment is not clear enough, but based on this calculation, it does not require too much investment, and it is better than rapeseed oil and soybean oil."

You squeeze a lot of it—and the amount you get out at one time is much larger.”

"That's right!"

Jiao Shun immediately laughed when he heard this: "I won't hide the matter from you until now. Now that the southeastern troubles have reached a deadlock, and the imperial court has successfully restored its reputation, peace talks will probably begin soon."

"The Xiyi newspapers have already analyzed it. In addition to discussing the ownership of the land, the peace talks will also inevitably deal with trade issues - but I, the Great Xia's natural treasures, actually don't really need anything from the Xiyi."

"Although this is a good thing for us, can Xiyi just watch the money in his pocket being wiped out by us? At that time, in order to keep the money bag, there will definitely be some overt and covert fighting!"

"Although we in Daxia are not afraid of them, it will take time to rebuild the armored navy after all. We have to first stabilize the Western barbarians, so we still have to buy some things from them."

“In my opinion, instead of buying flashy things and piling them up in the national treasury, it’s better to buy things that are needed for people’s livelihood.”

At this point, Zhao Jiujin seemed more and more confused, but Liu Changyou suddenly realized it and clapped his hands and exclaimed: "That's it! I remember it was recorded in Taizu's Quotations that this thing is not uncommon in the land controlled by the Western Yi. If it can be made

A large amount of it is exported to our country to replace soybean oil, and rapeseed oil is used for lighting. Firstly, it is high quality and low price, which can supplement the lights of thousands of families. Secondly, it can also appease the Western barbarians and give our Great Xia Navy a chance to breathe and develop."

After saying that, he bowed to Jiao Shunshen again: "Your Excellency, you are indeed concerned about the country and the people, and you can see thousands of miles away!"

This time it was not flattery, but genuine admiration.

Jiao Shun helped him up and said seriously: "For this reason, Liu Suocheng needs to pay more attention to the development of the oil separation method and the further improvement of the oil lamps. It must be perfect before the peace talks with the Western Yi."

After saying that, he also promised: "I have always been generous. If this happens, I will definitely get a reward!"

Liu Changyou also knew that the emperor was interested in promoting craftsmen, and that foreign-related matters were the easiest way to reveal his merits. At that moment, he grinned with joy from the corner of his mouth to his ears, but he quickly said humbly: "What kind of merit does a humble position have? It's just a matter of adhering to your Majesty's tail."

The two of them were complimenting each other here, but Zhao Jiujin couldn't help pouring cold water on him: "Sir, Master, according to what you said, although the oil price has dropped, this lamp is still very expensive, I'm afraid that people's homes

You may not be able to afford it.”

"You..."

Liu Changyou was really annoyed this time. He turned around and glared at him. He was about to curse, but was stopped by Jiao Shun, who said with a smile: "That's why we have to continue to improve and strive to dilute the cost - as long as we can

If it drops to a certain level, the imperial court will discuss a subsidy plan with Xiyi, and it will naturally benefit the people."

"Subsidy plan?"

"The imperial court and the Western Yi paid for it and sold the oil lamps to the poor people at a low price. Of course, it would be best if all the money came from the Western Yi. After all, they destroyed our navy and killed us before.

The army and the people, now that we are defeated and seeking peace, and want to buy us things, we must first pay for our losses, right?"

Only then did Zhao Jijin feel relieved and nodded like a chicken pecking at rice: "Yes, yes, yes, we should let those foreign devils pay for it! It would be best for our handyman to make it and sell it to them at a high price first, and then let them sell it to them at a low price."

People!"

"How could this happen!"

Jiao Shun glared: "Although they provide the money, the court still needs to come forward to do this good thing that provides benefits to the people."

The three of them looked at each other and couldn't help laughing.

…………

Shen Shi [3 p.m.].

Jiao Shun drove away from the Yamen, but he was not in a hurry to go home. Instead, he bought some fresh pastries and snacks along the street.

As the fifteenth day of the first lunar month approached, the street became obviously lively. Although it was snowing heavily, there were still many stalls on the corridors on both sides, especially various snacks.

It was a pity that he was wearing an official robe, otherwise Jiao Shun would have really wanted to find a stall that he liked and enjoy the street scene in the snow with a slightly sweet fruit wine.

Now...

All I could do was pack it up and take it home, hugging and spreading it around by word of mouth.

But it was said that Jiao Shun was sitting in the car, twisting a glutinous rice dumpling with candied dates and wanting to try it out, when the carriage suddenly came to an emergency stop and the dumpling rolled out of the car.

"What's wrong?"

Jiao Shun lifted the curtain and looked outside, but it turned out that Ni Er was blocking the way.

"Uncle Jiao."

Ni Er stepped forward in a slightly embarrassed manner on the snow, and bowed through the car window to report: "I just got the news, Zhang Hua has lost a lot in the market these days, and owes a lot of bad debts.

Please also pay more attention and don’t let this ignorant villain ruin the big event!"

Tsk~

The good mood that Jiao Shun had accumulated in the yamen suddenly disappeared.

Zhang Cheng used it very smoothly, especially the unspoken rules for welcoming people and sending them off in the officialdom, which gave Jiao Shun a lot of help. If he fired him because of his son's affairs, he wanted to find someone to take over in a short time, but he couldn't.

I'm afraid it won't be that easy - although Jia Yun is smart, he is still young and has little knowledge. It is impossible to expect him to take the lead in one or two years.

But if Zhang Hua refuses to refuse, then Zhang Hua will really be pressed for debt collection. How can he, as a father, stand by and watch?

At that time, some evil thoughts will arise...

After being in a dilemma for a long time, he could only look for someone to replace him, and at the same time ask Jia Yun to keep a close eye on the father and son - isn't that why he paid Jia Yun to come?

at the same time.

Xiuju also arrived at Jiao's house as promised.

Since Xiangling was called by Ying'er to help with the knotting, it was naturally Yu Chuan'er who came to receive her this time.

Xiuju was not familiar with her, so she was careful in her words and deeds.

But even so, Yu Chuan'er has already gained some insights.

After all, they were all hanging out in the same place. Although Jiao Shun deliberately avoided him every time he ordered Xiang Ling, how could he completely isolate the clues?

What's more, the exchanges between the two sides have become too frequent recently.

Regarding the fact that Yingchun was very likely to become his mistress, Yuchuan'er was half happy and half sad. What was happy was that Yingchun was dull and timid, so she was definitely not a strong mistress.

What worries me is that the King of Hell is so easy to deal with. Siqi is notoriously difficult to offend among the maids in the Rongguo Mansion. Even Qingwen, who has always been sharp-tongued, has suffered from her, and even more so.

Don't talk about others.

If they were to compete head-on, even if they tied two jade bracelets together, they would not be her match!

Fortunately, I still have the advantage of being 'first in line'. I have been in close contact with my uncle all day long. Is it possible that I am still no match for her?

After giving herself a shot of cardiotonic, which reduced her three-point sadness to one point, Yu Chuan'er was just about to cheer up and start a relationship with Xiu Ju, when she didn't want to hear footsteps outside, and then Jiao Shun walked in through the curtain.

"Huh?"

Seeing Xiuju sitting there, Jiao Shun raised his hand to untie the silk ribbon around his neck and asked: "Miss Xiuju, come here at this time, do you have something to give me?"

With that said, he took off his cloak and threw it to Yuchuan'er: "Go, take it to the inner room and bake it."

Yuchuan'er knew that the uncle was deliberately moving away from her, so she flattened her mouth with a sullen face, but she still held the big cloak obediently and hung it in front of the heating rack in the back room.

As soon as she left, the embroidered orange immediately came alive.

He walked forward with a smile and said: "Our second lady already knows about my uncle's kindness, but the girl is thin-skinned and refuses to open her mouth. Sister Siqi and I had no choice but to go through the motions and draw up this list."

As he said that, he handed the note to him with both hands.

Because she was familiar with it, Jiao Shun was honest and polite, holding her little hand and studying it.

Xiujiang's face was slightly red, but she didn't struggle. She pretended to be fine and continued: "This time when we moved back, my eldest wife not only didn't buy any extra luggage, but she also secretly packed some. Otherwise, I wouldn't have troubled my uncle to help."

As he spoke, Jiao Shun's claws crawled up to his chest.

Xiuju hurriedly pulled away and stepped back, covering her heart and saying shyly: "Sir, please be more respectful."

Jiao Shun chuckled and retracted the Lushan Claw, secretly saying that the feel of the hand was not bad, but it was just better than Cheese Chess...

At this time, he suddenly saw Xiuju bringing out another fifty taels of silver. Jiao Shun couldn't help but wonder, "What does this mean?"

Xiuju said sternly: "Although this silver was originally rewarded by my uncle, it seems a bit pretentious to take it here again, but Sister Siqi said that you can't be allowed to take money out again and again. Instead, let's hide this silver."

?”

In addition to having a hot temper, Siqi is very meticulous in his work.

Jiao Shun didn't hesitate, he took the money directly and asked smoothly: "Your sister Siqi always asks you to send messages, but why does she never come to see me?"

"Hehe~"

Xiuju covered her mouth with a smile and said narrowly: "It's a good thing that I'm here. If it were Sister Siqi who was as careless as Uncle Cai just now, I'm afraid she would have been torn apart by now!"

"She dares!"
Chapter completed!