The waiter hurriedly brought over a low stool and placed it next to the brazier.
The people sitting around the brazier were all ministers of the court, and no one else would have dared to sit down. However, Qin Huaidao didn't care. He went up and sat down calmly, and saw Fang Xuanling asking impatiently: "My dear nephew, is there really no coal?"
question?"
"There is still some poison in the smoke and it cannot be eradicated. All we need to do is leave a small crack in the window to let outside air in." Qin Huaidao said truthfully.
"Then it's okay."
Fang Xuanling was overjoyed. What's the point of leaving a crack? Whose house is completely closed to death when sleeping? He looked at Li Er and continued: "Your Majesty, with things to keep warm, the people will be much better this winter. The only problem left is food. Just like just now
As he said, the road is difficult to travel in winter, food from various places cannot enter Chang'an, and food prices have skyrocketed. If it is not controlled, something may happen."
Qin Huaidao heard that the price of food had indeed increased. Fortunately, he had given Jia Youcai 5,000 taels to buy food. Qinjiazhuang would not have a big problem this winter. Pay attention to what it sounds like.
Dai Zhou, the Minister of Household Affairs, said angrily: "These grain merchants are the most disgusting. They take the opportunity to make money every winter. In my opinion, it is better to catch a batch and let them reduce the price."
Fang Xuanling quickly objected: "No, the imperial court's intervention in the market may cause more trouble. If the grain merchants close their doors and refuse to sell grain, they can also be forced to stop selling. Guanzhong has a bumper harvest this year, and the people have some surplus at home to dig some wild vegetables."
We can get through it, but there is a shortage of food in the city of Chang'an. Scholars, peasants, industrialists, and merchants are the four common people. Scholars, workers, and merchants do not cultivate land, they all rely on buying. These people are short of food. The merchants are better, but some have extravagant wealth. The craftsmen are the worst."
"Is it feasible to remove some grain reserves from the counties of Jingzhao Prefecture?" Duan Lun, Minister of Industry, asked.
Fang Xuanling shook his head and smiled bitterly: "The counties in Jingzhao Prefecture provide food for Chang'an when they are the furthest away from Chang'an. How much wealth can these counties have? It's freezing cold and the roads are difficult to travel. The water is frozen. Jiangnan and Hanzhong Food
The problem of not being able to transport it in has been the same every year. The only way is to build more granaries in the coming year and transport more reserves in the summer and autumn."
"It's more difficult to build a granary." Duan Lun, Minister of Industry, interrupted.
Everyone was silent and looked gloomy.
Qin Huaidao was a little curious, why is it difficult to build a granary? Seeing everyone's natural expressions, he couldn't help but ask: "Master Duan, how difficult is it to build a granary?"
“It’s not that construction is difficult, but that the cost is too high.”
Qin Huaidao became more and more curious: "How high is it?"
Duan Lun glanced at His Majesty and saw that he had no intention of stopping him, so he explained: "The granary can only be made of bricks, not mud houses. To use bricks, a large amount of glutinous rice slurry and triple soil are needed to make them. Bricks are not cheap. Building a building
The cost of building a granary covering an area of one acre is more than 200,000 yuan, which can buy a lot of grain."
"If it's so expensive, how high should it be built?"
"About two feet."
Two feet is about six meters. In my memory, an acre in the Tang Dynasty is not as large as that in later generations. It is about 0.8 acres in later generations, which is about 540 square meters. If calculated as a square, the average length of the four sides is 23.3 meters.
About 6 meters high walls were built, and the total area was about 560 square meters.
The outer wall of Qin Huaidao's hometown in the countryside is 24 thick, and the inner wall is 18 thick, that is, a single brick. The granary wall needs to be thicker, at least 36. It is built with bricks from Qinjiazhuang. One square meter does not require more than 200 bricks.
, the total amount of bricks used is about 110,000.
The cost of firing one thousand bricks is no more than three hundred cents. Ten thousand bricks are thirty-three taels of silver, and one hundred and ten thousand bricks are thirty-three taels. If it is built with lime and clay, plus labor, tiles, wood and other miscellaneous expenses, the maximum cost is
How can two hundred taels of silver cost two hundred thousand taels? It's not so profitable to steal money.
At this moment, Qin Huaidao had an intuitive understanding of the cost of building a brick house in this world. Burning bricks was expensive, and glutinous rice mortar was not cheap. If he took over the project by himself, wouldn't he make a lot of money?
Thinking of this, Qin Huaidao was a little tempted, but he couldn't rush the matter. He had to figure out how the granary was built before he could determine the final cost.
At this time, Dai Zhou suddenly thought that Qin Huaidao was baking bricks, and couldn't help but ask: "Master Qin, are you baking bricks, are you selling them, and what is the unit price?"
"I'm not considering selling it for the time being. Qinjiazhuang is full of mud and thatched houses, which may collapse at any time. I'm going to build a brick house in Qinjiazhuang for everyone to live in. The demand for bricks is huge and there are not enough." Qin Huaidao refused.
Everyone was shocked when they heard that they were giving blue brick houses to them. They all looked over. Fang Xuanling was most concerned about civil affairs and asked: "Are you going to give blue brick houses to those tenants?"
Qin Huaidao explained: "It's not called a complete gift. We will live in it first, deduct it from everyone's salary according to the cost price, and pay it off in twenty years. If you don't make any money that month, you don't need to deduct it. It will be deducted until you have money in the future."
After all, after the deduction, the house will belong to everyone."
"This is a good way to avoid not being able to get out a large sum of money at once. Mr. Qin has the people in his heart, I admire him." Dai Zhou said sincerely.
Li Er's eyes also lit up. This method of living first and then paying back slowly is good and can solve the housing problem, but it also has many disadvantages. He asked curiously: "How much does your construction cost? Is the monthly income of the tenants enough to pay it?"
Life is not easy for the people, but can we not oppress them?"
Qin Huaidao thought that the price could not be said to be too low. If someone placed an order in the future, it would be difficult to increase the profit, so he said: "It covers an area of about one hundred square meters and the cost is about fifty taels of silver. I haven't calculated the details. It will be divided into twenty years."
The deduction is twenty-two-five cents a year, which is about two hundred cents a month. They now earn twenty-three cents a day from working, and the humble ministers also provide them with food, which is enough to pay for it. Your Majesty can rest assured, I will never dare to oppress the people."
"Is it really that low?" Li Er asked with a face full of shock. He stared at Qin Huaidao with a pair of tiger eyes, and even his breathing became rapid. It was really unbelievable.
Others also stared at Qin Huaidao, showing incredulous expressions.
Everyone knows how expensive a brick house is. How can a house covering an area of 100 square meters be built for fifty taels of silver? Dai Zhou, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, rushed to say: "Master Qin, this is not child's play, are you sure?"
What are you talking about? How can you do it with fifty taels of silver?"
Qin Huaidao made a quick calculation in his mind and felt that half of it could be built, but he couldn't say this, so he said with reservation: "Your Majesty, Lord Dai, the cost of fifty taels should be enough. The specific amount will not be known until the construction is completed.
"
"Okay, I'll go take a look after you finish the construction." Dai Zhou still didn't believe it.
The other ministers didn't believe it either, but didn't say much.
But Li Er felt that Qin Huaidao was not joking, and was shocked in his heart. He said: "Huaidao, if the cost is really so low, even if it costs sixty to eighty taels for a room, the people of the Tang Dynasty will be blessed."
"That's right, if it really works, I'll also build some green brick houses on my village."
"And I, too!"
"And I, too!"
Everyone said it one after another, obviously not believing it.
Qin Huaidao smiled, wouldn't this business just come?
Seeing Qin Huaidao's confident smile, Li Er felt more and more that it was possible. At this price, many palaces could be renovated, and even granaries could be built, so he asked: "How long will it take you to build it?"
"It will be after the new year. Construction is not easy in winter. When it is completed, please ask your Majesty and the ministers to take a look."
"Okay, I will definitely go and see you when the time comes. Mr. Qin is dedicated to serving the people and the wages he pays are not low. I am very relieved. If you have any difficulties, just ask and I will help you find a solution." Li Er promised, but in his heart he thought If it is so cheap, the city walls in various places can be overhauled, especially the border gates, so that the country will be forever solidified.
When Qin Huaidao heard that Li Er wanted to help, his eyes lit up, and he knew that there was not enough time, so he didn't stupidly ask for help right away.