Chapter 244: The boss who has no sense of existence
"I am already quite old and can do any shameless things, so don't ask me any more questions."
Zhang Yang clasped his hands and sighed, "Is this the benefit of being older?"
Li Yuan stroked his beard and said: "I recently sat down with Sun Simiao to discuss Taoism. There are many fields. I can also be a Taoist priest."
"I envy you, old man."
"What do you envy me for?"
"You can always find an ideal, another way, or, if your son is the emperor, who dares to mess with you?" Zhang Yang put his arm on Li Yuan's shoulder.
These are the shoulders of the Supreme Emperor, no one dares to rest on them casually.
"Just because my son is the emperor, I can't do whatever I want. Since Erlang came to the throne, the palace has been a prison for me. I never want to go back."
"While saying that it's shameful for Prince Hejian to stay away from home for a year and a half, I still don't want to return to the palace. It's really shameless."
"Hahaha." Li Yuan smiled heartily.
"Sometimes I really want to invite you back."
"You think I'm eating and drinking for free? Are you tired of me?"
"of course not."
"Hahaha..." Li Yuan laughed again.
Zhang Yang scratched his ears, unable to get used to the wild laughter.
Li Yuan sighed: "It was not easy for Yue'er when she was a child. I don't know what she thought about falling in love with you. At that time, everyone said that she would not survive to adulthood, so she was left alone. Let her feel more comfortable in the last year. Who can
I know your boy cured her."
"I understand."
"You said you understand with a serious face. What do you understand?"
"The Emperor thinks that I have taken advantage, and now he wants to take it back." Zhang Yang frowned and said, "Actually, it doesn't have to be like this. You are my wife's grandfather. Even if the emperor in the palace doesn't care about you, as your grandson-in-law
I should also support you, including the Hejian County Prince, we are one family."
Li Yuan nodded heavily, "A family..."
Looking in the direction of Chang'an, Li Yuan shook his head and said, "Not everyone will think like you."
Zhang Yang smiled indifferently and said in confusion: "I heard that the prince's health is also quite weak. Recently I observed that the prince's complexion is very bad."
"Chengqian was often sick when he was a child, because Erlang was away from home all year round. At that time, Guanyin's maid did not take good care of her fetus and was often worried about her. It's my fault."
Speaking of what happened back then, Li Yuan lost interest and got up and walked to Sun Simiao's medical clinic.
What happened back then is a scar, and I should rarely mention it in front of his old man in the future.
That girl always stood guard in front of Li Yue's study. She didn't say anything, just saluted respectfully, took out the key and unlocked the study.
It seems like she often stays here and doesn't let anyone else in.
Opening the door, Zhang Yang walked into the study. There was nothing important here, but all the important knowledge was kept in his mind.
There is a huge map hanging on the wall, which depicts the entire Central Plains from southwest to north.
Different from the maps outside, after reading the books these days, Li Yue improved this map a lot according to the records in various classics. Compared with the simple annotations on other maps of the Tang Dynasty, this map is much more detailed.
He took out a volume of books from Li Yue's schoolbag. He had read several volumes of geography in Chongwen Hall, and recalled his fragmentary memories in later generations and made a lot of notes and annotations.
Especially the Western Region, which is a vast and sparsely populated place.
To the west of Gaochang, what is now the Western Turks, is divided into Northern Xinjiang and Southern Xinjiang.
The climate in southern Xinjiang is better, more suitable for growing fruits and melons, and is also suitable for grazing. Agriculture is basically the main area.
The northern Xinjiang is desolate, and that area is more suitable for growing cotton. The Yinli River Valley is the best producing area for cotton cultivation.
Zhang Yang frowned and looked at the map for a long time. The Western Region should not be so small.
I used my wife's inkstone to grind the ink, then I drew an arc further west, and then another arc to the northeast. After taking a closer look, I felt something was wrong, so I added a few more strokes.
Just as she was thinking hard, Li Yue walked into the study. She looked at the map and wondered: "Why did your husband draw a chicken on the map?"
"chicken?"
"Yes, like a chicken."
Zhang Yang scratched his head, "I think it's more comfortable to watch like this, don't you think so?"
Li Yue smiled softly, "If this is how my husband considers the territory, I think it can be bigger. My husband has also said that the world is very big before."
"That's right, our ambitions can be bigger."
The girl stood respectfully outside the door, and a sloppy girl ran over, "Sister, the boy wants us to catch wild boars together."
The girl lowered her head and said, "I can't play around with you."
"Why?"
"Because I am no longer the same as you."
The sloppy girl said with a sly look on her face, "Then are you just going to stand here like this?"
"Let's go play." Li Yue's voice came from the study.
As if receiving an order, this girl followed this sloppy girl and left.
Li Yue looked at the Western Regions, "The Western Regions are very vast. I think back to the Han Dynasty when Huo Qubing swept across the Western Regions and the North with a single horse. Just looking at it makes people admire him."
Zhang Yang drew a circle west of Gaochang and said, "Let's take this land too."
"Is there anything special about this land?"
"This is a good place to grow cotton. Of course, apart from here, Longyou is also a good place to grow cotton. But I'm afraid your father won't agree to changing the land to cotton."
"We can figure it out slowly."
March in Chang'an City is a good time for spring outings.
Travelers can be seen everywhere in Guanzhong, and the couple goes out less and less often.
Seeing that Li Tai was doing nothing all day long, he had trouble with the fish last time, so I'm afraid that he would have trouble with someone else this time. He is a money tree, but he can't grow crooked.
He grabbed Li Tai and came to the house to do some hard work, helping with sawing wood and mortar.
Sweating profusely while working, Li Tai wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "Brother-in-law, isn't this roof very good? Why does it need to be raised higher? It will exceed the limit."
Zhang Yang repaired the bricks one by one, "I have read a lot of books these days, and also studied some classics from the Yushitai and the Ministry of Punishments. My building is only three stories high, so it is not considered over the limit."
Li Tai frowned and said: "The records in the classics are one thing, but as long as the house is raised, people will inevitably have reasons to deal with you. There is not much difference between one-story height and two-story height."
"I think you just don't want to work. You don't want to go beyond the rules. Those powerful people are more or less above the rules. You can't just write a few sentences and expose it in the court."
Li Xiaogong's voice is very open and clear, and it is comfortable to listen to such words.
Seeing the little fat man's aggrieved look, Zhang Yang patted him on the shoulder and said, "Your Highness, King Wei, you should persevere in your weight loss career, and your health should come first."
"I haven't had a donut yet! It's been a year!"
"You can't rush this kind of delicacy, you can eat it sooner or later." Zhang Yang pointed to the stones on the side, "Please bring those stones over."
"Ouch..."
He talks tough, but he just goes to work obediently.
The paper issue can also be put on hold for the time being. The two aunts have dried nearly a hundred kilograms of paper in their warehouse. The ink problem has not been solved yet, and the oil has not been delivered. The printing business has been put on hold for the time being.
After returning to Chang'an City, Li Xiaogong was not in high spirits.
He is also a eldest man, the children in his family are almost grown up, and he is still a prince of a county. He has a home in Chang'an City and never returns home. It is inevitable that his family will gossip when he hangs out all day.
The beams on the roof have already been erected, and the aunts are very quick in their work. Once the platform is built, it can be completed within half a month.
Li Xiaogong looked at the drawings in front of him, "What do you think are the benefits of this shower thing?"
Zhang Yang grinned and said, "It has endless uses."
Li Xiaogong frowned and looked at the drawings, pretending to be very knowledgeable, "It has endless uses? How is it different from our daily bathing?"
"They all use water, so there doesn't seem to be much difference."
"How come you, a country boy, have so much attention to detail?"
Li Xiaogong picked up the drawing, put it down, and then thought about it again and again.
After frowning for a while, Li Xiaogong pointed at a few words and asked, "What does this mean?"
Zhang Yang sat cross-legged on the chair and took a sip of tea. "This is the ratio. Now it is a hundred to one ratio."
Li Xiaogong tugged at the beard on his chin. After a while, he gave up trying to understand this kind of drawing. Then he stood up and touched the back of his head, gasping in pain.
A large piece of his hair was shaved, and the redness and swelling had not gone away yet. Sun Simiao just used some medicinal materials to reduce swelling and simply bandaged it.
"Still hurts?" Zhang Yang asked while drinking tea.
"I still have bouts of pain, but it's much better than the past two days." Li Xiaogong touched the back of his head, "You kid, don't stop me."
Zhang Yang said: "I don't want to get involved in your family affairs."
Li Xiaogong sighed, "As long as you stop me, I won't suffer this disaster."
"Husband, Uncle Wang, try the stew I made by myself." Li Yue came with a large bowl of steaming stew.
The two aunts also came down from the roof. They were very skilled and could get down by holding on to the eaves and turning over.
A small table was placed in the yard, and several people sat around the table.
Li Xiaogong took a taste of the kuaizi first, and nodded while eating, "The craftsmanship is good."
Li Yue took a bite and said, "The stewed pork is still not rotten enough, but it is edible."
For a rough guy like Li Xiaogong, his understanding of food is that it can fill his stomach. He is a very down-to-earth person, and he picks up the food in the bowl quickly, and even rice grains fly out of the bowl.
The eating habits are really wild.
I sighed in my heart and looked at Li Tai. This little fat guy ate much more slowly.
After finishing the meal, Li Tai stood up and said: "We can't ignore the matter of Kuo Di Zhi. Otherwise, if my father asks about anything again, he will inevitably be scolded when he doesn't come back, so he left first."
"His Royal Highness, King Wei, walk slowly."
After the meal, Li Xiaogong drank tea happily and asked, "How is the Ministry of Etiquette doing now?"
The midday sun was still a bit hot, so Zhang Yang kept waving the fan in his hand, "Now Xu Jingzong and Zhang Xiangxiang are in charge of the affairs of the Ministry of Rites, and Gao Xingcheng has been transferred to the Hongwen Hall."
"Zhang Xiangxiang and Xu Jingzong are pretty good." Li Xiaogong nodded in agreement.
"You disliked the Ministry of Etiquette so much at first, but now it seems that you always care about it."
"Care about the Ministry of Etiquette?" Li Xiaogong shook his head and said: "I don't care about the Ministry of Etiquette, what I care about is your future."
Being slapped on the shoulder by him, Zhang Yang endured the force and said, "I think my future is still very good."
Li Xiaogong pointed to this small courtyard, "You call this good?"
Zhang Yang took a sip of tea and said, "It's good. I don't have much ability. It would be nice if I could live my own life well."
"well……"
"Why are you sighing?"
"You are so disappointing. If you were my son, I would hang you up and whip you, just like Cheng Yaojin whipped his son."
Zhang Yang smiled awkwardly and was speechless for a moment.
Li Xiaogong scratched the back of his head again, "In addition to the pain, there is also some itching."
Looking at Li Xiaogong's wound, Zhang Yang said helplessly: "I'm afraid it won't heal in three to five days."
Li Xiaogong straightened his sleeves and stood up, "There is one more thing I want to ask you."
"But it doesn't matter."
"When will the second half of The Red Mansion be released?"
"Ah?" Zhang Yang was stunned for a long time and couldn't answer anything. He said to himself that a rough guy like you, Li Xiaogong, is not someone who can read this kind of book.
"They are the women in my family. They have been discussing the Red Mansion all day long. I understand that this book was printed by you."
"It may take some time, mainly because we don't have enough ink."
"How long will that take?"
"Let's give it a while, I'm also waiting for the raw materials."
Li Xiaogong received the words and took big steps to leave.
From the beginning, no one cared about the story of Red Mansions, but now more and more people are discussing this story. Even though the Hongwen Museum and the Imperial College could not include the volume of Red Mansions, the discussion has not stopped.
Li Yue listened to Aunt Wang's narration, and she understood in her heart the charm of the story of Red Mansions. The greatest charm is resistance, a resistance to secular concepts.
The images of people of various statuses can be found in almost any class, from princes and nobles to pawns and traders. People who read this kind of book do not need to be scholars or powerful people. There are no profound and difficult words of saints, only moving ones.
A story full of entanglements.
Any old man in the countryside can understand this story.
Li Yue looked at Zhang Yang's profile, "Husband?"
Zhang Yang drank tea and said, "Tell me."
"The Red Mansion was for everyone to read from the beginning. What your husband wants is a book that everyone can read, regardless of their status. Is this your real purpose?"
"I just want to make money, I don't think much about it."
"Want to make money? And sell it so cheaply." Li Yue raised her chin, obviously not believing what she said.
The platform on the roof of the home still needs to be constructed. In the past few days, all the energy has been focused on building a shower. The water pipeline is also a technical problem.
Morning is the best time to work every day. The mortar applied in the morning can solidify in the afternoon. If it falls at night, the mortar will fall off, so the mortar must be applied before noon.
It was still dark. Zhang Yang rolled up his sleeves and was working in the yard. There was a knock on the door and he opened the door and saw a face. He looked at it for a while and couldn't remember who it was.
"Chao Yilang doesn't recognize me anymore?"
Zhang Yang suddenly came back to his senses and then remembered that his boss, Cen Wenwen, was in charge of the secretarial department. The main reason was that this boss had so little sense of existence that he almost forgot about him.