Chapter 233 Sunrise in the east and rain in the west
The emperor actually sent someone to ask for samples of the new textile machinery!
If Zhang Shou hadn't mentioned it in advance, Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu would have no idea how frightened they would be when faced with the smiling Lu Chan, the Master of Ceremonies. But since they were prepared in advance, the two of them
They immediately agreed without saying a word, but put forward a condition that they would personally follow Lu Chan to transport the textile machinery into the palace.
As for why this is... they don't care. Since Zhang Shou specifically emphasized it to them, they will definitely do it. After all, facts have proven that they did not suffer any losses by following Zhang Shou and enjoyed all the gains.
Lu Chan had no objection at all and agreed to the request with a smile. Not only that, when the things were delivered to Dong'anmen, brothers Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu were about to leave, but he coughed again and said: "You two will also be royals in the future."
Son-in-law, it’s not too late to get familiar with Donghua Gate first. Besides, if you do good things to the end and send people to the west, you should send them to Donghua Gate!"
Although Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu were a little suspicious, they still did as they were told. When they arrived at Donghua Gate, they discovered that in addition to those servants with special uniforms, there were also many low-ranking officials in blue official uniforms coming and going.
Officials, it's just that all of these people held their heads high and were high-spirited. After asking, they learned that they were from Zhongshushe who served in the cabinet.
Various imperial edicts that are not particularly important were written by these Zhongshushe people.
When the two brothers saw these promising and talented officials for the first time, they naturally couldn't help but look at them curiously. Little did they know that their stop at Donghua Gate also attracted the attention of those people. Therefore, when Lu Chan
After thanking Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu with a smile and sending them away, he then led the huge car into Donghua Gate. Naturally, someone came to inquire.
Although Lu Chan has a good reputation as a smiling tiger, there are always some unscrupulous people among the middle school scholars. For example, they have a personality that matches that of Mr. Wu Ge, and they have the same surname. They work in a carefree manner but are fond of chattering and spread all kinds of news.
Wu Zhongshu stepped forward with a smile and asked questions. He didn't expect to find out why, but he didn't expect that he would gain a lot in the end.
Lu Chan said lightly: "The so-called things that benefit the country and the people caused the second prince to kill slaves and report the first prince to compete with the people. It is said that it was the work of Dr. Zhang and teachers and students of Lu Sanlang.
A new type of spinning machine that was several times faster than the previous folk spinning machines. The eldest prince didn't know how to find out, so he just bought a hundred of them from Lu Sanlang at a high price. But the one he used first was Zhang Wu Zhang.
This is the weaving and dyeing workshop of the two brothers."
A glint flashed in Wu Zhongshu's eyes, and then he said with a half-smile: "Isn't Mr. Lu exaggerating? I'm from Jiangnan, and my family is not from a wealthy family. I have seen my elders spinning since I was a child.
Weavers, if you want to say that there is a machine that is faster than the spinning machines they use, I believe it, but if you say that it is several times faster, is that an exaggeration?"
Lu Chan suddenly laughed: "I don't know if it's true or not, but if it's not really effective, why did the eldest prince spend a lot of money to buy it, and why did the second prince have to eat so much to accuse the eldest prince of taking advantage of him? Since the second prince
The prince keeps saying that it benefits the country and the people and cannot be left in private hands, so the emperor naturally wants to take a closer look at the real thing."
Seeing Wu Zhongshu, he suddenly laughed, but his eyes flickered, but Lu Chan said calmly: "At this moment, Eunuch Chu is probably questioning the eldest prince. I just heard from Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu."
The dyeing shop is back. After all, they are the son-in-law and niece-in-law chosen by the emperor. The weaving and dyeing shop has not yet been fully opened, but it was first interfered with by the eldest prince, but it was still willingly dedicated to the emperor."
Having said this, how could Wu Zhongshu not understand? There is no doubt that the eldest prince has not yet made a decision, so Chu Kuan has not come back yet, but Lu Chan, who went to meet Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu, has gone smoothly.
Came back with something!
He chuckled and said nonchalantly: "To untie the bell, you must tie the bell. Why doesn't the emperor just summon Dr. Zhang and Lu Sanlang?"
"Wang Dayin of Shuntian Prefecture had already taken the lead and snatched all the drawings from Dr. Zhang directly into the palace." Although Lu Chan was a little suspicious of Chu Kuan's previous statement to him, he still revealed the matter as if nothing had happened.
, seeing that Wu Zhongshu's expression was extremely strange, he naturally sighed and said, "Wang Dayin is too upright, but Dr. Zhang is indeed reasonable..."
Wu Zhongshu had no intention of arguing with Lu Chan anymore. He knew very well what kind of person Wang Jie, the Yin of Shuntian Prefecture, was. If even Wang Jie, who was proficient in farming and weaving, thought that the textile machine was a good thing, then he couldn't be wrong! Therefore,
When Lu Chan led people to push the cart containing the textile machinery to Qianqing Palace, he immediately rushed back to the cabinet.
Loves to talk, so he can spread news? Haha, people who really know him know that he spreads the news that others want him to spread, and he never says more than a word about the things that others want him to keep silent about.
Why did Lu Chan say so much to him today? You didn't expect him to spread the news with his mouth!
Knowing this, after Wu Zhongshu returned to the cabinet, he first reported a letter to Mr. Wu Ge, who admired him the most and was also his biggest supporter, and then started bragging with other Zhongshu. Everyone saw that he was happy just now.
Hehehe was talking to Lu Chan, the Supervisor of Ceremonies, who was avoided by others. At this time, he was blowing the story to such extremes that others had no choice but to listen, even if they were doubtful.
But as a result, by the evening of that day, the news about the new spinning machine had spread wildly among all the government offices in the capital.
When the eldest prince, who had tried every means to delay the day in front of Chu Kuan, heard the news, his hands and feet were cold at first, and then he fell to the sky. If the servants had not rescued him in time and the imperial doctor had not arrived quickly, the poor eldest prince might have suffered a stroke.
Not sure...
As the instigator of this series of events, Zhang Shou was helping his mother Wu make dumplings in a relaxed and leisurely manner, and Xiao Cheng was also picked up by him. After all, the Imperial Academy was on holiday, and there was a festive atmosphere everywhere in the capital.
It was really unkind to leave someone alone in the Xiao family.
However, seeing Xiao Cheng clumsily wrapping the dumplings into a pot-bellied shape, he couldn't help but laugh while rolling out the dumplings. Seeing this, Mrs. Wu quickly pulled the little guy with a discouraged face in front of him.
, taught him step by step for a while, and then said angrily to Zhang Shou: "Ah Shou, do you think everyone is like you? You are born with knowledge and can do whatever you see? You actually laugh at children!"
Zhang Shou couldn't help but was speechless. He was not born with knowledge, it was just that practice makes perfect... I remember that in order to satisfy his picky mouth, he once hired a chef at home, but in the end, he was still not satisfied.
I had to study hard at cooking. I also tried various dark dishes. As for making dumplings...
When he was very young in the last life, his mother once said to his father that dumplings had to be made by yourself, rolled out the dough, mixed with fillings, and rolled bit by bit by yourself, so that it would taste like home, and anything else was evil... At that time, he
However, he has a hot-tempered temperament and prefers to eat all kinds of flavors outside. When he later realizes that he missed something, it is already too late.
That's probably the biggest reason why he likes to cook by himself.
Just when he was slightly in a trance, a burst of laughter came from outside: "Aunt Wu is right, Ah Shou knows everything, so he thinks everyone else is like him!"
Following this voice, Zhu Ying entered the room generously. When she saw Mrs. Wu, she quickly stood up, washed her hands full of flour in a basin nearby, and then stepped forward. After saying a few words to Mrs. Wu, she insisted on
After pushing the person to sit down, he looked at the thin dough rolled out one by one by Zhang Shou, and said curiously: "Speaking of which, this is the first time I've seen someone make dumplings!"
Ever since she ran to the kitchen out of curiosity and almost got burned when she was a child, the kitchen of Duke Zhao's Mansion has become a forbidden area for her. Her grandmother, father, and even her eldest brother have strictly guarded against her even entering the kitchen!
Seeing Zhu Ying's face full of eagerness to try, Zhang Shou casually threw the pieces of dough he rolled out on the chopping board next to him, then took one, made a dumpling three times, five divided by two, and then held it in the palm of his hand and presented it to Zhu Ying.
However, before the eldest lady could take it over to see what was going on, Zhang Shou withdrew his hand and said with a smile: "Wash your hands first!"
Aunt Liu, who was obviously the cook but had to help out just now, was afraid that Zhu Ying would be annoyed, so she quickly went to fetch a basin of water, mixed it with the hot water that had been hanging on the stove and brought it in. Seeing that Zhu Ying did not feel disobedient at all.
She washed her hands, then took the dumpling and looked at it from left to right, as if it were some rare work of art. She couldn't help but recite it a thousand times in her stomach. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
No, beauty is in the eye of the beholder! Of course, this young master of ours can indeed be said to be both talented and handsome...
Zhu Ying looked at it, but she didn't overestimate her ability to try. Ever since she was a child, she could never do anything that required handwork. Therefore, she would rather stand by and smile happily.
While talking about the eldest prince's misfortune today, he watched Zhang Shou dexterously wrap up dumplings one after another as if they were printed from the same mold.
Although she just regarded the matter as a matter of course, Wu on the side couldn't help but feel worried when she heard it: "Ah Shou, this eldest prince has failed to draw water from the bamboo basket, will he hate you?"
Zhu Ying immediately snorted coldly: "How dare he? He dares to make excuses even if the father wants something from him. This is considered disloyal and unfilial. How dare he hate others?"
Zhang Shou knew that Wu's background was too poor, so he was cautious in everything. He immediately smiled and comforted: "Mom, he didn't like me before, and his situation will not be much worse in the future. What's more, what he should be worried about now is
, how to make up for the sin of prevaricating the emperor today, how to deal with the second prince biting him like a mad dog...their brothers have to fight to the death first, and they have no time to pay attention to me."
Seeing Zhu Ying rolling her eyes and wanting to speak, he smiled and said: "Although the New Year is approaching and everyone has their own affairs to be busy with, Yingying, can you accompany me to visit some places in Xicheng tomorrow?
Looking at a house?”
"What are you doing looking at the house?" Zhu Ying asked instinctively. She didn't realize it until she saw Wu's dumbfounded smile.
"Ah Shou, do you want to..."
"Mr. Qi lent me this house temporarily. Although I feel comfortable living here without paying rent, I can't continue to do so. Of course, if you want to move before your father and eldest brother come back, it may be too late, and it's the twelfth lunar month.
The first month and the first month of the year are not suitable for moving either, but I have to take a look first, taking advantage of the fact that I just made a fortune!"
Although Wu also heard from Zhang Shou that Zhang Shou made a huge fortune by selling the extremely efficient new spinning machine, but now that she heard that the eldest prince and the second prince were both unlucky, she
She still felt that something was not appropriate. But Zhang Shou actually said it to Zhu Ying so frankly, which made her even more worried.
Although it is true that if she wants to get married in the future, she cannot live in Mr. Qi's house, but if Zhu Ying is not happy...
However, Zhu Ying's reaction seemed simple and pure. She smiled brightly and her face was full of joy: "Okay, okay, I'll accompany you to see it! Although it's the New Year, except for ancestor worship, I have nothing to do at other times.
I have nothing to do, my mother and grandmother both dislike me for being in the way, after all, even those shops are closed... By the way, we can still meet a few people by the way!"
As she spoke, she winked at Zhang Shou: "You only help Zhang Wu, Zhang Lu and Lu Sanlang. How can that be done? Didn't Zhang Chen's father Qin Guogong also promise to leave the marriage to you?"
It’s Chinese New Year, so she wants to help Zhang Chen go on a blind date? Zhu Ying thinks that the standard of stunning beauty can be easily achieved? She didn’t look at Zhang Chen’s vision, she first fell in love with Zhu Ying, and then Princess Yongping... By the way
, Princess Yongping has not decided to get married this time. Is it a temporary postponement, or does the emperor really allow her to stay here without getting married?
Zhang Shou was thinking about these nonsense in his mind, but he had no intention of mentioning Princess Yongping in front of Zhu Ying. After all, he was not a close acquaintance with her, let alone friends. In this case, there was no need for Zhu Ying to meddle in other people's business.
enough.
That night, Zhu Ying had a bowl of dumplings at Zhang Shou's house, and then returned to Zhao Guogong's mansion, but she could no longer eat the serious dinner at home. Zhu Er secretly expressed his contempt for the female foreign minister, but
, seeing that Mrs. Tai and Jiu Niang's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law didn't take it seriously, he, an outsider, had nothing to say, so he could only shut up and eat.
"By the way, grandma, mother, there's nothing going on at home these days. I'm going to go look at the house with Ashou."
So, Zhu Er, who was full of rice, immediately choked on these words and almost didn't spray all over the table. But even if he finally turned his head to the side in time, the rice grains ended up spraying all over the floor. Seeing too much
The two eldest girls beside the madam, Yulan and Yutang, asked people to come in and take care of them with subtle expressions on their faces. The madam looked even more unhappy, so he could only explain quickly.
"Grandma, mother, I'm just curious...curious about where my future brother-in-law will get so much money."
You must know that this is the capital! The houses in the capital are not in the countryside. You can build a yard for thirty or fifty guan. With that little money, you can barely even build a shed in the capital! Look at the dignified second young master of Zhao Guogong's house. He has built a private house in these years.
I only saved over 100 guan of money, which makes people sad when I hear it, and tears when I see it...
Just when Zhu Er was slandering him, he saw Zhu Ying smiling at him: "Ah Shou has just made a fortune, and now he is rich in wealth!"