Guo Song didn't take the matter of Xiao Yu Niang and Liang Ling'er seriously. Everyone does all kinds of stupid things when they grow up. They all want to grow up. Boys smoke and pretend to be serious, while girls dress up to be coquettish and mature. It's the same from ancient times to the present.
There is really no need to make a fuss.
Guo Song just didn't want to embarrass them, so he came to the official office. He asked his entourage to buy a lunch at the restaurant, and he sat in the official room to eat while reading a thick stack of documents on the table.
At this time, he found an approval document from the Ministry of Industry of the imperial court from a stack of documents, approving the construction of the Yellow River military and civilian docks and shipbuilding yards in Fengzhou. This made Guo Song very happy, and he did not expect that the Ministry of Industry would approve it so quickly.
It’s not that any facilities Fengzhou wants to build must require the approval of the imperial court. If you don’t ask for money from the imperial court, except for the construction of cities and palaces, you can build other buildings however you want, and the imperial court will not care.
But building a wharf is a big project. It not only requires building a wharf, but also supporting warehouses, roads from the county town to the wharf, and a shipyard. All projects cannot be completed without millions of dollars. After the Ministry of Industry approves,
They can then prepare a budget and ask the Ministry of Accounts for money.
At this time, Cao Wannian walked in and saw Guo Song eating, so he smiled and said: "Your Majesty is having lunch, I will come back later."
"No, I've already eaten. You can sit down!"
Guo Song put the dinner plate aside, took out his handkerchief and wiped his mouth. He pointed at the document approved by the Ministry of Works and asked, "Does the Jiedu Mansion know about this approval from the Ministry of Works?"
"They know that Duan Shijun sent someone to deliver it."
"What did the envoy say in that paragraph?"
Cao Wannian smiled and said: "Duan Shijun said that it is necessary to build a dock, but should the shipbuilding workshop be placed in Lingzhou? He said that we have insufficient manpower here and are not suitable for building a shipbuilding workshop."
Guo Song also laughed, "Why haven't they applied for it themselves for so many years? When they saw me applying, they became jealous. Don't worry about it."
Cao Wannian smiled bitterly and said: "If you don't care about this matter, you should find an opportunity to discuss it with Jiedushi! You must know that the money was allocated by their hands. They have blocked the money for building the shipyard. We
There’s nothing left to do.”
What Cao Wannian said made sense, and Guo Song nodded, "Okay! I'll go to Lingzhou sometime. It would be best if the court allocates the money directly to us, but it seems unrealistic. It's hard to beg for help!"
Guo Song shook his head and asked again: "A dozen shipwrights came here a few days ago, did you know?"
"Of course I know. Xue Canjun and the others have been accompanying them these past few days. Today, Xue Canjun even accompanied them to Feng'an County to look at timber."
"Why go to Feng'an County to see timber?" Guo Song asked puzzledly.
"What you don't know is that there is a batch of old pine wood in the warehouse in Feng'an County. It was originally intended to be transported to Lingwu County to build a palace, but it became useless and has been stored in the warehouse for almost more than ten years. Gengjiangtou said
, Shipbuilding requires thoroughly dry wood, and freshly cut pine wood needs to be dried for at least one or two years before it can be used, so the wood in stock in Feng'an County comes in handy."
Just as he was talking, he heard Xue Changshou's voice coming from the yard, "Is Guo Shijun back?"
Guo Song smiled and said: "I'm talking about you! Come in quickly."
Xue Changshou walked in dusty and dusty. Although it was early spring, he was still sweating profusely.
"I just came back from Feng'an County. Geng Geng went back to the inn to rest. Today's harvest was good. At least ten 2,000-stone cargo ships have received lumber. We will start felling and drying the lumber soon. When they finish building ten ships, the lumber will also be available.
It’s time to dry it.”
Guo Song thought for a while and asked: "Shipbuilding should require a lot of things! Paint, cloth, glue, ropes, tools, shipbuilding sites, labor, and of course, more importantly, money. You can discuss these issues.
Have you passed?"
"We have been discussing this matter during this period. Some things are available in Lingzhou and can be transferred from there. Some things are sold in Yan'an Prefecture. I have sent people to purchase them. They brought the tools themselves, and we also
You can imitate a batch, and you don't need too much labor. Two ships are started at the same time, and one or two hundred people are enough. As for the site, the trouble is the money. Build a two thousand stone cargo ship, labor, materials, and all kinds of things.
The expenditure will be at least 8,000 guan. Even if we have some of the main materials, it will still be 4,000 guan. In other words, we need 40,000 guan to build ten large ships, and we cannot afford it."
Guo Song pondered for a moment and asked: "How much can you take out now?"
"The maximum amount of money is 10,000 yuan, and the remaining money will be rewarded."
"Then let's use this ten thousand guan first. When it's almost spent, I guess the appropriation from the court will arrive."
Guo Song was a little nervous. He still had to take time to go to Lingzhou to negotiate with Duan Xiushi about the shipbuilding yard.
........
In the afternoon, Guo Song returned to the mansion. As soon as he entered the back house, he saw two little girls kneeling in his yard. Guo Song was stunned for a moment.
"You...what are you doing?"
Liang Ling'er said with a tearful tone: "I was the one who instigated Xiaoyu Niang. You either punish me or don't drive Xiaoyu Niang away."
Xiaoyu Niang said quickly: "It has nothing to do with Ling'er. It's just me who was confused and forgot my duty..." Her voice became lower and lower, and finally she began to sob and cry.
Guo Song burst out laughing. He knelt down and said to the two of them: "First of all, I'm not angry with you. You are doing your makeup in your own room. It doesn't matter how you like, as long as you don't do it in my yard.
Secondly, I have seen the makeup you wear in the palace. It is indeed very popular among the palace ladies, and it is not weird at all.
Thirdly, I don’t object to the young lady wearing some light makeup. Fengzhou is very windy and sandy in spring, which is harmful to the skin, so wearing some light makeup is good for the skin.
Fourth, you can put on whatever makeup you want, but don't go out of the inner house. The servants have never seen the world. They don't understand and it will scare them.
Fifth, if you have time to read, if you really don’t want to, you can practice martial arts. Xiaoyu Niang, you can teach Ling’er the flying knife I taught you.
Sixth, help me take care of Mengzi when you have time. I guess you haven't taken care of it during this time.
Seventh, hurry up and prepare dinner for me, don’t kneel here anymore.”
Seeing that Guo Song had no intention of blaming them, the two of them were immediately delighted. They quickly got up and ran out, "Let's go prepare dinner!"
Guo Song shook his head and returned to his study. He took out a few broken stone statues from the box on the bookcase and put them together. The image of a little girl appeared in front of him. Guo Song touched the stone statue lovingly and sighed softly.
.
It has been fourteen years since he came to Datang. His daughter should have graduated from college. I wonder if she still remembers her father?
At this time, he heard footsteps behind him. He quickly put the stone statue into the box and asked, "What's the matter?"
I heard Xiaoyu Niang say timidly outside the door: "Sir, dinner is ready, let's go eat!"
"Okay! I'll come right away."
Guo Song walked out of the study and saw Xiaoyu Niang standing at the door with her head bowed. Guo Song couldn't help but look at her eyebrows. Seeing that her eyebrows were drawn thin and long, he smiled and said: "These eyebrows are well drawn, they are from the Ling'er Gang."
Did you draw it?"
"Yes, she is very good at makeup."
Guo Song laughed and said, "You learned makeup at Cangjiang Pavilion. Can her makeup skills compare with yours?"
Xiaoyu Niang shook her head like a rattle, "It's not the same thing. Hidden Sword Pavilion is a disguise technique, she is wearing makeup."
"They all look the same to me. Which one of you is older?"
"She is the same age as me, but one month older than me."
The two of them talked and came to the dining hall. The fear in Xiaoyu Niang's heart gradually faded away. She also realized that the young master was not comforting her, but that he was really not angry with her.
But she was a little disappointed, which showed that the young master really didn't take her to heart.
Xiaoyu Niang was worried about gain and loss, so the meal was tasteless.
Liang Ling'er was talking and laughing. After a while, she brought a bottle of wine from the room and put it on the table. She said with a smile: "Brother Guo, try this wine."
Guo Song's eyes lit up. It turned out to be a bottle of Meishou wine, "Did you buy it from the capital?"
"Stop asking, try the wine before we talk!"
Guo Song opened the cork and poured a glass of wine. The wine turned golden yellow. He immediately knew that this was not Meishou wine, but just a Meishou wine bottle. This damn girl dared to fake it.
Guo Song picked up the wine glass and took a sip. It turned out to be wine, and it was very good wine. Guo Song drank it all in one gulp. It was really good wine, mellow and long, smooth in the mouth, with a thick and delicate fruity aroma.
"Is this...Gaochang wine?"
"No way! The grapes are grown in our Liang family manor, and we make the wine ourselves."
Guo Song's eyes suddenly lit up, that's right! The climate and soil quality of Fengzhou and Lingzhou are similar, why doesn't Fengzhou grow grapes to make wine? Put up the brand of Meishou wine and let Zhang Lei sell it for him, wouldn't Fengzhou have it?
A source of wealth?
"Ling'er, what is the name of your brewer and where is he now?"