"Marquis, this Lin has exchanged a hundred and twenty thousand catties of brass from the Wei Nation merchants. It has all been transported to Lantian County!"
The next day, early morning.
Lin Wenyuan came to Marquis Yong 'an Manor and reported to Li Zexuan.
Li Zexuan was delighted and said, "So fast? Good! A hundred and twenty thousand catties, plus Mr. Wang has already set up the production line at the gall alumina mine. Our Lantian County shouldn't be lacking in brass for a short period of time! Boss Lin, you have done this Marquis a huge favor! "
Two days ago, he had just received news that the production line at the gall alumina mine in Lantian County had been set up. According to Wang Ji's estimation, the first month's output of brass from the gall alumina mine should be about three thousand catties. Although it sounded a little little, but in this era where there was a lack of brass, it was quite a lot!
Furthermore, as the refining process matured, the monthly output of brass would definitely increase greatly. By then, the Great Tang Imperial Court would also pay attention to the wet smelting copper technique. The gall alumina mine would definitely become very popular!
"You're too kind! To be able to work for Marquis is this Lin's honor! "
Lin Wenyuan bowed slightly and quickly cupped his hands.
Li Zexuan smiled and said, "Boss Lin doesn't need to be so modest! Now that we have such a huge amount of brass, this Marquis can arrange for people to set up electric wires in Lantian County! By then, the people of Lantian County can be like Yanhuang College and use electric lights! Boss Lin has to be credited for this! "
"I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare!"
Lin Wenyuan cupped his hands and suddenly his eyes flashed and sighed, "This Lin just moved from Chang 'an City to Lantian County a few days ago. I didn't expect to be able to enjoy such a magical thing like electric lights. No matter what, this is all thanks to Marquis's kindness! So helping Marquis to exchange brass is also helping this Lin. This Lin doesn't dare to claim the credit! "
Li Zexuan chuckled and asked, "Oh? Boss Lin has settled down in Lantian County? Is there anything you need this Marquis's help with? "
"Settled down! Everything has been settled! The residence that I purchased is in Yong 'an Lane. It's only a few steps away from the marquis's estate! "
Lin Wenyuan smiled and cupped his hands.
Although the population of Lantian County had increased explosively in recent months, it was basically hard to find a place to live, and the prices of the houses and shops had increased by a lot, especially in Yong 'an Lane where the Marquis' Residence was located. Those who could live here were either rich or respectable, and ordinary people simply couldn't afford to buy a house here. However, Lin Wenyuan was still part of the first batch of members of the Yan Huang Chamber of Commerce. With his wealth, it wasn't difficult for him to buy a house in Yong 'an Lane!
As for why he wanted to settle his family in Yong 'an Lane, those who understood would naturally understand!
"Oh? Doesn't that mean Boss Lin is my neighbor? "
Li Zexuan raised his eyebrows and smiled.
Lin Wenyuan hurriedly said, "I dare not, I dare not! I just want to be able to listen to Marquis's orders better! "
Li Zexuan didn't comment on this, but smiled and asked, "Boss Lin, if you have any difficulties in doing business in Lantian County in the future, you can come and find this Marquis. This Marquis may be able to help you with some matters within the law!"
The officials of this era generally looked down on merchants, but Li Zexuan had never looked down on merchants. The workshop's products sold well all over the world and the prosperity of Lantian County today were all due to the merchants. Sometimes, Li Zexuan was also willing to give the merchants some benefits to let them help him develop his territory!
"Thank you, Marquis!"
Lin Wenyuan's heart was instantly filled with a huge surprise. He stood up and cupped his hands towards Li Zexuan, "If Marquis has any errands in the future, I will definitely be at your beck and call!"
Li Zexuan thought for a moment, then smiled and asked, "It's already June. How is your son, Lin Hao, preparing for the exam?"
Hearing Li Zexuan mention Lin Hao, Lin Wenyuan's old face was immediately filled with gratification. He cupped his hands and smiled, "Thank you, Marquis, for your concern. My son has been diligently preparing for the exam under Han Xiao's guidance for more than half a year. He hasn't slacked off at all! This old man has watched this child grow up, but I have never seen him put so much effort into anything. From this, it can be seen that he really wants to get into a sacred place like Yanhuang College! "
Li Zexuan smiled and said, "You reap what you sow. With your son working so hard, he will definitely reap some rewards!"
Immediately, he felt that it was a bit inappropriate to say that. It was as if he was hinting that Lin Wenyuan would secretly "recommend" his son to get into Yanhuang College, so he quickly added,
"However, even if your son is careless and fails in the exam, it doesn't matter. Now that the Lin family is considered to be part of Lantian County, Lin Hao can directly study in the county school. There are many teachers in the county school who have taught in Yanhuang College. After studying there for a year and a half, and then getting into Yanhuang College, the success rate will greatly increase!"
Under normal circumstances, Li Zexuan would not open the back door in the matter of college enrollment. In the past, royal children like Li Ke and Li Tai relied on their own abilities to get into Yanhuang College. Even if Lin Wenyuan helped Li Zexuan do more things, Li Zexuan would not open the back door for his son, Lin Hao, in the matter of college enrollment.
Hearing this, Lin Wenyuan's eyes flashed with a trace of imperceptible disappointment. It was mainly because Li Zexuan's first half of the sentence gave him hope. Otherwise, he would not have felt slightly disappointed!
"Marquis is right! When I decided to move my family to Lantian County, I also had this layer of consideration! After all, in other provinces and counties, it is basically impossible for a merchant's son to get into a local government school! "
Lin Wenyuan cupped his hands and smiled.
At this moment, he had already thought it through in his heart. This was because compared to other merchants, he was undoubtedly much more fortunate!
"The prosperity of Lantian County today relies on the prosperity and vigorous development of commerce. Behind this, it cannot be separated from the efforts of merchants. This Marquis will not be like other officials in other provinces and counties, ostracizing merchants and their sons!"
Li Zexuan said with a solemn face.
"Marquis is righteous!"
Lin Wenyuan cupped his hands. Then, as if he suddenly thought of something, he said somewhat embarrassedly, "Speaking of commerce in Lantian County, this Lin is planning to build an inn recently to provide a place for merchants to rest. However, in the construction of this inn, there are many problems. I wonder if Marquis can help?"
"Build an inn? What kind of inn does Boss Lin plan to build? "
According to what Lin Wenyuan said, this inn was definitely not an ordinary inn. Otherwise, he would not have come to ask for help. Li Zexuan could not help but ask curiously.
Lin Wenyuan cupped his hands and replied, "Marquis, this Lin plans to imitate the style of the Cloud Mountain Villa. With reinforced concrete and colored glass, this Lin plans to build a six-story inn. The interior decoration will be a copy of the Cloud Mountain Villa's decoration. There will be sofas, transparent colored glass windows, and so on! I hope that Marquis can allow it! "
If it was someone in a higher position, they would definitely not agree. After all, people in a higher position were all tyrannical. They did not wish for someone to imitate their own home to build an inn. However, Li Zexuan did not care about this. Instead, he was somewhat surprised that Lin Wenyuan could see the potential value of the Cloud Mountain Villa and discover it. He waved his hand and said,
"Boss Lin is using your own money to build an inn. How can this Marquis disagree? If you like the architectural style of the Cloud Mountain Villa, I have some similar blueprints here. You can use them when the time comes! But then again, after Boss Lin's inn is built, it won't be cheap to stay for a night, right? "
When he was building the Cloud Mountain Villa, Li Zexuan did not only design a set of blueprints, but also many backups. Now that he did not have the energy to build a house, it was not a bad idea to give it to Lin Wenyuan as a favor at little cost!
Lin Wenyuan was pleasantly surprised. He cupped his hands and said, "Many thanks to Marquis for the blueprints! After this inn is built, this Lin hopes that it can become a big landmark of Lantian County. In terms of price, it should be slightly more expensive than other inns! "
Immediately, his face showed a difficult expression. He hesitated and said, "But this inn needs a lot of cement and craftsmen who know how to build cement buildings. This Lin boldly asks Marquis to help!"
"Cement, craftsmen!"
Li Zexuan's heart moved. He said, "The workshop has a lot of cement in stock right now. I can transfer some to you. As for craftsmen, this Marquis has an idea. What do you think?"
Lin Wenyuan said respectfully, "Marquis, please speak!"
Li Zexuan said slowly, "When Yanhuang College and the Cloud Mountain Villa were built, most of the craftsmen were local farmers in Lantian County. This Marquis thinks that if the style of the Cloud Mountain Villa can be liked by the merchants, this Marquis can let some farmers who know how to build build a construction team to specially contract the construction of this style of building! Firstly, it will be convenient for you. Secondly, it will allow the commoners to have more income and live better lives! What do you think? "
"Wonderful! Wonderful! Wonderful! Marquis's plan is wonderful! "
Lin Wenyuan's eyes lit up. He clapped his hands and said with a smile, "Marquis, you don't know. There are definitely a lot of merchants in Lantian County who have the same idea. They also want to build a clean and beautiful, tall and sturdy house like the Cloud Mountain Villa. However, they don't have cement or skilled craftsmen. If Marquis really wants to let the commoners form a construction team, there will definitely be a lot of merchants who will hire them!"
When Li Zexuan heard this, he immediately said, "That's good! This Marquis will first let the Han Family Village and Plum Village set up a construction team. Then, I will first supply a batch of cement to Boss Lin. After your inn starts construction, this Marquis will encourage the people of the other villages to set up construction teams and open a few cement factories to speed up the production of cement! "
Lin Wenyuan said gratefully, "Thank you, Marquis! It's just that … If this Lin is so bold, I would like to ask Marquis to help this Lin give this Lin's inn a name! "
Li Zexuan said with a strange expression, "You want me to give your inn a name? Are you sure? "
Lin Wenyuan had a bad premonition in his heart. However, since he had already said it, there was no reason to take it back. Therefore, he braced himself and said,
"Please give me a name, Marquis!"
Li Zexuan was helpless. He pretended to think for a while and then said with some mischievous interest, "Then let's call it Dragon Gate Inn!"
"Dragon Gate Inn?"
When Lin Wenyuan heard this, he was immediately suspicious. He thought to himself, Why did Marquis want to name it Dragon Gate Inn? I heard that there's a Longmen County in Hedong Province's Jiang Zhou. Could it be that Marquis has some connection with that place? I have to find time to take a look!
Li Zexuan didn't know that his little mischievous interest had implicated a big matter!
…
Now that the brass was in place and the dozens of bicycles given to Lin Wenyuan had all been replaced, Li Zexuan immediately ordered to start setting up electric wires for Lantian County. At the workshop, the second generation of bicycles had also entered the stage of mass production!
As for the electric bicycles, Li Zexuan planned to postpone it for a while. After all, it would take some time to set up electric wires and connect electricity to every household in the county. There was no point in selling electric bicycles before that.
In addition, that afternoon, Li Zexuan found Old Hu, Liu Qingfeng, and Liu Wanshan and told them about the joint construction team in Plum Village and the Han Family Village!
"Young Master, it's not a problem for us to set up a construction team to help others build houses like Yunshan Villa. However, the wheat in the fields is about to be harvested. During the busy farming season, no one in the village would be willing to work in the city!"
Old Hu scratched his head and said.
Second Master Liu also nodded and said, "Xiao Hu is right. We farmers naturally have to prioritize our crops. We can't let our crops rot in the fields just to earn money in the city!"
It wasn't Hu Hanyun and Second Master Liu's fault for not giving Li Zexuan any face. It was just that farmers had always valued their crops more than anything else. This concept was already deeply ingrained in them, and no one could change it.
Li Zexuan smiled and said, "Uncle Hu, Second Master Liu, there is no conflict between harvesting crops and working in the city! I didn't say that everyone in the village should join the construction team. That's not realistic. We only need a small number of young people who know how to build to join the construction team. The rest can still harvest crops in the village! Even if we don't have enough manpower, we can just pay outside the village to hire people to help harvest crops. We won't lose anything because the construction team will be very generous! "
Hearing this, the few of them looked at each other. Finally, Second Master Liu said, "That's a good idea! Young Master, don't worry. We will go back and recruit people to set up a construction team. When the time comes, we will go to the county to help people build houses! "
"Mm!"
Li Zexuan nodded.
Liu Qingfeng then asked hesitantly, "Young Master, where should we buy the cement needed by the construction team?"
Li Zexuan smiled and said, "Liu Lizheng, you don't have to worry about this. I have already arranged it! Also, I plan to choose a few suitable locations and open a few cement workshops. When the time comes, we won't be short of cement! "
Liu Qingfeng nodded and said, "That's good!"
Then, the few of them got up and left.
Looking at their backs, Li Zexuan couldn't help but smile.
He had always wanted to increase the income of the people. Previously, he had promoted bean sprouts and greenhouse vegetables. This year, he had promoted cotton. Logically speaking, farming could only provide food for the people. If he wanted the people to be rich, he had to think of other ways. The construction team was just a good start.
According to Li Zexuan's plan, in the future, he would encourage those poor farmers to open some small workshops. When workshop production replaced the pure handicraft industry, production efficiency would be greatly improved. It would be difficult for the commoners not to be rich even if they didn't want to!
…
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