If Wang Ju had been an ordinary provincial governor, he would have retreated.
Of course, if he had been an ordinary provincial governor, Zhang Xiaobao wouldn't have said anything. After all, he had once been the Minister of Revenue. This was how Great Tang's officials were. They could be promoted and demoted.
Unlike Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan's era, officials would either be demoted to the very end. If they made too big of a mistake and there was no one above them, or if the people above them couldn't be protected, they would be removed from their post or even sentenced.
The majority of officials wouldn't encounter such a situation. If someone protected them, they would destroy some evidence of their crimes and push the blame onto the officials below them. There were two kinds of situations. One was that they would be transferred to an important position and moved to a more leisurely place. The other was that they would be demoted and wait for the right time to come up.
Comparing the two, Zhang Xiaobao felt that the Great Tang's system was better. Officials didn't have any thoughts of being lucky. Even if they didn't have a good position, they could still get a position of equal status.
As for the protection of officials, it could only be said that the leader didn't have enough authority. There was a problem with the entire system, indirectly promoting the corruption of officials.
Li Longji, Gao Lishi, and Li Longji didn't know what Zhang Xiaobao was thinking. The three of them only knew that Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan had just pushed for the adjustment of the Great Tang's tax rates, and it hadn't been fully implemented yet. They were in the middle of 'negotiations' with the various great clans. To be more precise, they were exchanging benefits.
They were waiting for the important figures to agree before bringing it to the table. At that time, they wouldn't have to worry about the opposition of others.
Wang Ju had also been discussed with. Gao Lishi had previously sent a telegram to communicate with anyone whose family had a total wealth of three million strings of coins or more.
Right now, the conditions that could be brought out in exchange were the right to transport goods on the railways. This was the example that Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan had given.
Because the railways were being built using the Great Leap Forward model, the wealthy would have a specific reference. As long as one wasn't too stupid, they would agree.
The first reason was that the profits were indeed high and the power was great. The second reason was that if everyone else agreed but he didn't, it seemed that … with his strength, he would only end up suffering a greater loss in the end. When the time came, the imperial court wouldn't even give him a chance to exchange benefits. What kind of storm would he be able to cause?
As such, Gao Lishi's work went very smoothly. As for Zhang Xiaobao's later methods, not to mention the other aristocratic families and merchants, even Gao Lishi and Li Longji wouldn't have thought that the exchange of benefits was ultimately a trap.
Who would have thought that there would be so many additional trains? And by using another new technology, how many times faster could the operation speed be? Who would have thought that the proportion of increased taxes would be transferred by the imperial court and used to curb the regional monopoly that they had obtained after obtaining the right to allocate railway goods, while others would have to bear the loss of subsidies?
Thinking of this, Gao Lishi began to worry for his godson. He said, "Xiao Bao, you … you haven't even finished what you were doing before, and now you're immediately pushing out land. Land is the foundation of a person. When the time comes, the entire world will oppose you. Are you really going to force His Majesty to give you military power in a few more places?
In the exchange of benefits on the railways, other than a portion of the imperial court's profits, more of it is squeezing your family's share. Could it be that your family also plans to give up land? Your family doesn't seem to have too much land. "
Without waiting for Zhang Xiaobao to reply, Wang Ju said in shock, "The matter of increasing taxes is sacrificing my grandson's benefits? If I had known earlier … it would have been useless. Right now, my family doesn't have the total assets of three million strings of string, but for the development of the Great Tang, I can't possibly bully my grandson, right? "
Wang Ju said this at the risk of alienating his relationship with the Emperor. He didn't know the meaning of the word "principle," but he knew what he should choose. For his own benefits, he could give up his family today, but tomorrow, he could give up his country.
Wang Juan was very satisfied with Wang Ju's words. She knew very well that when she and Zhang Xiaobao were in the disaster a hundred years ago, some officials clearly knew that their children were buried underneath, but they didn't save them. Instead, they temporarily left them there to save others.
In the end, their children died, but what did that official get in return? His selflessness, which contained selfishness, was only publicized by the media. After that, he could forget about having any further development for the rest of his life. It was impossible for him to be promoted. In fact, as soon as the matter passed, he would immediately be transferred from an important position.
This was because the officials above him were also bitterly disappointed. Today, for the sake of advancement, you can even disregard your own family. What if it were me tomorrow? Promote you? Dream on.
Wang Juan, who was in a good mood, said with a smile, "Grandfather, very soon, our family will have three million strings of cash. Sea cabbage can be farmed. You can circle a place and raise it in large quantities. Xiao Bao will then come up with a series of ways to eat it. There will also be free advertisements in the newspapers.
It's not that we're specifically promoting our sea cabbage, but we're also helping other places that have sea cabbage. Our goal is to let the people of Great Tang know that eating this thing can prevent diseases.
The price would rise, but it was controllable. Just like sea salt, there was a maximum sales price control in every place, and it could not be increased casually. With the improvement of water transport and railway networks, many mainlanders could also eat seafood.
The problem now is the construction of roads and bridges. The main problem is that Xiao Bao and I don't know how to design bridges. It's not that we can just take out the people who make the cannons and put them on the bridge pier. Otherwise, the bridge pier on the Yangtze River would not be made of iron chains. Iron chains make it impossible for trains to pass. "
Wang Juan's words reassured Wang Ju. It seemed that everyone in Great Tang knew that with Xiao Bao in charge, it was impossible for there to be a loss, unless there was a natural disaster in the farming and farming industry. However, natural disasters would not come every year.
The corners of Wang Ju's mouth curled up, and he said with a smile, "I thought that I wouldn't have to pay more taxes, but I still can't escape. Sigh ~!"
"You're still pretending to be obedient after receiving such benefits." Li Longji said to Wang Ju. He did not care how much benefits Zhang Xiaobao gave Wang Ju. That was his own business.
In the end, Wang Ju protested a little and said, "Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Family's share in the railway transportation is indeed being squeezed. However, they have a lot of income in other areas, and the materials used to make the trains are not good. At least, they can't meet the standards set by Xiao Bao and Cuckoo.
There will always be all kinds of small problems. The industry is in their hands, and when the trains and railways need to be maintained, those who have the right to allocate them have to pay for it.
Besides, most of the industries of Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Family rely on the local resources to develop, and they rarely need to transport. When they really need to transport, it is usually to transport people's livelihood goods to the disaster area or to balance the price of goods in a certain place.
In this kind of situation, they can forcefully compete for the carriage share of others at any time, and others don't have the right to agree. Let's talk about the land. Xiao Bao, what price do you plan to pay in exchange? "
Hearing Li Longji's words, Zhang Xiaobao curled his lips and said, "I don't understand. The land policy of the Tang Empire is beneficial to the people of the Tang Empire. Why do I have to pay for it in the end?"
"Because I have always been listening to the two of you. No matter what you say, I will agree and help you after asking clearly. It's like when the two of you are playing billiards. I am in charge of setting the ball and passing the cue stick to you. The ball and the cue stick are mine, but the two of you have the right to decide which hole to put the ball into.
Don't tell me that while the two of you are playing billiards, you want me to help you throw the ball into the pocket? The two of you don't even touch the cue stick, don't use any strength, and just use your mouth to talk? "
Li Longji gave an example, and Wang Ju was confused. What nonsense was this? They were talking about national affairs, how did this have anything to do with billiards?
However, Gao Lishi, Zhang Xiaobao, and Wang Juan understood. What Li Longji meant was that the two of them were treating the Tang Empire as their own, right? Since it was the two of them who came up with the idea, it was up to the two of them to decide.
"Ah! That's true … right? " Zhang Xiaobao turned to Wang Juan and asked. Wang Juan nodded. She admitted that this was what she and Zhang Xiaobao were doing. Their goal wasn't to earn money, but to develop the Tang Empire into the shape of their hearts.
Thus, they didn't allow anyone to stand in their way. At times, they would display an extremely domineering attitude, carrying a conviction that they would slay gods and devils if they stood in their way.
Speaking of which, Li Longji's words were right. Since the two of them were treating the Tang Empire as their own, they couldn't divide themselves between the greater Tang Empire and the smaller Tang Empire.
Seeing that the two of them were in agreement, Li Longji said, "Since the two of you are playing, you have to bear the consequences of losing. I'll bear the consequences with you. When it's time for you to be serious, you have to be serious. Don't worry about money. After all, even if you spend money, there won't be a game for you to play, right?"
"More or less, right?" Zhang Xiaobao was rendered speechless by Li Longji's words.
"Then tell me, what should we do with the land?" Li Longji asked.
"Of course, we have to exchange it. Even if we were to buy it directly, the other party wouldn't agree to it. Let's expand outward, and we'll have more land. Tell them that those who occupy a large area of land can exchange one mu of land for five mu of land. Furthermore, they won't have to pay rent for thirty years. In other words, they won't have to pay a single copper coin for farming."
Zhang Xiaobao raised a finger. Then, he raised five fingers.
"What if the other party doesn't want to exchange?" Li Longji asked.
"Doesn't want to exchange?"
"That's right. The land elsewhere is too far away from their home. Why should they give up what's near and seek what's far away? They can continue to annex the surrounding land. Can you kill them?" Li Longji sneered, as if he was representing a group with a lot of land.
Zhang Xiaobao also sneered, "Who do I want to kill? I'll force them to their deaths. I'd rather pay a higher price to lower the price of grain. At that time, I'll pay two copper coins for a dou of grain. Let's see if it's worth it for them to farm.
If they don't want the land elsewhere, I'll go and plant it. When the time comes, I'll transport it back. Even if I have to pay a copper coin for every dou of grain sold, I'm willing to do so. Besides, hasn't our Great Tang started to collect rent based on the number of mu of land?
I'll use the seeds provided by the Sinongsi to plant, and then the Great Tang will raise the rent. They won't be able to object even if they want to because the Great Tang will increase the tax based on the quality of the new seeds. In the end, I'll make sure that they can't earn back the money they used to buy the seeds.
Not to mention other things, if I plant a large amount of high-quality rice in the northern area of Hebei Province, once the price is lowered to the same level as here, they won't be able to sell even one jin of grain. Not to mention two ripening a year, even three ripening a year, they'll have to keep the grain in their hands. "
Zhang Xiaobao's ruthless words made Wang Ju and the other two shudder involuntarily. They had just eaten the freshly made rice, which was only ripening once a year. This was still a variety that could be further improved. The Sinongsi had been very useful these years.
Wang Ju indeed knew that the rice over there was much more delicious than here. When it was steamed, it smelled good. When it was eaten, it tasted many times better than here. In the past, he didn't know the reason, but now he knew that it was because of the length of the ripening period.
If it were someone else who said this, Li Longji would take it as a joke, but since it was Zhang Xiaobao, Li Longji had to take it seriously. He knew that if it really reached that level, Zhang Xiaobao would definitely do it.
When he felt that the method was feasible, Li Longji suddenly found a loophole and said, "Xiao Bao, if you do this, what about the people who have land? Wouldn't they be done for? "
"The local people? Subsidies, according to the number of people. Hasn't the court already stipulated how much land each person can get? Furthermore, officials are also calculated according to their ranks. Since it has been stipulated, when the time comes, subsidies will be given to each person according to the ownership of the land deed.
But the tenant farmers won't give, because the land doesn't belong to them. The servant girls won't give, but a new contract will be released and signed directly with the people who have the land deed. If the court needs that piece of land, when they forcibly expropriate it, they will send the people who have signed the contract to another place and give them additional land subsidies.
The key is not the policy, but the people who implement the policy. Your Majesty, your patrol team needs to be strengthened. The cost of their patrol is insignificant compared to the local officials' greed and goodwill when they don't patrol.
If they patrol a place once, it might cost them a thousand strings of coins. But if they don't patrol, the loss to the court is estimated to be tens or even millions of strings of coins. "
Zhang Xiaobao had already discussed this matter with Wang Juan. In fact, the two of them had many ideas, and they also knew that the people of their time also had many ideas that they could use.
But no matter what, it had to be implemented on the officials below. But their situation back then wasn't optimistic at all. There were layers of connections and countermeasures.
The reason for this situation was that no one was clean. In those hundred years, the people had already formed a habit. Everyone said that officials were bad before they became officials, but after they became officials, they did the same. When they criticized others for having more women, they also wanted to have one in each hand.
That was the fall of the era, the change in the people's hearts. Thus, only a small portion of people persisted, but it was useless.
But the current Great Tang was different. The people of Great Tang still knew that they had to be loyal to the emperor and love their country. There were also few thieves in Great Tang. When they were caught, they wouldn't resist because they knew that they were in the wrong. In Great Tang, if you saved someone's life, they would bring their entire family to kowtow and thank you.
If it wasn't for the rapid development of technology, the advanced production technology, and the sharper weapons, the society back then would have long been ruined.
And the most fundamental reason for all of this was the development of technology. When other countries developed quickly, the threat to a slow developing country wasn't just in terms of military strength, but also in terms of the beliefs of the people.
Thus, what Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan had to do was to seal off the advanced technology and then use Great Tang's technology to bully others. As long as they were powerful enough, they could get the Peace Prize no matter how many people they killed. The prerequisite was that they had to deal with the internal affairs of Great Tang first.
At this time, the two of them thought of this matter and looked at each other tacitly. Then, they revealed gratified smiles.
Wang Juan maintained this smile and went along with Zhang Xiaobao's words. "When the time comes, even if others want to play tricks, their tenant farmers won't do it. This is because we'll directly move them elsewhere and give them subsidies. This way, they won't dare to play tricks on the land. They want the tenant farmers to accompany them to cheat. Once the tenant farmers know that they can use this opportunity to take advantage of the situation, their efforts will be in vain."
"Oh, this is a vicious move," Wang Ju exclaimed. In the past, he only knew that his son-in-law's two children were formidable. He also saw the development of Great Tang and received some information from Li Longji.
But today, after hearing the words of the two of them, he realized that this was the most profound moment. It turned out that many of Great Tang's national policies were developed in this way.
In this way, the other officials in the court could only be decorations. They just had to follow the work, but they didn't have a chance to follow the decisions. Who could think of a series of things? Was this the legendary way of thinking of the students of Jianjia Academy?
Many things found to be very simple after hearing from others, but if others didn't mention it, he would never think in this direction. He also didn't know how his grandson and granddaughter-in-law learned these skills. It seemed that they knew everything. Ordinary children, even if they were chosen by the two experts behind them, probably wouldn't be able to learn even one tenth of it. This required extraordinary intelligence from a very young age.
Li Longji wasn't surprised at all. He was used to it. If the two of them couldn't say anything, he would be surprised.
Therefore, he nodded and said, "If you want to say the best, it should be the method of continuous patrolling. I plan to send out a batch of patrolling people every month and then add more patrolling people every quarter.
According to what you've mentioned, if the first batch of patrolling people can't find a problem, but the second batch finds a problem when the first batch appears, then the first batch … will be killed.
If everyone can't find a problem and is caught by Xiaobei and the others, everyone in the first batch will be exterminated. I definitely won't allow problems to happen to the local officials. It's fine as long as it's a habit.
As for the money spent on patrolling, compared to the benefits of stable development, it's really too little. So, I agree to the land plan. Lishi will be in charge of implementing it. "
"Yes," Gao Lishi replied.
When Wang Ju heard that the matter was decided so easily, he pondered about the issue of patrolling and advised, "Your Majesty, the local officials have many tricks. The patrolling people might not be able to see through them. Isn't it too heavy to exterminate them directly?"
"Heavy? It's not heavy, not heavy at all. I'm just choosing people from the local officials to be patrolling people. It hasn't been long since I started, so I haven't found the time yet. In the future, I will test the patrolling people and test their various tricks. Whoever can come up with a solution that others can't solve will receive a large amount of rewards.
For example, if a county magistrate suddenly thinks of a good idea to embezzle 10,000 strings of coins without anyone finding out, I will send a decree every month to recruit capable people. As long as he, the county magistrate, can tell his method, I will reward him with 20,000 strings of coins.
To deal with the local officials, we must use the local officials. Usually, the people who are chosen to be patrolling, other than patrolling, their other work is to think of various methods. Tell me, if they can't find a problem, won't it mean that they are not diligent? "
Li Longji also explained his plan and looked at Zhang Xiaobao proudly. Zhang Xiaobao had never told him about such a reliable method.
"Your Majesty, first of all, the county magistrate will receive more. Why don't we let him embezzle? Second, in the future, the local officials will realize that it's better to think of different methods than to embezzle directly. All of them will think of different methods."
Wang Ju was still worried.
"Wang Qing, you're not like the past you. You used to be so smart, so why have you become so stupid now?" Li Longji was puzzled. "A county magistrate may receive more, but his method can be used in many counties. In the future, the other county magistrates won't be able to use this method.
As for the second point, it's not that easy to think of different methods. If you spend all your energy on thinking of different methods, you will lose your political achievements. When the time comes, you will be held accountable.
It's not that there won't be any loopholes, but as long as you continue to improve, it will become more and more difficult to find loopholes. Not everyone is that smart. "
Only then did Wang Ju react. He raised his hand and rubbed his temples. He had also been affected by the words of Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan and lost his calm. The main reason was that he had been mentally unstable for the past two days.
He nodded and didn't say anything else. Instead, he prepared to listen quietly and let himself recover.
Gao Lishi stood up and walked to the door. He gave some instructions to the people outside. He had to first clarify the issue of land and how much land each family owned.
Otherwise, there were still many situations where the land was fake. Once the news of the contract was released, the people who owned the land would probably take it back. As for what they would do, there was no need to worry about it for the time being.
When Gao Lishi returned and sat down again, Wang Juan brought up another matter.
"Your Majesty, I've discussed with Xiao Bao. In the future, we won't give the officials land. Instead, we'll just give them money. In the past, we gave them land because the imperial court's treasury wasn't very abundant. However, we still need to let the officials do their work. If we don't give them land, the officials won't be able to survive.
Now that the imperial court has more money, we don't need to continue giving them land. On one hand, it's good that the children of the officials don't like to do business. In the future, we will have to think of ways to control it. Otherwise, it'll be easy for the local officials to seek benefits for their children.
Xiao Bao and I propose that the current official's salary be doubled during his term. After his term ends, he will be given a one-time reward according to his evaluation results. This is called raising honest people with high salaries.
For a provincial governor, if he can really increase the standard of living of the people in his province by ten times and develop the place in a non-destructive way and generate one billion strings of cash, what's wrong with rewarding him with one billion strings of cash? "
Zhang Xiaobao also cooperated and said, "Not allowing the officials to hold a post in the local area can be postponed. After all, if they don't hold a post in the local area, they won't understand the situation in other places."
In fact, Zhang Xiaobao also wanted to say that in the future, the local officials should be like Sanshui County. Whoever could become a local official wasn't appointed by the imperial court, but by the willingness of the local people. However, after considering the current political system, he felt that it was too early, so he stopped.
Li Longji didn't directly agree this time. He still had to discuss with the other officials and see if they wanted money or land.
The former was easy to handle. Money could be earned. If it was the latter, then he would have to discuss with Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan. How could he let the officials voluntarily give up land?
During this process, he had to use Zhang Xiaobao's ability to deceive people. He had to make the officials feel that if they asked for land, their losses would be many times greater than if they asked for money. That way, there was no need to force them. They would ask for it themselves.
The main method was to lower the value of the land and, at the same time, not harm the people who worked there.
"Xiao Bao, Cuckoo, I want to send a report back to the capital and wait for the results. Speaking of the problem of using money to replace land, as well as the problem of raising honest people with high salaries, I believe that they will be willing to pay more for the latter. I think that if we don't come up with a solution, they will want both money and land, haha."
Li Longji felt that he could also think this way. Who didn't want to take advantage of the situation?
Zhang Xiaobao also laughed and said, "We'll listen to Your Majesty."
"What do you mean listen to me? It's always you and Cuckoo who come up with ideas. I'm just the one who sets the ball, but the case, the ball, and the clubs you use are all mine."
Li Longji corrected him.
Wang Ju understood now. The so-called case referred to the Tang Empire, and then the Emperor let Xiao Bao and Cuckoo develop their relationship as if they were playing a game.
Thinking of this, Wang Ju was very surprised. He finally knew how Xiao Bao and Cuckoo got along well with the Emperor. The two of them didn't want power, but the Emperor didn't do it. No wonder the Emperor always supported the two of them.
Thinking that his family would be richer in the future, Wang Ju said happily, "The problem of land in the Tang Empire will be solved. Everyone will have land to plant. That's great."
Unexpectedly, as soon as he said this, Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan shook their heads at the same time.
Zhang Xiaobao said, "The problem of land has not been solved. Now people are planting indiscriminately. They are not willing to change what they planted in the past. They always think that it will not be as good as what they planted now. In other words, they don't want to take any risks.
Therefore, we have to find a way to make them change, especially if one thing sells well this year and everyone plants all the same next year. That will cause them to lose money.
First, how to make them willing to accept new varieties of crops. Second, how to make them understand that they can't follow the trend in the process of accepting. At the same time, we have to form a scale where they can plant the same thing.
This is very difficult and difficult to control. Planting seeds in one place all year round will reduce the yield of that place. Now, the Tang Empire is facing this situation because there is a lot of land, so there is a fallow.
However, in fact, there is no need for a fallow. There are other ways to solve this problem. I will let the people of the Western Agriculture Temple take care of it and add in the upcoming insurance mechanism.
Right now, we don't need too much agricultural subsidies. The more direct way is to reduce the rent. We can only do that after the people who occupy the land are cleared out. "
At this point, Zhang Xiaobao did not say anything. Whether or not agricultural subsidies would depend on the speed of economic development, the proportion of land in the entire society, and the amount of land per capita.
It was not to say that the people who planted the land had to suffer and receive subsidies. It would depend on the average income and the price of other products. A balance was the goal.
"Alright, alright. Xiao Bao, go and prepare some food. Eat the noodles. Go and call that boss and let him see how you do it. We can discuss the future matters in the future. If we continue to listen, we will be confused." Li Longji ate a small bowl of shredded pork noodles. Not only did it not feel good, it also did not feel full. His stomach felt empty.
"Eat the instant noodles. I will teach him how to make it." Zhang Xiaobao stood up gloomily. He had just exhausted his brain power and now he still had to exhaust his physical strength.
"Instant noodles are still noodles. Alright." Li Longji appeared to be very easy to talk to. He knew that Zhang Xiaobao would not use instant noodles to deal with him.
*****
During the meal, they were indeed eating noodles. The noodles were rolled out by Zhang Xiaobao. To make the noodles taste good, one was the type of wheat and the other was the processing process.
Naturally, there was no lack of good wheat. Zhang Xiaobao spent a lot of effort and rolled the noodles over and over again. The boss of the soup pancake shop was standing beside them. When he saw Zhang Xiaobao adding some salt to the noodles, he curiously asked why. Zhang Xiaobao did not hide anything and directly told him that the texture was good. The noodles were smooth and tender and would not stick together easily when cooked.
Whether the noodles tasted good or not, apart from these two points, the most important factor was the type of noodles eaten and how to prepare the soup and sauces. Zhang Xiaobao made four types of soup and six types of sauces.
Some of the sauces could not be prepared immediately and had to be prepared beforehand. Similarly, Zhang Xiaobao had no intention of hiding this and told the boss everything.
Not only did he teach the boss about the noodles, he also told the boss about his thoughts on noodles. After all, the boss was tested by Li Longji and stood in front of Li Longji at that time.
Although the assassination was fake, the boss's attitude was genuine and should be rewarded.
Another point was that Zhang Xiaobao was very clear that his cooking skills were not good enough. He had not reached the level of a special-grade chef and would not have much time to study cooking in the future.
The reason why he could cook better than others was because he had been studying ever since he came here. Another reason was that he had eaten a lot of noodles and had a good grasp of the seasoning.
The future development would depend on the efforts of all the chefs in Tang who were dedicated to making delicious noodles. Since the boss wanted to promote the soup pancakes, then he would help him as much as possible. Perhaps many years later, there would be an old soup pancake restaurant that would stand tall for hundreds of years.
Zhang Xiaobao's serious teaching moved the boss of the soup pancake restaurant. Although he had always called Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan Xiao Bao and Cuckoo and felt close to them, he had never thought that one day he would really stand beside Zhang Xiaobao and learn how to make soup pancakes from Zhang Xiaobao.
He knew that Zhang Xiaobao was good at making money, and he also knew that Wang Juan was good at fighting. He had also heard that Zhang Xiaobao was good at cooking, but he never thought that he was worse than him.
However, when the noodles were ready, he recalled what Zhang Xiaobao said and was shocked. It was too amazing. There were so many things to pay attention to when making noodles. It was a pity that the noodles were ready too quickly. Looking at the situation, Zhang Xiaobao had not finished speaking before he had to eat.
He could not pester Zhang Xiaobao to ask about things. He did not know when they would meet again. Perhaps he would not find an opportunity in his lifetime.
Just as he did not know how to thank him, Zhang Xiaobao asked someone to send the noodles out and said to him, "If you come up with any good ideas in the future, remember to send me a telegram. I will let the inner courtyard take note of you. Then we will continue to discuss and learn from each other."
Zhang Xiaobao really wanted to see a master of noodles grow up. He also knew why he was so amazing. It was because he was standing on the shoulders of a thousand-year-old ancestor. A sauce that looked simple might have required the efforts of several generations.
Taking it out himself could be considered as returning the favor to the previous owner. Perhaps the noodles he had eaten before were developed by this owner. Then, it was passed down from generation to generation and gradually perfected.
This owner did not know what Zhang Xiaobao was thinking. When he heard that he would have the opportunity to learn from Zhang Xiaobao in the future, he was so excited that his whole body trembled. He opened his mouth and did not know what to say. As for Zhang Xiaobao saying that they would discuss and learn from each other, he only thought that Zhang Xiaobao was being modest.
"Well, I won't accompany you. I am going to eat with you." After Zhang Xiaobao finished speaking, he found a servant from the inner courtyard and directly left after saying a few words.
Naturally, this owner would not follow him to eat. After explaining his situation to the inner courtyard and seeing that the kitchen had left a bowl of noodles for him, he thought for a while and picked it up, greeted the servant, and ran back to his own restaurant. He wanted to let the cooks try it.
At the same time, he did not forget to take away a portion of the various sauces and soups. As for how much the utensils were worth and what he would do if he broke them, he did not even think about it. In any case, the owner was rich and did not care about him. If it was not broken, he would send it back. If it was broken, he would ask the owner to buy another set.
*****
Early the next morning, Zhang Xiaobao had just prepared a light breakfast for his mother and mother-in-law and was waiting for them to eat. After eating a few steamed buns, he was called by Wang Ju to go fishing by the West Lake.
Wang Juan accompanied her mother and mother-in-law to find a place to do needlework. She only did the embroidery for her mother and mother-in-law. As for the sewing place, she took over for them, afraid that they would accidentally prick their bellies. Of course, that was just a saying. In fact, it would not be a big deal even if they were to prick their bellies.
It would be painful if they were to prick their bellies. There was even a thread behind the needle. She had never heard of anyone being prickled badly. However, at this time, children were precious. From the moment they had children, they had to be careful. This referred to the wealthy. As for ordinary families, many women even gave birth while they were still working.
But there was nothing that could be done about it. A person was a labor force, and only after Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan began to implement free medical treatment with Li Longji did the situation improve. This was especially so now that the Great Tang was helping to raise children, and the Great Tang's population was rapidly increasing.
Jang Wong Clan looked at Wang Juan, who was earnestly doing needlework, and said with a smile, "The later the child is born, the happier he will be. When you and Xiao Bao were born, our family was not as good as now. At that time, I was already one month old, so I didn't do anything. Don't be fooled by Zhuangzi. Sigh ~!"
"Mother, I know. Even the landlord didn't have any extra food. Hee hee, I still had to save up some money to buy books for father to learn from the teacher. It was because of the hard work back then that we have today."
Wang Juan said with a smile. At the beginning, when she was in a daze, she called "mother-in-law". She didn't call Zhang Zhong "father" anymore. She felt uncomfortable, so she didn't call Zhang Xiaobao "father". Instead, she called him Zhang Xiaobao and Zhang Xiaobao.
Wang Juan's mother also said, "It's not us. It's all because of Xiao Bao's ability. Xiao Bao can make a lot of money. Not to mention ordinary people, even if the whole Tang Empire worked together, it still wouldn't be enough. You can't always bully Xiao Bao just because Xiao Bao dotes on you."
Wang Juan's mother was already a Rank One Noble Lady, but she still adhered to the original "traditional" ideology. That was, a wife must take good care of the elderly, help the man take care of the family matters, and take good care of the children.
Even though she knew that her daughter was no worse than her son-in-law, she still said that. Just like the Jang Wong Clan, didn't she still live a good life with the Zhang family?
Jang Wong Clan naturally defended her daughter-in-law. She said, "Sister, you can't say that. You've spoiled Xiao Bao too much. There needs to be someone in the family who can control him. In my opinion, Cuckoo should look after Xiao Bao more often. Otherwise, one day, he will fly into the sky and abandon his mother. With Cuckoo around, if he dares to fly, she will shoot him down. Xiao Bao can't fight."
Wang Juan's mother said with a smile, "Sister, you're the one who's spoiling her. As a mother-in-law, you don't control your daughter-in-law. Who knows, one day, Cuckoo will take over the power in the family and not treat you well."
"There's no need to fight for it. I'll give it to her now. Cuckoo is not that kind of daughter-in-law. When the child is born, I'll have to let Cuckoo take care of him. Even I don't feel at ease. Anyway, I can't teach a child like Xiao Bei."
Jang Wong Clan said with a smile.
She was not worried about the child at all. Whether it was food, clothing, or education, she was not worried at all. With Xiao Bao and Cuckoo, the child would only be better off.
Wang Juan's mother also smiled and did not say anything. In the past, she was worried. After all, her daughter would eventually belong to someone else. If she had another child, they would not give the money to her child, especially the boy on her side.
However, she later realized that it was impossible. Xiao Bao treated all his younger siblings the same. Moreover, even she did not know how much money she had at home. There was no need to worry that the child would not be able to live a good life without money in the future.
Just a little bit of the family's money was enough for a child to establish a family by himself. The later the child was born, the happier they would be.
Back in Lu Zhou, when the family was not as rich as it was now, Xiao Bao and Cuckoo could build a big delivery room for their unborn siblings. Then, they immediately built a big house with agarwood.
When the child in the womb was born, she wondered how much love she would receive.
Wang Juan also said with a smile, "When the baby is born, Xiao Bao and I have decided to let Xiao Bei and the others take care of it. In two months, we'll let someone take a look. It's best if it's twins. The more people in the family, the better."
At the mention of Xiao Bao, Jang Wong Clan remembered that her son had been dragged by her father to go fishing. She shook her head helplessly. "Xiao Bao is too much. He's busy all day, but he still has to go fishing. Xiao Bei and the others went to Jiang District by themselves. They're worried. I don't know what's so good about fishing."
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