Zhang Xiaobao immediately looked up at the sky and muttered, "The moon is so round tonight."
Li Longji also looked up. There was no moon, and he suddenly realized that today was New Year's Eve. If there was a full moon on New Year's Eve, what would happen on the 15th?
Knowing that Zhang Xiaobao did not want to care, Li Longji lowered his head again and smiled at the children. "You all don't lack money. If I give you money, it will be too tacky. Why don't I change the method?"
"Give what? Promotion? "Xiao Bei asked, still kneeling.
"Promotion is even more tacky. Since it's for you all to celebrate the New Year, I naturally need you all to be satisfied. Get up and discuss it slowly. How about that?" Li Longji took a step back in order to advance.
"Great." Xiao Bei got up first, patted his pants, and stood to the side, looking for an opportunity to speak. Xiaoyuan and the others also stood in order.
Seeing that everyone had arrived, Li Longji raised his wine glass, stood up, and said into the microphone, "New Year. Cheers to Yingchun."
As soon as he finished speaking, he raised his head and drank the wine in his glass. There were cheers and shouts all around.
The main leaders had finished speaking. Everyone drank and ate as usual, barbecued and spicy soup. Smoke filled the air. Anyway, it would be a waste if they did not eat. Tonight, the Zhang Xiaobao and Wang families would pay the bill.
Food that could not be seen usually appeared today. Just Xiao Bei and the others contributed 10,000 '16-headed abalone' for tonight's dinner. These were wild abalone from Japan.
Li Longji also ate the same. The 16-headed abalone was actually a little extravagant. He used it to make dumplings. After he finished speaking, he lowered his head and pondered about what to use as a substitute for New Year's money. The other officials were about to speak.
One by one, they stood up and read out their manuscripts. The head of the secretariat described the situation of the Tang Empire last year from a high country's point of view. He talked about how the country was prosperous and the people were at peace. The commoners listened happily, but they did not find it satisfying.
Next was the Ministry of Rites. They talked about how the surrounding countries had come to court last year, including the small countries thousands of miles away. The commoners were proud that the Tang Empire had become stronger.
Next was the Ministry of Justice. They talked about how much the law had been improved. The commoners were not interested. What did the trade law have to do with them? They were not in the export business.
The fourth was the Ministry of Revenue. The moment they opened their mouths, they began to talk about the revenue of the Great Tang from ten years ago. They explained year after year, and when they reached the point where they had more than three hundred million strings of cash this year, the people in the Hibiscus Garden once more began to cheer. It was as if the country was rich, so were they.
Next was the Ministry of Works. Zhang Zhong gave a brief introduction of the current research direction of the Ministry of Works. He skipped over the details that involved national secrets and talked about the cooperation with the Sinongsi and the Medical Academy in detail.
When he was about to finish, he mentioned again that starting from the fifth day of the new year, all the people could bring their children to any of the precious candy houses to eat the candy that could get rid of the worms in their children's stomachs. It was just developed in October last year, so the people naturally applauded.
Having worms in a child's stomach was a very uncomfortable thing. The folk remedies used in the past were not very effective. Now that the Medical Academy had developed a prescription, the effects should be pretty good. Furthermore, it was definitely free. It was just that they did not know why it was called candy.
The Minister of Personnel, Pei Guangting, stood up with a straight face. He did not even need a script and directly told the people how many officials they had arrested last year and how many more they were planning to arrest this year. The people followed along and shouted that they wanted to kill the corrupt officials. The atmosphere was very good.
Finally, it was the Minister of War, Xiao Song. He had a face full of grief and indignation, saying that the cannibals had invaded the northwest of the Great Tang (in fact, the border army had taken the initiative to go there), destroyed the Great Tang's farmland (there were usually barley crops that no one liked to eat), and occupied the Great Tang's mountains (snowy mountains, it was very cold. Even breathing was difficult. Normal people would not climb up).
He then said that the Great Tang's soldiers had guarded day and night. After many battles, they had finally suppressed the enemy and protected the Great Tang's peace. However, the cannibals had not given up on destroying the Great Tang, so now was not the time to enjoy it. At that time, they had been vigilant. Their desire to protect the Great Tang would never change. Even if they had to fight to the last soldier, they swore that today, they would work together with everyone.
"Beat him." At this moment, Xiao Bei, who was chewing on a bone, suddenly shouted.
Thus, the others followed and shouted as well. For a moment, the crowd was furious. The Celestial Empire had never been afraid of anyone. Especially in recent years, those who refused to obey had all been defeated. There was even someone who dared to threaten them. How could they not be taught a lesson? They had to let those people know how many eyes Ma Wangye had.
Zhang Zhong glared at his daughter and said in a low voice, "Eat your food obediently. Do you want to see the world in chaos?"
"Didn't we already say that we were going to beat him? Can't we shout a few times? Xiao Yuan, let's have a meeting and think about what kind of New Year's money we want later. "
Xiao Bei was not very afraid of his father. The main reason was that Zhang Zhong was too relaxed. He was not as decisive as Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan.
Xiao Bei only knew that he should respect his father. Several times, he wanted to remind his father not to keep a straight face. Later, he discovered that his father also kept a straight face when facing his older brother and sister, so he did not mention this suggestion. Even if he did, it would be useless.
However, Zhang Zhong did not plan to let his daughter go immediately. He pressed down on Xiao Bei's head with one hand and pulled him over. At the same time, he picked up the snow-white silk handkerchief on the small table in front of Li Longji and wiped Xiao Bei's mouth. He reprimanded, "You're not steady even when chewing on a bone. Your face is covered in oil. What do you want others to think? What do you want Xiao Yuan to think? Girls are so impetuous. "
Xiao Bei closed his eyes and waited for his father to finish wiping. He then looked at the white silk handkerchief, which he could not tell whether it was Sichuan brocade or Su embroidery. He curled his lips and said, "This belongs to Uncle Emperor. Xiao Yuan, what do you think?"
Xiao Yuan was stunned. His mind quickly turned. He suddenly grabbed the bone in Xiao Bei's hand and rubbed his face with it. Then he picked up the silk handkerchief on the small table and wiped his face. He said to Li Longji, "Uncle Emperor, I'm sorry. I've dirtied your things."
"Ha, ha, ha, ha … …" Li Longji looked at Zhang Zhong and then looked at Xiao Yuan. Then he suddenly broke out in laughter.
"You little brat, you have no future." Zhang Zhong slapped Xiao Yuan's head, "Is a man afraid of his wife still a man?"
As soon as his voice fell, the Jang Wong Clan carried his daughter Xiao Ru over to Xiao Bei's side and said, "Listen to your father."
After saying this, the Jang Wong Clan turned around and left.
Zhang Zhong took a deep breath and then said in a louder voice to Xiao Yuan, "That's not a man. Men shouldn't be afraid. Respect each other, do you understand? Respect each other, do you understand? Properly experience it. "
Xiao Yuan nodded his head in understanding and replied, "I'm going through difficulties together. I don't dare to be alone."
"Your Majesty, I accidentally dirtied your two silk handkerchiefs. This official is guilty." Zhang Zhong did not continue talking to Xiao Yuan. He turned his head and spoke to the Emperor in fear.
Li Longji held back his laughter and his face turned red. He waved his hand and squeezed out a voice from between his teeth, "It's fine, it's fine. Go and do your work. Xiao Bei, rub that big bone a few times for uncle. Ha, ha, ha … …"
"Rub what? Take it back and cook it. There's still a lot of meat that hasn't been eaten yet. It's a pity to throw it away. I'll make some toothpick meat to eat later. I can't have a mouthful of oil on it. Xiao Yuan, come with me."
Xiao Bei took the two silk handkerchiefs that he used to wipe his mouth and ran to a basin of warm wine. He tossed them into the basin a few times and then gave one to Xiao Yuan. Then he wiped his face again. He couldn't wipe it clean just now.
The officials had regained their composure. To be precise, they were not too agitated. Only the common people were not clear about the situation. When they heard the provocation of the people who ate many food, they wished they could personally rush over and kill a few to appease their anger. Who was the Tang Empire afraid of?
Those who were not convinced would be defeated. What was the result of the Japanese causing trouble a few days ago? Didn't they cede territory and pay compensation? They were beaten up like bastards. They dared to make a fuss and sent over a million soldiers to flatten them.
For the sake of dignity, the common people who came to the Hibiscus Garden made their own voices. Some said that if the soldiers pushed over, they would help to carry the cannonballs. Some said that it was cold and they were willing to donate clothes.
After shouting for a while, the song and dance started. Everyone calmed down and watched the performance on the stage. As for the fight against the food, it was a small matter. They wanted to celebrate the New Year first. Cuckoo hadn't moved yet, so it shouldn't be a problem for her to come to the border.
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan stood at the side and watched with a smile. They didn't say anything, even when their father scolded their younger siblings. There was no need for them to say anything.
Xiaobei and the others were not interested in the song and dance. They gathered together to discuss what benefits they would get from the emperor later. They couldn't give him a New Year's greeting in vain.
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan still quietly accompanied Li Longji. The two didn't want to mention other things during the New Year and add to other people's worries.
However, Li Longji couldn't stay still. When he saw Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan, he always wanted to know more from them. When a skit about how life was getting better and better began to appear on the stage, he finally found the time to ask Zhang Xiaobao, "Xiao Bao, what's a candy?"
"It's a candy that looks like a small tower. It's sold in the candy house. There are all kinds of flavors and colors. No dye is used. Xiaohai and Xiaoyuan also eat it themselves."
Zhang Xiaobao looked away from the stage and answered.
"It can treat diseases with worms in the stomach?" Li Longji had never eaten candy before, but he had seen Xiaobei and the others eat it.
Zhang Xiaobao shook his head, "It can't be sold now. It was jointly made by the Medical College and the Ministry of Works. It has already been sent to various places in advance. It should reach the farthest places after the fifth day of the New Year. It's a type of medicine."
"Then why is it made into candy?" Li Longji asked again.
"Because the children don't want to eat the medicine. Now, we're trying to make the medicine into big honey pills. If it doesn't work, we'll make it into water honey pills. If we can avoid boiling it, then we'll avoid boiling it. We also need to use the sugar-coating technique." Zhang Xiaobao really didn't want to answer such a retarded question.
Li Longji realized that he shouldn't have asked this question. He seemed too stupid. In fact, he wasn't asking about the taste of the candy. He had another purpose, "Xiao Bao, is it useful for adults to eat it?"
"It's useful. The worms don't matter to adults or children. Adults have fewer worms in their stomach. Eat according to the way children eat and increase the dosage." Zhang Xiaobao temporarily had to play the role of a doctor to explain to Li Longji.
"How can this medicine make the worms disappear?" Li Longji didn't ask anyone else. He just stared at Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan and asked. He knew that others didn't have this ability, but he could definitely get an answer from the two of them.
As expected, Wang Juan said, "It's not that the worms disappear. It's that they are excreted through the digestive tract. Xiao Bao and I requested the Medical College and the Ministry of Works to develop this medicine specifically for the purpose of killing insects. Of course, it can also be used to kill people, but it can't be avoided. It's like smallpox, it's a basic part of the people's livelihood."
"Oh ~!" Li Longji suddenly understood. That's right. How could he ask others as directly as he asked the two of them? It was as if everything was under his control. It was a pity that the two of them couldn't stay by his side forever. They had to make more important contributions to Great Tang.
"It can be used on the battlefield?" Li Longji's eyes widened when he heard that it could be used to kill people.
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan laughed at the same time. Zhang Xiaobao said, "There's no need for that. There's another thing on the battlefield that can take the form of a gas. If released with the wind, the enemy will die in large numbers. It's finally our turn to use it."
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