"What did I say to you?" Li Longji blurted out his thoughts in a daze. Then, he realized that Zhang Zhong didn't want to make things difficult for him and wanted him to show off his abilities as an Emperor.
Thus, he hurriedly said, "Yes, I told you before. I said …"
"I said that it's a lack of manpower, but it's not a problem. Furthermore, it's a simple matter that will be completely solved in two months." Zhang Zhong cooperatively continued the conversation.
"Yes, yes, yes. I mentioned it when I ate at your restaurant that day. That day, you said that it's not the season to eat crabs yet. When the time comes, you should think of a way to have Xiao Bao personally cook a few crabs and send them back for everyone to try."
Li Longji 'came to a realization' and pointed at Zhang Zhong as he spoke.
The officials standing on the steps watched the Emperor's performance and took it as such. They were already used to it. Not only did they look at the Emperor, but they also looked at their colleagues in the same way. If one day, they were to see a colleague speak the truth, then they would be shocked.
Zhang Zhong nodded repeatedly. Isn't it just crabs? When the time comes, I'll send a few crabs to everyone to try. It's not a big deal. Then, he continued, "Back then, Your Majesty said that the lack of manpower is due to the sudden influx of people participating in military training. After this year's training, everyone will understand that during a certain period of time, they won't be able to participate in the training. Next year, this busy period of time will be different.
Usually, the training will take around two months. If it's fast, four to seven days will be enough. By then, the manpower will be replenished. Furthermore, the price for recruitment will no longer be the high wage given the lack of manpower. Instead, it will return to normal and be calculated according to the grade of the job.
Perhaps during this period, a group of people who helped cheat will be investigated. When everything is on the right track, there will be no need to worry about the instability of the country. "
With that, Zhang Zhong returned to his seat.
Li Longji and the officials thought about it and felt that this was indeed the case. When the people who participated in the military training returned and after the training, there would still be unemployment.
"Oh, We also said that the significance of this was that while it seemed like there would be a delay, after these two months, the Great Tang as a whole would have improved in terms of technology. Moreover, in the future, there would be accurate rules to measure competition, which would allow the people of the Great Tang to improve their own standards."
Li Longji wasn't stupid. He had come to this conclusion from Zhang Zhong's words. It was worth it to exchange a small amount of unrest in the country for a long period of steady improvement in the country.
"Your Majesty is wise," the officials said in unison.
Li Longji smiled and nodded. He didn't blush at all. After a short pause, he turned to Zhang Zhong and asked, "This Emperor also mentioned something the other day. Do you remember?"
Wang Ke snickered and looked at Zhang Zhong. He thought, 'You deserve it. Who told you to talk too much? Say it again.'
Zhang Zhong expressionlessly stepped forward again and took out a piece of paper from his sleeve. He didn't look at the tablet in his hand. Clearly, there were too many things to remember. Unless there was a flipping device on the tablet, he couldn't remember anything.
With a cough, Zhang Zhong read, "Your Majesty also said that people from Xinluo and Japan have begun to come to the Great Tang. Some of them will arrive immediately. There are also children and their families participating in the competition. More than 200,000 people can come at once.
This group of people came at the right time. Keep them here. According to the plan discussed by Xiao Bao, this can solve a part of the shortage of workers. Moreover, they don't need to be paid too much. It's fine as long as it's one or two times more than their original salary. "
"There's such a thing. When you mentioned it, This Emperor suddenly remembered that it wasn't just the people who came back this time. There were also people from Xinluo who were willing to leave their country. There wasn't much use for them to stay in northern Hebei Province for the time being. It would be better to send them here, where more manpower is needed.
After some calculations, with the help of the merchants from Japan, it won't be a problem to attract more than a million people. Moreover, with their participation, the employers won't have to raise their wages indefinitely. This will balance the relationship between employers and workers in society. "
Li Longji was very happy. He didn't expect Zhang Zhong to be so capable. If he couldn't answer, how embarrassing would it be?
"Your Majesty, this subject remembers that you said a few things to Brother Yongcheng that day." Wang Bei joined in the fun and said with bad intentions.
Li Longji glared at Wang Bei. Many officials wanted to laugh, but they had to hold it in. They looked very hurt.
Without waiting for Li Longji to find a way to smooth things over, Zhang Zhong continued, "Yes, Your Majesty also said that the army in front of us will capture many captives. It's too cruel to kill them. Therefore, we should give the captives a chance to turn over a new leaf. It just so happens that there are many things in the Great Tang that require courage. Why not let the captives prove themselves once?"
Li Longji turned his head to the west and asked, "When will they be back?"
"According to the latest intelligence, the first batch of captives has more than 175,000 people, and they're currently on their way back. A portion of them are Maneaters, and the rest are people from various countries in India. They're helping the Maneaters distribute supplies and provide shelter."
Zhang Zhong replied.
Li Longji looked at Gao Lishi, and the latter nodded. The news had just arrived when the morning court was about to begin. Most likely, Zhang Zhong had been shoved into his hands before coming here. Otherwise, he would've been able to memorize it. There was no need for him to read it out loud.
Li Longji was relieved. "Yes, I did consider the matter of the captives that day, but I didn't expect that the first batch would already be on their way back. This means that we can free up some manpower in the mines and quarries, and at the same time, reduce the cost. There won't be a need to invest too much in safety measures, and there won't be a need to provide them with good food. Similarly, there won't be a need to provide them with alcohol."
As a qualified emperor, Li Longji's first thought was to reduce the cost of assistance. His own people would use all kinds of methods to carefully investigate the mines before going down. Even so, they couldn't avoid danger.
Therefore, he repeatedly told his people that as long as they felt danger, they should immediately come out of the mines. They could mine slowly and not put their lives on the line. At the same time, there was no lack of alcohol and meat, and the working environment was cold and humid.
Similarly, in the quarries, they had to wear safety helmets and gloves. Some even had to use thick glasses to block their eyes and wear dust filters. These were all costs.
The captives caught from outside didn't need to wear these things. After all, they had the same job in their own country without any protective measures. Although they weren't provided with meat, they were provided with enough salt. The food they ate in their own country might not be as good as that of the Tang slaves. The only difference was that they didn't receive wages.
Li Longji thought about it again and felt that there was nothing else to say. He looked down and said, "What else do you all want to discuss?"
*****
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan were still in Yi Province. They didn't go to any of the battlefields. The feedback from the battlefields was good. The speed of their advance wasn't fast, but it was stable. At the same time, they saw through many of the enemy's tactics. They didn't suffer any casualties when they attacked.
Lu Zhou's landing team had gone around Zhen La and was heading toward the back of the Duo People. If Zhen La made a move, the two of them would go over personally. Their personal guards were enough to push in. Now, they just had to wait for news from the Meteor Squad.
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan were free now. Every morning, afternoon, and night, they would look at the map according to the news from the front line. Then, they would come up with a plan. If they could use the frontline, they would use them. If they couldn't, they would abandon them.
The rest of the time was spent on learning and teaching their younger siblings.
Recently, Little Bei and the others would go out for about four hours every day. They seemed to be busier than the adults. Sometimes, they would go to other people's restaurants. Sometimes, they would listen to storytellers in the teahouses by the street. Sometimes, they would go to the nearby school to play with the children.
After going out today, they only came back when it was almost time for dinner. At noon, they ate outside with the children in the school. They were picky with their food and obviously didn't feel good. At dinner, they ate half a bowl more than usual. After that, each of them held a plate of fruit and stared blankly.
Wang Juan nudged Zhang Xiaobao, signaling him to see what was going on. Something was wrong.
Zhang Xiaobao first called the people who accompanied them out today and asked them. They didn't find anything wrong. At noon, they ate almost nothing. Therefore, when the little ones got their food, they only got half of their usual share and ate it all.
In the afternoon, they had two classes with a class of their own. After that, they played for a while and distributed the snacks in their bags to the children. Little Bei sang two songs and came back for dinner. Everything was normal.
"You guys made it?" Zhang Xiaobao couldn't figure out what was going on. He directly asked his younger siblings.
"No." Little Bei shook his head.
"Why are you so listless?" Zhang Xiaobao asked again.
"I'm thinking about something. Brother, you and sister go do your things first. I'll find you later." Little Bei pushed his hand and asked his brother and sister to leave. They wanted to discuss something.
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan looked at each other and smiled. They turned and left, leaving only Little Bei and the other nine people behind.
"Could it be that they saw something bad in the school and have some thoughts?" Wang Juan walked out and asked.
"Who knows? Let's wait and see what they want to discuss." Zhang Xiaobao smiled.
After about half an hour, Little Bei held a notebook in his arms and skipped into his brother and sister's room.
"Finished the discussion?" Zhang Xiaobao asked.
Little Bei nodded and came to the sofa. He nestled his whole body in it. He first smiled at his brother and sister and then said, "Brother, we found a problem."
"What problem?" Zhang Xiaobao was very cooperative.
"About the oil extraction. Today, I'll treat our school friends to snacks. You know sunflower seeds, right? There's oil in them, and they look pretty good. Press them out and taste them. They're so fragrant. "
Xiao Bei took out a handful of sunflower seeds and bit one open. Then, he pressed his hand against the glass coffee table with all his might. His thumbnail was already on it. Then, he raised his hand and waved his thumb in front of his siblings, indicating that there was oil on it.
Zhang Xiaobao's eyes widened in surprise. He stared at Little Bei's thumb and said, "Oh! There's oil? What's going on? "
"Brother, your expression is so fake. Hehe, look at sister laughing at you." Little Bei winked at Zhang Xiaobao and laughed happily.
"Okay, you saw through me. I admit that your sister and I already knew that there was oil in sunflower seeds. We also know that the oil inside is pretty good. It's better than soybean oil. It can be used to stir-fry vegetables or cold dishes. It's even nutritious to drink a small spoonful of it.
It's nutritious. The reason why sunflower seeds taste good is because of the oil inside. Otherwise, when you eat watermelon seeds, if you don't add seasonings or cook them, the taste will be much worse. Sunflower seeds are very good both when stir-fried and raw.
Your sister and I originally planned to plant more and then start to extract oil in large quantities. In fact, part of the oil you're eating now is sunflower seed oil. We just didn't tell you. "
Zhang Xiaobao explained to his sister.
Little Bei was very disappointed. "There's already oil? We were still thinking of using some of the sunflower seeds at home to make premium oil in the future to make money. "
"Then we'll leave this business to you. We won't interfere with the sunflower seeds anymore. You'll be in charge. You'll build the equipment and sell it, okay?" Zhang Xiaobao looked at Wang Juan and gave her a type of oil.
"Okay, brother, sister. Don't worry. We'll definitely sell the sunflower seed oil at a higher price. Then, we'll use more of it to make cakes. Sunflower seed oil is good for the body. We'll give it to the children."
Little Bei swung her two legs and looked very happy.
She lowered her head and looked at her notebook. Then, she looked up and said to her brother, "There's still one more thing that needs to be negotiated."
"Oh? What's the matter? "Zhang Xiaobao asked with a smile.
"We want to buy the copyright of our family's children's Monopoly game. Then, we'll open it in Duoshi and India. We'll use their style and maps to play. At the same time, we'll send it back to China. We can also add some exotic scenery."
Little Bei said to her brother.
Zhang Xiaobao nodded. "Okay. Your sister and I will allow you to sell the children's version of Monopoly outside. However, it must be made by us. You can't make it privately. At the same time, for every copy sold, you have to pay us 50% of the profits. Any changes to the content of the game have to be approved by us.
We'll use a one-time payment method for the foreign maps and characters you sell to China. That means, no matter how much we produce or print in the future, we won't continue to pay you. "
"Huh?" Xiao Bei stared at his brother with his eyes wide open. After a few seconds, he blinked and said, "That won't do. The domestic market is so big. If we sell it overseas, there won't be many people who can afford it. We're planning to target their civilization and attack them.
Besides, we have to get your permission. What can we play? Also, your demand for profits is too high. We have to obtain the production rights and the rights to change the characters and maps.
For those sold to China, because we are the main source of resources, we ask that the quantity and quality of your production be strictly monitored. For every copy sold, you have to pay us. If you hold a children's competition, we ask for the right to advertise. "
After saying that, Little Bei stared nervously at her brother.
Wang Juan was smiling at the side.
Zhang Xiaobao thought for a while, rolled his eyes, and said, "Okay, we agree to your request. However, we have to add a condition. If you use the maps provided by the military and the maps of our intelligence department, you have to pay extra.
It can be a one-time payment, but at least 500,000 strings of cash for a map of 10,000 square kilometers. It can also be based on the amount of production, with a 50% profit.
During this process, the rights to the other versions of Monopoly will be completely given to us. You are not allowed to carry out any sales, publicity, or production. "
Little Bei slapped her forehead hard. "Aiya, Brother, why are you like this? Didn't you just give up the sunflower oil right away? What are you doing? Now that you're talking about it, my head hurts and I'm confused. I can't figure it out. Is it a loss or a gain for the relief draft?"
Zhang Xiaobao smiled but did not say a word.
Wang Juan got up and went to Little Bei's sofa. She hugged Little Bei and explained, "Little Bei, you said before that if you wanted the production and sales of the sunflower oil, as your brother and sister, we would give it to you because you are our younger siblings.
But you said later that it was a negotiation, so we need to put aside our other identities and just be negotiating partners. In other words, that Xiao Bao in front is your brother, but the one behind is not your brother. Why don't you give up on the negotiation and ask your brother and sister for it? Your brother and sister will give it to you directly. "
"Don't." Little Bei pouted and shook her head. "I don't believe it. I'll remember what I said just now. I'll look for Xiaoyuan and Xiaohai to discuss it. Negotiation is negotiation. At the very least, I have to figure out what's going on first. Wait. If there's no result tonight, we'll think about it again tomorrow morning.
Hmph! "With that, Little Bei ran out.
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