"Now that Brother Yi's Zhuangzi is here, I don't want to go back. I feel like this is the place I should govern." Pei Yaoqing quickly changed the topic.
Fan Ai was slightly surprised and agreed, "Exactly."
Li Yi looked at the two of them and shook his head.
He knew what they meant, but he also knew that even if he were to govern a county, he wouldn't be able to do what Zhuangzi was doing now.
"Brother Pei, Fan Shaofu, give more people jobs, and reward more people who can increase the production of goods. Only then will the place under your governance slowly improve."
Li Yi could only say this for now.
After the meal, the two of them admired Zhuangzi's windmill and new way of making ice before leaving with a real ice drill and anti-slip shoes.
"Bring it back to me when you're done." Li Yi didn't forget to remind them about the ice drill when he walked them out of Zhuangzi.
The carriage and the group didn't respond. Li Yi didn't know if it was an illusion, but he felt that after he shouted, the carriage seemed to speed up.
"Brother Yi, Brother Yi!" Li Yi walked back. Before he reached the courtyard, the supervisor of the Imperial Plantation, Wang Xing, came looking for him.
When he saw him, Li Yi directly asked, "Brother Wang, are you going to admire the ice lanterns in the Imperial Plantation?"
"No, the Imperial Plantation has ice lanterns. Her Majesty won't come and outsiders can't enter. I'm here to buy ice and stock up on ice. "
Wang Xing pretended to be mysterious as he blinked his eyes.
"You're not going to get it from the river?" Li Yi asked.
"The ice in the river is not as good as the ice in the well. Also, the ice in the river costs the same amount of money. The price difference is not big. If you buy ice from the well, you can buy it for ten bowls or a hundred bowls."
Wang Xing gestured with his hands as he explained the reason.
Li Yi understood. It was the same as the industry he had been in before.
To treat rhinitis, the patient would be prescribed rhinitis medicine. After the patient saw it, they would go to the pharmacy outside to buy it. The price would not fluctuate much.
If the patient wanted to make a powder for Chuanxiong tea, the patient would go to the pharmacy outside and ask. They would have to spend money to buy it at the inspection place. The price …
On the other hand, Wang Xing's operation was even more perfect. His own Zhuangzi's items had always been good.
Using a windmill to pressure the well, using a special box to condense the ice, removing the ice in a deicing pond, and directly storing it in an ice cellar.
Wasn't this set high-end, grand, and high-class?
There were all kinds of things in the river, including feces and urine. The well was very clean.
"Alright, Brother Wang, how much do you want?" Li Yi asked.
"How much is it?" Wang Xing asked.
Li Yi stretched out five fingers and said, "Ten fingers per square meter."
Hearing Li Yi's numbers and gestures, Wang Xing instantly understood. He rubbed his hands in embarrassment: "This, this Brother Yi, isn't it too much?"
"Not much. After all, Brother Wang has to take care of many people." Li Yi smiled and shook his head.
He knew that Wang Xing was asking if it was too much for Wang Xing to take half, not that it was too expensive.
Wang Xing took the money and had to share it with the people in the Imperial Plantation.
Wang Xing swallowed and said, "Zhuangzi's wood ear and monkey head mushrooms have been growing less and less recently for some reason. I'll take some for Brother Yi to see and help you find out what's wrong."
"That's good. The last time General Gao came, he said that the taste was bad. I'll use Brother Wang's Imperial Plantation to ask General Gao to try." Li Yi acted as if he was serious.
Wang Xing felt that he was taking too much money, so he wanted to reduce the wood ear and monkey head mushrooms in the Imperial Plantation.
Originally, half of it was given to Li Yi and the other half to the Imperial Plantation. This time, he gave more to Li Yi.
Li Yi told Wang Xing that he would help him find a way out. Yang Si Xun wanted to deal with him, but he still had Gao Lishi. When he saw him, he would take his things as a tribute.
Thus, Wang Xing happily went back. The two of them had to go through the process.
Li Yi muttered, "Everyone wants to benefit. I have Zhuangzi. They listen to me, especially the migrant workers. They are in a difficult time.
When their days are better, they will naturally pursue more things. This is the driving force for social development.
As an official, it's difficult to balance these interests. A bowl of water can't be balanced just because you say so. "
After he finished speaking, he returned to the courtyard and picked up the ten volumes of the Compendium of Materia Medica.
He flipped through them and muttered to himself, "But no matter how much one pursues personal interests, one's heart should always be good. The ancient people wrote works that benefited the people, but they didn't make any money."
Li Yi weighed the book in his hand. For a moment, he didn't know how heavy the Compendium of Materia Medica was.
He couldn't think of what weight to use on one end of the scale.
Turning around, he entered the dissection room and continued to study.
Pei Yaoqing and Fan Ai hurried back to the yamen and found the other county officials, Du Yin and Du Fangzheng, who had just returned from pulling in investments.
The three of them whispered and unanimously decided not to look for the Imperial Household Supervisor or the Ministry of Works.
They would use their own money to build things and find craftsmen. This way, the credit would belong to Li Yi.
However, the three of them would take the credit. Li Yi wasn't an official.
With money, they could pull in a lot of investments. They had a small treasury! They had the final say and didn't need to ask the Ministry of Revenue for help.
The county yamen began to recruit craftsmen in large numbers. The craftsmen who had been eliminated at the beginning were unhappy when they received a notice that they had been rehired. They had to prepare to work and get paid.
Before the sky turned dark, a lot of anti-slip shoes were made and distributed.
The ice chiselers put them on and said that they were good.
"Buy two pigs and kill them. Tomorrow, we will eat pig dishes in the county." Pei Yaoqing, who was praised by the people, asked the two county officials.
"It's a pity we don't have garlic sauce." Fan Ai looked at Pei Yaoqing and whispered.
"Garlic sauce." Du Yin licked his lips and had a look of yearning.
In the twelfth lunar month, there were a lot of people slaughtering pigs. Naturally, there were also a lot of pig dishes.
Simmering pickled cabbage and big white meat slices together, there was nothing more satisfying than dipping them in garlic sauce.
Garlic was easy to buy, but soy sauce …
"If you have a craving for food, you will be elected to the palace." Fan Ai said to Pei Yaoqing.
Pei Yaoqing said helplessly: "I can't buy soy sauce that costs 55 copper coins per catty."
"I see that Li Dongzhu has a lot of affection for the Ming Residence."
Fan Ai advised. Look at you, you keep calling yourself Brother Yi and Brother Pei. You should get some soy sauce.
"That's why I can't ask for it." Pei Yaoqing refused.
"Sigh ~ ~" Fan Ai and Du Yin sighed together.
***
Early in the morning of the 4th day of the twelfth lunar month, Li Chengqi went to Zhuangzi to look for Li Yi. He also sighed before eating.
Li Yi cooperated: "Big brother, what are you worried about?"
"We can't use the basketball court this year. You should keep the grass to feed the animals."
Li Chengqi used chopsticks to press the deep-fried dough sticks into the goat's milk.
"Is it because of the floor heating?" Li Yi pondered. The most difficult part was that the floor heating was not easy to control in winter. If the grass was transplanted, it would be easy to freeze or burn to death.
Li Chengqi shook his head: "We didn't get much advertising money. The rich families said that we spent it on the ice lanterns. "
Li Yi understood: "So it's because you can't see the future and don't know the use of advertising for football matches."
"Yes, Brother Yi is right. I can't force them to pay." Speaking of this, Li Chengqi was in a bad mood.
He wanted to benefit the people. If he used his identity as King Song to make a request, the people would be afraid and pay. They would then resent him.
"Big brother, don't be anxious. It's easy to handle. You can just kick them first. You can give them an advertisement or a match for free. Let's see whose business is worth giving a favor to.
After the match, many people will buy it. If the business is good, others will naturally be willing to pay. "
Li Yi thought that it was a big deal. His big brother wanted to earn advertising money. He didn't even want to give him a free trial.
"I'll listen to Brother Yi. Hurry up and prepare the grass. I will ask someone to come and get it." Li Chengqi was relieved.
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