The four new palace servants followed the instructions of their seniors. They carried the plates and scooped up the dishes. They only scooped up a little of each dish.
They sat down and ate. When they finished, they went to take other dishes. This way, they could eat more.
The cafeteria was bright at night. There were candles on the glass lamps. The candlelight shone in all directions. Because the floor was made of glass, there were no large shadows.
"Bring a cart of food to the bathtub. I want a big piece of meat. There's a lot of work today." A farmer stood outside the cafeteria and shouted.
"Understood." The people in the cafeteria agreed.
"They don't come in to eat because they're afraid of delaying work?" A new palace maid asked Cui Liu in a low voice.
"There's a lot of dust on the kiln. There's a lot of dust on their bodies. If they come in, there'll be dust on the other dishes. They can't wait."
Cui Liu knew the reason and replied in a low voice.
"Li Dongzhu, pick a few names." Gao Lishi didn't go back at night. He drank some wine and said to Li Yi.
"The palace maids are Bi He and Jin Ju. The eunuchs are Huang Bai and Ziyu." Li Yi casually gave four names.
After that, the four classes of palace maids and eunuchs all had common names. The four of them were divided and confirmed.
They would start work now and stay a few days longer than the next class.
"Why don't we stay a few more days?" Taohong said.
"No." Gao Lishi refused. "You go back and continue to look at the other palace maids. Pick the good ones to teach. Prepare to replace Bi He, Jin Ju, Huang Bai and Ziyu."
Taohong pouted. She didn't want to go back. The palace was busy during the New Year. It was better to be relaxed in Zhuangzi.
Gao Lishi ignored her. He still wanted to enjoy the feeling of being in Zhuangzi, but he couldn't.
"I'll bring you gifts when I leave tomorrow." Li Yi said.
The four of them were happy. They didn't come in vain.
"I want vegetables. When we go back, we'll distribute them to the other two classes." Cui Liu requested.
"You can choose for yourself." Li Yi agreed. He treated the palace maids and eunuchs as his own. They couldn't go back to the palace.
Every time they went back, they would bring big and small bags. The people who went back had to wait thirty days before they could come to Zhuangzi.
When he was in Zhuangzi, he always felt that the days were short, but in the palace, he found that the sun rose slowly and set even more slowly.
Fortunately, they still had something to look forward to. Eventually, it would be their turn. There were even more people in the palace who did not have the slightest bit of hope.
Out of the sixteen newly selected students, four of them performed the best. As for the other three classes, they still had to go through the selection process.
She had to be pleasing to the eye and smart.
Most importantly, he had no complicated relationships with other people in the palace.
If he wanted to use people from other places, unless they were the Empress' palace maids, eunuchs, concubines, and talented people, he would not choose them.
Li Yi ate slowly and chatted with Gao Lishi.
"In the future, if there are any new things that don't violate the taboo, remember to ask them to bring it back for us when they go back." Gao Lishi wanted some benefits.
"Firecrackers …" Li Yi wanted to give her some fireworks.
"Firecrackers are a taboo. If you ask your brother to send it to the palace and we have our own, won't it be easier to get it than His Majesty? "
Gao Lishi firmly refused.
He was afraid that he had a pile of dangerous goods that would explode with a bang.
Previously, Li Yi had sent the firecrackers to Xingqing Palace. There were none in the Imperial City. He would take them when he needed to light them on the thirtieth.
"Li Dongzhu, if you want to sell firecrackers, you must find a good buyer and keep a record of who you sell to." Gao Lishi thought of something.
Li Yi's chopsticks stopped in front of his mouth. He thought for a while and nodded, "That's right."
He put the food into his mouth, chewed a few times and swallowed. Li Yi said, "I have a method. For those who buy firecrackers, the village will send someone to follow them and teach them how to light them up. Every time they buy firecrackers, they must light them up in one go. If they want to light them up again, they can buy more."
"Good idea. I'm relieved." Gao Lishi raised his wine cup and agreed.
"At the same time, you can also get some benefits for the village owner." Li Yi said with a smile.
"Benefits?" Gao Lishi was surprised.
"The fee for teaching them how to light the firecrackers will be increased by five percent. The village owner will come back and take five coins. I'll take forty-five coins. "
Li Yi told the price increase and the distribution ratio. He would give the village owner ten percent of the service fee.
"Li Dongzhu really knows how to do business." Gao Lishi said something that was hard to tell whether it was a compliment or a derogatory remark.
"If they light the firecrackers, they might accidentally hurt people. With the village owner's guidance, I will take responsibility if anything happens."
Li Yi explained the reason. He took the biggest responsibility, so he took more money.
"That's a good reason." Gao Lishi smiled.
After breakfast, they went to rest. The newcomers were taught the rules of the dormitory one-on-one.
***
On the 26th of December, Li Chengqi came again to be the starter and referee.
Gao Lishi and the others ate breakfast before dawn and rushed to the city gate to wait for the gate to open.
After the morning meeting in the palace, Yao Chong received a piece of good news when he returned to the Political Affairs Hall.
"Prime Minister Yao, they made it. They made it. They dismantled many firecrackers and found that there were no sawdust or honey inside. Instead, there was charcoal.
So they changed the prescription. Sulfur, saltpeter, and charcoal are really useful.
It's just that I don't know why Zhuangzi's medicine is made in granules. When the powder is placed in the mud, it doesn't make a sound. It doesn't work even when sand is added. "
The person in charge of the Skills of a Hundred Workers reported the situation to Yao Chong.
"How much is the cost?" Yao Chong was happy.
"We can make three firecrackers for one coin, but only two or three out of ten firecrackers will make a sound. The sound is not loud enough and there is a lot of smoke." The person answered.
"Why is it so expensive? It can't be sold, right? "Yao Chong thought of the firecrackers that didn't make a sound and found that they couldn't compete in the market.
"Prime Minister Yao, I have an idea. We can make firecrackers that look the same as Li Yi and Zhuangzi's. We can sell two firecrackers for one coin. No one will know that we made it. When the time comes …"
"Slap!" Before the person could finish his words, he was slapped on the head.
Yao Chong said angrily, "When the time comes, your head will be removed. I can only resign. I can't afford to lose face."
"Yes, yes, I won't do it." The person nodded.
"Go, tell them to study hard and memorize the safety manual." Yao Chong's good mood disappeared again.
Then, less than an hour later, a cloud of smoke rose from the place where the Skills of a Hundred Workers were used.
The palace was in a panic. Where did the fire come from?
The remaining 2,500 Winged Knights rushed to the palace from the Forbidden Garden. Empress Wang went into her carriage and asked someone to call for the Emperor.
Not long after, the news came back.
It's fine. It's not a rebellion. The place where the firecrackers were placed burned down.
In the Empress's palace, Li Longji looked at Yao Chong who came in to ask for forgiveness. "The safety manual was used as toilet paper?"
"Your Majesty, there were no casualties. The firecrackers were scattered and burned. According to the safety manual, once there is danger, we should run immediately. Only a few people's clothes were burned and their faces were black."
Yao Chong was also angry.
"How did it burn?" Empress Wang asked from the carriage.
She didn't plan to hide in the palace. If something really happened, she would rush out and go to Li Yi.
She believed that although her uncle didn't take out any weapons, if there was really danger, even if thousands of soldiers and horses couldn't rush in, her uncle must have some means.
Now she was unhappy. Was it easy to have a child? Scare me.
"They wanted to add glue to the powder and grind it together. As they grinded it, it caught fire. Everyone shouted and ran. The firecrackers were scattered. There was some on the ground, and it caught fire."
Yao Chong told the situation of the fire. At the same time, he was glad that they scattered the firecrackers according to the safety manual. Then, they found it was not good to run first.
Otherwise, people would have died.
Gao Lishi stood at the side and hesitated. "Your Majesty, to avoid accidents, Li Dongzhu yesterday …"
He told the Emperor about the firecrackers and Li Yi's response.
"This firecrackers shouldn't be made by the workshop. There are too many people. Those who know the secret … send it to Li Yi and Zhuangzi."
Li Longji decided that they should stop playing. What if it blew up?
"I know." Yao Chong reluctantly agreed.
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