March 25th, nine in the morning. Shanhai Town's ferry.
Ouyang Shuo led a group of commanders to send Zhou Haichen and the others off. This time, the one the military had sent to the Friendship Village to form a garrison was Hu Yibiao, formerly of the 1st Infantry Squadron. The main responsibility of the garrison squadron was to defend the city as well as the city walls. As for external combat, it would be the cavalry that would be stationed in the Friendship Village. Cavalry was more suitable for fighting against nomadic tribes in the wilderness.
After returning from the ferry, Ouyang Shuo made a trip to the alchemy workshop. Ever since the alchemist Magnus had moved in, Ouyang Shuo had been busy upgrading his territory. He hadn't had the chance to learn more about this alchemy workshop, which was completely different from the East.
The citizens of Shanhai Town were naturally extremely curious about this westerner, Magnus. His golden hair, white skin, and thick hair, coupled with his broken Chinese, were enough to ignite everyone's curiosity. Of course, there were also those who knew that he was a Frankenstein from the West.
Ouyang Shuo had specially arranged for the alchemy workshop to be located in the northeast military region, next to the weapons workshop. This was because the alchemist recruited by Shanhai Town wasn't a traditional Chinese Daoist priest, but a pure Western alchemist. Thus, the alchemy workshop was constructed in a Western-style stone hut. It had two floors and a basement.
The first floor was the main hall and warehouse, while the second floor was Magnus's bedroom and study. As for the alchemist's most important laboratory, it was built underground and was strictly protected.
Led by Magnus, Ouyang Shuo walked into the underground laboratory. There were five or six kerosene lamps hanging on the walls of the basement, and there was an enormous composite kerosene lamp hanging from the ceiling, illuminating the entire basement. Fortunately, the basement was well-ventilated. Otherwise, if someone stayed here for too long, they might suffocate to death due to lack of oxygen.
The laboratory was surrounded by several shelves, on top of which were all sorts of bottles and jars. In the middle was an enormous experimental platform, on top of which were beakers, distillation flasks, crucibles, and other testing equipment.
"Magnus, what kind of research does the alchemy workshop engage in?" Ouyang Shuo asked curiously as he toured the laboratory.
"The research of an alchemy workshop is mainly focused on distillation and metal extraction." Magnus said in a slightly arrogant manner. He didn't expect the lord in front of him to understand.
As for Ouyang Shuo, who was pretending to look at the various experimental instruments on the test bench, he was even more disdainful. He thought to himself, Do you really understand what those instruments are for? Hypocritical easterners.
How could Magnus have imagined that Ouyang Shuo was a modern man? Alchemy, which was incomparably mysterious to him, was nothing much in Ouyang Shuo's eyes.
Ouyang Shuo casually picked up a distillation flask and asked with a smile, "The distillation you're referring to, is it the distillation method that uses reflux to separate liquid mixtures with high purity?"
Magnus' eyes instantly widened, and he said excitedly, "Right, that's the method. Oh, God. My lord, I admire your wisdom. " Needless to say, this Westerner was very straightforward. Once he realized that the other party really understood, he immediately changed his attitude and praised him.
"Since that's the case, Magnus, if you have the time, you can make a trip to the winemaking workshop and make some improvements to their distillation techniques. If you succeed, I imagine the finance bureau will be very happy to pay you a generous reward, enough to support your research work. "Ouyang Shuo tempted him.
Hearing the mention of research funds, Magnus' eyes immediately lit up, and he said loudly, "No problem. My lord, you can leave this matter to me. "
"As for the research on metal purification, you can cooperate with the First Workshop. They have an enormous need for refined iron. Aside from that, the Wolf Mountain Mine will be of use to you as well. Highly purifying gold nuggets is your specialty. In short, I hope that the alchemy workshop won't be isolated from the territory, and instead should actively participate in the affairs of the territory, achieving a win-win situation. "Ouyang Shuo said finally.
Magnus had long ago put aside his prejudices and arrogance, and he said respectfully, "My lord, your wisdom is as deep as the ocean. I, Magnus, will definitely listen to your suggestions."
"Good!" Before leaving, Ouyang Shuo withdrew from his storage pouch that pair of boar tusks he had acquired a long time ago. Laughing, he said, "Do you have a way to refine these tusks into ornaments?"
Magnus accepted the boar tusks and said cautiously, "I can give it a try."
"Alright. I'll wait for your good news." As he spoke, he turned and left the workshop.
After leaving the workshop, Ouyang Shuo made a trip to the marketplace. He steeled his heart and spent 500 gold coins to purchase a high-grade shipyard blueprint. Ever since he had acquired the [Mengchong Warship Building Technique Manual], he had been impatient to build a Mengchong warship.
But as a mid-grade warship, the Mengchong warship could only be built by a high-grade shipyard. There was nothing he could do. For the sake of establishing a powerful naval fleet as soon as possible, Ouyang Shuo had no choice but to take out a large sum of money from his limited budget to upgrade the shipyard.
After returning to the lord's mansion, he saw Qing 'er and Gu Sanniang whispering to each other. Gu Sanniang had a rather dispirited look on her face, and Qing' er was consoling her. Ouyang Shuo asked curiously, "What are you talking about? You're being so mysterious. "
Gu Sanniang was silent to the side. Qing 'er mumbled, "Didn't big brother promise to let big sister Gu manage the restaurant? But according to the construction company's pricing, the restaurant is very expensive. In addition to the subsequent recruitment of workers and the purchase of raw materials, the start-up capital alone will be thirty gold coins. In addition, the restaurant's future is uncertain. I don't know if everyone is willing to spend money on it, so big sister Gu is very hesitant. "
Ouyang Shuo nodded. He looked at Gu Sanniang and asked, "Is it as Qing 'er said?"
"Milord, this lowly woman is indeed somewhat worried. In addition to the lack of financial resources, I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint your expectations. This lowly woman will continue to stay in the lord's mansion and take care of everyone's daily needs. "Gu Sanniang said, resigned to her fate.
Ouyang Shuo waved his hand and said, "Sanniang, you're treating me like an outsider. If you have any difficulties, you can come to me directly. There's no need for such a long sigh. The promise I made earlier naturally wasn't without purpose. This start-up capital will be paid by me. I'll shamelessly use this capital to buy half of the restaurant's shares. What do you think? "
Gu Sanniang was immediately overjoyed. She stammered, "No, no, no! This lowly woman is already satisfied with just one share. I don't dare to ask for too much."
"Sanniang, you don't need to decline. I didn't mean to give in to you. If you want to run the restaurant well, the start-up capital will only play a leading role. The follow-up work of recruiting workers, decorating the restaurant, researching new dishes, and other important tasks will all be handled by you, the future manager. To be honest, half of the shares is already taking advantage of you. "Ouyang Shuo explained.
Before Gu Sanniang could say anything, Qing 'er couldn't help but clap her hands and giggle. "Big sister doesn't need to be polite with big brother. He recently plundered a large sum of money from the bandits."
Ouyang Shuo glared at Qing 'er and continued, "Of course, I won't keep half of the restaurant's shares for myself. I'll leave three shares for Ying You and the remaining two for Qing 'er. Just think of it as the pocket money that I, the big brother, have left for the two sisters! "
"Ah!" Qing 'er didn't expect to receive such a benefit. The little miser immediately hugged Ouyang Shuo's arm and sweetly said, "Big brother, you're so good. You know how to dote on Qing' er, hehe!"
Ouyang Shuo rubbed her little head and said with a smile, "It's good that you know. You can't be too naughty."
Seeing this scene, Gu Sanniang felt at ease and said with a smile, "This lowly woman thanks you for your support. Please give the restaurant a name!"
Ouyang Shuo pondered for a moment and nodded. "Hmm, I think we should call it Sangu Restaurant. Not only does it reveal your identity as the manager, but it also conveys the meaning of coming back. It's just right for the restaurant. "
"Good! That's a good name!" Qing 'er, who had just received some benefits, cheered.
Gu Sanniang was also very satisfied with the restaurant's name. "Many thanks for the name, sir. There's one more thing I need to report to you. If this lowly woman manages the restaurant, who will take over the Lord's Mansion's kitchen? "
"Sanniang doesn't need to worry. After the official residence is built, apart from me, Qing 'er, and a few other sisters, everyone else in the Lord's Mansion will have to go home to eat. They won't have to take care of the meals of a large group of people like before. Secondly, after the restaurant is built, if we really want to eat, we can go to the restaurant to eat. At that time, Sanniang won't complain that we're eating for free. "Ouyang Shuo said jokingly.
"Sir is always welcome to visit!" Gu Sanniang said sincerely.
"As for the successor of the Lord's Mansion's kitchen, I'll leave it to you, Sanniang, to choose. After all, the current territory is no longer like before. There are still many chefs, "Ouyang Shuo said finally.
"Alright." Gu Sanniang nodded.
After the discussion, Qing 'er couldn't wait to find Ying You to report the good news. Ouyang Shuo didn't care about her and called Zhao Dewang to his office to arrange for people to upgrade the shipyard as soon as possible.
Zhao Dewang's face was bitter. Recently, this director of construction had been tormented by Ouyang Shuo to the point of going crazy. There were construction projects everywhere. They had just finished building the city wall and the moat, and now they had to start upgrading the territory. This was just the beginning, and now they had received the task of building the Friendship Village's city wall. The craftsmen had just set off for the Friendship Village, and now they had to upgrade the shipyard. It was another big project. Even if he had three heads and six arms, he wouldn't be able to handle it all.
Ouyang Shuo patted Zhao Dewang's shoulder and said solemnly, "You've worked hard during this period. When you're done, I'll give you a bonus."
What else could Zhao Dewang say? He could only smile bitterly and agree.
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