In the Mo Mansion.
Uncle Fu said solemnly, "Young master, the birthday of the Retired Emperor will be held in the Weiyang Palace. I'm afraid all the dignitaries in Chang 'an will go there! Should the Mo Mansion also prepare a generous gift? "
Although Meton didn't have an official position, he was the county marquis who founded the country. He couldn't fall behind in such a big event.
Meton shook his head and said, "We must send a gift, but it's too tacky to only send money."
It was a pity that Meton had given the hair-dyeing secret skill to Li Yuan as a gift, or it would be extremely appropriate on this occasion.
Uncle Fu frowned and said, "The Mo Family's Village has polished two more diamonds. How about using them as gifts?"
In terms of the value of gifts, there was probably no diamond suitable in the whole Tang dynasty. Once the diamonds of the Mo Family's Village were polished and delivered, it would cause a frenzy. Besides, the diamonds were made by the Mo Family's Village. If they were hidden, people would think that the Mo Family was stingy.
Meton smiled bitterly and said, "The diamonds are indeed suitable, but the Retired Emperor has already had them."
Many of the diamonds made by the Mo Family for Li Shimin might have fallen into the hands of Li Yuan.
Uncle Fu suddenly frowned. Giving gifts was an art. If the gifts were too generous, other dignitaries would be dissatisfied, and he would be impeached by the imperial censor.
But if the gifts were too casual, it wouldn't be good. The whole Tang dynasty knew that the Mo Family's Village had been prosperous recently. If he was stingy, the consequences would be more serious.
Just when Meton was at a loss, Tie An suddenly came in and said, "Young master, Uncle Zhang is here. He said that the glass you asked for has been tested successfully."
"Really?" Meton was overjoyed.
"Is Uncle Zhang waiting outside?" Tie An replied.
"Let him in." Meton couldn't wait.
After a while, Old Zhang, who was dressed in ordinary Mo Family's clothes, walked into the Mo Mansion happily. No one could imagine that such a simple old man was a craftsman who pursued superb craftsmanship.
"Young master, this is the glass you asked for!" Old Zhang bowed and handed over four small, crystal clear wine cups as thin as cicada's wings.
Meton excitedly took it and touched this extremely common item in the future. Thoughts of the future immediately surged into his mind.
"Uncle Zhang, you've worked hard!" Merton said.
"Young Master, you're flattering this Old Man. It's just that I haven't been able to crack the flat glass that you want. I can only make some small items. I'm really ashamed." Old Zhang said.
Meton looked at the glass wine cup in his hand and nodded with satisfaction. "Everything is difficult at the beginning. Let's talk about the flat glass in the future. It is already amazing that Uncle Zhang can make a wine cup."
"If Young Master didn't get the formula of the Far West Kingdom, who would have thought that some sand could be used to refine such a marvelous treasure?" Old Zhang said modestly.
"What? This treasure is actually made of sand?" Uncle Fu looked at the exquisite wine cup in shock.
Old Zhang smiled bitterly and nodded affirmatively, "It is indeed made of sand!"
After experimenting with Morton's formula over and over again, even he was astounded. Who would have thought that adding some common ingredients to some stones and gravel could create such a beautiful object?
In truth, glass had appeared in this world for a very long time. Four thousand years ago, glass beads had been unearthed in ancient Egypt, and three thousand years ago, the Phoenicians had inadvertently used sand and natural soda to invent glass. In fact, in the same era as the Great Tang, the Romans were already using glass in their windows. But in the Great Tang, glass had appeared in this magical land for the first time.
Actually, it was extremely simple to refine glass. It was like window paper, easily broken with a poke. However, it was extremely difficult to refine clear glass. After repeated experiments, Old Zhang finally managed to refine a colorless and transparent glass, and made it into a wine cup. Only then did he report to Morton.
"Such a magical item is simply too suitable to be used as a birthday gift for the Retired Emperor." Uncle Fu's eyes suddenly lit up. The cost was cheap and it was unique. It could only be made by the School of Mo. It could not only please the Retired Emperor, but also not disgust other nobles.
"Although this item is precious, it is not suitable?" Meton suddenly shook his head and denied it.
Uncle Fu and Old Zhang were stunned. They raised their heads and looked at Meton in confusion.
Meton explained, "Glass is a material with many uses. If it can only be made into wine cups, it will only be a luxury item. This is not in line with the School of Mo's philosophy. What's the use of it?"
Meton gently let go of the glass cup in his hand, and it fell to the ground and broke into pieces.
"Ah!"
Uncle Fu's heart suddenly ached. Meton had lost a lot of money. Such a precious item, perhaps no noble would treat it as a treasure. However, his young master did not hesitate to throw it away.
In contrast, Old Zhang's heart was only moved. He was indifferent. This item was made by himself. Naturally, he knew that although it looked beautiful, it was actually worthless. It was just some stones and sand.
"Then what does young master mean?" Uncle Fu looked at the broken glass at his feet and asked with heartache.
Meton's lips curled into an inexplicable smile and said, "Of course, it is to make more use of this glass."
To be honest, although it seemed that glass had been developed, Meton did not prepare to produce glass on a large scale. On the one hand, glass technology was not mature at all. It could only be made into wine cups and bottles. Its value was limited, and it was criticized by others.
However, in the future, with the development of glass technology, there was a type of glass whose added value greatly increased. Although it was only a small piece, it had a great effect on the entire human race. It could even be said that in the future, no one could live without it.
That was glasses.
Among all the glass products, the most expensive one was definitely not glasses. However, in terms of the most profitable one, glasses were definitely second to none. Even when compared to the high-end glass of the future, glasses were not inferior.
There were glasses shops all over the street, and they had survived for quite a long time. The street was full of people wearing glasses, and once they wore them, they would wear them for a lifetime.
Nowadays, the glass production of the Mo Family Village was extremely low, and they did not have the ability to make large pieces of glass. Choosing glasses, which used less materials, had high added value, and was beneficial to people, was really appropriate.
Meton and the Retired Emperor Li Yuan had met before. He found that Li Yuan, who was nearly 70 years old, had a serious physical degeneration, and even had very serious presbyopia.
This was also the reason why Li Shimin was no longer on guard against Li Yuan. Instead, he wantonly prepared birthday gifts for Li Yuan and did filial piety for him.
Therefore, Meton gave up the seemingly gorgeous glass wine cup. He wanted to give Li Yuan a birthday gift first, which would be the common reading glasses that people in the future would see.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
