dressed as a scholar

"The fundraiser raised more than [-] taels. Among them, the donations from merchants accounted for the majority. Although the amount of donations from the common people was large, they were mostly for the silver taels donated by the seal. Many officials of the imperial court also voluntarily donated some silver taels. It’s only been three days of fundraising, and so much money has been saved.”

"With the addition of the funds allocated by the imperial court, it should be enough to ease the use for a while."

"Master Fang is really a wonderful idea. The method he came up with this time has greatly mobilized the enthusiasm of the people. In previous years, no matter whether it was disaster relief or construction fundraising, the people were unwilling to pay for it. With so many donations, this is still the one with the largest amount of donations. one time."

"This trick is not only to inform the people that after the official road is built in the future, they will have to pay a toll to travel. People donate money and it will be saved for future use. It also binds the people to the official road. Since they have paid the money, they will Rizi is reluctant to abolish the seal, and will definitely use the official way for a long time."

Fang Yu listened to the enthusiastic discussions of the officials of the Ministry of Industry who participated in the fundraising. In fact, he was just following the consumption patterns of later generations, and it is a good thing that the people are willing to pay.

After talking, they realized that Fang Yu hadn't said a word, so they couldn't help but pause in tacit understanding: "My lord, what's wrong? The fundraising has already been approved. Things like insufficient funds are common in the court." , As long as the people are not forced to pay money, the imperial court will not say anything."

Fang Yu said: "There is nothing wrong with it, everyone acted vigorously and resolutely, and the matter was handled well."

"It's a pity that the donation was only raised for three days. If it took longer, I'd be able to raise more money." Yuan Ruiyan sighed: "If you knew it earlier, let the newspaper publish it in the newspaper, so more people will know about it." gone."

Fang Yu smiled and patted Yuan Ruiyan on the shoulder: "The common people are not leeks. Three days are enough for the court to cut them down. You should be satisfied if you can raise so much. You can't consume the common people so wantonly."

Yuan Ruiyan cupped his hands: "My lord taught me that."

Fang Yu said: "The funds are sufficient at the moment. You just need to take care of your own affairs and supervise the construction of roads. As for the funds in the future, I will think of a way."

Everyone's heart moved slightly: "Thank you, my lord."

Fang Yu waved his hand, and dismissed all the officials to watch the post, leaving Yuan Ruiyan alone.The two walked idly on the constructed concrete road with their hands behind their backs, but Fang Yu stopped in front of a village road where the road forked: "Look at that Hongjing Village, it is indeed a village at the root of the imperial city. Even the village has built a lot of large courtyards."

"There are also some land villages owned by people from the imperial court, but as the adults said, the villages in the suburbs of Beijing are still passable, and the people are rushing to build houses with blue bricks and tiles. The village is quiet and spacious. Now the official road has been repaired. The city is more convenient, and it will be easier for the people in the villages to go to the city to buy and sell some melons, fruits and vegetables, and presumably they will be able to build houses with green bricks and tiles soon."

Yuan Ruiyan smiled and said: "Xiaguan's hometown is in a village on the outskirts of Beijing. After the road has been repaired, Mrs. Yu chats with each other in her spare time. When she gets old, she plans to go back to the village to recuperate."

With the smoke rising from the kitchen, the cocks singing and the dogs barking, and the transportation convenient, it is certainly an excellent choice to live in the village for the elderly: "When the official roads are built wider and longer, there must be more villagers who have such ideas. It is for Therefore, we have to find a way to make the road longer and repair it."

"Master Yuan is a native of the capital city. Let me ask you, how many people want to build bricks and tiles in the village?"

Yuan Ruiyan laughed suddenly: "Look at what Mr. Fang said, the people in the suburbs of Beijing rely on the emperor, even if the prosperity in the south of the Yangtze River is not as prosperous as in the capital, the people in the villages here probably have enough income to eat and wear, and they all want to earn a living." It is a green tile house. The thatched hut with earthen walls is cold in winter, and the winter wind in the capital is bleak in summer, and the thatched roofs are often blown away. If one house falls to another, the earthen walls are prone to collapse. If conditions permit, who I don’t want to change to blue tile houses.”

"Look at that village, a family is building a house, and the people around are watching. It's just to watch the fun? It's true that there is no work in the field. In the end, I still want to build it myself."

He sighed again: "Although the houses made of blue bricks are stable and beautiful, they are very expensive to build, otherwise the prices of houses in the city would not be so shocking, even though many of the elders of our Ministry of Industry do not even have houses in Beijing. If you have not saved enough money to buy a house in Kyoto when you are old enough to return to your hometown, you can only go back to your hometown.”

Fang Yu paused after hearing the words: "Suppose the cost of building a brick house is reduced, but the built house will be less solid than the blue brick house, but much stronger than thatched earthen house. With such a choice, the common people can Will respond?"

"With such a good thing, the people are eager to participate. There is not enough money to build green brick and tile houses. The next best thing is to get rid of living in earthen houses. This is the first choice for people who are short of money. But where does it come from?" Such a good thing."

Fang Yu smiled, and patted Yuan Ruiyan on the shoulder: "There is another job to do this morning."

……

As an important material for building houses, blue bricks are expensive, but there is a reason for the so-called expensive. The built houses are generally stable, beautiful and durable, but the manufacturing process is also very complicated.

Fang Yu did a simple market research, learned about the market, and found shale, coal gangue, and indispensable clay for making red bricks in the workshop.

There were no red bricks in this era, and although the durability of red bricks widely used in later generations was worse than that of blue bricks, and their use time was not as long as that of blue bricks, they were cheap for a reason.The production process of red bricks is simpler than that of blue bricks, and it can be fireproof, and red bricks are breathable. In short, they can adjust the humidity in the room and have a certain effect of heat preservation and heat insulation.

Since blue bricks with complex craftsmanship can be made, red diamonds can also be made naturally.

However, Fang Yu soon personally oversaw the firing of a batch of red bricks.

"Kyoto tabloids, Kyoto tabloids! Red bricks are fired in workshops in the suburbs of Beijing, and the price is low. Those who want to know can buy newspapers here!"

Newsboys yelled and passed by in the downtown area, and soon the news that there was a kind of red brick in the workshop in the suburbs of Beijing, which was the same as the green brick, but the price was cheaper, spread all over the streets and alleys.

"The workshop in the suburbs of Beijing is a workshop of the imperial court. The news should not be false."

"The big events in the tabloids have never been false. The workshop can even build cement official roads. It is possible to have such a kind of brick and stone."

"The newspaper said that the first batch of buyers of bricks and stones can reduce the original price, and buy more and lower the price. Zhao Hu, isn't your family planning to build a brick house? Don't go and see, the price of this red brick is comparable to that of blue brick. It's half the price."

"My father went to see it a long time ago. Nowadays, there is a special area outside the workshop in the suburbs of Beijing to display red bricks. Many people are there to inquire about the price and inquire about the situation. Someone from the court will give a special explanation. My father said that although the red bricks They are not as strong as blue bricks, but they are also much more affordable than blue bricks. Besides, the people in the court did not deceive everyone by saying that red bricks are cheaper than blue bricks, but they are not as strong and durable as blue bricks."

"What you said makes me want to go and have a look."

"Didn't your family just build a green tile house, what else are you going to do?"

"The family plans to build a pig and cow shed. If the price of red bricks is right, there is no need to build them with blue bricks."

Only then did the capital’s capital city calm down from the stamps of the fundraising show, and then it was ignited by the red bricks. It has not stopped in the past year, the weather is hot, and the people are even more enthusiastic.

The field opened on the outskirts of the city was surrounded by officers and soldiers, and the common people wanted to see and ask about the red bricks at will. The red bricks on the field were piled up in two large hills, allowing the common people to touch and hold them to feel the weight, or even simply knock them to test their firmness.The mouth of the Ministry of Industry is dry and tongue-tied, explaining the function of red bricks and the comparison of the advantages and disadvantages of blue bricks.

Fang Yu put up the introduction card outside the venue, and when he saw the explanation of the people under his hands, his face was red, and he was as excited as if he was selling his own bricks and stones, bluffing the people for a while.He couldn't help but sigh with emotion, you all have a talent for doing business. Sure enough, the efficiency and ability of being forced to work and working for yourself are not the same.

"The introduction board has been put up, everyone, come and take a break and drink some water to moisturize your throat. The introduction board is clearly written, and even the price is written on it. If there are illiterate people, I will explain it to them. Let them Go see the introduction yourself."

The officials were also really dry and thirsty. Although it was already the end of August, the weather was sweltering and hot, and they couldn't live without sweat.

"Ah, this water smells like tea and fruit, refreshing."

"Why do I smell like herbs?"

Several officials took the water and drank it, Xuezhu smiled and said: "Our husband knows that you adults are busy and hard, so we specially made some fruit tea and herbal soup to relieve the heat and relieve the heat for the adults."

"But I've been in Master Fang's favor again."

Ever since Fang Yu worked in the workshop, Qiao Hezhi would send some food every now and then to improve the food of the workshop. There are all kinds of tricks, mutton today, pigeons tomorrow, crucian carp and pork offal in cold marinade are more common, and the taste is excellent. The officials Yu worked with all said that it was not easy for Fang Yu to have such a virtuous husband and still have a light body.

Every day also followed Fang Yu's light, and he was able to eat a full meal at noon, and everyone said that he was a little tired from the errands in the workshop, and the conditions were really good.Everyone who performed their duties worked tirelessly, and they ate delicious dishes one after another, but without the intrigue and strife of sitting idle in the palace, everyone was alive.

"Lord Fang, Lord Yuan, a villager ordered to buy [-] red bricks just now, and there is not enough on the site, should we use the ones from the workshop?"

Fang Yu put down the water when he heard the words, but he didn't expect someone to do it so soon. He thought it would take a few days to see the exhibition before anyone would buy it: "Yes. You can bring someone to shout, first come, first served, work is done. There are not many bricks in the workshop, so if you want to buy more and register, you can only make a reservation in advance."

All the officials are happily calculating, a horse of red bricks costs four Wen, 1 Yuan is 40 taels of silver, and if the construction cost of the workshop is taken into account, one-third of the money can be earned in the hand, which is the same as the first. A group of people who buy red bricks are affordable, so they can make a lot of money.If there are always people buying bricks, then there will be a steady stream of income coming in.

Everyone looked at Fang Yu unconsciously with a lot of reverence in their eyes. This is another gain for the court!

Fang Yu is also very happy, and the first order is a good sign: "Everyone will go to the humble house after work is closed today. In August and September, the crabs are fat and creamy. To celebrate the sale of the red bricks, we all go to the humble house to eat crabs today. .”

When everyone heard that the leader invited them to dinner, the officials of the Ministry of Industry were even more happy: "It's better to obey orders than respectful officials!"