"Xiao Cai Fujun, this bonsai is made by Sailuban in the west of the city?"

Although Duan Kui's tone of questioning was light and light, how could Cai Ji not be able to guess this old man's flowery intestines. It's nothing more than wanting a waterwheel, but also afraid of people sitting on the ground and starting the price. However, Cai Jida didn't want to go into battle in person from the beginning to bargain with Duan Kui and the others. I saw her pretending to be surprised and bowing her head in reply, Duan Lao has good eyesight. Indeed, it was made by Seruban. ”

Guan Tong listened to Cai Ji and Duan Kui talk about the maker of the waterwheel, and hurriedly stepped forward to ask for confirmation of Dao Sai Luban? But the head craftsman in the west of the city? ”

"Because it's this person. It is reported that his original surname is Ma, only because of the carpenter's skill, so it is praised as Sailuban. Now it seems that the name of this Sailuban is indeed well deserved. Huang Zhen, who had also heard of the name of Sailuban, nodded and explained.

"The craftsmanship is not, it's just that people are too arrogant." Duan Kui, who had eaten a closed door soup, said sourly.

However, Guan Tong disagreed with this, and saw him twisting the goat's whisker and shaking his head, saying that it was comparable to Lu Ban's skillful craftsman, and it didn't hurt to be arrogant. ”

Cai Ji saw that the three of them praised Sailuban at a glance, but he didn't say that he was the real designer of the waterwheel, but he struck while the iron was hot, and said, "You have seen the many wonders of the waterwheel. As Huang Gongcao said earlier, there are still two months before the winter wheat planting, and it is only necessary to step up the production of water trucks, and all counties will be ready for use this autumn. ”

As soon as Cai Ji's words fell, Guan Tong, Duan Kui and others, who were still praising the waterwheel before, immediately showed embarrassment. Duan Kui even secretly glared at Huang Zhen, who hurriedly came forward to clarify that Xiaofujun forgave me, and the old man and others also wanted to build more waterwheels to benefit the township. It's just that now that the locust plague has just passed, the county government has spent a lot of money to resettle the hungry, and it may not be able to promote water wheels throughout the county. Why don't you build one or two waterwheels on the outskirts of Huangxian County to see the results? ”

In the face of Huang Zhen's crying poverty, Cai Ji also knew that after this disaster relief, it may not be easy to pluck the feathers from this iron rooster. However, the lack of money in the county government does not mean that the rich families in Donglai also have money. It must be known that Tong Guò this time "work for relief" Duan Kui and other Donglai gentry nominally donated a lot of money and grain to the government, but they did not do a loss-making transaction in private. So Cai Ji naturally set his sights on Duan Kui again.

However, Duan Kui didn't see Cai Ji's gaze, still fiddling with the waterwheel there and was silent. As for the management system that has always raised the bar with him, for some reason, he did not propose to ask Duan Kui and other gentry to donate money. Of course, if Cai Ji spoke directly at this time, he should be able to persuade Duan Kui and the others to pay some money. But in the end, she didn't open her mouth.

Do you think that if you hold on to your money bag, this girl will have nothing to do with you? Yes! Let's ride a donkey and we'll see. Cai Ji sneered so much in his heart, and on the other hand, he put on a helpless look and sighed, how difficult the people's livelihood is, let's discuss it at this time. ”

Xu didn't expect Cai Ji to give up so easily, Duan Kui raised his head in surprise, but he couldn't see that Cai Ji was selling medicine in his gourd. However, the old fox is still the old fox after all, seeing that Cai Ji is retreating, Duan Kui pretended to be generous and announced that the little mansion monarch should not be discouraged. As Huang Gongcao said, we can first build one or two waterwheels in Huang County to see the effect. If the county government is short of money, the old man is willing to fund the construction of the first waterwheel for Huang County. ”

A waterwheel? It's so generous. While Cai Ji secretly laughed at Duan Kui in his heart, he still had to bow down to him on the surface and thank Dao Ji for thanking Duan Lao Gaoyi on behalf of the people of Huang County. ”

In short, this discussion seemed to be fruitless for Cai Ji. She neither persuaded Guan Tong and others to pay tribute to the imperial court, nor did she persuade Duan Kui and others to support her in promoting waterwheels to the whole county. But Cai Ji himself didn't care about it. In her opinion, as long as Guan Tong and Duan Kui have a strong interest in the waterwheel, then the purpose of her meeting today can be regarded as preliminarily achieved. As for paying tribute to the imperial court and donating to build waterwheels, it is best to pass guò, and it doesn't hurt if you don't pass guò. And the only thing she needs to do right now is one word-wait.

In fact, Cai Ji didn't wait long. The next day, when she was crawling on the bookcase to write a math textbook, she saw Zhang Qingfeng rushing to the backyard. And the first thing he did as soon as he stepped into the study was to give a thumbs up and praise Cai Ji and praise the little lord, the true god and man. ”

Cai Ji's heart couldn't help but move when he heard Zhang Qing say this. However, on the surface, she still blew the ink that had not yet dried up without knowing it, and then looked up at Zhang Qing, who was excited, and asked rhetorically, Why did Brother Zhang say this? ”

Zhang Qing saw Cai Ji looking unclear, thinking that she still didn't know what was happening outside. So he simply sat in front of Cai Ji and asked with great interest, do you remember that you said that you would give Na Sailuban a windfall? ”

"It is true." Cai Ji put down the brush and nodded.

"Hah! Little lord, do you know? It's a reality! Zhang Qing patted his thigh and said excitedly that since this morning, there have been rich gentry driving to the west of the city to see Sailuban, saying that he wanted him to come forward to help their Zhuangzi build a water truck. Now, those ox carts and horse-drawn carts have already blocked the West City. Some people also said that Duan Kui had personally looked for Sailuban last night. Of course, it's also for the watermill. ”

The big fish is finally hooked! After listening to Zhang Qing's introduction, the boulder hanging in Cai Ji's heart finally fell to the ground. No, the reason why she demonstrated the function of the waterwheel in front of Duan Kui and others at the same time, but did not insist on promoting the waterwheel to the whole county of Donglai in the name of the county government, was to have such a sensational effect in front of her.

It must be known that in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, the popular economy was the wealthy landlord grange economy. And this grange economy is a typical form of self-sufficient economy. The grange is home to agriculture, handicrafts, and a certain amount of commercial and usurious activity. Cui Shi's "Four People's Moon Order" recorded the typical grange at that time: the grange has a wide land area, planting various food crops such as millet, japonica, rice, wheat, beans, as well as cash crops such as flax, thomp, blue, and rehmannia, as well as vegetables such as melons, leeks, onions, garlic, ginger, taro, etc., and the grange is widely planted with pine, cypress, paulownia, catalpa, lacquer, jujube, mulberry, bamboo and other forest trees, there are silkworm raising, textile, dyeing, shoemaking, pharmaceutical, wax making, tailoring and other handicraft production, and there are many wine-making, vinegar, sauce, caramelis and other products processing and manufacturing farm tools, weapons workshop. From the description of the "Four Minyue Order", it can be seen that this kind of landlord grange that carries out multiple operations is basically self-sufficient in all kinds of means of subsistence, and generally does not need to be exchanged.

Therefore, wealthy landlords like Duan Kui generally did not care about the life or death of yeoman farmers. Because even if there is hunger outside the village, as long as there is enough food and clothing in the village, the landlords of the wealthy family can still live a good life. One could even say that most of them hoped that the peasants would go bankrupt so that their land could be annexed and taken into vassals in the granges, or simply reduced to slavery. Counting on the landlords of the wealthy clan to fund the construction of water conservancy for the official land is undoubtedly expecting the wolf to take care of the family and the yard for the sheep. Therefore, Cai Ji had already expected that Duan Kui and others would not willingly fund the construction of waterwheels for the people.

However, years of drought have forced yeoman farmers to go bankrupt, while also affecting the farm's grain production. Therefore, it is impossible for the wealthy landlords to really oppose the application of waterwheels. On the contrary, the watermill should have been sought after by landlords as a new invention that could promote agricultural production. This can be seen from the reactions of Duan Kui, Huang Zhen, and Guan Tong when they first saw the waterwheel, and they are actually very enthusiastic about this agricultural weapon.

So from the very beginning, Chua Kedah planned to sell the water wheels to the wealthy landlords at a high price, rather than just asking them for money as they did in the last disaster relief. For this reason, she specially asked Sailuban to make that exquisite waterwheel bonsai, in order to arouse the interest of Duan Kui and others. On the other hand, Cai Ji deliberately concealed the fact that he was the designer of the waterwheel. Instead, he pushed Sailuban as an agent, and asked Duan Kui and others to go to Sailuban to negotiate the purchase of water trucks.

Judging from the current crowd in the west of the city, the big fish and the small fish have all bitten the hook. As for whether this plan can be successful in the end, it depends on Sailuban's own expression. Speaking of which, this can be regarded as a test of Cai Ji's treatment of Sailuban. Let's see if it's a good partner.

Thinking of this, Cai Ji asked Zhang Qing again, "Then Sailuban agreed?" ”

"Promised. No, I didn't. I heard that Nasai Luban didn't offer either, but only let those people offer. It is said that the highest bidder will make it first. Although there is still some time before autumn sowing, who doesn't want to. At present, the next waterwheel has been sold for thousands of dollars. Zhang Qing smacked his tongue and said.

Auction?! Ha, this Sailuban really has a talent for business. I don't know if his character is really reliable. After all, there are not many people who can hold it in the face of the flying windfall. However, although Cai Ji was so worried in her heart, she still half-jokingly said to Zhang Qing on the surface that Qianguan was not sky-high. At present, a stone of millet has already been bought for 500,000 yuan, and even in some counties and counties, there is still no price. Converted, this waterwheel is only worth two stones of grain. To Ji said that those gentry took advantage. ”

Zhang Qing heard Cai Ji say that Liangshi Guzi was still a wealthy gentry taking advantage of a waterwheel, and he couldn't help but secretly sigh that his little lord could ask for a price compared to Nasai Luban.

And while the two were chatting, Lily of the Valley suddenly came to report that Sailuban was asking to see him at the gate of Taishou Mansion at the moment. When Zhang Qing heard that Sai Luban was coming, he couldn't help but be surprised: Sai Luban was not doing business in the west of the city at this time, and came to Taishou Mansion to do it? ”

But at this time, Cai Ji showed a long-lost smile and nodded at Lily of the Valley, please. ”

So after a while, Lily of the Valley led Sailuban to Cai Ji's study. I saw that this old man was still a raunchy and sloppy appearance, but he was holding a rather delicate lacquer box in his hand. After seeing Cai Ji, Sai Luban first bowed respectfully to her, then raised his head and looked at Cai Ji with a rather complicated look, and then pushed the lacquerware box in his hand in front of her.

Cai Ji saw that Sailuban presented a box as soon as he came, and without any explanation, he couldn't help but take the box curiously and opened it, but there were two shiny gold bars lying inside. Zhang Qing on the side immediately gasped after glancing at it. After all, the honor of Isai Luban doesn't look like there is gold. As for Cai Ji, he closed the lid on the spot and looked up and asked, "Ma Bo, what does this mean?" ”

"Don't hide it from you. Yesterday, Guan Juncheng came to the old man and said that he would buy the two patterns of Fujun. This is the money from the sale of pictures. Seruban replied bluntly.

Gold for drawings? I didn't expect the management to have such a skill. However, this may also be the activity fund that Yuan Shao gave him. Anyway, don't take it for nothing. I don't know if this Sailuban has exposed my old bottom. Thinking of this, Cai Ji hurriedly asked, "Oh? The management came to you to buy patterns? Can you mention to him that this picture was painted by the Lord? ”

"When the prince first came to get the bonsai, he explained that he was not allowed to mention it to outsiders, and this picture was painted by the king. Naturally, the old man would not say much. Speaking of this, Sailuban glanced at Cai Ji again and asked, Those people in the west of the city who came to order the waterwheel were all arranged by the prince, right? No Fiction Network Lots of Words"

"Nope. This matter is indeed arranged by the government. Cai Ji nodded in acknowledgement. In fact, if Duan Kui and the others were willing to pay for the county government to build a water wheel at that time, then Cai Ji would naturally ask Sai Luban to help them build a water wheel for free, and the cost was far less than the current rush to buy. But sometimes once people are selfish, they will be short-sighted, and if they are short-sighted, they will easily fall into the trap. So it's no wonder that Cai Ji is cunning, Sailuban is fast, and if you want to complain, you can only complain that Duan Kui and others are too picky.

But Sailuban didn't know what was going on, so he still asked puzzled, "Why did the prince act like this?" If the government wants to build a waterwheel, he can issue a warrant to call us to build a waterwheel for the government. ”

In the face of Sailuban's question, Cai Ji spread his hands very frankly and said with a wry smile, because this waterwheel can be asked for a sky-high price in the hands of Ma Bo, but in the hands of this house, it can only be given away for nothing. ”

Although Sailuban didn't know the delicate relationship between Cai Ji and Guan Tong and Duan Kui, seeing that Cai Ji was young, he somewhat understood her distress. So Sailuban immediately clapped his hands and said, "Then after the waterwheel is built and the money is distributed, the old man will send the rest of the money." ”

"Marble is slow. The money you made from building a waterwheel this time is your hard-earned money, and the government will not take a penny. Saying that, Cai Ji shook the box containing gold in front of Sailuban and said, "This is the honorarium of this mansion."

Sailuban nails are nails, riveting riveting, insisting that this will not work. Although we have built a waterwheel, if it weren't for the pattern of the king, how would we know that there is a waterwheel in the world. So this money must be accepted. ”

Cai Ji saw that Sai Luban was so righteous, and while he was moved, he couldn't help but have a plan to say to Sai Luban, "If Ma Bo thinks that this money is too much, he can't feel at ease with it." A portion of it could be donated to the government to build more waterwheels. ”

"Donate to the government? What is the difference between this and giving it to the king? Seruban asked, confused.

"There is a difference, of course there is a difference." Cai Jiban pointed to Sailuban and analyzed, "Ma Bo gave the money to the government is a personal relationship, and donating the money to the government is a merit. On this matter, the government may issue an example to commend you for your righteous deeds, and appoint you as the head of the craftsmen. ”

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