261-270

Chapter 261

Suddenly, Gu Lin reached out and hugged Lin Zhen to his lap, facing each other.

Due to the posture, Lin Zhen's legs were spread apart and placed on his waist, hugging him like a child.

Lin Zhen wanted to struggle, but he felt the scorching temperature under his pigu, and said: "Gu Shuanzi, you are still young now, you can't do that too much, otherwise in the future..." Lin Zhen didn't say it out loud.

Gu Lin hugged him and pressed him to his body with both hands: "Well, just hug like this."

Lin Zhen believed in his self-control. From the time they broke up to now, except for the last time when they had a little misfire, he took the initiative to relieve him. He always went back to his room to sleep after kissing, as if he only had the desire to kiss and had no other thoughts.

Of course, Lin Zhen, who had seen it with his own eyes and touched his thing, knew that it was absolutely impossible, but he could limit himself outside that line and never cross that line.

So when he heard him say that just hugging was fine, Lin Zhen stopped talking about other things and let him hug.

The carriage was shaking, and Lin Zhen, whose lower back was being pressed by his palm, felt that the temperature of his skin was frighteningly high.

It was as if he was trying to touch his body through the layer of clothes and hold his heart.

...

"Boss, we're here." Lu Lu's voice came from outside the carriage, and Lin Zhen, who was being held, pushed Gu Lin.

Gu Lin let him go, tidied up his slightly messy robe, and followed him down.

Lin Zhen first solved the problem of the tiles for the floor, so he came to find his brother-in-law, Ma, the shopkeeper who sold rice and took over his business of porcelain boxes and bottles.

He came several times, and the people working outside knew him and knew that he was a big customer of the kiln. They immediately ran in and called Ma's brother-in-law, Lou Feng.

Lou Feng came out quickly, and when he saw Lin Zhen, he said, "Boss Lin, have you seen the batch of goods that were just delivered yesterday? The colors are beautiful."

He also saw Gu Lin next to Lin Zhen, and glanced at Gu Lin's clothes, a little unsure of his identity.

He is a servant, but a servant cannot wear such fine clothes. He is not really a subordinate of Boss Lin.

Lin Zhen shook his head: "I just came back and I have a lot of things to do. I haven't had time to see it." "

But if it is according to what you said before I went to Dongyang County, then it must be correct." Lin Zhen was satisfied with Lou Feng because of this. He was smart and willing to study. He made a suggestion casually and spent so many days to make something. He

didn't even mention the price increase to him.

No wonder the kiln attracted more business in his hands than in his father's.

"If it weren't for the idea that Boss Lin said, I wouldn't be able to make such good porcelain. By the way, who is this?" Lou Feng asked Lin Zhen for fear of entertaining the wrong person.

Lin Zhen said, "He is my distant relative. He has nothing to do today, so he followed me to see this place. "

"Just think of him as someone who is here to relax." "Oh, so he is a relative of Boss Lin. Nice to meet you. I am the owner of this kiln, the second oldest. Just call me second brother." Lou Feng was devoted to the kiln, so he said as Lin Zhen said. The accountant next to him often went out, and he had already known Lin Zheng's identity thoroughly, knowing that he was the distant uncle of the prefect of Lizhou. Hearing Lin Zhen's introduction, his knees weakened, and he quickly pulled Lou Feng's sleeves:

"Boss, shopkeeper, that is the prefect."

"Huh?" Lou Feng didn't understand.

The accountant said it again: "The one standing with Boss Lin is the prefect."

This time, Lou Feng heard it clearly. He stared at Gu Lin in amazement and was about to kneel down. Gu Lin said, "Just like my Uncle Lin said, I'm just an idler who came here to relax, nothing else is needed." Lou Feng and the accountant who were already half-kneeling, pulled each other, and luckily they didn't knock their knees to the ground. They didn't dare to disobey and said,

"Yes, yes."

Lou Feng, who had always been nervous, lowered his voice and asked Lin Zhen, "Then Boss Lin will be back. Do you want me to do something?"

"Take a look at this and see if you can make it?"

Lin Zhen handed him the pattern he had drawn on paper yesterday, as well as the size of the tiles. Lou Feng, who was a little reserved at first, gradually relaxed after seeing what Lin Zhen wanted to make.

He looked carefully and said, "Our kilns are fine for firing smaller items now, and the breakage rate is not high. As long as the items are larger, half of the items in a kiln are good." "Boss Lin, look, the item you want is square and not small. I don't think it will be good." Because Lin Zhen had only made custom porcelain boxes and vases here before, and he was very satisfied with the items he made.

Before coming here, he thought this was a sure thing. After listening to him, he remembered that the technology now was not as good as his time. The kiln temperature was not high enough when relying solely on firewood, resulting in a very high breakage rate when firing large vessels. He asked Lou Feng: "I'll give you seven or eight days, regardless of the cost, how many can you burn out?" Hearing his tone, Lou Feng knew that he had to take this business, and Lin Zhen was always honest, and he would never let him pay for the burned materials.

He said silently in his heart: "About 70 or 80 pieces."

"But Boss Lin, why don't we change the size of the porcelain pieces? If they are smaller, the success rate will be higher." Lin Zhen waved his hand: "This size is too small and the shop will look cramped." "Okay, I'll ask the workers to make your things today and get your business done as soon as possible." Lou Feng's porcelain craftsmanship is well-known in the state capital. There are all kinds of ornaments in the house. Lin Zhen, who originally wanted to put some things in the shop, took the opportunity to pick them here. He picked dozens of large and small, round and flat, tall and short.

Lou Feng simply asked the apprentice to drive a carriage to send them back, and also gave him two extra treasures that he burned himself and was reluctant to sell. It was still light when he came out, and the sky was stained with lead gray when he went back. Lin Zhen took one of the long-necked porcelain vases that Lou Feng had given him and was reluctant to sell to Gu Lin's room. This porcelain vase was all black, and the clear and translucent glaze made it look like it was made of black jade. Lin Zhen thought it was very suitable to be placed in Gu Lin's room at the first sight.

The other one was a light blue-purple color, which was very beautiful, and Lin Zhen, who had always disliked bright colors, couldn't help but take a few glances. After dinner, Lin Zhen, who had told Gu Lin that he wanted to ride a horse, changed into a short brown dress that he rarely wore nowadays and walked into the yard. Gu Lin, who had already changed into a narrow-sleeved dress, stood in the yard waiting for him with a red horse. "What's the temper of this horse?"

The horses that could stay in the prefectural government were naturally of good quality, with long and strong four legs and strip-shaped muscles on them, which made people see the powerful explosive power at a glance. Lin Zhen looked at the horse while talking, and the horse he was looking at blinked its big eyes, and its long eyelashes fluttered, looking particularly spiritual and beautiful. Gu Lin held the reins in his hand and said,

"This is the most docile horse in the prefecture. I'll help you get on first and walk around the yard twice. If you don't get used to it, I'll change to another one." Lin Zhen nodded. He walked to the side of the horse. He was shocked when he compared it.

his horse was actually above his chest, and the height of the stirrups was as high as his waist.

"..."

How can this horse get on?

Lin Zhen looked at Lu Lu, who was watching him learn to ride a horse, and the other two servants below the corridor. Although he felt that he didn't care about being embarrassed, if he couldn't get on after trying for seventeen or eighteen times...

he quietly asked Gu Lin: "This stirrup..."

Gu Lin looked at him, with a small arc at the corner of his mouth, and patted the handrail in front of the saddle: "Hold here."

Lin Zhen immediately did as he was told and grabbed there.

Then Gu Lin slightly bent his knees: "Step on here to get on."

The place he pointed to was exactly his leg. Because of his slightly bent knees, it was just the height that Lin Zhen could step on.

Lin Zhen looked at the servants watching the excitement in the yard and whispered: "You don't need to be so dignified as an adult."

Gu Lin looked at him, and taking advantage of the close posture of the two, he slightly lifted Lin Zhen's belt in a place where no one could see. Lin Zhen's body suddenly became so light that he seemed to fly. His feet stepped on his legs subconsciously, and in the blink of an eye, he sat high on the saddle.

This was Lin Zhen's second time riding a horse. The first time was on the way back to Anyuan Town. He was held in Gu Lin's arms. If Gu Lin hadn't been behind him, the horse would have thrown him off countless times.

So he was still not very skilled after getting on the horse this time. He could clearly feel the horse's muscles under his buttocks tense, as if waiting to throw him off at any time.

"I'm here." Gu Lin said, holding the reins.

Lin Zhen slowly relaxed, and as he said last time, he slowly softened his waist and followed the rhythm of the horse's forward movement.

Lin Zhen felt that the horse's body was not so tense, and its smooth mane swayed like silk. Under Gu Lin's lead, it walked around the yard two or three times.

Riding an animal that he was completely unfamiliar with, Lin Zhen always had the illusion that the horse would suddenly go crazy and make him fall off.

But after two or three laps, the horse was obedient, and its two long ears even stood up and softened in an interesting way, which gradually made him feel relieved.

After walking around the yard a few more times, Lin Zhen said to Gu Lin, "Let's try outside the city."

It was already completely dark, but there were thousands of stars scattered across the sky, so bright that they could clearly see each other's shadows. The

area outside the Lizhou Prefecture was still so flat, and there was no need to worry about encountering obstacles.

Gu Lin stepped on the stirrups, turned over, drove the horse to his side, and walked out of the city with him.

The soldiers guarding the city gate saw Gu Lin and bowed hurriedly.

There was no curfew in the Lizhou Prefecture, but the city gate would be closed in a while. Gu Lin made it clear to the soldiers guarding the gate that he would be back before the city gate was closed, slightly tightened the reins, and let the horse slowly walk out of the city.

Even in June, it was still a little cold at night. Lin Zhen looked up at the wilderness without any shelter, and put his hand holding the reins on the horse's back.

Chapter 262

Riding a horse in a narrow yard is completely different from riding a horse in a spacious open space. At first, Lin Zhen could only let the horse walk slowly. After becoming more proficient, he tightened the reins as Gu Lin said, "Go."

In the bright moonlight, one could see that the horse's red fur was indeed as gentle as Gu Lin said, carrying Lin Zhen to a steady trot.

The wind blew on his face and blew up his robe. Lin Zhen found the fun of riding a horse.

"Go." The horse's hooves knocked on the grassy land, making a dull sound. Lin Zhen was still not very proficient in controlling the reins and ran away in the open space.

Gu Lin rode to catch up.

Lin Zhen, who had just learned to ride a horse, rode in the open space for a long time before he finished and went back to the government office with Gu Lin.

The next day, Pin Zhen handed the matter of arranging the shop to Niu Da and explained his requirements to him clearly, from the small things such as the ground must be flat to the big things such as the counters and cabinets, as well as the main body of the sofa and the custom-made desks.

Lin Zhen drew all the drawings and found a good carpenter to make them.

On the third day, early in the morning, all the officials in the yamen came. Gu Lin, who was in the first place, wore a scarlet official robe. Guan Peng, Gao Tong, and Jiang Jing, who stood behind him, wore green official robes. The rest were low-ranking officials and yamen runners.

This time, almost all the people in the yamen went to check on the farm work. Only a few people were left to guard against any emergency in the prefecture yamen.

Lin Zhen, a non-staff member, did not mix with the officials. He consciously pulled his horse to the group of low-ranking officials and patted the neck of the horse he had ridden for two days: "Little guy, it depends on you for the next two days." Relying on

the docileness of the horse, Lin Zhen pulled the front of the saddle with one hand, stepped on the stirrups, and rode up with his waist and legs at the same time.

The horse was still a little tall for his height, and it was a little difficult to lift his legs to get on.

But after riding on the horse's back, the view was suddenly widened. He could see Gu Lin and others at the front, and the yamen runners at the back of the team.

Looking at the expressions on the faces of these officials, clerks, and yamen runners who were usually called adults and masters by the people, Lin Zhen felt that this activity of checking farming could be carried out every year.

If you want to get your hands on the soil, it is easy to think too highly of yourself and forget where the food in your hand comes from.

Majiatun is a large village only seven or eight miles away from the state capital. There are more than 120 households in the village, with a population of over 1,000.

There are many people and strong laborers. Every household has opened up seven or eight acres of wasteland, or more than ten acres.

At the beginning, although everyone followed the work with high morale, they were still a little unsure in their hearts. They just thought that the state government would give them grain seeds and curved plows on credit and teach them methods, so they still wanted to give it a try.

Nowadays, every family has to tighten their belts to make a living. Not to mention that they can collect dozens of kilograms of grain, even if they only collect the original output, they can relax a little.

No tax was levied on the first three years of the reclaimed wasteland. In the past, when everyone had free time, they would dig the wasteland. However, the soil in Lizhou was not much softer than stone, and they could not reclaim much wasteland even with great effort.

It was not like now, with the curved plow, although it was still tiring, it was much easier than before.

"Uncle Ma, you are sitting on the edge of the field looking at the seedlings again!"

The old man sitting on the ridge had a smile on his face with ravines and gullies: "Look at how well the seedlings are growing, they grow in the wind!"

The man who was speaking had just gone to the field to weed. As soon as the manure water went down, not only the crops grew well, but also the pig grass and weeds grew well. If they were not weeded as soon as possible, the crop seedlings would be covered to death.

He couldn't bear to part with such good seedlings.

The man who was talking to Uncle Ma put down his hoe and sat next to him: "Uncle, your family has ten acres of wasteland this year, right? How about the crops in other places? Are they growing well?"

"Well!" Uncle Ma's eyes lit up when he talked about crops, "They are all the same as the ones in this field, tender and strong, and they have good growth!"

"We have a good official. We don't have to pay taxes on these ten acres of wasteland for three years. We only have to pay back the grain seeds and the money for the curved plow that the state government gave us on credit. We will have a good year."

"Who says it's not true? The crops in my family are also growing well, just like yours." In such good weather, the villagers were busy weeding the weeds in the fields. After two or three days of sun exposure, they all died, and the remaining seedlings grew well.

The two chatted here with smiles on their faces, and the neighbors who passed by also came to sit down, and soon more than ten people gathered here.

Suddenly, Uncle Ma, who was telling everyone about the embarrassing incident that happened to him when he used a curved plow for the first time, saw a shadow appear at the entrance of the village. He patted the person next to him and said, "Hey, look, is that a person or something else? My eyes are blurry, it just looks like a pitch-black thing."

The people who were chatting animatedly nearby looked in the direction he said, and when they saw who looked like the people walking towards their village, they immediately stood up from the ridge and said, "Those look like people from the provincial government office?" "What

do you mean, they look like people from the provincial government office. Leading the way is Lord Gu who spoke in front of us!"

"Hurry, hurry, go call the village chief and others, Lord Gu and the people from the government office are here!"

Uncle Ma looked at the neighbors who ran to call for help, and after thinking about it, he simply ran to the village grain drying field and rang the bronze bell that should not be rung unless it was a big deal.

"Ding——"

"Ding——"

"Ding——"

At this moment, the strong laborers in the village came back from tending the crops in the fields. When they finished their meals and were about to sit down and continue working, they heard the sound of the bronze bell that had not been rung for a long time, and almost all of them went out to see it.

Then they called their families to rush to the field.

When the men, women, old and young, who thought something had happened, rushed to the field, Gu Lin, who was with a group of officials and yamen runners, just entered the village.

The village head, who had been to the state government office and listened to him talk about farming, and Uncle Ma San and a few others walked to the front, "Sir, the prefect

." The men, women, old and young behind them realized that the one who came was actually a high-ranking official from the government office, and a good official who let them farm so much land, and they knelt down to salute.

"Get up, no need to be polite," Gu Lin turned over and got off the horse, looking at the villagers of Majiatun gathered here, "This official is here to personally check the situation of farming this year with the people in the government office."

He got off the horse, and the officials and friends Gao Tong naturally couldn't ride their horses safely, so they all got off the horses.

Facing these officials, the villagers of Majiatun were all afraid.

However, people who had been to the prefectural government had told them many times how great Mr. Gu was. The officials in the prefecture were very kind. They not only gave them grain and plows on credit, taught them how to farm, but also worried about their thirst and brought them water to drink, and let them stay in the inn at night.

So although they were a little nervous, the villagers remained calm.

Gu Lin glanced at the villagers who could hardly fit in the field, and said to the village chief and several elderly people, "Just leave a few people who are familiar with the farming conditions of each household here, and the rest can go home and do their own things."

The village chief and several older people nodded repeatedly, "Yes."

They quickly instructed the people closest to them, "Go back, big guys, there's no place for adults to stand if they're crowded here."

"Remember to tell those who have dogs at home to tie them up. If they disturb the adults, it will be a big deal."

"Yes, yes, Uncle Village Chief, we'll tell everyone right away."

There were more than a thousand people in the village, and only the people in the front could hear what Gu Lin said, while the people at the back and those scattered nearby were confused.

After being informed by the villagers, a woman reacted and whispered to her husband: "I heard from my third uncle that our prefect is young, but I didn't expect him to be a young man. He looks young, younger than our children."

"The man behind is your wife, right? Did you see him? He is so handsome. There is no such good-looking man in the whole town."

"Only such a man is worthy of you. When you come, our life will be better." As she said this, the woman stood on tiptoe and looked at Gu Lin and his group.

Others had similar thoughts as her. They agreed to leave, but their steps were much slower, just to see Gu Lin and his group.

The old village chief said to Gu Lin: "My lord, why don't you go to my home? We will tell you in detail how much grain we have planted and how much wasteland we have opened in the village."

"No need," Gu Lin looked at the land next to the field, "You guys take us to the field."

"?" Go to the field.

The old village chief and several other villagers looked at the luxurious clothes on Gu Lin and the others, and did not dare to raise any objections. They led Gu Lin and the others to the fields.

The fields close to the village were all old fields passed down from parents and elders. Crops had been planted there for many years, and the ridges and ridges had formed a scale. In the fields next to each other, the rice seedlings were as high as a finger bone, and there were newly hoed wild grass and pig grass next to them.

Lin Zhen, who was mixed in with a group of petty officials, had not stepped into the fields for almost a year or two. When he saw these lush rice seedlings, he seemed to be able to see the scene of the autumn harvest.

The petty official next to him said, "Why did these farmers hoed the seedlings? Isn't it a pity?"

Several others echoed.

Lin Zhen looked at the seedlings he was pointing at with regret, and looked at the clerk who was speaking: "You are from a wealthy family, have you never worked in the fields?"

The clerks who knew he was Uncle Gu Lin heard him speak and bowed and said, "Mr. Lin."

"It's true that I have never worked in the fields, but those seedlings are growing well, why don't you keep them?"

"How can we waste the grain seeds distributed by our government like this."

Lin Zhen looked at his face full of regret, bent down to pick up the "seedlings" that were hoed away, and said, "This one is pig grass, it has very strong vitality, it will sprout very quickly if the roots are not cut off, it grows faster than the seedlings, it can cover the seedlings tightly in ten days or half a month."

"Just like ticks on cattle and horses, they suck the blood of cattle and horses to fatten themselves, which greatly affects the harvest."

"This one is the seedling," Lin Zhen picked up another seedling that looked a bit like weeds, "but they were specially pulled out by farmers. These seedlings look weak at a glance, and the remaining seedlings will grow well after they are pulled out."

Chapter 263

When the clerk said that the farmers were wasting grain, the old village chief and Uncle Ma, who led the way for Gu Lin and the others, also heard it. They were so anxious that they were afraid that the adults would blame them.

They looked at Lin Zhen, who explained to them and taught them how to compost manure, and were grateful.

The clerk didn't expect that what he said was wrong. His face was a little red. He slowed down and fell to the end, praying that the adults in front would not remember his face.

Lizhou is flat, with few small hills and small mountains. The reclaimed wasteland is all in flat places, and it seems that there is no end at a glance.

Uncle Ma, who was assigned to them and pointed out to them whose land these were and what they planted, had seen Lin Zhen and said without much nervousness: "Mr. Lin, look, that piece of land is the wasteland that my family has just opened up. Sorghum, buckwheat, and two plots of soybeans are planted."

Uncle Ma was still concerned about the clerk next to him at first, but soon he was so happy about the extra acres of land that he didn't care about these things. He pointed to the continuous acres of land and talked to Lin Zhen.

Lin Zhen looked at the land that had just been weeded and the pig grass and weeds were still a little fresh: "Have you watered it with manure?"

"No, we'll water it after weeding. Mr. Lin, you told us that it's best to water it with manure in the morning or late at night. The sun is too strong at noon and it will burn the seedlings. So my family plans to carry manure to water it early tomorrow morning."

"Well," Lin Zhen nodded, looking at the well-growing seedlings, "after watering it with manure, wait until the seedlings grow to as high as the knees and then water them again when they grow to as high as the shoulders. Although it will be a little tiring, the seedlings will definitely grow well and the ears of grain will be dense."

Uncle Ma thought that Mr. Lin was a really likable man. He was so good-looking, but he was very knowledgeable when it came to farm work, and he was always right.

He grinned and said, "Farmers are not afraid of hard work. As long as they can get two more buckets of grain and have one more bowl of rice, they will be satisfied!"

"Then does what we said before still count? Eighty kilograms of grain in exchange for the output of one acre of your land?"

"Hahahaha, no exchange, no exchange. From now on, Lord Gu and Mr. Lin, if you tell us to go east, we will never go west. If you tell us to chase a dog, we will definitely not chase a chicken. Follow Lord Gu and you will have food to eat!"

That day, they were worried that the method proposed by the provincial government and Lin Zhen would be useless. In order to reassure them, Lin Zhen took the initiative to propose that if the grain yield per acre this year was less than 80 kilograms, he would pay for it out of his own pocket. But when he looked at the current momentum of the seedlings, 80 kilograms was definitely enough, as for how much more it would exceed, he didn't know.

Lin Zhen was amused by his pile of chickens and dogs. This uncle was about the same age as Lin's father and father. Seeing him reminded Lin Zhen of his father and father, and he couldn't help but chat with him: "Uncle, how many acres of wasteland did your family open up this year?" Uncle

Ma San said: "Ten acres of land. The curved plow that the adults asked people to make is really easy to use. One person pulls it in the front and another person supports it in the back, and the land can be turned over."

"It's much faster than digging with a hoe!" He gestured as he spoke, demonstrating to Lin Zhen how to use the curved plow.

Lin Zhen smiled and said: "It's still a bit slow to plow the land with human power. If there are livestock at home, the plow can be put on the livestock, and it will be faster. One person can turn over several acres of land a day."

Uncle Ma San shook his head and waved his hands: "Mr. Lin, we already think it's very good, but we dare not think about raising livestock. That's something only people with a rich family can think of."

"Life is lived day by day. I dare not think about it now, but I will dare to think about it in the future." Lin Zhen said.

"Oh," Uncle Ma's eyes sparkled when he thought about his family being able to buy one or two animals in the future. He said, "This year, we will cultivate some wasteland while tending the crops, and plant more next year."

They chatted as they walked. Gu Lin, Guan Peng, Gao Tong, Jiang Jing and other officials in front of them were also listening to the old village chief and others talking about this year's farming.

After a while, when they walked a mile or two, several aunts and uncles in their fifties led a dozen women carrying water jars and walked towards them: "My wife, we are here to give you some water. It's hot in this weather, and you can't stay up without water."

The old village chief walking beside Gu Lin quickly bent down and said to Gu Lin, "My lord, this is my wife, and these people are all from our Majiatun."

Gu Lin's eyes passed through the crowd and fell on Lin Zhen, who was chatting with the villagers, his face was a little red from the sun, and there was a thin sweat on his forehead.

He nodded, "Rest here for a while."

The officials and clerks in the prefecture government office had no worries about food and drink. They usually just stayed in the government office. Although they had some martial arts skills, they were just a bit useless after not using them for a long time. They were a little exhausted when he suddenly pulled them out to walk a few miles.

When they heard that they could rest, they didn't care about the dirt or the dirt. They sat down on the stone ridge next to the field.

The women and husbands led by the wife of the village head hurriedly took out the bowls in the backpacks and poured water for them.

"Thank you." Lin Zhen also got a bowl of water. His throat was so dry that it was almost smoking. He took a sip of the bowl, but he felt something was wrong. What was that smell?

Looking at the water in the bowl, Lin Zhen lowered his head and smelled it carefully.

A light flashed in his mind, and he asked the husband who brought him water: "Uncle, where did you get this water? Is this the only water source nearby?"

The husband he called uncle said: "We got it from the Qingquan Cave here. The water there is cold and clear. We were afraid that it would get hot after bringing it from home, so we went there specially to get it."

"Is there anything wrong with this water?" the husband asked with a worried look.

Lin Zhen stood up, drank the water and said: "Nothing, I just want to trouble you to take me to see the Qingquan Cave."

After drinking the water, Gu Lin walked towards him: "Uncle Lin, is there anything unusual?"

"Not sure yet, I have to see it with my own eyes. If it is what I think, it will be a treasure for us." Lin Zhen couldn't wait, and called the husband who brought him water to leave.

Gu Lin said: "Take two yamen runners with you, and be careful."

"Okay." Lin Zhen looked at the two yamen runners and strode in the direction led by the husband.

Qingquan Cave was not far from them. Fulang still didn't know why Lin Zhen was so interested in a cave, so he asked, "Mr. Lin, is there something bad in the water?"

"It's really not good for the human body. Long-term consumption of such water will turn people's teeth yellow," Lin Zhen glanced at Fulang's teeth, "but you probably don't drink the water here often, so it won't have much impact."

"Yes, Qingquan Cave is a little far from our village. There is also a big well in our village, so except for the busy farming season when people come here to drink water, not many people come here during the free time." "The

Qingquan Cave is in front." Fulang pointed to the front.

Lin Zhen looked in the direction of his finger, and saw that the front was so flat that there was not even a mound of earth, and it didn't look like there was a cave.

However, when he and Fulang approached, they saw that the so-called Qingquan Cave was actually a sunken hole with a diameter of about 20 meters wide and more than 10 meters deep. At their feet was a winding path that the villagers often walked on.

The husband said, "This is the Qingquan Cave. We just got water from there."

Lin Zhen glanced at the cave, which was exposed because of the long-term rain. The stone inside was exposed and it seemed not easy to collapse. "Let's go down and take a look."

Once we reached the bottom of the cave, the temperature suddenly dropped a lot. The slightly damp sand and soil were spread on the bottom of the cave, which was very comfortable to step on.

Lin Zhen followed the husband to the entrance of the cave where the water was accumulated. His fingers touched the slightly yellow color on the stone wall. Suddenly, he bent down and picked up a thumb-sized black stone from the water droplets.

Sure enough, this thing is rich.

Looking at the black stone in his hand, the husband who brought him here said, "This stone is useless. It will break if you hit it."

Lin Zhen smiled, shook off the water on the stone, and put it in his purse: "This thing is good."

"Uncle, tell me, are there many black stones washed out of this cave during the flood season?"

Seeing that he treated a black stone as a treasure, the husband was puzzled and said, "Not many." Hearing this,

Lin Zhen looked into the dark cave entrance. It is estimated that these broken coal pieces were washed here by the water of the underground river. If he is lucky, it means that the coal mine is not far from Majiatun. If he is unlucky, it is like looking for a needle in a haystack.

But as long as there is a coal mine, there is a little hope.

Lin Zhen stood up and shook off the water on his hands. "Let's go back."

When they went back, the women and husbands were taking bowls and water pitchers back. Gu Lin walked up to Lin Zhen.

Lin Zhen handed him the thumb-sized piece of coal he picked up.

Gu Lin took the small black stone. From the color and hardness, he could not tell what it was used for: "Uncle Lin, what is this?"

"This thing is called coal. It is a fuel. In winter, knock a few pieces into the furnace and it will not go out until the next morning."

"And the temperature is more stable and higher than firewood. The fire it burns can smelt iron faster and better."

Whether it is people's livelihood or iron smelting, coal has a great role. Gu Lin is very smart. He realized the great role that this small black thing can bring after hearing what Lin Zhen said.

Lin Zhen took the coal back and said, "It's a pity that the origin of this coal is not clear. After you go back, you can send people to ask around. If you can't find it, it's better. If not, you can only put it aside for the time being."

"Well, I will give the order after I go back."

This time to check the farming, first, check whether the number of acres of land reported by each village is consistent, whether there is any false reporting, and whether there is any situation of defrauding the state government of grain seeds. Second, see how the people use the curved plow and manure water, so as to prepare for next year's farming, and make adjustments as soon as possible where adjustments are needed.

However, the situation after checking was all good. The people who received such a great benefit from the state government were very grateful to them, so they dared not deceive them. The crops they planted also grew well.

The fields of more than a hundred households added up to a lot, so they naturally would not walk through all of them. After looking at more than ten acres of land, they made a note in the book and planned to go to the next village.

The old village chief and Uncle Ma San took Gu Linlinzhen and others to the field dam and said, "Sir, we have asked the family to prepare some simple tea and food, so eat before leaving."

Chapter 263

When the clerk said that the farmers were wasting grain, the old village chief and Uncle Ma, who led the way for Gu Lin and the others, also heard it. They were so anxious that they were afraid that the adults would blame them.

They looked at Lin Zhen, who explained to them and taught them how to compost manure, and were grateful.

The clerk didn't expect that what he said was wrong. His face was a little red. He slowed down and fell to the end, praying that the adults in front would not remember his face.

Lizhou is flat, with few small hills and small mountains. The reclaimed wasteland is all in flat places, and it seems that there is no end at a glance.

Uncle Ma, who was assigned to them and pointed out to them whose land these were and what they planted, had seen Lin Zhen and said without much nervousness: "Mr. Lin, look, that piece of land is the wasteland that my family has just opened up. Sorghum, buckwheat, and two plots of soybeans are planted."

Uncle Ma was still concerned about the clerk next to him at first, but soon he was so happy about the extra acres of land that he didn't care about these things. He pointed to the continuous acres of land and talked to Lin Zhen.

Lin Zhen looked at the land that had just been weeded and the pig grass and weeds were still a little fresh: "Have you watered it with manure?"

"No, we'll water it after weeding. Mr. Lin, you told us that it's best to water it with manure in the morning or late at night. The sun is too strong at noon and it will burn the seedlings. So my family plans to carry manure to water it early tomorrow morning."

"Well," Lin Zhen nodded, looking at the well-growing seedlings, "after watering it with manure, wait until the seedlings grow to as high as the knees and then water them again when they grow to as high as the shoulders. Although it will be a little tiring, the seedlings will definitely grow well and the ears of grain will be dense."

Uncle Ma thought that Mr. Lin was a really likable man. He was so good-looking, but he was very knowledgeable when it came to farm work, and he was always right.

He grinned and said, "Farmers are not afraid of hard work. As long as they can get two more buckets of grain and have one more bowl of rice, they will be satisfied!"

"Then does what we said before still count? Eighty kilograms of grain in exchange for the output of one acre of your land?"

"Hahahaha, no exchange, no exchange. From now on, Lord Gu and Mr. Lin, if you tell us to go east, we will never go west. If you tell us to chase a dog, we will definitely not chase a chicken. Follow Lord Gu and you will have food to eat!"

That day, they were worried that the method proposed by the provincial government and Lin Zhen would be useless. In order to reassure them, Lin Zhen took the initiative to propose that if the grain yield per acre this year was less than 80 kilograms, he would pay for it out of his own pocket. But when he looked at the current momentum of the seedlings, 80 kilograms was definitely enough, as for how much more it would exceed, he didn't know.

Lin Zhen was amused by his pile of chickens and dogs. This uncle was about the same age as Lin's father and father. Seeing him reminded Lin Zhen of his father and father, and he couldn't help but chat with him: "Uncle, how many acres of wasteland did your family open up this year?" Uncle

Ma San said: "Ten acres of land. The curved plow that the adults asked people to make is really easy to use. One person pulls it in the front and another person supports it in the back, and the land can be turned over."

"It's much faster than digging with a hoe!" He gestured as he spoke, demonstrating to Lin Zhen how to use the curved plow.

Lin Zhen smiled and said: "It's still a bit slow to plow the land with human power. If there are livestock at home, the plow can be put on the livestock, and it will be faster. One person can turn over several acres of land a day."

Uncle Ma San shook his head and waved his hands: "Mr. Lin, we already think it's very good, but we dare not think about raising livestock. That's something only people with a rich family can think of."

"Life is lived day by day. I dare not think about it now, but I will dare to think about it in the future." Lin Zhen said.

"Oh," Uncle Ma's eyes sparkled when he thought about his family being able to buy one or two animals in the future. He said, "This year, we will cultivate some wasteland while tending the crops, and plant more next year."

They chatted as they walked. Gu Lin, Guan Peng, Gao Tong, Jiang Jing and other officials in front of them were also listening to the old village chief and others talking about this year's farming.

After a while, when they walked a mile or two, several aunts and uncles in their fifties led a dozen women carrying water jars and walked towards them: "My wife, we are here to give you some water. It's hot in this weather, and you can't stay up without water."

The old village chief walking beside Gu Lin quickly bent down and said to Gu Lin, "My lord, this is my wife, and these people are all from our Majiatun."

Gu Lin's eyes passed through the crowd and fell on Lin Zhen, who was chatting with the villagers, his face was a little red from the sun, and there was a thin sweat on his forehead.

He nodded, "Rest here for a while."

The officials and clerks in the prefecture government office had no worries about food and drink. They usually just stayed in the government office. Although they had some martial arts skills, they were just a bit useless after not using them for a long time. They were a little exhausted when he suddenly pulled them out to walk a few miles.

When they heard that they could rest, they didn't care about the dirt or the dirt. They sat down on the stone ridge next to the field.

The women and husbands led by the wife of the village head hurriedly took out the bowls in the backpacks and poured water for them.

"Thank you." Lin Zhen also got a bowl of water. His throat was so dry that it was almost smoking. He took a sip of the bowl, but he felt something was wrong. What was that smell?

Looking at the water in the bowl, Lin Zhen lowered his head and smelled it carefully.

A light flashed in his mind, and he asked the husband who brought him water: "Uncle, where did you get this water? Is this the only water source nearby?"

The husband he called uncle said: "We got it from the Qingquan Cave here. The water there is cold and clear. We were afraid that it would get hot after bringing it from home, so we went there specially to get it."

"Is there anything wrong with this water?" the husband asked with a worried look.

Lin Zhen stood up, drank the water and said: "Nothing, I just want to trouble you to take me to see the Qingquan Cave."

After drinking the water, Gu Lin walked towards him: "Uncle Lin, is there anything unusual?"

"Not sure yet, I have to see it with my own eyes. If it is what I think, it will be a treasure for us." Lin Zhen couldn't wait, and called the husband who brought him water to leave.

Gu Lin said: "Take two yamen runners with you, and be careful."

"Okay." Lin Zhen looked at the two yamen runners and strode in the direction led by the husband.

Qingquan Cave was not far from them. Fulang still didn't know why Lin Zhen was so interested in a cave, so he asked, "Mr. Lin, is there something bad in the water?"

"It's really not good for the human body. Long-term consumption of such water will turn people's teeth yellow," Lin Zhen glanced at Fulang's teeth, "but you probably don't drink the water here often, so it won't have much impact."

"Yes, Qingquan Cave is a little far from our village. There is also a big well in our village, so except for the busy farming season when people come here to drink water, not many people come here during the free time." "The

Qingquan Cave is in front." Fulang pointed to the front.

Lin Zhen looked in the direction of his finger, and saw that the front was so flat that there was not even a mound of earth, and it didn't look like there was a cave.

However, when he and Fulang approached, they saw that the so-called Qingquan Cave was actually a sunken hole with a diameter of about 20 meters wide and more than 10 meters deep. At their feet was a winding path that the villagers often walked on.

The husband said, "This is the Qingquan Cave. We just got water from there."

Lin Zhen glanced at the cave, which was exposed because of the long-term rain. The stone inside was exposed and it seemed not easy to collapse. "Let's go down and take a look."

Once we reached the bottom of the cave, the temperature suddenly dropped a lot. The slightly damp sand and soil were spread on the bottom of the cave, which was very comfortable to step on.

Lin Zhen followed the husband to the entrance of the cave where the water was accumulated. His fingers touched the slightly yellow color on the stone wall. Suddenly, he bent down and picked up a thumb-sized black stone from the water droplets.

Sure enough, this thing is rich.

Looking at the black stone in his hand, the husband who brought him here said, "This stone is useless. It will break if you hit it."

Lin Zhen smiled, shook off the water on the stone, and put it in his purse: "This thing is good."

"Uncle, tell me, are there many black stones washed out of this cave during the flood season?"

Seeing that he treated a black stone as a treasure, the husband was puzzled and said, "Not many." Hearing this,

Lin Zhen looked into the dark cave entrance. It is estimated that these broken coal pieces were washed here by the water of the underground river. If he is lucky, it means that the coal mine is not far from Majiatun. If he is unlucky, it is like looking for a needle in a haystack.

But as long as there is a coal mine, there is a little hope.

Lin Zhen stood up and shook off the water on his hands. "Let's go back."

When they went back, the women and husbands were taking bowls and water pitchers back. Gu Lin walked up to Lin Zhen.

Lin Zhen handed him the thumb-sized piece of coal he picked up.

Gu Lin took the small black stone. From the color and hardness, he could not tell what it was used for: "Uncle Lin, what is this?"

"This thing is called coal. It is a fuel. In winter, knock a few pieces into the furnace and it will not go out until the next morning."

"And the temperature is more stable and higher than firewood. The fire it burns can smelt iron faster and better."

Whether it is people's livelihood or iron smelting, coal has a great role. Gu Lin is very smart. He realized the great role that this small black thing can bring after hearing what Lin Zhen said.

Lin Zhen took the coal back and said, "It's a pity that the origin of this coal is not clear. After you go back, you can send people to ask around. If you can't find it, it's better. If not, you can only put it aside for the time being."

"Well, I will give the order after I go back."

This time to check the farming, first, check whether the number of acres of land reported by each village is consistent, whether there is any false reporting, and whether there is any situation of defrauding the state government of grain seeds. Second, see how the people use the curved plow and manure water, so as to prepare for next year's farming, and make adjustments as soon as possible where adjustments are needed.

However, the situation after checking was all good. The people who received such a great benefit from the state government were very grateful to them, so they dared not deceive them. The crops they planted also grew well.

The fields of more than a hundred households added up to a lot, so they naturally would not walk through all of them. After looking at more than ten acres of land, they made a note in the book and planned to go to the next village.

The old village chief and Uncle Ma San took Gu Linlinzhen and others to the field dam and said, "Sir, we have asked the family to prepare some simple tea and food, so eat before leaving."

Chapter 264

Guan Peng and Gao Tong knew that their master was a taciturn person, so they quickly stood up and said, "No, old man, we still have to go to other villages. If we are late, we can't go to so many places."

"Besides, look at how many people we have, how much food we need."

Gao Tong was not a clerk in the prefecture government. His family was poor before, and he knew best how poor the farmers were during the lean season. It was possible that a handful of sorghum rice and a large pot of wild vegetables were enough for a family to eat for a day.

The old village chief was anxious and said, "Don't worry, adults. I don't have Majiatun. Although it is not as good as the prefecture, everyone can still come up with this little bit of food."

"Everything is cooked, the dishes and chopsticks are ready, adults, go and have this meal."

Other brave villagers in the field also invited them enthusiastically.

Judge Jiang Jing looked at the scene in front of him and couldn't help but sigh in his heart. It's not that the former magistrate Xu didn't work for the people, but his diamond drill in his hand couldn't handle this pile of porcelain work. He was demoted to a county magistrate after eight years in office.

The new magistrate has been here for more than a month, but he has won the hearts of these people. Even the officials and clerks in the yamen have also enjoyed the feeling of being loved by the people.

In the past, all these people ran away when they saw them, and didn't dare to get close to them.

One after another, the people persuaded, many of them were older than Lin Zhen's father and father. Guan Peng Gao Tong, who refused once, twice, and three times, couldn't refuse anymore, so he turned around and asked Gu Lin what he thought.

Gu Lin looked at the villagers of Majiatun gathered by the field, and finally nodded: "Tell the people below not to disturb the villagers."

"Yes." Guan Peng Gao Tong took the order and told the clerks and yamen runners below to be more careful and not bring their tempers at home here.

Seeing that Gu Lin and the others finally gave in, the old village chief and Uncle Ma San and the others smiled with their wrinkled faces. They waved their hands to let the people on the field make way: "Go and tell your uncle's wife that the adults have agreed to stay for dinner. Hurry up and add more food!"

"Yes, Uncle!" Several young people who ran fast ran to the other end of the road.

Gu Lin led Guan Peng Gao Tong and Jiang Jing and the others to walk in the middle of the road left by the villagers. The villagers on both sides consciously kept a distance from them and quietly looked at them.

Lin Zhen, an extra-staff member, looked at the clerk who unconsciously straightened his back and had a serious face, and then looked at the yamen runners behind him who were carrying a wide knife, wearing a black robe with red edges, and walking in unison. A smile rose at the corner of his mouth.

Such a scene, how wonderful.

The villagers took them to the village chief's house where seven or eight tables were set up. The village chief's wife, who had just brought them water, saw them coming and wiped her hands on her apron nervously. She didn't dare to speak and stepped aside.

The old village chief greeted Gu Lin, Guan Peng, Gao Tong, and Jiang Jing and said, "My lords, please sit at the first table. The food is simple, so please just eat whatever you want."

The dishes on the seven or eight tables were the same, a big bowl of cured pork ribs stewed with dried mushrooms, four stir-fried dishes, and a cold dish of unknown origin.

The rice and buckwheat were mixed together, but the rice was the majority, and it was obvious that they had put a lot of thought into it.

I'm afraid they had to search several households to get this meal together.

Gu Lin looked at the food on the table and said, "It's a waste for the four of us to eat at one table, so call four more people over."

"This..." The old village chief originally thought that Gu Lin, Guan Peng, Gao Tong, and Jiang Jing were all high-ranking officials, so he specially arranged them to one table to avoid colliding with them.

Guan Peng said to Gao Tong, "Go over there and call two people over. By the way, call Boss Lin."

At this moment, Guan Peng was inspired. Thinking of the deep uncle-nephew relationship between Gu and Boss Lin, Gu must have been happy in his heart even though he didn't say it. Gao Tong

, the lowest-ranking official among the four, turned to the clerks and named three who were good at their work and outstanding. Then he said to Lin Zhen, "Boss Lin, the master wants you to come over to have dinner together."

Lin Zhen looked at Gu Lin and happened to meet Gu Lin's eyes. He stood up and agreed.

The three clerks who were called over were in a daze and didn't expect that they would have this day to have dinner with Master Gu and Guan Tongzhi. They quietly stretched their robes and their sore feet stopped hurting instantly.

Gao Tong led the four of them over. The three of them looked at Gu Lin's side at the first time, but no one dared to sit there.

Gao Tong, the good guy in the yamen, became the most sought-after. The clerk in the gray robe grabbed him affectionately and said, "Master Li Mu, I will sit with you. I hope you don't despise me for being rough."

The other two clerks who had the same idea as him were full of resentment and could only look at Guan Peng and Jiang Jing besides Gu Lin.

The petty official in beige robe was afraid of these people who were so friendly to each other on weekdays, but broke their legs at this moment, and had no brotherhood at all, so he walked up to Guan Peng with courage. Guan Peng,

with a purple face, was tall and looked quite serious, but compared with Judge Jiang Jing, he was easy to get along with.

The last petty official left could only sit down cautiously next to Judge Jiang Jing.

Jiang Jing drank the tea brought by the farmers, which was not even big leaf tea, and ignored the petty official sitting next to him.

Lin Zhen walked over and sat on the other half of the bench.

Many villagers who were watching the fun secretly looked at him, a husband, not only mixed with officials, but also sat at the same table with the adults for dinner, and their eyes widened.

At this moment, which woman and boy can sit at the same table with men for dinner, especially in such an important occasion, wouldn't it be embarrassing for the men?

The villagers who had been to the state government office whispered, "That's the boss Lin I told you about, Mr. Gu's uncle."

"That's Boss Lin, so young and doing business?"

"Uncle? I, I thought it was..." What it was, this person didn't dare to say, but many people present understood what she was going to say.

With such a good appearance, everyone thought it was Mr. Gu's husband.

People who had been to the state government office said, "How do we know what kind of business he is in, but Boss Lin is capable and open-minded. Even if he is a brother, he is still this."

The person who spoke gave a thumbs up.

The people sitting next to him because Lin Zhen was a husband didn't have much to say. They got Lin Zhen's favor and couldn't say anything about his right or wrong.

Lin Zhen didn't know that because of this sitting, there were many more words below. He held the bowl and ate his own food. The cook was willing to use oil and salt, and the fried dishes tasted good.

After finishing the meal, they were ready to set off. Lin Zhen, who finished eating first, got up first and went to the old village chief.

"Old village chief, today's meal is very well cooked and suits our appetite very well." He quietly took out a few pieces of silver from his pocket, about five or six taels, and stuffed them into the old village chief's hand.

The old village chief found out that he stuffed silver and quickly took his hand back.

But Lin Zhen was faster and held his hand tightly and said, "Your Lord Gu was also born in a farming family. It's not easy for every family in this season of lean harvest. We can't come here to eat and drink and ask you to tighten your belts to make a living."

"Boss Lin, this won't work. This is the kindness of our village. Lord Gu and you are busy with our farming. We are grateful in our hearts."

"Lord Gu and the others have accepted your kindness. When the autumn harvest comes and this year's new grain comes in, let alone one meal, we will treat you to three or five meals."

Lin Zhen stuffed the silver into his pocket and walked towards Gu Lin who was ready to leave.

The old village chief felt like a ball of cotton in his heart, sour, bitter, and warm.

Of course, they took out the best things they had. The cured pork ribs were brought by the daughter who got married last year. The rice was collected from each family, and the vegetables were found by emptying everyone's land.

But it is different after all to have someone remember the good things.

The woman who didn't dare to lean towards the old village chief just now saw him standing there in a daze, and didn't rush to see the adults off. She quickly came over and pushed his arm: "What's wrong with you? You can't even move your eyes."

The old village chief gave the silver to his wife: "This is given by Boss Lin. He is afraid that everyone will break the beams if they hold this banquet. You keep it and share it with the people who gave things in the evening."

The village chief's wife looked at the silver in her hand, and after realizing what her husband said, she looked at Gu Lin, Lin Zhen and others who were walking towards the field where the horses were tied.

"Master Gu, Boss Lin, see you later!"

"Masters, come to Majiatun often in the future!"

"Slow down, Master!"

Riding on a horse, Lin Zhen, who had mixed into the team of petty officials, waved at the villagers of Majiatun who were seeing them off on the roadside.

After the horse started running, the petty official in a beige robe who was eating at the same table with Gu Lin and others looked at Lin Zhen and said, "Boss Lin, just now you and the village chief..."

Lin Zhen held the reins, his body moving with the movement of the horse, looking at the road ahead: "It's not easy for farmers, and it's hard to collect that little food."

"The rice we just ate was new rice from last year and old rice from the year before. The varieties were different, and I don't know how many cabinets we collected it from."

"Leave them a few taels of silver, don't let them run out of food."

The petty officials didn't notice that the rice they ate was unusual, but they just felt that it wasn't as delicious as the rice at home. When they heard Lin Zhen say that the rice was of different years and varieties, and might have come from many households, they fell silent for a while.

Several people looked back at Majiatun, which was gradually disappearing from their sight, with different thoughts in their hearts.

Lizhou is a vast country with few people. It took an entire afternoon to reach another village from Majiatun Village. This village was not as big as Majiatun Village. The total population was only about 500 people. Some children had no clothes to wear and ran around naked.

Seeing Gu Lin and other people riding horses who were obviously different from them, the children ran home in fear. Soon, people came out of the low and dilapidated thatched house.

Chapter 265

"Sir..." The villagers, wearing clothes with patches on top of patches, whose original colors could hardly be seen, stood on the ground tremblingly.

Gao Tong, the leader who looked the most approachable, sat on his horse and asked the villagers: "Are you from Pingshan Village?"

The villagers nodded: "Yes, it is Pingshan Village, sir, has anyone in our village committed a crime?"

Gao Tong turned over and dismounted: "No, we are from the state government. This time we came to ask about the progress of your grain seeds. Are they growing well?" As soon

as he mentioned grain seeds and crops, the eyes of the villager from Pingshan Village lit up, and he bravely replied to him: "Sir, our rice seedlings are growing well, they are this tall."

He used his fingers to indicate a height of about two centimeters.

Gu Lin, Guan Peng, Jiang Jing, and the petty officials also dismounted and asked this villager to inform their village chief to take them to see the situation in the fields.

The villagers of Pingshan Village immediately went to call for help. Soon, a man in his fifties with mostly white hair ran over with the villagers. From a distance, he knelt on the ground and saluted Gu Lin and the others.

Lin Zhen had a good memory. When he saw the village chief, he remembered that when he was teaching people to make compost and manure outside the city, the village chief was very active and eager. No matter how many times he taught, he would squeeze into the crowd to watch and asked him several questions.

Compared to his appearance, his voice was much younger, and he sounded like he was in his early forties.

Lin Zhen looked at the village chief who didn't have a single brick house, and whose children ran around naked and half-dressed. He

silently hoped that the weather would be better this year, at least, not to let everyone's hard work go to waste.

...

It took a total of five days to finish everything in a hurry. This was only possible because Gu Lin ordered to speed up, and sometimes he had to travel at night. Otherwise, he would have to spend another three or four days on this matter.

As soon as he returned to the provincial capital, Lin Zhen went to see how the relocated shop was doing.

Changping Street was still the same as before. The shops were half dead and there were only a few pedestrians on the street, except for one shop he bought in the middle of Changping Street. Workers were carrying tools or materials in and out, busy as hell.

Lin Zhen saw Yan Canghai standing in front of his shop from a distance, walked over and said hello: "Brother Yan, are you out shopping?"

"I haven't received the goods yet, so I can only go shopping." Yan Canghai said with a smile.

Although he had told Gu Lin that the delivery time would be extended by six or seven days before he followed him to check on the farm work, Lin Zhen still touched his nose a little embarrassedly and said, "Three days. I guarantee that you, Brother Yan, will get the goods in three days. But didn't we say that we would come to see my new shop open? There are still several days left."

"Yes, didn't you say that there would be new goods when the new shop opens? I want to see what the goods are."

"I won't let Brother Yan down," Lin Zhen asked the men who were moving materials. "I'm Lin Zhen, the owner of this shop. Can I go in and take a look now?"

The man who was working with his bare chest saw him and nodded, "Sure."

So Lin Zhen invited Yan Canghai, "Brother Yan, come in and take a look?"

"Boss Lin, please go in first."

Lin Zhen and he walked in, only to see that the shop, which was originally divided into two rooms, was connected into one, and the main door was built into four doors. After walking in, there was a spacious storefront with newly rebuilt wide staircases on both sides leading to the second floor.

Some of the busy men were busy removing the old doors and windows and changing them into the larger styles on Lin Zhen's drawings, while others were installing half of the polished original color wooden boards on the wall.

These wooden boards were painted with clear paint, which not only allows people to see the original color of the wooden boards, but also prevents insects from eating them. The lower half will be left for pasting tiles.

Since the cabinets, counters, and ornaments have not been moved in, the inside looks empty and there is not much to see.

Suddenly, just when Lin Zhen took Yan Canghai to take a look on the second floor, Lu Lu ran over: "Boss, I just forgot to tell you something."

"What is it? Slow down, there are all wooden nails in here."

Lu Lu ran over breathlessly and handed a letter to him: "Someone sent a letter the day before yesterday, saying that a person named Lin Xiaoyao asked him to send it."

Lin Zhen's hand holding the envelope tightened, and he quickly tore open the envelope and pulled out the neatly folded letter inside.

"Third brother, are you doing well?

... It

has been more than a year since we parted. I wonder how Gu Lin is doing in the imperial examination, and whether you are doing business in Kyoto.

When I wrote this letter, I was in Yunzhou. There is little rain here all year round, but the fruits are as sweet as honey. I wanted to send you some, but I was afraid that the fruits would go bad as soon as they left Yunzhou, so I will just send you this letter.

...

Don't worry about me."

Lin Zhen read the letter over and over again, and looking at the last three words "Don't worry about me", the big stone in his heart finally fell.

He asked Lulu, "What did the person who delivered the letter yesterday say? Tell me exactly what he said."

Lulu looked at Lin Zhen's expression, and remembered that the letter was sent by a man named Lin Xiaoyao. She realized that this man named Lin Xiaoyao should be a relative of the boss, and she didn't dare to be perfunctory and said, "The day before yesterday, I was doing needlework in the corridor, and the gatekeeper came in and said that someone had sent you a letter. I didn't dare to delay and went out immediately."

"The person who delivered the letter was very young, about twenty years old, but his accent was obviously not from our Central Plains, and it was a bit strange. He said that he was delivering the letter to a traveling merchant named Lin Xiaoyao."

"He also said that it took him a lot of effort to find this place, and he was in a hurry to go back. He packed his bags and was about to leave this morning, but I found him and stopped him."

Lin Zhen folded the letter and put it in the envelope, and said sorry to Yan Canghai, "Brother Yan, someone from my family wrote a letter. I'll go see the person who delivered the letter. When my shop opens, I will definitely send someone to invite you."

"I understand how happy it is to receive a letter from a relative far away. Boss Lin, please go quickly. I'll look around here for a while and then go somewhere else."

"Okay." Lin Zhen received the letter from Lin Xiaoyao, smiling, and called Lulu back.

After arriving at the government office, he said to Lulu, "Go and call the messenger. I have something to ask him."

"Yes, I'll call him right away."

Lin Zhen put the letter on the table, looking at the four words "Third Brother's Letter" on it and the two words "Little Yao" below, he was indescribably happy.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps and looked up at the person brought by Lulu.

He saw that this young man was about 20 years old, with a deep face, a high nose bridge and big eyes. The most eye-catching thing was his eyes, which were red, unlike the black or lighter amber of Dayu people.

Lin Zhen thought silently in his heart, he was actually a mixed-race child.

He held the letter and asked the young man, "I am the recipient of this letter, Lin Zhen, Lin Xiaoyao's brother."

"My maid said that your boss sent you to deliver this letter?"

The mixed-race boy with a high nose bridge and big red eyes looked at Lin Zhen, who looked a bit like his boss, and nodded, "Yes, we were originally just sending a batch of goods to Yongzhou, but because we didn't get any news about you in Kyoto, we stayed in Kyoto for a long time. It took us a lot of effort to find out that you were here and made this trip."

"Boss?"

The young man said, "Boss Xiaoyao said Xiaoyao, you are Boss Xiaoyao's brother, so you are the big boss."

"..." Lin Zhen looked at the young man in front of him and felt that it seemed to be correct.

He asked the young man, "How is your Boss Xiaoyao now? Has he encountered any problems? Is the business going well?"

The young man frowned slightly and said, "When we came, there were two or three bastards who were looking for trouble, but Boss Xiaoyao was able to solve them. Our Boss Xiaoyao is fully responsible for the business, which is very good."

The young man kept calling Lin Xiaoyao Boss, which showed that he was very convinced of Lin Xiaoyao, and Lin Zhen felt more at ease.

In the past, Xiaoyao followed him, worked steadily and seriously, and could come up with some good ideas from time to time. Now he works alone and is really doing well.

Suddenly, the young man standing in front of him put the tightly wrapped thing in his hand in front of him: "This is a gift from our Boss Xiaoyao for you. I originally planned that if you don't come back, I would give the thing to the maid next to you and go back first."

Lin Zhen looked at the thing, untied the knotted black cloth, and revealed the square box inside.

When he opened the clasp of the box and saw what was inside, he was stunned.

Inside was a piece of mutton-fat jade with the stone shell removed. The quality was as good as the one Lin Zhen had seen in the Forbidden City in his previous life, but the size of this piece of jade was too outstanding. If it was moved, it would be a loss.

He closed the lid of the box and asked the young man, "What business is your boss Xiaoyao doing now?"

"Jade. Yunzhou is rich in this kind of jade. Boss Xiaoyao has a good eye and has obtained a lot of good goods several times."

"Do you know what this gift you gave is?" Lin Zhen asked.

The young man nodded, "Yes."

This piece of jade can be sold for at least ten thousand taels of silver if it is resold. Lin Xiaoyao gave him this piece of jade to deliver, and he delivered it.

It can be seen that this person is indeed Lin Xiaoyao's confidant.

Lin Zhen pushed aside the gift sent from thousands of miles away and said, "Stay here for another three days. I have a gift for you to take to your boss Xiaoyao."

The young man frowned, as if he wanted to leave immediately, but when he thought of Xiaoyao's words to him when he set out, he frowned and nodded.

"Lulu, take him down to rest, and then notify the powder shop to work overtime in the next three days to make a batch of goods. The wages of the workers at night will be increased by six cents a day."

Making jade powder is a manual job, and it is not heavy, so there is no need to worry about bumping into anything.

He added, "Also notify the No. 1 yard to send all the collected herbal grass to the government office."

Lin Xiaoyao gave him a gift, and he also gave Lin Xiaoyao one.

The three-piece set of jade powder flower dew lipstick, no girl or boy can resist its charm.

Chapter 266

Lulu went to Lin's Watercolor Powder Shop with the news and first said to Niu Dadao who now lives in Courtyard No. 2: "Brother Niu, the boss asked me to tell the workers that they will work overtime to make a batch of jade powder from today. The workers who work overtime at night will be paid an extra six cents a day."

"In addition, the Youcao collected in Courtyard No. 1 will be sent to the government office tonight."

All the goods of Lin's Watercolor Powder Shop were bought by Yan Canghai before. Seeing that the shop was about to open, they had to get some inventory, so the workers were not idle these days.

Niu Da heard the news brought by Lulu and immediately went to Courtyard No. 1.

When he went in, the workers were about to get off work and were washing the utensils to prevent the rice paste from becoming sour and smelly in the weather.

Niu Da stood in the middle of the yard, clapped his hands and asked them to gather together, saying: "Everyone put down the work in your hands, I have something to tell you."

The workers immediately stopped what they were doing, gathered a little and looked at him.

Niu Da said loudly, "Just now the boss asked someone to come over and tell them that he needs a larger batch of jade powder, so he asked them to work a few more hours at night."

"You will also get paid for the extra hours, six more coins per person per day."

"Those who don't want to work the night shift will not be forced."

The workers' daily wages are five coins, and if they work the night shift, they will get eleven coins!

Regardless of which group the workers are from, they all raised their hands enthusiastically: "Manager Niu, I want to work the night shift!"

"I'll do it too!"

Maizi and his brother, who had come together when they came here, heard that there would be an extra six coins for working the night shift, and they felt that they had been hit by a pie in the sky. Eleven coins a day, even if they only work for five or six days, they can still get dozens of coins more.

Maizi raised his hand high, "Me, I want to work the night shift!"

His brother beside him also raised his hand.

Niu Da looked at all the raised hands and said, "Okay, I understand what you mean. Boss Lin also asked Lulu to remind you that there are many girls and boys among you. It is not safe to walk home at night, so the workers who work the night shift will be sent home by horse carriages from Lin's Watercolor Factory."

Maizi was very surprised. His brother also worked here, and he could go home together after the night shift, so he was not very scared.

But many of the friends he met here were single, and they were a little scared to go back.

Niu Da said, "Those who work the night shift, come here and write down your names. The water-based powder factory will provide this afternoon meal."

"The night shift will start tonight. Those who need to go home to say hello should go home as soon as possible, and then come back to eat and start working."

There was another afternoon meal and six coins. After writing down their names, the people around Niu Da dispersed and almost ran home.

Maizi's brother was called Xiaoshu. He asked Maizi to stay in the water-based powder factory to eat, and he ran back to tell his father and father at home.

Father Meng had no work these days, so he went with Mr. Meng to dig up the herb. When he got home, he saw his eldest son standing outside the door with sweat all over his face. He thought the two brothers had done something wrong in the powder mill, and asked anxiously, "Why did you come back so soon today? Where's Maizi?"

Meng Xiaoshu said, "Maizi is in the powder mill. Father and father, our boss wants someone to work the night shift to provide this afternoon meal, and there will be an extra six cents. Maizi and I will not be back until the beginning of midnight tonight."

"Really?!" Mr. Meng was overjoyed. With both sons in the powder mill, he would get twelve cents more a day, which was more than if only one person worked there.

Meng Xiaoshu nodded, "Father and father, I'll go back to the powder mill first."

The workers recruited by the powder mill were all from the provincial capital, so it wouldn't take long for them to go home.

A boy who was not very white and was a bit tall said to his father: "Don't worry, father. Our boss and the manager have already thought of this. After work, they will specially use a carriage to send us back."

The husband, who was only in his thirties but looked more than fifty, saw that his brother looked much better than before and took his hand: "Your boss Lin is a good man, promising, and thoughtful. You must not be lazy when you work there, understand?"

The man next to him also said: "Such a good job is hard to find outside. Look at what we are doing now. We sweat all day and dry again, and the money we get is about the same as yours."

"I know, father and brother, don't worry."

Elsewhere, it was the same topic.

The girls, boys and men were busy coming back to eat and work. They ran when they went and came back, and started working immediately after eating.

Bags of white rice, purple rice, green-stemmed rice, and oriole rice were carried into the yard, and each group began their work in an orderly manner.

When night fell, several lanterns were lit in the yard.

The washed and selected yu grass that Lin Zhen wanted was also delivered to the government office by Zhou Zhengchu and others in a carriage.

Lin Zhen asked them to move all the yu grass to the room outside that was specially vacated for distilling flower dew for him, and then ordered the subordinates to get firewood, and after the fire was lit, add yu grass and water to the porcelain barrel, and then wrap the connection tightly with a wet towel.

As soon as the fire was lit, the water in the porcelain barrel began to boil in a short while, and the fragrance of yu grass floated out from the gap of the poorly sealed connection, and like last time, the whole government office was filled with fragrance.

When the water in the porcelain barrel was almost boiled, Lin Zhen stopped the fire in time, poured out the yu grass that was no longer useful, washed the porcelain barrel, and started the second distillation.

The other distillation equipment was also poured out of the boiled yellow yu grass and replaced with new ones.

Carts of herb were brought in, and the unusable yellowed grass was taken out. Correspondingly, the flower dew increased.

Five more barrels of flower dew were stored. Lin Zhen picked up the wet towel that Lulu had kept outside, wiped the sweat on his face and neck, and stuck his head out of the house: "Lulu."

"Boss." Lulu, who had been waiting outside and listening to his orders, came over.

Lin Zhen applied the wet towel that still had a little bit of coolness on his face and pointed to the large wooden barrels behind him: "Have Zhou Zhengchu and the others returned to the water powder mill?"

"No, they said there was nothing going on in the No. 1 and No. 2 courtyards, so they will just wait for your orders."

Lin Zhen said: "Go and ask them to take the flower dew to the No. 1 courtyard and store it first."

"It's getting hotter and hotter. The flower dew will taste bad after a long time."

Lin Zhen looked at the scorching sun outside the house and felt that he had underestimated the weather in Lizhou before.

A few days ago, it was still a bit cold in the morning and evening. Now the sun is so hot that even in the house, sweat drops down in drops.

Lin Zhen looked at Lu Lu's red face, and an idea flashed in his mind: "Tell them to come and buy some saltpeter on the street."

"Saltpeter?" Lu Lu didn't know what Lin Zhen bought that thing for, it was a medicine that could cure wind, cold, summer heat and dampness. Lu

Lu hurriedly asked Lin Zhen: "Boss, are you getting hot? Otherwise, I'll buy some ice, you can put it in the house, at least it will be more comfortable."

Buying saltpeter yourself is to make ice, Lin Zhen said sincerely, he said to Lu Lu: "I'm fine, you just need to do this, remember, buy as much saltpeter as you can."

"???" Buy as much as you can, Lu Lu suspected that she had heard it wrong.

But seeing that Lin Zhen didn't seem to be lying to her, she took the order and went down.

After a while, Zhou Zhengchu and others were called by her. Lin Zhen asked them to move a few buckets of flower dew out. "It's hot, the flower dew can't be stored. When you take it to the No. 1 courtyard, let them pack it up immediately. Don't delay."

"Then go back to the government office. I have something else to tell you."

"Yes." Zhou Zhengchu and others went into the house to move the flower dew. As soon as they stepped into the door of the distilled flower dew, they were frightened by the heat inside. When they thought of Lin Zhen soaking in it all the time in the past two days, they couldn't help but secretly smacked their lips.

Several large buckets of flower dew were all moved out and carried to the carriage. Lin Zhen looked at their backs as they left, wiped the sweat with a handkerchief, and went into the back room.

The water and the herb in the two distillation equipment were boiling, and drops of new flower dew dripped into the large porcelain bottle through the condenser. By tomorrow, there will be several more buckets of flower dew.

On the other side, Lu Lu followed his instructions and took Lu Xuan, who was responsible for purchasing things in the government office.

Lu Xuan often went out to buy things. When she heard Lu Lu say that she wanted to buy saltpeter, the more the better, she wondered what Boss Lin was going to do with so much saltpeter, but she didn't ask much. She took Lu Lu straight to a grocery store in the provincial capital.

"Shopkeeper, how much saltpeter do you have here?"

"Saltpeter?" The shopkeeper was familiar with Lu Xuan and had dealt with her many times. He said honestly, "About 300 kilograms. I'll pack 2 taels for Madam Lu?"

Lu Lu, who was standing next to Lu Xuan, said, "Only 300 kilograms?"

The shopkeeper laughed, thinking that maybe she thought saltpeter was a delicious thing, and said, "No one has much saltpeter. What does the little kid want with so much saltpeter?"

"The master wants to buy it. 300 kilograms is 300 kilograms. Send it all to the government office." Lu Lu said.

When the shopkeeper heard that it was to be sent to the government office, he immediately dared not look down on the childish Lulu: "So you are a sister from the government office, I am blind and don't know you."

"I will send someone to the government office right now."

Lulu, who was only fifteen or sixteen years old, was a little annoyed when he was called sister by a man in his forties. She said: "Shopkeeper, please tell us which store still has saltpeter, so we can buy some more."

The shopkeeper was naturally very happy to help her and said: "I know of four or five stores that have it. I will take you there right now."

The waiter had already carried out the saltpeter, and each of them was carrying a bag and was about to deliver it to the government office.

The shopkeeper took Lu Xuan and Lulu to buy more saltpeter.

Lin Zhen, who had finished another distillation, was really unbearable to the heat. He soaked his handkerchief in water, wrung it out so that it was not too dry, and put it on his neck.

He walked out of the house and walked along the corridor to the front yard. Just after walking through the corridor, he saw the servants of the government runners coming in with three people carrying bags.

The servant walked over quickly and saluted him: "Boss Lin, they are the waiters of the grocery store on Changping Street. They said that their boss asked them to send saltpeter."

"!!!" When Lin Zhen heard the word saltpeter, he thought of ice, "Send it to the backyard!"

Chapter 267:

Lizhou is not hot for most of the year, and it is even colder in winter, with ice covering thousands of miles. However, the summer of just over a month is really unbearable, and the price of ice on the market is not cheap.

Moreover, most of the ice cut and put into the present is sold to Kyoto and even further away, and only a few are sold in the provincial capital.

Lin Zhen wanted a large amount of ice, so it was more cost-effective to buy saltpeter and make ice himself.

Three waiters carrying saltpeter followed Lin Zhen into the backyard. Lin Zhen pointed to the corner and said, "You can just put the saltpeter there."

The three waiters immediately followed his instructions and put the saltpeter in a corner where the sun could not shine. They did not dare to look at it anymore and went out. Lin Zhen went to the place where he distilled the flower dew and took several wooden basins and barrels.

When Lin Zhen was selling milk tea, he had been thinking about the saltpeter and water method for several months and was very skilled in using it. He filled a smaller bucket or basin with water, then put it into a larger wooden barrel or basin with water, and then added saltpeter to the larger wooden barrel or basin.

The water, which was originally a little hot from the sun, immediately reacted with the saltpeter, releasing a large amount of cold air. A thin layer of ice slowly floated on the water in the smaller wooden barrel and basin. As time passed, the ice became thicker and thicker, and finally formed ice cubes in the shape of wooden barrels and basins.

Lin Zhen estimated the distillation time, and when the ice was almost ready, he quickly added some firewood, returned to the backyard and brought the ice to the kitchen.

"Do you have pea powder or flour?"

The husband in the kitchen saw Lin Zhen coming in with a bucket of ice and thought he was going out to buy it. He stood up from the stool and said a little stiffly: "Boss Lin, we have everything."

"That's fine," Lin Zhen put the bucket of ice on the ground, "Wash the pot, boil two buckets of water, and then stir the pea powder. I'll chop the ice into pieces. It's hot, let's make some cold fish."

"How can I ask you to do it yourself, Boss Lin? I've never seen the cold fish you're talking about. You tell me, I'll make it, and then I'll make ice after I've made the cold fish." The husband who specialized in cooking had seen ice in the government before. Xu Zhizhou's husband couldn't stand the heat. When it was the hottest time in summer, he would buy some ice so that they could make some iced sugar water to drink.

But the ice stored in the summer was expensive, and not much was bought each time. For a bucket of ice like the one in Boss Lin's hand, it would probably cost several taels of silver.

Lin Zhen, who was too hot, squatted beside the wooden barrel that was emitting cold air: "It's okay, one person can do it just as fast, the sooner it gets into the stomach, the sooner it will feel good."

As he said that, Lin Zhen stood up to find an axe and a kitchen knife, and touched a handful of firewood ash in the stove hole, first washed the axe and the kitchen knife, and "clang clang clang" it on the ice in the bucket.

Seeing how skillful he was, his husband hurried to get water from the well and poured it into the pot, and found the pea powder.

Cold fish is a dish that Lin Zhen likes more. It is simple to make and delicious to eat. You can add chili oil and chives, or honey and chopped nuts, and each has its own salty and sweet taste.

His body is not very strong, and the axe has little effect on the ice. Lu Lu and Lu Xuan, who just bought a few bags of saltpeter, heard the servants say that he came to the kitchen, and they didn't care that their heads were about to smoke, and came to the kitchen.

When they came, they saw him chopping ice with an axe, and it took a few axe strokes to chop off a small horn.

Lu Xuan quickly took over the job: "Boss Lin, let me do it."

Lu Xuan was not stupid. Lin Zhen had just asked them to buy saltpeter, and now there was ice in the kitchen. It was hard not to associate ice with saltpeter.

Lu Xuan paused, and her thoughts were a little vague.

Lin Zhen squatted next to the bucket of ice, seeming to be looking at her, and also seeming to be looking at the ice.

Lu Xuan's heart trembled, and she woke up. Not to mention that saltpeter and ice were related, she was just a purchaser in the state government office, and Lin Zhen was the uncle of the prefect.

Some silver was not worth spending when you had the chance to get it.

Moreover, Lin Zhen was very kind to the people below. If she really did something to betray her master, Lu Xuan would not be able to get over it.

After figuring it out, Lu Xuan raised the axe in her hand and chopped it "clang clang clang". Her hand strength was much greater than Lin Zhen's, and the ice that had originally condensed into a block was broken into pieces.

In fact, Lin Zhen, who had been watching her, saw the change of her thoughts. He saw her chop the ice into pieces, pick up a small piece, and hand it to Lu Lu who was standing next to her: "Try holding a piece in your mouth, it's very cool."

"Take another piece and give it to Madam Lu, and the husband who is stirring the pea powder."

Lu Lu's face was flushed with heat, and she put the ice in her mouth as soon as she got it. The icy and cool feeling made her squint her eyes.

She followed Lin Zhen's instructions, washed her hands, found a piece of ice of the right size in the bucket, and handed it to Lu Xuan's mouth, who was inconvenient with her hands, and then picked up a piece and handed it to the husband who was already stirring the pea powder.

The master and servants ate the

ice happily in the kitchen. The pea powder was stirred first, and Lin Zhen asked the husband to clean the colander and slowly pour it into the colander. The cooked pea paste leaked from the holes of the colander and fell into the cold water and became water droplets, just like a bunch of small fish.

The slightly transparent white fish looked very beautiful in the cold water.

Seeing that Lu Xuan had already cut half of the ice, Lin Zhen said to the cook, "Find the honey and stir-fry the peanuts, hazelnuts, walnuts, etc. in the pot. Let them cool down and peel them. I'll make some salty cornel oil."

"Lu Lu, wash those two shallots."

"Okay, Boss Lin." The husband had worked on the stove for many years, so he had no problem frying nuts. Lu Lu also picked the yellow leaves of the shallots.

Lin Zhen rolled up his sleeves, found all the cornel in the kitchen, chopped them up to make the flavor come out, and then poured oil into the pot next to the nuts. When the oil temperature rose slightly, add the star anise, minced garlic and bay leaves. After the flavors of these spices were fried out, pour in half a bowl of cornel.

The spicy and stimulating smell filled the whole kitchen at once. The husband and Lu Xuan, who had always eaten light food, were choked by the terrible smell.

Lin Zhen, who found it fragrant, then remembered that not everyone followed him like Lu Lu, and also smelled a lot of dogwood. He touched his nose and said, "I'm sorry, I didn't expect you guys don't eat much dogwood on weekdays."

Fu Lang, who was frying peanuts, hazelnuts and walnuts next to him, looked at the oil that didn't emit a spicy smell and said, "Boss Lin, can this be eaten?"

"Yes, you guys try it later?"

Fu Lang shook his head repeatedly, "No, no."

Lu Xuan, who was choked to tears, looked at Fu Lang's head shaking like a spinning top, and couldn't help laughing. When she laughed, she inhaled more spicy smell, and quickly turned around and sneezed twice.

Soon, the dogwood oil was ready, and a large bowl was served.

The fried nuts also exuded a wonderful aroma. After cooling a little, rubbed them and rubbed off the thin layer of skin, then pounded them, pounding the three nuts into pieces a little bit, retaining the crunchy taste of chewing and magnifying the taste.

"Okay, bring out all the bowls and serve them to the adults in front first. Take whatever they want, whether it's sweet or salty."

Take out the cold fish soaked in cold water and put them in half a bowl. For the sugary ones, put a layer of crushed ice on top, then add two spoons of crushed nuts, then add honey, and finally pour the boiled brown sugar water, which has only a little sweetness when it is cold.

This brown sugar water was made purely for the sake of beauty by Lin Zhen. The salty ones

are simpler, add dogwood oil and chopped green onions, and if you want to eat it icy, add crushed ice. Anyway, dogwood oil is fried with rapeseed oil and will not solidify like lard.

Lin really liked this, so he first made a bowl of cornel oil and shallots, and after a few bites, he picked up a bowl of honey, nuts, and crushed ice, and walked to the room where the flower dew was distilled. As he walked, he said to Lu Xuan, Lu Lu and the other three, "Send it to them in front, and you should eat it quickly. If there is not enough ice, go to my place, there is more."

"Yes." Lu Xuan and the husband who was in charge of the kitchen found a tray, placed the two kinds of cold fish one by one, and the three of them brought it to the front.

It was hot on this day, and Gu Lin, who had to wear official robes, Guan Peng Gao Tong, Jiang Jing, and the yamen runners below were all feeling bad.

The yamen runners guarding the front yard yamen saw Lu Lu and the other three carrying things and walking over here, and stopped them as usual to ask.

Lulu said, "Boss Lin has made some cool food for us. Let's send it to you and the adults to try." The

yamen runner, whose head was steaming from the heat, looked at the unknown food piled with crushed ice and emitting cold air, and swallowed his saliva. When he heard that even the yamen runners would have a share, he said, "I'll go and inform them."

The yamen runner turned and walked into the main hall. Gu Lin, who was discussing something, raised his head and looked at him. Under the brim of his black gauze official hat was a pair of eyebrows that flew diagonally into his temples. When his dark eyes looked at people, it was hard to suppress the tension in one's heart.

The yamen runner lowered his head and said, "Your Excellency the prefect, Boss Lin asked someone in the back kitchen to make some cool food. He asked someone to bring it up for the adults to cool down." Gu

Lin, who had been straightening his back and talking to Guan Peng Gao Tong a moment ago, leaned back slightly and put his hands leisurely on the armrests of the chair: "Let them in."

"Yes." The yamen runner was delighted, knowing that Boss Lin was the best pass for the adults.

He returned to the main hall and said to the three people holding the cold fish, "My Lord wants you to come in."

Lu Xuan, Lu Lu and her husband who worked in the kitchen walked up the steps, lowered their heads and carried the trays into the main hall.

Gu Lin sat under the plaque with a bright mirror hanging high, and on both sides were Guan Peng, Gao Tong and Jiang Jing, and then the unranked clerks below, a total of more than 20 people.

The three of them bowed first and said, "My Lord, this is the cold fish that Boss Lin led us to make. There are two kinds, sweet and salty. Please taste it."

Gu Lin walked down from the first seat, glanced at the two kinds of cold fish, and picked up the sweet cold fish covered with crushed ice and crushed nuts.

The spoon stirred slightly, and the crushed ice inside made a rustling sound, and the hand holding the bowl was also comforted by the cold air.

He said to Guan Peng, Gao Tong and others, "Take it."

Guan Peng, Gao Tong and other talents came forward one after another. When most of them saw the crushed ice, they chose the sweet one like Gu Lin.

A small number of people heard from Lulu and others that it contained dogwood oil and shallots, and wanted to try something different.

But whether it was sweet or salty, something icy and cold was the best on this day, and many people even ordered a second bowl.

The yamen runners who ate it later also had a good time, and they felt so comfortable after taking a bite of the cold fish.

Chapter 268

There was a lot of ice, so Lin Zhen asked Zhou Zhengchu and others who had been ordered to come over to send some to the No. 1 and No. 2 courtyards of the Shuifenfang, and told them the two ways to make cold fish, and asked Aunt Niu to bring her daughter-in-law to make some, so that everyone could cool down in the hot weather.

Suddenly, while eating the icy and sweet cold fish, Lin Zhen thought that he could use ice to extend the shelf life of the flower dew. It was too hot that day, and the wax sealed the flower dew for normal use, which greatly shortened the time it could be used. If he used ice to cool it down and preserve it, it would be much better.

After all, it would take some time to get from Lizhou to Yunzhou, even if it was the fastest waterway, and the shelf life of the flower dew would only last two days after it was transported there.

Lin Zhen waited for Zhou Zhengchu and others to leave with the ice, and called Lu Lu and Lu Xuan to come, asking them to find out the origin of the saltpeter and buy more saltpeter, a few hundred or a thousand kilograms would not be too much.

Lu Xuan, who had already guessed the effect of saltpeter, thought that Lin Zhen was going to do the ice business. Saltpeter was cheap, while ice was very expensive. The difference in price could make people's eyes red.

This was a business that was sure to make money.

Lu Xuan immediately went with Lu Lu to inquire about this matter.

With ice made from saltpeter, Lin Zhen felt much more comfortable when distilling. When he couldn't stand it anymore, he just took a small piece of ice and wrapped it in a handkerchief, and applied it to his forehead, face, and neck. It was much better than the previous two days when he could only endure the high temperature. During

the entire Lin's Watercolor Factory, and the morning of the fourth day when Lin Zhen worked overtime, when Lin Xiaoyao's subordinate finally couldn't help but come to ask Lin Zhen, Lin Zhen, who had just taken a shower and changed his clothes, told him: "Everything is ready, come with me to take a look."

Lin Zhen had said before that these things were a return gift to Lin Xiaoyao. The young man followed Lin Zhen to the Lin's Watercolor Factory with a head full of questions.

The gatekeeper in the gouache shop saw Lin Zhen coming and walked quickly to him: "Boss."

Lin Zhen asked: "Have all the goods been counted?" "

They have been counted. The specific numbers are from the manager Niu and the accountant."

"Well, I'll go and take a look." Almost a month has passed, and the yard that was rented at the beginning has changed a lot. A roof has been added to the vacant land, so they can continue to work whether it is sunny or rainy. The ventilation is also good, so it will not delay the drying of the rice slurry sediment.

Manager Niu and the old student who was keeping accounts walked down the steps, greeted Lin Zhen and said, "Boss, the various jade powders we made these days total 24,000 boxes, plus the previous goods, 37,000 boxes. The flower dew is also all bottled, 12,000 bottles."

"Are they all stored with ice?"

"Yes, it's all done as you said, with ice underneath and around, and the flower dew in the middle."

Niu Da said, "Fortunately, boss, you thought of using ice to cool down. The wax sealing the bottles couldn't stand the heat and melted quickly, almost contaminating the flower dew inside."

Lin Zhen walked in front and went to the warehouse with them where the goods were placed.

This room was full of jade powder. Jade powder is a dry product. It's okay in hot weather, but when it rains a lot and it's humid, I worry that it will get damp and clump.

The room next to it is flower dew. As soon as you enter, you will feel a cool chill. Blocks of ice are placed in the room, and the flower dew is stored inside.

On the way here, the young man had wondered what gift Lin Zhen would bring back to his boss, and followed Lin Zhen here in confusion.

He didn't quite understand when he saw the Jade Face Powder, but now looking at the flower dew preserved in ice, he felt something was awe-inspiring.

The weather in Yunzhou is hot, and the price of ice is extremely high. Even if the ice used to preserve the flower dew is transported to Yunzhou, one can make a fortune.

What on earth needs to be preserved in expensive ice?

Lin Zhen looked at the young man and said, "These goods are gifts for your boss Xiaoyao. The specific usage is written here. He will know it when it is given to him."

Lin Zhen wrote down the usage instructions of the Jade Face Powder and Flower Dew Lipstick that he had prepared long ago in a booklet and handed it to the young man.

The young man took the booklet but did not flip through it. He only needed to know that these things belonged to the boss Xiaoyao.

Lin Zhen said to Niu Dadao: "Let the workers load all the goods onto the carriage, and then ask Shao Ying, Ge Yang and others to come and escort the goods to Dongyang County."

Knowing that the young man was in a hurry to return to Yunzhou, Lin Zhen did not delay him and immediately ordered the workers to lift the goods onto the carriage.

Yurong powder is the easiest to store. After piling it up, cover it with several layers of oil paper and tie it tightly with ropes. Lipstick and flower dew are more troublesome. First, put a layer of straw in the carriage box, then a thick quilt, and then put ice on it. It is best to pile flower dew and lipstick.

In this way, the goods that can be loaded on a carriage are reduced by half. Lin Zhen saw the trend and asked Niu Da to rent more horses and carriages.

A total of twenty carriages were barely able to load all the goods.

The young man came here to deliver the letter with only one person. When he lived in the government office before, this person lived in the inn of the state capital. Now that he was brought by the young man to look at the super large amount of goods in front of him, he was a little overwhelmed.

"This, this is the big boss that Xiaoyao boss mentioned?"

"What a big deal!"

"What kind of goods are those that need to be stored in ice?"

The young man said coldly: "I don't know, I will know after I go back."

The young man took the man to Lin Zhen and saluted with Lin Zhen.

Lin Zhen handed him a letter: "Tell your Xiaoyao boss that everything is fine in Lizhou. If you are still interested in this business, you can send someone to Lizhou to pick up the goods, or contact me when my people go to Yongzhou to sell the goods."

"I know, take care, big boss." The young man stepped on the stirrups and mounted the horse, followed by Shao Ying and Ge Yang who were escorting the goods.

Zhou Zhengchu's injuries had not healed yet, so he stayed in the state capital this time.

After meeting the people around Lin Xiaoyao, Lin Zhen could finally let go of the part of his heart that he was worried about. He looked at the last shadows of the young man and others leaving Guangshun Lane, stood at the door of Lin's Watercolor Factory, and asked the workers behind him who worked during the day and had to work the night shift at night: "Are you tired these days?"

The worker standing in the front heard his words and shook his head repeatedly: "No, we are not tired. We are all happy. There is so much work to do, and we can have an extra meal and get six more cents."

The workers behind also heard his words and said loudly: "Boss Lin, we wish we could have night shifts every day!"

"It is true that we have to let you work night shifts for a while recently. Our Watercolor Factory now has no stock except for the little stock left for Boss Yan. But the new shop is about to open, and we can't be without goods to sell then."

"But you also have to look at your own physical ability and do it according to your ability. If you feel uncomfortable, don't work the night shift."

When Lin Zhen was recruiting workers, he thought that the work intensity was a bit high, so he specially recruited people who were over 15 years old and under 40 years old. Now it seems to be right.

Working overtime until eleven o'clock every day, the elderly can't stand it.

The women, boys and men are all full of energy, "Boss Lin, don't worry, we are fine, it's no problem to work for you for decades!"

Lin Zhen looked at the man who was going to work for him for decades, and said with a smile: "I remember this."

"Since everyone has to work night shifts, let's do the same as before and fill up the warehouse first."

"Also, you have been working at Lin's Watercolor Shop for two days and it will be a month. This month's wages will be paid on the day the shop opens. What do you think?"

The women, boys and men said: "Boss Lin, whatever you do is good."

"Boss Lin, let's go to help when the shop opens. Everyone can't be idle."

Lin Zhen said: "Don't worry, you are indispensable."

All the goods were taken away by the young man. Lin's Watercolor Shop now had no goods to sell. After chatting and laughing with Lin Zhen for a few times, everyone continued to work with full enthusiasm.

Lin Zhen, who had been distilling for three days, stretched his waist, waved Niu Da to come over, and asked him: "How are the things I ordered before going? Are the cabinets, counters and decorations almost done?"

"I asked the craftsmen to finish them as soon as possible, and they also used ready-made materials. Some were delivered yesterday and placed in the shop."

"Boss Lou, who fired the kiln, also went to see it. Porcelain pieces have been coming out of the kiln one after another. He said that all of them will be delivered today or next year." "

Okay, I'll go over there to take a look. You stay at the Watercolor Shop."

After coming out today, Lin Zhen planned to take a walk and then go back to continue distilling floral dew, and make some lipstick in the gap.

These days are really fulfilling.

After a few days, the general outline of the shop that merged the two shops in Changping has been formed.

The modified doors and windows are twice as big as before. After taking them all down, you can see the whole picture of the shop. These wide doors and windows have been taken to the master to paste the best window paper at that time. It is thin and transparent, and the paper is dense. A little water will not damage it quickly.

Lin Zhen looked at the doors and windows in the shop and touched them.

The man who was tidying up the shop saw him coming in and said, "Boss Lin is here. The paper on the doors and windows is really good. It's like daytime when the house is pasted."

Lin Zhen took his hands off the doors and windows, looked at the spacious shop, walked towards the tall and long display cabinets that were delivered first, and nodded with satisfaction.

The wooden boards on the wall have been pasted, and the men are doing the final cleaning of the floor. According to Lin Zhen's requirements, a layer of sand and gravel is first spread on it, trying to make it as flat as possible without any bumps.

In the corner beside, there was a pile of slaked lime and fine sand from the riverbed that Lin Zhen specifically requested. The men were familiar with slaked lime. When they went out to work, the better-off families would use lime and gravel to build walls. It was stronger than ordinary yellow mud walls and would not collapse easily when it rained.

But the shop was almost in order, and the men didn't know what Lin Zhen was going to do with the slaked lime and fine sand.

Suddenly, just when Lin Zhen was thinking about whether he should go to Lou Feng's kiln to check out the condition of the porcelain tiles, three horse-drawn carriages stopped at the door of the shop. The middle-aged man he had seen beside Lou Feng that day jumped off the carriage, saw him and walked over: "Boss Lin, the goods you ordered have been delivered. Go and see if you are satisfied."

As expected, Lin Zhen was also looking forward to the porcelain tiles and said, "Just now Niu Da said that it would be delivered either today or tomorrow. You are fast enough." "

Boss Lin's business, we in the kiln dare not be careless."

As he spoke, the middle-aged man pulled open the porcelain tiles wrapped in straw to prevent them from being damaged by vibration, and knocked on them with his bent fingers: "According to what you said, Boss Lin, they are three and a half feet long and as thick as a finger. A kiln can only produce a dozen pieces. A lot of them are damaged, so we only get these."

The pattern that Lin Zhen gave that day was the image of flowing water, and the color he chose was jade as the base and light gray as the pattern. The effect was very beautiful, not much different from those fine modern tiles.

Lin Zhen looked at the porcelain pieces reflecting the light in the sun, nodded, and was very satisfied: "Your shopkeeper is worthy of being the best kiln master in the prefecture, carry them all in."

The middle-aged man smiled: "Boss Lin said it was good, then it was really good, these three carts of porcelain pieces totaled ninety-seven pieces."

"Ninety-seven pieces?" It was higher than Lin Zhen's previous estimate.

Lin Zhen looked at his spacious shop and said: "When you go back later, tell your boss to fire this number of porcelain pieces. These may not be enough."

The middle-aged man said: "Yes."

These porcelain pieces are not cheap, and the more Lin Zhen takes, the more they will earn.

The workers in the kiln helped to carry the tiles in. Lin Zhen asked them to be careful when putting them down, and said to the people who worked for him in the shop: "Come and take a look, this is the material I want you to use to pave the floor."

"Take two pieces and try your hand first. Hurry up and lay them out. The shop will open in a few days. There is no time to waste."

The leader of the workers came over and carefully took a tile from the straw. The three-and-a-half-foot tile was as thick as the side of a thumb, bright in color, and had light gray lines on it like flowing water.

They had been working for so many years, but they had never seen anyone use such good tiles to pave the floor. For a moment, everyone looked at each other, feeling a little timid about this job.

Thinking about the good remuneration given by Lin Zhen, the leader said honestly: "Boss, we have never done such a job before, and we are afraid of damaging your materials."

Lin Zhen tried hard to recall the things in his head, and barely found what the decoration master said in front of him before, and said: "It is normal to have damage during laying, but the damage cannot be too much. According to your many years of experience in laying walls and leveling the ground, there should be no big problem."

"Before laying the tiles, you must first sprinkle water on them so that the downward side can absorb enough water, and sprinkle water on the ground as well, so that the tiles can stick firmly to the ground."

"When pasting, pay attention to the texture of the tiles. You must taste them. Don't just paste them randomly, which looks messy."

"After pasting, take a wooden hammer, wrap it with several layers of cloth, knock it, and knock the gap below to paste it, which can also make the tiles fit better."

At this moment, Lin Zhen felt that he was very good at asking questions. Although he had never done it before, at least he was not blind and knew nothing.

The men who came to work for him were very generous and kind when they heard him speak so carefully and did not ask them to not damage any piece. The leader hesitated for a moment before he dared to agree.

"Boss Lin, let's try two pieces first. I'm afraid the viscosity of the lime is a little insufficient. How about adding some glutinous rice juice to make the effect better?"

"Glutinous rice juice?" Lin Zhen had heard before that glutinous rice juice was used in ancient adhesives. It must be used when building city walls to increase the strength of the city walls.

He nodded: "Okay, I'll give the order right away."

Chapter 269

For the next three to five days, Lin Zhen stayed in the room where he was distilling the flower dew, another room where he was making lipstick, and a room where he was making new products.

The results were also gratifying. He made a similar amount of flower dew to give to Lin Xiaoyao, and a similar amount of lipstick. He also took the time to make a small amount of soap, which was only used to display new products, and an upgraded version of soap, the scented soap.

Then there was the vanishing cream.

For these three things, Lin Zhen asked Lu Lu and Lu Xuan to buy a lot of fat and almonds these days, extract the oil from them, and then add the alkali made from plant ash. The

styles of soaps used were the most common square and round ones.

The scented soaps with almond oil and herb flower dew had more patterns, square, round, and plump flower shapes. When he was in a good mood, Lin Zhen also made a cat's paw shape.

The vanishing cream was a product made casually when making these two things. It was also made with herb flower dew. It was very moisturizing and had a very good moisturizing effect when applied to the skin.

However, due to the lack of materials, the vanishing cream and flower dew faced the same problem: the shelf life was not long, and it was a bit sticky, not as refreshing as modern cosmetics.

In order to pack these three things, Lin Zhen specially asked Lu Lu to take the drawings to Lou Feng and asked him to make boxes of different sizes.

On the fifth day of June, there were only two days left before the good day for opening that Niu Da had asked someone to calculate. Lin Zhen got up early in the morning, changed his clothes and went to the No. 1 courtyard of Lin's Watercolor Shop.

People from the No. 2 courtyard and the group of women and men who were arranged to live in the courtyard behind Guangshun Lane also came. They

all gathered in the No. 1 courtyard, and there were almost a hundred people.

Lin Zhen stood on the steps and said to them: "Manager Niu told you that our Lin's Watercolor Shop is going to open, right?" "

I told you!"

Everyone was very happy about the good news of Lin's Watercolor Shop. After knowing that it would open on the seventh day of June, they couldn't help discussing it during their rest time.

He also told this good news to his family.

Lin Zhen said: "I came here today to pick some people to work in the shop. Let me first tell you what to do there."

"First, it is to introduce our Shuifenfang's jade face powder, flower dew, and lipstick to customers at the counter, and then let customers try the products."

"I want to teach you this. Although you make jade face powder here every day, you haven't tried it yet. Only after you try it yourself can you better explain the effect to customers, and you can talk a little about the process when you talk."

"This group of people needs those who are good at talking and bold."

"Second, they are those who learned the makeup skills from me and put on makeup for the ladies in the state government on the second floor. This group of people needs to be nimble."

"Third is the regular work. If there is not enough goods on the counter, you will replenish them and help out in the backyard."

"On the night of the opening, I will treat everyone to a banquet and pay them after the banquet."

"Oh, by the way," Lin Zhen said, "Everyone who goes back to work in the shop will be given a set of clothes, which are the work clothes of our shop."

The girls and brothers who had been working on the semi-finished jade powder for a month but had never used it were very interested, knowing that the jade powder must be a good thing, otherwise it would not be so popular.

But some people felt that they were not good at talking and would not be able to do this job. It was good enough to work in the powder shop, and they did not want to lose face.

Lin Zhen looked at their different faces, walked down, asked Lu Lu to put the complete set of jade powder, flower dew and lipstick on the table, and then fetched a basin of water.

He had planned to try the effect on himself as he did in Kyoto. He picked up a newly made square soap that was a little light green because of the addition of the grass flower dew, wet it with water, rubbed it, and put the rich foam on his face.

Almond oil was added to the soap, and the foam was very dense. It felt very refreshing when applied on the face. After rinsing with water, the skin was moisturized and not tight.

While Lin Zhen wiped the water off his face with a cloth, he said to the girl and the boy, "This is a new product of our Lin's Water, called soap. It can clean your hands or face very well, and it contains a lot of good materials, which has a very good effect on the skin."

The workers present had seen his face so many times, but they were still distracted when they saw it now, especially after washing with soap, the white and clear skin was so beautiful that it was beyond description.

The girl and the boy all loved beauty, and when they saw Lin Zhen using the novel-looking soap, they all cast their eyes on it.

Lin Zhen wiped the water off his face, poured a little of the best grass flower dew into the palm of his hand, rubbed it on his face, waited for the flower dew to dry on his face, and then adjusted the finished jade powder with the color that best suited his skin color, and applied a thin layer.

His skin was too white, so he didn't use the whitening jade powder, only the brightening one, and then darkened the color of his eyebrows a little bit, and applied a layer of basic white jade powder as a setting makeup.

Because of the makeup, his already excellent appearance seemed to have been dusted off, so dazzling that anyone who saw it would have their heartbeats speed up.

Anyone who had a little bit of feeling for beauty would be moved.

Lin Zhen casually called a boy and a girl over, "Try it on you two too."

"The rest of you should pay attention to how I put makeup on them. You who have this idea may have to go to the shop to put makeup on customers in a couple of days, so don't make any mistakes."

Then he asked the two to wash their faces with the foam rubbed out by the soap.

The girl and boy who were called carefully took the soap that they had just seen him use and thought was very magical, wet it and rubbed it.

The slippery soap slid between their fingers, and the fine foam quickly covered their palms, and there was also a pleasant fragrance.

The girl and boy were born with no resistance to this kind of thing, and they applied it to their faces reluctantly and rinsed it off.

Lin Zhen saw the girl wipe her face first, walked up to him, looked at her face and said: "What's your name?"

"Er Ya." The girl felt that her name was not nice, and her face was a little red.

Lin Zhen said: "Er Ya's face is an oval face, and it can be enhanced by just a little painting." Then he told them what kind of face looks better with what kind of eyebrows, the techniques of painting, the effect of flower dew, the color of jade powder corresponding to the skin color, and the selection of lipstick color.

Er Ya's makeup was done quickly. The messy eyebrows were trimmed and became thinner eyebrows, which matched her skin color. After applying the jade powder that modified her skin color, she changed her appearance from an inconspicuous little girl to a beautiful girl with clear eyebrows and fair skin.

Compared with Lin Zhen's original overwhelming appearance, the transformation of ordinary Er Ya made the girls and brothers present feel that they could do it.

"Is that still Erya?! How come she looks so much better!"

"The jade powder is so easy to use, ahhhhh, I want to buy some from the boss!"

"I also want the boss to put on makeup for me. I will definitely take a few more breaths when I can see the boss so closely!"

"..." Lin Zhen looked at the girl who wanted to take a few more breaths and remembered her face. Very good, she is so brave that she can be competent for the job in the shop.

Then it was the boy. The boy's skin was rougher than Erya's. Lin Zhen simply applied a thicker layer of vanishing cream on his face. After five or six minutes, he wiped off the vanishing cream and washed his face again.

The vanishing cream with good moisturizing effect acted as a mask, slightly replenishing the skin's condition and making it a lot smoother. The effect was even better after applying floral dew.

The girls and boys who were already dazzled by what they saw became more interested in the new vanishing cream. How could it be so white and soft, and have such a good effect when applied on the face? The boy's face was very rough just now, but now it is obviously much smoother.

Lin Zhen put makeup on the boy under their fiery gazes. When he puts makeup on girls, he will make it softer, but not boys. He will make it a little more heroic, improve the skin on the original appearance, and use a light lipstick.

"Okay, you heard what I said just now, those who are interested in helping in the shop stand on the left, and those who want to work in the back and the powder shop stand on the right."

The eighteen girls and boys brought by Lin Zhen from Dongyang County also saw what Lin Zhen did like the workers. Some of them had some money in their families, and they also liked to be coquettish on weekdays. They had used rouge and powder, but they had never seen the effect of the Jade Face Powder Flower Dew Lipstick Vanishing Cream.

As soon as they heard that they could work together this time, those who had been here for so many days but had not done anything had an idea.

The young lady Chunniang stood on the left, and eight or nine brothers like her stood with her. The rest stood on the right like some of the workers.

Lin Zhen looked at the girls and brothers he brought from Dongyang County, who stood out among the crowd, and was very satisfied.

This person has a thousand ways to live, and it is good to dare to take a step.

As for the others, it is not that they did not take a step, but people have different personalities, and what they want to do is different. They are not bad there.

Lin Zhen said, "Those standing on the left, follow me these two days to learn how to put on makeup and how to introduce our products to customers. You have to speak fluently and convince customers."

"Those on the right will be led by Manager Niu, who will take care of the affairs of the powder shop and the backyard of the shop. Whether they go to the shop or not, they are all capable people in our Lin's powder shop."

"Manager Niu, bring the clothes up." These clothes were bought by Lin Zhen at a shop in the provincial capital after he bought the shop. There are three types of clothes. One type is for the girls and boys who explain the goods to customers on the first floor. The overall color is beige.

The girls' jackets and skirts, and the boys' round-necked and slanted-lapel long robes, for convenience, are the same as he wore before, with a silk ribbon. The ones

on the second floor who try on makeup for the ladies are different. The colors are fresher, a slightly lighter blue.

The other type is for the girls and boys who have worked as servants and were bought by Lin Zhen from human traffickers. They are beige.

These girls and boys were used to doing this kind of work in their original masters' houses. They knew the rules and were careful.

Lin Zhen just said that the people who used to work in the shop had new clothes, and those who didn't get to choose wouldn't be jealous.

Lin Zhen said, "Now you are all on the same line, and we haven't decided which ones will go to the first floor and which ones will go to the second floor, so put the clothes here first. After learning for two days, I will divide them according to your strengths."

"And you," Lin Zhen looked at the men who didn't seem to be named, "It's up to you to do the heavier work, and we can't let you down."

"Got it!" Everyone was in high spirits.

Chun Niang and several girls and boys who were in the crowd also felt different in their hearts.

One by one, they secretly made up their minds to learn from Boss Lin and do a good job. They couldn't eat and drink Boss Lin for free.

The workers in Lin's Water Powder Shop had the same idea.

Next, Lin Zhen explained the uses of Jade Face Powder Flower Dew lipstick, as well as soap and vanishing cream to the girls and boys who decided to work in the shop, and asked them to put makeup on each other.

Chun Niang and others who had some basic skills were fine, and they got the hang of it quickly. The girls and boys who usually worked hard were a little...

"Hahahaha." A boy who was usually lively looked at the eyebrows on the girl's face and almost choked with laughter.

The others also looked over and smiled.

The boy who was putting makeup on the girl blushed and said softly, "Sorry, I wiped it off."

The girl waved her hand generously, "It's okay, try a few more times."

The boy who laughed first also looked at his face, which was not evenly applied and looked ugly, and said, "I need to practice a few more times, but this Jade Face Powder Flower Dew is wasted, I feel bad."

Lin Zhen, who was teaching them next to them, looked at the two centipede-like eyebrows and couldn't help laughing.

However, he also found that there were quite a few who were good at painting, and they were already quite good, surpassing him, a half-baked artist.

As night fell, a day passed quickly. The next day, the girls and brothers did not work as usual, but were taken by Lin Zhen to learn makeup, and were taken by Niu Da to the shop to familiarize themselves with things.

At night, those who followed to learn makeup had been divided into the first floor and the second floor. Chunniang and several people who had a basic understanding of makeup were assigned to the second floor. Those who were not so good at makeup, but who memorized the things and were good at talking were assigned to the first floor. Those who

were not good at either side were not discouraged, and followed others to work in the backyard and the gouache shop.

Lin Zhen handed Chunniang a light blue skirt and a white jacket: "Tomorrow you will come to the No. 1 courtyard first, and I will go to the shop with you."

"Okay." Chunniang took the clothes made of fine cotton cloth, and the corners of her lips, which had not smiled for a long time, relaxed a little.

She said to Lin Zhen: "Boss, we will all work hard."

"I know, you guys should come to the banquet after the store opens tomorrow, and join the fun."

"Yes."

Chun Niang took the clothes and walked to the side. The next one was a boy. In addition to the round-necked and slanted-lapel long gown, he also had a silk ribbon.

After distributing them, Lin Zhen asked them to go home and have a good sleep tonight, and to be energetic tomorrow.

Chapter 270

The neighbors of the shop that was merged from two shops found that it was very lively today. Before dawn, people came with horse-drawn carriages and drove into the backyard from the door next to them. After a while, empty carriages drove out and came back with full things.

The shopkeeper who sold gold and silver jewelry next to him stood at the door of his shop, looking at the shop that was brand new and unusual just by looking at the outside: "I heard that this shop is the shop of Lin's Water-Powder Shop in Guangshun Lane. Does it sell rouge and water powder?"

"I think so. It doesn't conflict with our business. It won't be a problem."

The shopkeeper glanced at his wife: "Nowadays, everyone in this prefecture city knows that Mr. Lin is the uncle of the prefect. Even if he opens a gold and silver shop next to us, what can you and I do?" The

shopkeeper's wife thought so too. Their family naturally had some connections, but the only people who could protect them were the petty officials in the yamen, not the prefect. If Lin really wanted to use his power to oppress others, they couldn't do anything.

The shopkeeper of the gold and silver shop said, "We are so close, we can't pretend not to see it. No matter what the things we sell are, you and I will take a gift of congratulations to have a look later."

"All up to you."

As the couple was talking, they saw Lin Zhen, who was wearing a black Luo shirt and a pearl-studded headband, walking over with more than 30 girls and boys wearing light blue, beige and gray.

Those girls and boys looked very energetic, with smooth and translucent skin. It was obvious that they had spent a lot of effort to maintain

such good skin. But the shopkeeper's wife was from the prefecture, and she recognized that one of the boys was the child next to her mother's family. He was poor since he was a child and could not even get enough food, let alone maintain such good skin. Women

are naturally interested in this aspect, and the shopkeeper's wife stared at Lin Zhen and the boys and girls behind him for several times.

Lin Zhen noticed the couple standing at the door, clasped his fists and said with a smile: "Hello, brother and sister-in-law, our store is open today, and everyone who comes to buy things will get a discount. If you are not busy, you can come in and take a look."

Wearing silk in summer, thin and breathable, his skin is too white, and it is more obvious against the black, which makes people unable to take their eyes away.

Not to mention that he is more beautiful than usual today, with exquisite eyebrows, eyes, lips and nose.

The shopkeeper of the gold and silver shop hurriedly clasped his fists and saluted: "Hello, Mr. Lin, I will definitely take my wife to take a look later."

"Okay, then I'll wait in the shop." Lin Zhen walked into the shop with the girl and the boy who came to work in the shop.

He looked at the shop that had been laid out with tiles, cabinets and counters, and looked brand new, and said to the people behind him: "Go and take down the door and put it away, and replace the screen door on the side that entertains guests."

It was the first time for the girl and the boy to come to this side of the shop, and they were shocked by everything in front of them and were speechless.

The extremely spacious shop was brightly lit. The lamp hanging overhead looked like a lotus flower, and there were also beautiful candlesticks on the walls.

The tall and long cabinet stretched from the entrance to the other end of the wall, and there was an equally long counter in front. The counter looked a bit strange, with rows of small grids in front.

The reception area on the other side was decorated very elegantly. Flowers and porcelain vases were placed on the low-legged table, and there was a circle of strange-looking chairs that were about the same height as the table. There were also a few square, soft pillows on the chairs.

The most surprising thing was the ground underfoot, which was white and smooth, reflecting the lights everywhere.

Five or six boys and girls who thought they were strong took down the door panels. The screen door on this side of the cabinet counter was not installed, but the screen door on the other side was replaced with a thin duck egg blue gauze.

The girls and boys who replaced the door had never seen such delicate things before, and they didn't even dare to breathe when they approached, for fear that they would break it.

Lin Zhen said to them, "The jade powder, flower dew, lipstick, soap, and vanishing cream have all been delivered to the backyard. Everyone, go and carry the goods here and put them on the counter."

"Put the jade powder here," he pointed to the cabinet counter next to the door, and then pointed to the counter next to it, "put the flower dew here."

There were two sets of this long cabinet counter, one here and one in front, with shorter cabinet counters in the middle separated by screens.

After hearing the instructions, the girls and brothers immediately went to the backyard to carry the boxes containing the goods to the front.

The jade powder, flower dew, lipstick still used the previous packaging, which was divided into high-end, mid-range and low-end. The new soap and vanishing cream had two packagings, one was a simple packaging wrapped in oil paper, and the oil paper was pasted with two labels, Lin's soap and Lin's perfumed soap.

The bottle of vanishing cream was a slightly thicker white porcelain bottle, with a slight protrusion in the middle, short and sturdy, and looked honest and cute.

The girls and brothers who had used these things in the past two days knew how good they were, and they liked them very much when they were placed.

The empty cabinets and counters were soon filled with goods.

Lin Zhen looked at them after they had finished placing the goods and said, "According to what I arranged yesterday, Chunniang, you take them to the second floor. After the waiter leads the female guests up, he will recommend our store's goods to them according to their wishes and give them makeup to try."

"Xiaoxi, you are brave and careful, you should pay attention to Maizi and the others. You are mostly entertaining male guests on the first floor. If there is anything wrong, immediately ask someone to report to Manager Niu or me. Don't make things difficult for yourself if you can't handle it."

"Yes." Chunniang has the best makeup skills among the group of people, and her makeup is always more spiritual than others, so Lin Zhen appointed her as the team leader to lead the ten girls and brothers to work.

Xiaoxi is the brave brother who said he would keep an eye on him that day. After two days, Lin Zhen found that his makeup skills were average, but he was eloquent and had a natural smile that made people let down their guard. It is more appropriate to put him on the first floor.

Maizi is also a brother who dares to speak and act.

"Okay, now everyone stand in your own position and wait for the opening to get busy."

In addition to them, the girls and boys who were bought in light yellow dresses were also brought by Niu Da, standing beside them in a very polite manner.

Soon, the sky was bright, and the specially invited lion dance team and opera singers were making congratulatory gestures on the street outside the shop, singing auspicious words.

Lin Zhen looked at the increasing number of people attracted by the excitement on the street, asked the men to prepare firecrackers, and walked to the door with Niu Da and the others: "Fellow villagers of Lizhou Prefecture, today is a great day for the opening of our Lin's Water Powder Shop. Anyone who comes to the shop to buy something today will be given a small gift. I hope everyone will take care of us in the future!" As

soon as he finished speaking, the men lit the firecrackers, and more than a dozen strings of firecrackers exploded with crackling sounds, and red paper scraps flew.

And according to his instructions, the people at the large windows on the second floor scattered copper coins and sugar wrapped in oil paper down.

The men, women, old and young who had gathered here to watch the fun didn't react at first. When they looked down, they found it was a copper coin. They immediately exclaimed and bent down to pick it up.

The children were smaller and took advantage of it. Many of them not only had copper coins, but also candies.

Yan Canghai, who had been waiting for this day, was walking over here with several people. Looking at the lively scene in front of the shop and a copper coin that rolled to his feet, he bent down and picked it up: "We came at the right time. Boss Lin's shop has just opened."

The bearded man was very anxious: "Let's go quickly. Brother Yan, you already have the goods promised by Boss Lin, but we don't have them yet. We can't make a wasted trip!"

The thin man next to him had the same idea: "The Yurong Powder Flower Dew lipstick is selling like crazy in Kyoto. The high-end ones are out of stock. Some people who bought mid-range and low-end ones actually resold them at a price of thirty or forty taels. It's simply unreasonable."

"This time I'm going to take goods worth five thousand, no, eight thousand to Kyoto! Make a fortune."

These merchants are all familiar with Yan Canghai. They would say hello when they see each other on weekdays. There are many strangers in the back. They are all attracted by the Jade Pink Flower Dew craze in Kyoto. They finally got the news and rushed here.

But after Lin Zhen returned to the prefecture, he was either stuck in the government office making flower dew soaps, soaps and lipsticks, or he went out with Gu Lin to inspect farm work, so they couldn't find anyone to stop him.

It's not easy to get to this point, so he's not in a hurry.

Yan Canghai, who was not panicked because he had the goods in his hand, just wanted to join in the fun, so he put the copper coin into his sleeve and followed a few merchants.

Lin Zhen had already seen him, and he clasped his fists and said, "Brother Yan is here, please come in quickly. The new samples I told you about before are ready, and I'm sure you'll want to bring some too."

"Who are these guys..."

Yan Canghai clasped his fists in return, and the merchants behind him couldn't wait to introduce themselves: "Boss Lin, we once met on the canal in Kyoto, so we are familiar with each other. Please save some Jade Face Pink Flower Dew lipstick for me."

"Boss Lin, this is the first time I've met Boss Lin, but I've heard of Boss Lin's reputation a long time ago and I admire him very much. I've specially prepared a gift to congratulate Boss Lin on his grand opening and the money rolling in." The thin man said as he handed the gift in his hand to Niu Da who was beside Lin Zhen, and then changed the subject to Jade Face Pink Flower Dew lipstick, and even said how much he wanted.

The others looked at him and felt that this bastard had no moral integrity at all. He had said it well on the way here, but now he's using this trick!

Lin Zhen looked at them and the people who were obviously doing business and kept coming in, and said with a smile: "We will talk about business later, but if you want to know more about the goods of our Lin's Watercolor Shop, you can move to the shop and there will be someone to answer your questions."

Yan Canghai had already been intrigued by the new goods mentioned by Lin Zhen. Hearing him say this, he greeted a few friends and took them in.

As soon as they entered, they were shocked by the shop.

They saw that the spacious shop was also lit with candles and lanterns during the day, and with the sunlight outside, every inch was illuminated.

And two sets of tall and long cabinets were placed along the wall, on which were placed the Jade Face Powder Flower Dew lipsticks that they had bought from others at a high price and inspected.

The ground under their feet was also incredibly bright, with large pieces of porcelain tiles spread on the ground, giving people a feeling of extreme cleanliness.

In the middle of the shop, there was a large basin of ice cubes piled high. A waiter in pale yellow clothes was shaking an ice jar, sending cool breeze to all parts of the house.

Several merchants had traveled all over the country for many years, but they had never seen such a display, so they lowered their voices unconsciously.

Even when they saw that the people explaining to them were girls and boys, they did not show any other expressions.

The merchant with a beard and who looked not easy to mess with looked at the jade powder on the shelves and asked Xiaoxi: "Is this the jade powder?" "

Yes," Xiaoxi, who had been taught by Lin Zhen for two days, showed a not timid smile and picked up a box of white jade powder: "Sir, this is a kind of jade powder sold to Kyoto by our Lin's Water Powder Shop. It is called white jade powder. The best rice from Lizhou is selected and it goes through several processes to make this small box. Not only is the powder fine, but it is also more effective when mixed with other jade powders..." As he spoke, Xiaoxi took out the purple jade powder, the jasper powder, and the oriole jade powder one by one.

The bearded man looked at the jade powder that could be sold for dozens of taels of silver per box in Kyoto, and asked impatiently, "What are the prices of these?"

Xiaoxi said, "No matter who we sell the jade powder from Lin's Watercolor Shop to, the price is the same. White jade powder is three taels of silver per box, purple jade powder and jasper jade powder are three taels and five cents of silver per box, and oriole jade powder is more rare and more expensive than the first two."

"Then I want more, eight or nine thousand boxes, how do you calculate it!?"

Lin Zhen had discussed this issue with Xiaoxi and the others yesterday, so Xiaoxi calmly told the bearded man the prices of the jade powders purchased in large quantities.

The cheapest white jade powder is two taels and two cents of silver per box, and the other three are also different.

Because Lin Zhen thought that there would be a lot of customers at the beginning, he set up several counters for various goods and several people to explain the situation. Now there are people in front of them.

Maizi was looking after the flower dew. Since the flower dew needed to be sealed with wax, two porcelain bowls of ice were placed on the counter, and the air was filled with cold air.

The thin man came over and asked him about the flower dew.

Maizi was the son of a poor family. In the past, he had dug wild vegetables with the man to make a living. Except for being a little uncomfortable at first, he gradually got used to it.

He said, "This is the flower dew made from the unique herb in Lizhou. You will never see such goods elsewhere."

There was a specially opened flower dew for customers to try. Maizi put the bottle of flower dew under the man's nose and gently rubbed it. In an instant, the smell of the fine herb flower dew made the man squint his eyes.

"This smell... is slightly different from what I bought in Kyoto."

Maizi said, "This is the best herb flower dew, a high-end product sold only to noble ladies, and the leaves with the strongest herb fragrance are used when making it."

"If the herb flower dew that the customer smells is different from this, it should be mid-range or low-end herb flower dew."

Maizi put the last two kinds of flower dew under the man's nose, and the man recognized it at once. The bottle of flower dew he bought at a high price was just a low-end product.

After smelling the mid-range and high-end ones, he realized how big the gap between the three was.

Especially the high-end herb flower dew, it is still in his mind now, and he wants to smell it again no matter what, it will be addictive.

Yan Canghai passed by the Jade Beauty Powder and lipstick, and walked to the square thing that had been unwrapped, revealing a yellowish orange object: "Is this your new product?"

"Yes," said the girl in a beige dress, "This thing is called soap, and it has a very strong cleaning effect."

As she spoke, the girl put a small dirty handkerchief that she had prepared in advance into the basin, rubbed it with soap, and then scrubbed the handkerchief.

White foam was rubbed out, and there was also an indescribable refreshing smell.

When the girl showed the scrubbed handkerchief to Yan Canghai, Yan Canghai was surprised to see that the originally dirty handkerchief was as clean as new, and there was no trace of its former dirty appearance.

He instantly realized how useful this thing was and how big the gap in sales was. Nowadays, people only have two or three things for cleaning. Those with better family conditions use soap powder, and those who are poor use plant ash soaked in water, or white mud.

But in front of this piece of yellow soap, it was not good enough, not to mention that Yan Canghai saw with his own eyes that this thing only needed to be gently rubbed, and it would not be worn out much at a time.

He asked the maid: "Can this be used for bathing?"

The maid pointed him to the counter next to her and said: "Sir, our Lin's Water Powder Shop has another kind of soap for bathing, called soap, you can go and have a look."

Soap?

Another new thing. Yan Canghai walked over and saw the soaps in square, round, and even cat's paw shapes, which were white as jade and looked particularly pleasing.