usatvline Chapter 251 World of Famous Works 40
Chapter 251 World of Famous Works 40
"Build a railway?" Lin Xiaoqian asked in surprise.
Jiang Shuang nodded: "Yes, they said that building railways would make it easier to transport materials and supplies. It would be best to imitate modern times and lay railways all over the Tang Dynasty."
Lin Xiaoqian scratched his head: "I remember that locomotives need steam engines, right? They made steam engines?"
Jiang Shuang shook her head: "Not yet. However, since they have indeed created cement, something that benefits the country and its people, the Tang King trusts them now, and he unconditionally supports their ideas."
Moreover, once the cement plant was on track, the two of them became hands-off managers, handing over the management of the plant to Tang Wang and focusing on research and development, devoting themselves to iron smelting and steam engine manufacturing.
Firstly, since they were originally built as cement plants for the Tang Dynasty, they would leave this world sooner or later. Delegating power sooner rather than later would make the Tang Emperor trust them more and support them in doing more things.
Another point is that some high-ranking officials and nobles in the capital, knowing that this cement was extremely hard and could be applied to walls to reinforce them, flocked to it.
Who wouldn't want a smooth and sturdy exterior wall? Putting aside everything else, it just looks impressive.
Many people wanted to buy cement, but Zhuang Damao and Liao Zhuang were too lazy to deal with it. They simply handed over the management rights of the cement plant to Tang Wang and asked him to send his own people to handle these matters.
However, there is only one requirement: the workers in the cement plant must receive the same treatment as before, and no workers may be dismissed without cause. In the future, all new employees must be hired in accordance with the current treatment and requirements.
In the Tang Emperor's mind, these cement factory workers had all undergone professional training by immortals. The Tang Emperor was too busy treasuring them to possibly fire them. Moreover, he had benefited greatly from the employee management regulations formulated by Liao Zhuang, and even copied some of the practices in the court, making the handling of government affairs twice as efficient.
In any case, the cement plant is on track, and the Tangjian Railway Bureau next door is also gradually being completed.
Then they started hiring again.
When the people of the capital heard the news, they went crazy. Even before the official recruitment time, people were already waiting at the factory gate, afraid of missing the recruitment period.
However, this recruitment has more requirements than the last one. First of all, the Tangjian Railway Bureau wants to recruit a group of blacksmiths, and there are quite a few positions available. Of course, this will be assessed to see if you really have the skills to forge iron.
As a result, the blacksmith shops in the capital were packed overnight, all of them coming to learn blacksmithing.
Don't worry about whether you can learn it in such a short time. Even if you only learn a little bit, it's good. You might just get lucky and be selected.
Secondly, the bureau also needs to recruit a large number of laborers. Building railway tracks is a physically demanding and arduous task, and the wages are enviable.
Although there is only training and no assessment for this job now, they will know when they start working that they cannot be lazy or shirk their duties. If caught once, they will be warned; if caught twice, they will be fired.
Therefore, some families who are relatively well-off and want to get a good salary can't stand the hardship and leave on their own. On the other hand, some people who are so poor that they can't make ends meet are absolutely reluctant to give up this rare good job. The pay is high, and it includes three meals a day, with meat in the meals and all the staple food is provided. Most importantly, the superiors don't beat or scold people at will.
The employee management regulations state that if their direct superiors speak ill of them, they can report their superiors, force them to step down, and replace them with someone else in charge.
This is something that many ordinary people would never even dare to dream of.
That afternoon, there weren't many customers in the restaurant. Suddenly, the Princess hurriedly walked into the store. She was a regular customer and got along very well with Lin Xiaoqian and the others.
Lin Xiaoqian greeted her, "The Princess has arrived."
"I already told you, Shopkeeper Lin, just call me Lizhi." Li Lizhi waved her hand and said with a joyful expression, "Shopkeeper Lin, great news! The potatoes in the greenhouse have been harvested."
Because of the season, it is not suitable to plant any crops now. Fearing that Li Lizhi and the others might experiment haphazardly and waste seeds, Lin Xiaoqian advised her to wait until spring when the weather warms up before planting the seeds, or they could build a greenhouse and try growing them inside.
Li Lizhi was unwilling to wait. As long as Shopkeeper Lin and the others were here, she could still come and ask them questions if there were any problems. But if one day Shopkeeper Lin suddenly disappeared again, just like they had suddenly appeared, where would she go to find someone if there was a problem with the seeds?
So she quickly asked Lin Xiaoqian how to build a greenhouse. She learned that it was similar to a heated pavilion, but it was a bit rougher than the ones they used for heating in winter. She immediately found someone to build it on the estate.
Potatoes have a shorter growth cycle than other crops, so Li Lizhi chose to experiment with potatoes first.
The experimental field was not large, only half an acre, but it yielded 1,500 catties of potatoes.
No wonder Li Lizhi was so excited.
"Thank you, Shopkeeper Lin. Thank you, Miss Jiang, for your beauty. On behalf of the people of our Great Tang, we express our gratitude to you both." He then prepared to perform a deep bow.
Jiang Shuang quickly stopped her, smiling and saying, "It's because you, Princess, devoted yourself to the experimental fields, taking meticulous care of them day and night. This result has nothing to do with us."
Li Lizhi shook her head. If they hadn't given her the immortal seeds and taught her how to build a greenhouse, she would never have been able to grow potatoes that yielded 3,000 catties per mu.
Overjoyed upon learning of the yield, she came directly to Lin Xiaoqian's place. Before reporting to the Tang Emperor, she only said a few words in haste before heading to the palace.
But as soon as she stood up, her face turned pale, she clutched her chest, and her breathing became rapid.
Her appearance startled Lin Xiaoqian and Jiang Shuang, who quickly stepped forward to support her.
"Princess, are you alright?"
The maid who had been standing behind Li Lizhi also hurried over, took out a small porcelain bottle from her purse, took out a pill, and gave it to Li Lizhi to take.
After taking the medicine, Li Lizhi's complexion improved slightly. She waved her hand and said, "I'm fine. It's an old ailment. The medicine will help."
Unexpectedly, the maid who had just given Li Lizhi the medicine suddenly knelt down before Lin Xiaoqian and Jiang Shuang, saying, "This servant knows that neither of you are ordinary people. Please, two experts, examine my princess's illness."
Li Lizhi cried out in alarm, "Qingshao, shut up! Shopkeeper Lin and Miss Jiang are not doctors, how could they diagnose my illness? Don't talk nonsense!"
Then she said apologetically to Lin Xiaoqian and the others, "Please don't take offense, Qingqiao was only thinking of me and spoke without thinking in her anxiety. I've had this ailment since I was a child, and even after visiting many famous doctors, it's been difficult to cure. How could I make things difficult for you two?"
After saying that, she coughed lightly a few times, trying to calm her breathing.
Lin Xiaoqian and Jiang Shuang exchanged glances. Could this be the reason why Li Lizhi died young in history?
Lin Xiaoqian stepped forward and said softly, "Your Highness, although we are not doctors in the traditional sense, we do have some knowledge of unusual skills. Why don't you let us take a look at you?"