After that, the officials kept the carriage curtain open the rest of the way. Wherever there were fields by the roadside, the corn, the crops, the bean sprouts—all of it grew luxuriantly, nothing like what they'd seen elsewhere.
In the Ministry of Revenue, when they were younger, they often went out into the fields—why? To see for themselves; otherwise, they'd have no idea how much a mu of land yielded. When reports came in claiming one dan or eight- or nine-dou, they couldn't tell truth from falsehood.
[1 mu ≈ 666.67 m²; 1 dou ≈ 10 kg (based on a rule of thumb for unmilled rice)]
Now they'd seen, asked, touched, and confirmed it: this fertilizer worked!
This trip wasn't wasted.
Fang Zichen hadn't fooled the Emperor.
---
Everyone was in high spirits, so even when Fang Zichen spoke harshly, no one shot him any resentful glares—not that they dared to. Apart from Lao Gu, the others were officials of the fourth or fifth rank—who'd dare glare at a third-rank official? Only a fool would risk their life that way.
But when Fang Zichen heard why they'd come, his face immediately dropped.
They want my fertilizer?
How sweet of them to dream.
I'm counting on this stuff to make a living!
Seeing his expression, Lao Gu laughed at once. "Lord Fang, this fertilizer is a wonderful thing for the people. If it could be promoted far and wide so that common people everywhere could use it, that would be a tremendous act of merit!"
"Do you see the words 'selfless and devoted' written on my face?" Fang Zichen suddenly asked.
Lao Gu stammered, "No."
"Exactly." It wasn't that he didn't want the common people to fare better, or that he felt no pity seeing them go hungry and cold—he wasn't some wicked miser. But this old man clearly wanted something for nothing.
What a dreamer! I'm usually the one taking advantage of people — and they dare to try taking advantage of me? Not a chance.
Lao Gu smiled and said, "Lord Fang, this is negotiable! If you hand over the formula for the chemical fertilizer, then factories could be built elsewhere too..."
Learn from him and build factories—meaning they wanted to learn how to make money too. And they called it "for the people's good"—what a pretty speech. Fang Zichen's fists clenched, his face dark and gloomy. "I don't think there's anything to negotiate."
"What if His Majesty gives you ten percent of the profits?"
"No means n— Huh?" Fang Zichen's eyes flew wide open, nearly popping out of their sockets. His breathing quickened, and he immediately beamed, sidling up to Lao Gu. "Ten percent for me? His Majesty wants to build it? Well then, that is negotiable! Come, Lao Gu, let's go inside and talk it over slowly. You must be tired after such a long journey—come in, come in."
The imperial guards: "..."
My lord, your face changed way too fast.
Show a little restraint!
Fang Zichen turned and bellowed into the courtyard: "Son! Son! Go fetch a couple of ladles of water for our guests."
So it was the Emperor who wanted to build the factory.
This emperor wasn't some muddleheaded tyrant—Fang Zichen could trust him with the chemical fertilizer formula. But just a moment ago, he'd thought these old men had gotten wind of the chemical fertilizer and come running to squeeze the formula out of him so they could build factories themselves, sell the fertilizer at sky-high prices to the people, and line their own pockets.
He had limited reach on his own. But if the Emperor stepped in and built fertilizer factories across every prefecture and county, so everyone could get their hands on it, that truly would be a good thing for the common people.
These men, sent by the Emperor, were clearly trusted allies.
"How the chemical fertilizer is made—you'll see with just a few looks inside the factory," Fang Zichen said.
Guaizai had poured water for them, but instead of leaving, he climbed onto Fang Zichen's lap and sat nicely.
"Excellent." Lao Gu took a sip of water—it came from a mountain stream, cool and sweet. Not as refined as tea, but refreshing in its own way. One gulp cooled him right down, perfect for the warm weather.
Fang Zichen smiled. "If this chemical fertilizer really gets promoted everywhere, then the common people's lives will improve. Lao Gu, you know me—I don't have many virtues, but I care about the people, I'm selfless, upright, and incorruptible. But if His Majesty insists on giving me ten percent of the profits, well..."
He coughed. Guaizai, being of one mind with him—old partners in crime—caught the signal immediately and furrowed his little brows. "Father, Uncle Emperor is far too courteous!"
Fang Zichen shook his head with a sigh. "Indeed, far too formal."
"But Father," Guaizai said, swinging his little feet, looking very troubled, "if you refuse, wouldn't you be slighting Uncle Emperor? That wouldn't be good! Uncle Emperor would be very sad."
"Exactly," Fang Zichen sighed long and deep. "In that case, I suppose I'll have to reluctantly accept."
"Father, you've worked so hard."
"It's nothing. In the adult world, nothing comes easy. When you grow up, you'll understand." Fang Zichen turned to Lao Gu. "Lao Gu, when you get back to the capital, remember to tell His Majesty for me—next time, don't be so polite."
Lao Gu and the others: "..."
This father-son pair had no shame—they took the advantage and still played the victim.
Their feet itched to kick someone.
Lao Gu and the others had to press down hard on their legs to hold back. They had to—lest their feet lash out on their own.
Part of it was anger, part was pure envy.
No one knew yet how much money this chemical fertilizer could make, but once it spread across the entire Da Xia, how many factories would have to be built? Dozens at least. And how many common people were there? Household after household using it—even if each sack netted only two copper coins, a little would add up to a mountain. Ten percent of the profits was a staggering figure!
How could they not be green with envy.
Even Xia Jinghong hadn't originally wanted to give it. And he knew that even without that ten percent, Fang Zichen would have handed over the formula—not out of fear, but because it was a good thing and Fang Zichen knew where to draw the line.
But if he didn't give a little incentive, the next time Fang Zichen cooked up something useful for the people, he'd hide it away and tell no one.
Xia Jinghong had him pegged—this was a man who wouldn't let the eagle go without seeing the meat.
After much deliberation, he finally decided to give him a ten percent share.
Zhao Ger stood to the side, his face faintly flushed with embarrassment. He could hardly sit still anymore. "The dishes in the kitchen should be ready by now. Let me take you all over."
By this time, everyone was indeed hungry.
Once they learned how useful the chemical fertilizer was, the group had grown so anxious and excited that they rushed over without stopping. They'd barely eaten on the road—just a few steamed buns over the past two days to keep their stomachs from growling. Of course they were starving.
As they followed Zhao Ger out the door and hadn't gone far, the sound of Fang Zichen and Guaizai's giggles rang out.
"Son, we're really going to be counting silver till our fingers cramp now! Didn't you want a big gold chain? Tomorrow your father will have someone make you a twenty-jin (10 kg) one. How about that? Happy?"
"Happy! Father, we're going to be filthy rich this time!"
"Right, right! Hahaha..."
"Father, Guaizai wants a big gold chain, and I also want a big gold tooth."
"A big gold tooth? No problem at all! If you want it, you'll have it! Our family's rich now. Next time, I'll tinker around and make you a pair of sunglasses too, and have Grandpa Tang sew you a little vest. Then when you walk around outside, people will take one look and know you're a big shot—you'll be mighty impressive."
"Awesome! Awesome! We're rich, so happy, hehehe."
The old men couldn't take another step. Damn it, they really wanted to go back and kick that rascal first!
No comments:
Post a Comment