Volume 1 Princess Taiping Grows Up Chapter 35: Making Money
It feels really good to sit together as a family and eat hotpot, especially in the cold winter when you sweat all over.
But as I said, hot pot without chili really has no soul!
While eating, Li Yuechen secretly swore in his heart that when he made money by making glass in the future, the first thing he would do was to organize a fleet to go to the other side of the ocean to find chili peppers.
It would be better to bring back potatoes, corn and other things as well, so that the food supply in the Tang Dynasty will be more abundant and the yield will be higher.
But now...
Li Yuechen looked up and saw that the family didn't know what chili was, so they were enjoying the plain hotpot.
Especially Li Zhi, his face was flushed and his forehead was covered with sweat, but he was still eating with big mouthfuls.
The other brothers also had great appetites, and Li Xian even took out a folding fan and fanned himself while eating.
Mother Wu Zetian still maintained her proper dignity and demeanor, but she also fanned herself from time to time.
As the saying goes, the daily life of ordinary people is most soothing to their hearts.
Even if they are emperors and empresses, they are still mortals after all!
Looking at the couple, Li Yuechen laughed from the bottom of his heart.
Then he picked up a piece of boiled mutton with chopsticks and put it into his mouth. However, when he put the chopsticks into his mouth, he felt a pain in his mouth.
"Um!"
Li Zhi turned his head: "Chen'er, what's wrong?"
Li Yuechen raised her head in confusion, and reached into her mouth to touch her front teeth: "Child...it seems like I'm going to change my teeth..."
"This is a good thing!" Li Zhi smiled, "But you have to be careful in the next few days."
"Yeah." Li Yuechen nodded to show that he understood.
Now that the tooth has just become loose, it cannot be pulled out forcibly, so Li Yuechen just has to eat carefully.
After eating hot pot, I returned to Chengxiang Palace and happened to meet Shangguan Wan'er, and we chatted for a while.
"Your Highness, are your teeth loose today?" Shangguan Wan'er looked surprised. "Wan'er is the same."
"Really?" Li Yuechen smiled, "That's quite a coincidence."
Shangguan Wan'er was kneeling beside him and suddenly raised her head: "Your Highness, is your loose tooth on the top or the bottom?"
"Upper teeth."
"Can you join me in burying my chi when the time comes?" Shangguan Wan'er asked.
Li Yuechen didn't know what it meant: "Bury teeth?"
After Shangguan Wan'er's explanation, I finally understood that the lower teeth should be thrown to a high place, such as the roof, while the upper teeth are usually buried in the ground.
"Okay!" Li Yuechen waved her hand. Although she didn't care much about this, since Shangguan Wan'er brought it up, it didn't matter if she played with her.
…
By the end of October, winter had completely arrived.
Although it hasn't snowed yet, the white mist coming out of the mouth along with the breathing is becoming more and more obvious.
After practicing in the morning, Li Yuechen returned to Chengxiang Hall, feeling the cold air in the hall. He looked at the charcoal fire tray next to Shangguan Wan'er's desk and thought about how to make the honeycomb coal stove.
It’s actually very simple to build a stove, but the question is how should the pipes be laid?
People in that era were very particular about feng shui. Li Zhi might not agree to placing a stove in the hall, with long pipes in between.
Not to mention that the space inside the hall is quite large. Li Yuechen expressed doubts as to whether the heat from a small stove could radiate throughout the entire hall.
In addition to the honeycomb coal stove, I have seen that kind of fireplace when I was skiing in Europe before.
To be honest, the fireplace feels much better than air conditioning and heating, after all, it is real fire.
But the problem is that the Daming Palace is a wooden structure, and burning a fireplace in such a place... this is not the right way to commit suicide.
With Li Yuechen's ability, these are the only two options he can think of. Unfortunately, neither of them can be used in the palace.
The outside was okay, after all, there were actually brick houses at this time. But the mainstream was still wooden houses.
Most of the bricks from this period were used to build large projects such as city walls.
Never mind, that's all for now.
If I can set up a residence outside in the future, I must build a brick house to live in, at least to ensure that I won’t be cold in winter.
Shangguan Wan'er, who was writing at the desk, saw Li Yuechen sitting cross-legged next to the charcoal brazier in deep thought, and couldn't help but ask, "What are you thinking about, Your Highness?"
"Thinking about useless things..." Li Yuechen stood up. It was too early to think about these things now.
Coming to the table, he asked quietly, "Wan'er, don't you want to eat peaches?"
"Peaches?" Shangguan Wan'er turned her head with curiosity. "It's already winter, where can I find peaches?"
"hey-hey."
Li Yuechen smiled mysteriously, stood up and ran to the corner behind Chengxiang Hall, picked out a can from the first batch of his making, and came to the table.
"Xiao He, bring two pairs of chopsticks! And a knife."
“Yes!”
After a while, Xiao He brought what Li Yuechen wanted.
After using a knife to remove the wax seal on the mouth of the jar, a "pop" sound was clearly heard.
Hearing this voice, Li Yuechen knew in his heart that it was most likely successful.
Then he opened the cork and saw that, sure enough, the bright yellow peaches were soaked in sugar water without any signs of mold.
"Wow, it's true!" Shangguan Wan'er next to her widened her eyes.
Li Yuechen smiled, first moved closer to the mouth of the jar and smelled it. He didn't smell any rotten smell, then he picked up a piece with chopsticks and put it into his mouth.
The sweetness of the syrup mixed with the taste of the peach itself fills your mouth in an instant.
Li Yuechen couldn't help but take a deep breath: "Comfortable... Wan'er, come and eat!"
Shangguan Wan'er nodded: "Thank you, Your Highness."
Then he picked up a piece of peach with chopsticks and took a bite. In an instant, his little face was filled with happiness.
After all, it is unbelievable to be able to eat canned food in this season.
Li Yuechen asked Xiaohe to bring two more cans and open them, and they were also not spoiled.
So he called Fulai to take the two cans and go to Yanying Palace together.
…
When I entered the hall, I saw Li Zhi lying on a rocking chair, turning a health ball in his hand, and chatting with Wu Zetian about something.
Seeing Li Yuechen coming in, Li Zhi smiled widely: "Chen'er, come here and talk to me."
Li Yuechen stepped over to the recliner in small skipping steps: "Grandpa, are you in a good mood today?"
"It's okay." Li Zhi smiled.
"That's good. Today I'm here to give you a small gift."
As he spoke, Li Yuechen waved to Fu Lai outside: "Eunuch Fu, bring it in quickly!"
Li Zhi stood up from the recliner with some curiosity: "Oh? Then I have to take a closer look at what it is."
Wu Zetian, who was behind the desk, also put down her pen and walked over, wanting to see what it was.
Fulai placed two porcelain jars on the table, opened the corks, and the bright orange peaches inside appeared before his eyes.
"Peach?"
Li Zhi was a little stunned: "Why are there peaches in this season?"
Wu Zetian, who was standing next to him, was also a little curious. She bent down and smelled it, and found that it was not rotten and was indeed a real peach.
Li Yuechen lay on the rocking chair with a proud look on his face: "Hehe, some time ago, Grandpa said he wanted to eat lychees, but the place of production is far away, so I went back to think of a way to preserve the fruit for a long time. This peach is the batch that Grandpa gave me in the first half of the year, and it is still not rotten."
Li Zhi asked Zhang Chengxin to bring two pairs of chopsticks and ate a piece himself. Wu Zetian also picked up a piece and put it in her mouth, both of them looked a little unbelievable.
Li Yuechen, who was lying on the rocking chair, crossed his legs and acted proud: "How is it? Isn't the kid awesome?"
“Hahaha… amazing!” Li Zhi laughed and picked her up and held her high up, “You are worthy of being my daughter! Hahaha…”
Wu Zetian, who was standing beside him, had a slightly solemn expression on her face: "Your Majesty, this method is very useful!"
"Yes." Li Zhi picked up his daughter and nodded, "Chen'er, are you willing to contribute this method?"
Li Yuechen shook his head: "I don't want to!"
"You..." Wu Zetian, who was standing next to her, was about to teach her a lesson, but was stopped by Li Zhi who waved his hand.
He turned his head and asked, "Why is Chen'er unwilling?"
"Because I want to open a shop in the city and sell this thing to make a lot of money!"
As he spoke, Li Yuechen opened his arms to show that they were very big.
Wu Zetian frowned and said, "As a princess of the royal family, you are actually going to do such lowly business?"
Li Yuechen looked at her and said, "I went to the court recently and always heard the officials say that there was no money for disaster relief. This matter made my parents worry every day. Since they won't solve it, I will find a way to make money. As long as I have money, my parents won't have to worry about it. What does it matter if I am lowly? I don't care about that!"
Hearing her say this, Wu Zetian's frown relaxed and her tone softened.
"Chen'er, mother knows that you are filial, but you are a princess of the royal family, you can't..."
"No problem!" Li Zhi waved his hand to stop her from continuing, "Which of those royal relatives doesn't have a private shop? It's lowly, but isn't it common for everyone?"
"Your Majesty, this is different..."
"I know!" Li Zhi nodded, but then he laughed, "Just like them, Chen'er doesn't have to show up in person. Just treat it as fun!"
“……”Wu Zetian didn’t know what to say.
Li Zhi put his daughter down and said, "Chen'er, do what you want to do. I will support you!"
"Grandpa is so mighty!" Li Yuechen raised his hands and jumped on the spot, then smiled and stuck out his tongue at Wu Zetian.
Since the emperor had given the order, Wu Zetian didn't say anything, but warned Li Yuechen: "You must not personally appear in this matter! Do you understand?"
"Don't worry, I understand!" Li Yuechen came to her with a smile, "I will make a lot of money so that mom and dad won't worry about this anymore!"
Li Zhi next to him grinned: "Okay, then I'll be waiting!"
From his expression, you can tell that he doesn't take it seriously at all. After all, it's just a can. How much money can he make?
Li Yuechen knew better in his heart, what was canned food? It was just an appetizer!
When I make glass, refined salt and other things, I will let you know what a Datang state-owned enterprise is!
At this point, Li Yuechen turned around and asked, "Does Eunuch Fu have anyone he can trust?"
When Fu Lai heard this, he was immediately delighted. The princess wanted to let him handle this matter!
So I immediately bowed and said, "Your Highness, I have a nephew who has studied in a private school for a few years and knows how to do accounting. He is trustworthy!"
Li Yuechen nodded: "Then I'll leave this matter to you. Collect fruits next year and open a shop in West Market by the end of the year."
“Yes!”
At this point, Li Yuechen raised his head and said, "The money I earned was used to help my parents solve their problems! You can't be greedy!"
"Ouch!"
Fulai quickly knelt on the ground, with a look of horror on his face: "Even if I borrow ten of my courage, I can't do this! Otherwise, how can I be worthy of His Highness' trust?"
"Alright, alright, get up!" Li Yuechen ran over and pulled his arm to make him stand up. "After the New Year, you should go to Lingnan and collect lychees there. You must let your parents eat lychees next year!"
"Yes!" Fu Lai agreed quickly.
After explaining all this to Li Zhi and his wife, Li Yuechen said hello and turned to leave.
After she left, Li Zhi sat down with a smile: "Chen'er is quite skilled in controlling his subordinates! He knows how to use my name to warn them... He is really talented!"
"Your Majesty is so fond of her, aren't you afraid of spoiling her?" Wu Zetian sat down beside him unhappily.
"Don't worry, Chen'er is naturally smart and talented!" Li Zhi picked up a peach and fed it to her, "Come, eat the peach!"
"I don't want to eat it!" Wu Zetian glanced at him and turned her head away.
"Alright, alright..." Li Zhi comforted her, "If Chen Er makes a mistake in the future, I will definitely teach her a lesson! Is this feasible? Come on, come on, eat peaches! "
Wu Zetian turned her head and glanced at him. Although she knew that he was definitely trying to comfort her, she still opened her mouth and took a bite.
…
Half a month later, Shangguan Wan'er and Li Yuechen's first baby teeth finally fell out one after another.
The two of them walked hand in hand to the edge of Taiye Lake and threw the teeth wrapped in red thread into the lake.
Now when Li Yuechen smiles, you can see that she has a missing tooth, and her voice is lisp when she speaks, which is very funny.
Even her brothers couldn't help laughing at her when they saw her.
Li Yuechen certainly didn't care about these things, but seeing her brothers laughing at her, she couldn't help but want to punch them.
But when Li Hong took the canned food she gave him to show off to his other brothers, his second brother Li Xian came over and admitted his mistake.
"Oh, Yuechen, just give some to me!" Li Xian begged pitifully.
Li Xian next to him also looked pitiful.
"Humph, I won't give it to you!" Li Yuechen turned his head away, "Who told you to laugh at me?"
"Oh, brother, I admit my mistake! As brothers, we shouldn't laugh at Yuechen!" Li Xian pulled the third brother and saluted solemnly.
The fourth brother, Li Lun, watched from the side and almost finished, then rubbed his face to make his smile less obvious.
"Yuechen, since both brothers know they are wrong, just share some."
Li Yuechen crossed his arms in front of his chest: "Since Fourth Brother has spoken, let's divide some."
Li Xian raised his head and ran over with a smile on his face: "Haha, I knew Yuechen was the best! We can finally eat some fruits in this winter! Don't worry, Yuechen, if anyone bullies you in the future, just tell them your name!"
These words almost made Li Yuechen turn around and punch him.
I'm a princess of the royal family. Who dares to bully me? I is buried in the wilderness!
But despite all the complaints, he still gave him and Li Xian some canned food in the end.
Besides, her brothers are always very fond of her, so this is what she should do.
