Chapter 68: Lapis Lazuli Ornaments (Part 2)

  Thank you for the rewards and comments from Qī Xīng Cǎo and diy714. As for Yuè Xiǎo Qiān's "update ticket", Dà Bái is powerless, still has to go to work, and types slowly, sorry, can't satisfy your demands.

  That large crystal flying horse ornament from earlier would definitely sell for a lot of money if taken out, and could raise quite a bit of grain!

  The ministers learned from the inner attendants that Li Er was in the Zhengzheng Hall of Empress Longsun, and without regard for anything else, rushed to the Zhengzheng Hall.

  Empress Zhangsun had already poured a cup of brewed tea for Li Er, and with a smile, she presented it to him, saying: "Second Brother, isn't Xiao'er being beaten enough for you to still be so happy?"

  "Haha, a few slaps are nothing! I'm just excited to see the victory of our troops next year." Li Er said with a smile, "You wait, that group of people will be over soon, let's prepare some more tea for them, they must be thirsty too."

  Just after finishing speaking, a large group rushed in, wanting to interrogate Li Er.

  Cheng Yaojin stepped forward with long strides and said, "Your Majesty, such a fine thing, why give it to the Turks? We can give them something else. That large piece of crystal is priceless!"

  Li Er smiled and said, "Don't be in a hurry, everyone have some tea!"

  "Your Majesty, what's going on here? You're still thinking about drinking tea?" Cheng Yaojin asked doubtfully, also somewhat unsure of Li Er's attitude.

  Li Er slapped his palms, and the palace maids entered in a line, carrying trays of exquisite, crystal-clear treasures that almost dazzled everyone's eyes.

  Cheng Yaojin rubbed his eyes, not believing what he saw. He stretched out his hand to touch each one and said: "Your Majesty, you have robbed the heavenly palace!"

  Li Erxiao smiled and said: "Do you think I'm like you?"

  Cheng Yaojin smiled wryly, thinking of the past when his father passed away and their family's fortunes declined. He took his mother to rely on his second uncle, but they were robbed of all their money and valuables. With no choice, he went out to find work, but it was a chaotic time and there was nothing to be found. Secretly, he went to rob, but ended up not getting any money, instead giving his clothes to a child who was almost naked, and returned home with bare shoulders.

  "This is the result of the craftsmen in the Imperial Workshop researching and improving the method of making glass, so from now on we can make as many glass decorations and ornaments as we want, not just one precious piece like you said." Li Er explained.

  The ministers were full of praise, marveling at the ingenuity, saying that such a fine thing must be worth a lot of money. If Your Majesty would bestow one, it would be wonderful; if not, they would like to buy one for their own families.

  "Your Majesty, can this thing be mass-produced?" The Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, Dai Zhen, was worried about collecting grain and grass, but he knew that those wealthy families were not without food, but were hoarding it to sell for a profit. Anyway, the government couldn't openly rob them, so the wealthy families had nothing to fear.

  Li Er nodded and said, "En, it can be mass-produced. Let's open a store in Chang'an to sell these glass products to foreign countries and make money as soon as possible to prepare for food and grass."

  Everyone heard that it can be mass-produced, and Li Er said that in order to raise grain and fodder, at that time the store will have to go and support it.

  Just then, two palace maids carried a glass mirror framed in purple sandalwood past each of the ministers, causing them to jump back in fright.

  "That... that's me..." In the past, everyone used copper mirrors, and people looked blurry and vague. Who would have thought it would be like this now, where you can even see every single hair on your head and eyelashes clearly? It's truly amazing.

  "This is a mirror, with these two things, I believe we can quickly raise grain and grass, next year will be the time when we conquer the Turks." Li Er sat on Long Yi's face, looking at the ministers' surprised expressions, thinking it was very interesting, but he forgot that when Empress Changsun first took out these things, his reaction was not much better than these ministers.

  Everyone listened and restrained their thoughts of continuing to observe, knelt down, and said loudly: "Congratulations to Your Majesty for obtaining this precious method, next year our Great Tang will surely win a victory over the Turks."

  Li Er is not a petty person, so he had Empress Changsun prepare a small piece of crystal and a small mirror for each of them. This made the courtiers even more grateful, thinking that His Majesty had obtained good things and thought of distributing them to them, not forgetting these old ministers. From now on, they must work harder and be diligent until death!

  Cheng Yaojin held a small mirror in his left hand and a crystal ornament in his right, grinning like a blooming flower. He said, "Your Majesty, look at my face, this beard, this small mirror is really too small, it can only reflect half of old Cheng's face, why not grant me that larger one instead?"

  Cheng Yaojin walked in front of the large mirror, raised his eyebrows and blinked his eyes, combed his hair and struck a pose, almost as if he was about to blow a kiss.

  Li Er thought he already knew Cheng Yaojin very well, but at this moment, he couldn't help but admire the thickness of his skin, which was comparable to a copper wall and an iron fortress, impenetrable to swords and guns!

  Valuables, Li Er himself doesn't have many, and they're all prepared to be taken out and sold. If this is given to Cheng Yaojin and not others, won't the others have some thoughts about it?

  It's not that there is not enough, but it's hard to distribute evenly!

  Li Jing saw Li Er's predicament and said, "Old Cheng, must you have a big mirror here? Those are all for the emperor's great use. If next year your troops don't need grain or hay, then the emperor will certainly give you this mirror."

  "How can this be? No food or fodder, my brother and the northwest wind! It's just a broken mirror, what's the big deal?" Cheng Yaojin was furious when he heard this, no food or fodder, wouldn't they starve to death?

  "Hmph!" Li Er was left speechless, something that had just been praised to the skies had suddenly become a broken mirror in Cheng Yaojin's mouth, this change was indeed quite big.

  Cheng Yaojin also felt that he had misspoken, and chuckled: "Let's just say old Cheng farted!"

  Everyone finally couldn't help it and burst out laughing.

  Chang Sun Wu Jin was excited like everyone else about Li Er finding a way to collect grain and fodder, but in his heart he was thinking that this method seemed to be contributed by his son. He had previously heard that his son wanted to do business and gave the more profitable one to the emperor's sister. At that time, he thought it was just a small deal, but unexpectedly it was such a good thing, worthy of being the son of Chang Sun Wu Jin.

  Everyone walked out with excitement, comparing the things in their hands. When I get home today, my old wife will be very happy. Although Your Majesty's rewards are frequent, these two things are extremely precious and it is also the first time to receive such a reward, feeling proud in my heart.

  After everyone had left, Empress Longsun finally came out from behind. Originally, Li Er thought it was not necessary to hide, but Empress Longsun believed that today the ministers came for national affairs, and as a woman she could not be outside; if it were family matters, then she would not say anything. The man is in charge of external affairs, the woman is in charge of internal affairs, Empress Longsun carried this out very thoroughly.

  Empress Changsun understood her second brother, from start to finish he had his own ideas. Once he had a goal and made a decision, he would work hard to complete it. As the wife of such a man, she could only take good care of him by his side, share his joy when he was victorious; give him a shoulder, an embrace when he was disheartened.

  "Guanyin, thank you!" Li Er said softly, with tender affection.

  Empress Zhangsun shook her head and said, "That was a recipe contributed by Chong'er, but Chong'er is still young now and cannot bear too much grace. We just need to remember his kindness in our hearts."

  "I know that this time Chong Er will have to suffer, but I will double my efforts to avenge Chong Er." Li Er said in a low voice, "Has the matter of the shop been arranged?"

  The Empress Changsun smiled and said, "Second brother, rest assured, it's already been arranged. Three days later, we'll open for business. Now that the Turkic envoy has received the crystal gift, by tomorrow everyone will know about it. Three days later, when we open our shop, business will definitely be booming."

  "These things cost little, and it's a pity to sell them at such a low price. If you make some money in a few years, you can lower the price, otherwise, it would be unbearable!" Princess Changsun thought it was not worth it, so she took the things that were given to the Turkic envoy today, which cost only five guan of money, but selling them for ten thousand guan is not a difficult task. There is a profit of 2,000 times in this, which shows its exorbitant profits.