Insufficient balance

  The entire dividend of the sugar warehouse has been delivered to Zheng Kezang's hands. Apart from the 1,070 taels that Zheng Kezang had already spent earlier, he also received the remaining 2,300 taels. What? The money is too little. Don't get it wrong, this isn't a scene from some trivial drama where eating a few buns costs four or five taels of silver. You should know that back when Zheng Tai was in charge of the Five Merchants and Ten Directions for over 20 years, he only managed to accumulate a family fortune of around one million taels. For Zheng Kezang to gain nearly 3,500 taels from a 2% profit on a single commodity is already quite substantial.

  Of course, from a universal point of view, most people think that the more money they have, the better. Zheng Kezang is no exception. However, as the saying goes, "a gentleman loves wealth but takes it in a proper way." Moreover, Taiwan is the foundation and cornerstone for Zheng Kezang's future endeavors, so he will not do anything foolish like killing the goose that lays the golden eggs.

  ??

  "Is this the abandoned brick kiln of the Ministry of Works?" With money, one naturally wants to spend it. Zheng Kezang's way of spending money may seem like a child not knowing the value of rice and salt in others' eyes, but he didn't agree with that view. "It looks so spacious, why did the Ministry of Works abandon it?"

  "In response to the young master, the kiln itself is good," said Ding, a craftsman who had seen Zhu Chenggong when he was young, and although his attitude was respectful, at least he didn't tremble with fear like other craftsmen did when facing Zheng Kecang. "It's just that it's hard to get soil from this side, and secondly, the grass and wood used as dyes are also hard to obtain, so the Ministry of Works has abandoned this kiln."

  "Really?" Zheng Kezang nodded. "It's been abandoned for over a year, if we want to start firing the kiln again immediately, don't we need to send someone to repair it first?"

  "It's like this, but it doesn't take too much manpower and materials, just simply clean up and it's done."

  "How much would it roughly cost?" Zheng Kezang asked carefully, he was a novice in this aspect. "Is thirty taels enough?"

  Ding Dagong recalculated for a while before giving out the number: "Actually, we don't need that much, twenty taels would be enough."

  "Gold nineteen, wait a moment and return to the mansion to pay thirty taels to Carpenter Ding. Looking at someone who looked somewhat stunned, Zheng Kezang smiled calmly. "Also, clean up the road surface on the way in, no one's legs will be comfortable with mud, as for the extra, it can be considered as my gift to all of you masters, I'll have to trouble you all later."

  "Cannot, cannot!" Seeing Zheng Kezang bowing to them with a calm expression, the group of craftsmen looked at each other in surprise, none of them expecting such respect from Zheng. It took them a while to come back to their senses, and they hastily responded in disarray. "Young Master, whatever you need, just give us an order, we'll do our best, we won't disappoint!"

  ??”

  After finishing speaking, more than a dozen master craftsmen and workers began to work busily, at this time Zheng Kezang summoned Ding Dagong alone again.

  "Since it was a brick kiln before, there should be some leftover earth blocks and some burnt bricks and tiles left, right?"

  "Even if the earth blocks haven't been taken away by the Ministry of Works, they can't be used again after being blown and washed by the wind and rain. As for the burnt and discarded bricks and tiles, there's a big pile behind the kiln."

  Zheng Kezang was delighted: "Take me to see."

  Before long, a rubble heap overgrown with green moss appeared before the two of them: "Young Master, it's here. This place is foul-smelling; Young Master shouldn't linger for too long."

  "Take a few people, smash all the waste bricks and tiles into fine sand-like powder, which will be useful in the future."

  "Alright!" Zheng Kezang was quite surprised to see Ding Dagong agree so readily. Grinding the massive amount of brick and tile waste into sand powder under current technical conditions was a monumental task, didn't the other person feel any pressure at all? Zheng Kezang thought for a moment, perhaps this was just his own blind spot. He considered it clumsy, cumbersome, time-consuming, and labor-intensive work, but for craftsmen of this era, it was actually normal operation.

  "I see a small stream on the side, and the water is quite rapid. Let's build another water mill, and when grinding bricks and sand, try to use the water mill as much as possible." Although he seemed to understand, Zheng Kezang still had a sympathetic heart. Of course, if one had to make an excuse, it could be said that Zheng Kezang was thinking about work efficiency, after all, humans and livestock couldn't keep working for twelve hours straight.

  "Also, when screening and separating materials, tell the craftsmen to cover their mouths and noses with hemp cloth, and absolutely do not let them uncover themselves just because they feel it's inconvenient." Although it's unclear why Zheng Kezang said this, from his previous words, it can be seen that he was thinking about the well-being of the craftsmen. Ding Dagong still responded accordingly.

  "Nothing else to say for now, once the brick kiln is repaired, let's first burn a batch of firebricks."

  "Fire brick?" Ding Da Gong touched the back of his head and asked uncertainly. "Young Master, what is a fire brick?"

  "I'm going to fall!" Zheng Kezang, who was crossing a muddy road, almost tripped and it took him a long time to come back to his senses. No wonder, Ding Dagong might not have heard of what firebricks are, so he thought for a moment, that is to say, firebricks are refractory bricks, and there are several types of refractory clay, including refractory clay, flint clay (hard clay), ball clay (plastic clay) and kaolin. However, all refractory clays contain kaolinite, which is also one of the raw materials for ceramics. "It's a kind of brick made from ceramic clay, wait, I'll tell you about the shape of the bricks, you can follow the drawing later."

  Ding Dagong suddenly realized this, and at this time Zheng Kezang suddenly thought of another thing: "I almost forgot, build another limestone kiln."

  In the early days, Zheng's army often used shells such as oyster shells to burn and serve as lime. Sometimes they didn't even have time to burn them and directly used them to build walls. Until now, there are still similar national surname walls on both sides of the Minhai Strait. Of course, doing so at that time was unconditional for convenience, but nowadays Zheng Kezang has people, time, and Tainan has many limestone mountains, so it's not necessary to be simple due to difficulties.

  "The little man obeys orders, nothing more, nothing less."

  ??”

  Ding Dagong's voice was somewhat hesitant, and it's no wonder he would be timid, after all, Zheng Kecang's identity was really too high for him to reach, he didn't dare confirm whether his words, if spoken, would make the other party feel offended.

  "What's that?" Zheng Kezang looked at Ding Dagong with a puzzled expression. "Speak up, I won't blame you."

  Seeing Zheng Kezang's attitude was not pretending, Ding Dagong gritted his teeth: "Can the young master tell the little people what refractory bricks and brick powder are? Now that you want to build a kiln, what exactly do you want to make? In case someone from the Ministry of Works comes to investigate, I can also report truthfully."

  "What is the Ministry of Works doing?" Zheng Kezang said, and Ding Dagong could no longer hold on, immediately kneeling down. Seeing his sincere fear and pleading for mercy, Zheng Kezang smiled faintly. "Get up and talk," Ding Dagong was afraid to move, so Zheng Kezang gestured for the palace attendant to come and assist him. When he saw the attendant really coming over to help him, Ding Dagong jumped up like a startled rabbit. "I know your difficulties," seeing Ding Dagong get up, Zheng Kezang said as if to himself. "And I also know someone is secretly watching me. Never mind, it's not difficult for you either. If someone asks, you can tell them that I am preparing to create something called cement."

  ??”

  "Cement? Is it turning water into mud or replacing mud with water?" The report quickly arrived at Chen Yonghua's desk, and Chen Yonghua, who was smiling bitterly while looking at the report, casually put it away in the file. While muttering to himself, he wrote a memorial to Zhu Jin, but after writing a few sentences, he suddenly stopped his pen. "Big prince, big prince, as the eldest son of the emperor, you don't take your duties seriously, how can I explain this to the emperor?" After saying that, he burned the half-written memorial in the brazier and ordered: "Someone come!" The attendant outside the door ran in. "Go invite Yang Xian, the Minister of Works, to come over for lunch."

  ??”

  As for Chen Yonghua's cover-up, Zheng Kecang was unaware of it. Even if he knew, he wouldn't mind, because the cement kiln was just the first step in what he wanted to do. Next, he would speed up his pace and find ways to set foot in the shipyard, iron foundry, gunpowder workshop, and armory - using Fang Ming's knowledge to seek a change for himself in this life, an unpredictable turning point in fate.

  Of course, rice is to be eaten mouthful by mouthful and roads are to be walked step by step. At the moment, 13-year-old Zheng Kezang's main task is still following Lv Fuzi to study and using most of his free time to train the Tongziying, this future elite force. However, there are many things that young Zheng Kezang cannot control, such as

  ??

  "Mother, call your son over, what instructions do you have?"

  Zheng Kezang rushed back from the children's camp, drenched in sweat. He hadn't expected to be summoned by Chen Zhaoniang before he even had a chance to wash up.

  "Qinsha, don't go to Tongziying tomorrow." Zheng Kechang was taken aback by her words and didn't know what she meant. Then he heard Chen Zhaoniang reveal the answer herself. "Tomorrow, Chancellor Chen and several high-ranking officials' wives will enter the palace to pay their respects to the Empress Dowager, and they may come to visit Mother on their way. You should stay behind and accompany Mother to meet them."

  What does the imperial concubine have to do with him? Zheng Kezang was somewhat perplexed, and it made sense. Although Zheng Kezang's status was noble, he was just a teenager after all. He had his father, Zhu Jin, above him, and outside, there was the powerful minister Chen Yonghua. What did this imperial concubine have to do with him?

  However, in this era where filial piety is paramount, his mother has already spoken, and Zheng Kezang can only obey with humility.

  The next day, Zheng Kezang paid his respects to Dong Guotai, and surprisingly, she made an exception and kept him there. Before Zheng Kezang could figure out what today's date was, Chen Yonghua, Feng Xifan, and other wives of prominent officials came to pay their respects after Zheng Kesha. At this time, standing behind Dong Guotai, Zheng Kezang saw the young ladies in embroidered clothes behind the madams, and he suddenly understood that this was a blind date, but it seemed a bit too early.

  "Grandma, I still have homework here, it's not good to keep the teacher waiting."

  Now that they had met and there was no use in hiding, Zheng Kezang, who didn't want to stay under the scrutiny of the women for too long, sought an opportunity to take his leave. Dong Guotai had already fulfilled her duty as a grandmother and wouldn't retain him, so Zheng Kezang was able to bid farewell and exit. However, his ordeal wasn't over yet - after meeting with Dong Guotai and Tang Furen, he still had to go to Chen Zhaoniang's Lotus Pavilion, so he hadn't completely escaped the situation of being scrutinized by his mother-in-law.

  ??

  He had left Dong Guotai's house, but the conversation in the room still lingered in Zheng Kecang's ears: "Big Master, you'll be fourteen years old after the New Year, won't you? Seeing Big Master, I seem to have seen the young master of the national surname back then."

  ??”

  "Am I as successful as Zhu?" Zheng Kezang asked himself as he rushed along the road. "No, Zhu Sui was a failure in everything, the only thing he could do was to recover Taiwan, and I will definitely do better than him!" Zheng Kezang made up his mind secretly. "Kangxi Emperor, since I have come, there will be no so-called Kangxi Prosperity anymore!"