The weak scholar in the end of ancient times

Chapter 73 Rich
Shen Liu thought he had guessed what his uncle was thinking.

Wen Gu keenly felt that there might be some other trends here.

Even though Old Zhao and Little Zhao did not value the Zhao family members from the side branches, they would always give a warning or two when they heard the news of a fight between the two neighborhoods. But this time they just ignored it.

Do you really not want to care, or are you too busy with other matters?

It shouldn't be a bad thing.

If he was really in a bad mood, no matter whether it was the Zhao family or the Shen family, those young masters would be hung up and beaten.

But now it is still the same as before, even though we ignore it, we are still relatively tolerant.

It means nothing bad has happened yet.

As the day got colder, although Shen Liu complained that Jingxingfang was too small and shabby, he still went there frequently. He came every day to see the progress of the garden construction and to talk to Wen Gu about the gossip in the neighborhood.

It is also a source of information.

Wen Gu ignored the affairs of Wanfu Garden and sat at his desk, asking Cheng Zhi to summarize some of the information he had collected during this period.

For example, which teams came from the south during this period, and how many hunting troops were there to support them?

But after thinking about it, Wen Gu felt that something was wrong.

The main force of the hunting army seems to have not returned yet.

The city defense forces were busy with perimeter security and fortifications, but what about the hunting troops? Where had the main force gone?
The six major clans did not fight each other, and their main task in winter was to hunt evil creatures and attract wealthy people.

The number of hunting troops escorted by the northward migration teams of the aristocratic families that arrived one after another was much smaller than expected.

Logically speaking, given the current situation, the support team will not have to go too far, and will need to travel back and forth for supplies, rest, and shift changes every few days.

But as of now, the numbers are not right.

There are still many empty military camps belonging to the hunting army in the outer city area, and the main force that went out has not returned yet.

Either he is carrying out some secret strategic deployment, or he is going to meet a wealthy man, or both.

Wen Gu took out the market map drawn by Cheng Zhi. During this period, He Da had collected information about various markets.

There are some large blocks near the core area, where entry and exit are strictly controlled and you need a wooden sign to enter.

He Da didn't know the situation in those neighborhoods, and could only judge who lived there based on the information he heard sporadically.

Wen Gu's gaze swept across the various markets and stopped at one place.

This place was not noticed before. It neither belonged to Zhao's relatives nor did it look like a well-known dignitary.
The people who usually come in and out are more like craftsmen who build houses and take care of the yard.

After summarizing the information, it turns out that this place actually hides many mysteries.

The name of the neighborhood was given by a civil servant under Lao Zhao, and its identity cannot be seen.

But, you can change it after you have chosen it.

Could it be that there is another wealthy person who has not arrived yet?
……

A port facing the sea to the east.

There are many ports along the coastline on the east side of the country. It was not originally a big port, but it was still a wealthy seaside town.

There are large houses built against the mountains, and small houses built by the sea.

After the evil plague, this place was filled with death, and it became even quieter when winter came.

Only from time to time could one hear bursts of beast-like grunting sounds, which was creepy.

Until one day, horseshoes like thunder arrived here.

The dark shadows hiding in the house roared and tried to rush out, but the snow was flying and the weather was cold, and the low temperature severely restricted their movements.

Bowstrings were pulled, and lightning-like sword lights and cold light reflected from armor flashed one after another.

In the surrounding woods, the trees were cut down and felled, making a series of crackling sounds on this snowy day.

Black smoke from the burning ditch rose in the distance.

A few days later, this seaside port town had completely changed.

Houses were cleared and smoked.

More cavalry and foot soldiers arrived and set up camp.

Nearly half of the Zhao clan's hunting teams gathered here after hunting.

They wanted to build a strong military town in this deserted port and at the same time receive distinguished guests from afar.

The weather was getting colder and colder, and the general leading the team became increasingly anxious as he looked at the sea that was about to freeze.

Fortunately, the distinguished guest they were waiting for arrived just as the sea was about to freeze.

Under the gloomy sky, the shadow of a sail appeared on the endless sea.

If you get closer and look from above, you can see several large ships in the lead, surrounded by dozens of medium-sized ships, and further back, countless small and medium-sized ships follow closely behind, densely packed, extending far into the distance.

The general stationed at the port, looking at the fleet approaching from afar, finally smiled for the first time in many days.

The big shipping company from the south is worthy of its reputation. This situation is worth the owner's efforts in contacting them many times.

……

Xinzhou City.

After reviewing and analyzing the information at hand, I believe that there is a high probability that another billionaire will arrive this winter.

We have to do something before the rich guy comes!

The Shen family's Wanfu Garden cannot be built for the time being as there is too much preliminary preparation work to do.

After thinking about it, I decided to do something else first.

Stroll to Qingyunfang opposite and give the dog Taoist some words of encouragement.

Taking advantage of the Shen family's garden construction, Wen Gu came to conduct a round of talent investigation.

I have to say, wealthy families with profound backgrounds are really good at hiding things!

Although the wealthy dog owners only supported a small number of craftsmen in the construction of Wanfu Garden this time, even this small number has allowed some of the review plans to be completed ahead of schedule.

The Taoist boy saw Wen Gu approaching, looked at his master, and when he nodded, they all withdrew. The head of the monastery and the master had important matters to discuss, so they couldn't sit in on them. Wen Gu walked into the room, but before he could say anything, the other party spoke first.

Taoist Qingyi: "I heard that you brought the Shen family here to build a garden and made a lot of money?"

Wen Gu frowned and refuted flatly: "That's not true. Don't believe in rumors and don't spread them!"

If he really wanted to make money, he would participate in the profits.

He was planning other things, how could he be making money?
Rumors! All rumors!

Wen Gu asked again, "I heard that the Taoist priest wants to seek a better job?"

Qing Yidao waved his long sleeves and said, "Where did you hear that? Don't believe in rumors, don't spread them!"

Say the same thing back.

Wen Gu stopped talking about rumors with him and handed him a piece of paper.

Taoist Qingyi looked away and didn't take the call, his expression gloomy. "The order you gave me last time had too many problems, and they haven't been resolved yet."

Review: "Blueprints of a Taoist temple."

Taoist Qingyi quickly grabbed it and said, "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

Looking at the picture of the Taoist temple on the paper, the Taoist priest's eyes were shining and he was full of energy, his face flushed with excitement.

Wen Gu handed over another piece of paper.

The Taoist priest raised his hand and took it.

Oh, this time it’s a task list.

I wanted to throw it aside, but because I read too fast, I read some professional-related content against my will.

"Improved mortar that removes glutinous rice?" The Taoist priest was surprised.

"I've heard about this before when I was studying abroad, but the exact proportions and how to improve them still require expertise from professionals like the Taoist priest," Wen Gu said. "I know you have a top-secret technique for sealing the furnace."

What are the requirements for sealing the alchemy furnace?
It must be resistant to high temperatures, easy to shape, and have good air tightness.

Different Taoists have different secret recipes, but generally speaking, Taoists who practice alchemy know better in this regard.

Taoist Qingyi looked over warily.

Wen Gu glanced at him and said, "I don't want your secret recipe. Just improve it and if it meets the minimum requirements, you'll have completed the task."

To prevent the dog Taoist priest from being perfunctory, Wen Gu added: "You will also use this to build your Taoist temple when the time comes."

When it comes to the Taoist temple, Taoist Master Qingyi becomes serious.

The dog scholar’s tricks are really one layer after another.

How should I put it, although people may criticize it, there is indeed a demand for it.

Wen Gu advised: "Put on more effort. If you can achieve a technological breakthrough, I will report it to the higher-ups, which will help the Zhao family save glutinous rice.

"We also want to try out some of these technologies while building Wanfu Garden to see if we can achieve any breakthroughs. If so, they might be applied to defense projects and warfare later on. These are all great achievements."

Taoist Qingyi understood that if he could produce results, he would be rewarded by the higher-ups. Perhaps he wouldn't have to spend any extra money to build the Taoist temple, and it could be built even faster.

"Okay, I understand!"

Taoist Qingyi looked impatient and was about to throw the list aside when he saw a new problem.

"Why do you need me to refine the auxiliary materials when you are making colored glaze? Don't you want to bring a lot of craftsmen here?"

"Burn the glass to see the words clearly." Wen Gu reminded.

Taoist Qingyi looked at it again and said, "You burn this..."

"If the windows are translucent enough, your Taoist temple can also use them. Once the lighting problem is solved, you can be bolder in the design of the Taoist temple," Wen Gu said.

"Well, burning this is indeed useful." Taoist Qingyi took note.

Wen Gu then talked about what they were going to make next, and urged Taoist Qingyi to refine more so that they could gather all the materials needed for the Taoist temple as soon as possible.

Qingyunfang has already built several small kilns, but no large kiln has been built yet. If you need one, you can just borrow it.

The Zhao family had a large brick kiln where prisoners were forced to do hard labor.

If you need to, you can go find your uncle and cousin, it should be no problem.

Qingyunfang is just a place for experiments. Real large-scale production still needs to be done in the Zhao family's workshop, and there is no need to worry about affecting the surrounding living environment.

Wen Gu still lives here himself.

After whipping the Taoist dog, Wen Gu went to see the kilns that fired ceramics, colored glaze and glass to see if there was any improvement in the finished products produced by the craftsmen today.

In the room, Wen Gu left, and Taoist Qingyi looked through the papers in his hand and put them aside.

Recalling the news I heard in recent days about the major financial backers of Wanfu Garden.

Look, this is the difference. When the dog scholar takes action, he attracts several wealthy families from the neighborhood!

Don’t worry about not meeting rich nobles here in the future. Once the garden is built, those people will come here in droves every day!

Taoist Qingyi felt a sense of urgency.

His Taoist temple must be built before the Wanfu Garden opposite is built!

Wen Gu has been paying close attention to the craftsmen and kilns of Qingyunfang recently, and the two workshops have been traveling more frequently.

Sometimes I stayed too late and the gate was closed, so I stayed in the house in Qingyunfang, but Jingxingfang also had a lot of things to do.

Although he, as the head of the ward, can control the opening and closing of the ward gate, there is no need to violate any taboos in this regard.

There are ways to circumvent the rule of closing the gate.

Dig a tunnel?
Tsk, you can't just think about exerting force underground. It's not like you're doing anything shady.

I walked quickly from Qingyunfang to Jingxingfang, then came out and stood in the alley in the middle.

His gaze gradually moved upwards.

You can also build upwards.

(End of this chapter)