Inheriting a Taoist temple, the story begins with Wu Zetian offering incense.

Chapter 363 The Paper Doll: The End! [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

Zhao Xu thought Zhou Yi's suggestion was good, so he hurriedly returned with the leaves from the book of Emperor Gouchen, while Xin Qiji felt a strong urge to study.

"Master, I am eager to study and may not have time to sleep tonight."

He just conjured up the sun with his Confucian pen, and although it quickly dissipated, the aftereffects of overdrawing his righteous spirit are still showing... He needs to read a lot to recover.

There weren't many books on the Book of Changes, so after thinking for a moment, he went back to his room and retrieved a complete set of the "Selected Works," which he then handed to Xin Qiji.

"You can read books in the Sanqing Hall tonight, which will give you more time to spend with the Three Pure Ones."

Xin Qiji took the book, eagerly opened it, sat cross-legged on the futon, and began to read with great eagerness... I used to think that "eagerly reading" was an exaggerated idiom, but now I realize that this idiom is even a bit conservative in describing Xin Qiji's reading.

Zhou Yi went to the back hall and asked the beautiful women, young and old, who were holding a victory celebration banquet to keep their voices down so as not to disturb Xin Qiji.

As soon as he sat down, Zhao Rui obediently tore open a bag of rice crackers and handed it to Zhou Yi with both hands:
"Congratulations, Immortal Master, on vanquishing the demons and protecting the righteous path, annihilating the invading enemy!"

Zhou Yi took it and asked with a smile:

"Just tell me what you want to eat tomorrow."

The little girl said:
"Sister Mei Niang wants to eat braised pork ribs, Sister Xi Shi wants to eat cola chicken wings, my sister wants to eat braised prawns, and as for me... I'll just have some braised pork, I'm not picky."

Goodness, I originally thought it was just a little girl with a sweet tooth, but it turns out that all the beauties, young and old, ordered the food they wanted. Zhou Yi looked at the calendar and realized that tomorrow was the day everyone was coming to Hunyuan Palace, so he decided to make more delicious food.

Around midnight, Zhao Xu arrived with a bunch of cannonballs. Xin Qiji put down his books and helped him move them to a small warehouse behind Haotian Palace. After the move was complete, he locked the door and pasted a Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams talisman on it.

After finishing these tasks, Zhao Xu went back to rest, while Xin Qiji continued reading under the lamp to alleviate his thirst for knowledge.

The next morning, after Zhou Yi got up, he saw Xin Qiji looking energetic and couldn't help but ask:

Aren't you sleepy?

Xin Qiji nodded:
"Not sleepy at all, very energetic... This set of books is so good. Last time I was in Yimeng Mountain when it rained, it took me three whole days of reading to recover. This time, the sun came out, and I only had to read for one night to completely relieve the aftereffects."

The Book of Changes says:

"The quality of this anthology is much higher than that of ancient classics. You can read it more when you have time. After you finish this set of books, you can also try reading 'Sima Fa' or 'Sun Tzu's Art of War' to increase your knowledge of military affairs."

"As ordered!"

There was no work at the construction site this morning, so Xin Qiji continued operating the excavator to backfill the soil. Tomorrow, they will start laying foam material, and steel bars will be placed on each layer. After three layers, C30 concrete will be poured.

The foam materials have already arrived. Once the main structure is completed, we can proceed with the interior decoration without needing ventilation or drying.

Zhao Xu looked around at the pile of foam, then consulted Zhou Yi:

"Master, if we don't have concrete, can we use this?"

Zhou Yi nodded:

"Yes, many greenhouses now use this as insulation walls. They fill it with loess, which is also very sturdy and easy to dismantle."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xu had the idea of ​​wholesaling some foam materials, but that would have to wait until he conquered Xixia. Right now, without having accomplished anything, he couldn't bring himself to ask.

Just as Zhou Yi started making breakfast, Li Qingzhao arrived on her little electric scooter. This girl didn't want to walk a single step; even the short distance from the Wenxuanwang Hall to the Sanqing Hall required her to ride her scooter.

"Master, I have an idea and hope to get your support."

Zhou Yi started cooking the millet, began washing the pumpkin, and looked at the talented woman, asking:
"What's going on?"

Li Qingzhao said with great satisfaction:

"I want to open a pastry factory in Bianliang. Could you provide some food processing equipment? Simple is fine, nothing too complicated. I plan to set an example for the merchants in Bianliang and help the budding capitalism in the Song Dynasty grow faster!"

Zhou Yi thought this idea was good, but whether it could be implemented was another matter.
"Aren't you afraid of going astray?"

"Don't worry, I'm not in it for the money. I'm just hiring some people to make affordable snacks. The money I earn will be used to help the poor. Everyone involved has to swear an oath before the token not to embezzle or be corrupt... This shouldn't have any negative consequences, right?"

Zhou Yi never expected that this girl would actually come up with a charity organization. If she wasn't after making money, she could really give it a try. After all, the Song Dynasty was the era with the highest level of humanistic spirit in ancient times. Although Zhao Jiong, the chariot god of Gaoliang River, left behind many famous scenes, he also once ordered people to deliver charcoal to the poor people in Bianliang City on a snowy day, which gave rise to the idiom "sending charcoal in the snow".

As for Emperor Zhenzong of Song, who worshipped gods everywhere, he also personally cultivated rice varieties in the Imperial Garden. He listed out everything from seed selection to germination, planting, and farmland management, and promoted it in the Lianghuai region. This is the famous Champa rice.

Zhou Yi felt that Li Zhaozhao was too playful and decided to proceed step by step:
"I'll buy you a flour mill, powered by a wind turbine. You can start by opening a mill in Bianliang City, and if it works out, we can gradually expand and develop it."

Li Qingzhao thought this method was good, as the mill required fewer workers and could better calculate profits and losses.

After discussing this matter, Li Qingzhao mentioned that Cai You was going to sea and hoped that Zhou Yi could provide him with a set of sea equipment. Zhou Yi replied:

"Not only Australia, but all South Asian countries should erect monuments to mark it as the homeland of China. You should also learn the principles of the Arabian triangular sail and have Song Dynasty merchants build it, so that we can sail on the seas."

Triangular sails may look similar to regular sails, but the underlying principles are completely different. Regular sails are propelled by the wind, while a triangular sail, when billowing, forms a perfect arc. This is the same principle as the updraft created by airplane wings, which propels the boat forward regardless of the direction of the wind.

The use of triangular sails was a major reason why Arab merchants were able to trade between East and West.

Now, it's time for the Song Dynasty to reap the benefits of this era. They should then build another ocean-going fleet to plunder and pillage the West, spreading the seeds of civilization.

While having breakfast, Gongsun Da Niang and Li Bai arrived at Hunyuan Palace one after the other.

Aunt Gongsun brought a bunch of calligraphy and paintings by famous people, many of which were looted from the palace under the guise of the Book of Changes and Wu Zetian... The benefits brought by her status as an aunt would be enough for the greedy girl to live on for a lifetime.

Li Bai recounted his experience of joining the army on campaign, which made Zhou Yi somewhat uneasy. As for the armor Li Bai requested, he immediately made a phone call to the blind man:
"Could you get me ten or eight tons of those armor plates used to make armor? I have a little trick to exchange them for merit points."

The blind man wasn't surprised at all:
"I'll arrange it, and it will be sent to you within a week at the latest."

Having connections is great; with just a few words, you can get tens of thousands of sets of armor sorted out.

Then, Li Bai mentioned his promise to Wang Zhihuan to exchange wine for the head of a Tibetan. Zhou Yi thought that his eldest disciple had always been generous and extravagant since childhood. How could a mere Tibetan be worth a bottle of wine?
He thought for a while and said:

"Here's what we'll do: I'll go to the supermarket later and buy a few cases of 100ml Erguotou liquor wholesale. You can take them with you and use them to trade for the Tibetans' heads."

A small bottle of liquor can last a long time. Even if Wang Zhihuan could kill ten Tibetans at once, he would at most get drunk and wouldn't cause any accidents. Otherwise, he would have passed away long ago before "Ascending the Stork Tower" was published.

After the meal, Xi Shi, carrying the leaves of Emperor Gouchen, returned to the Spring and Autumn World to continue her journey. Zhao Xu shared some information about Kaifeng with Li Qingzhao, took some food, and returned to the Zhezong World, preparing to lead his army to continue westward.

He wasn't bringing the food for his own consumption, but rather to pay homage to Lao Tzu when he passed through Hangu Pass, hoping to maximize his spiritual buffs.

Guo Rong brought a mountain of weapons, which delighted Chen Tang, who arrived later... With these weapons, it would be much easier for the Imperial Guards to deal with the Southern Xiongnu:

"Compared to these weapons, our Han Dynasty's ring-pommel sword is indeed somewhat lacking. After we deal with the Southern Xiongnu, we need to improve our iron smelting technology and upgrade our technological level. We can't just focus on developing military strength; we also need to improve our technological level."

While we were chatting, the driver of the Mercedes van from last night drove up to the entrance of Yunwu Mountain and met the eight withered old men who had gotten off the van there last night.

Their clothes were the same as before, but after they got in the car, the driver didn't feel any increase in weight, and the unpleasant smell of death disappeared.

He greeted everyone with a smile:

"Shall we go back now?"

The old man in the yellow jacket snorted:
"Go back, don't bother us on the way. Stop at the first service area after we get on the highway, we need to get off and take care of some things."

The driver nodded in agreement. After everyone was seated, he drove towards the highway entrance. The elderly people in the car all tilted their heads and fell asleep, each one sleeping soundly.

Not long after, the car entered the highway, and the driver pulled into a highway service area to wake everyone up:

"We've arrived at the service area. What can I do for you? Do you need any help?"

The old man in the yellow jacket refused:
"No need, you drive. We need a car full of people. You're not one of us, and riding in your car will shorten your lifespan."

These words infuriated the driver. After the elderly men got off the bus with their luggage, he stepped on the gas and left the service area.

After he left, the old men wandered around the service area for a while, and soon turned to ashes in a deserted corner and disappeared without a trace.

In a U8L parked in the service area parking lot, Uncle Ming yawned and asked:

"Can we go back now?"

The blind man nodded:

“Go back. When you’re not busy, find some armor plates suitable for making armor and send dozens of tons to Xiao Yi… Remember, don’t ask, don’t say, don’t inquire. Even if Xiao Yi throws those armor plates into the mountain ravine, it’s none of your business.”

Uncle Ming nodded hurriedly in agreement:
"Mr. Han, please rest assured, I promise I won't say a word out of turn!"

Old Joe asked:

Will the people in Beijing investigate?

The blind man shook his head:

"They'll only suspect that Old Zhou isn't dead and is setting a trap, so they won't dare to investigate... Once these rats realize what's happening, hehe, then it'll be time for Xiao Yi to deal with them!"

(End of this chapter)