Take the warehouse back to the end of the Ming Dynasty

Zhao Wen pointed to the mirror on the table and said in a deep voice.

In the early morning of the next day, after Zhao Wen had just had breakfast, Fan Zheng rushed to Longmen Fort with other families of Shanxi merchants.

"I'm right. If you look at the entire Longmen Fort, it looks like it's made of steel."

Fan Zheng jumped down from the carriage, pointed at the city wall of Longmen Castle, and said slowly.

The outside of Longmen Fort's city walls were covered with cement, the overall appearance was dark black, and it really looked like steel.

Cao Fugui ran to the edge of the city wall with a look of surprise, and touched it with his hand.

"Sure enough, as Brother Fan said, this thing is really extraordinary."

"Okay, okay, don't waste time here, let's go to Mr. Zhao Wenzhao."

Fan Zheng looked at the astonishment of several people, and said slowly.

As soon as they entered the city gate, everyone was shocked by the scene in front of them again.

"I'll go, this Zhao Wen is really rich, the floor is paved with this cement."

Cao Fugui's eyes widened, and he looked at the concrete road under his feet in amazement.

A few migrant workers walked by the side of the road. Looking at Wang Fugui and the others with surprised faces, they couldn't help but mocked in a low voice: "Look at their faces who have never seen the world, they look like bumpkins."

"Who said it wasn't."

When Cao Fugui heard the ridicule of those migrant workers, his expression suddenly became gloomy.

Zhao Wen put the mirror on the table in the middle of the hall.

There was a basin filled with sand on the table, and the mirror was inserted into the basin standing upright.

Zhao Wen took a red silk cloth from Zhao Xiaoni's hand, covered it on the mirror, and sat on the main seat with a smile.

"My lord, they are here." Li Xiaosan trotted into the hall.

"Let them in!" Zhao Wen laughed.

"Oh, Brother Fan came from a long way, and I have not been able to meet you, so I hope Brother Fan will not take offense." Zhao Wen arched his hands, stood up from his chair, stood in front of the hall, and said with a smile on his face.

Fan Zheng and the others hastily returned a salute, and said, "What did Brother Zhao say? We are the ones who bothered Brother Zhao."

"What is this?" Fan Zheng asked curiously when he saw the red silk behind Zhao Wen.

Zhao Wen said with a smile: "Well, please allow me to hold back first. Let's talk about it after we have visited the cement factory first."

Although Fan Zheng was curious, Zhao Wen didn't intend to tell them now, so he didn't ask any more.

"Will you have a cup of tea first?" Zhao Wen asked.

"You can drink this tea anytime, let's go and see the cement factory first." Cao Fugui said impatiently.

"Okay then, let's take a look at the cement factory first." Zhao Wen led the crowd out of the hall, then turned around and said to Li Xiaosan who was standing outside the hall: "Take care of that red silk cloth for me." No one is allowed to come near. Remember, anyone."

"Yes!"

……

Cao Fugui looked at the big chimneys emitting thick smoke, and asked doubtfully, "Is this the cement factory?"

"That's right, this is the cement factory." Zhao Wen looked at the cement factory and said solemnly.

Zhao Wen led the crowd into the building of the cement factory and walked back and forth between the cement kilns.

Today, only ten of the more than 20 cement kilns are in operation.

The reason is because the number of people is too small.

"There are more than 20 cement kilns here, and now only ten cement kilns have started production. And it has only been produced for two or three days."

Zhao Wen looked at the cement kiln and sighed.

The number of refugees Zhao Wen brought back from Zhangjiakoubao plus the migrant workers recruited nearby was only about 300.

And many of these 300 people are women, children, and the elderly.

"Why are only ten cement kilns started?" Cao Fugui looked at Zhao Wen eagerly.

If the number of cement kilns started is small, wouldn't it mean that the output of cement will be less, and the output of cement will be less, so how can we make money?

"There's no one here. I've recruited several times in a radius of tens of miles. But there are still very few people who are willing to work in this cement kiln.

Most of the people here are refugees I got in Zhangjiakoubao, otherwise, I wouldn't even be able to start ten cement kilns. "

Zhao Wen frowned as he watched the women, children, and the elderly walking back and forth by the cement kiln.

"Didn't I hear that you brought hundreds of Tartar captives from the grassland? Why don't you use them?" Fan Zheng looked at Zhao Wen curiously.

Zhao Wen smiled wryly and said: "Hehe, you think it's simple. The main material for firing cement in this cement kiln is stone. And the demand for stone is not low.

Those captives have been sent to dig stones by me, where are there any extra hands?Besides, these Tartar captives, can you work in the cement kiln in peace and contentment?

Also, if they are restless in the cement kiln and cause some damage, wouldn't the cement kiln be broken?How will cement be produced then? "

"That's true!" Everyone looked at the dozen or so cement kilns in the cement factory that hadn't started, and nodded.

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Chapter 94 Is this true?

"Now I just need enough manpower. As long as there are enough manpower, then these more than 20 cement kilns can start working at full capacity. At that time, the money will come in vain. Unfortunately, there is no manpower."

Looking at the empty cement kilns, Zhao Wen sighed.

Fan Zheng pinched his beard and thought deeply: "How many people do you need now to open all these cement kilns?"

Zhao Wen calculated for a while, and said: "If women and children are included, at least 300 people are needed. If they are all young and strong, then it can be less. About 200 people will do."

After listening to Zhao Wen's words, everyone fell into deep thought.At this time, Cao Fugui suddenly thought of something, he directly pulled Fan Zheng aside, leaned into his ear, and said in a low voice: "The banditry in Shaanxi has been very serious for a while, why don't we just give him some help from there?" Is it enough to get enough people?"

Fan Zheng pinched his beard and said, "Is this okay? How do you get refugees from Shaanxi? How much will it cost?"

"My Brother Fan, why are you so smart that you were always confused for a while. Let's transport cement to Shaanxi, and when we return, we can collect a wave of refugees?

Besides, there have been a lot of refugees from Shanxi recently.We can also gather in our Shanxi side. "Cao Fugui's eyes lit up, and he said plausibly.

"Your way is good, but we can't give him refugees for nothing. We want money." Fan Zheng said shrewdly while pinching the beard on his chin.

Fan Zheng discussed with Cao Fugui for a long time, and then walked to Zhao Wen's side.

Fan Zheng looked at Zhao Wen with a sad face, and said, "Brother Zhao, I thought of a good way to solve your shortage of manpower."

Zhao Wen looked at Fan Zheng, and said with a look of surprise, "What's the best way?"

"Hey, this way is..."

Fan Zheng slowly said the method he had discussed with Cao Fugui before.

"Treasurer Fan is really extraordinary, I admire, admire." Kong Zhongming, the treasurer of the Kong family, hurriedly sent a horse to Fan Zheng.

Zhao Wen thought for a long time, and said, "But this person is only ten taels of silver, isn't it a bit too expensive?"

"It's not expensive, it's not expensive. Mr. Zhao, think about it, the people we got for you are different from the ones you recruited. These refugees dare not say anything else, but if they work, they will definitely be better than the ones you recruited." Be more diligent.

And we only charge you ten taels of silver per person, after the ten taels of silver are given to us.Those people are yours, and even if you don't pay them, we won't be able to control them. "

Cao Fugui said with a smile.

"Okay, but I have a condition."

"What conditions?" Everyone looked at Zhao Wen.

"That is, the people who send me must have families. You also know that only people with families can work well. Otherwise, if those young and strong work for a day or two, run away What should I do?" Zhao Wen said in a low voice.

In fact, Zhao Wen only mentioned one reason, and there is another reason, that is, the refugees with their families are easy to control.

"Okay, no problem." Everyone said.

"Since we've seen it, let's go back first?" Zhao Wen looked at the crowd and said slowly.

Cao Fugui watched closely the workers who moved the cement out of the cement kiln. He pointed to the cement and said, "Are they carrying cement in their hands?"

The freshly produced cement in the cement kiln will be carried out by the workers in the bamboo frame and stored in the warehouse in the cement factory.There are about three warehouses for storing cement in the entire cement factory.Each warehouse is huge, and the walls are covered with cement.

Because only ten cement kilns have been opened and there is a shortage of manpower, only one warehouse is currently in use.

There are dozens of workers in the warehouse, and they will divide the brought in cement into small sacks.

Because cement is afraid of water and moisture, these workers will put sacks into wooden barrels.

Moisture-proof oil paper will be placed inside the barrel, and finally the barrel will be sealed and nailed.Each of these wooden barrels plus the cement inside weighs about two hundred catties.Although two hundred catties sounds like a lot, the density of cement is high, so it doesn't take up much space.

Nearly one hundred barrels of cement have been stored in the current warehouse.

Zhao Wen led the crowd to the cement factory.

Cao Fugui went directly to the workers who were distributing the cement, squatted beside the cement, and looked at the cement on the ground curiously.

He looked at the extremely dark cement on the ground, and twisted some with his fingers.

"The cement looks plain. I didn't expect it to be able to build such a solid city wall. Your garrison is so skillful." Cao Fugui stood up, patted the cement on his hand, and praised.

Hearing Cao Fugui's words, Zhao Wen didn't take it seriously, and said immediately: "You have also seen the cement and visited the cement factory. Let's go back?"

"Row!!!"

When everyone saw the cement, the stone in their hearts fell to the ground.

"Then come with me, everyone, I have something nice to show you." Zhao Wen looked at the crowd and said mysteriously.

Seeing Zhao Wen's trickery, everyone became interested for a while, and followed Zhao Wen to the garrison mansion.

By the time everyone returned to the Garrison Mansion, the sun had already arrived and gradually set to the west.

"Brother Zhao, what you want us to see is the thing wrapped in red silk in the middle of the hall, right?" Fan Zheng saw Zhao Wen walking to the side of the red silk, and looked at Zhao Wen with a puzzled expression.

Zhao Wen looked at the crowd with a mysterious smile on his face.

"I hope you can hold back the excitement in your hearts later. Don't be excited. The things under the red silk are worth a lot of money. If it is broken, it will be bad." Zhao Wen said in a strange tone. .

Qiao Liang, the shopkeeper of the Qiao family, saw Zhao Wen's deliberate show-off, and couldn't help but said, "Master Zhao, although you have produced cement, we guys have seen the world, so we won't be excited."

"Yes, yes, how can we get excited when we hand over tens of thousands of taels of silver every day?" Cao Fugui also chimed in.

Only Fan Zheng felt that something was wrong. He looked at Zhao Wen with a mysterious face and the shape of the red silk, and suddenly a bad thought popped up in his heart.

"Since you all said so, I hope you will do as you said." Zhao Wen put his hands on the two corners of the red silk, looked at the crowd, and smiled, "Everyone, those who have witnessed the miracle The time has come, and I hope you all can hold your breath."

"Hurry up, hurry up, what are you talking about?" Everyone shouted impatiently at Zhao Wen.

"hey-hey!"

Zhao Wen gave a smirk, and then slowly removed the red silk in his hand.

Everyone squinted their eyes, gathered around the red silk, and concentrated on looking at the things under the red silk.

Swish! ! !

As Zhao Wen uncovered the red silk, a bright glass mirror reflecting light appeared in front of everyone.

"This is, this is..."

"My dear mother!!!"

"God, it's so big, it's not real, I must be dazzled."

Everyone looked at the huge glass mirror inserted in the sand basin, and felt a chill rushing from the soles of their feet to their foreheads.

Cao Fugui clutched his chest, his eyes were scarlet. He pointed to the mirror on the table and said tremblingly, "Lord Zhao Zhao Zhao, where did you get this diorama? Why is it so big and so clear? ?”

"Yes, yes, where did you get it, my lord?"

Everyone looked at Zhao Wen curiously.

Zhao Wen stroked the mirror lightly and said with a smile, "I made this mirror."

"hiss!!!"

In an instant, the entire hall was filled with the sound of sucking air.

Such a large mirror was actually made by Zhao Wen. Is there any reason for this?

He made the cement, and he also made the mirror of Wanli. Is there anything in this world that he doesn't know?