Heaven's Formula

"It requires channels and contacts to handle the matter." Wei Wushuang pondered for a while, "There is no news of Daqi's harvest this year. The folks must have a surplus of grain, but I'm afraid it's too late to find farmers to harvest."

"I think so too." Xia Fan looked at his old friend with great interest, "How about calling your father?"

Wei Wushuang didn't react for a moment, "What?"

"I mean, let your father come to work in the new branch and conduct unified procurement out of state."

"Brother Xia, I'm afraid...it's inappropriate." Wei Wushuang's first reaction was to decline, "To tell you the truth, although my father is a grain merchant, he has the habits of a merchant. he."

"Are you worried that he will go to jail in front of you?"

Wei Wushuang smiled wryly, "I'm really afraid of that."

"Don't worry, I don't intend to let him be in charge of the food department." Xia Fan said disapprovingly, "Actually, I want you to be the minister."

The opponent froze.

"Although the Bureau of Affairs can't seal the official title of the imperial court, the minister's treatment and salary will be on par with the fifth-rank officials, which is also a big improvement for you."

"Isn't this...letting my father work under my hands?" Wei Wushuang was dumbfounded.

"What's wrong, didn't he 'kick you out' before?" Xia Fan shrugged, "I would ask for opinions on others, but not on you." He said seriously, "Brother Wei, I need you to stabilize the food bags of the people of Jinxia City - only if you come to check, I can rest assured."

After a moment of silence, Wei Wushuang slowly nodded, "Since Brother Xia trusts me, I will do whatever I want."

After finalizing the Ministry of Grain, Xia Fan left the Privy Council and rode to the Chengbei Machinery Manufacturing Bureau.

If the refugees are only placed outside the city, these people will always be refugees, and will not become the permanent residents of Jinxia City one day.

They must be allowed to live in the city and have a stable income before they truly belong here.

This requires a lot of houses, and a lot of jobs.

And both of these happen to be related to the mechanism bureau.

Mo Yun had mentioned to him the need for manpower a long time ago—to set up a large-scale production plant, not only Qi sensers are needed, but also a large number of auxiliary workers and miscellaneous personnel are crucial.

Now her request can be fulfilled.

Chapter 237 Deeper Cooperation

Xia Fan walked into the newly built gate of the Machine Building Bureau, and Mo Yun, who was notified by the guard, was already standing outside the factory building waiting for him.

"Didn't interrupt your lecture?"

"Today's arrangement is manual practice." Mo Yun replied briefly, "Why are you here?"

"Help you solve the manpower problem." Xia Fan spread his hands with a smile, "But the premise is that Jinxia City can provide enough housing. I don't know the prefabricated housing plan mentioned last time. How are you preparing?"

"follow me."

Mo Yun led him into a shed covering an area of ​​about ten mu of land, and there was a continuous stream of sizzle sounds inside.

Xia Fandun felt his eyes light up.

He had talked with Mo Yun about the concepts of assembly line operation and module manufacturing before, but he did not expect that Mo Yun not only fully understood his ideas, but also used them in actual production.

I saw that in the huge factory building, a large amount of wood was cut into strips or plates of different sizes, and placed aside by category.On the working line, a pair of steel saw wheels rotates fast, and the fixer for the cutting position can be flexibly adjusted according to the design. Once it is fixed, the auxiliary worker only needs to push the pre-cut wood into it, then put down the saw wheel, and repeat several times. Once, the wood can be processed efficiently.

This production line does not rely on the experience of the operator at all, nor does it require the skill of a carpenter. It only needs to discharge and take materials according to the regulations, and it can continuously produce columns, wooden beams and wall panels that meet the requirements.

"How is it?" Only then did Mo Yun show a smug smile.

"It's better than I expected." Xia Fan didn't hesitate to praise—he didn't exaggerate his feelings. As a test of the practice of assembly line operation, this factory building for the production of housing components has been simplified and efficient. The characteristics are fully displayed.

The first shipment of steel was polished into these sharp saw blades, and it was the astronomical instrument that drove them to run.Between them, there is a set of gears that follow the involute design, responsible for speed regulation, direction change and other functions.It can be said that the technologies and principles he discussed with Mo Yun have all been used in this assembly line.

This hut is obviously much cruder than the main hall of the Ministry of Industry in Gyeonggi, but it is not an exaggeration to say that the things in the house are the pinnacle of Qiguo's technological power.

With this advanced production line, housing construction in Jinxia City will undoubtedly be greatly accelerated.In the past, it was normal for a carpenter to saw, plan, chisel, chip, and process a wooden beam for a day or two, so few carpenters came out alone to pick up the work, usually with a group of disciples.But even so, the speed of manual polishing pales in comparison to astronomical instruments and hacksaws.Xia Fan estimated that the average time it takes for the pretreated wood to be pushed into the cutting position to prepare for molding is less than 3 minutes, and the efficiency can be said to be qualitatively improved.

The only questionable thing is the elves that Mo Yun said were arranged to do manual exercises—in his opinion, what these "apprentices" are doing now is to drive the astronomical instrument and provide continuous power for the operation of the production line.

He couldn't help but sigh in his heart, the talisman instrument is really a good thing.

Otherwise, he might have to be like an elf, becoming a generator or some other human energy source.

"Oh?" There was a rare joy in Mo Yun's tone, "Which part do you like the most?"

"Gear rotation mechanism." Xia Fan glanced around and said, "The wheel plate is replaced by the clutch method, and the speed adjustment can be adjusted by pulling down the corresponding handle. This design can be said to be quite professional."

She lifted the tip of her hair hanging from her forehead, and let out a sigh of relief, "What Jun Jun said is indeed true."

"What did she say?" Xia Fan asked curiously.

"If you want to know, you can ask her herself." Mo Yun smiled but did not answer.

Indeed, the only person who can understand her talent, see the key parts of her carefully conceived at a glance, and experience the same joy and sense of accomplishment as her is the man in front of him.

"Lord Xia, it's been a long time—last seen." Suddenly, a graceful woman came towards the two of them.

Seeing the other party for the first time, Xia Fan couldn't help being taken aback.

The person who came was actually the elder of Shuzhou and one of the high priests of World Island, Ms. Senia.

Her current attire was no longer a coquettish low-cut dress, but a jacket-like leather overalls, and the matching sapphire earrings and gold necklace were also missing.Compared with the mature and elegant appearance at first, Senia is undoubtedly much simpler now, but she also feels more peaceful and approachable.

Of course, what remains unchanged is her proud figure—even if she is wearing a work uniform, the effect is completely different from other elves.

"Ms. Senia... why are you here?" After Xia Fan greeted him, he realized that the other party did not relay the words through Mo Yun, but was directly talking to him in Qi Guo's language.

"I didn't say at the beginning that I couldn't come and study." The other party showed a sly smile.

Although the accent and diction are rather jerky, daily communication seems to be largely unimpeded.

Is it so easy to learn a foreign language?

Xia Fan looked at Mo Yun, who nodded and confirmed, "Your Excellency the High Priest is indeed the first batch of people to participate in the study."

"Well, since I don't know, it can't be regarded as poor hospitality." He also replied in a half-joking tone, "How do you feel in Jinxia City these days?"

"It's an eye-opener." Senia walked slowly to his side, "It turns out that without tree spirits, people can come up with so many ways to meet their own needs and make up for their own shortcomings. Our family has stayed on the island for too long , really need to come out and see."

"However, what surprised me the most was the technology displayed by the Machine Building Bureau. On World Island, none of the bows and arrows and tree houses we created are exactly the same. Using the power of the tree spirit The ability of this kind varies from person to person, so the tribe calls the most outstanding batch of works art."

"But here, I see another kind of art. An art in which people transform the world into what they think it is. To be honest, I have some regrets when I see these wooden blocks of exactly the same size. Why did the voyage of the tree boat It's about being forced to flee, rather than going to the unknown in the first place."

Xia Fan didn't expect her to express so many feelings, and he said after a while, "It's not too late."

"You're right, it's not too late." Senia rubbed her chest with one hand, "I've been thinking these days, maybe the relationship between Shuzhou and Jinxia City can be closer, instead of just staying in a simple trade."

Xia Fan couldn't help turning his eyes away slightly, "Do you have any ideas?"

"There are not a few people with magic power on the tree boat. If they join in the construction of Jinxia City, I think it will undoubtedly be a huge boost."

This proposal immediately delighted Xia Fan and Mo Yun, and they looked at each other at the same time, obviously thinking of the same thing—whether it is the Tiandong Instrument or the Sound Instrument, they all need someone who is sensitive to stimulate them.The previous magic tools have never been popularized, and they are only used in a small range in the circle of alchemists, because there are too few people who sense Qi.

If the elves are willing to cooperate in depth, they can undoubtedly greatly make up for this shortcoming, making Jinxia City quickly enter the age of magic tools.

But everything has a price.

This is an exciting condition, the key lies in what the other party's price tag is.

"Then what does Jinxia City need to do?" Xia Fan asked.

"Conclude a covenant and promise to protect Shuzhou and its people. When the peak of the empire points to the escapees from World Island, I hope that Jinxia City will fight side by side with us."

Chapter 238 "Setting things right"

Drunk brothel, Haishi.

The well-known scholars in Jinxia City gathered together again, but this time they were not in the mood to recite poems and have fun, but were arguing about Liu Ruyan's departure.

"Is it plausible that a nobleman became a lecturer in a school?" Mr. Chen repeatedly tapped on the table and said, "When I heard the news, I thought I had something wrong with my ears!"

"This is simply outrageous and unsightly!" Someone immediately echoed, "Does she think she is a young lady with a clean background?"

"The problem is with the Bureau, who actually agreed to this job."

"Could it be that the person in charge of the review has leaked something?"

"You can hear what Big Brother Zhou said. As soon as the woman left, the people from the Privy Council came to warn her. How could she not know Liu Ruyan's details!"

Maybe it was to show Zhou Sheng's goodwill, or maybe it was because of empathy, none of the people spoke up for the Qing people. The disputes all focused on whether Liu Ruyan was a little more ignorant, or whether the bureau's actions were more absurd.

But there is no doubt about it.

Being a teacher is something that scholars like them are qualified to do. Looking at all the private schools and schools in Shenzhou, which husband and wife are not at least a scholar?

Now this decent status, which everyone envies, has been desecrated by a prostitute.Even if the other party is a nobleman, he is still the lowest-status type of person.

This means that there is a big problem in Jinxia City.

"We can't keep silent any longer!" A fat young man wearing a gold silk robe who could tell from a wealthy family at a glance shouted, "We must drive that woman out of the school and clean up the source, so as to be worthy of the righteousness of a scholar!"

"Mr. Hu said it simply. If the Wang family is still there, he might be able to instigate the second son Wang to make a vote and directly tie up Liu Ruyan and teach him a lesson. Now that you want to drive him away, what do you use to drive him away? We can't Go up by yourself?"

"So what if you go on your own? In ancient times, there were civil servants whose blood was splashed in the court to set an example, and now there are Jinxia talents who are leading the world! If we succeed, we will definitely become famous! In fact, I have already figured out Liu Ruyan's route home. "

Hearing these words, everyone looked at him in unison.

Hu Gongzi coughed twice quickly, "I didn't follow, I was just looking for someone...cough, I asked someone about it."

"Zhou Sheng, what do you think?" Mr. Chen asked the talented Zhou who had been silent all this time.

"The matter of Liu Ruyan...is just a pretext." Zhou Sheng let out a breath before saying in a deep voice, "We can't just focus on a brothel girl, we have to look at the whole situation."

"Overall? What do you mean?"

"As far as I know, the bureau's recruitment of reserve officials probably didn't mean to include scholars from the very beginning."

Suddenly there was a commotion in the wing room.

"It's... impossible, right?"

"I also found it unbelievable, so I asked a few more people—that is, those students who were not sure about the provincial and general examinations, and planned to start a job first." Zhou Sheng said methodically, "But the results are surprising. Their The foundation is obviously much better than the competitors, but they were all rejected by the audit. The only one selected for the training class was a kid from the Huo family in the south of the city. Because he failed to make the list in the township examination for two consecutive times, he simply did not mention this part of his experience .”

"Looking at it individually, you may not feel that there is anything. After all, these people have limited abilities. It takes more than ten years to take the provincial examination. It is normal to be screened out. But if you look at the people recruited by the Bureau together , the situation is worth pondering. I guess, as long as you mention that you have participated in the imperial examination, you may not pass the review."

Everyone seems to be listening to a fairy tale.

From the county government to the six ministries, the entire Qi State is operated with the support of scholars.This is not surprising, after all, the ancients have long said that books are like medicine, and good reading can cure stupidity.Compared with those foolish people who have not yet developed their spiritual wisdom, they are all people who have seen the world from books. They know how high the sky is and how vast the land is.Because of this, the country cannot do without them.

But where would you not be treated courteously if you got a name in the exam?Even if you don't become an official, you are still the first to be invited by the big family.It's fine if you don't flatter, but you still want to exclude scholars from the bureau?This is not even stupid, it is simply absurd!

"It's unreasonable!" After a long time, Young Master Chen gritted his teeth and said, "Is there no one to take care of this matter?"

"Responsibility? What do you take care of? As long as he is not named in the Ministry of Officials, the chief officer can recruit adjutants at his own will." Zhou Sheng snorted coldly, "What's more, Mr. Xia is still the Prime Minister of the Privy Council, so he is free to choose and choose. It is impossible for the imperial court to hold people accountable for this. This matter... ultimately depends on us."

"Brother Zhou, do you have an idea?" Everyone couldn't help but cheer up.

If it was the idea of ​​Zhou Dacai, it would definitely not be as rough and vulgar as Mr. Hu.

Kidnapping a Qing Dynasty official in the street on the way, thanks to him, he figured it out.

"The bureau is now in the limelight, which is why the school can confuse people." Zhou Sheng looked around and said slowly, "To curb this matter, we still have to start with the key of 'fame'. Our strength lies in the pen. , not in the sword, as long as it can expose the opponent's deception and let everyone see the true level of the school, whether it is the Privy Council or the Office, sooner or later it will become the object of the public's disdain."

"Just tell me what you should do!"

As soon as they heard that they wanted Wendou, everyone in the wing room couldn't help but feel excited.

"First of all, I heard that there is an auditor seat on the first day of the school. These days, everyone asks each other to find a relationship. We must at least get one." Zhou Sheng raised his first finger, "Obviously Xia Fan wants to pass the auditor seat. There are ways to expand our influence, but this is also our perfect opportunity to fight back."

"Enlightenment is nothing more than talking about those few classics. I believe everyone has memorized them by heart. After all, Liu Ruyan is a woman and has never participated in the imperial examination. Whether it is lectures or interpretations, it is impossible to be leak-free. When the spectators bring back what she taught, we can prescribe the right medicine, find out the flaws, and strike them!"

"So that's how it is," Mr. Chen said thoughtfully, "as long as the scholars in the city point out that what she said is wrong, the people will also have doubts. Together with these doubts, whether the school can take on the role of enlightenment will be dismissed." On the stage, no matter what the outcome is, it will weaken the reputation of the Bureau."

"That's right." Zhou Sheng stretched out his second finger, "Then let's focus on Liu Ruyan's identity—she is just a girl in a brothel, how can He De sit on top of the school and mislead her children in full view? Incompetent and without qualifications, it is impossible for the Bureau to protect her in the midst of doubts."

"As for the third point..." He paused, "We can spread rumors that she has an affair with Xia Fan, otherwise how can we explain how someone like her was elected as the teacher of the school? There must be something strange in it."

"This is a plan to kill the heart!" Mr. Hu clapped his hands and applauded, "The general manager knows that Xia Fan can climb to this position, mainly because of the appreciation and promotion of Her Royal Highness, and Princess Ning is still a woman no matter what. When I hear that my capable subordinates are having trouble with another whore from a brothel, I always feel a little nervous."

"But... don't you plan to take her as a concubine?" Someone also asked curiously.

"These are two different things." Zhou Sheng said expressionlessly, "It's impossible for me to delay the responsibility of rectifying the source because of my own personal affairs?"

"Well said, you are indeed a great talent of Zhou!"

"At this point, the matter is basically considered a sure thing. After the rumors spread, Xia Fan must disown the relationship. The best expectation is that Fu Cheng sends a scapegoat to admit his mistakes and re-elect his wife; the worst expectation is that Liu Ruyan has faded out of public view and is no longer in use.”

"That's a good idea, let's implement it!"

"I agree."

"I agree too!"

Everyone responded.