I am engaged in construction in Datang

When Li Xiaosong and his men returned to Chang'an with several thousand captives, the news of recruiting Taoist priests to come to the capital to make elixirs had spread throughout the Tang Dynasty.

On a road in Huxian County.

"Old man, what is this called? How much is it?"

The old man setting up the stall looked at the man in front of him. He had white hair and eyebrows, and a beard long enough to tie a piece of luggage. He was wearing a gray Taoist robe, black cloth shoes, and had patches on his elbows.

You look older than me, and you call me old man?

The old man said with a straight face: "This is called a magic cube, a new thing from the village, I made it by imitating it."

"What is this used for?" Pharmacist Chen became interested. Along the way, the word he heard most often from the people was "Nüzhuang".

It was not obvious when we were far away from the capital, but when we got near Chang'an, we could hear it everywhere.

"Play and exercise your thinking." The old man took out his Rubik's Cube and started twisting it. After a short while, the six-sided pattern was completely assembled.

"My puzzle is difficult, but there are formulas, so it's not difficult once you learn them."

Pharmacist Chen was amazed and wanted to take one to try.

"Hey, don't mess it up. Try mine." The old man handed his to Pharmacist Chen.

"interesting."

Pharmacist Chen disrupted the pattern the old man had put together, and then he couldn't put it back together no matter what.

But the more he couldn't fight back, the more he wanted to fight.

"how much is this?"

"The third-level engraving is 20 cents, and the coloring is 15 cents." The old man said, "The third-level is the cheapest. I only have one sample of the fourth and fifth levels. They have to be customized."

"Don't think that I'm more expensive than others, but I make it well, it's smooth and solid, and people come to buy from me!"

During the conversation, the old man sold two more colored three-dimensional Rubik's Cubes.

"Give me one... for 15 wen!" Pharmacist Chen wanted to have one engraved with a pattern, but when he thought about how little money he had, he gave up.

After buying the Rubik's Cube, Pharmacist Chen stuffed it into his luggage.

Before I took two steps, I saw a stall selling pancakes, and there were quite a few people standing around it.

"Nüzhuang snacks, pancakes, everyone come and try them!" The stall owner, wearing a mask, shouted in a muffled voice, while working non-stop.

All the snack businesses in Nuzhuang will teach you for free as long as you are willing to learn.

Once you have learned well and are recognized, people will give you uniforms and badges, and rent you a snack cart. When you have earned enough money, you can buy the snack cart.

Although Nuzhuang does not prohibit the emergence of pirated products, ordinary people still trust the genuine products more.

Pirated stalls dare not hang the Nu Zhuang certification sign. If they are discovered, they will be beaten by the people. You are not willing to take the time to learn how to do it for free, so how can you have the heart to make delicious food for us?

Pharmacist Chen stopped unconsciously.

"Little brother, how much is this pancake?"

"Father, ours is cheaper than Chang'an. A set of original flavor is five cents, and adding an egg is ten cents, plus sausage..."

Pharmacist Chen didn't listen to the rest of the words. Anyway, he didn't want to buy the ones that cost twenty cents or so.

"Give me one with egg." Pharmacist Chen took out ten cents from his luggage and handed it to the young lady who was collecting the money.

After a while, Pharmacist Chen came out with a pancake. It was very big and the wrapping paper was also very good.

There is also a poem written on it - Although I don’t have the wings of a phoenix to fly together, our hearts are connected with each other.

Pharmacist Chen was very satisfied. He ate while walking. The crispy biscuits, dried tofu, sauces, etc. were all things he had never eaten before. They were fragrant and crispy.

The pancakes are delicious, well packaged and collectible, so it’s worth the ten cents!

"Selling candied haws, sweet and sour candied haws..."

"Pearl milk tea, Nuzhuang's specialty dessert pearl milk tea! There are many flavors today, come and buy them!"

As soon as the sound was heard, a group of children ran over.

Pharmacist Chen: “…”

Yeah, I want to buy it again.

By the time Pharmacist Chen left E County, he had no money left on him.

"Where should I stay today, old Taoist?" He originally wanted to stay in E County for one night and continue his journey tomorrow, but now he has escaped.

If he continued to stay in E County, he would probably go from being penniless to being heavily in debt.

The only good news was that he bought a lot of food, so he didn't have to worry about going hungry for the time being.

Just as he was sighing, a group of people came down from the mountain.

"That's..." Pharmacist Chen stood up and said, "A fellow practitioner!"

"Fellow Taoist! Fellow Taoist!" Pharmacist Chen ran happily. These people must be going to Chang'an. If you trace back their origins, they might all be from the same family. So why not give him a ride?

In the distance, Xian Yunzi moved his ears. Why did he have a bad feeling?

……

At the foot of Mount Li, Nuzhuang Printing Factory.

Li Shimin came alone today. Sizi was sick, Xincheng was crying, and Empress Changsun really couldn't leave.

"Brother, please take a look." Li Yin put the printing plate into the machine and started printing.

After a while, dozens of printed large-size papers were presented. Li Yin cut and bound them herself, using thread binding.

She also wanted to bind the books with rubber, but there wasn't enough rubber at the moment, so she had to use it sparingly. It wasn't that she didn't want to spend money to buy it, but there weren't too many in the entire Tang Dynasty, or in Asia, so no matter how much money she spent, it would be useless.

Glue made from animal skins is too expensive, and the adhesiveness of the paste is not good enough.

It's better to bind it with thread.

Li Shimin opened his eyes wide and watched in amazement.

Nowadays, the Ministry of Industry uses woodblock printing and movable type. The movable type was proposed by my sister. But no matter which one, it requires everyone to roll the papers one by one on the ground. Compared with the efficiency of a printing press, it is as slow as a snail.

"Sister, can this machine be mass-produced?" Li Shimin thought of more. If people in the world can easily get books, what will those famous families matter?

The so-called knowledge blockade is nonsense.

"Brother, not right now. After some time, when the production technology is improved, we can start mass production." Li Yin handed Li Shimin a barefoot doctor's manual: "This book should be spread throughout the ten regions."

Li Shimin had read this manual, and various versions were collected in the palace.

"Sister, the government bought this book from Zhuangzi. Every village should have at least one copy."

Medical conditions are not good nowadays, and adults know very little.

When children at home sneeze, adults don't take it seriously, thinking it will pass if they just endure it. Or if they get hurt or bumped, they just rinse it off with water and ignore it.

As a result, some children always develop fever for no apparent reason and then die.

Also, when a pregnant woman is giving birth, everyone only knows how to cheer her up, and many midwives just close their eyes and guess what's going on. How can they help her give birth to a baby successfully?

One or two out of ten pregnant women will die.

"That's right. Each copy should be sold at cost price."

The cost of books in the village is not high nowadays. Two sheets of 4-mo paper cost only 1 cent. Three sheets of 4-mo paper are enough to print on both sides of a doctor's manual. Adding the cost of ink and labor, the cost can be reduced to less than 5 cents.

Li Yin paid the government 5 cents per copy, so 50 copies was only taels of silver.

Li Shimin could afford it whether he used money from his own treasury or from the national treasury.