Cub Nursery

"I will work hard." Little You'er said loudly. Seeing other cubs looking over, she quickly lowered her head and whispered, "Are you the young masters in the city? Why are you so kind to me? I have been to the young master, they will only beat me."

The little cub blinked, not knowing whether to say something, and hurriedly turned to look at Yan Xun.

Yan Xun nodded slightly.

The little cub immediately plucked up his courage and said, "This is Honglu Temple, we are cubs from the Demon Kingdom."

"Is it the demon country in the opera?" Little You'er once secretly hid outside the theater and listened to it. The demon kingdom sung in it is all monsters that cannibalize people. A mouth is bigger than a water tank and can swallow several people. "Monster? "

But the monster in the play is different from the cub that Little Yuer saw with his own eyes, he was not afraid.

"En." The little cub was afraid that little Youer would go back on his word, so he hurriedly said, "You, you...you are not allowed to go back on your word, you agreed to help pick beans."

Monsters are all cannibals. The generals guard the border every year, fighting with monsters. Every time they come back, their armor is covered with dark red blood, and there are monster heads like hills.

Little You'er saw it once, and he still thought about joining the army when he grows up, killing more monsters and making meritorious service.

"Why don't you talk anymore?" Seeing that Little You'er didn't respond, the little cub hurried over and hugged Yan Xun's thigh, and asked in a low voice, "My lord, is he scared?"

"It's okay." Yan Xun touched the little cub's head, took his hand and walked over, squatting in front of little You'er, and said softly, "Do you think everyone is a good person?"

Yan Xun's voice was gentle, as if he had penetrated into little You'er's heart.

"No." Little Yuer came back to his senses and said honestly, "There are a lot of bad people."

Just like little Yuer picks up food every day, and children older than him often grab it. If he asks for hot steamed buns from outside, if he doesn’t swallow them on the spot, he will be snatched away by other children. At that time, many people thought little Yuer was dirty and would kick him.

Also stroking Little Youer's head, Yan Xun said gently, "So not all monsters are necessarily bad. Besides, there are many Taoist soldiers around here, dedicated to protecting you. Monsters break the law and are guilty of the same crime as the people."

"Really?" Little You'er's heart suddenly brightened, and his eyes lit up. Yan Xun's palm was very warm, and he didn't look down on him, nor did he despise him for being dirty.

Cao Xianfeng, who was hiding in the dark, suddenly appeared, and then quickly disappeared.

Now little You'er believed it even more, and hurriedly asked, "My lord, can they prevent those older children from snatching the food I picked up, or the weather will get colder and colder, and I will freeze to death if I don't eat enough."

Yan Xun's eyes darkened, and he immediately laughed again, and said indifferently, "This is not their business. As long as you pick the beans carefully, you don't need to go out to pick things up."

"En." Little Yuer nodded vigorously.

He learned characters and ate together with the little cubs, and within a few days he became familiar with them, and he also saw the appearance of these little cubs under the tight clothes, which were not ugly or scary at all.

Yan Xun brought little You'er into Honglu Temple, entered the hot bathhouse, took a hot bath with soap, the water in the wooden basin was black, and it took several times to wash it clean.

Put on warm, soft fur clothes, and a hat that can protect the ears and neck, with only the face exposed, not to mention how warm it is.

Little Yu'er picked beans together with the cubs, picking out the shriveled, half, and moldy ones, and his movements were quick and good.

Gradually, the children who came to guard the gate of Honglu Temple every day changed from one child, You'er, to two, three, four... At most, there were more than a dozen.

These children Yan Xun would give them food, but did not also give them new clothes and asked them to help pick beans.

However, in alleys and streets, these children can always be heard singing strange but very fluent nursery rhymes, even the women who embroider at home can hum a few casually,

"All the characters in the world can be marked with these nursery rhymes, even if you don't know them, you can learn to read them." I don't know when, there was such a saying in the neighborhood, and occasionally children would look at the gypsum marinated tofu recipes posted on the city walls. Look at it, there are weird symbols on it. The child doesn't know many words, but he can read them all at once when he reads the formula.

Yan Xun led the two cubs, who were tightly wrapped and only showed a pair of eyes, into the carriage, and there were people talking in the street outside, saying that Song Feiliang had released a new work, and it was rumored that next year the imperial examination would add a few questions , is related to Song Feiliang's poems.

"I heard a nursery rhyme." The little cub suddenly lit up his eyes, "My lord, listen to it."

"Understood." Yan Xun laughed, "But he seems to only be able to say a few words, and he won't be able to speak later, so you can tell him a word."

Jing Fengye hurriedly looked at Yan Xun, they were all in the carriage when they went out several times, trying to listen to the voices outside, they could keep their voices down when they spoke, how could they shout.

Yan Xun squeezed Feng Ye's soft face because of turning into a cub, "We have to go out. The Taoist soldiers outside don't care about it. Don't forget that people come to the gate of Honglu Temple every day." .”

The little cub nodded heavily, then yelled loudly, the nursery rhyme behind it.

The voice was clear and crisp, and it spread far away.The Taoist soldiers outside heard it, and as expected, they just glanced at the carriage and did not stop it.

Ah oh uh, a whine...

The sounds outside gradually faded away, but the little cub was still very happy, his face flushed.When the carriage stopped, followed Yan Xun to get off the carriage, the outside was already Zhou Mansion, Zhou Guang's yard.

"Brother Yan." Zhou Guang said with a smile, "The books you want are all printed."

"Thank you, Brother Zhou." As soon as Yan Xun entered the room, he saw that the room was full of books, and hurriedly picked them up to have a look. It was exactly what he wanted.

Simple literacy books, arithmetic books, and a gewu book edited by Yan Xun himself. Naturally, the teaching is not how to gewu, but simply gathers edible wild vegetables, edible grains, and some stone researches.

After reading these books, Zhou Guang only felt horrified, so he volunteered to help Yan Xun print them.

"Brother Yan." Zhou Guang glanced at the cubs guarding Yan Xun's left and right sides, and said in a low voice, "You study so much, I'm afraid..."

"Brother Zhou, you don't need to say more." Yan Xun naturally knew what Zhou Guang wanted to say, and he said calmly, "This matter can only be done by them, and it cannot be done by anyone else. Without them, there would be no tofu and soap, and possibly more later..."

Zhou Guang was shocked and said, "I see."

After taking the book, Yan Xun was about to leave, the little cub looked at it, and hurriedly stepped forward to salute Zhou Guang, and said in a childlike voice, "Master Zhou, this is a gift for Zhou Ruizhi."

A very fresh little flower, wrapped in a layer of transparent amber, the outside is polished very smooth, made by the flower tree cubs, specially asked the cubs to bring it to Zhou Ruizhi.

After getting into the carriage, Jing Fengye hurriedly took the books and read them one by one, "I know all this knowledge."

"I have compiled a new one for you. You can see it when you go back. Didn't you study flowers recently? Those can let you learn how to extract the essence with fragrance from flowers." Yan Xun said, "You can make rouge."

"En." Jing Fengye nodded seriously.

Back at Honglu Temple, all the cubs came out to welcome them, chirping and asking what they saw when they went out this time.

This time Jing Fengye didn't speak, and the other cub who went out was surrounded by the cubs with a flushed face, saying: "I heard someone singing a nursery rhyme, and I sang the following line for him. I didn't hear it this time. I heard the sound of selling candied haws, but I heard the sound of selling pies, it sounds like the business should be very good.”

After the little cub finished speaking, the snake body cub rolled a small wooden board with the tip of its tail and showed it to Yan Xun, "Master, do you think this is okay?"

On the small wooden board is a short, plump snake-body cub, with a long one underneath, on which the outline of the squat snake-body cub is cut out, more vivid than the cub-like soap.

"Very good." Yan Xun picked it up and looked at it, then nodded with a smile.

Thin stone slabs can be used for the surface of the Kang Kang, but poor people are definitely not willing to buy thin stone slabs, so clay slabs must be used.Yan Xun was going to make a clay tablet, and the little wooden boards that the cubs cut to look like themselves were the clay tablet logo.

The last time the imperial court announced the gypsum tofu recipe, everyone can learn how to make tofu.

Under Yan Xun's advice, Sun Yuanbao made tofu at home every day, cut it into pieces, and shipped it to the city to sell. Soon he got the opportunity to send tofu to rich families on a regular basis, plus the extra money he earned from selling it It's something I didn't even dare to think about before.

This time, another official came from Sunjiacun, saying that he was teaching Pan Kang.

The emperor took pity on the people for the cold winter, and specially allowed the people to use the kang.

Sun Yuanbao's family had spare money, so he quickly bought stone slabs and tiles, and built a kang.It was hot, and it could keep you warm all night, especially the [-]-year-old grandpa and grandma of Sun Yuanbao's family, but they enjoyed it very much.

It's just that slate and tiles are not cheap, and it's cold. Even if some people try their best to make some tofu and sell it, they can't do it. What's more, the tofu producers are basically fixed now, and they can't grab the business.

"Loess, and this kind of stone, I want it too." Du Qinsheng came to Sunjia Village, and started yelling without saying a word.

Last time I came back to Sunjiacun to teach tofu making, Du Qinsheng made a disgraced face, but this time he came again, and he was determined to get back his face.

Unexpectedly, the people in Sunjia Village didn't buy it at all, so Sun Yuanbao said simply, "We will leave the loess to the adults, and we won't sell it to you."

"Hey, can I give you money?" Du Qin was angry.

"No." Sun Family Village didn't have anyone to sell.

Du Qin was helpless, so he had to be honest, "It was my lord who asked me to buy it, and the price is still the same as before."

"I don't believe it, and I don't want your silver either. Let's send it to your lord." Sun Yuanbao got the clan elder's advice, and he drove the ox cart himself, bringing loess, a cart full of stones, and a cart full of beans to find Yan Xun.

Yan Xun glanced at the stone and loess and said with a smile, "That's exactly it."

"Hey, so it's true, I still think that person is lying." Sun Yuanbao said honestly.

Du Qinsheng was so angry that he almost vomited blood, and he didn't dare to do anything to Yan Xun. He had to get iron ore, which was strictly controlled by the imperial court, so he managed to get some, and was almost discovered.

But compared to Yan Xun, Du Qinsheng didn't dare to complain at all, and had to obediently sell soap and tofu.

"This kind is limestone, which needs to be crushed into fine powder, as is iron ore." Yan Xun said, "The loess should be dried and crushed."

"Oh!" Cub Claw is the happiest. His claws are extremely sharp, like peeling stones and tofu. Most of these are his jobs.

After crushing, the three kinds are mixed and put into the stove that originally fired bricks.

Yan Xun stood beside him with a smile on his face, watching the little cub who usually seldom talk slowly approaching, his eyes sparkling, and his small chest puffed out.

The little guy has two lower canines, two front teeth, and an orange flame on the tip of his ear, but it won't burn anything.Usually, the little guy will occasionally help to heat meals and dishes, which can make an object heat up, but it will not burn.

For a long time, the ones who have helped Yan Xun the most are the claw cubs with sharp claws, the long-haired cubs that are indispensable for making tofu, and the snake body cubs that can make water, and the cubs that can grow flowers to make Flower Soap's flower tree young.

Although the other cubs didn't say anything, they would rush to work when they were working, and they would work silently when they were studying. They wanted to help Yan Xun even more, just like those four very, very important cubs.

This time the flame cub finally got the chance to help Yan Xun a lot!

"As usual..." Yan Xun explained carefully.

The flame cub nodded vigorously, and began to hold his breath, his cheeks bulging.

The inside of the stove started to heat up, and it was even warm to the touch outside. Yan Xun took the torch and ignited the charcoal inside, and suddenly a huge flame ignited inside, which looked different from usual.

After the calcination was completed, the stove was turned on for ventilation, and the several powders inside were burnt extremely finely, gray, and could not be seen to do anything.

"Okay, very successful." Yan Xun said with a smile.

Raw cement is calcined to become mature cement, which is more usable.

It is mixed with fine sand and poured into the mold isolated from the formwork, like soap. After solidification, it will become a large and thin cement board. The hardness can be compared to some stones, and the toughness is also very good.

There are also the outlines of ten squat cubs on the top, and the bottom is a groove made by a long small wooden board, which can be stuck just right when placing things.

"Sure enough." Looking at the hard cement slab, Jing Fengye had a clear face. He already knew the reaction, but he was still surprised.

When the cement slab was carried outside the Honglu Temple, Cao Xianfeng couldn't help showing his figure and asked, "What is this? A stone?"

"A kind of stone." Yan Xun said, "This is kang noodles."

Cao Xianfeng's eyes lit up immediately, and he couldn't help but said, "Can you sell it, sir?"

"Naturally." Yan Xun nodded.

Ever since everyone knew how to make a kang, the price of stone slabs has risen again and again. Rich people are lucky, they can always buy a few yuan, and even if they are not good enough, they can still use tiles. But for people like Cao Xianfeng, he is the only one in the family. Dao Bing, the others are ordinary people, even if they learn how to cook a kang, they have no chance to buy tiles.

However, it is also fine to use clay boards, but the craftsmen who make clay boards have been invited by the big family.

The cement board is as hard as rock, but just enough to be used.

Yan Xun did not sell the cement boards he made for the first time, but gave them all to the Taoist soldiers guarding outside Honglu Temple.He has never hated or hated these Taoist soldiers guarding outside. Instead of being angry at them for guarding Honglu Temple, he might as well find a way to get out slowly.

The next day, Yan Xun met Du Qinsheng and said directly: "I want to build a cement workshop and a soap workshop, so I will use the two houses next to Honglu Temple. You go back and let your father figure out a way..."

"You're crazy!" Du Qinsheng's eyes widened, "If we're like this, the man in the palace can still turn a blind eye. If you openly build a workshop, you won't be afraid..."

"What are you afraid of?" Yan Xun looked at Du Qinsheng amusedly.

Du Qinsheng didn't know everything he did, at least he didn't know about punctuation and movable type printing, and even when the cubs learned enough knowledge to be able to take charge on their own, those used textbooks would also prove their value, also thanks to Yan Xun.

"Yan Xun, let me tell you the truth. Honglu Temple...will be demolished sooner or later. Don't believe me, this is what my father said. I know those monsters may not eat people, but others don't believe it. I may not believe it..." Du Qinsheng was inevitably a little bit sad, and said sadly, "I am seeking skin from a tiger with you, I think we should stop as soon as possible, maybe my father can find a way to keep us alive."

Looking at Du Qinsheng indifferently, Yan Xun shook his head lightly, "Some things don't have to be done as you think, you have to remember that Daqin needs you to adapt, not Daqin to adapt to you. Otherwise, you will never I don’t need soap and don’t eat tofu in the future, is that okay?”

"You!" Du Qin was too angry to speak.

"Tell your dad a sentence for me. If it doesn't work, let everyone know, 'Monsters break the law, and the people are guilty of the same crime'." Yan Xun stood up, stopped talking nonsense with Du Qin, he still had to buy pigs Suet, buy some glutinous rice, and go back to make flower cakes for the cubs to eat.

After returning to Honglu Temple, Yan Xun explained his plan to build a workshop.

"There will be many people." Jing Fengye hesitated to speak.

"Don't worry, when the time comes to carefully screen, please leave the bad ones." Yan Xun said lightly, "Just keep the good ones?"

When Honglu Temple opened a few days ago, Yan Xun and Jing Fengye carried the table out, and happened to see Mrs. Zhang San, at that time he told the cubs to hide and not to go out.

Mrs. Zhang walked around the table and said: "The best pear blossom wood, this table will cost a lot of money, right? Where did you get the money? Could it be that the imperial court appropriated the money again?"

After finishing speaking, Mrs. Zhang stared at the clothes on Jing Fengye again, and twisted suddenly, "The best satin fur can't be bought without ten taels of silver, so you can wear it for something inferior to a beast. I..."

"If you have any dissatisfaction, you can go to the Yamen to sue me." Yan Xun said lightly, "Let's take it to court, don't talk about it here."

At that time, the Taoist soldiers didn't come out to stop him, so Yan Xun guessed that Mrs. Zhang must have another identity, so he didn't do anything directly.

"Bah!" Mrs. Zhang spat on the ground, cursed and left.

This is what Jing Fengye is worried about. If there are more people coming to build a workshop, there will always be Mrs. Zhang like this.

At that time, the cubs also heard the sound, and they didn't want to go out. Yan Xun specially didn't let them go out for a few days, and only let him in to work when little Yu'er came.

"The workshop must be built, and you don't want to be trapped in Honglu Temple forever, do you?" Yan Xun looked into Jing Fengye's eyes, and saw that there was unwillingness and burning flames in his eyes.