On the second morning, Ren Baqian went to the Ministry of Works again . He saw Tong Zhenye and asked, "Sir Tong, how is the cement now?"

"Let's go together to take a look," Tong Zhenye said . "I haven't had the time to check on it yet . "

The two went by the backyard and did not see Feng Hou or Zhe Hongbo . After all, they were officials who had to deal with a lot of things every day . They didn't have much time to spend on just looking at the cement . So long as they knew the results of the cement, it would be sufficient .

As Tong Zhenye was the minister in the Ministry of Works, he had a broader outlook on matters than most people and his concern for the cement was also much higher .

When they reached the backyard, they saw the pile of cement that was mixed yesterday and a block that consisted of two stones cemented together .

Ren Baqian used the tip of his toe to feel it and found it to be very hard .

"I have succeeded?" Ren Baqian was elated . What he feared most was that the ores in this world were different in some aspects from those on Earth . After all, this was a different world and whether it was even in the same universe was also not known .

Furthermore, there were spirit swords and extremely powerful martial art skills in this world . Therefore, it was normal for differences to exist between these two worlds .

Testing the hardness of the cement with his leg had let him see hope for success .

He squatted down to press with his finger and sure enough, it felt as hard as stone . He checked the block that had two stones cemented together again and found that the cement had solidified and wrapped around the stones .

He lifted up the block and threw it on the ground with all his might . A corner of the slate was smashed and only a piece of the cement was chipped off .

"Success, there is no problem with this cement . " Ren Baqian said happily .

Tong Zhenye saw the action by Ren Baqian, understood the result and nodded his head .

Leaning on the cement block, he patted it before smas.h.i.+ng it with his palm again . The pile of cement on the ground fell apart and some pieces landed on Ren Baqian's body .

Ren Baqian gasped for breath, it wasn't fear, but pain, as a piece of cement had hit the s.h.i.+n bone of his calf directly .

"Ow, hiss, ow!" Ren Baqian clutched his calf and hopped continuously .

"It is slightly inferior to stone, but acceptable . Even though it requires quite a lot of materials, but it is much easier than collecting stones, grinding them and then transporting them . " Tong Zhenye nodded and turned to look at Ren Baqian's painful expression, averted his eyes and acted like he did not see anything .

After thinking about it, he felt that Ren Baqian had many good things in his hands and might have something he desired . He then apologized, "I am sorry . "

After Ren Baqian jumped for a long time, he lifted his trouser leg, saw a bruise on his calf and a cut that was still bleeding as well .

On reflection, he could not be calculative with Tong Zhenye as these aboriginals were crude, and it was just due to his bad luck .

"The next step is to store more cement and wait for ten days to see how the burning of the bricks go . If there's no problem, then build the brick kiln first . Put full effort in producing cement and bricks, and then prepare to build a blast furnace .

Once the blast furnace is built, gla.s.s can be produced . Moreover, this type of blast furnace can also be used to produce steel, so much so that it can directly refine steel and save heaps of effort .

"In addition, cement has many other uses, such as paving the roads by directly applying it . Flagstones will not be required anymore . The same is true for the repair of city walls and similar structures . It is beneficial to produce as much as possible and its consumption will certainly be huge in the future . " Ren Baqian rubbed his leg as he spoke to Tong Zhenye .

"I understand, I will present a pet.i.tion to Her Majesty and dispatch people to carry out these matters . " Tong Zhenye nodded his head and did not doubt what Ren Baqian said . As for paving the road, even if Ren Baqian did not mention it, he would have thought of it later on .

If this cement was utilized properly, it was a good material which would be of special benefit to the Ministry of Works .

Then he looked at Ren Baqian again and said, "The cement that Deputy Prefect Ren have given us have been very useful to Dayao and the Ministry of Works . Tonight, I will host a banquet at House Yunyan in honor of you as well as to express my grat.i.tude . The officials of the Ministry of Works will be there, and you must certainly attend . "

Ren Baqian gladly nodded his head after hearing this, it was the first time a big shot from the court had invited him to a banquet and could be implying acceptance of him . After all, how could he just rely on the empress and wander around the palace every day?

He hoped this was a good start to letting him quickly integrate into Dayao's court .

After leaving the Ministry of Works, Ren Baqian headed directly to the beast park .

A short distance from the entrance, he saw Caretaker s.h.i.+ exercising with stone dumbbells . The stone dumbbells, which weighed about thirty kilograms, were being lifted up and down repeatedly and he was sweating all over .

On noticing Ren Baqian's presence, Caretaker s.h.i.+'s hands trembled, and the dumbbells smashed straight into the house .

"Deputy Prefect Ren . " Caretaker s.h.i.+ didn't even take a look despite the loud bang and dust generated, giving the impression of a cool-guy-who-doesn't-turn-his-head-to-look-at-explosions .

"Caretaker s.h.i.+ . " Ren Baqian smiled .

"I was wondering when Deputy Prefect Ren would be back, those shaved ice shops made a profit of four hundred over taels of silver over these two months and the fans you made have had a profit of over two hundred taels of silver .

Giving me a part of the profit from the shaved ice shops is enough . I have to give you four hundred and fifty taels of silver . Nowadays, it is not easy to see Deputy Prefect Ren and I was wondering how to pa.s.s the money to you . " On mentioning this matter, Caretaker s.h.i.+ became elated . The shaved ice shop made over four hundred taels of silver in just over two months and his share was over two hundred taels of silver . He could have an income of about one thousand taels of silver this year, which was a king's ransom to him .

Of course, he never expected Ren Baqian to receive promotion after promotion during these few months . From an official position that was one level lower than his, he rose to become a Secondary cla.s.s, Rank 5 official . This official post of Imperial Deputy Prefect was inconsequential, but the important thing was being chosen by Her Majesty as her future husband .

Thinking about these changes in the past few months, he had some regrets .

Regarding this matter, Ren Baqian didn't pay much attention to it recently . He only remembered the shops he set up when Caretaker s.h.i.+ mentioned it .

Although money didn't mean much to him now, he was still happy to get more than four hundred taels of silver and using it to reward other people wasn't a bad thing . The most important point was it was earned from his own enterprise and was totally different from what was given by the empress .

"How is the shaved-ice business doing recently?" Ren Baqian asked with a smile .

" The shaved-ice business is still doing well, but I have stopped making the electric fans as several other shops are selling them," Caretaker s.h.i.+ replied with a tinge of regret .

"It doesn't matter," Ren Baqian casually said .

Originally, he wanted to tell him there would be more good stuff for him to sell in the future, but he retracted his words before they came out of his mouth .

In terms of Caretaker s.h.i.+'s status, the present business was considered his limits and any more wealth would make other people jealous of him .

At least, this was the case on Earth .

As for the future, it depended on Caretaker s.h.i.+'s luck . If he had the opportunity, he would offer some words of advice to help him make some money and wouldn't forget the friends.h.i.+p forged during his initial period here .

"When the time comes, I will get someone to retrieve it . This time, I am here to ask for two people from you," Ren Baqian told Caretaker s.h.i.+ .

"No problem," Caretaker s.h.i.+ replied .

"Find Teng Hulu and Tie Tao, I want to ask them if they would like to follow and work for me . "

"There is no way they will be unwilling . They have been thinking of Sir Deputy Prefect all this time and their only worry is that you have forgotten them . "

A moment later, Teng Hulu and Tie Tao were found, and they greeted Ren Baqian with joy .

"Are the both of you willing to work for me?" Ren Baqian asked .

"Of course, we are willing . Your underlings are thankful that Sir Deputy Prefect has not forgotten the both of us . " The two were overjoyed . It was a great fortune to work for Ren Baqian .

Even if it were as before, they wouldn't refuse . Now that Ren Baqian was in an even higher position and status, it was a no-brainer .

Both of them knew their own strength . Their abilities were average and if they had not served Ren Baqian when he was just a caretaker, it wouldn't be up to them to serve Ren Baqian at this moment .

"It is settled, this token is for the two of you . See me in the palace tomorrow morning . As for your residence, get the money from Caretaker s.h.i.+ and rent a place in the city," Ren Baqian informed them .

This token was requested by him from the empress to enable him to mobilize people to do farm work or implement his other ideas .

Ren Baqian returned to the palace after meeting a few people . He enquired about the whereabouts of the empress and then went to the garden . Anyway, he still had to notify her of the invitation to the banquet that night .

The empress usually stayed in just a few places . It was either Yangxin Palace Hall, the garden, or Qing Xin Palace Hall, and the beast park . These places seemed really uninteresting to Ren Baqian .

On seeing the empress, Ren Baqian paid his courtesies and sat down one side and said happily, "Your Majesty, the cement project is a success . "

"It is good news, but you have been more than amply rewarded, so I will not reward you any further . " The empress nodded her head . She had seen the tall buildings on Earth and her understanding of the importance of cement was deeper than Tong Zhenye .

Ren Baqian laughed, "To be able to stay by Your Majesty's side is the greatest reward . "

After hearing this, the empress slightly tilted her face and her eyes narrowed under the sunlight . She always liked to hear him say these types of words .

The two just sat there, talking occasionally, but most of the time they were silent . The empress wasn't talkative, and Ren Baqian was a man of few words .

But, their mood was very relaxed, and the atmosphere was very warm . Even Qing Yuan and Hong Luan kept their distance so as not to disturb them .

It was only after lunch that Ren Baqian brought up the topic regarding the invitation by Tong Zhenye to attend the banquet dinner .

After thinking a little while, the empress asked, "Where is it held?"

"House Yunyan . " Ren Baqian replied .

"Oh, I know . " The empress said, "Change your clothes this evening and get ready to go . If you encounter anything interesting, tell me when you get back . "

Then, Ren Baqian left for Qingxin Palace Hall, and in the evening, he changed his clothes and went towards House Yunyan .

When he mentioned this place, the palace guards around him gave a strange expression .

"Why, what is wrong with this place?" Ren Baqian doubtfully asked .

Everyone's expression became even weirder .

There was nothing wrong with the place, it was, in fact, a nice place .

The key point was that the person going wasn't the right one .

"My Excellency, in Great Xia it is known as a brothel . " The lead bodyguard a.s.signed by the empress couldn't help telling Ren Baqian .

"Pfft !" Ren Baqian spat out old blood upon hearing what he said .

Chapter 224 House YunyanTranslator YHHH Editor Book h.o.a.rderOn the second morning, Ren Baqian went to the Ministry of Works again . He saw Tong Zhenye and asked, Sir Tong, how is the cement now Let s go together to take a look, Tong Zhenye said . I haven t had the time to check on it yet . The two went by the backyard and did not see Feng Hou or Zhe Hongbo . After all, they were officials who had to deal with a lot of things every day . They didn t have much time to spend on just looking at the cement . So long as they knew the results of the cement, it would be sufficient . As Tong Zhenye was the minister in the Ministry of Works, he had a broader outlook on matters than most people and his concern for the cement was also much higher . When they reached the backyard, they saw the pile of cement that was mixed yesterday and a block that consisted of two stones cemented together . Ren Baqian used the tip of his toe to feel it and found it to be very hard . I have succeeded Ren Baqian was elated . What he feared most was that the ores in this world were different in some aspects from those on Earth . After all, this was a different world and whether it was even in the same universe was also not known . Furthermore, there were spirit swords and extremely powerful martial art skills in this world . Therefore, it was normal for differences to exist between these two worlds . Testing the hardness of the cement with his leg had let him see hope for success . He squatted down to press with his finger and sure enough, it felt as hard as stone . He checked the block that had two stones cemented together again and found that the cement had solidified and wrapped around the stones . He lifted up the block and threw it on the ground with all his might . A corner of the slate was smashed and only a piece of the cement was chipped off . Success, there is no problem with this cement . Ren Baqian said happily . Tong Zhenye saw the action by Ren Baqian, understood the result and nodded his head . Leaning on the cement block, he patted it before smas.h.i.+ng it with his palm again . The pile of cement on the ground fell apart and some pieces landed on Ren Baqian s body . Ren Baqian gasped for breath, it wasn t fear, but pain, as a piece of cement had hit the s.h.i.+n bone of his calf directly . Ow, hiss, ow Ren Baqian clutched his calf and hopped continuously . It is slightly inferior to stone, but acceptable . Even though it requires quite a lot of materials, but it is much easier than collecting stones, grinding them and then transporting them . Tong Zhenye nodded and turned to look at Ren Baqian s painful expression, averted his eyes and acted like he did not see anything . After thinking about it, he felt that Ren Baqian had many good things in his hands and might have something he desired . He then apologized, I am sorry . After Ren Baqian jumped for a long time, he lifted his trouser leg, saw a bruise on his calf and a cut that was still bleeding as well . On reflection, he could not be calculative with Tong Zhenye as these aboriginals were crude, and it was just due to his bad luck . The next step is to store more cement and wait for ten days to see how the burning of the bricks go . If there s no problem, then build the brick kiln first . Put full effort in producing cement and bricks, and then prepare to build a blast furnace . Once the blast furnace is built, gla.s.s can be produced . Moreover, this type of blast furnace can also be used to produce steel, so much so that it can directly refine steel and save heaps of effort . In addition, cement has many other uses, such as paving the roads by directly applying it . Flagstones will not be required anymore . The same is true for the repair of city walls and similar structures . It is beneficial to produce as much as possible and its consumption will certainly be huge in the future . Ren Baqian rubbed his leg as he spoke to Tong Zhenye . I understand, I will present a pet.i.tion to Her Majesty and dispatch people to carry out these matters . Tong Zhenye nodded his head and did not doubt what Ren Baqian said . As for paving the road, even if Ren Baqian did not mention it, he would have thought of it later on . If this cement was utilized properly, it was a good material which would be of special benefit to the Ministry of Works . Then he looked at Ren Baqian again and said, The cement that Deputy Prefect Ren have given us have been very useful to Dayao and the Ministry of Works . Tonight, I will host a banquet at House Yunyan in honor of you as well as to express my grat.i.tude . The officials of the Ministry of Works will be there, and you must certainly attend . Ren Baqian gladly nodded his head after hearing this, it was the first time a big shot from the court had invited him to a banquet and could be implying acceptance of him . After all, how could he just rely on the empress and wander around the palace every day He hoped this was a good start to letting him quickly integrate into Dayao s court . After leaving the Ministry of Works, Ren Baqian headed directly to the beast park . A short distance from the entrance, he saw Caretaker s.h.i.+ exercising with stone dumbbells . The stone dumbbells, which weighed about thirty kilograms, were being lifted up and down repeatedly and he was sweating all over . On noticing Ren Baqian s presence, Caretaker s.h.i.+ s hands trembled, and the dumbbells smashed straight into the house . Deputy Prefect Ren . Caretaker s.h.i.+ didn t even take a look despite the loud bang and dust generated, giving the impression of a cool guy who doesn t turn his head to look at explosions . Caretaker s.h.i.+ . Ren Baqian smiled . I was wondering when Deputy Prefect Ren would be back, those shaved ice shops made a profit of four hundred over taels of silver over these two months and the fans you made have had a profit of over two hundred taels of silver . Giving me a part of the profit from the shaved ice shops is enough . I have to give you four hundred and fifty taels of silver . Nowadays, it is not easy to see Deputy Prefect Ren and I was wondering how to pa.s.s the money to you . On mentioning this matter, Caretaker s.h.i.+ became elated . The shaved ice shop made over four hundred taels of silver in just over two months and his share was over two hundred taels of silver . He could have an income of about one thousand taels of silver this year, which was a king s ransom to him . Of course, he never expected Ren Baqian to receive promotion after promotion during these few months . From an official position that was one level lower than his, he rose to become a Secondary cla.s.s, Rank 5 official . This official post of Imperial Deputy Prefect was inconsequential, but the important thing was being chosen by Her Majesty as her future husband . Thinking about these changes in the past few months, he had some regrets . Regarding this matter, Ren Baqian didn t pay much attention to it recently . He only remembered the shops he set up when Caretaker s.h.i.+ mentioned it . Although money didn t mean much to him now, he was still happy to get more than four hundred taels of silver and using it to reward other people wasn t a bad thing . The most important point was it was earned from his own enterprise and was totally different from what was given by the empress . How is the shaved ice business doing recently Ren Baqian asked with a smile . The shaved ice business is still doing well, but I have stopped making the electric fans as several other shops are selling them, Caretaker s.h.i.+ replied with a tinge of regret . It doesn t matter, Ren Baqian casually said . Originally, he wanted to tell him there would be more good stuff for him to sell in the future, but he retracted his words before they came out of his mouth . In terms of Caretaker s.h.i.+ s status, the present business was considered his limits and any more wealth would make other people jealous of him . At least, this was the case on Earth . As for the future, it depended on Caretaker s.h.i.+ s luck . If he had the opportunity, he would offer some words of advice to help him make some money and wouldn t forget the friends.h.i.+p forged during his initial period here . When the time comes, I will get someone to retrieve it . This time, I am here to ask for two people from you, Ren Baqian told Caretaker s.h.i.+ . No problem, Caretaker s.h.i.+ replied . Find Teng Hulu and Tie Tao, I want to ask them if they would like to follow and work for me . There is no way they will be unwilling . They have been thinking of Sir Deputy Prefect all this time and their only worry is that you have forgotten them . A moment later, Teng Hulu and Tie Tao were found, and they greeted Ren Baqian with joy . Are the both of you willing to work for me Ren Baqian asked . Of course, we are willing . Your underlings are thankful that Sir Deputy Prefect has not forgotten the both of us . The two were overjoyed . It was a great fortune to work for Ren Baqian . Even if it were as before, they wouldn t refuse . Now that Ren Baqian was in an even higher position and status, it was a no brainer . Both of them knew their own strength . Their abilities were average and if they had not served Ren Baqian when he was just a caretaker, it wouldn t be up to them to serve Ren Baqian at this moment . It is settled, this token is for the two of you . See me in the palace tomorrow morning . As for your residence, get the money from Caretaker s.h.i.+ and rent a place in the city, Ren Baqian informed them . This token was requested by him from the empress to enable him to mobilize people to do farm work or implement his other ideas . Ren Baqian returned to the palace after meeting a few people . He enquired about the whereabouts of the empress and then went to the garden . Anyway, he still had to notify her of the invitation to the banquet that night . The empress usually stayed in just a few places . It was either Yangxin Palace Hall, the garden, or Qing Xin Palace Hall, and the beast park . These places seemed really uninteresting to Ren Baqian . On seeing the empress, Ren Baqian paid his courtesies and sat down one side and said happily, Your Majesty, the cement project is a success . It is good news, but you have been more than amply rewarded, so I will not reward you any further . The empress nodded her head . She had seen the tall buildings on Earth and her understanding of the importance of cement was deeper than Tong Zhenye . Ren Baqian laughed, To be able to stay by Your Majesty s side is the greatest reward . After hearing this, the empress slightly tilted her face and her eyes narrowed under the sunlight . She always liked to hear him say these types of words . The two just sat there, talking occasionally, but most of the time they were silent . The empress wasn t talkative, and Ren Baqian was a man of few words . But, their mood was very relaxed, and the atmosphere was very warm . Even Qing Yuan and Hong Luan kept their distance so as not to disturb them . It was only after lunch that Ren Baqian brought up the topic regarding the invitation by Tong Zhenye to attend the banquet dinner . After thinking a little while, the empress asked, Where is it held House Yunyan . Ren Baqian replied . Oh, I know . The empress said, Change your clothes this evening and get ready to go . If you encounter anything interesting, tell me when you get back . Then, Ren Baqian left for Qingxin Palace Hall, and in the evening, he changed his clothes and went towards House Yunyan . When he mentioned this place, the palace guards around him gave a strange expression . Why, what is wrong with this place Ren Baqian doubtfully asked . Everyone s expression became even weirder . There was nothing wrong with the place, it was, in fact, a nice place . The key point was that the person going wasn t the right one . My Excellency, in Great Xia it is known as a brothel . The lead bodyguard a.s.signed by the empress couldn t help telling Ren Baqian . Pfft Ren Baqian spat out old blood upon hearing what he said .