Chapter 1159 Geng Scroll Wind and Snow Road (3)

"Yongping Mansion is now developed. I heard that from Lulong via Funing to Yuguan, road surveys and land acquisitions have begun. Although this official road is muddy and bad during the rainy and snowy season, it will not be time for renovation. Ah, it's much worse than this official road."

Sitting by the window in the southeast, an old man in his fifties wrapped in an old sheepskin jacket was a little puzzled and said: "I heard that the thing called cement slurry that was burned in Yuguan and Lulong will be used to make it. Isn’t paving the road a crime? Those are all good things that can be used to build houses.”

  The old man's voice was a bit loud, especially the sentence "commit a crime" that immediately attracted the attention of many people in the lobby.

  Most of the traveling merchants here are from Shuntian Prefecture and Yongping Prefecture. Both places have just been hit by military disasters. Even the counties and prefectures in the south and east of Shuntian Prefecture that have not been affected by military disasters have been greatly affected.

  Whoever has no relatives or friends in the surrounding counties and prefectures is now in a mess, and many have to join the refugees. Naturally, when they hear the word "crime", they become vigilant, fearing that there will be unexpected changes.

"Old Shuntou, do you know what that cement slurry is?" The companion at the next table was a rough man with a tuft of black hair protruding from his chest, with one leg on the bench, chewing according to the case. Most of the leg was eaten by him, and there was a bundle next to it, which was bulging inside, but there was also a sharp saber on the outside.

"Hmph, why don't I know, does the Sanhe Li family know? It's not far from the alley where I live. Before the Mongols came in, they were renovating the house. The courtyard wall was built with blue bricks and this cement slurry , I went to see it, half a month later, even with a heavy hammer, it won't fall down!" Lao Shun raised his head triumphantly, his goatee curled up, "The people who watched the joke were all dumbfounded, it's worse than glutinous rice milk. It’s solid, I heard that it’s just a few trucks of cement ash brought back from Lulong, mixed with water and sand, it’s amazing!”

   "The Li family plans to use this to resist the Mongols?" Another young man next to him scoffed, not believing it at all.

   "Who said we are going to resist the Mongols? The Mongols are really going to invade Sanhe County, even if you have an iron house, you won't be able to withstand it. Why don't you guard against those routs and bandits who take advantage of the fire?"

  Old Shun didn't even bother to pay attention to the young man next to him, the corners of his mouth curled down, obviously disdainful of answering such stupid questions, but everyone around him listened attentively, and this sense of satisfaction forced him to answer and explain.

"I don't know what that cement ash is made of. It is said that it is ground into a powder with a steel mill. It is finer than white flour, but it will condense when it enters the water. It will harden after a stick of incense. After drying for a day or two, it will be fine. If you can step on it without leaving any marks, it will be as hard as a stone after ten days, and the end is extremely magical, and it will be as flat as the bluestone slab with a trowel. This is the first time this old man has seen it after living for decades. Such a wonderful thing."

  People around were almost attracted by this vivid narrative of Old Shun.

   Here, no one has seen this cement, but they have heard the name of cement.

In fact, the cement fields in Lulong and Yuguan have been in production for nearly half a year. Although the Mongol invasion delayed the production for a month or two, many of the cement ash produced in the early stage were bought by Shanxi merchants themselves. As a promotional advertising product, it was given to many high-ranking officials and dignitaries in Shuntian Prefecture and Jingshi City as test products, and many people knew about it.

For example, Feng Ziying of the Li family in Sanhe also knows that he is the largest squire in Sanhe County. There are a Jinshi and a Juren in his family. In addition, he runs the largest oil workshop and Nanhuo store in Sanhe County, with a land of thousands of acres. It is the first one in Sanhe, so it is naturally also the target of Shanxi merchants to advertise.

   "Is there such a miracle? Is it extremely expensive?" Someone immediately questioned, "And use such precious things to build roads? Are the people in Yongping Mansion crazy?"

"I don't know if it's expensive or not. Think about it, some cities use rice slurry to glue the joints of bricks. This slurry is ten times stronger than rice slurry, and it can be painted on the outside. I'm afraid the price can't be lowered, but you have to say Gui, this Yongping Mansion is not considered rich, if you dare to use this thing to build roads, wouldn't that mean throwing copper coins on the ground and letting others pick them up?" The old Shuntou couldn't help but doubt himself.

   "You know what a fart!" A businessman with an accent from Yongping Mansion across the table couldn't help interjecting in a ostentatious way, "You're still picking up copper coins, why didn't I see you picking up mud in the field?"

  Old Shun got annoyed and stood up, "What does this mean, sir?"

   "I mean your half-can of water is jingling, don't brag about it if you don't know." The Yongping businessman stood up without showing any weakness.

  Old Shun blushed, he had seen it just once, and he really didn't know about the other situations, but he refused to soften his mouth: "What do you know? Have you seen how cement dust comes out?"

"Hmph, I'm from Lulong. Of course, I can't see the cement produced in the cement factory. They are very tightly guarded, and I heard that they are all made of several types of clinker after being ground and then calcined. As for what materials are used?" , What to burn, how long to burn, and how to deal with it after burning are all secrets of others. What happened can let outsiders know? Even those craftsmen have signed a life-and-death agreement. If the secret is leaked, those businessmen will kill them For the whole family."

   This is obviously an exaggeration, and Feng Ziying and Third Sister You couldn't help laughing.

   "Master, are you really so strict?"

Third Sister You exhaled like orchids, and the fragrance of powder was fragrant. The body next to Feng Ziying was firm and plump, full of elasticity, especially the pair of plump **** that were strangled and stretched with a tube top, but the pair of buds were too big. Too rich, the third sister Le Deyou was almost out of breath, but when she got closer, she could still tell at a glance that she was a girl disguised as a man.

   "Basically, that's the way for Shanxi merchants to make money, and the precautions can't be too strict." Feng Ziying smiled and said in a low voice.

   "I want to build the cement road from Lulong to Yuguan? Wouldn't that cost a lot?" Wu Yaoqing was also a little puzzled, "Why did these businessmen suddenly become so benevolent?"

"There are various reasons, but at least by building this road, merchants from Shanshan and Shanxi can gain a foothold in Yongping Prefecture. In addition, it can be regarded as a publicity to let everyone know about cement. Can you bear this kind of thing? Naturally, you can sell it everywhere and make a lot of money."

  Feng Ziying didn't explain too much, there were all kinds of thoughts in it, but at least this matter was done under her own impetus.

Whispering on one side, the Lulong businessman on the other side has already shown off: "It's true that cement ash will condense when it meets water, but it can't be hardened by a stick of incense. It will take at least half a day. It is really as hard as a stone beard." It depends on the situation. If it is exposed to the sun in summer, it can be cured in two or three days. If it is rainy season, it will take ten days. , then what's the use? Even if it's ground into powder, it won't work, it's like gravel, worthless,..."

   "Brother, since you know so much about this cement ash, how do you sell it and how much is it worth?" Someone immediately raised his voice and asked.

"I don't know about this. It seems that there was not much cement ash produced in the early stage. Many of them were used by the proprietors as gifts for the rich and powerful to repair their houses. But recently, it seems that more has been produced, but this is used for It’s hard to say how much it will cost to build the road, but in my estimation, the price should not be too expensive, otherwise how could it be used to build the road? Our Yongping Mansion is not rich. It was proposed by the new fellow-prefect Master Feng, and the Shanshan businessmen who are waiting to come to our Yongping to open mines and factories may not be able to refuse, so they can only accept it,..."

  Businessman Lulong's words were reasonable, which attracted other people to ask, "This Mr. Feng is Xiao Feng Xiuzhuan?"

   "No wonder that's the case. I said how those Shanshan merchants became so arrogant and generous. It turned out that it was Xiao Feng Xiu of the capital who wrote the speech..."

   "This road construction just happens to use these refugees to solve the livelihood of these refugees this winter and next spring. It seems that this is the imperial court's will..."

   "What does the imperial court mean, who pays for it? Didn't it mean that the Shanxi merchants paid for the road construction? How could the imperial court have such a big face to let the Shanshan merchants pay for nothing?"

   There was another burst of opinions, and it was difficult for anyone to convince anyone.

   "Did you hear that? It's not that we are staring at these refugees, the imperial court is on guard." In the corner that was just diagonal to Feng Ziying and his party, there were also a few plainly dressed travelers with ordinary looks, muttering.

   "What does brother mean?" The two had similar faces, obviously brothers, the young man asked in a deep voice.

   "Let's follow our established path. I will take people to Gyeonggi, and you arrange people to find a way to go deep into the group of refugees who came to Yongping. Sister Zhang said that some disciples are also inside, and they can just connect to the line,..."

   "Brother Guoyong in the north doesn't seem to pay much attention to it, and I don't know if my father reminded me, I'm worried..." The young man hesitated, but he still brought it up.

  The elder shook his head, "Second brother, father naturally has arrangements. Brother Guoyong is thoughtful and considerate. Father is very dependent on him, so you don't have to worry about it."

  The young man was angry in his heart, but he didn't show it. He just nodded, "That's right, let's just do our own thing well. I wish my brother a smooth journey along the way."

   "Second brother, you also need to be careful. We have people here to arrange, but you also need to communicate well with Senior Sister Zhang, so don't hurt your friendship." The elder told his brother.

  The young man snorted softly, but turned his gaze out of the window, as if he was thinking about something, and the older man didn't care, as the relationship between the two brothers is not good, and everyone should just listen to the words of guns and sticks.

  (end of this chapter)