After returning to the palace, Li Jingyun, Li Shimin, and Li Chengqian got together and discussed for a long time how much money they should pay the female workers, whether they should recruit male workers, and how to arrange their holidays, which were called "rest days" in the Tang Dynasty.
Each of them held their own opinions, and the argument went on until Li Mingda, who was listening on the side, was dozing off.
Li Shimin said first, "One hundred and seventy coins a month will be enough. This level is not low."
Li Jingyun disagreed. "But Father, they have to work from dawn till dusk. Isn't one hundred and seventy coins a bit too little? How about raising it to two hundred coins?"
Li Chengqian looked at the expressions of both sides and proposed, "Why don't we take the middle ground? One hundred and eighty - five coins a month. And for those who do well and work fast, you can reward them with some money. How about that?"
"Agreed!"
"That's okay."
The doctrine of the mean, as a unique principle, was also very useful in the Tang Dynasty.
This money was to be provided by Li Jingyun. Since the Ice Building had made so much money, she had the largest share of the profit. If Princess Gaoyang was a well - known rich woman on the surface, then Li Jingyun was the one in the shadows.
In the future, when the factory expanded in scale, Li Shimin and the others might also need to contribute to other expenses.
Wang De came to report, "Your Majesties, several Highnesses, Princess Gaoyang and Princess Xinxing are here. They are waiting outside the hall at the moment."
"Quickly invite them in. Why weren't they so well - behaved last night?" Li Shimin said with a smile.
The more he looked at his daughters, the more he thought they were wonderful. As for Hongxuan, there was no need to mention. Princess Gaoyang could manage the huge Ice Building in an orderly manner. A few days ago, when Pei Mingli came back to report on the progress of the construction of the library in Hedongdao, Li Shimin even heard Pei Mingli praise Princess Gaoyang's business talent.
"Greetings to Father and Elder Brother."
Princess Gaoyang and Princess Xinxing came hand in hand. After bowing respectfully to pay their respects, their conversation turned to Li Jingyun.
"Hongxuan, I heard that you made milk tea. Last night, the empresses in the harem and several younger sisters all tasted it. I haven't had a sip yet. You can't treat me differently." Princess Gaoyang happily sat beside Li Jingyun, her tone full of joy.
Only then did Li Jingyun remember the milk tea. She said loudly, "Servants! Bring the copper stove!"
"Yes."
Wang De responded and stepped back to prepare the things.
When Li Jingyun saw her two elder sisters, her mind was in a complete mess. On the one hand, there was the upcoming Warm Building, and she wanted Princess Xinxing to take charge of it. On the other hand, last night her father had told her that the Turks wanted a princess to go for a marriage alliance.
Among the elder sisters in the palace, Princess Gaoyang and Princess Xinxing were the most suitable in terms of age. So these two things were completely in conflict.
"Hongxuan? Hongxuan?"
Princess Xinxing saw Li Jingyun staring blankly at the paperweight on the desk. She pinched Li Jingyun's cheek, but Li Jingyun still didn't come back to her senses.
So she picked up the paperweight and waved it in front of Li Jingyun. Li Jingyun instinctively leaned back and then realized that her elder sister was deliberately teasing her.
"Do you like this paperweight? Father, would you be willing to part with it?" Princess Gaoyang said with a smile.
The paperweight was a rabbit carved from greenish - white jade. It was carved so vividly that its two long ears were lying on its body, and it looked chubby, as if it was sleeping.
Such a cute little thing was really tempting to little girls.
Li Shimin joked, "Of course. It's just a paperweight. If you like it, take it to play with. Maybe Hongxuan will start practicing calligraphy in order to use this paperweight."
Li Jingyun shook her head, shaking off all those messy thoughts just now, and felt much calmer.
"Really? Thank you, Father!" Li Jingyun took the rabbit paperweight and played with it in her hand. It felt warm and smooth.
There was the copper stove for boiling milk tea, freshly boiled milk, Xiangshan tea from Kuizhou (now Baidicheng in Fengjie), wolfberries, rose petals, chrysanthemum petals, red dates and so on.
"Which kind of milk tea do you two elder sisters want? What ingredients do you want to add? Do you want more or less sugar?"
Li Jingyun looked up, looking very serious.
It seemed that at this moment, she was not Princess Chengyang, but a dedicated milk - tea shop clerk.
This expression made everyone laugh. Both of them chose the rose - flavored milk tea, which seemed to be the most popular flavor at present.
In the wafting aroma of the milk tea, Li Jingyun suddenly said, "Elder Sister Xinxing, do you think it's a good idea to open a shop to sell milk tea? It will surely be popular in autumn and winter. Let's call it the Warm Building?"
"Good idea. Since Gaoyang has an Ice Building, you two sisters will earn all the money from the people of Chang'an throughout the four seasons." Princess Xinxing laughed.
"I've been busy with some other things recently and can't manage it. Elder sister, could you open it?"
Li Jingyun's words carried a huge amount of information, which really stunned Princess Xinxing and Princess Gaoyang.
"Is this true?" Princess Xinxing was overjoyed, as if a gold ingot had fallen from the sky and landed in front of her.
In an instant, she had already thought about where to open the Warm Building and when to set the opening date.
"Absolutely true."
Li Jingyun was a bit reluctant, but when it came to choosing between sweaters and milk tea, of course she would choose sweaters.
"Elder sister, you need to learn how to make milk tea and then teach your apprentices." Li Jingyun reminded.
"I've watched you make it several times. I'm very familiar with the steps. I planned to make some for Gaoyang today, but she just wanted to drink the one you made."
"What are you talking about? How can it be my fault? When we go back to the palace today, if you make it, I'll drink it. I'll drink as much as you make."
Princess Gaoyang accidentally got saddled with this big blame.
The two elder sisters started to bicker with each other, and Li Jingyun's milk tea was ready. Wang De came to help serve it. Each person got a bowl of freshly made milk tea, which smelled fragrant.
Princess Xinxing took a sip of the mellow and rich milk tea and said seriously, "Hongxuan, for this Warm Building, how about you taking 75% of the profit? After all, you developed all these things. I'm just taking over the finished product."
"Just like the Ice Building. I'll take 60%. Sixth Brother has helped me a lot, so he'll also take 10%."
Li Jingyun shook her head. She simply thought that 25% of the profit was too little for Princess Xinxing, who would be in charge of the Warm Building in the future.
"Okay! Let's do it like this!"
At the same time, outside the palace, Su Gui took Li Jingyun's token and bought the dilapidated mansion that she had taken a fancy to before. He also hired several farmers with little land who had just finished the autumn harvest to come and clean it up.
He also deliberately let it slip that the princess was going to start a new business and would recruit craftsmen after the autumn harvest. But this time, only female workers would be recruited.
Those people were all eager to try. Although they didn't know how much the monthly salary would be, nor what they would do after they came, the little princess was a kind - hearted person who could build a library. How could she harm them, ordinary people?
Although men were not allowed, there were female family members at home.
They could just take over the housework like washing and cooking themselves and let their wives, daughters and sisters come to work. Working for the little princess was such a great blessing!
They all knew how much the craftsmen printing books in the villa got paid every month. They had envied them for so long, and now it was finally their turn to have such a good opportunity. Even if they were not as skilled as the craftsmen from the Ministry of Works, they could still work hard.
In just one or two days, this news spread throughout the villages around Chang'an City. People rushed to finish the autumn harvest quickly, all wanting to work in this newly - opened factory.