"Master workers, you've all worked hard. Wait a moment. I'll call out your names one by one. Those whose names are called, please stand up." Su Gui showed up with a roster in hand. Standing at the front with hands behind his back, he looked quite imposing.
"Yes!"
The female workers replied in unison.
They all found the two young supervisors here quite interesting. They were well - organized and methodical in their work. Despite their young age, they knew a great deal.
At first, there were troublemakers. Some even tried to form small cliques, relying on the connections of their parents, and isolated and排挤 those female workers who did a good job. But Su Gui had them unceremoniously dismissed and declared that they would never be employed again.
Who cares who you know? Even when facing a princess, you still have to be polite, don't you?
This served as a warning to others. Since then, no one dared to cause trouble in the two workshops, and everything had been peaceful.
Li Jingyun moved a small stool and sat nearby, watching.
When Su Gui called a name, the person would stand out, and either the eunuch Feng or Manjing would hand over the silver ingot.
Those who received the silver ingots were all beaming with joy.
Those who didn't were cheering themselves on, vowing to get it next time.
Just like this, they went through more than a dozen rooms and saw over 500 faces. It was time for dinner.
The Liuqing Courtyard was completely in an uproar. After work, everyone finally let loose their voices and chatted and laughed without restraint.
The aroma of the food wafted out from the canteen windows. The female workers walked over in groups of threes and fives, chatting and laughing, to get their meals. Some would finish eating in the courtyard and then go home, while others chose to take a couple more dishes home to share.
Under the banyan tree in the courtyard, a mahogany table was set up. Li Jingyun and her two sisters, along with Su Gui, sat at the table. Manjing and the others were busy serving the dishes and porridge.
There were only two meat dishes, stewed pork and sliced raw fish. The vegetarian dishes included carrots, eggplants, spinach, and mallows. Each dish was tender, smooth, and delicious. There were also flatbreads and longevity porridge, which had been cooked in a large pot and smelled rich and delicious.
The princesses usually ate the food cooked in the imperial kitchen in the royal palace. Today, they were having communal meals.
However, judging from their reactions, they seemed to like it very much. They ate greedily without any airs of a princess.
Princess Xinxing held a flatbread in one hand and picked up dishes with the other, sipping the porridge from time to time.
You know what? They really couldn't get this kind of food in the palace. It was actually quite delicious.
Li Jingyun ate less because of her young age. After she was full, she held a bowl of warm porridge and sipped it slowly. Looking very proud, she said, "Sisters, isn't my workshop doing pretty well?"
"Not just pretty well. It's simply amazing. I'll come here to have meals when I have time in the future." Princess Gaoyang said with a charming smile.
This made the others burst out laughing.
After dinner, Li Jingyun felt a bit sleepy. She yawned and propped her chin with one hand, looking at the weeds growing wildly in the corner of the courtyard. Watching their withered branches and leaves fluttering in the wind, she suddenly remembered something. She sat up straight abruptly and shouted, "Su Gui!"
"Ah!"
Su Gui's hand trembled, and the flatbread fell to the ground. He blew the dust off it and stuffed it into his mouth. He gave Li Jingyun a look, indicating: Say what you want to say, my little princess. Don't be so startling.
"It's getting cold. How about putting charcoal fires in all the rooms?"
"Princess, do you know how much this will cost? Put them in every room?" Su Gui's first reaction was that the cost was too high.
Ordinary families couldn't even afford charcoal fires in winter. At most, they would burn a couple of pieces of firewood.
Li Jingyun was unhappy. She pouted and said, "We're not short of money. Just burn it."
She really didn't know the price of charcoal. Thinking about it this way, she felt a bit embarrassed.
In the Taihe Hall, charcoal fires were burning day and night during winter without interruption. But she knew very well the difference between the royal palace and ordinary people's homes, as she often went out.
Was burning charcoal really that expensive?
"You might as well burn me." Su Gui spread his hands. "Princess, we can't calculate the accounts like that."
Seeing that the two kids were about to quarrel, Princess Gaoyang and Princess Xinxing quickly intervened. Princess Xinxing said, "Didn't we buy this place from Uncle Yang Sijing? If it was originally intended for personal residence, there should be kang beds and heated walls designed here. We don't need to worry about keeping warm."
Princess Gaoyang chimed in, "Yes. There are so many people here. If we use charcoal fires for heating and someone gets carbon monoxide poisoning, it will be even more difficult to handle. Hongxuan, this kind of thing is very important. We can't just decide it based on your words."
"Got it, sister."
Li Jingyun nodded obediently.
But in her heart, she was thinking that she would go back and look through some books to find out what carbon monoxide poisoning was.
Kang beds and heated walls seemed to be more effective for keeping warm than directly burning charcoal.
It seemed that her sisters were right. Some things couldn't be decided just based on her own random thoughts. Even Father had to convene the prime ministers and senior officials in the political hall to have a good discussion before issuing a decree. How could she be any different?
After dinner, it was already past the first watch of the night. Li Jingyun and the others rushed back to the royal palace. Li Jingyun told Li Shimin about her experiences of the day and also shared her insights.
Li Shimin hugged his daughter, full of emotions.
She still looked like a soft little ball, but how could she have changed so much in just half a year?
Even her useless elder brothers couldn't match her in this regard.
Li Shimin suddenly regretted a bit. Was it a wrong decision to let Li You have more contact with Hongxuan?
This unreliable son wouldn't lead his daughter astray, would he?
This wouldn't do. He had to go back and discuss it with Guanyinbi.
Both the palm and the back of the hand were flesh, but the flesh on the palm was just more tender!
Just like this, Li Jingyun fell asleep in Li Shimin's arms. The marriage alliance that had worried her so much a few days ago seemed to be nothing much.
After just a few days, it had faded away like a passing cloud.
The once - arrogant Turks and Tibetans suddenly became more docile.
The Taihe Hall was brightly lit, with the doors and windows tightly closed. The ambergris in the incense burner was slowly burning, emitting a continuous stream of fragrant smoke. Seeing that Princess Chengyang in the emperor's arms had fallen asleep, the palace servants walked much more lightly. They didn't even dare to breathe loudly.
On the dragon throne, the once - majestic emperor now had a gentle smile on his face. He gently patted his little daughter on the back, coaxing her to sleep, his eyes full of tenderness.
Li Jingyun was in a daze, almost completely asleep, when she heard the voice of the system. Half - asleep and half - awake, she heard the system say that they could mine coal mines and use coal for heating...
There were other things said later, but Li Jingyun didn't remember them.
After taking on several tasks, she had gained some experience. Whenever there was something new, it usually meant that the immortal master had issued a new task for her.
For example, the cement, movable - type printing, bamboo paper, and now the sweaters.
She would wake up and ask about all these things tomorrow.
Li Shimin saw that his little daughter's expression was a bit strange. He thought she was having a nightmare. He touched Li Jingyun's forehead. Seeing her wrinkled brows relax, he also smiled.