Qin Yihuai propped his right hand on the window and held a piece of meat in his left.
"The taste is really good. So you've seen the mine. Tell me your plan."
Somehow, Qin Yihuai had gotten used to listening to the ingenious ideas of the little woman in front of him. These whimsical thoughts had made life much more interesting.
"I guess it's a copper mine. We can make hot pots with it."
Ye Zhinan tossed away the last pig's trotter bone after finishing it, wiped the grease off her mouth, and her small face looked especially bright in the moonlight.
"Hot pots? Why do you always think about food!"
"Food, drink, and daily necessities are the essentials for the common people. What's wrong with thinking about food? It's an industry that will never wither."
Ye Zhinan wasn't convinced. Even though she knew the other person had lofty ideals in mind, she still wanted to have hot pots.
Qin Yihuai nodded helplessly.
"Mineral resources belong to the state. If you want to smelt copper, I'll figure something out. But for now, we need to start mining first."
They had found the ore, and he had reported it to the prefect. But with the current manpower, it was impossible to dig out the copper ore and then smelt it.
Ye Zhinan thought of this. He had come for gunpowder.
So she simply replied, "Give me some time. I'll figure it out. But it's not for free. Ten pig's trotters."
The two hit it off. While Ye Zhinan was recovering from her injury, she kept her door closed. Qin Yihuai thought she was researching gunpowder, but actually she was studying copper - smelting.
A few days later, Qin Yihuai wheeled Ye Zhinan up the mountain again.
"I've told you to wait at home!"
Ye Yingfeng couldn't do anything to help, but he didn't want to let others take his sister away, so he could only follow awkwardly behind.
"I'm afraid you'll hurt yourselves."
This gunpowder was different from the last grenade. Ye Zhinan took out a big one from her space specifically for mountain - blasting and mining. Even if Qin Yihuai was smart, he couldn't handle this modern high - tech.
As they arrived at the cave, Ye Zhinan directed the two of them to set up the gunpowder, and then they all retreated to a safe distance.
With a loud bang, the earth shook, and the birds and beasts scattered.
People who didn't know might think there was another earthquake! Ye Zhinan, who was using it for the first time, was so scared that she almost ran away.
It was just that she couldn't move easily.
When she looked back, she saw that Qin and Ye were calm. But looking more closely, she found that they were actually scared silly.
The firepower was a bit too strong. She would have to do more research in the future.
Ye Zhinan woke the two of them up and pointed to the blasted cave entrance.
"Be careful when you go down the mine. I'm waiting for good news from you."
The two nodded in agreement.
A moment later, they came up again. Qin Yihuai was holding a blue stone in his hand.
"It's really a copper mine!"
He and Ye Zhinan exchanged a smile, and he continued, "Now that we've confirmed the mineral, there's still a problem."
"Not enough manpower!"
Ye Zhinan immediately replied.
The villagers were all busy with the greenhouses and draining the water from the canals. Even exiled people like the Ye family had official mining work to do. There was no manpower left for the new mine.
Moreover, mining was a tiring and dangerous job, and ordinary people didn't want to do it.
Ye Zhinan originally wanted to quietly mine with modern technology and then tell Qin Yihuai, but now she had to borrow manpower.
"Borrow manpower?"
"Do you remember the old village head?"
Qin Yihuai immediately understood, "It's just a bit far away. Will they be willing?"
"There's no shortage of the brave where great rewards await."
Ye Yingfeng shook his head when he heard his sister's words, "Where can we get the great rewards!"
Ye Zhinan smiled and pointed to the ground.
"These are the great rewards."
"Do you mean the copper mine?"
Qin Yihuai sighed at the other's bold idea, "All under heaven belongs to the king!"
"You don't want to spend money but still want people to work. There's no such good thing as getting something for nothing. If you can't afford to spend money, just give them something. People used to barter in the past. Why can't we use things to pay for labor now?"
Ye Zhinan extended the modern way of stock - holding, hoping that the modern "carrot on a stick" would work in ancient times as well.
Qin Yihuai's eyes lit up. He no longer objected and agreed to discuss it with the prefect.
The prefect, Shen Beiting, found this idea very interesting when he heard it, so he called Ye Zhinan to ask in detail.
"You said to give the villagers copper ore. Then let me ask you, what will they do with this copper ore?"
Ye Zhinan pointed to the cup, then to the bowl, and then to the prefect.
"They can smelt copper, make utensils, or sell it. It's up to them."
"Hahaha!"
Shen Beiting laughed heartily after hearing this, "You're really full of wits! But ordinary villagers don't have the skills to smelt copper and make utensils!"
Ye Zhinan also laughed, which made everyone else puzzled.
"Since they don't have the skills, my lord can teach them for free!"
"For free?"
Shen Beiting was even more confused, "Miss, could you please explain clearly?"
Ye Zhinan stopped beating around the bush and said directly.
"Seemingly for free, but actually it's to get everyone to operate the mine business together. In this way, the government doesn't have to spend a single cent, but can achieve mining, copper - smelting, utensil - making, and then sell the items. The common people will have money and skills, achieving a win - win situation. Isn't it a harmonious world?"
"It sounds good. This matter is up to you, Inspector Qin."
Ye Zhinan left the prefect's mansion contentedly. She was one step closer to hot - pot chicken.
Qin Yihuai, however, looked worried.
She asked with concern, "It's not easy to persuade the villagers, especially for something that won't bring immediate benefits. But learning a skill is all gain and no pain. I believe you can do it."
His thoughts were seen through, and the burden on Qin Yihuai's heart seemed to lighten a lot. He increasingly found the woman in front of him interesting.
To help Qin Yihuai persuade the villagers, Ye Zhinan came to find him early in the morning.
"The boss is out. You can tell me if you have anything to say."
Chen Zhenhai had just come back from the fields. The constables had been sent to help with the canal - digging.
"It's nothing important. Could you please give this to him?"
After saying that, she handed over a bulging envelope and a blue cloth bag with a plum blossom embroidered on it.
Late at night, just as Ye Zhinan was about to rest, she heard three knocks on the window. Overjoyed, she quickly opened the window. Through the crack, a pig's trotter wrapped in oil paper was stretched in.
"I was in a hurry, so I only bought one for now."
"Keep the rest on the account."
Ye Zhinan's voice was soft. It seemed like a reproach but was actually a coquettish complaint.
"Did you read the letter? Is it okay?"
"I read it. The copper - smelting method you proposed is very simple. I tried it, and it really works."
This man was indeed meticulous and had even conducted an experiment.
The letter contained the copper - smelting method that Ye Zhinan had copied from the books in her space. It could be implemented without any modern technology.
All you needed was to dig a shallow pit on the ground.
First, crush the copper ore. Then dig a small shallow pit on the ground. This shallow pit would be the "furnace".
Dig a shallow trough beside the pit to place the ventilation pipe, and prepare a simple ventilation box to provide wind.
Even if there was no bellows, as long as you blew with a bamboo stick beside it constantly, it would work.
Finally, cover it with turf and burn it with charcoal. Then just leave the rest to time.