Chapter 234: This is really something a lowly dynasty came up with

At this moment, Lu Yuan sat on the throne, examining the memorial before him.

Soon, the door of Zhonghua Palace opened, and the Grand Eunuch who had just gone out to give orders returned.

The Grand Eunuch gazed at Lu Yuan sitting upright on the throne, startled slightly, but showed no strong reaction.

Normal.

This was nothing unusual anymore.

"When will the crude oil arrive?"

Lu Yuan glanced up at the Grand Eunuch, then lowered his head to read the memorial as he asked.

Lu Yuan came today for two reasons: to borrow money and to take a look at this petroleum.

The Grand Eunuch blinked, then quickly said:

"Your Lordship, it won't arrive until noon; the northwest lacks a railway, so they must first bring it by horse to Lingnan Pass, then take a train from there to Huangcheng."

Lu Yuan nodded and said nothing.

Anyway, Lu Yuan had prepared everything he needed to prepare.

Especially the oil well equipment—the drawings were already done; as long as it was confirmed that what was brought from the northwestern desert was petroleum, he could then order the Forging Bureau to start construction of the oil well equipment that same day.

As for the fuel turbine, Lu Yuan hadn't yet prepared it.

It wasn't that Lu Yuan was lazy; he wanted to bring the people from Qingbei Daxue to design it together.

Let everyone participate and learn together.

At noon.

While Lu Yuan and two companions were eating together, the Grand Eunuch brought word that the crude oil had arrived.

Seeing a bottle filled with crude oil, Lu Yuan knew at once it was the real thing.

It was petroleum—found it!

After seeing the petroleum, Lu Yuan couldn't eat another bite; he grabbed the bottle and slipped away.

He hurried straight to Qingbei Daxue.

What followed was simple; the project was launched directly at Qingbei Daxue.

First, they would produce the oil well equipment Lu Yuan needed.

Lu Yuan then had Qingbei Daxue suspend classes, after which all faculty and students began studying the fuel turbine.

Of course, the second batch of students might not necessarily understand.

After all, they hadn't yet grasped the earlier lessons.

But it didn't matter; if they didn't understand during the day, they would note it down and discuss it at night.

The internal combustion engine material wouldn't take long to learn; Lu Yuan could finish explaining it in three or four days.

After the lecture, Lu Yuan would select a group and directly build a prototype machine in Qingbei Daxue's practical workshop.

…

In the evening, Lu Yuan had already returned to the courtyard.

He sat with one leg crossed over the other, holding a palm-leaf fan, wearing a white undershirt, reclining on a chair and fanning himself.

Nearby, a group of elders were playing cards by the light.

Their occasional shouts and the cicadas chirping in the trees behind made the courtyard quite lively.

"Yulanmeizi, cut a watermelon to eat."

Lu Yuan, glancing at the cards in Kou Yang's hand beside him, called out.

At that moment, Yulanmeizi, who was busy cooking in the house, heard Lu Yuan's voice, responded immediately, and came out holding a watermelon knife.

She walked to the water tank, held a large watermelon to the small table beside Lu Yuan, split it in half, then proceeded to cut it into small pieces.

Lu Yuan directly picked up a large piece, rose, and began to gnaw the watermelon with a grunt.

Yulanmeizi then passed another piece to Kou Yang beside her.

Kou Yang stared at the offered watermelon, hesitated a moment, then took it and smiled at Yulanmeizi, saying:

"Hey, there's one for me too."

Yulanmeizi gave him a sideways glance and said:

"Just eat yours."

Kou Yang cracked a hehe grin, then held the cards in one hand and the watermelon in the other, starting to gnaw.

After handing the watermelon to Kou Yang, Yulanmeizi looked at Lu Yuan, blinked, and said:

"Brother, what do you want to eat tonight?"

"Pfft-pfft-pfft," Lu Yuan spat out three or five watermelon seeds like a pea shooter, then said:

"Brother, I won't eat tonight; it's too hot, I have no appetite."

Yulanmeizi nodded after hearing that, saying nothing, for it had indeed been very hot lately.

Not only did Lu Yuan dislike eating rice, but the others in the household also ate little; usually in the evening they would just have some congee.

Afterwards, Yulanmeizi nodded and said:

"Well, Brother, I'll make some congee with Aunt; Liyan Jie and Su Jie also said they don't really want to eat."

"If you think of something later, just tell me; if we have it at home, I'll make it with Aunt; if not, I'll bike out to buy it."

Lu Yuan ate the watermelon without looking up and said:

"Fine, you can go back."

"Pfft-pfft-pfft," another round of pea-shooter sounds.

Lu Yuan spat out a few watermelon seeds.

At this moment, the card players slowed their actions a little, having just listened to Yulanmeizi's words.

Everyone stared at Lu Yuan, faces black-lined.

This brat's life is really too comfortable!!

The few women in that scoundrel's household really swarm around this beast all day, basically pampering him to heaven.

Previously, Su Liyan alone served Lu Yuan, but now that Su Liyan is pregnant, she no longer serves him.

This good fellow has brought three more.

Now it's three serving one.

The key is, right……

Everyone thinking about Lu Yuan's shop just made them even more pissed off.

They all heard this from Gao Xushi's mouth.

Chen Taohua is now working at Lu Yuan's shop, right?

The Gao family knows the situation of Lu Yuan's shop, and Gao Xushi also told the people in the courtyard.

I heard the orders recently are just too many, so Lu Yuan set up another small shed outside the city, added over a dozen sewing machines, and hired over a dozen embroiderers.

Lu Yuan's goods are now not only worn by people in Huangcheng, but also sold to other cities.

Many wives and ladies from other cities specially come to Huangcheng to buy from Lu Yuan's shop, each purchase being ten or more items.

The southern railway is about to open soon, and then sales will be even greater.

Everyone thinks about how Lu Yuan's family nets thousands a day, making them so angry they can't sleep.

Several thousand a day……

A month is one or two hundred thousand……

This…… how to spend it!!

As everyone felt sour in their hearts, a voice came from the courtyard gate:

"Master."

"Huh?"

Lu Yuan looked up, saw it was Liu Shoucai, and continued to greet while lowering his head to eat watermelon.

"Come eat watermelon."

Liu Shoucai laughed in response and hurried over.

Lu Yuan then shouted toward his own house:

"Yulan, bring out a stool."

Yulan replied and hurriedly placed the stool before Liu Shoucai, smiling:

"Uncle Liu."

Liu Shoucai nodded repeatedly, then took the stool and sat beside Lu Yuan, put his leather case aside, picked up a piece of watermelon, and said to Lu Yuan:

"Master, I've gathered all the people from your manor."

"Huh?"

Lu Yuan paused, then nodded and said:

"Gathering these people isn't easy, right?"

Liu Shoucai was taken aback, gave an embarrassed laugh and said:

"Mainly, construction is underway everywhere, the veterans in our Huangcheng aren't enough, so I hired some new people."

"They're all greenhorns; if left alone they might cause trouble, so they need supervision, which is why I couldn't call them back earlier."

"Now I've transferred them back; your manor's crew are absolutely the best hands."

Lu Yuan didn't blame Liu Shoucai; Liu Shoucai instead explained himself.

Actually, Lu Yuan still regrets this a bit.

Because after the shop first made money, Lu Yuan's first idea was to quickly renovate the manor so he and his wife could move in.

Also, he considered bringing his father-in-law over later.

Although Lu Yuan's manor backyard was planted with potatoes, there were still two front courtyards; he and his wife would live in the middle one, his father-in-law and mother-in-law in the front one.

This would make it convenient to look after them later.

Hmm…… convenient to look after Lu Yuan.

So he did that back then.

But who knew, just a month after saying that, Huangcheng planned a new city.

Plans couldn't keep up with changes, so Lu Yuan went straight to land preparation.

This now includes the one million borrowed from Gu Qingwan, plus the shop's future monthly earnings.

This money is just enough.

Really, any more and he couldn't come up with it.

And according to Lu Yuan's method, renovating that three‑in‑three‑out manor would cost over ten thousand just for decoration, which he can't afford now.

Anyway, at least for a year, Lu Yuan shouldn't even think about renovating the manor.

After Liu Shoucai finished speaking, Lu Yuan said somewhat embarrassedly:

"Um…… maybe let these people go back again."

"Huh?"

Liu Shoucai looked at Lu Yuan, completely bewildered.

Lu Yuan didn't hide it, then he hehe‑laughed and said:

"It's just that the money was spent recently, and now there really isn't any left for renovation."

After Lu Yuan finished speaking.

Everyone in this courtyard had a face full of question marks.

They've been like that since just now.

Wait a moment?

Lu Yuan bought a courtyard outside?

Of course, that's nothing; after a little thought it's understandable—Lu Yuan's shop earns one or two hundred thousand each month.

Buying a house outside is definitely affordable.

But what house? Buying a house would leave him penniless?

A residence worth five or six hundred thousand?

And it still needs renovation?

Everyone thought Lu Yuan had bought a house and run out of money, but actually Lu Yuan bought land and built a building.

And while everyone was looking dazed, Liu Shoucai blinked, then broke into a grin and said:

"Hey, Master, I thought something was up, but don't worry—I'm just here to bring you money."

After Liu Shoucai finished speaking, he immediately put down the watermelon in his hand, fetched the leather case, and opened it.

Everyone around let out a gasp.

Inside were red and green bills—nothing but cash.

Immediately, Liu Shoucai handed the case to Lu Yuan with a smile and said:

"Master, this is last month's money, plus the renovation fee for your courtyard—using your method, it comes to 130,000.

I've already set that money aside, so there's no need to shuffle it back and forth.

I'm bringing you the rest of the money."

Lu Yuan looked at this batch of money in the case, feeling dazed.

This??

So much?!

Previously, when Liu Shoucai came each month to deliver money, it was only ten or twenty thousand.

This time?

Is this the leftover after setting aside the 130,000?

The least amount in this case is seventy or eighty thousand.

Lu Yuan stared at Liu Shoucai, a bit dazed.

Lu Yuan's strange expression also made Liu Shoucai a bit puzzled; after blinking, he said oddly:

"Ah? Master, you don't know about this?"

Lu Yuan had a face full of question marks and said:

"What's up?"

Liu Shoucai blinked, about to speak, when he saw everyone in the courtyard staring wide-eyed at Lu Yuan and himself.

Then Liu Shoucai leaned close to Lu Yuan's ear and whispered:

"The Ministry of Works, Master—didn't you tell them we could build a building? The Ministry of Works in Xin Cheng has too much work, so they subcontracted some to us."

Upon hearing that, Lu Yuan understood and immediately nodded, saying:

"Oh~~ They really came to you then……"

Lu Yuan recalled that last month, when drinking with Director Xu, Director Xu said the Xin Cheng project was too big, and the demands above were such that the Ministry of Works could barely finish on time.

At that time, Lu Yuan casually remarked that he had some construction crews here who could take on subcontracted work.

Lu Yuan thought, Liu Shoucai probably doesn't have many men on hand.

Maybe just one or two hundred—enough for a residential complex.

Thinking that, Lu Yuan suddenly wore a strange expression as he looked at Liu Shoucai and said:

"How many people are in your construction crew?"

Liu Shoucai blinked and said:

"Seven thousand eight hundred people."

Lu Yuan: "???"

The Construction Bureau under the Ministry of Works doesn't even have seven or eight thousand, does it??

Lu Yuan had a face full of question marks and said:

"Where did you get all these people?"

Liu Shoucai merely shrugged and said:

"Just recently, we ran around, and while building Kang heating ducts for people in various northern cities, we also brought along the local craftsmen.

They had been scattered elsewhere these past days, but now that the Ministry of Works has approved our project, I've called everyone back."

Hearing Liu Shoucai's words, Lu Yuan looked at him and chuckled:

"You're something now—unnoticed, you've gathered so many people?"

Liu Shoucai, meanwhile, looked at Lu Yuan and chuckled:

"It's all thanks to your words, Master—rest assured, I won't be going out for the next half year.

I'll stay in Xin Cheng to supervise the work; when things are about done, I'll attend to other places, and I'll definitely not embarrass you, Master."

Lu Yuan still knows Liu Shoucai's character—there's absolutely no chance of him cutting corners.

But then……

Lu Yuan asked curiously:

"To earn this much money, the Ministry of Works must have subcontracted a lot to you, right?"

Liu Shoucai nodded and said:

"Not few, the southeast corner and Xinan corner have been contracted to us, plus the park in the city center, and the Jiu Cheng renovation here is also our work."

Hearing Liu Shoucai's words, Lu Yuan raised his eyebrows and said:

"Can you handle it? Don't just think about making money, take on more work, or else you'll miss the deadline."

Hearing Lu Yuan's words, Liu Shoucai grinned and said:

"Master, rest assured, these jobs—the Ministry of Works gave us a three-year deadline, we can finish them in at most two years."

"We all make our own living, unlike those with iron rice bowls in the Bureau of Construction; if we finish a year early, we'll go take on other work."

"Master, you have no idea how many people are seeking these Kang heating ducts; there are so many, I'm currently letting my brother-in-law go outside to find new workers."

Hearing Liu Shoucai's words, Lu Yuan grinned.

The Ministry of Works takes three years, but Liu Shoucai's side only takes two years.

This is the difference between state-owned and private enterprises.

In the future, reform of state-owned units is inevitable.

That is, when the reform happens, there will likely be a big wave of layoffs; we need to prepare in advance and ensure a soft landing.

Hearing this, Lu Yuan's mood also became great; he stood up directly and said:

"Come on, let's have a couple drinks tonight."

Liu Shoucai closed his suitcase, stood up, and followed.

"Alright, Master."

Lu Yuan had just taken two steps when he suddenly turned back and looked at Kou Yang, who stood dumbfounded in the crowd behind him, and said:

"You come have a couple drinks too."

Tonight, Lu Yuan intends to sort out the matter between Kou Yang and Jade Orchid.

Meanwhile, the other people in the courtyard looked at each other.

You damn thing, you deserve to die!!!

……

Little Green Mountain.

The surroundings are one factory after another.

Ore refining plant.

Lu Yuan's ore refining equipment is placed directly beside the spiritual power mine on Little Green Mountain.

After the mine produces spiritual power cores, they are directly transported by steam locomotive to these factories.

Once refined in these factories, they become uniform brick slabs.

They will then be transported to the national treasury of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

White steam rises everywhere here, a scene of a modern industrial park.

In a storehouse.

Ji Lingxiao and the disciple stared in astonishment at the spiritual power cores in this storehouse.

Both were utterly astonished, unable to believe what they were seeing.

"These spiritual power cores, once refined, can be used directly by us."

"Although there are still some impurities, they have already been greatly purified."

"If our disciples could use these refined spiritual power cores to aid their cultivation, it would definitely achieve twice the result with half the effort!!"

That disciple said in astonishment.

Even Ji Lingxiao, whose bone age is thirty-six thousand years, now looks as if he has seen a ghost.

"This is really something a lowly dynasty could produce?!"

Thanks to Old Brother Alang, who goes by the nickname Jade-Faced Little Flying Dragon, for the 500 book coin reward, thank you very much~

Thanks to Old Brother Xuanhua Liluo and Old Brother who suffered through India, for the 100 book coin reward, thank you very much~





(End of chapter)