After giving the imperial edict and the jade pendant, Zhu Yuanzhang gave Hu Changan more than 20 acres of wasteland in the suburbs with a wave of his hand, specifically for the future alcohol workshop.
Anyway, in ancient times, we were still in a stage where there were too many people and too little land, not to mention the wasteland that could not be cultivated, so it was natural to have as much land as possible.
After hearing this, Hu Changan was very excited.
The first super-large factory in ancient times sets sail from now on!
After walking out of the Forbidden City, Hu Changan hurriedly rode back to Hu Mansion and began to make arrangements for follow-up matters.
"Manager Chen, Your Majesty has just allocated twenty acres of wasteland to me in the suburbs of Beijing. Please discuss with the craftsmen to build a workshop specializing in the production of alcohol on this wasteland. Remember, the bigger the better."
"yes!"
"Manager Li, please take someone to Lingnan to buy sugarcane bagasse. The more the better. This is the imperial edict written by His Majesty to me. Please be sure to keep it. Show it to the Lingnan officials when the time comes, and you will have a smooth journey along the way.
No hindrance.”
"yes!"
"Steward Wang, please go to Yahang to buy some strong servants and send them to the soap workshop to learn how to make alcohol. These people will become the first batch of employees of the alcohol workshop."
"yes!"
After giving instructions on a series of things, Hu Changan read the storybook for a while and fell asleep early.
Tomorrow will be his first day as an errand at the Ministry of Works, so he can't be careless.
...
Before dawn the next day, Hu Changan got up and let the maids dress up.
Bright red official uniform, black gauze hat, and an ivory ceremonial tablet at his waist, the most standard official dress of the Ming Dynasty.
Hu Changan looked at himself in the bronze mirror and was quite stunned.
Unexpectedly, after traveling through time for just over half a year, I had already become the official of the dynasty!
This turn of events is not a big one.
Even Hu Changan himself was a little unbelievable.
After changing his clothes, Hu Changan got into the sedan with the help of his maid and walked towards the Forbidden City.
Nowadays, Hu Changan, as the dignified minister of the Ministry of Industry, naturally has to attend the morning court every day.
During the Hongwu period, anyone with an official position in Beijing, no matter how big or small, had to attend the morning court.
In the Ming Dynasty, the morning dynasty started very early, usually at five o'clock in the morning, when the sun had just risen.
Therefore, at three or four in the morning, carriages carrying officials would pass by on the dark streets from time to time.
Officials who live closer to the Forbidden City are fine, but officials who live a little further away from the Forbidden City even have to leave home at three in the morning.
This is a pain for those who like to sleep in.
In the Ming Dynasty, it was impossible for officials to sleep in.
Fortunately, thanks to my father, the Hu family's residence is very close to the Forbidden City.
However, despite this, Hu Changan got up at four o'clock today.
Sitting on the swaying carriage, Hu Changan couldn't help but let out a long yawn.
Getting up early is really tiring.
Arriving at the gate of the Forbidden City, Hu Changan slowly stepped out of the carriage and silently merged into the morning crowd.
After entering the Meridian Gate, Hu Changan was greeted by a neat and solemn queue.
The civilian officials are on the left and the military attachés are on the right. The two teams stand opposite each other, arranged front to back according to the size of their official positions.
Under the guidance of the young eunuch, Hu Changan walked to his seat, stood still, and waited for the morning court.
After a while, the officials arrived one after another.
Suddenly, a burst of magnificent music suddenly sounded.
It's Zhu Yuanzhang here!
All the ministers immediately bowed and saluted.
After the emperor took his seat and all the ministers finished their salutes, they entered into the business of the morning court session.
In fact, Hu Changan didn't know much about the affairs in the DPRK, so he just listened quietly to the reports of other colleagues.
Incidents ranging from the collapse of houses in the capital to floods in prefectures and counties were all resolved in the morning court.
When the morning dynasty begins, the sky is still dawning, and by the time the morning dynasty ends, the sky is already bright.
In the loud voice of "retreat from the court", all the officials dispersed like birds and beasts, preparing to go to various departments to handle their official duties.
Speaking of officials during the Hongwu period, it was really hard.
Not only do you have to get up before dawn every day to go to the morning court, but you also have to work all the way until 5 or 6 in the afternoon before going home. Basically, you have to go to bed as soon as you get home. You are like a model worker per capita.
Moreover, when these officials are working, there are also special imperial envoys who are responsible for patrolling.
If officials are found to be fishing openly instead of doing business, they will be slapped with a ban at the least, or thrown into jail at the worst.
Therefore, the officials during the Hongwu period were very careful in terms of their dedication to work.
After the morning court, Hu Changan followed his boss, Xue Xiang, Minister of the Ministry of Works, towards the Ministry of Works.
On the way, Hu Changan took out the gift box he had prepared and handed it to Xue Xiang: "Xue Shangshu, this is a small gift I prepared, please accept it."
How can one be exempt from vulgarity when one is in officialdom?
Sending some small gifts is a good way to get closer to your colleagues.
Seeing this, Xue Xiang was so frightened that he waved his hands repeatedly: "Shilang Hu, I can't accept this gift!"
"If I accept an expensive gift, I will be arrested as a briber!"
No wonder Xue Xiang is so nervous.
In the early Ming Dynasty, the rules in officialdom were very strict.
Once officials accept bribes exceeding five taels of silver, they will be beaten with a cane.
Once a bribe exceeds sixty taels of silver, he will be executed immediately.
Although this harsh punishment still cannot prevent bold officials from corruption, the timid and cautious Xue Xiang is obviously not among them.
Xue Xiang felt nervous when he heard that Hu Changan was going to give him something.
After all, everyone in the court yesterday felt Hu Changan's generosity.
You can earn 20,000 taels of silver in a month!
This is simply an astronomical figure for everyone.
If it weren't for the wrong weight, Xue Xiang would even suspect that the box contained gold!
Seeing Xue Xiang's nervous look, Hu Changan also laughed: "Xue Shangshu, you will know when you open it and take a look. The things inside will definitely not make it difficult for you to be a good person."
After hearing this, Xue Xiang opened the box hesitantly.
What was inside turned out to be a piece of exquisitely crafted soap and a small bottle of rum!
The soap produced by Hu Changan is so famous in Yingtian City, so naturally Xue Xiang has also used it.
But the soap in the gift box is very different from ordinary soap.
Ordinary soap has a dull color and feels gray.
But this piece of soap is completely white and dotted with petals. It can be called a work of art.
Seeing Xue Xiang's amazed look, Hu Changan also smiled and explained: "Xue Shangshu, this soap is a petal milk soap specially developed by Hu Mansion. It is specially used to wash your face. It is still in the experimental stage and has not been sold to the outside world.
."
"Since we are all future colleagues, I will give you some to give you a taste first."
"The cost of this essential oil soap is not expensive. Each piece only costs less than two hundred copper coins."