Suddenly, Zhou Muzhi stopped, feeling cold all over his body, and looked at Fang Chen in horror.
Fang Chen glanced at him and said calmly: "You have already thought about it, right? If Liu Yuanqing, an idiot, rescues and accepts refugees in such a big way, countless refugees will definitely rush to Wenxuanfang after hearing the news."
"If that's all, then forget it. After all, no matter what the purpose is, he is doing a practical thing."
"But his mistake is that he shouldn't be so high-profile to keep the refugees fed. The price of food is so ridiculously expensive now, and there is still some time before the autumn harvest."
"Even if the four major grain merchants support him and tens of thousands of refugees, the stocks of the four major grain merchants will be exhausted in less than ten days and a half. By then, even if Liu Yuanqing has money, where will he buy it?
Food? How much does it cost him to buy enough food for so many refugees?”
Zhou Muzhi said blankly: "What if he instead donates porridge to provide disaster relief?"
Fang Chen sneered: "It's okay now. But now Liu Yuanqing, I'm sure he will never agree."
"His reputation has been tarnished by the Yuehua Tower Cultural Society, so he urgently needs this opportunity to establish his image as Master Liu who saves the world and helps the people in the minds of the refugees."
"This is also the purpose of Zhang Dang's announcement that His Majesty will let the refugees into the city this time. So now he is trying every means to try his best to feed these hungry victims."
"The more, the better. The more he eats, the taller his image will be and the greater his reputation will be!"
"But he doesn't know what will happen to him once he runs out of food."
Zhou Muzhi's frightened eyes seemed to have reminded him of that scene, and then he asked: "Master Fang, what should we do?"
"There is no way."
Fang Chen shook his head and sighed: "Even if he buys food later, it will definitely not be enough for the refugees, so after discovering this, they will reduce the distribution of food."
"But will the refugees, who have finally had enough to eat and live comfortably for a few days, agree? People are never satisfied."
"If Liu Yuanqing had been smarter from the beginning, he would have cooked porridge for the refugees after they entered the city. The food eaten by one person would be enough to feed three people."
"Although it doesn't stop hunger, this is already the best relief compared to the refugees who had to eat one meal before."
"In this way, with the support of the four major grain merchants, Liu Yuanqing can even support these refugees until the autumn harvest is completed and the new rice is put into storage."
"But now, he is dead! Zhang Dang made a good game, but let a bad chess piece make a move. The only thing waiting for them is destruction."
After saying that, Fang Chen left without looking back.
Looking at his back, Zhou Muzhi suddenly felt that Fang Chen was so terrifying.
Even though nothing happened yet, he had already planned everything.
Zhou Muzhi even felt that there was a great possibility that things would develop as Fang Chen said!
…
After leaving Mashan's house, Fang Chen went directly to the palace and found Feng Gao, the eunuch in charge of the Supervisor of Ceremonies.
"Brother Fang, why are you free to visit our house today?"
Feng Gaopou was a little happy to see Fang Chen. He had always had a good impression of Fang Chen, and the two of them had always called each other brother and brother.
Fang Chen smiled and said hello: "I don't go to the Three Treasures Hall for anything. If I have anything to do, I'll trouble you, Brother Feng."
"In trouble?"
Feng Gao asked Fang Chen to sit down and asked, "How are you doing in your Yanghuafang?"
"They're all very good. Hey, brother, do you have any acquaintances in the Ministry of Industry? Please introduce two of them to me." Fang Chen said.
Feng Gao was curious: "Ministry of Industry? Do you have trouble with those guys?"
Fang Chen nodded: "I have a gadget that I want them to help make."
Among the six departments, the Ministry of Industry is at the bottom of the rankings, but this does not mean that it is unimportant.
The Ministry of Industry is in charge of various projects, and craftsmen such as construction, water conservancy, and even transportation and farming are all under their management.
Fang Chen naturally came to them because he wanted to borrow some skilled craftsmen from the Ministry of Industry to make a pedal spinning wheel.
He believed that Mashan, a businessman, would not refuse his cooperation.
"I know a few of them. Come on, our family will take you there." Feng Gao said with a smile.
Fang Chen was delighted: "Oh, that would really be too troublesome for you, brother."
"Hey, why are we two so polite? In the future, when my brother becomes rich, I will take care of him more when he gets older."
As a close minister of the emperor beside empress Luo Ningxin, Feng Gao had been trying to figure out the emperor's heart for more than ten years and knew Luo Ningxin's thoughts better than most officials.
The commander of the Dongchang Jinyiwei took this position, and he knew that Luo Ningxin definitely wanted Fang Chen to sit in it.
Feng Gao didn't care about the others, but in his opinion, it was His Majesty the Emperor who supported Fang Chen, so did the others really have the qualifications to compete with Fang Chen?
I'm afraid it's not wishful thinking.
Therefore, from Feng Gao's point of view, Fang Chen's prosperity in the future is inevitable, so he must take advantage of the present to win over this rising star.
Maybe I can save my life in the future.
After all, accompanying a king is like accompanying a tiger. Who can guarantee that he will not make mistakes in this life?
The two of them left the palace and came to the Yamen of the Ministry of Industry.
As soon as he heard that Feng Gao and Fang Chen had arrived, Zhou Kang, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, quickly came out to greet them.
"Oh, what kind of wind has brought these two father-in-laws here, please come quickly." Zhou Kang looked enthusiastic.
Although he is a second-rank official, Feng Gao and Fang Chen are both eunuchs in charge of the ceremonial department.
One is the famous people around His Majesty. They are all the masters who follow His Majesty every day and can talk to him.
He is not a ruthless person like Zhang Yu of Tobe who is in charge of the money bag of the Yan Dynasty, so he naturally does not dare to neglect him.
After a polite exchange between the two parties, Fang Chen explained the purpose of coming here.
"Spinning wheel?" Zhou Kang understood what Fang Chen meant after hearing this.
This kind of thing is nothing among the craftsmen in their engineering department, and many of those craftsmen can make it.
So he took Fang Chen to the palace craftsman's place and asked someone to make a spinning wheel for Fang Chen on the spot.
More than a dozen craftsmen started working together, and the assembly of rocker handles, wheels, and spindles all fell into Fang Chen's eyes.
When the hand spinning wheel works, it requires one hand to crank the wheel and the other hand to spin the thread, so it is not only troublesome but also very slow.
As the craftsmen made it, Fang Chen began to participate in it, putting forward his own ideas and simplicity.
It is necessary to use a foot pedal to drive the runner to free up the workers' hands, and increase the number of spinning spindles to increase the spinning speed.
With Fang Chen's participation and suggestions, the craftsmen were not able to understand it at the beginning and then slowly opened their imaginations, and the surrounding craftsmen also participated.
More than 20 people worked together to make Fang Chenyao's pedal spinning wheel in half a day.
It is two or three times larger than the original hand-operated spinning wheel, and there are additional seats in the working area so that people can sit and work.