After the twentieth day of the first lunar month, the weather became warmer day by day, and even the snow in the fields showed signs of melting in large areas.
After lunch, Hu Baozong asked several servants of the Song family to carry out the soft couch and lean it against the wall. Then he took a copy of "Three Kingdoms" and read in the sun.
Do you enjoy it?
Li Chengzhi secretly cursed.
Hearing the noise, Hu Baozong raised his head and saw that it was Li Chengzhi, and his face suddenly lit up with joy.
He has not seen Li Chengzhi for nearly ten days.
I don’t know why, but I’ve known Li Chengzhi for less than a month, but it feels like we’ve been friends for decades.
The "outstanding people" and "talents" that Hu Baozong considered in the past are like clouds and mud when compared with Li Chengzhi...
So every time I think about the night when I fell out with Li Chengzhi, Hu Baozong feels so regretful that his intestines turn blue.
Fortunately, Li Chengzhi is more generous...
Hu Baozong put down his book and asked curiously: "It's rare that you have time to go down the mountain. How is your armor forging?"
Li Chengzhi reduced the number ten times: "I only made forty pairs in ten days!"
"Forty pairs? Not bad..."
Hu Baozong was praising him, but he was a little disapproving in his heart.
What Li Chengzhi harvested was mature iron. Compared to a blacksmith starting from iron ore, it was so much easier.
I heard that nearly a hundred strong men who could pick up a hammer and work as blacksmiths were gathered together, and they only forged four sets of armor in one day. Is there anything worthy of praise?
And the sequelae are huge: if the court reacts quickly and can put an end to the chaos before and after Grain Rain, then this year’s farming work will not be delayed.
When that time comes, let’s see what kind of land Li Chengzhi uses.
This is going to be deserted, but there are tens of thousands of acres...
"How are you recuperating?" After the maid finished serving tea, Li Chengzhi asked tentatively.
Realizing that Li Chengzhi's tone was wrong, Hu Baozong suddenly became vigilant: "You want to drive me away?"
He really doesn't want to leave because Yin Zhen, who Li Chengzhi promised him, hasn't been killed yet.
The second is that I can’t leave even if I want to.
Liu Huiwang is holding more and more rioters, and the scope of the robbery is also getting wider and wider, and has already spread to the vicinity of Jingyang City.
Although the county town was not completely besieged, the road was cut off long ago. Without hundreds or thousands of soldiers to protect the siege, how could Hu Baozong dare to take the road rashly...
"How is that possible?" Li Chengzhi suddenly called out to Qu, "Now I wish I could worship you as a god..."
When gods offer sacrifices?
As soon as he heard this, he knew that Li Chengzhi should have something to ask of him. Hu Baozong didn't say anything, but just looked at him sideways.
I was thinking in my heart: This bastard is here to trick grandpa again...
Doesn’t it scare you to death?
Li Chengzhi secretly sneered, reached into his arms, took out a copper ingot, and handed it to Hu Baozong.
The one facing Hu Baozong happened to be the bottom containing gold. He was suddenly surprised and said: "Bonus money?"
Before the Tang Dynasty, if you just said "gold", you meant copper.
According to historical records, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty often "rewarded ministers with tens of thousands of catties of gold", which was referring to copper.
As for gold, whenever it is mentioned, it must be called "gold".
This thing is even more expensive: one tael of gold beads can be exchanged for ten pieces of silk!
The price is equivalent to one hundred and sixty times that of copper.
So few people mix gold into copper.
Occasionally, there are noble ladies and daughters-in-law from aristocratic families who like this kind of gold with pink color. They will make some specially and make a few gold hairpin jewelry, but how many taels will it cost for each one?
This piece weighs ten kilograms and can be pinched with a fingernail to make a mark, indicating that it is pure copper mixed with gold. It is more than enough to cover his salary for two years.
So generous?
Hu Baozong looked at Li Chengzhi suspiciously: "What do you want me to do?"
Think you are bribing him?
"What are you dreaming about in the Spring and Autumn Period?" Li Chengzhi sneered, grabbed the copper ingot, and then sighed sadly, with a hint of sadness on his face.
"I've calculated over and over again, but there's still not enough food!"
"Yes!" Hu Baozong said one word decisively.
It should have been enough.
The Song family's grain reserves alone amount to tens of thousands of dan, plus the Li family's and the money collected from households, it should be at least 15,000 dan. If strictly controlled, it can be reduced by half or only every day.
With a 30% contribution, it’s not impossible to eat until the beginning of autumn.
But Li Chengzhi insists on doing work-for-relief?
At least 60% of these men are able to serve in the army or work. They have to undergo high-intensity training and work every day, and their food intake has more than doubled.
With this food, let alone the beginning of autumn, it would be good if Li Chengzhi could hold on until the beginning of summer.
By then, if the chaos has not been settled, what should he do?
"So?" Hu Baozong pointed to the copper ingots on the table and said with a sneer, "You want to use this bonus to buy grain? But how many kilograms can you buy with this piece of money?"
"More than that?"
Li Chengzhi stretched out his palm, thought for a moment, and gestured with four fingers, "It's four thousand catties!"
Hu Baozong's eyes suddenly bulged: "Are they all like this kind of bonus?"
Li Chengzhi nodded.
With a "thump", Hu Baozong jumped up. He might have pulled the wound, or he might have been frightened. He took a sharp breath and asked with a grin on his face, "Where did your family come from so much gold?
”
The Li family has four thousand kilograms of copper, which is not surprising to him at all.
Just from the more than 3,000 acres of fertile land owned by the Li family, the annual interest income is at least about 7,000 dan. Even if the tenants keep 70% and the owner keeps 30%, there should still be 2,000 dan a year.
If converted into copper, it would be one thousand catties, and four thousand catties would be saved in four years.
What surprised Hu Baozong was that, looking at the thick layer of color at the bottom of this copper ingot, there must be one tael of gold in one piece. If you do the math, the gold in it is actually more valuable than copper?
How much gold is needed for four hundred yuan?
This is a truly priceless good thing...
Li Chengzhi smiled without explaining.
One more tael?
It would be nice to have some money.
The density of gold is higher than that of copper, so it will sink to the bottom of the copper liquid after being melted. The melting point is lower than that of copper, so it naturally solidifies earlier than copper, so it will be completely covered in the bottom layer of the copper ingot.
But precisely because it is small, it is rose-colored. If the content were higher, this layer should be completely golden.
"They are all passed down from my grandfather Naizhi, and I don't know how many there are!" Li Chengzhi responded vaguely, and then asked, "Li Song told me that the price of such a copper ingot is a bronze ingot containing 30% lead.
Double the amount, wouldn’t that one pound be exchanged for four stones of grain?”
Not only four stones, but also six stones are not difficult to exchange, and even eight stones may be wanted.
Hu Baozong looked at Li Chengzhi with a strange expression, as if to say: He is really a prodigal...
Could Li Chengzhi be mistaken, thinking that Hu Baozong was surprised that he could actually use up his family wealth to buy grain to feed seven or eight thousand Song villagers and monks who had nothing to do with him?
How generous and magnanimous is this?
Li Chengzhi sneered: "Don't think of me as so noble. I was forced to be so generous. To put it more deeply, this is actually to eliminate the trouble for your Hu family, so these four thousand kilograms
Copper, just think I lent it to you..."
Lend me?
Does this mean that the money to buy grain came from the Hu family?
Hu Baozong's eyes bulged in shock: "Why?"
This is four thousand kilograms of gold, which is at least worth ten thousand kilograms of bronze. With his small salary, he will have to live without food or drink for a thousand years...
Li Chengzhi smiled sadly: "Ping Yin is still alive!"
This means that as long as Yin Zhen survives, the chaos in Zhaoxuan Temple will be inseparable from the Hu family.
The Hu family should bear the responsibility of buying grain to feed the monks and Song villagers.
Hu Baozong was so angry that his head was about to smoke.
He gritted his teeth and looked at Li Chengzhi: "Can you stop being so shameless?"