After noon, after sending away a group of tenants who had always received generous rewards from each household after the meal, Zuo Qi had just returned to the backyard when a little maid came to him and said that a minor official had summoned him.

Follow to the west courtyard.

Zhu Yuan was still in the tea room on the west side of the hall where he received several elderly people before noon. Dai Sanchun had already left after having lunch together. Standing beside him were Shuyi and Baibai, as well as Zhao Xu, who had arrived early.

I re-copied the list of forty-six volumes by category, and finally added a note, asking Lao Zhu to collect other books of the same type if he has them.

After all, memory is limited.

Even if I combined the information provided by several people around me who have read books, including the suggestions given by Qingqiu and Luo Shui who just came in yesterday, I can only think of so much.

Putting down his pen, Zhu Yuan rubbed his wrist, which was aching from writing too many words, and once again lamented the effort and inefficiency of the brush. If the book list had not been presented to Lao Zhu, he would have definitely asked someone around him to write it for him.

When the ink on the booklet was slightly dry, Zhu Yuan ordered Xieyi to put it into the envelope he had prepared in advance. Without sealing it, he motioned to Zhao Xu to step forward and handed it over.

During the movement, Zhu Yuan glanced at the thick calluses on Zhao Xu's left thumb and index finger and asked, "Are you left-handed?"

Zhao Xu took the envelope, was startled for a moment, and then nodded slightly and said, "Young official is so perceptive."

Zhu Yuan smiled and looked at Zhao Xu, who was slightly lowering his eyes and not looking at him, and said: "Left-handed people are good, left-handed people are smart."

After saying this, Zhu Yuan did not look at Zhao Xu's reaction and turned to Zuo Qi: "You have two things to do. First, find a kind of stone. I don't know what its name is now. I call it graphite. It is a kind of similar stone.

It's something like coal, but it's not flammable, it's soft, easy to crush, and it's smooth to the touch."

Zuo Qi's mind revolved around what the little official had just pointed out about Zhao Xu's left hand, while listening to Zhu Yuan's words, his expression was confused, but he repeated it accurately.

Zhu Yuan confirmed that it was correct and was about to say the second thing when he felt his sleeve being pulled. He turned around to see that it was blank and asked, "What's wrong?"

Liu Bai whispered with some uncertainty: "What the official said should be a kind of black material."

Zhu Yuan didn't understand for a moment: "What?"

Liu Bai was slightly uneasy. The official was talking about business, so it would be rude for her to interrupt suddenly. If she made a mistake...

Liu Bai then thought of the two people who had just entered the mansion yesterday. He became inexplicably nervous and stuttered a little. He raised his hand to gesture at the tip of his eyebrows and said, "Mei Dai is used for thrush, but the official said that... that kind of material

, not very good, only used by low-class maids."

Only then did Zhu Yuan understand the meaning of the word "Dai" she just said, and asked: "Do you have it now? Let me see it."

Blank and shook his head.

It had only been a few days since they moved in, and they were busy with everything. She and Shuyi hadn't had time to buy these things for their daughter.

Xieyi was a little dissatisfied with her because she left the blank space, and she was also worried. Seeing that Xiao Guanren was not angry, he asked about it again. He hesitated a little and said: "Xiao Guanren, I remember when Sister Qingqiu and Sister Luoshui came.

They all brought makeup, and some of them may have eyebrows."

Zhu Yuan signaled: "Go and ask, and if you have anything, bring it to me. By the way, let them come over too. We have something to do later."

Xieyi agreed to leave.

Seeing Xieyi going out, he left blank and immediately regretted that he had talked too much.

This treasure was not accomplished, but it was used to take credit for others.

Zhu Yuan had already turned to Zuo Qi again: "The second thing is to find a craftsman who can make small metal utensils, um..." Zhu Yuan pondered for a moment, raised his index finger and said: "Probably he can make copper pipes as thick as a finger. You need to be able to do some engraving, and you also need to be able to grind copper pieces the size of your fingernails."

Now all three people in the room were confused.

Zuo Qi asked: "Little official, what exactly are you going to do?"

Zhu Yuan pointed to the brush at hand: "This writing is too slow and too tiring. I plan to make two kinds of writing tools that I can use well."

Zuo Qi thought about the graphite and copper pipes just now. There were exactly two kinds. He nodded and repeated Zhu Yuan's request to the craftsmen just now. After confirming that it was correct, he said, "I've written it down."

Shuyi hadn't come back yet, so Zhu Yuan didn't let the two of them leave immediately. He thought about it and said, "It's best that this craftsman can also make thin iron. I want to make a more accurate measuring ruler."

Zuo Qi suggested: "Why don't I find a few more junior officials, so that they each have their own strengths and can be built faster?"

Zhu Yuan smiled and nodded: "Okay."

Here Zuo Qi asked for some more details, and a voice came from outside.

Xieyi brought Qingqiu and Luo Shui in together.

When Zhu Yuan saw the two girls again, he still felt a little bright-eyed. Compared with the two girls, Xieyi and Liubai, who were born around high school, this was his normal aesthetic.

Moreover, one hundred and seventy thousand coins would only be worth 170,000 yuan later. 170,000 yuan can buy two high-end secretaries and personal chefs, and they are so beautiful and eye-catching. How can there be such a good thing in the future? It is not enough to hire one for dinner. Little star's.

Incidentally, my temporary decision to buy these two yesterday was also somewhat tentative.

Mainly not Lao Zhu, but Zhao Xu and Zuo Qi.

Zhu Yuan didn't notice anything at first. Dai Sanchun came to see him that day, but in the afternoon he suddenly received an order from Lao Zhu, and he didn't react until he came to see him.

Something is wrong.

It was no problem that Zhu Yuanzhang knew that he was sick at the first time. The problem was that Lao Zhu let Dai Sanchun live directly in the mansion here, and he only found out the reason two days later.

After careful observation and recall, I basically determined certain things.

When reading history in previous lives, one can always see stories about emperors spying on their ministers. From Han Wu to Qianlong, from Xuanzong to Song Zu, there are endless stories, but most of them are unofficial histories with low credibility. Only the Ming Dynasty, Jin Yiwei It was put on the table directly, and official history also recorded some allusions to Lao Zhu’s use.

In short, Zhao Xu and Zuo Qi are undoubtedly spies.

It was during their contact with Dai Sanchun that the two of them were the first to discover this "popular man" who had recently become a friend among ministers, and the true purpose of those people was Lao Zhu's... well, it was obvious.

So Zhu Yuanzhang knew about this matter before Zhu Yuan and made arrangements.

Zhu Yuan was not angry, worried or fearful about this. Not only that, he felt that it was Lao Zhu who was worried. After all, if these two saw something they shouldn't have seen, such as the emperor's learning, what should they do? what to do?

Therefore, Zhu Yuan did not intend to expose it or anything else. He just deliberately spent a lot of money and purchased two "Mei Ji". Not only was he satisfied with it and needed it, but he also wanted to see the follow-up feedback to determine the attitudes of Zhao Xu and Zuo Qi.

Having seen ups and downs in his previous life, Zhu Yuan did not believe in loyalty, and he never mentioned this to his employees.

Too much of a hooligan.

Zhu Yuan believes more in the bundling of interests.

In short, if Zhao Xu and Zuo Qi can deal with this matter carelessly, he will be more lenient in the future and will reciprocate. If not, and provokes Lao Zhu's reprimand, then Zhu Yuan will be more cautious in the future and do not do certain things.

Probably avoid these two.

In the tea room.

Qingqiu and Luo Shui saw the gift together, then stepped forward, and with a burst of freehand brushwork and a feminine fragrance that both girls lacked, each presented a piece of eyebrow makeup to Zhu Yuan's hands.

Zhu Yuan held a so-called eyebrow patch in one hand and began to look at it.

At first glance, the two are small black objects. One is similar to a miniature ink stick, which is similar to Zhu Yuan's little finger. The other is shaped like a mini soap, three centimeters in size, and feels similar. It is black with dark purple, and has three ink sticks on it.

The word inscription is Luozidai.

Put it to your nose and smell it, both have a light fragrance.

Zhu Yuan took another piece of paper and scratched it. The reduced version of the ink ingot left a black mark, but the touch was very dull. The mini soap was smooth, but the mark was shallow.

A soft voice came from my ear: "Young official, this needs to be wetted with water before it can be used."

It was Luo Shui who spoke.

There was an expression on his face that he wanted to explain in detail.

Zhu Yuan did not respond, but said to Zuo Qi who was also looking carefully at the other side: "It's not these, there are too many impurities, I only want the most basic graphite material. However, you can follow this idea and ask the person who makes Meidai

Merchant."

Zuo Qi agreed again.

After finishing the instructions and thinking that there was nothing else missing, Zhu Yuan said to the two of them: "That's it, you go."


Chapter completed!