sbdcsierra Chapter 323 Zhao Hui Visits Luancheng
Chapter 323 Zhao Hui Visits Luancheng
New Year's gifts are so precious that they are extraordinary.
You know, in this era when there was no glass, giving a glass-like cup as a gift would make those noble families and cooperating merchants so excited that they could hardly contain themselves.
Moreover, everything Zhao Sheng gave away were unique pieces in the world. Naturally, these people regarded them as treasures and would never take them out to enjoy easily.
In order to cater to the habits of the people on the grassland, Zhao Sheng specially crafted a handicraft of a golden wolf looking at the moon and gave it to Nalan Xiongying alone.
Although the yellow glass was not extremely difficult to make, it took the craftsmen in the mining workshop a lot of effort to make it look lifelike and emit a dazzling light.
Substances like iron oxide and potassium sulfide are really hard to find in this era.
"Hey! Prince Consort, why did you only make one of the Golden Wolf Looking at the Moon statues you gave away? I think two would look better."
Master Lu, the person in charge of the workshop, recalled the tremendous energy he had spent on making this wolf. There were countless defective products. He finally succeeded, but only one was needed. He couldn't help feeling depressed.
"Some things aren't more valuable the more you have them. One is enough."
Zhao Sheng said to Master Lu with a sly smile on his face.
"Oh? Is there some profound mystery here?"
Master Lu asked with his eyes wide open and a confused look on his face.
Zhao Sheng shook his head repeatedly and said, "The mystery here will be revealed when the time is right."
There were some things that Zhao Sheng didn't know how to say for a moment, but he was secretly thinking that doing so would either promote the development of business in the future or catch the Nalan family off guard on the grassland.
Wolves have always been sacred creatures revered by certain tribes on the grassland. The meaning represented by the golden color is self-evident.
Zhao Sheng thought about it and said to the many waste materials generated during the production process:
"This colored glass isn't really suitable for making wine or tea sets. See if you can make it into small beads with a hole in the middle."
The first thing that came to Master Lu's mind was the bracelet, and he nodded quickly and replied, "Yes, yes."
Mr. Zhao thought that Master Lu had completely understood what he meant, so he didn't continue.
……
Grape wine luminous cup, urge you to drink Pipa immediately.
Drunk lying on the battlefield, Lord Grim, how many people have fought in ancient times?
Just after the New Year, this poem spread to many places.
Those generals who originally had little interest in wine suddenly developed a strong interest in it.
Especially since I heard there is a colorful glass cup, drinking wine with it is a unique and wonderful experience.
Every Dingzhou military general who performed outstandingly this year was fortunate enough to be awarded a pair of such cups.
As a reward, its value cannot be measured by money, but is a symbol of supreme honor.
Cheng Jushu, the chief military general of Dingzhou, not only got a pair himself, but his son also got a pair, and even Li Xin gave him a pair of such cups.
These cups are all made of the most primitive castings, so the color of each cup is not exactly the same, but this adds a bit of mystery to the cups.
Once, Cheng Jushu, who was able to take out six glass cups, naturally couldn't help but show them off when he entertained guests at a banquet in the first month of the lunar year.
"General Cheng, there are so many of us, and you only took out six cups. That's not enough to share!"
The generals under Cheng Jushu said this jokingly with a wink, their faces full of playful expressions.
"Are you all here today just for this wine?"
Cheng Jushu raised his eyebrows and asked with a hint of doubt.
"The reputation of wine is so legendary nowadays, and we just want to try it today."
"That's right, General Cheng, you wouldn't be so stingy as to not want to part with it..."
Everyone was talking to each other.
The wine is mainly sold externally, and the output itself is not high. In addition, Mr. Zhao also specially cellared a part of it.
In this market environment where supply exceeds demand, the price of wine has soared.
Although there is a precedent for making wine from grapes in the Western Regions, the alcohol content, clarity and taste of the wine are far inferior to the wine produced in Weizhou. For this reason, the prices of these wines continue to rise.
Most of the men in the army can only drink white wine, and they all drink the new army wine.
Cheng Jushu treated everyone to a meal, and even served wine. Even the rough and tumble warriors wanted to try this new thing.
"I really can't do anything with you. I only have a small amount of stock, and you insist on plundering it all for me."
The old general shook his head helplessly, smiled bitterly, and then ordered his servants to fetch wine. Zhao Sheng sent a hundred jars of wine to the palace, and Cheng Jushu took twenty jars with him.
However, after searching for a while, the servants of the general's mansion could only bring back ten jars.
This was destined to be a sleepless night, and the six wine glasses were used by everyone in turn.
Not all officials can own a glass cup. It’s not that Mr. Zhao is stingy, but the production is really limited.
In contrast, the glass cup used by Zhao Sheng in the Princess's Mansion was completely colorless.
"Husband, you've been staring at this cup for a long time. Are you dissatisfied with the lack of color?"
Li Shuya tilted her head and looked at Zhao Sheng curiously, her face full of confusion.
"Princess, I think this cup is quite well made. After the New Year, we will produce a batch of glass according to this standard. Then we should replace the windows in our mansion."
Zhao Sheng raised the corners of his mouth and said with a smile.
Zhao Zhen was startled by Zhao Sheng's words and thought to herself: Could it be that my husband wants to use colored glass to decorate the windows? Although Li Shuya knew that these glassware came from the workshop, she didn't know their price.
"Husband, do you mean to replace all these windows with glass?"
"Yes, with the transparency of the glass now, we will be able to see the scenery outside clearly through the window."
Mr. Zhao became more and more excited as he spoke, his eyes full of longing for the room after it was replaced with glass.
Everyone's thoughts were similar to Zhao Sheng's, but it was hard for them to imagine what a wonderful house would look like after being replaced with glass.
According to the size of the window, the glass was divided into several pieces, each of which was not very large. At this time, the self-flowing effect of glass was not ideal, so the smaller the area, the higher the success rate of production.
During the Lantern Festival, all the windows in the Princess's Mansion were replaced with glass.
The noble families that had cooperated with Da Zhou and Dingzhou came to Luancheng to pay New Year's greetings to the Princess's Mansion and to enjoy the Lantern Festival.
Zhao Hui naturally also received a set of glasses.
He planned to return to Beijing during the Lantern Festival, so he came to Luancheng a few days in advance and went to the Princess's Mansion. He wanted to meet Zhao Sheng.
As soon as I stepped into the Princess's Mansion, the first thing that caught my eye was the glass on the window.
Although it is not colorful, the reflected light is still dazzling under the sunlight.
Such crystal clear glass gives people a feeling of transparency, high-end and luxury.
Li Shuya and Zhao Sheng greeted them together at the middle door.
When Zhao Hui saw Zhao Sheng, he suddenly felt a strange feeling in his heart. In a trance, he felt that Zhao Sheng seemed to be the sixth prince rumored in the palace. He was shocked.
I thought to myself: How is this possible?