Don't make trouble, let's build infrastructure!

In order to eat the meal that Tong Ran invited as soon as possible, Fan Heng copied a few copies of the things Tong Ran gave, and sent a fast horse to the knowledgeable masters everywhere.

The masters scattered throughout Dacheng took action immediately. The characteristics written in the letter were very detailed, and some of them were not sure, so they returned to Fan Heng's letter after comparing them one by one.

Within seven days, replies arrived one after another, and Linhai Road in the southeast was the last to reply. As soon as Fan Heng received the letter, he went to visit Tong Ran.

The gatekeeper of the yamen had already received Tong Ran's order. Fan Heng was not stopped when he came again, and went directly into Tong Ran's study under the guidance of the gatekeeper.

"Brother Tong, you have to treat me to dinner this time." Fan Heng said as he entered the door.

Tong Ran was overjoyed, put down his pen and said, "Found it?"

"I found them all, but it was a waste of my master's hard work. The kind of mud you want is found in the river, and the limestone has to be mined in a mountain on Linhai Road." Fan Heng said, "How much do you want? This thing is not good. Pick."

Tong Ran: "I want a lot."

Fan Heng smiled: "Then it's your turn to beg me this time. Looking at Dacheng, if you want to collect the mud and stones you want, and then transport them to Xiaoguo County, only I, Fan, can do it except for the imperial court. You Say, abalone wing belly, what are you going to treat me to?"

Tong Ran: "It's easy to talk about the meal. I have booked Huai Tanglou. You can order whatever you want later."

Fan Heng: "You know I'm here today?"

Fan Heng came over as soon as he got the reply from Linhai Road. He didn't inform Tong Ran in advance, but he had already booked Huai Tanglou for a while. Is this a foretelling?

Tong Ran: "Secret. But Brother Fan, besides you and the imperial court, there is another family that can do this."

Fan Heng stopped holding the crutch: "You also have contact with them?"

Tong Ran: "Many farmers in Xiaoguo County have recently brewed beer. So much beer is not easy to sell, and almost all of them are bought by Qiu Ming."

Qiu Ming is the younger generation of the Qiu family, and Fan Heng has heard of his name.

Fan Heng, the patriarch of the Qiu Clan, also knew her. Her name was Qiu Fu, who was Qiu Ming's cousin.Tong Ran was right when he said his family could do it.

Fan Heng coughed lightly and said, "I know that Qiu Ming is a bit clever, but he can't handle such a big business, so he has to find his cousin."

Tong Ran: "I know, it's getting late, let's go eat."

Tong Ran picked up the cub who had just woken up, and took Fan Heng out the door.

Fan Heng talked to him all the way, but he felt a little worried. He didn't know that Tong Ran also had connections in the Qiu family, and he thought that this business was his own.I don't know what he meant by suddenly mentioning the Qiu family, did he want the two to bid?

He also pointed out that he would make more contacts with Tong Ran under the pretext of doing business, so that he could complete the task as soon as possible, and he couldn't let others snatch it away.

Huai Tang Lou was not far from the county government, and they arrived soon.

The shopkeeper Huai Tang Lou greeted him personally, and when he saw Tong Ran, he said familiarly: "Master Tong, according to your instructions, the shop has already prepared a high-class private room, so shall I take you there?"

Just now?

Fan Heng looked at Tong Ran playfully.

Tong Ran smiled and said, "Please trouble the shopkeeper."

"Don't dare to be, don't dare to be, be careful on the steps." The shopkeeper smiled all over his face, bowed his body, and led Tong Ran and Fan Heng upstairs all the way.

The best box in Huai Tanglou has been vacated. There is a large round table enough for 20 people to dine, and two sets of tableware are placed facing each other on it, just for Tong Ran and Fan Heng.

"Master Tong, this is the private room with the best view in the shop, are you satisfied with it?" asked the shopkeeper.

The private room is connected to a terrace, and there is a small table for drinking tea on the terrace. Tong Ran looked around and saw that the sun is not shining today and there is a slight breeze, which is very suitable for eating in the open air. Have fun, you clean up there, we will eat outside."

The small tea table outside is actually not too small, it is enough for an ordinary family of five to have a meal, but compared with the ostentation inside, it is much more ordinary.

Coming to Huai Tanglou to eat is mostly a ostentation. The shopkeeper has never met someone like Tong Ran, but he is a customer, so naturally the customer has the final say.The shopkeeper immediately called for someone to come.The small table outside was quickly set up, and the shopkeeper personally invited them to sit down.

"Please add another chair with two cushions on it," Tong Ran said.

The shopkeeper was puzzled, but he still followed the instructions. After the chairs and cushions came up, Tong Ran put the little tiger on them.

Even eating at the same table as Tiger, the shopkeeper couldn't help but take a second look.

"Your little tiger doesn't seem to have grown up much?" Fan Heng said after the shopkeeper left.

Tong Ran: "I don't know why. I asked someone to see it. It doesn't look sick. Maybe it's such a breed. It's so cute."

"Wow!" I am mighty!

"It sounds cute too." Fan Heng echoed.

The little tiger glanced across.Facing those green eyes like His Majesty's again, Fan Heng felt his back cool and lowered his head to drink tea.

Not long after the shopkeeper came in with the menu, they ordered the dishes, and Tong Ran said again: "I want two more fresh fish, remove the spines and steam them, don't put any seasoning."

There is no river around Xiaoguo County, and the price of the fish is very high. The thorns are removed and no seasoning is added. The shopkeeper immediately realized that the fish might be for the tiger.It's just a tiger cub, and it costs so much to raise it. It seems that this county magistrate from a poor family is quite rich.

Huai Tanglou's dishes were exquisite and tasted good, but Fan Heng felt a little uninspired, and he thought about Tong Ran's words just now.

After eating for a while, he casually asked: "Why didn't Qiu Ming come to Xiaoguo County with you?"

"What is he doing here?" Tong Ran was puzzled.

Fan Heng was taken aback. Didn't he hint just now that he has a good relationship with Qiu Ming, and could this business be for the Qiu family?

Tong Ran was also taken aback, and then smiled and said: "Brother Fan misunderstood what I said just now, Qiu Ming doesn't know me very well." He just mentioned Qiu's just in passing, but Fan Heng was so careful that he would actually mind it. He really had no intention of giving this business to the Qiu family. On the one hand, he knew Fan Heng well and knew that he was reliable, on the other hand...he glanced at the little tiger, Qiu Ming, and said that it would be better to get away as far away as possible.

Fan Heng was at a loss. It is said that Tong Ran developed the beer and taught a village in Jiuxiang to brew it. Qiu Ming transported the wine to Zhuoyang Mansion for sale. Both of them played important roles in this matter. There should be some The intersection is right, why does Tong Ran seem not too happy to mention him?

However, Fan Heng was also relieved. Since Tong Ran didn't like Qiu Ming, the business of road construction materials was still his.

Fan Heng followed his gaze and glanced at the little tiger. Those green eyes were still piercing, but he suddenly had an inspiration.

Tong Ran's attitude towards Qiu Ming is so strange, maybe they are old acquaintances?Or have you ever complained?It's better to start to investigate from this aspect, maybe we can find out the origin of Tong Ran, but we don't know.

After a meal.

The little tiger was satisfied with the meal, Tong Ran confirmed the supplier of road construction materials, Fan Heng found a new way to complete the task, and the guests and hosts at the table had a good time.

On the second day, a new announcement from the county government was posted on all the bulletin boards in Xiaoguo County and all the bulletin boards in the first village of Jiuxiang.

"Recruitment?"

"Mulder burners and road builders, they all need young and strong men. I'll go and talk to my son."

"How about cooking, [-] Wen a month? It also includes room and board. This is a good salary!"

The news of the county government's recruitment spread quickly among the people in the county town and Jiuxiang and one village, and many merchants in the city also knew about it.

This road construction requires mud, but not just any mud will do.These merchants communicated in private, the new county magistrate has been reluctant to see them, and now the road needs to be transported. There is no clay pot suitable for road construction in the county, and it needs to be transferred from outside.

In Xiaoguo County, the county magistrate has the final say, but it is not up to the county magistrate to bring things in from outside.

As long as the county magistrate comes to them and asks for them, whether it's road construction or new stall regulations, they have a voice for everything.

The merchants held their breath and put on airs and waited for Tong Ran to come to the door.

A day passed, and Tong Ran didn't come to them.

The county magistrate is young, maybe his face is tender.

A businessman went to visit Gou An and asked him to make a match, but Gou An claimed that he was sick and disappeared.

Merchants are a little anxious.

Of course, not all merchants have a way to transport mud. The shopkeeper of Huai Tanglou did not. He watched with cold eyes. After Tong Ran came to Huai Tanglou that day, he realized that what the county magistrate was going to do was probably [-]% These merchants in Xiaoguo County are not used.

Because it is not used, there is no stake.If he wanted to change the regulations on setting up stalls, he would change them, and if he wanted to build roads, he would fix them.

In the final analysis, except for small businesses, there are only those merchants in a county. Their advantage is that they have more money and connections than ordinary people. There is no difference.

As the days passed, none of the merchants who had access to transport mud saw Tong Ran.

Ten days later, the first batch of hired workers came to the open space outside Wujia Village to set up thatched huts. Carriages carrying gravel and mud drove through the county seat in large horse-drawn carriages bearing Fan's flags. In that clearing.

The merchants were dumbfounded as the carriage passed through the county seat.

It turned out to be Fan!

No wonder County Magistrate Tong never dumped them. With such a big helper, what use are they?

The local merchants in Xiaoguo County beat their chests and feet.

"No wonder my lord has been reluctant to see those merchants." Sang Le also thought the same when he saw Fan's car driving mightily.

Tong Ran shook his head helplessly: "I didn't know that Brother Fan would come in the near future, it was out of plan. I don't have any particular reason to see those people, I'm just afraid of trouble."

Those merchants in Xiaoguo County have been operating locally for a long time, and Tong Ran, an outsider, hastily intervened in their circle, and it is inevitable that his hands will be tied.

He didn't like to sort out those intricate relationships, and it wasn't necessary, so he kept declining, and there was really no great reason.

The first batch of workers found a total of [-] workers, many of whom were familiar faces of Tong Ran.

As soon as he finished talking with Sang Le, Wu Fuqiang came over, cupped his hands and said: "My lord, all the workers have been put in place, the grass shed has been set up, and the vertical kiln was built according to your drawings yesterday. Do you want to start the fire now?" ?”

Wu Fuqiang had recently been slack in the fields, so he also applied for this recruitment. Tong Ran was familiar with him, so he was directly transferred to manage the cement workshop.

Making cement generally requires three steps. The first step is to crush the limestone. Fan has already completed this step, and the limestone shipped is already the size of a pebble.The second step is to put the stone and mud into the shaft kiln for calcination. This step is very critical. If the cement is well fired, the strength of the cement will be high. If it is not fired properly, it will not be usable.

The huts at the end of Wujia Village are mainly built for calcining cement.

After the calcination was completed, it was time to grind the powder. Tong Ran had already set up the equipment for the powder grinding.

Tong Ran glanced at the sky and said, "Let's start."

Wu Fuqiang had already listened to Tong Ran explain the process in detail, and when Tong Ran gave an order, he began to direct the workers to operate.Tong Ran watched from the side, Wu Fuqiang commanded very well, so he didn't make a sound.

The little tiger stared at the other end of the shaft kiln without blinking. The workers shoveled up gravel and mud and threw them into the shaft kiln. When it was full, the fire was lit and the calcination began.

It's a bit like they burned clay to pave the road, but it's not the same.

Because it was not crowded outside Wujia Village, Tong Ran didn't hold the little tiger in his arms, but just put it on the outside to prevent it from getting close to the shaft kiln.

But Chu Jun was not so obedient, he bypassed the outside while Tong Ran was instructing people to adjust the heat, and approached the shaft kiln.

The temperature around the shaft kiln also became a little higher because of the majestic flames. The little tiger focused on the center of his eyebrows, and a righteous energy emitted, which steadily penetrated into the shaft kiln.It has a ban set by the National Teacher, so it won't be discovered if you use a little bit of righteousness to check it.

The little tiger closed his eyes to feel the situation in the shaft kiln.

It was very hot inside, and the stones were all red from the fire, but other than that, there was nothing special.

The little tiger withdrew his righteousness, but at the same time he felt the fluctuation of righteousness around him.

It followed the fluctuations and turned back, before it could see clearly, it lightened.

Tong Ran grabbed the little tiger by the back of the neck and lifted it up, angrily said: "Zai Zai, you sneaked out again!"

The wave of righteousness lingered around Tong Ran's body, obviously because of the calcined stones and mud inside.Tong Ran also felt this fluctuation, and when he was about to sit down to refine, he caught a glimpse of the little tiger hovering very close to the shaft kiln, his heart skipped a beat, and he hurried over.

The yamen servant who was sent by Tong Ran to watch over the little tiger also arrived after him and apologized to him one after another.

The little tiger turned its head away. How could a cub understand human speech? It would come out whenever there was a gap. Does it need a walk?The yamen servant who was looking at it was afraid of its power, and didn't dare to approach it at all, so he couldn't stand it.

"Take it there." Tong Ran handed the tiger cub to the yamen servant.He was working, and the vicinity of the shaft kiln was too dangerous, so he didn't care that the little boy didn't like others to get close to him.

"Wow!" the little tiger roared.

The yamen servant retracted the hand he had just stretched out.When County Magistrate Tong first arrived, there were quite a few low-handed people in their county yamen who went to touch the tiger cubs basking in the sun in the courtyard, and all of them got three or four claw marks from the tiger cubs.

The yamen servant looked embarrassed: "Master County Magistrate, this..." This tiger cub is so fierce, how dare he hug it!

"You see, you are so fierce that no one dares to touch you." Tong Ran said to the little tiger.

"Wow!" the little tiger roared back.

It roared and roared, and when Tong Ran asked someone to hug it again, it obediently kept silent, but it still refused to be touched by anyone. It jumped from Tong Ran's hand to the ground by itself, and went to the lawn far away from the vertical kiln.

After finishing the little tiger, Tong Ran breathed a sigh of relief. He sat cross-legged on the spot and mobilized his power of perception.

After advancing to the Xuan rank, his efficiency in refining righteousness is very fast, and the normal accumulation of righteousness on the road of conscientiousness almost no longer needs to be concentrated on refining, and it is enough to give it a little attention when doing other things.This time there was more righteousness, and Tong Ranyi's investigations all came from the way of invention and creation.

Maybe it was because the cement hadn't been refined yet, and this wave of righteousness didn't come too fiercely, Tong Ran quickly refined all of them.He was already at the second level of the lower rank of the Mysterious Rank, and invention is the best way. Although the cement has not yet been completed, it still helped him increase by a full three ranks, reaching the fifth rank of the lower rank of the Mysterious Rank.

When the cement is completely smelted, I don't know how many stages it will be. It would be great if I can directly promote to the middle grade of Xuan rank.

The calcination of cement takes a long time. In the evening, personnel were arranged to be on duty at the shaft kiln, and the others went back to rest after a busy day.

The little tiger was beaten up by Tong Ran during the day, but at night he showed a lot of face, and Tong Ran coaxed him patiently all night.

After coaxing the little tiger, Tong Ran put it under the quilt, then lifted the quilt and lay down.Before closing his eyes, he suddenly heard a loud noise outside.