Chapter 8 Glass and Pectin

  Chongzhen 1st year, January 1st.

  The Chongzhen reign of the Great Ming finally opened.

  History has entered a new era, an era belonging to Chongzhen Zhu Youjian, and the era of reform by Otaku Yang has begun. The ambitions of an otaku are gradually filling this world.

  Yang reform looked at the rice paper in his hand. On it was recorded the formula for matches, which Yang had silently written down.

  Red phosphorus, glass powder, and glue are used to make match skin. Potassium chlorate, sulfur, iron oxide powder, and glass powder are processed into match heads.

  Yang saw these things and was stunned. It seems that it can't be done for the time being.

  Yang finally gave up on researching matches.

  Wang Chengen stood by and saw the emperor staring blankly at a piece of paper, hastily reminding: "Your Majesty, are you still eating? The dishes have all gone cold." In fact, the food eaten by the emperor was not necessarily hot. It was brought over from the imperial kitchen, and then after the eunuchs who tasted it had eaten, the emperor would eat, this dish probably only had five or six parts of heat left.

  "Uh-huh, got it, Otomo... Ah yes, Otomo, are you familiar with the Luli Factory?" Yang Gaofei thought to himself that he couldn't handle the matches, maybe he should take care of the glass instead. This was a game-changer for crossing over! He had to get it done quickly, as it seemed like the West already had glass production going on. If he didn't hurry up and figure it out, all the money would go to the West.

  "Your Majesty, I happen to know something about it, but I don't know what Your Majesty wants to use the Liuli Factory for?"

  "I suddenly think that the glass is very beautiful, with bright colors and seemingly transparent. I'm thinking, if I had a transparent cup to drink wine from, it would be such an exciting thing! Just like in poetry, 'Grape wine, moonlight, and a crystal goblet, wanting to drink, the pipa music urges me on.' 'Drunk and sleeping on the battlefield, don't laugh at me, how many people have returned from ancient battles...' This is just like a dream. What do you think, isn't it, Yang?"

  Wang Chengen knew that the emperor was very interested in military affairs, but he did not expect the emperor to also prepare for "how many people have returned from ancient times". Was it preparing to go to war? He was so scared that he hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty..." But when the words reached his lips, he didn't know how to advise His Majesty. After all, the Zhu family's offspring were all strange and eccentric, if they didn't do a few shocking things, it would be embarrassing to say they were from the Zhu family. He seemed not to need to be too surprised either.

  After some thought, Wang Chengen finally came up with something and said: "Your Majesty, I know a place that burns glass, if you like it, I can have someone make a few."

  "No, I want to go see the glass myself. Let's just go to that glass factory or whatever it is." Yang Gaizhi said immediately, but in fact he just wanted to get out and take a walk, and the glass was just an excuse.

  "This, Your Majesty, doesn't seem quite right..." Wang Chengen also didn't dare agree to the emperor's request.

  "There's nothing wrong with it, hurry up and prepare, Yang Gaizhi urged."

  Wang Chengen had no choice but to take the emperor out with him.

  In the morning of 1627, the Liuli Factory opened the Peace Gate, dismantled the factory bridge, and opened the South New Hua Street, dividing the Liuli Factory into two parts. The East Liuli Factory mainly dealt with antiques, while the West Liuli Factory mainly dealt with old books.

  Wang Chengen took Chongzhen and rushed straight to Liuli Factory. Of course, changing clothes and having a large number of bodyguards was a certainty.

  A rich young master and a housekeeper-like figure walked out onto the street in a grand manner. However, all around them were strong and sturdy house guards.

  Dongliuli Factory mainly focuses on antiques. As it is newly built, the flow of people is not very large, and many shops have not yet opened for business.

  Yang Reform was delighted to see it, after all, it was an ancient building from hundreds of years ago, although it was newly built, but in Yang Reform's eyes, it was a genuine antique.

  Suddenly, a burst of noise was heard, and a large crowd gathered in front of the gate, leaving Yang Gaizhi, who had just been lamenting the lack of people, astonished at how there were so many people all of a sudden.

  Yang Reform immediately went to the scene where the onlookers were gathered. He couldn't help but sigh, the power of the onlooker party was indeed great. Three layers inside and three layers outside, they instantly blocked half the street. Yang Reform struggled to squeeze inside, inevitably some onlookers cursed and whispered, only to be dragged out and beaten half to death, without knowing why.

  What a lovely little beauty, or perhaps a young lady, Yang Reform thought to himself in admiration, but unfortunately she was currently frowning and staring coldly at several people. Was this going to be another play of the beautiful woman and the evil tyrant?

  "Liu Wei Ren, I'm telling you, don't be delusional, I will never let the shop go to you, so just give up on that idea. And even more impossible is becoming your concubine, just forget about it." The beautiful young woman leaned against the door, gritting her teeth and cursing. Her face was already as cold as frost, but this added a few points to her beauty.

  "Liu Wei Ren, I'm telling you, don't have any ideas about my sister. Even if we starve to death, I won't marry her off to you." The man holding a stool in his hand stood on one side of the gate, while the lovely young woman stood on the other side, guarding the entrance. He seemed to be this lovely young woman's brother.

  "Hmph, yeah... I, Liu Wei Ren, just like you, a beautiful and spirited little thing, with enough vigor... Marry me, and you can still be the boss of this Luli Zhai, I don't care if you show off outside, and your useless brother can do whatever he wants too. I'll provide him with silver money every month to waste on his glasswork. This way, you're happy, I'm happy, your brother's happy, everyone's happy, a win-win situation. Otherwise... Hmph, the prison food in the government office will have an extra serving for your brother." The man wearing luxurious clothes shouted loudly. The lovely little girl was confronting him and his gang of thugs.

  The onlookers let out a collective sigh, and there were many who cursed under their breath, but no one spoke up.

  Yang's reform is laughable, this happened as soon as he went out, and it's almost the same as what's written in the book, with supporting characters deceiving men and bullying women, then the protagonist comes to save the beauty, how cliché!

  Just as Yang was secretly laughing at the reform, the two siblings in the doorway and the evil male bully escalated their argument.

  "Liu Wei Ren, you dare to take one more step forward, I won't be polite anymore." The bench man who was originally blocking the door had now retreated into the doorway with his bench, shouting at the person outside in a stern and severe tone.

  "Liu Weiren, this is under the emperor's feet, how dare you rob people in broad daylight? Do you still have any regard for the law?" The pretty little beauty's face turned even paler.

  It's the same old routine, the local tyrant shouted: "In this crystal factory, I am the law, your family owes me money, paying debts is a matter of course, you still don't pay, I'll take people as collateral, even if it goes to court, I'm in the right. You little ones, come and..." As he spoke, the local tyrant had already taken action.

  Yang thought the fight was about to break out, and he thought that no one from the onlooker's party had come out to say anything. It seemed that today would definitely be his turn to preside over justice! In his heart, he was calculating again, thinking that he would take a brick and go up to open the evil male's skull. There were no police uncles here, so they wouldn't make him go to the police station. Oh, right! He was the emperor of this great Ming dynasty, and his words were law. What was he afraid of? Opening the evil male's skull would not make him bear any legal responsibility at all! Moreover, there was a large group of bodyguards protecting him, so there was no problem at all.

  Thinking of this, Yang Gaizhi made up his mind. He glanced around and really found half a brick on the ground. Without saying a word, Yang Gaizhi picked up the half-brick and rushed forward, exerting all his strength to smash it onto the forehead of the evil rascal Liu Weiren.

  Can't be described in words, like being hit on the forehead with a brick. Crunch! Toothache! Nausea! Heart palpitations!

  Yang's reform hadn't even struck a second blow when several big men around him quickly took down the evil tyrant's several family guards, rendering them immobile on the ground.

  Someone in the crowd suddenly shouted: "It's open!" Then the crowd surged forward but didn't disperse, instead they all retreated three to five steps in unison, as if they had rehearsed it before, leaving a large space in front of Yang.

  Yang Reform cursed in his heart: The onlookers are really unreliable. As soon as it started, you retreated that far.

  "Is there still no king's law under the bright sky? How dare you to rob a beauty in front of me, Yang Gaofei!" Yang Gaofei indignantly expressed himself. Of course, his eyes had been fixed on the lovely beautiful girl all along.

  The beautiful woman was also frightened by the scene in front of her, and it took half a day to come back to her senses. "Thank you for saving me, sir. I'll thank you here."

  What a beautiful little girl! Hehe, that figure is really good, a lovely beauty, a pretty little girl.

  "Haha, no need to thank me, no need to thank me. Under the feet of this son of heaven, the sky is clear and the law still prevails." Yang Reform casually came up with a "no need to thank me", which was thanks to the party's many years of quality education.

  "Steward, take these annoying guys out of my sight, they're getting on my nerves!" Yang Reform wanted to discuss life with the lovely young lady and found Liu Weiren, who was humming while lying on the ground, to be an eyesore. He let Wang Chengen, disguised as a steward, get rid of Liu Weiren.

  "Yes, young master, here they come! Take these eyesores away." Wang Chengen was also straightforward, and with a single command, several strong men immediately arrived, picked up the people lying on the ground, and carried them off like they were carrying a few small chickens.

  The onlookers dispersed in an instant, the reason being that Yang's reform was too aggressive, just one look and you can tell he's not someone to be trifled with. It's better not to gather around, those who need to make soy sauce should hurry up and do so.

  The pretty young woman bowed and said: "Thank you, sir, for your kindness. Please come in and have a cup of tea!"

  "Good, good, good, I'm thirsty and was just about to have a cup of tea." As she spoke, the lovely young woman invited Yang into the shop.

  The facade is not big, but the layout is quite good, with bright lights, an eight-immortal table, a screen, and calligraphy and painting decorations, which have some meaning. Occasionally, some details are revealed, showing that the layout was done by a girl's hand.

  That lovely little girl poured tea for Yang Ge, but Yang Ge didn't drink it. The reason was that when he came out, Yang Ge repeatedly assured Wang Chengen not to eat or drink anything outside, including tea, otherwise he would beat Wang Chengen to death, and Wang Chengen also didn't dare let Yang Ge come out. If you want to eat something, it's okay, but first have someone try it before saying anything, however in this situation, of course, it's not possible to arrange for someone to try it.

  "What's wrong, young master? Is the tea I brewed not good enough for you? This is top-grade Longjing!" Sun Liniang noticed that Yang Reform hadn't touched his teacup.

  Yang Gaizhi didn't know what to say, and he repeatedly assured himself that he wouldn't drink anything from outside. Of course, he couldn't say that he was an emperor, and he couldn't just eat whatever he wanted from the outside. Just as he didn't know what to say, Wang Chengen whispered something in his ear, and Yang Gaizhi suddenly understood the situation with this brother and sister pair.

  It turns out that the lovely young woman in front of me is named Sun Li Niang, who is only 18 years old and has opened an antique shop with a hint of being a female tycoon. Her brother is a researcher of glaze who thinks about how to make it transparent or other colors every day, so he relies on his sister's earnings from the antique shop every month. However, this is not the reason why they owe money; the reason is the same old story: their father was cheated and lost money, then pawned Sun Li Niang's antique shop, resulting in being chased by creditors and forcing her to become a concubine.

  Yang Gaizhi thought to himself: I was thinking of taking a nap, and here comes the pillow; I wanted glass, and along came a madman who specializes in studying glass. Heaven really isn't treating me badly! And on top of that, it even sent me a lovely little girl. Heh heh, thinking about this, Yang Gaizhi let out an evil laugh.