Chapter 9: Should I Pick Up Chicks or Smoke Glass First?

  Yang reformed his mind, tapping his fingers on the table, thinking about whether to prioritize picking up girls or making glass first. After some thought, considering that the wild boar skin still had more than a year before it would be usable, he decided to make glass first, beautiful women could wait for later.

  Yang asked: "Miss Sun, I heard your brother is a master of burning glass?"

  When Yang asked about her brother first, rather than asking about herself, Sun Lina was surprised. The young master in front of her, who looked like a spoiled brat, actually asked about her brother first, clearly ignoring her, which made Sun Lina very unhappy. However, she quickly responded to Yang's question.

  "Sir, yes, my brother is a well-known master of glassmaking in this Liuli Factory and can create all sorts of glassware. I wonder if sir..."

  "Hmm, can you burn various kinds of glass? Transparent ones? Can they be burned?" Yang guessed that the glass could be burned, but it shouldn't produce purely transparent glass. If it's transparent, then it's just glass.

  "Hmm, this... transparent glaze, Young Master Yang, it seems a bit unrealistic! To be honest, I've been in the glaze factory for so many years and have never seen a whole piece of transparent glaze." Sun Li Niang said with an "expert" tone.

  "Hey, can you get your brother to come over and discuss it together?" Yang decided not to let go of this opportunity, so a thank-you tea party turned into a technical discussion session.

  ……

  "In the presence of Young Master Sun, I have seen you before. Thank you for your kindness in lending a helping hand." Sun Liang's brother first bowed to Yang Ren and then introduced himself.

  "Is Mr. Sun here? Ah, sit down, I want to ask you, do you know how to make glass?" Yang Gaizhi treated this place as his own home and actually let the host sit down. Sun Dahai also sat down naturally, without feeling that he was the host here. It seems that when a person's status changes, their attitude is different!

  "Returning to the young master, indeed it is so. I may not be too familiar with other things, but when it comes to glasswork, I can be considered a master. In this glass factory's territory, I am also one of the top few." Sun Dahai made such an introduction, completely changing his previous wooden and uncommunicative image.

  "Expert? Ha ha, have you ever seen transparent crystal or something called glass? A whole piece of transparency." Yang reform described the glass in his mind.

  "Sir, are you certain it's a solid, transparent glass? Jade-like?" Sun Dayou asked with furrowed brow.

  "Yes, a kind of transparent glass or crystal, in one piece." Yang reform is uncertain whether Western transparent glass appeared.

  "Gentleman, I'm afraid my knowledge is shallow and I've never seen anyone who can burn the transparent glass you mentioned. As for transparent glaze, sometimes it may appear partially during the firing process, but only in some local areas, far from achieving the pure transparency of a whole piece that you described." Sun Dahai's brow furrowed even more, feeling quite uncomfortable when encountering difficulties in his own familiar field. After thinking for a moment, he added: "To be honest with you, sir, I've heard that perhaps such things can be fired in the far western lands."

  Yang continued to tap his fingers on the table, "Ding ding dong", "Ding ding dong", a sound like galloping horses echoed through this small room.

  "This young master also heard that there is a kind of glass, transparent and pure, very large in one piece, and can be fired into various shapes. So this time I came to the Liuli factory, just to see if anyone can fire out something without impurities." Yang reform heard that the West could burn glass, and was even more determined to get the glass out.

  Sun Dàyǒu's eyebrows were furrowed very deeply, and as an expert, he said: "Young master, I have also been in this glass world for many years, but I have never heard of such a thing. Oh, right, glass has appeared before."

  Yang thought for a moment and said: "Young Master Sun, if I have the formula and technique to produce this kind of glass, can you manufacture it?"

  Sun Dàyǒ sprang up with a "ding" sound and asked in a low voice: "Young master, really, do you really have the formula to produce this kind of thing?"

  Yang thought for a moment before nodding his head.

  "Sir, it's not just talk, as long as you have the formula, I can absolutely produce the kind of glass you're talking about." Sun Dahu excitedly guaranteed that he could make the glass, which was very much in line with his reputation as a madman for colored glaze.

  Yang decided to reform and no longer hesitate, deciding to let Sun Dayou be his own glass engineer and make glass for himself.

  "Uh, my formula is absolutely no problem, it's just that, after production, the distribution issue... Miss Sun must understand, this profit." After finishing speaking, Yang reform looked at Sun Lihong on one side.

  Sun Linyang was also shocked for half a day. When Yang Gaoli asked about the profit, he replied very succinctly: "Profit sharing? How about 50-50?"

  Yang Reform scolded with a loud laugh, still in his fifties, and you little girl are not afraid of hurting your body. You don't know how big the profit is!

  Sun Li Niang saw Yang Gao's smile and said: "Then let's split it 40-60..." Before she finished speaking, seeing Yang Gao frowning, she changed her words to say: "Then let's split it 30-70."

  Yang's smile faded, and he thought to himself: "I provide the technology, I provide the funding, you just organize production, yet you want to take 30%? You should know that in our 21st century, doing OEM for foreign companies only earns a tiny profit."

  Jiang Yang remained silent after the reform, Sun Liniang gritted her silver teeth and said: "Young master, let's go Dutch then, that should be okay."

  Yang said with a careless tone, "You one, I nine. I'll provide the technology and funding, ensure technical confidentiality, no trouble from the authorities, and no one else will use our technology to make glass, Miss Sun, what do you say?"

  Yang Gaofa knew that this family was dominated by Sun Liniang, her brother was a research fanatic who only spent money and had no say in business matters, so he directly negotiated with Sun Liniang.

  Sun Linyang was shocked! Firstly, one condition, to ensure no trouble from the authorities, what a huge energy that is! It must have a big shot as a backer. This is a good thing that can make one's career soar! To establish a relationship with such a person, in the future doing business in the capital would be like having a solid foundation. Another condition was even more shocking, to ensure others wouldn't use their technology, do you think the Brocade Guards are your family's private army? Even if you were a royal relative, you wouldn't dare make such a guarantee!

  "It's settled then." Sun Linyang quickly made up her mind, no matter what, from now on she would have such a big backer. Even if the glass business didn't make money, in other things it was also a stable profit. It was indeed a good business.

  "It's settled then! Let's seal it with a handshake!" Yang Gaizhi said. After speaking, Yang Gaizhi himself raised his right hand, making a fist, wanting to shake hands with Sun Liniang. Sun Liniang probably didn't expect there would be a handshake, and she stiffened for a moment, but quickly came back to her senses, also stretching out her small, white, delicate hand, her slender fingers looking very pretty, and touched Yang Gaizhi's hand in mid-air. Yang Gaizhi only felt that Sun Liniang's small hand was indescribably smooth and fine, and he just wanted to grasp it tightly and savor it for a while.

  The next time was spent chatting with Sun Liniang, and also discussing some technical things with Sun Dayou. Time passed very quickly.

  Back in the Forbidden City, Yang Reform said to Wang Chengen: "Taibao, send someone to secretly protect that brother and sister, especially the younger sister. Absolutely nothing can happen to her. Also, find a reliable person for me who will be responsible for the security and confidentiality of glass production. This formula cannot be stolen by others, even if it is stolen, others cannot produce it, nor can they sell it, cutting off our financial resources. Do you understand?"

  "Your Majesty, I understand. I will pass on the order to find reliable people to protect Sun Li Niang and her brother, especially Sun Li Niang herself, and keep the secret of the glass." Wang Chengen naturally knew what Yang Reform was getting at.

  At night, Yang Reformed did not have fun with the queen, but lay alone in bed, dreaming of searching for glass formulas and techniques on Baidu, to copy them down for Sun Dayou, as his own golden finger for making money in the Ming Dynasty.

  In fact, Yang's reform dream of returning to Baidu couldn't last long. Yang had estimated for himself that the longest was only about 10-20 minutes, and the shortest was just a few minutes.

  On the first night, Yang reform returned to Baidu through a dream and obtained the method of making glass. There were only these: quartz sand, limestone, feldspar, soda ash, and boric acid. As for how to get these raw materials, Yang Reform was at a loss and had a big headache.

  What's even more troublesome is the craftsmanship afterwards, Yang Reform was dizzy and confused, didn't understand, barely memorized a few lines, and unknowingly fell asleep. Waking up with a splitting headache, feeling extremely uncomfortable. Alas, for the sake of glass craftsmanship, Yang had to force himself to do it. If one day wasn't enough, then two days, if two days weren't enough, then three days, after about half a month, Yang Reform finally barely found the technique he needed from an article. This was a technology that could be fully realized in the Ming Dynasty. It took several more nights to barely memorize it and write it down on paper.

  Yang's reform of the glass manufacturing technology, for example, the crushing of raw materials, was originally not very efficient and required a lot of manpower. However, Yang thought that since it was already the late Ming dynasty and social unrest was about to begin, labor was very cheap, and what was needed were factories that could accommodate more people. Therefore, even the most basic techniques, such as crushing stones, were prepared to be done by hand, which would allow for the absorption of more refugees, bankrupt farmers, etc. This was also a plan for the future. As for wages and costs, Yang believed that with the huge profits from glass manufacturing, he could afford to pay some workers' wages. As for developing high-tech hydraulic stone crushing machines, that would have to wait, as Yang did not have the energy to deal with it at the moment.

  Time flies, and more than half a month has passed in the blink of an eye. Yang's reform technical plan finally landed, as for going to court, court politics, Yang's reform method is very simple, listening to eunuchs singing and playing zhezhi, of course, it's almost at the level of vernacular prose, for things that interest him, he knows some key points, or if it's really a major event, he usually just nods his head or instructs what to do, and then has the eunuch take dictation, and then directly stamps and seals it, handing it over to the relevant authorities to complete. As for those things he doesn't understand, or have no historical memory of, or are not very important, he simply passes them on, meaning that they will be handled by the Grand Council ministers. There are also many flattering memorials, Yang's reform didn't even bother to take a look at them.

  The method of resolving the cabinet minister is also very simple. The seven cabinet ministers hold an executive meeting, with a chief assistant responsible for presiding over the meeting, and then review the memorials passed by the emperor one by one. If there is no unified opinion, the seven ministers vote, and the majority passes. When encountering some really troublesome or controversial things that the cabinet cannot resolve, the final decision is still made by the emperor.

  In this way, although the memorials from all over the Ming Empire were quite numerous, Yang Reform only needed one or two hours a day to deal with these official duties, and the rest of the time could be spent resting or doing other things. Yang Reform was delighted with his leisure, and the ministers were delighted with their power.

  Chongzhen 1st year, February 3rd.

  Yang Reform went down the dynasty and said to Wang Chengen, "Big companion, I'm going to Luli Factory today. By the way, how's the person I let you choose?" Yang Reform asked Wang Chengen to recommend someone in charge of glass security and confidentiality work, meaning he wanted to pick someone from the Jin Yiwei who was suitable for this task. Yang Reform himself was not familiar with the people of the Ming Dynasty, so he asked Wang Chengen to find someone for him.

  Wang Chengen also knew that the emperor attached great importance to this matter and that once the glass was born, it would bring huge profits to the emperor. The person in charge of glass security and confidentiality would definitely be one of the emperor's most trusted confidants. Therefore, he did not dare to take matters into his own hands and prepared several alternative personnel for Yang Reform, leaving the final decision-making power to Chongzhen. Among these candidates, Wang Chengen had also put some thought into it, with three alternatives: one in his 40s, mature; one in his 30s, full of energy; and one in his 20s, young.

  "Reporting to Your Majesty, I have selected three people, all of whom are from the Brocade Guard and are natives of this place." After finishing speaking, Wang Cheng'en took out a notebook, on which were recorded several individuals' situations, for Yang Ren to choose himself.

  Yang thought that since Wang Chengen had chosen him, there shouldn't be any major issues. Thinking to himself that he was only eighteen years old, he felt that it would still be better to choose a younger person, so that in the future he could cultivate and make good use of them. After all, no matter what, the secret of guarding the glass was his own heart's confidant. So, he chose that twenty-something-year-old.

  "Summon that Shen Fuyuan to see me, I still have to go to Liuli Factory today." Yang chose a young man in his early twenties named Shen Fuyuan.

  "Your Majesty, I understand. Let someone go and pass on that Shen Fuyuan." Wang Chengen responded accordingly.

  Yang had a short rest and got up to eat some food before receiving Shen Fuyuan, the Brocade Guard.

  "Minister Jin Yi Wei Qian Hu Shen Fu Yuan knocks to see our emperor, our emperor ten thousand years old, ten thousand years old, ten thousand ten thousand years old." Shen Fu Yuan kowtows very neatly on the ground.