Reborn as the Crippled King's Beloved-Chapter 569: Find a Devoted Husband!

The villagers of Han Family Village had just returned from the fields, with the men lying under the shade of the trees for an afternoon rest, and the women gathered at the entrance of the village, embroidering while chatting about family and neighborhood gossip.

The topic of the women’s conversation was none other than Han Muzi, saying he was always idle, not going out to do carpentry work for others. Now, with his father gravely ill, and his recent match with a girl from the neighboring village falling through, he remained unmarried at the cusp of twenty years of age.

Just then, they heard the sound of gongs and drums.

"What’s happening?"

"Is someone getting married at this time?"

"Who would get married at this Shichen?"

Everyone stood up, craning their necks to see what the excitement was about.

A boy, about ten or so, ran over breathlessly.

"Mom! Han Muzi has struck it rich!"

"Who?"

"Han Muzi?"

"What fortune could he possibly come into?"

Everyone was incredulous and found it rather amusing.

With Han Muzi’s home situation being what it was, even affording the expensive medical herbs had become an issue, how could he have come into money? It seemed more likely that he had fallen ill.

"It’s true! All those wooden items he hauled away made him money! It was Her Majesty the Empress herself who rewarded him! To compensate for his oversight, the Official Master specially summoned a band to escort Han Muzi home!"

"God in Heaven! Her Majesty the Empress?"

At this revelation, everyone showed an expression of utter disbelief.

"Quick, go and tell Muzi’s Mother!"

Everyone went out to welcome the procession and there, being carried along with an embarrassed expression on his face, was undeniably Han Muzi.

The crowd around the procession included many people uttering auspicious phrases.

Han Muzi touched the silver note inside his garment, feeling a happiness and fulfillment he had never known before.

Upon reaching Han Family Village, he hurriedly descended, handed out tips to the band, and gave out copper coins to the children gathered around.

"You all see that? My invention wasn’t useless, even Her Majesty the Empress praised me for being clever. From now on, I’m going to create even more practical wooden items to offer Her Majesty the Empress!"

The children who received the copper coins cheered and clamored to learn from Han Muzi. ƒreewebηoveℓ.com

Later on, thanks to Han Muzi, everyone in Han Family Village began learning carpentry, and the village became renowned far and wide as a village of carpenters. A few years down the line, Han Family Village was the first in the area to prosper, with brick houses rising in every household.

...

After leaving the Yamen, Murong Jiu did not return to the palace; instead, she went looking for Jun Yuyan.

Jun Yuyan was fixing a road.

Yes, you heard right, he was paving a road alongside officials. It was Great Yan’s very first concrete road.

Concrete had actually been made some time ago. After Wang Yingluo finished her explanation of how to produce concrete, many craftsmen had begun making it.

However, the formula or procedure Wang Yingluo knew might not have been entirely accurate. Although the concrete produced was much better than the ordinary construction mortar, once dried, it was not as durable as Wang Yingluo had claimed. Using it for roadworks or constructing city walls and houses posed safety risks.

Moreover, with Great Yan’s capabilities, they were unable to achieve the ultra-high temperatures required to calcine the raw materials.

It took everyone over half a year to keep experimenting and improving upon the existing base by adding other materials.

Effort does not betray those with heart, and due to an unexpected series of events, they managed to create a large steel furnace.

Utilizing coke, wooden and water bellows, limestone, and building upon the existing blacksmith furnace, countless improvements were made until the temperature inside the smelter finally reached the melting point Wang Yingluo spoke of, successfully producing steel. That was the real, unexpected delight.

No one knew that, for over half a year, the most famous and capable blacksmiths from across the nation had been gathered here.

These blacksmiths worked together to forge an extraordinary steel blade that was not just harder than iron but also shinier in color, tending more towards the color of Silver.

Everyone knew that this small amount of steel was worth many times more than silver, the culmination of hundreds of people’s deep contemplation and research.

The beginning is always the hardest.

Once you get past that initial hurdle, many problems can be easily solved.

The cement powder that Wang Yingluo mentioned was finally produced by burning, and by mixing it with water and sand to create a mortar of the proper consistency, spreading it flat, and letting it dry, it formed a solid cement road.

Horse carriages could travel on it as if it were flat ground, and even wheelbarrows could easily be used on the road.

Wouldn’t it be even more convenient if artisans in the future could invent two-wheeled carts, or three-wheeled or four-wheeled vehicles?

Murong Jiu was full of hope for the future.

As her carriage approached the outskirts of the city, she saw from afar that crowds were forming in circles around something. She couldn’t squeeze in, so she chuckled lightly and said, "Let’s just go up on the city wall to see."

Upon reaching the city wall, the guards respectfully saluted her. Murong Jiu nodded and looked into the distance, where everything was in clear view.

The road construction crew consisted of just over twenty people, including important officials like Jun Yuyan and Lou Zixi.

There were guards around, but the citizens would not disturb them; the guards were there in case of sudden assassins.

At that moment, the cement road had already been laid out for several dozen yards, which was not the usual main road into the city but another route that had been constructed.

The sun was high, and the first section of the cement road that had been laid was already partially dry. According to previous tests, it would be completely dry in a day and a half. In the height of summer, it would dry even faster, and conversely, the lower the temperature, the slower the drying process.

Once dried, the road needed to be sprinkled with water to prevent the cement from cracking.

From atop the city wall, the two-yard-wide cement road was extremely smooth, a testament to the meticulous work of the craftsmen.

Jun Yuyan was engaged in the physical task of mixing cement, but he did it with great vigor.

Perhaps noticing Murong Jiu’s gaze, he looked up and locked eyes with her from afar on the city wall.

The two of them smiled at each other, and Murong Jiu waved to him.

The citizens below, witnessing the interaction between the two, were excitedly discussing in hushed tones.

"Your Majesty and Your Majesty have a great relationship! Look how happily Your Majesty smiles, it gives him the energy to work hard."

"Your Majesty leads by example. This road holds great significance for Great Yan. I can’t believe Her Majesty the Empress has come too. This road will certainly go down in the annals of history!"

"I must find a devoted husband and learn from Her Majesty!"

"What’s the use of finding a husband? It’s better to read more. Do you know what cement roads are made of? I’m sure that foreign traders from other nations will come sniffing around soon. Cement can bring huge revenue to Great Yan!"

Different voices expressed different thoughts, and even Murong Jiu on the city wall could hear some of them.

She was very comforted, seeing many people had awakened, especially the women, who were no longer constrained by the idea that a woman should not show her face in public, and even had a deep understanding of the big picture.

As for the cement, of course, the formula would not be sold off, and even if it were, those smaller nations wouldn’t be able to produce it.

Great Yan would sell cement powder, as long as they didn’t mind the long journey; then they could simply sell it.

However, once all of Great Yan’s roads were smooth, those long journeys wouldn’t seem so long after all.

Wouldn’t they?