The four governors stood outside the gate of the iron prison and quietly looked at the other side of the river. In less than a year, it has already changed its face, with restaurants and shops one after another, and pedestrians on the road bustling.

A few days ago, during the dry season, a bridge was erected over the Li River to facilitate travel. As more and more things were produced by the iron supervisor, merchants on the other side of the river gathered, and the carts loaded on the bridge were one after another. The railroad was opened, and except for a few small places in the east, no one used ships anymore. They all cross the river to the station, and use the train to transport Xiangcheng in the north or Tangzhou in the south. In the north, it enters the Ru River and connects to the Bianhuai water system, while in the south, it enters the Han River and enters the Yangtze River system.

Ouyang Xiu stepped on the slag laid under his feet and praised: "What a prosperous scene!" On the other side of the bridge, there are many shops, and I don't know how many goods are sold in a day. With so many merchants, I don't know how much business tax is collected, where will the iron supervisor be short of money! ”

Song Qi on the side said: "Uncle Yong, you think badly." These merchants came to buy the goods of the iron supervisor, how much is the tax? The payment received from the sale of the goods is the big one. Looking at this, wouldn't the iron supervisor have to collect more than one million yuan a year? ”

Liu Zhi said: "A few months ago, the iron supervisor smelted iron and couldn't sell it, and the grain and rice still had to be donated by other states. We have a few states, but there is no shortage of rice here. Now that they're making money, they're going to have to help us. ”

The rest of the people listened and laughed together, and they all said yes.

The road was desolate, and they still had some doubts on the way, whether the iron prison was not as powerful as the rumors outside. When I arrived at the place, I only looked at the magnificent yamen, this gate, and knew that I had thought too much. Among the four states, Chenzhou is the most prosperous, but the state yamen there is also shabby than here. Just looking at the wide iron gate outside, this wide road paved with slag, which state can afford it?

This iron gate made several governors envious. It is made of iron plates and has wheels underneath, so it doesn't take much force to pull it apart. If there is no limit to the width, the etiquette level cannot be crossed, and it can be opened wider.

Such a large iron plate, not pig iron, makes people feel shocked when they look at it. How much does it cost to buy outside?

Du Zhongxiao stood aside and was silent. This meeting clearly shows that everyone is going to share the money of the iron prison, and it can't be stopped. The previous states have helped a lot, and this time I am afraid that I will have to take back the principal with interest. Du Zhongxiao had discussed with Su Song beforehand, the iron supervisor should not be an iron rooster, and the benefits that should be given should be taken to others. But stick to one thing, it's okay to give things, but you can't give money.

For Tiejian, the market is still growing rapidly, unable to keep up with the speed of production, and almost every product has a backlog. Giving things out and reducing the inventory of the iron supervisor is not a bad thing. Money is the capital for the expansion of production in the future, and in the hands of the iron supervisor, every text must be useful. With the factory at his back, the iron supervisor's money is to give birth to money.

After looking at the surrounding scenery for a while, Du Zhongxiao said: "The back office has prepared a wine feast for you to catch the wind." It's not early, so please take a seat. ”

Several people were in a good mood and entered the gate with great interest, and followed Du Zhongxiao to the back office. This is the iron supervisor yamen in charge of the factory, and the yamen of the Baiting supervisor is not here, and the layout is very distinctive. Unlike the back offices of other yamen, there is no place for officials to live, but a special official house is built outside. The building of the back office is a conference room, a classroom, a warehouse, etc., and of course, a cafeteria. The yard is very empty, there is no pond rockery, no large flowers and trees, but a large grass hut is built as a place for officials to rest and relax.

At this time, under the shed, a table of wine was set up, and a few soldiers stood there quietly.

The guests and hosts sat down, and Du Zhongxiao said: "The iron prison is newly established, there are no decent restaurants around, and there are no passable courtesans. The ministers will use some wine and rice, not shabby. ”

Everything here is different from other places, after listening to Du Zhongxiao's words, everyone doesn't say anything.

Du Zhongxiao said again: "Before the ministers came, the iron supervisor made some new things. Xia Guan specially prepared two things to express his heart. Two days later, we took the train to Tangzhou. You can take a stroll around these two days to see what you like and buy at will. ”

The four states are closest to the Iron Prison, and what new products are available, they will soon know. The four governors came, and each of them had a list, which was what the family told them to buy. Such as enamel products, pastry halva, honeycomb coal stove, and so on. The most elaborate Yan Shu's house even lists all kinds of knives for the kitchen, various scissors for cutting cloth and paper, and even cutting nails.

It's not that Du Zhongxiao is stingy and refuses to give them gifts, it's really four people who come together, and things are not easy to do. Some people want this, some people want that, the goods are different, the prices are different, the quantity is different, and if you are not careful, you will offend people. It is better to give the same gift and everyone else to buy it himself.

He instructed the soldiers to bring five small wooden boxes, one for each of the four governors, and the remaining one in front of Du Zhongxiao.

Du Zhongxiao opened the wooden box, came out with an oil lamp, and picked up the glass lampshade inside the box and covered it. He said: "A few days ago, I invited a few glass craftsmen to come and tried many times to burn this transparent glass and make it into a cover. When the oil lamp is lit and covered with this cover, it can not only prevent the wind, no matter how strong the wind is, it is not afraid of blowing it out, and it can also prevent the oil smoke from stinging the eyes. ”

Speaking of this, Du Zhongxiao took off the lampshade again, took out a lighter, and said: "This is a newly made tap fire, as long as you pull this mechanism—that's it—you can ignite the velvet." Although this thing is not much different from the fire sickle flint, it is much easier to use. ”

After saying that, he nodded the oil lamp with the lighter, and put the cover on again.

After demonstrating to everyone, Du Zhongxiao put away the lighter, twisted a knob on the lamp with his hand, and said: "Screw here by hand, you can adjust how long the wick stretches out, and the brightness of the lamp is naturally different." The brighter the oil, the faster it will be oiled, and the darker it will take longer to burn. The oil in the lamp and the oil in the fire are made when the iron superintendent is coking, and they should not be mixed. Not only does this lamp oil burn brightly, but it is also smokeless and odorless, better than candles. ”

As he spoke, Du Zhongxiao turned the lights to the brightest. By this time the sun had set, the night was hazy, and the oil lamps were brighter than candles.

This lamp is fine, listening to Du Zhongxiao's meaning, it is necessary to use the oil supervised by iron, which is extremely troublesome. The tap fire is very interesting. A few people played with it in their hands, and saw that they were all brass shells, shining with golden light, and learned from Du Zhongxiao to open the lid, and with a pull of the mechanism, a string of sparks ignited the wick.

In Du Zhongxiao's eyes, the oil lamp is important, not only bright, but most importantly, it can be moved casually and is windproof. In peacetime, it is not enough, but it is extremely practical in the field, and it is very useful for people who are rushing at night and for army marching, and I don't know how much stronger than a lantern. But in the eyes of the four, it was the self-fire that was more interesting. They are all high-ranking officials, they are well-paid, and the family can't afford candles, and the oil lamp really doesn't matter. This tap fire is delicately made and easy to carry, making it a great plaything. I usually carry it on my body, but I can't light it at night, so I can use it for lighting.

Song Qi played with it for a while, lit the fire and extinguished it, extinguished it again and again, and said with a smile: "This is interesting, it is very bright, and it is very good to read at night." Judgment, how much does this tap fire sell for outside? I'll buy a few more and go back and give them to my friends. ”

Du Zhongxiao said in his heart, if you want to read at night, it is obviously the practical use of oil lamps, what does it mean to take a lighter? Song Qi has always been extravagant, and his ideas are really different from ordinary people. He said: "Back to Xianggong, this thing is not easy to make, and it costs fifteen yuan each." Oil lamps are much cheaper, selling for only ten dollars. ”