Chapter 160 Look At The Big Picture, My Brother Must Not Be Shabby
“Big brother, long time no see. I’ve really missed you.” Zhou greeted his sworn brother warmly as soon as he entered the room.
Mi Ziwen smiled. “Should I address you as marquis?”
“Big Brother, don’t joke with me.” Zhou Shu shook his head and smiled. “By the way, Big Brother, when did you return? If I had known, I would have gone out of the city to welcome
you.
!!
“Greetings, Great General.”
While talking to Mi Ziwen, Zhou Shu didn’t forget to greet Great General Meng.
He was also slightly surprised. Why did Great General Meng age so much in just a few months?
No one would have thought that he was Great Xia’s G.o.d of War.
People would have thought that he was an ordinary old man on the streets.
But Great General Meng had lost all his cultivation because he had been injured. He didn’t have any cultivation base, and he wasn’t young anymore. It seemed normal for him to be like this.
It will be terrible if I don’t have any cultivation. I don’t want to end up like this. Zhou Shu’s desire to increase his strength became even more urgent.
Putting everything aside, if I am strong, I won’t be afraid of aging. I might even be able to live a long life. What a good thing.
Meng Bai nodded with a smile. When he first met Zhou Shu at the Forging Division, Zhou Shu had just been a Forging Apprentice. At the time, he had wanted to help the country discover talents.
He didn’t expect him to reach this level in just a few months.
Not only had he advanced to Forging Master, but he had also become the You Marquis. His cultivation base had even reached the seventh rank.
Although a seventh-rank martial artist couldn’t be considered an expert, he had already reached a considerable rank. Just this point alone was enough for him to establish himself in Great Xia.
Only after meeting Zhou Shu did Meng Bai discover that it seemed he really didn’t need to acknowledge him as his teacher. But Zhou Shu was extremely polite to him.
Rejecting to be his disciple was one thing, but disrespecting Meng Bai was another.
After all, Meng Bai was Great Xia’s G.o.d of War, right?
“Great General, what can I do for you?” Zhou Shu said politely.
Mi Ziwen looked at Zhou Shu, then at Meng Bai, and sighed inwardly. Both of them are maintaining a polite and distant att.i.tude. How can they do that? How should I break this stalemate?
“It’s nothing actually.” Meng Bai smiled and shook his head. “I came to report to you, Marquis.”
“Great General, please don’t call me that. I am not worthy of it,” Zhou Shu hurriedly said. “Just call me by my name. What do you mean by reporting?”
He was confused.
“After this military parade, Teacher will retire and return to civilian life. He will no longer be leading troops in the future,” Mi Ziwen explained.
“Return to civilian life?” Zhou Shu was a little surprised. But when he saw Great General Meng’s appearance, he understood. Great General Meng didn’t seem to be in good condition, so it might be a good thing for him to retire.
“Teacher will be the Huaxia Pavilion’s adviser in the future. He will use his experience to provide suggestions and references to the Huaxia Pavilion’s weapons development,” Mi Ziwen continued. “From now on, you and Teacher will be colleagues.”
“Huh?” Zhou Shu was truly shocked this time.
No one told him about this!
Meng Bai is coming to the Huaxia Pavilion?
In that case, who will have the final say in the Huaxia Pavilion? Me or Meng Bai?
No matter how confident Zhou Shu was, he didn’t dare say that he could fight Meng Bai right now. With Meng Bai’s current condition, Zhou Shu could kill him with a single finger.
But some things couldn’t be done with brute force.
After all, Meng Bai was the commander-in-chief of the three armies of Great Xia. Even if he took off his armor, his influence in the army was not something that ordinary people could compare to. Moreover, Meng Bai’s official position was even above his own.
They couldn’t just start fighting and killing over official matters, right?
Meng Bai looked at Zhou Shu, seeming to understand what he was thinking. He said with a smile, “I’m old. I just want to contribute with my experience. In the future, you will be my superior, Marquis. I’m afraid I won’t be able to answer roll call every day.”
Since Meng Bai spoke like this, what else could Zhou Shu say? But thinking about it, Meng Bai looked like he could die anytime. He probably didn’t come to the Huaxia Pavilion with the intention to seize power.
In any case, would the mighty Great Xia G.o.d of War come and attempt to take over a mere Huaxia Pavilion?
This was equivalent to a national leader vying for the position of a company commander.
It was utter nonsense!
He might really be looking for a place to retire.
“Great General, actually…” Zhou Shu felt relieved and smiled again. “The Huaxia Pavilion hasn’t been built yet. Not even a piece of tile has been laid…”
The Huaxia Pavilion was still in the midst of planning and was far from completion.
From the looks of it, Meng Bai might not be able to wait until the day the Huaxia Pavilion was built.
“That’s why even I am in the residence forging. Our Huaxia Pavilion is temporarily unable to provide you with works.p.a.ce,” Zhou Shu continued.
“I know.” Meng Bai smiled. “I’ve also heard a bit about your plans for the Huaxia Pavilion. If you don’t mind, I actually have some experience with construction planning. How about you give me the blueprints of the Huaxia Pavilion?
“I came to the Huaxia Pavilion without any contributions. I should do my part to contribute to the Huaxia Pavilion.”
Great General Meng Bai was definitely a rare genius. Leading troops to fight also involved setting up camps. He had some experience in construction techniques and architecture. It could even be said that he was an expert in this field.
Very few people knew that Great General Meng’s painting skills were unparalleled.
“Isn’t this too troublesome?” Zhou Shu noticed that Mi Ziwen kept winking at him. He understood Mi Ziwen’s winking as confirmation that Great General Meng was indeed an expert in construction.
Even if he wasn’t, the resources he could mobilize were probably not something he could compare to.
In that case, why would he reject such a good opportunity?
“It’s not troublesome,” Meng Bai said with a smile. “When you are old, you always have to find something to do, or else you will age even faster.”
“Thank you, Great General.” Zhou Shu was overjoyed. “Great General, I still have some ideas about the Huaxia Pavilion. We can discuss it…”
Zhou Shu and Meng Bai discussed for a full four hours, and Meng Bai had a look of admiration on his face.
“No wonder you are able to develop weapons like the Horse Slaying Saber and the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow Saber. Your thoughts are truly unrestrained and unpredictable,” Meng Bai said.
“Great General, you flatter me. I just thought about them when I had nothing to do. I don’t know if they can be realized.” Zhou Shu smiled.
He had seen too many exquisite buildings in his previous life. There were also television dramas and online games with beautiful Mount Shu scenery. They were all full of immortal aura.
In any case, talk was free. He was just stating his thoughts. Whether they could be realized or not was something that the craftsmen had to consider.
“It’s a little difficult, but it’s not impossible,” Meng Bai said, his tone more confident than the craftsmen of the Ministry of Works.
“Leave it to me,” Meng Bai said indifferently, fully displaying his confidence.
Great General Meng’s words were a promise that the matter was resolved!
In Great Xia, if Great General Meng couldn’t resolve the matter, then even Emperor Yuan Feng wouldn’t be of much use.
“Teacher, Second Brother,” Mi Ziwen suddenly said. “If we build the Huaxia Pavilion according to Second Brother’s plan, I’m afraid it will cost a lot.
“Although the Imperial Court will bear the cost of building the Huaxia Pavilion, I’m afraid that the funding from the Imperial Court may be delayed. In that case, the Huaxia Pavilion’s construction period will definitely be extended indefinitely.”
There was something he didn’t say out loud. Meng Bai didn’t have much time left, at most several years.
If the Huaxia Pavilion was built too slowly, Meng Bai might not even be able to see its completion. This couldn’t happen.
“I can’t help with other things, so I’ll contribute some money,” Mi Ziwen continued. “There are also some craftsmen in the Mi family whom I can transfer over.
“How about this? I’ll contribute one hundred thousand taels of gold first. Let’s build up the foundation of the Huaxia Pavilion!” Mi Ziwen said casually. One hundred thousand taels of gold was like ten taels of silver to him.
Zhou Shu secretly clicked his tongue. As expected of my rich big brother, he offered one hundred thousand taels of gold just like that.
“Second Brother, you’re a marquis now. Isn’t this residence a bit too shabby? You don’t even have many maids.” Mi Ziwen looked around. “I’ll get Steward Mi to send you another hundred maids later…”
Zhou Shu: “…”
One hundred maids?
To serve me alone?
Do you have to be so extravagant?
Why am I a little tempted?
The maids of this world can warm the bed…
“No need, Big Brother.” Zhou Shu was very conflicted as he refused.
Women will only affect my forging! “I don’t need any maids. Besides, I often go into seclusion to forge. When the Huaxia Pavilion is built in the future, I’m afraid I won’t have much time to stay at the marquis’s mansion.”
“Just have them around. A hundred people won’t cost much,” Mi Ziwen said calmly.
What surprised Zhou Shu was that Meng Bai also seemed to feel like it was only natural. These despicable n.o.bles.
That’s not right. I also have a n.o.ble status
now…
d.a.m.n, they led me astray!
Say, can we not discuss this?
“Big Brother, let’s not talk about maids.” Zhou Shu changed the topic. “I recently forged a batch of Eight-Sided Han Swords, but you should know that I have no way of selling them. Why don’t you help me out, Big Brother?”
The two people in front of him were military big shots. If Zhou Shu wanted to promote his Eight-Sided Han Swords, there was no one better than them.
“Eight-Sided Han Swords?”
Mi Ziwen and Meng Bai looked at each other, and they both smiled. They were just discussing how to display the power of the Eight-Sided Han Swords on the battlefield.
What a coincidence.
“Second Brother, what do you think?” Mi Zi Wen smiled.
“I think that weapons are used to kill enemies. They should not be left lying around serving only as decorations.
“A weapon should naturally be equipped with a fierce warrior. I want to equip the Eight-Sided Han Swords to the soldiers fighting on the front line. Only in their hands can the Eight-Sided Han Swords display its own might.”
“That’s not a problem. What I’m asking is, what do you think of the price of the Eight-Sided Han Sword?” Mi Ziwen smiled.
The Forging Division’s workshops sold weapons. Although a fee had to be paid to the Forging Division, Zhou Shu would still keep a portion of it.
In other words, the higher the price of the weapon, the more benefits the workshop would receive.
Although it was all Great Xia’s money, there was a huge difference in who had it.
WS
Zhou Shu was one of his own, so Mi Ziwen wouldn’t let him suffer.
Price? Zhou Shu thought. An Eight-Sided Han Sword, including iron and labor costs, would cost around forty to fifty taels of silver.
Among the standard weapons, only the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow Saber’s price was higher than it.
The cost of an Eight-Sided Han Sword was comparable to the income of an ordinary Forging Apprentice for one to two years.
The cost was forty to fifty taels of silver, so selling them for two hundred taels each shouldn’t be too much.
Zhou Shu was only a technical talent after all. He couldn’t compare to those black-hearted businessmen.
“Two hundred taels each?” Zhou Shu probed. Two hundred taels for one would be twenty thousand taels of silver for one hundred.
It was quite a big deal for the workshop.
If he continued to supply them in the future, he would definitely be able to let the profits come rolling in the workshop.
This was equivalent to earning more than one hundred taels of silver for each Eight-Sided Han Sword.
“Two hundred taels?” Mi Ziwen frowned slightly.
“If it’s too expensive, we can sell it cheaper. After all, we are all working for Great Xia, so it’s fine for the workshop to suffer some loss,” Zhou Shu said.
Using the country’s money to forge the weapons and then selling them back to the country was equivalent to cheating the country’s money. Zhou Shu still felt a little embarra.s.sed.
“How about a hundred and fifty taels? If it really doesn’t work, a hundred taels is also acceptable.” Zhou Shu gritted his teeth. Standard weapons were different from ranked weapons. It was not unacceptable for a single weapon to have fewer profits. “Second Brother, ah, Second Brother!” Mi Ziwen shook his head with a bitter smile. “Second Brother, you’re not far-sighted enough. “Two hundred taels for one Eight-Sided Han Sword. How can my brother suffer such a loss?”
Mi Ziwen said proudly, “With the quality of the Eight-Sided Han Sword, if the price is lower than five hundred taels. I, Mi Ziwen, will be the first to disagree!
“How many eight-sided Han swords do you have? I want all of them. Five hundred taels each!” Mi Ziwen said generously. “In the future, this will be the price of the Eight-Sided Han Sword produced by the Forging Division!
“Second Brother, it’s not that I want to interfere, but you have to be far-sighted. You’re a marquis now. If you continue to be like this, others will only say that you’re too shabby. We’re worth this price, why can’t we sell it at this price?
“In my opinion, even five hundred taels for an Eight-Sided Han Sword is too cheap! Aren’t those ranked weapons worth at least one thousand taels of gold? The might of an Eight-Sided Han Sword on the battlefield is not inferior to ranked weapons!” Zhou Shu opened his mouth. The Eight-Sided Han Sword was, after all, a standard weapon. How could it compare to a ranked weapon?
Five hundred taels?
Ten times the cost?
The scale is too big…