RPAGF Chapter 306 Double Glazing
Chapter 306 Double Glazing
Because they wanted to create a unique high-end cake shop in the capital, Song Chunlin and Mrs. An Huaibo agreed that they had to strive for perfection in the selection of the furnishings and tables and chairs. The materials used had to be expensive, the styles had to be grand, and the seats had to be comfortable. Most of the guests they would receive in the future would certainly be dignitaries, and if the furniture inside was of a petty nature, those dignitaries would never come back a second time.
The three of them sat in the flower hall for the whole afternoon. As it was getting dark, Mrs. Meng smiled and invited them to stay.
"It's so late, why don't you stay in the mansion and have a simple meal before leaving."
Mrs. An Huaibo: "Is your Lord Meng not coming home tonight?"
When talking about her man, Mrs. Meng's face turned cold: "Don't talk about that idiot. He stays in the Ministry of Works or in the study all day long. There are piles of wood in that room. He is the only one who likes to tinker with them. I think those wood are his wife, and I am just a decoration that can breathe."
Madam An Huaibo glared at her with a look of disappointment: "You should at least think of a solution. Although your Lord Meng is obsessed with those wood, he is not a philanderer and does not keep concubines in the mansion. Don't you know that just for this reason, there are so many people in the capital who envy you."
Mrs. Meng was not very happy. "It's just that he dislikes women for being troublesome. Marrying me alone is enough to annoy him. Why would he marry more to upset him? Anyway, as long as I don't disturb him doing carpentry, he doesn't care what I do. Never mind. We have been married for so many years, and I have seen through it. Let him be. I can have some free time. From now on, I just need to educate Chun'er well."
Perhaps it was too far off topic, Mrs. Meng calmed down, put on a smiling face again, and ordered the servants to prepare the meal.
"Don't despise simple food and drink when spring comes."
Song Chunlin hurriedly said: "Don't despise me, don't despise me, hehe, I'm easy to support."
Madam Meng was amused by him and kept laughing: "You, you, it's a pity that my Chun'er is still young, otherwise, I would have wanted to snatch her from the Gu family."
Song Chunlin rejected her seriously: "No, I am still very satisfied with Gu Fengyue."
Mrs. Meng didn't expect him to be so frank, and immediately laughed at him: "You have no shame. How can a young man like you brag about Chinese characters? If you want to brag, you should brag about yourself."
"Remember, you are the only sharpshooter in our Great Jing Dynasty. Don't underestimate yourself."
Song Chunlin: "Chunlin remembers it, thank you Madam Meng for your teachings."
Madam Meng nodded with satisfaction: "This child is teachable."
The three of them chatted and laughed for another while, and after a while, someone from the kitchen said that the food was ready. Song Chunlin knew that this was something that Madam Meng had prepared early in the morning.
The dishes prepared by Madam Meng were very exquisite, and Song Chunlin enjoyed the meal very much. It was unexpected that he could become good friends with Madam An Huaibo. Both of them were food lovers, and the chef in the mansion was also very well trained. After the meal, Song Chunlin was full again.
When they came out of the Meng Mansion, the moon was already above the willows. The Earl Anhuai Mansion and the Meng Mansion were not in the same market. Lady Anhuai had to return home before curfew, so she said goodbye first. Song Chunlin walked slowly by himself, planning to go back to the Marquis' Mansion to sleep tonight.
Gu Fengyue specially prepared a room for Song Chunlin in the Marquis' Mansion, which was right next to her own. Sometimes when Song Chunlin stayed in the capital late, he would stay here.
Song Chunlin planned to go back early tomorrow morning and draft the contract for the shop in the space tonight.
When it comes to contracts, Song Chunlin takes things one step at a time and feels his way forward. He first used a modern template and drafted a simple version. He was not familiar with Dajing's laws, but Gu Fengyue and Gu Fengyun were familiar with them, so he would just ask them to polish the contract when the time came.
After making up his mind, Song Chunlin prepared to write the terms as detailed as possible.
Because this was the first time for all three parties to cooperate, Song Chunlin even prepared several extra copies of the contract to make it easier for them to make modifications when the time comes.
A few days after the gathering at the Meng Mansion, Song Chunlin took the drafted contract, called Mrs. An Huaibo, and visited Mrs. Meng again.
When they saw the contract Song Chunlin took out, they both looked very surprised, as if they didn't expect Song Chunlin to have this trick.
"Chunlin, what contract is this? Isn't it just our deed? But your explanation is quite novel."
Mrs. An Huaibo also glanced over the contract and confirmed that there were no major problems. Then she smiled and said to Mrs. Meng, "You just realized how powerful he is. This guy might be hiding something behind our backs and not telling us."
This was the truth, but Song Chunlin could not admit it and immediately denied the three consecutive statements.
"I'm not, I didn't, please don't accuse me wrongly."
"Look, you feel guilty, don't you?"
"Alright, that's enough, just pretend you didn't say it. Chunlin, explain this sentence to me..."
Song Chunlin leaned over to take a look. The grammar and vocabulary of that sentence were relatively modern, so neither of them quite understood it. So Song Chunlin explained it again, and then the two of them finally understood it completely.
After delivering the contract, Song Chunlin didn't plan to stay long, but it happened that Mrs. Meng's son came to pay his respects, and Mrs. Meng looked at her son curiously.
Meng Chun is ten years old this year. He still has a little baby fat on his face, clear eyes, serious expression, and walks in a standard square step with his hands behind his back, looking like a little adult.
He walked in, first quickly glanced at Song Chunlin, then bowed and greeted Madam Meng and Madam An Huaibo. When it was Song Chunlin's turn, he thought about it and simply called him brother.
"Why are you here now? Aren't you going to the Master's place?"
"Mother, I'm taking a day off today."
Mrs. Meng was strangely silent for a moment, then pretended nothing had happened and changed the subject.
"Oh, look at my memory. Come, Chun'er, come here and meet this person. Uh, you should continue to call him brother. This person is the national archer. You can call him brother Chunlin."
"Hello, Brother Chunlin."
"Ah, hello too, your name is Chun'er?"
"Yes, my name is Meng Chun, it's the name the teacher gave me."
It was the first time that Song Chunlin met these children from aristocratic families. They looked polite, and their words and actions were very methodical, like little old-fashioned people. However, due to their young age, there was curiosity in their eyes, which could not be completely hidden.
So Song Chunlin asked him tentatively: "Have you heard of me?"
Meng Chun nodded vigorously: "Yes, I heard the teacher talk about you and your tomatoes."
tomato?
Song Chunlin was confused. Did he know the other party's teacher? He also knew tomatoes. You know, this thing can only be eaten in Yongle Village. It has not yet entered the market. Could it be that his teacher is also from Yongle Village? No, there are not many scholars in Yongle Village. This child can't be going there to learn farming, right?
Fortunately, Meng Chun immediately solved his problem.
"Chun'er's teacher's surname is Lin, and he is General Lin's cousin."
"General Lin? It turned out to be him."
"Well, Master Lin once rewarded me with a few small tomatoes. Those tomatoes tasted great and Chun'er remembered them right away." Perhaps because he felt that he was too greedy, Meng Chun had a hint of shyness on his face, which made Song Chunlin roar in his heart.
Aaaaaah, at this moment, he finally understood why some people would become mom fans just because of chasing stars. This is so cute and funny!
It’s fun, I want to pinch it, but I don’t dare.
If the person's mother hadn't been sitting here, Song Chunlin would have wanted to pinch the person's cheek a long time ago.
But his personality is not a pervert, so he needs to be more reserved.
Perhaps noticing Song Chunlin's suspicious gaze, Meng Chun looked at Song Chunlin curiously several times.
Song Chunlin coughed lightly: "Ahem, well, cherry tomatoes taste really good. If you like them, I'll bring you a few bunches next time. They're all grown in my backyard. Just let me know if you want to eat some."
Meng Chun's eyes widened after hearing this. He asked Song Chunlin in surprise, "Really? Can it really be eaten?"
Until this moment, Meng Chun began to show some childishness. Song Chunlin finally couldn't help but reach out and touch his head. Hmm, it was furry and felt good.
"Of course, brother keeps his word."
"Okay." Meng Chun was so happy that he couldn't help but exclaimed. Only after he exclaimed did he realize that he had lost his composure. He hurriedly managed his image and returned to his original old-fashioned look.
It's fun, and I want to tease him.
However, Song Chunlin had something else to do, so he had to say goodbye first. Before leaving, he did not forget to make an agreement with Meng Chun that he would bring him raisins next time he came.
“Raisins are delicious too.”
Because of this sentence, Meng Chun's heart was full of anticipation, and he wished the next time would come immediately.
After finalizing the contract, Song Chunlin had a rare moment of free time and began to patrol the fields with Song Dazhuang. The weather was good this year and the crops were growing well. Song Dazhuang could predict that this would be another bumper year.
Time flies and it is harvest time again. Song Chunlin mobilized his 3,000 soldiers to help with the harvest. Now these soldiers are familiar with these things and they are all young men. Song Chunlin feeds them with spiritual spring water and health tea and lets them hang in front. They work very hard. Song Dazhuang privately says that these soldiers are more useful than animals.
Song Chunlin rolled his eyes at his father, then checked the bill with him again, sighed and said, "Dad, you know how much they eat now. The income from our land alone is probably not enough. I have to give them some more money."
Song Dazhuang's eyes widened: "What? This much is not enough? Are these people eating food? I think it's gold!"
That's why it is said that it costs money to maintain an army. The food rations for these people alone are not something that a mere farmer can afford. Even a family as wealthy as the Yongyi Marquis' Mansion would not have much money left at the end of the year. In recent years, Song Chunlin has sent them high-yield grain seeds, and coupled with the harvest of potatoes, sweet potatoes and corn, the Marquis' Mansion has some surplus, not to mention how much Gu Fengyun has subsidized it in previous years.
Song Dazhuang looked at the group of capable and strong laborers, feeling both melancholy and happy.
I was sad because so many people were eating too much, but I was happy that I got a free farmhand. However, I thought to myself, although these farmhands didn't want money, they still wanted food! Isn't this still a disguised way of asking for money?
After figuring this out, Song Dazhuang's eyes went dark and he thought it would be better not to raise it.
But the soldiers were given by the emperor, could Song Chunlin still give them back? That was definitely not possible, but he could cry to the emperor.
This was taught to him by Gu Fengyun.
"You just need to make yourself look a little more miserable and your voice a little more hoarse. Remember to make your eyes red, but don't shed tears. That would be too deliberate. Believe me, as long as you are pitiful enough, you can definitely squeeze out the emperor's military funds."
These were Gu Fengyun's original words. Now Song Chunlin had a deep suspicion that this fellow had relied on the trick of playing the victim to get the old emperor to approve military funds for him.
But he didn't have the courage to ask this question, and asking him to act pitiful in front of the emperor... Well, it was a little difficult. Song Chunlin planned to save this trick for later use. Gu Fengyun used this trick to deal with the old emperor before, and the old emperor fell for it. He couldn't predict the current emperor. What if the emperor didn't react to playing pitiful? Wouldn't he have worked in vain?
Forget it, he'll just have to handle it himself for now. Anyway, he added up all the food he'd need, and the gap isn't that big. He can afford it with his own paper mill. At worst, he can just sell the cotton when it comes in season. Cotton is a rare commodity and should be able to be sold at a high price.
So he thought about it in his mind, and felt that the cake shop should be put on the agenda earlier. The sooner it opened, the sooner he could receive the money.
However, the glass has not been completed yet, but the window frames have been almost finished. Song Chunlin took some time to visit the workshop. The finished glass window frames are almost the same as modern window frames, except that they have not yet been decorated with any carvings, so they look a little simpler.
Mrs. An Huaibo showed him some finished decorations. The two of them placed the items on the glass and compared them. Finally, they chose one. After deciding on the decorations, other things became quick.
In addition to the window frames, the prototype of the display cabinet has also been made, but they currently do not have such large glass, and the display cabinet will be placed in the store for everyone to view and choose. Song Chunlin still hopes that it can be beautiful while also having strength so that it will not be broken by a bump.
He told his idea to the glassmaker, who thought about it and asked if it was possible to make double layers of glass.
"It's like this, young master. The glass we have now has only one layer. It is hard enough, but it is also very brittle. It will break very easily with a little bit of strong collision. What if we make it into two layers? Wouldn't it be less easy to break?"