PNB Chapter 119 The First Conversation with Emperor Qianlong
Chapter 119 The First Conversation with Emperor Qianlong
Qianlong sat upright in the first seat, squinting his eyes slightly, looking at Ziwei in front of him. He did not have much expectation for the thing called cement that she mentioned.
In his opinion, Ziwei is just a girl living in seclusion. Even if she has some abilities, she is ultimately limited by her knowledge and experience. How can she create something rare and earth-shattering?
However, despite his inner thoughts, Qianlong still showed a hint of curiosity on the surface and cast his eyes on Ziwei. At this time, Hongzhou's eyes were almost full of eagerness.
He thought with great joy about Ziwei's extremely popular milk tea shop. In just a few days, the milk tea shop had made a staggering amount of money!
He couldn't help but wonder if Ziwei would be willing to let him participate. If so, he would only need to invest money and wouldn't have to worry about the operation and management of the store. Thinking of the boxes of silver constantly being moved into the palace, Hongzhou became more and more excited, and his whole body became excited.
Finally unable to suppress his inner desire, Hong Zhou spoke impatiently, "Niece Ziwei, tell me quickly, are you planning to expand your milk tea shop? Hehe, actually, I, the emperor's uncle, am also very interested in joining in!"
When Qianlong heard Hong Zhou mention the milk tea, he had also heard about it. It was said that several powerful ladies had come to the palace to ask the empress to act as a matchmaker so that they could get involved in this lucrative business.
"Hong Zhou, as an elder, you actually snatched the dowry money that your niece worked so hard to earn. How can this be allowed? If this gets out, won't everyone laugh at you?"
Hearing this, Hong Zhou turned to look at the person who spoke with a resentful look on his face, muttering to himself: Humph, if you knew how good your daughter is at making money, you would probably be jealous!
Ziwei, standing by, couldn't help but burst out laughing. She looked at Hongzhou's expression and said softly, "Don't worry, Uncle Emperor. Although I can't let you join my milk tea shop directly, Ziwei can offer you some other ways to make money. For example, building roads will not only make it easier for people to travel, but will also promote economic exchanges between regions. Building houses can solve people's housing problems and drive the development of related industries. Improving transportation is also a good idea, as it can speed up the transportation of goods and improve business efficiency. In addition, we can also vigorously develop the transportation and logistics industries to make the flow of materials smoother and more convenient."
Ziwei paused, then continued enthusiastically, "Besides that, there's also great potential in developing trade with Western countries! They're incredibly fond of our tea, silk, and exquisite porcelain. Conversely, our people can bring back many novel and useful items from the West and promote and sell them. With this kind of back-and-forth, we're sure to make a killing!"
After Ziwei finished speaking, Hong Zhou and the other man frowned and fell into deep thought. Although they roughly understood what Ziwei was talking about, they felt that there seemed to be something hidden in it and didn't understand how to make money from it.
"How can you make money building roads? Not only does it take up a huge amount of manpower and resources, but even if the road is built, what good will it do? People will just walk around and naturally create a path. Why go to all the trouble of building one?"
"Speaking of transportation, of course, wealthy people ride in comfortable and luxurious carriages! Any craftsman with a bit of skill can build such a carriage. But what on earth are these transportation and logistics you just mentioned? I've never even heard of them!"
"The things in our Great Qing are all top-notch goods, usually only the rich and powerful can afford them. Those Western countries are just uncivilized barbarians. What good things can they possibly have? Besides, they're so far away from us, it would be extremely inconvenient to transport them here!"
Just like that, the two of them chattered back and forth, raising one question after another, their brows showing disappointment at Ziwei's suggestions.
However, in the face of their doubts and confusion, Ziwei had to patiently analyze the truth bit by bit so that they could slowly understand.
"Father Emperor, Uncle Emperor, the roads Ziwei is talking about are definitely not the ordinary dirt roads we use today! I'm talking about sturdy and durable cement roads, and houses built with cement. When conditions are ripe in the future, even reservoir dams can be built with cement!"
"Please listen carefully to my explanation. This cement road is truly remarkable. Its greatest advantage is its ability to maintain its smoothness and suitable slope over a long period of time. Even in inclement weather, it remains unaffected. Unlike dirt roads, which become muddy and difficult to navigate after rain, the cement road's surface is exceptionally hard, capable of withstanding the daily rubbing of vehicle tires. This significantly reduces the chances of damage."
"Building houses with cement is far more stable than traditional building materials. Of course, to achieve this goal, we need a crucial material: steel bars. Once we have steel bars, we will be able to construct all kinds of buildings as we wish, even adding multiple floors without worrying about any danger."
"There's one more thing I need to report to Father and Uncle. I've finally found some clues about the rubber I've been searching for. This amazing material is incredibly elastic and has a wide range of uses beyond imagination. If we could replace all the carriage wheels with rubber, the safety and comfort of the ride would be significantly improved!"
. . . . . .
"In short, cement and rubber, these two seemingly ordinary materials, actually hold enormous potential and can give rise to numerous related industries. When the time is right, it's entirely possible to build large-scale factories.
At that time, local people will be widely recruited to come and work. This will not only effectively improve their economic income level, but also make the lives of every household more prosperous and fulfilling.
When people have more money, they will naturally be more willing to consume various goods and services, further stimulating market demand. And as business activities become more frequent, the tax revenue collected by the government will inevitably rise accordingly, which is undoubtedly good news for the national finances.