The fool has become a spirit, and she can speak

Cheng Youning said with a smile: "Grandpa has already scolded me, Daddy, please forgive me. Daddy, where is my mother?"

"Your mother wanted to come back, but there were so many refugees waiting for her to lead the construction of houses, and she couldn't leave."

At this time, Wan Lianxing, who was concerned about the people, asked Cheng Feng: "Feng'er, with the sudden increase in the number of refugees, is it difficult to build a village?"

Wan Lianxing stayed in the palace all day, and the reports from the ministers were all just talk. He had never seen what the outside of the city looked like.

Cheng Feng sat down next to Wan Lianxing and began to report to him: "It's not difficult. We can use local materials. As long as everyone is willing to work hard, we will have a house to live in before the New Year."

Wan Lianxing, who knew nothing about house building, continued to ask, "Is the house built with local materials a wooden house?"

He remembered that a few years ago, in order to attract people to beg for a living, he also asked Shang Xi to help the people build houses. At that time, Yan Qilian assisted Shang Xi. The two of them worked together to build brick houses for those new people who came to their beggars.

Now Yan Qilian has been promoted by him to the head of the Ministry of Revenue, holding great power and in charge of the court's finances and taxation. He can no longer spare time to assist Shang Xi.

Cheng Feng shook his head: "Board materials are hard to come by, only thatched houses save time and effort, so every household is planning to build a thatched house."

"Why don't you buy bricks and tiles on credit from Song Tingzhi?" Wan Lianxing frowned because of this. If there are bricks available, why not use them? A brick house is a one-time solution and can benefit several generations. Straw houses have many disadvantages, such as being eaten by insects and stolen by rats. Not to mention being cold and damp, the leaky roof has to be repaired every year. Why waste the effort just to build a brick house in one go?

"Uncle, bricks and tiles are very expensive for ordinary people, let alone these refugees. They don't dare to buy too much on credit for fear that they won't be able to pay back."

Wan Lianxing, who had never worried about money, never cared about prices in the past. But now he is the emperor. For the sake of people's livelihood, he has mastered the prices of many things, such as iron ore, saltpeter, coal, quartz stone and grain. These are what he cares about most, but he has never understood bricks and tiles.

"Feng'er, are bricks and tiles expensive?"

Cheng Feng said, "Uncle, a brick costs ten coins, but don't underestimate these ten coins. Ordinary people can only earn a few bricks after working hard all day."

Wan Lianxing did some calculations in his mind and came to a conclusion, "Wouldn't it take many years for ordinary people to build a brick house?"

Cheng Feng laughed, "Uncle, the workers in the factory only make thirty cents a day. If they want to build a house, they will have to go without food and water for many years."

Wan Lianxing nodded in understanding and said, "Thirty cents a day, isn't that too low a wage?"

Wan Lianxing began to suspect that someone was exploiting the workers.

Cheng Feng said, "Uncle, the wages are not low. In the past, in Dalang, strong laborers who mined coal in the mountains only earned thirty cents. This wage is high no matter where you go. It's not low. Thirty cents may seem small, but you can do a lot. With thirty cents, you can eat ten meat buns and thirty vegetarian buns on the street. Is thirty cents not enough? How much does a dan of grain cost?"

Wan Lianxing thought for a moment and said, "That's because the bricks and tiles are priced too high. The brick kilns we're begging from are all government-owned. It seems we need to ask them to lower their prices."

Cheng Feng smiled when he heard this, "Uncle, ten coins for a brick isn't expensive. In Dalang, a brick costs twelve coins, and in the southern Yan Kingdom, a brick costs fifteen copper coins. Counting the bricks and tiles we beg for is cheap and beneficial to the people."

Wan Lianxing's thoughts were naturally different from Cheng Feng's, and his concerns were also different. He said, "Regardless of whether they are rich or poor, the common people should be able to use bricks. Aren't bricks made from clay? That's what we call locally sourced materials. We have as many as we need."

Cheng Feng disagreed. "Uncle, you can't make bricks with just mud. You need to add ingredients. If you don't believe me, go ask the brick factory manager if their bricks are still easy to make after the price reduction. The workers in the brick factory are paid a lot of money every day, and they have to pay taxes to the national treasury every year. You can't let them do business at a loss, right?"

Wan Lianxing finally couldn't help but give Cheng Feng a cold look. "The wages are not low, the price of bricks and tiles is not high, but ordinary people just can't afford to build houses. Tell me, what's the problem?"

Upon hearing this, Cheng Feng unconsciously touched his chin. Yes, he had not thought about this problem until his uncle asked him. What exactly is the problem that ordinary people cannot build houses?

Cheng Feng was speechless for a moment. He couldn't find the crux of his uncle's problem in a short time.

Wan Lianxing glanced meaningfully at Cheng Feng, who was still thinking, and sighed, "You...are becoming more and more like a businessman. You reek of money, your mind is full of calculations, and you talk about gains and losses all the time. All you talk about is making money and losing money."

At this time, Master Wan on the wooden couch coughed forcefully, attracting everyone's attention. Master Wan, who was leaning on the couch, responded to Wan Lianxing with the same look that Wan Lianxing had just given Cheng Feng, and spoke in the same tone as Wan Lianxing: "Lianxing... Big brother, I think you have forgotten your roots. Our Wan family has been merchants for generations, and you have also learned business. You have only given up business and joined the government for a few years, and you have forgotten what our ancestors did. It seems that I, as the eldest brother, have failed in my duty. I should often remind you of the good and bad times, so that you will not forget your ancestors."

The other people in the room chuckled when they heard this. They all said that patients have bad tempers, but this Mr. Wan was different. Ever since he was bedridden, his personality had become very peaceful. He was also very considerate towards Cheng Feng and Shang Xi, and he had never teased or scolded anyone like today.

Upon hearing this, Wan Lianxing immediately changed his tone, "Brother, I have never forgotten that I come from a merchant family. It is precisely because I come from a merchant family that we Fengqi people place special emphasis on business."

Master Wan snorted, "I'm glad you didn't forget. What Feng'er said just now is correct. We can't disrupt the market just because of your words. I know you've been discussing breaking various old systems with a group of ministers all day long. Many old systems don't necessarily exist without reason. We should break what should be broken, and not break what shouldn't be broken."

Wan Lianxing nodded repeatedly in agreement, "Big Brother, you are absolutely right. Many old systems have their own meanings and have been used for a long time. The reason I want to break them is the result of many court discussions, not my own arbitrary decision."

Master Wan nodded slightly, expressing his agreement. "Don't worry about what you say, big brother. You have always had your own opinions, the ability to judge people and things, and you are also able to listen to others' advice. Big brother has no worries about you. You will definitely be a wise ruler, and Fengqi will surely prosper and grow. It's just that big brother can't witness the day when Fengqi becomes prosperous and powerful."