A genius girl with her own space

"Master, please try it and see if it tastes good. I'll go to the kitchen to see if there are any fish, shrimps, and squids. I'll buy some and grill them together." Jingze said.

"Brother, look in the kitchen. There are some small cakes and steamed buns. You can bake them."

The shop owner smelled the aroma and came to the backyard. Seeing the seafood being grilled, he shamelessly asked for some to try. It was so delicious!

"Hello, old Taoist priest, can you let your apprentice teach us how to grill seafood?" asked the shop owner.

"Shopkeeper, can I ask my apprentice and then give you an answer?" "Yes, sure."

Zhou Jingze also heard it and said to the master: "Let's buy the shop and let Qiqi run the barbecue. Qiqi, the little money-loving kid, will definitely be happy."

"Qiqi, come here. Master wants to tell you something." He told Qiqi that the shop owner wanted to learn how to make barbecue. He also told her that Zhou Jingze wanted to sell the shop and open a barbecue restaurant. If it was profitable, he would open a branch in Beijing and let Qiqi's brother manage it. He gave the seasoning formula to his brother and distributed it to each store.

"Master, thank you so much. The barbecue restaurant not only grills seafood, but also grills beef, mutton, vegetables, etc. I will write a letter to my brother right away."

Qiqi approached the shop owner to negotiate a deal to buy the shop and keep it under his management, paying him 20 taels of silver per month, plus a commission on the profits. The owner thought about it and realized he could make several dozen more taels than running the shop himself. He readily agreed and sold the shop to Qiqi.

Qiqi prepared a variety of special seasonings in her space, had Jingze buy beef and mutton, and had the chef cut them into small pieces and thread them onto wooden sticks. She also personally trained the head chef and Xiao Si on how to grill seafood, beef, and mutton, and when to add the ingredients. "Come on, chef! Today's grilled food is even better than yesterday's!" Yun Jizi put down his book and walked over.

Qiqi handed the chef a few skewers of beef and mutton. The chef ate and commented, "It's crispy and tender when you bite it, releasing an enticing aroma that makes people linger on the taste and can't help but want to extricate themselves." Zhou Jingze nodded frequently while eating, it was so delicious that he couldn't stop eating.

"Hahaha, my little apprentice is really capable." Chef Xiao Si praised the barbecue after eating it.

A few days later, brothers Yunlei, Yunfeng, and Xie Lei arrived. The barbecue restaurant was about to open.

There is a banner hanging in front of the store, announcing a grand opening sale with a 30% discount for all customers.

Yun Lei learned how to make the seasoning, Yun Feng was responsible for training the waiter Xiao Si, and Xie Lei was responsible for grilling with the chef.

The profit on the first day was 1,500 taels of silver notes, and the shopkeepers and the servants were happy to receive red envelopes.

The shop was handed over to Yun Lei. The three of them arrived at the beach. They reached a point where the water was black. After walking along the shore for two quarters of an hour, they saw some dark markings. Following the markings upward, Qi Qi saw many black stones, gleaming brightly. "This is an open-pit coal mine! Haha, Master, this is coal! We're going to make a fortune!"

Yunjizi had seen it too. He was well-informed about coal. He had seen wealthy people in neighboring countries using coal for heating, but it was too expensive for ordinary people to afford.

"Our Qiqi is a little money-loving person and a little lucky star."

"Junior sister, this is coal, what is it used for?" Zhou Jingze asked

"Brother, these are very useful. They can be used for heating, calcining, and forging iron," Qiqi said. "We'll carry a few pieces back and burn them for you to see."

"Master, let's go back and discuss how to mine it." Qiqi knew that coal could not be mined by an individual. He had to either donate it to Da Zhou or cooperate with Da Zhou. Coal could not be mined indiscriminately.

"Qiqi, let's go back and discuss it with your brothers. We must be cautious about mining," Taoist Yunji said cautiously.

When Yun Jizi learned that a neighboring country had discovered coal, the people, realizing it could provide warmth, rushed to dig for it. Fights broke out over the coal, and some bandits seized the land and even controlled the mines for a time. The prefect reported this to the emperor, who ultimately dispatched the army to monopolize the mines. This averted bloodshed.

Qiqi and the others returned to the restaurant, but it was closed. Qiqi smashed the coal into small pieces and put them into the iron grill. The fire in the grill was still hot, and soon the coals were ignited. The red flames ignited, and everyone was stunned. They reached out their hands to test it. It was very hot, and when they got close, they felt warm.

Zhou Jingze thought that his mother would be able to use coal in the future and would not be afraid of the cold in winter. He happily picked up Qiqi and spun her around a few times.

The three Yunlei brothers were also amazed. Xie Lei asked, "Qiqi, can it be used for grilling? A bigger fire will grill faster."

Qiqi explained the uses and drawbacks of coal. In particular, she emphasized the importance of not completely closing all windows in a room when burning coal, leaving one window open for ventilation. Incomplete combustion of the coal can release toxic odors and lead to fatal poisoning. She urged everyone to be careful when using coal in the future.

Qiqi discussed with her master, Zhou Jingze, and her brothers. The master suggested that they mine coal together with the Great Zhou Dynasty and share the profits.

The Crown Prince wrote a letter to the Emperor, informing him of the discovery of a coal mine in Nancheng. He also outlined the mine's advantages and disadvantages. He emphasized that "Qiqi, the discovery" was the key. The Crown Prince suggested that the Great Zhou Kingdom send people to work with Qiqi to dig for the mine, with the Emperor deciding the share of the profits. The Emperor knew that a neighboring country had discovered coal, but the price was too high for him to afford.

The emperor was delighted, believing this was a no-cost business. He could keep enough coal for his own use and trade the rest. He agreed to the prince's proposal, giving him full responsibility and letting him decide how to divide the profits. He also dispatched five thousand imperial guards to the south city, under the prince's command.

Qiqi was rewarded with 5,000 taels of silver, 500 mu of land, and 200 pieces of silk for her contribution in discovering the coal mine.

After reading the letter from the Emperor, the Prince went to tell his teacher Qiqi. After discussion, they agreed to a 50-50 split.

Qiqi analyzed the origins of the coal mine and how it's mined. This is an open-pit coal mine, where the surface soil is removed, small coal chunks are directly transported out, and larger chunks are blasted and then transported out. The excavated soil is later backfilled into the mine.

Xie Lei and the advisor from the Prince's Mansion were in charge of the mining. Some of the Imperial Guards were responsible for defense, while others were responsible for mining and transportation. They were also recruiting some local villagers to join in the excavation.

Qiqi brought the master to the space and showed the master the excavator in the space, which can be used for mining, as well as the wheelbarrow and the manual machine for crushing ore.

"This wheelbarrow can be used to smash the ore machine, but how can I use it with an excavator?"

"Master, come up here, I'll show you how to drive." Qiqi started the excavator and drove it for a while.

"Qiqi, do we need any fuel? What will you say then?" "Master, can you say you bought it from a traveling merchant? Fuel? I can leave some for Brother Xie Lei, enough for him to use for a year. After a year, no matter where we travel, we can come back and give it to him."

"Qiqi, how do we take it out? It's such a big thing. Don't let others get suspicious."

"Master, I'll find a solution. Let's go out and discuss it with my brother."

Qiqi found her brother and told him about the large excavator in the space. She then took her brother to the space to have a look.

Yun Lei said: "With this large excavator, mining will be much faster."

"Brother, how can we expose it without arousing suspicion from others?"

My brother said, "It's not that difficult. Let's go to the neighboring town and find a deserted spot. You can get it out of the space. I'll drive it back and say I bought it from a traveling merchant." After the siblings agreed, Qiqi taught Yunlei how to drive first.

A few days later, Yun Lei drove a large truck back to the coal mine. Everyone gathered around and asked, "What is this?" Someone touched it with their hand and it was cold.

Yun Lei showed them how to dig a large shovel of ore with ease. The miners cheered and said, "This is great! This shovel is enough for me to dig for half a day."

Yun Lei taught Xie Lei and several other smart miners on the construction site how to drive. No one else was allowed to drive.

The prince asked the master to choose an auspicious day, and construction began on the ore mountain - excavation.