On the wedding day, my wife was abnormal

Zhao Qiwen suddenly understood, a hint of excitement flashing in his eyes. "I see! Your Excellency, this is a great idea. However, I don't know how to design a trademark. Should I hire an artist?"

Lin Zhen raised the corner of his mouth. "No need. I'll draw a simple one first. Then you can ask the painter to reduce it proportionally. Then you can ask the workers to carve it into a rubbing and print it in the upper left corner of the newspaper."

Lin Zhen reached out and took the paper and pen from the table and spread them out in front of him.

At this moment, a gust of cold wind whistled in from the crack in the door, making the paper rustle, the charcoal fire sway, and the light and shadows flickered in the house.

Lin Zhen calmed himself, dipped the brush in thick ink, and made the first stroke on the paper.

As the brushstrokes move, the outline of a phoenix gradually emerges.

In this snowy winter, the phoenix in his painting is full of vitality and vigor.

Its head was held high, and its golden crown seemed to emit light in the dim room. Its eyes were bright and sharp, revealing the majesty of a king.

The phoenix's neck is slender and elegant, and against the backdrop of the snowy atmosphere, it appears even more lively. The feathers are meticulously depicted with delicate brushstrokes, each one clearly visible, and the varying shades of ink give the feathers a sense of texture.

The wings are spread out, broad and powerful, with layers of feathers on them. The phoenix tail is dragged behind it, slender and flowing, and the feathers are spread out in a streamlined shape, like a lively flame, adding a bit of warmth to the cold room.

Lin Zhen put down his brush and looked at the phoenix in the painting.

Although the painting is good, it is still far inferior to the works of famous artists, but that's roughly what I mean.

Zhao Qiwen came forward and stared at the painting, his eyes fixed on it. After a while, he came back to his senses and said excitedly, "Your Highness's painting skills are simply amazing! These feathers, this head, this body, it's simply a miracle!"

Lin Zhen rolled his eyes: "Can you please stop forcing praise? I don't even know if it's good or not."

"Hehehehe." Zhao Qiwen rubbed his hands in a servile manner.

Lin Zhen nodded slightly and continued, "Later, you should find the best painter in the capital and have them scale down the phoenix, ensuring every detail is accurately reproduced. After that, find the best engraver to carve it into a printing plate. From now on, every issue of the newspaper must have the phoenix logo printed in the upper left corner."

Zhao Qiwen nodded repeatedly, "Don't worry, sir. I will definitely handle this matter. However, it may be difficult to find painters and sculptors in this freezing weather. However, I will do everything I can to overcome the difficulties."

"Okay, come to my house after you have arranged everything, and I will arrange other things for you."

"Yes!"

......

The Honglu Temple had a special post station for receiving foreign envoys, as well as a separate courtyard for foreign envoys to work.

The villa can be understood as an embassy, ​​where foreign envoys are stationed. All expenses are borne by their own country, and they are specifically responsible for maintaining the safety of their own citizens in Qian Country.

However, since the war ended and the Xuanhe Gate appeared, Lin Zhen adopted a policy that was almost equivalent to closing the country to the outside world, but it was not completely closed. In addition to a few fixed ports that were open, there were also open cities along the river.

This is mainly because they are worried that domestic products will be unsalable and foreign products will not be able to enter, so they deliberately open it up. However, even if it is open, merchants from other countries will still need to go through layers of questioning and inspection when entering Qian Country.

The Xuanhe Clan is too powerful to be guarded against, so Lin Zhen cannot afford to be careless.

Lin Zhen, accompanied by Hou Chun and several guards, walked slowly under the cold sun and went straight to the Honglu Temple.

Sun Shanhai, the Minister of the Ministry of Rites, is an old minister of the previous dynasty and the grandfather of Sun Wu, the fat man's lackey. However, this old man does not take sides and has not made any progress in his position for more than 20 years. However, he is also conscientious and highly respected.

When Lin Zhen came over, he greeted the old man.

In the attic, Lin Zhen bowed and said, "How are you, Lord Sun?"

Sun Shanhai put down the file in his hand, looked up and saw that it was Lin Zhen, and immediately showed an old smile: "Prince! Why are you here?"

"Okay." Lin Zhen waved his hand and sat on the warm couch. Immediately, a servant brought him a stove and a hand warmer.

Lin Zhen crossed his legs and said, "The weather is nice today, so I came out for a walk. I also have something to ask the Korean ambassador."

"Kim Jun-hee? Haha, that guy has been leaving early and coming back late these days. I don't know what he's busy with."

Sun Shanhai was very polite and invited Lin Zhen to have tea. While pouring tea, he talked about Jin Junxi.

Lin Zhen asked, "Oh? Could it be that Lord Sun knows what he's busy with?"

"I really don't know about that. Ambassadors stationed in Qian are free to come and go as they please. We don't question them."

"That's right, but he came to my house yesterday and offered to trade our Erguotou for their iron ore. I think this deal is quite interesting. You saw it during the morning court session. His Majesty is very concerned about this, so I came here personally to discuss it with Jin Junxi."

"Your Highness, please forgive my bluntness. Kim Jun-hee is not a good man, and Koreans are known for stealing. Last year, they even claimed our specialty, rice dumplings, were their own. They even fabricated a history book to prove it to the world, like they were mentally ill. If this Erguotou were to reach their country, well, it would probably be brewed by them."

Lin Zhen actually doesn't care about this.

Only Chu Xiling and I know the recipe and brewing method of Erguotou. If the Koreans want to steal it, it will take at least a hundred years, and it also requires that someone has been thinking about it every day during this hundred years.

"I don't really care who owns the Erguotou. What I care about is the iron ore. As you know, although there are a lot of iron ore discovered in the Northeast, it's winter now, and the weather is freezing. The ground is impossible to dig, let alone open a mountain. And the development zone is in urgent need of a large amount of pig iron, so I agreed to this deal."

"The Crown Prince naturally has his own considerations, so I won't comment on that. However, you'll have to wait to see Jin Junxi, as he's not at the Honglu Temple right now."

"No rush. If I don't look for him, he will naturally look for me." Lin Zhen looked outside the warm room and saw the staff of the Honglu Temple coming and going, handling various miscellaneous matters.

"How many foreign officials are in the Honglu Temple now?"

"Most of them are here, except for the Qin people."

"Qin? Why don't they come? Do we have officials stationed in other countries?"

"No, we can't manage our own land well enough, and we don't have those idle officials going to foreign countries. As for why the Qin State didn't come, I don't know. After all, if they don't come, we won't force them to come."

Lin Zhen picked up the pipe, lit it with a lighter and took a puff.

A large puff of thick smoke came out, which made Sun Shanhai marvel at it.

"What good thing is this, my lord?"

Lin Zhen said with a wicked smile: "Why? Want a bite?"

Whatever Lin Zhen is using must be a good thing. Sun Shanhai didn't think too much about it and took the pipe.