If you traveled back to ancient times, while others ate Guanyin clay, you would actually have giant

"Master, quickly send someone to bring Yong'er back!"

Zhu's mother felt sorry for her son and was afraid that he would suffer outside.

"Hmph, why bother answering? If you run away, don't come back."

Although Zhu Keduo said this, he did not stop writing and wrote a letter to Zhou Wu, hoping that the other party would take good care of him. Although many noble families in the court disliked Zhou Wu, there were also many loyal generals who highly regarded Zhou Wu. At a young age, he had accomplished several important things for the court, and he was definitely outstanding among his peers.

When Zhou Wu was in the capital, he was friends with Zhu Zhiyong, so Zhu Keduo also treated Zhou Wu well.

. . . . . . .

"Sir, I have a letter for you. I was just passing by and brought it in for you."

Every now and then, Deng Yuanliang would return to Niujia Town to report the situation to Zhou Wu.

"Oh, thank you."

The letter came from Zhu Zhiyong's home. After reading it, Zhou Wu smiled slightly.

"Is there good news, sir?"

"It's nothing, just a letter from Zhu Zhiyong's father. It seems the two of them had a fight. His father knows his son is with me and asked me to 'take good care of him.' Yuanliang, you'd better take good care of him."

"Hehe, don't worry, sir."

As the two were chatting, a servant suddenly delivered another letter, this time from the capital.

"My lord, another letter from the capital has just arrived."

"You have quite a few friends in the capital, sir."

Zhou Wu was also baffled. He didn't know many people in the capital, and it was quite a coincidence that two letters came from the capital on the same day. Even Zhou Wu was very curious about whose letters they were.

"Her Majesty the Empress's birthday."

It was a letter from the Crown Prince informing Zhou Wu that the Empress's birthday was coming soon. In the past, the court didn't have much money, and apart from the Emperor's birthday, which was celebrated with a few symbolic tables, no one else received such treatment. As the head of the harem, the Empress was even more frugal and it was even more impossible for her to celebrate her birthday.

However, the situation was very different this year. First, there was the tax reform, and the court now had a large amount of commercial tax revenue every month. Then, the Crown Prince suppressed the pirates and handed over six million strings of cash to the court. Although Li Tiancheng planned to put all of it into his own private treasury, the ministers discovered it and the plan failed. However, he still managed to secretly siphon several hundred thousand strings of cash into his private treasury. Since the majority of the money had been taken out, the ministers turned a blind eye.

So now Li Tiancheng is like a nouveau riche. He has wronged his harem over the years, and now that he has money, he naturally wants to make amends. It just so happens to be the Empress's birthday, so he throws a big party.

"Is it a letter from the palace?"

"The Crown Prince will only give you a heads-up beforehand, so you can prepare accordingly."

What else can I prepare? It's just gifts, of course.

"It's Her Majesty the Empress's birthday, so we need to prepare a proper gift. It can't be too meager, since Lord Bijing is now representing the South China Sea."

Deng Yuanliang was naturally pleased that Zhou Wu had received an invitation to the Empress's birthday celebration. This meant that Zhou Wu at least had a place in the eyes of the royal family. As the governor of the South China Sea, he naturally suggested preparing a well-sealed gift that was not too meager.

"We should prepare a good gift, but money is being spent everywhere in the South China Sea right now, and we're not exactly rolling in cash."

Deng Yuanliang immediately knew that Zhou Wu was trying to get something for nothing again. In Deng Yuanliang's mind, Zhou Wu was good in every way, except that he was too stingy when it came to giving gifts. Other officials would be eager to give their houses to the Empress, but Zhou Wu was thinking about how to do it in an economical and practical way.

"What would you like to give as a gift, sir?"

"No, there's still plenty of time, no rush."

Such large-scale banquets held by the royal family are usually announced a month in advance, so Zhou Wu had plenty of time to prepare.

. . . . . .

Zhu Zhiyong has been studying under Deng Yuanliang for some time now, and he has basically understood some basic trade knowledge. However, Deng Yuanliang doesn't have much time to explain these things to him individually, so he arranged for two old men from the previous fleet to accompany Zhu Zhiyong.

"Old Zhu, are you going back for the Empress's birthday celebration?"

"Are you deliberately trying to provoke me? Who am I? I can't even get through the gate on Her Majesty the Empress's birthday."

Zhu Zhiyong looked displeased, thinking that Zhou Wu was deliberately showing off.

"Haha, sorry, sorry. I thought you, as a famous second-generation official in the capital, would be able to participate."

"Cut~~~"

"Let's get down to business. Do you know what kind of gifts Her Majesty the Empress likes? Or what her hobbies are?"

"Her Majesty the Empress is not only frugal in her daily life, but also advocates thrift in the palace. I have never heard of Her Majesty having any special hobbies."

Zhou Wu originally thought that Zhu Zhiyong, being a second-generation official in the capital, would definitely know more than him, and he hoped to find out some of the Empress's preferences. However, the answer he received was similar to what he already knew: frugality.

"This is going to be difficult."

Since it was a gift, Zhou Wu naturally wanted to cater to the recipient's preferences at the lowest possible cost, but since he didn't even know what the recipient liked, there was no way to do so.

"Why don't you just send some rare treasures? You don't need them anyway. Her Majesty the Empress doesn't have any hobbies in her life. The thing she does most of the time is pray for the Great Dragon."

"Praying for blessings? You mean the Empress loves to pray for blessings?"

"Yes, everyone in the capital knows that Her Majesty the Empress loves to pray for the dragon. She has personally visited all the temples and monasteries in the capital."

Zhou Wu suddenly had a flash of inspiration and thought of something good.

"As expected, it's still you, the son of an official in the capital, who's still somewhat useful."

After saying this, Zhou Wu ran away like a madman, leaving everyone bewildered.

. . . . .

Fireworks, yes, Zhou Wu thought of fireworks. Some time ago, because Zhou Wu launched the artillery research and development plan, he first carried out the research and development of gunpowder. After repeated experiments, the gunpowder finally obtained the final formula.

Although there's no time to develop artillery right now due to the construction in the South China Sea, there's still time to make fireworks. Besides, making fireworks would not only save money on gifts, but they might also sell well as a unique product of the fiefdom later on.

Without further ado, Zhou Wu locked himself in the makeshift laboratory in Niujia Town and began tinkering.

When we were kids, we all played this game: taking out the gunpowder from firecrackers, spreading it on the ground, and then lighting it. The gunpowder would burn rapidly, sparks would fly everywhere, and there would be a "bang." But this is not a firework.

To create a real firework, many problems need to be solved, such as how to make the firework fly high into the sky, how to make it explode into different shapes, and how to make it colorful. These are all problems that Zhou Wu needs to overcome.

Fortunately, although Zhou Wu had never made fireworks in his previous life, his academic performance was always quite good. It was just a matter of chemistry. In a few days, Zhou Wu made a sample and found a remote place to set it off. Judging from the results, it was a success.