Chapter 47
At this time, Lin Beifans concrete house was still selling rapidly.
Such a quick way of amassing wealth made everyone envious.
Particularly, the Emperors of various nations, upon seeing Lin Beifan amass over two million in wealth in less than half a month, were green with envy to the point of splitting hairs!
If that foolish emperor can do it, why cant I?
Thus, the Emperors of various nations all set their sights on Lin Beifans cement.
Take, for example, the Shang Kingdom.
It is said that this foolish emperor has invented a miraculous construction material called cement, which can be used to build large and sturdy houses in just a few days. He even sold the houses and made over two million taels of silver!
The Emperor of the Shang Kingdom lamented in court: Esteemed Ministers, this cement is not only a miraculous construction material but also a treasure that benefits the nation and the people! Can we acquire the method of producing this cement?
At this moment, the Prime Minister stepped forward with a bow and a smile, saying, Your Majesty, your humble servant has learned that the foolish emperor has created cement and built houses with it. I have already sent people to investigate, and now we have obtained the method to produce cement!
Is that so?
The Emperor of the Shang Kingdoms eyes lit up, and he said eagerly, Minister, you are truly a pillar of our nation, addressing my urgent needs with loyalty. Quickly, present this method for my review!
The Prime Minister handed over a piece of paper, smiling as he said, Your Majesty, the method for producing cement is quite simple. It only requires iron slag, limestone, and clay to be calcined and then mixed together in certain proportions to produce cement!
After the cement is made, it just needs to be mixed with sand, stones, and water to form a slurry, and then it can be used to construct houses! The speed of this construction is truly miraculous; a large and sturdy house can be built in just three days!
The Emperor of the Shang Kingdom burst into laughter, Excellent, excellent! With the method for producing cement, why should our Shang Kingdom worry about not thriving? That little emperor is also muddle-headed and incompetent, not knowing to keep the method of cement production secret, allowing us to obtain it so easily. I really should thank him! Someone, bring me writing materials; I want to compose a letter to that foolish emperor to thank him for his contribution!
All the officials snickered secretly.
Their emperor was not really intending to thank Lin Beifan; it was clear he wanted to mock him!
They were all too happy to see this joke!
Moments later, the Emperor of the Shang Kingdom finished writing the letter and handed it to his attendant, laughing, Send this to the foolish emperor of the Xia Kingdom as quickly as possible and make sure to note his expression. Come back and report it to me!
Yes, Your Majesty! The attendant took the letter and then withdrew.
Now that we have the method to produce cement, lets build houses quickly to enrich the national treasury!
The Emperor of the Shang Kingdom said with a laugh. This is a matter of great importance, so I will entrust the Prime Minister with this task!
Yes, Your Majesty!
The Prime Minister took the decree and went to arrange the cement matters.
Six days later, a house was constructed out of cement, and upon seeing it, the Emperor of the Shang Kingdom was overjoyed: Good! Very good! Since building houses with cement is feasible, then Prime Minister, you should quickly build more houses and sell them to replenish the national treasury!
However, at this moment, the Prime Minister was troubled: Your Majesty, this this might be difficult
The Emperor of the Shang Kingdom frowned: Prime Minister, what is this hesitance? Speak your mind!
The Prime Minister clenched his teeth and said: Your Majesty, the idea of making money from cement houses is not going to work. We should think of another strategy.
The Emperor, with a frown and a hint of annoyance in his tone, said: Prime Minister, what do you mean by that? Look at that foolish emperor who has already made more than two million taels of silver. Why cant we do the same?
The Prime Minister replied with a wry smile: Your Majesty, it really wont work! If we really sell houses like he did, well end up losing everything, even our capital!
Then explain it to me now! demanded the Emperor of the Shang Kingdom, barely containing his anger.
Yes, Your Majesty!
The Prime Minister bowed and said, To make cement, we must have three things: iron slag, limestone, and clay! We have iron slag, and we have limestone, but these two materials are very far from the city! To transport them to the city to build houses would require a great deal of manpower and resources!
Moreover, the production of cement also requires a large amount of firewood! Your humble servant has made a preliminary estimate; if we were to build such a house, the cost would reach 60 taels of silver, which is more expensive than a house built with green bricks and simply cannot be sold!
The Emperor of the Shang Kingdom was shocked: What! How can this be? Why can the Xia Kingdom do it?
Your Majesty, it is because the iron and limestone mines of the Xia Kingdom are on the outskirts of their Capital City. They can use local materials, saving an untold amount of manpower and resources! Moreover, there is a coal mine nearby, and the coal extracted can be used directly for burning, saving even more on firewood! Thats why their houses can be sold so cheaply and still be profitable!
So thats how it is, how infuriating! The Emperor of the Shang Kingdom spat blood in anger.
To clearly grasp the method of making money, yet unable to earn it, and to have to watch the enemy nation make a profit was truly too depressing!
Overwhelmed with frustration, it drove him to the brink of madness, to the point of wanting to commit murder!
At that moment, the attendant who had been sent to deliver a message to Lin Beifan returned.
Your Majesty, this is the reply from the Emperor of the Xia Kingdom for your perusal!
The Emperor of the Shang Kingdom opened it and saw only 14 Chinese characters: Imitating Dong Shis frown, overestimating oneself, laughable, laughable, Idiot!
The Emperor of the Shang Kingdom vomited out blood: Pfft!
(TLN: Imitating Dong Shis frown, imitating the frown of Dong Shi, without understanding that it was the beauty itself that made the expression charming, not the frown itself.)
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