"Chengdao? Why are you here?" Li Shimin asked in surprise when he saw Li Chengdao. He never expected that Li Chengdao would appear in front of Li Xiu's door no matter what.

"Haha, you don't know anything about Second Uncle. I am half a student of Mr. I usually come to listen to Mr.'s lectures when I have time." Li Chengdao seemed to respect Li Shimin very much and was a little intimate when he spoke. Unfortunately, he would never dream of it that his second uncle ordered him to be killed a few years later.

"Oh? I didn't expect that Li Jijiu would start to accept students?" Li Shimin looked at Li Xiudao with a smile, but there was a little indescribable meaning in his eyes.

Before Li Xiu could speak, Li Chengdao said first again: "Second uncle, you don't know. At first, I accidentally saw my husband's knowledge, and then asked my father to ask for advice from him frequently, but my father disagreed. Later, I begged the emperor and grandfather for a long time, so he agreed to come here."

"Okay, Chengdao you didn't come yesterday. Go and make up for your homework yesterday. Your Highness Qin has something to do, so I won't keep it!" Li Xiu said directly at this time. The look of Li Shimin looking at him just now made him feel very unhappy, as if he had accepted Li Chengdao as a student and was hindered by him, so he spoke directly to drive people away.

"Haha, don't blame Li Jiji, I will say goodbye!" Li Shimin also saw Li Xiu's dissatisfaction. He laughed and didn't explain too much. He apologized very freely and then turned around and left, but he had another conspiracy in his heart.

In the next few days, Princess Pingyang presented Li Yuan with a method of making ice by saltpeter, and then promoted it by the court. In this hot weather, it naturally caused a huge sensation. Those who could afford ice were curious about the magic of this method of making ice, and those who could not afford ice naturally rush to buy some saltpeter and go home.

The amount of saltpeter was not used. In addition, most of the saltpeter in Chang'an City was bought by Princess Pingyang, and the rest were quickly sold out. This also led to the soaring price of saltpeter, but also learning was priceless. Many merchants seized this business opportunity and wanted to return from other places to get saltpeter. The profit was several times more profitable. However, a document from the court made many merchants lament that because the Tang army, especially the southern army, also needed to cool down saltpeter, saltpeter from all over the country, was given priority for the army, and now it was really impossible to buy it even if you had money.

However, this situation will not last too long. After all, saltpeter can be reused. When the military purchases enough saltpeter, the order to supply the military will be lifted. When each city receives the supplement of saltpeter, the price will naturally drop. Only then will ordinary people actually use the ice made from saltpeter.

Chang'an City has always been a shortage of smart businessmen. Some of them had already stocked up a group of saltpeter merchants. After seeing that saltpeter is priceless, they immediately had an idea of ​​a good way to make money by borrowing saltpeter, which is to open an ice food restaurant and use saltpeter to make ice food and sell it. Because saltpeter can be reused, the cost of ice food restaurants is not high, but the profit is amazing. For a time, more than a dozen ice food restaurants emerged in Chang'an City in just a few days.

"What a pity, how could you miss such a good opportunity in vain?" In the living room of Li Xiu's house, Ma Ye shouted with a heartache, while Li Xiu and Princess Pingyang obediently lowered their heads and did not speak, as if they were doing the wrong thing.

Mr. Ma came back a few days later than Li Shimin. He had just returned to Chang'an the day before yesterday. Then he learned about the making of saltpeter ice, and the merchants in Chang'an City used this to open an ice food restaurant, and the profits were quite high. This also annoyed Mr. Ma, because he felt that the money should have been made by the Princess's Mansion and Li Xiu, but now it has been given to others for nothing.

"Hehe, Uncle Ma, don't be angry. Are there just a few ice food restaurants? At most, you can make some money in the summer. After the season, you may have to lose money." Li Xiu smiled quickly. He is now a little rich and does not pursue much money, so he never thought about using saltpeter to make money. As for Princess Pingyang, he is not inferior to anyone in war, but he is a little confused about managing the house, and he also did not expect to use saltpeter to make money.

"You two!" Looking at Li Xiu and Princess Pingyang's innocent expressions, Ma Ye didn't know what to say. Li Xiu was just a lazy guy. He wouldn't move without pushing him. Princess Pingyang didn't care about money. If he had it, he would spend more, and if he was gone, he would spend less. As a result, he was the chief manager of the princess's mansion who was most worried about.

"Uncle Ma, the family should not be short of money, right?" Princess Pingyang asked in a low voice, her voice a little guilty. Although she was called the master and servant, she actually treated Mr. Ma as her father.

"Lack! Why don't you lack? I originally planned to buy a few gardens in Nanshan and buy more land. Look at the nobles in the city, which are not desperately buying land. These are all the property left for future generations!" Ma Ye's answer fully demonstrated the ancient landlord class's thoughts. When you have money, you only have one thought, that is, buying a house and buying land. It is a very simple concept, but it is also the main reason for land annexation.

"Uncle Ma, our villa is already big enough, and there is no need for so many gardens and land." Princess Pingyang advised softly again, which was also her true thought.

"That's not possible. Princess, you are Your Majesty's favorite daughter. You must not lose to others in the pomp. People buy gardens and land in Nanshan, so we cannot fall behind, especially as far as I know, Princess Changguang and others are also buying land everywhere, so our Princess Pingyang's mansion cannot fall behind!" Ma's concept of land is very strong, and even Princess Pingyang's persuasion is useless.

When Li Xiu saw this, he couldn't help but smile helplessly, but older people are generally stubborn, so he gave up his plan to convince Mr. Ma and changed his words: "Uncle Ma, if you want to buy land, you can buy it. As for money, you don't have to worry. I will come up with a good way to make money!"

"I'm just waiting for you to say this!" Master Ma immediately slapped his thigh when he heard this, but then his face changed, "But you can't fool me again this time. You have said you have to find a way to make money since the beginning of this spring, but I haven't seen you come up with any solution yet."

"Why don't there be? Can't distilled liquor make money?" Li Xiu retorted in a low voice when he heard this, but unfortunately, the distilled liquor was too restricted by Yimu, and later it was dedicated to the court for medicine.

"You can't think of some reliable way to make money. Either consume food or be affected by the seasons, can you make money all year round?" Ma Ye glared at him. He would not be polite to Li Xiu, especially because he was not blind. He saw the ambiguousness between Li Xiu and Princess Pingyang, which made him always feel that his cabbage was huddled by a pig.

"Uncle Ma, don't worry. I've sorted out carefully these days and will definitely help you think of a good way to make money in all seasons!" Li Xiu patted his chest and promised. As for the time this was the guarantee, he couldn't even remember it himself.

"Brother, do we still want to listen to Uncle Ma telling him about the war in Tuyuhun?" At this moment, Qi Niang said a little dissatisfied, and Li Chengdao next to him also showed a bored expression. The reason why he invited Mr. Ma to come today was to let him talk to his two children about the war in Tuyuhun and let them understand the situation on the battlefield.

"Haha, the two little guys can't wait, so I'll talk about this battle in Tuyuhun!" Before Li Xiu could speak, Ma Master laughed. He liked children very much, but unfortunately he had no children. Li Xiu was also very curious about this, but he didn't dare to ask too much, after all, this involved personal privacy.

Now Ma Ye began to talk about the war in Tuyuhun. In fact, the war process was very boring, especially when Li Shimin had already prepared, Tuyuhun was hit by the Tang army as soon as it sent troops. The main force suffered heavy losses. Then Li Shimin led the army to attack Tuyuhun, burning, killing, looting, and seizing materials piled up like mountains.

Of course, Ma Ye couldn't tell these to his two children. In addition to introducing the strategies of the Tang army's advancement, he focused on some experiences during the march. For example, he talked about seeing a Tubo tribe during the march, where men like to use mud to paste their faces, their bodies were so smelly that they could smell the smell on their bodies against the wind.

But Ma Ye didn't say that the Tang army then exterminated the tribe and robbed countless horses and cattle and sheep, including many yaks unique to Tubo. These cattle could not be cultivated and could only be killed and eaten. Ma Ye also brought a lot of yak jerky. Yesterday he gave Li Xiu a large bag, but he only left a little tooth grinding, and the others were separated by Qi Niang and Yue Chan.

Mr. Ma is very good at telling stories, and the local customs and customs are interspersed in the middle, and he deliberately reduces some blood and cruelty in the war. Therefore, Qi Niang and Li Chengdao also listened with relish and put forward some of their own ideas from time to time. Although some of the ideas were too naive, Mr. Ma was still patiently explaining them to them.

It was not until noon that Ma Ye finished his experience in Tuyuhun. Li Xiu asked someone to prepare the wine and drinks, and then accompanied him to drink and chat. Princess Pingyang was a woman after all, and she didn't like drinking, so she took Qi Niang and Li Chengdao to the inner house for dinner and rest, and supervised them to review their studies during this period.

Looking at Princess Pingyang's back as she left with Li Chengdao, Ma suddenly turned her head and said to Li Xiu: "Boy, you are so brave. Even the prince's son dares to accept it as a student. Aren't you afraid of being involved in the court struggle in the future and unable to escape?" (To be continued.)
Chapter completed!