"The princess is wrong. I didn't know about Zhuge Dewei's capture of Liu Heita in advance!" Li Xiu made up his mind and refused to admit it.

"This is impossible. If you don't know about this, how could you be so sure that you will win?" Princess Pingyang asked in disbelief.

"Uh? I'm just guessing it casually. In fact, I'm not sure. On the surface, I must show a little confidence, otherwise how can I make others believe it?" Li Xiu argued again.

"Really? But why do I think you are lying?" Princess Pingyang asked again in disbelief.

"Your Highness, this kid's lies are open, and his mouth is very strict. No one can force him to say anything he doesn't want to say, so don't ask, otherwise he will make up countless lies that you can't tell the truth or false!" At this time, Ma Ye spoke again on the other side of the river. He is probably the one who knows Li Xiu the best in this world.

"Uncle Ma, I didn't expect that I was such a person in your eyes. You made me so sad." Li Xiu said aggrievedly at this time, but he did not defend himself, because Ma said it was indeed the truth.

Princess Pingyang could no longer ask the truth after being interrupted by Ma Master. However, after this incident, thinking about Li Xiu's previous performances, Princess Pingyang couldn't help but become more curious about Li Xiu. On the surface, all Li Xiu's previous experiences were nothing special, but where did his special skills come from?

Perhaps because of Ma Master Ma’s arrival, Princess Pingyang was embarrassed to stay here again, so she quickly said goodbye and left. Ma Master was originally planning to leave with the princess, but Li Xiu stopped him because he still wanted to discuss with Ma Master.

When Ma Ye walked around He Gang, Li Xiu immediately greeted him enthusiastically and smiled: "Uncle Ma, how about the waterwheel workshop I helped you rectify last time? Is the efficiency of the craftsmen satisfied you?"

"How could you ask this question for no reason?" Ma Ye did not answer Li Xiu's words when he heard this, but asked back with some alertness. After getting along for a long time, he had already figured out some of Li Xiu's routines. Usually, when he mentioned something for no reason, there would definitely be nothing good next.

"Why did you ask for no reason? I helped you to rectify that workshop. Of course, you should also pay attention to the progress in the future. Is this called after-sales service good?" Li Xiu said with a look of course.

Although Ma Ye didn't understand what after-sales service was, he could understand what he meant, and Li Xiu was also right. After thinking about it, he finally replied: "The workshop was running very smoothly. According to the rules and regulations you wrote, everyone performed their own duties, especially when you split the water truck into parts, let each craftsman be responsible for the production of a certain part, and unified the standards. In this way, the production efficiency of the water truck increased greatly. The Xinzhu County Magistrate praised it after seeing it, and now he has started selling water trucks."

"Selling water truck?" Li Xiu couldn't help but say in surprise when he heard this.

"Yes, the court has issued the assessment target of water trucks for each county. Each county has a fixed number of water trucks based on the farmland, population, and how many water trucks need to be built. However, some counties have fewer craftsmen, or the craftsmen have low production efficiency, so they cannot complete the task at all. The Xinzhu County Magistrate is a clever person. Seeing that our water truck workshop is so productive, it will not take long to complete the water truck construction task in the county, so he plans to sell the excess water trucks and also supplement the county's finances." Ma Ye explained with a smile.

"Uh? He won't plan to continue doing it for a long time, right?" Li Xiu was stunned when he heard this. He had other plans. If the Xinzhu County Magistrate plans to keep selling water trucks to make money, it will delay his affairs.

"How is it possible? The craftsmen in the workshop are all here to serve, and there must be a deadline. Moreover, the Xinzhu County Magistrate is not so short-sighted. He is very impressed by your workshop management regulations. I only found out yesterday that he actually copied the management regulations and dedicated them to the court. I hope the court will promote them according to the law. Not only the waterwheel workshop, but other workshops can be improved according to your management." When Ma Ye said the last, he also showed a smile on his face.

"I have reported to the court again. Don't he understand what it means to make a fortune in silence? What other people have learned about him? "Li Xiu couldn't help but say he was worried that he had too much credit, but now it's better, and another credit will fall on him.

"Haha, the Xinzhu County Magistrate is not as stingy as you. He is obviously full of talent, but he refuses to show it. Do you want to wait for those talents to get moldy in your stomach?" Ma Ye said to Li Xiu with some gloating gloating. Sometimes even he can't understand what Li Xiu was thinking. He regards fame and fortune as dirt at a young age. He has never been able to do this even when he is middle-aged.

Li Xiu just smiled and did not refute the reprimand of Ma Ye. In fact, he was not unwilling to work hard, but he was also willing to provide some techniques that benefit the country and the people. However, this would definitely attract the attention of the court. If he was asked to be an official at that time, he would probably have to repeat the tragedy of his previous life in this life. He might not die of overwork, but he would definitely not be idle in normal times. This is inconsistent with his original intention of coming to the Tang Dynasty. It can be said that this is a very contradictory thing.

"Uncle Ma, since I have made such a great contribution to the waterwheel workshop and have also helped Xinzhu County Magistrate, so do you think you will give me some rewards?" Li Xiu suddenly said with a smile.

"I knew you must have been unhappy just now!" When Ma Ye heard that Li Xiu wanted to repay him, he slapped his thigh and said.

"Uncle Ma, you misunderstood me. I don't want any benefits. I just hope to borrow some craftsmen to use it. And I'm not use it in vain. How much wages should I pay for them? I'll give them double it. Is this fun enough?" Li Xiu hurriedly explained when he heard this.

"What are you doing with craftsmen? Do you also want to build a workshop?" Mr. Ma was stunned when he heard this, and then guessed.

"What workshop is built? I want to build a new yard. You know that my home is just a little bit. I used to live with two maids, but now there is Qi Niang again. I can't live in the house at all. Last night, I slept on the floor!" Li Xiu explained helplessly.

"So that's the case. I'm wrong about you. Isn't it just to build a yard? This matter is easy to deal with. There are some craftsmen in the mansion. As for the waterwheel workshop, I went to Xinzhu County Magistrate to talk to you. He also highly praised you. He had asked him to visit you several times before, but I knew you didn't like others to disturb you, so I refused. I guess it would be no difficult for him to borrow some craftsmen." When Ma Ye heard this, he immediately patted his chest and promised.

"Then thank you, Uncle Ma!" Li Xiu thanked immediately, and was also very happy. He was not very satisfied with the yard he lives in now, such as the kitchen, toilet, etc. Now that he is going to build a new yard, he also needs to plan it well.

Mr. Ma not only guaranteed that the craftsmen would prepare all the construction materials, but even packed all the building materials. The princess had special sources for the wood, bricks, stones, etc. needed, which made Li Xiu very grateful. After all, if Mr. Ma had no help, he would have to go to someone to buy these things in the same way. Spending money was a trivial matter, mainly because it was too troublesome. Now, Li Xiu only needed to concentrate on designing the new yard.

Li Xiu had already had the idea of ​​building a new yard, and he had planned it before. The old yard he lives in now does not need to be demolished. He planned to choose a good place nearby to build a yard from scratch. This has two benefits: one is that he does not have to demolish the original house, so that they will not have anywhere to live in when building the house. The other is that the location of the yard is not very good now, mainly because it is too close to the river. Boss Liu said that when the river water surged in summer, Li Xiu's doorstep was full of river water and he could not go out at all.

Regarding the location of the new yard, Li Xiu originally wanted to choose a suitable place. After hearing this, Ma thought he knew Feng Shui techniques. He asked a few questions, but he didn't expect that Li Xiu didn't know anything about it. This made him scold Li Xiu for being fooled. Then he sent someone to hire a Taoist priest with a fairy-like style. Unfortunately, his surname was Wang but Yuan. Daozheng Wang was said to be a famous Feng Shui master in Chang'an City, and most people couldn't hire him.

Li Xiu originally didn't believe in Feng Shui techniques and thought they were all feudal superstitions. However, after talking to Taoist Wang, he found that he had a great misunderstanding of Feng Shui. Although there are many strange things in Feng Shui, the core is that the ancients summarized some mysterious knowledge about the surrounding environment.

For example, Master Wang gave him several homesteads, which took into account the influence of wind direction, plants, terrain and other factors on the residents. Master Wang even could judge the underground geology, groundwater flow direction, soil structure, etc. based on some characteristics of the surface alone, which could be compared with later geological masters.

Moreover, Master Wang is proficient in architecture and proposes different courtyard plans for each site, which are both practical and beautiful. Now Li Xiu has to convince him. Such talents are probably going to make all construction companies lose their heads in the future.

The several residential lands that Daozhu Wang helped Li Xiu choose have their own characteristics. Finally, he finally chose a residential land located on the right side of the original yard, close to the bamboo forest. The terrain here is relatively high, so there is no need to worry about the river water. The entire house has a wide view on the mountain and the water is very conducive to living.

After choosing the homestead, Ma Ye’s various materials and craftsmen were also prepared. He immediately pulled him to the homestead and started working under the command of Li Xiu. The style of the house was still the same as that of the Tang Dynasty, but he put forward many new requirements, such as the planning of the kitchen and toilet, and even a warm road was designed in the bedroom. In fact, the principle is the same as the Northeast pit in later generations. It only adds a pipe made of bricks to the lower wall, which can burn fire to heat the room in winter.

It can be said that in the next time, Li Xiu devoted himself to the construction of the new yard and ignored the outside world. However, when the yard had just been built, he had trouble coming to the door.
Chapter completed!