Two weeks later, Ten Thousand Blessings Restaurant became incredibly popular.
The emergence of stir-fried and deep-fried foods was a revolutionary dietary reform for the people of the Tang Dynasty.
Cheng Qi was well aware of the value of these secret techniques, so he tried every means to keep them secret.
Unfortunately, within just half a month, many restaurants also started offering stir-fried and fried foods.
"Sigh!" In the small courtyard behind Ten Thousand Blessings Restaurant, Ling Yi and Cheng Qi were sitting together drinking tea.
" Elder Cheng, you've sighed more than ten times since I came in."
Ling Yi stared helplessly at the tea in front of him.
"Both Yunjian Restaurant and Song Family Restaurant have started selling fried chicken and stir-fries. I reckon they'll figure out how to make pancakes soon too. I'm really worried."
Ling Yi shrugged; it didn't matter to him at all.
Although he and Cheng Qi were business partners, Ling Yi was genuinely not short of money. With the wealth in his Personal Space, he could live on for several lifetimes without any problem.
Whether I make money or not is irrelevant.
Moreover, stir-frying and deep-frying are two Cooking methods that don't require much skill. After observing for a while, you can get a general idea of how to do them.
It's only a matter of time before word gets out.
Never underestimate the Wisdom of people in this era.
Cheng Qi knew this too, but felt it was such a pity, like losing money.
"Do you know where I can find craftsmen who can build houses?" Ling Yi picked up the teacup, smelled it, and ultimately couldn't bring himself to drink it, so he put it back on the table.
"You need craftsmen to build houses? There are plenty in Chang'an City. Brother Ling, do you need to repair a house?"
"Find me some craftsmen; I need to build a house."
The small courtyard that Ling Yi bought is still an empty plot of land. During this period, he stayed at an inn every day.
But he really didn't find the ancient inns very comfortable.
Ling Yi was really looking forward to building a villa, but unfortunately he didn't have the skills.
But as I said before, he may not have the skill, but he can talk the talk.
Just like the stir-fry in front of me, if I don't know how to cook it, I can ask someone who does to tell me how, and then they can cook it perfectly. Isn't it perfect now?
Although there weren't enough seasonings, it's still food, isn't it?
"Brother, building a house is too troublesome and time-consuming. I do have a spare yard. If you don't mind, you can move in first."
Cheng Qi was unaware that Ling Yi had bought a rather large courtyard, but she did know that Ling Yi stayed at an inn every day.
"No, I want to build my own villa. Do you think I can't afford a yard?" Ling Yi shook his head.
"Okay, that's simple. But what about a villa?"
"You'll find out then!" Ling Yi said with a smile.
Building a modern villa in the Tang Dynasty would be much more impressive, wouldn't it?
In fact, it's not that Ling Yi couldn't carve out a villa for himself.
For example, he can use his Personal Space to mix soil and rocks together, Later super-compress them and shape them into the villa he envisions.
Then, by hollowing out the interior, a villa can be quickly built.
But Ling Yi now had other ideas.
Take this stir-fry, this fried chicken, for example...
As the saying goes, it's better to share happiness than to enjoy it alone.
Ling Yi aims to subtly change this era, and this is just the beginning.
The next day, Cheng Qi led more than thirty craftsmen to Ling Yi's courtyard, which had been abandoned for almost three months.
The lead craftsman was a slender, capable old man surnamed Zhang, whom everyone called Master Zhang.
Ling Yi didn't know his specific name, nor did he ask.
" Master Zhang is the best craftsman in Chang'an City. His ancestors built a royal palace for the previous dynasty."
Cheng Qi explained.
Goodness, it seems like everyone with a bit of a reputation has to have some connection to the imperial palace.
The chef at Ten Thousand Blessings Restaurant is a descendant of imperial chefs, and this Master Zhang's ancestors even built an imperial palace for the Sui Dynasty.
It seems that people in ancient times also knew how to promote their own brands.
"We'll have to trouble Master Zhang next," Ling Yi said.
"I wonder what kind of house the owner wants to build?" Master Zhang asked.
"Yes, what I built is called a villa, which Taiyi from a house in the traditional sense."
Master Zhang didn't speak, but listened quietly, though his eyes concealed disdain.
These wealthy people always like to be unconventional. No matter how much they change, isn't it still a house for people to live in? No matter how different it is, it's all based on the same principle.
"Before you build the house, you need to get the cement and glass ready."
Everyone was a little confused. They had never heard of villas, nor had they heard of cement and glass.
"What are cement and glass?" Cheng Qi asked.
What is cement? Ling Yi certainly knew what cement was, but Ling Yi wasn't sure if it could actually be made in ancient times.
One issue is that the materials for making cement were not easy to find in ancient times.
Another issue is that even if the materials were found, it would be difficult to produce cement that meets the required specifications using ancient techniques.
However, Ling Yi wasn't in a hurry to experiment.
On the contrary, glass should be easier to work with.
Of course, the specifics will have to be figured out gradually. He only provides a general direction; the rest depends on the craftsmen's own Wisdom.
Ling Yi first explained the characteristics of cement and glass, and then told them about the materials needed and the general manufacturing process.
They don't understand cement, but the more they hear "glass," the more it sounds like crystal?
Glass can be made from sand? How is that possible?
They knew very well how valuable that thing was.
If this cement is really as amazing as this person claims, then its value is truly immense.
"Young master, are you sure what you've said is true? Have you seen it with your own eyes?" Master Zhang couldn't help but ask.
"I have indeed seen it!" Ling Yi nodded seriously.
Nonsense! As modern people, who hasn't seen cement or glass?
Seeing that Ling Yi didn't seem to be faking it, Master Zhang gasped.
"Unfortunately, I only know the general process."
"As long as what you say is true, young master, then having a general outline of the process is enough," Master Zhang said confidently.
Ling Yi nodded and said, "Your usual wages are ten times higher than mine. The project will end when you've finished making the cement and glass, and completed the villa."
"Brother Ling, what exactly is this villa you're talking about?" Cheng Qi asked again.
With a flick of his wrist, Ling Yi produced a four-story villa model.
Everyone couldn't help but crowd closer to take a look.
The villa, brimming with modern Aura, is naturally quite different from the architectural styles they are familiar with.
Cheng Qi couldn't figure it out, but she found it very novel.
Master Zhang's eyes lit up. He mentally visualized the villa model, and after a moment, he couldn't help but clap his hands and exclaim, "Truly amazing!"
For the next few days, Ling Yi continued to stay at the inn at night and came to his courtyard during the day to watch Master Zhang and the others work.
Soon, a large pile of materials was moved into the yard.
Master Zhang transformed into a tech expert, continuously testing the cement-making process described by Ling Yi.
But as I said before, even if we find the materials, many processes still won't meet the requirements for making cement.
The most important aspect is the grinding equipment.
Cement particles are very fine; you can't grind them by hand, can you? That would be too time-consuming.
Furthermore, it can't be widely adopted, which is not what Ling Yi wants.
In addition, there were high-temperature calcining furnaces, but with the level of technology in ancient times, the temperature was simply impossible to reach.
Therefore, Ling Yi decided to use some unconventional methods.
Fortunately, coal existed in this era, but mining it was difficult, and since it was considered toxic by ordinary people, it was rarely seen.
Ling Yi quickly found out the locations of several coal mines.
They simply spent money to acquire it.
After some more effort, the cement still hadn't been produced, but the kang (heated brick bed) and stove had been successfully made and made widely available.
Keep in mind that winter was not over yet; there was still snow on the roads, and it was still freezing cold.
The most common way for ordinary people to keep warm is to place a charcoal brazier in their homes. However, even with a charcoal brazier, most families can't afford it, since charcoal is not cheap.
The emergence of heated brick beds, stoves, and honeycomb briquettes solved people's heating problems.
Of course, the furnace couldn't be made of iron.
Metals like iron and copper were even scarcer in this era and were under government control. Anyone who wanted iron to make a furnace was truly delusional.
Therefore, the stove was also built with bricks and stones.
Although it may not look very appealing, its practicality is undeniable.
A heated kang (a traditional Chinese bed-stove), a stove, and a honeycomb briquette unit made Cheng Qi and Master Zhang a fortune.
Like Ten Thousand Blessings Restaurant, this is a three-way collaboration.
With coal, it becomes much easier to build a high-temperature furnace.
However, achieving a consistently high temperature of 1,000 degrees Celsius over a long period places extremely high demands on the blast furnace.
This is where the Wisdom of Master Zhang and his colleagues came into play.
Although they didn't understand Physics or chemistry, they still used their Wisdom to create a rotary blast furnace that could be ignited from multiple ports.
Although it took several months, from winter to late spring, the results were fantastic.
But even now, the cement still hasn't been produced, even though many materials are almost ready, and even though Ling Yi used his Personal Space to create a huge pendulum-type grinding machine.
However, the proportions of the materials were always just a little off.
However, Master Zhang and his team managed to get the glass out.
Although it still contains a lot of cesium impurities and is not yet completely transparent, it has indeed produced glass.
The rest is just a matter of repeated verification and adjustments. I estimate that it won't be long before we can develop a completely transparent glass.
Cheng Qi, a guy obsessed with making money, naturally wouldn't let this opportunity to earn money slip by.
They had Old Zhang and his team make a batch of glassware with mixed colors, which they then sold directly.
The quantity was limited to only three to five pieces each day, but these items were driven up to exorbitant prices by high-ranking officials and wealthy individuals, who made a fortune from them.
It was precisely because of this that, although Ling Yi spent a lot of money buying coal mines and various materials during this period, he did not lose money; on the contrary, he made a considerable profit.
During this period, Ling Yi spent every day with Master Zhang and the others.
In terms of skill, Ling Yi is no match for Master Zhang and his team.
However, Ling Yi's knowledge and thinking were unmatched by Master Zhang and the others. Ling Yi would occasionally come up with some new ideas and solutions, which always helped to solve some of the small problems at hand.
As more and more problems are solved, cement research is nearing completion.
That day, Ling Yi was testing the latest version of cement when Cheng Qi rushed over with more than a dozen people.
" Ling Yi, someone is trying to steal our business and cut off our source of income."
Ling Yi paused for a moment, then laughed, "It seems that the people behind you, Elder Cheng, can't withstand the pressure."