When he walked outside the hall, he couldn't help but smile and let out a sigh of relief. Although the emperor only praised "very good", his name is known to the end, but it may be a good opportunity to be promoted!

The original intention of eliminating redundant staff is that it is not wrong, but based on the communication speed and service efficiency in ancient times, officials can only have higher ratios than those in later generations, which is normal.

Thinking about saving financial expenses by reducing staff, but if you fail to achieve efficiency, it will be counterproductive.

Zhu Youxiao gently stroked his forehead and thought, feeling very troubled. At the same time, he also knew that salt administration was a very complicated task, involving people's livelihood and social stability, and he should not be too tempted to reform.

In addition to salt, there are also tea, tobacco and alcohol. If the national monopoly system of these commodities can be straightened out, would the Ming Dynasty be short of money?

A small grain of salt can support half an empire, which is not an exaggeration. But in the Ming Dynasty, the actual situation was frustrating.

Despite the hard work of clearing the villages and replenishing wages, opening up sea bans, selling mirrors, and even more ruthless house searches, the financial difficulties of the Ming Dynasty have greatly alleviated and there is a continuous trend of improvement.

But accruing money was not Zhu Youxiao's ultimate goal, nor was he a slave to keep money. "Taking it from the people and using it for the people" was his long-term consideration.

But how to take it? Which "citizens" are collected from, without harming it and using it for the "citizens"?

As he pondered, Zhu Youxiao had a pair of gentle little hands on his shoulder. Li Chengcheng came over and massaged the emperor thoughtfully, although his technique was not professional.

Zhu Youxiao gently patted Li Chengcheng's hand and said slowly: "I almost forgot to have an appointment with someone. Please clean up and go out with me to relax!"

………………………………………

Chen Zilong, Xia Yunyi and Xu Fuyuan received the invitation from Shen Lang and took two students they met in the new school to go to the appointment together.

Standing in front of this not-so-magnificent house, Wang Jizhong, a student who had lived in the capital for a long time, looked back at the Forbidden City, and couldn't help but feel a little surprised.

"This young master Shen Lang is afraid he is not an ordinary person." Wang Jizhong pointed and said, "If you can have a house near this palace, your status is not simple!"

Zhang Yitai nodded in agreement and guessed: "Maybe Yu Yin, his ancestors, have extraordinary family background."

Chen Zilong smiled and said, "What's the harm in making friends or making friends? If we only talk about Brother Shen's talent, we admire him."

The servants at the door saw a few stops and came up to ask. When they learned that it was the invitation of the head of the family, they diligently invited the few into the house.

The house is not grand from the outside, and the interior is very ordinary, without the magnificent decorations of high-end and wealthy houses. But it is simple but clean and tidy, with winding eaves, which makes it look a bit elegant.

When he arrived at the hall, Zhu Youxiao had already greeted him with a smile and bowed, "All brothers are here, the glory is shining!"

"Brother Shen, you are polite." Chen Zilong and others bowed back and introduced Wang Jizhong and Zhang Yitai to Zhu Youxiao.

After everyone had finished the day, they entered the hall and sat down. After the servants brought tea, they began to chat casually.

"We are open to our eyes in the new school." Chen Zilong said with emotion: "We have to guide and teach Master Xu, and we can realize the wonderful things and wonderful things in this world."

Zhu Youxiao was not surprised. Anyone who first saw a world map or globe, used a telescope to observe the movement of the stars in the sky, or came into contact with a beaker and flask for chemical experiments, is like a child with a new toy. It is really accurate to describe it as "wonderful".

Just like Xu Guangqi, after coming into contact with the missionary Guo Jujing, he learned that there was such a big world outside of China. He heard that the earth was round, and when Magellan surrounded the earth, things that were unheard of immediately attracted him.

But this is just an initial interest. If you cannot develop a mentality of in-depth pursuit and research, you will stop. Just like a child will be tired of new toys after a long time.

Therefore, Zhu Youxiao should continue to guide and connect sciences such as physics and chemistry with serving the country and the people, and turn them into knowledge that is practical and practical.

"Brother Chen has experienced this novelty later." Zhu Youxiao said with a smile: "But delving into the principles or truth behind the novelty can be considered a step further."

Xia Yunyi laughed, turned to look at Wang Jizhong and Zhang Yitai, and said, "How? I told you that Brother Chen is a talented person and has different perspectives on things."

Wang Ji smiled heavily, but he was just polite. He didn't agree with it in his heart and said, "I heard from Brother Chen, Brother Xia and Brother Xu that it was strange that the cup was covered with water and paper. I have tried it. It was really amazing. I wonder if Brother Chen can find out the principle or the truth?"

Zhu Youxiao nodded and said, "I have some experience and have come up with something like that, which may be of some use to the people."

Oh, Wang Jizhong didn't expect that Zhu Youxiao was so unfair and answered his question so easily, and he couldn't help but look surprised.

Xia Yunyi raised his eyebrows and smiled and said, "Then let us see it!"

"Yes, yes!" Xu Fuyuan felt that if Shen Lang could impress Wang Jizhong and Zhang Yitai, they seemed to have face, and said anxiously: "Turning theory into practice should be practical, right?"

Everyone agreed, and Zhu Youxiao stood up helplessly and asked everyone to go to the backyard to take a look.

There is a well in the backyard. It used to be used to carry water with an old-fashioned wheel bucket. But now it has changed. It is a ceiling that covers dust and rain. There are strange things on the wellhead, which are covered with large bamboo tubes and small bamboo tubes.

"Old Lu, come on some water!" Zhu Youxiao greeted Lu Jianxing casually.

Lu Jianxing responded respectfully, stepped forward and pressed the handle with one hand, scooped water from the next bucket and poured it on the piston of the large barrel, and then quickly pressed the handle.

As everyone was watching, the handle moved up and down. After a while, the water flowed out of the outlet and flowed into the bucket.

Zhu Youxiao explained: "The principle is the same, but after changing the method, you can pull out the water from the lower part. But there are limitations, the height cannot exceed eight meters, oh, it is about six steps."

Some experienced later generations probably know this kind of water withdrawal, which is often seen in rural areas. The older generation usually calls it "ocean well" or "press well".

In fact, it is a "sucking pump", or a piston pump.

Xia Yunyi approached the wellhead, looked down through the gap, and shouted: "This well is quite deep. It's really amazing to be able to raise the water so high!"

Chen Zilong stepped forward and bowed to Lu Jianxing, and said politely: "Can you give me a try?"

Lu Jianxing nodded and signaled Chen Zilong to come forward to take over. He also told him, "Don't press too hard, you have to press hard if the plug passes." After Chen Zilong began to press the handle and the water flowed smoothly, he let go and took a few steps back.
Chapter completed!