Guo Pu became unhappy upon hearing this. “How can such a good thing be temporarily shelved?” If it was to be shelved, why show it to him? Since he’d shown it to him, how could he not give him a finished product?

Fu Tinghan hurriedly explained: “Because we truly have no use for it right now. I, I also had no intention of giving it to you. It’s just that you didn’t understand how the radio’s wireless waves are transmitted, so I materialized the electrical equipment to show you…”

Guo Pu knew Fu Tinghan’s personality—pestering him was useless, so he tried a roundabout approach. “Do you know how expensive lamp oil is? Once night falls in the capital, only wealthy households have lights on. Not a single lamp can be seen in the houses where common people live. If you could produce this tungsten filament lamp, imagine how convenient it would be for so many people.”

Fu Tinghan came from modern times—how could he not know?

The main issue was that they had no electricity!

Fu Tinghan looked at him helplessly. “We currently don’t have the conditions for large-scale power generation. The only thing that uses electricity is the radio, and there are currently two types of generators used for radios—well, counting the hand-cranked one, that makes three, but actually no matter how you categorize them, hand-cranked and foot-pedaled both belong to human power, and there’s also one that’s water-powered.”

“But water power has conditional requirements for application, so it’s not as widely applicable as foot-pedaled ones. Regardless of which type, they all belong to small generators with very limited electrical output.” It was also because the sky was especially clean now, with wireless waves flying freely, so only a small amount of electricity was needed. If this were modern times, with all kinds of frequency bands everywhere, they might not even be able to supply enough power for radio use.

Guo Pu said: “Then build a large generator that can supply enough electricity for all uses.”

Guo Pu glared at him with his eyes. “Don’t tell me you can’t make it.”

Fu Tinghan replied: “With great effort, it can be made.”

Guo Pu’s entire face lit up, then Fu Tinghan said: “But Hanzhang and I have calculated that the timing isn’t right.”

Guo Pu’s face fell instantly. “What do you mean the timing isn’t right?”

“This isn’t something that can be achieved with just one or two generators—we’d need a power station. But the various materials and technologies required might take ten to twenty years to achieve, and I’d need to invest myself entirely in it. But our current demand for electricity isn’t the most urgent.” Fu Tinghan said: “For ordinary people, there are currently only two main problems—eating and clothing. Therefore, agriculture and the textile industry are most important.”

Guo Pu said: “Agriculture is the foundation of the nation—when has it not been important? But this is Zhao Hanzhang’s business. Let her stay busy with it. In our spare time from work, we can ponder this electricity matter.”

“Just the plan to build the observatory alone will consume 2.8 million qian and 200,000 laborers. Do you know how much manpower and resources building a power station would require?” Fu Tinghan said: “Hanzhang and I didn’t calculate the cost, we only roughly calculated the labor consumption—at least 500,000 people working continuously for eight years without interruption.”

Guo Pu’s mouth fell open, then he silently closed it.

Only then did Fu Tinghan relax. He was still quite afraid that Guo Pu wouldn’t care about national resources and would insist on pestering him to continue electrical research. He encouraged Guo Pu: “Although we’re temporarily not doing electrical research, we can do other things.”

“Our current problem is a shortage of manpower and animal power, low grain yield, and textiles also consuming massive amounts of labor. So we need to improve machinery and cultivate grain varieties.” Fu Tinghan grabbed him: “I’ve wanted to work with you for a long time. Since you’re interested in generators, you must also be interested in other machines. Let’s work together.”

Spinning, weaving, transportation machinery—all could be researched to save manpower and increase production capacity.

At present, at least eighty percent of people in the realm had no new clothes to wear. First, because natural disasters and warfare had been continuous these past few years; second, because textile efficiency was very low.

The ideal of men plowing and women weaving only existed in ideal family situations—the vast majority of families in this era couldn’t achieve it.

Due to labor shortages, women also had to work in the fields. The agricultural off-season was only relatively less busy compared to the busy season.

Weeding, catching insects, cultivating soil, composting fertilizer—these tasks seemed trivial but consumed massive amounts of time. Women could only find a little time amidst all the busyness to spin thread and weave cloth.

And the cloth they wove had to first be paid as taxes—only the remainder belonged to them.

A three-person household might not even be able to put together one set of new clothes in a year—it could be said that patches were layered upon patches.

This was a production capacity issue.

Therefore, Zhao Hanzhang ordered people to open cattle farms and horse farms, so that every household could have an ox for plowing.

She had Fu Tinghan and the Ministry of Works figure out simpler textile machines. Once promoted, they could further save manpower…

These were the most urgent matters for them at present.

As for electricity, for them it was just a luxury item. Its greatest significance was making the radio operational, allowing information from across the realm to reach Luoyang morning and evening, enabling Zhao Hanzhang to control local developments.

Rather than thinking about deeply developing electricity, it would be better to think about how to create steam-powered machines. Once the foundation was laid and technologies all advanced, electricity would naturally come.

Guo Pu listened seriously to everything he said, then nodded: “What you say makes great sense, but I won’t listen.”

He said: “If you won’t do it, give me the blueprints, and also give me the formula for making tungsten filament. I’ll go find Zhao Hu—he has money.”

Fu Tinghan: …

Fu Tinghan was a generous person and immediately gave him the tungsten filament formula. As for the generator blueprints, that was out of the question. “That’s a state secret. However, if you—or you all—can provide the money, I can manufacture them for you.”

He paused before continuing: “I won’t overcharge you. Just five percent above cost as a labor fee.”

This asking price was indeed not high. Guo Pu agreed, and the next day he excitedly left the palace to find Zhao Hu.

Zhao Hu’s courtyard was filled with long tables and stools. One long table per accountant—they were clicking away on their abacuses, fingers flying, as if playing the zither.

Guo Pu glanced once then looked away, asking Zhao Hu: “What are they calculating?”

Zhao Hu: “Doing accounts. This flood, I sold out all the stored grain at home. The accounts from various places have just been sent to the capital. Many grain shops were newly opened and will now be closed, so we’re settling the accounts.”

Guo Pu: “Why close the shops? Are you… out of money?”

“Would I be out of money?” Zhao Hu said: “Back then, I had stewards haul lots of money and grain to follow behind Sanniang. Whenever she recovered a city, I’d use money and grain to buy shops from her. I bought too many shops, and right now I don’t have enough goods and staff to operate them all, so I’m temporarily closing them first.”

Speaking of this, Zhao Hu complained: “During this flood, she wanted to open grain shops and borrowed many of my commercial properties. Now the disaster is over, she’s sold the grain and withdrawn her people—my stores have to close, don’t they?”

Not only her—he himself did the same. Many shops were temporarily opened just to do this one batch of business.

Zhao Hu furrowed his brow: “Having too many shops is also a headache. Once things are stable for two years and there are more people and shops become valuable, I’ll sell some. Or maybe not sell them but keep them to collect rent?”

Guo Pu, who would always become a fortune-teller whenever he was short on money, couldn’t understand this state of affairs.

Zhao Hu tugged at his beard, making up his mind: “In two years, if Sanniang still hasn’t… I’ll sell a batch. But if… I’ll keep them to collect rent.”

He omitted the key words, but while others might not understand, how could Guo Pu not?

After finishing, Zhao Hu sneaked glances at Guo Pu, wanting to read something from his face.

Guo Pu directly stated it plainly: “Stop looking at me. The secrets of heaven aren’t for you to know.”

Zhao Hu asked unwillingly: “When you first met Fifth Brother, you told him immediately. Why won’t you tell me?”

Guo Pu: “Because Fifth Master Zhao won’t ruin things, but you will.”

Zhao Hu: “… Nonsense! How would I ruin her affairs? I support her much more than Fifth Brother does.”

“There’s a saying about good intentions leading to bad results. In this world, there’s an evil greater than bad people deliberately doing evil—that’s ‘for your own good.'” Guo Pu said: “All the tribulations in your life come from this phrase.”

Zhao Hu’s mouth fell open. Thinking of his son, he fell silent for a moment, then moved closer to Guo Pu to ask: “Then divine for me—when will the tribulation between my son and me pass?”

Guo Pu: “When you let go, the tribulation will pass.”

He looked Zhao Hu up and down, examining his eyebrows and cheeks, then shook his head slightly: “Everyone in the world has misunderstood Zhao Cheng. They shouldn’t be advising Zhao Cheng to let go—they should be advising you to let go.”

These weren’t words he wanted to hear. Zhao Hu sat huffily in his rocking chair and asked: “You wouldn’t visit the Three Treasures Hall without reason. My house has no fine wine today, and I didn’t invite you. What are you here for?”

Guo Pu immediately moved closer: “I have a good business opportunity for you.”

Zhao Hu: “Open a fortune-telling shop with you presiding?”

Guo Pu snorted coldly: “If I preside, who would dare come to me for fortune-telling?”

Zhao Hu thought about it and agreed. Now Guo Pu was being kept in the palace, and everyone knew he was a semi-immortal—truly the kind with one foot already in the immortal realm—but nobody dared speak with him privately.

When Zhao Hu sought him out, it was mostly for idle eating and playing.

“What business?”

Guo Pu took out two sheets of paper for him: “Tungsten filament—bright as daylight, much better than oil lamps.”

Isn’t that still a lamp?

Zhao Hu casually took them and scanned them roughly: “What is this mess?”

“How is it a mess? This was written by Fu Tinghan himself.”

Hearing it was Fu Tinghan’s formula, Zhao Hu immediately sat up and read it seriously. When he couldn’t understand it the first time, he read it a second time, then furrowed his brow and looked at Guo Pu: “You think I can make this?”

“Which step can’t you do?”

“First, I can’t do this forging. He uses a water-powered forging press. All the water-powered forging presses in the realm are in Fu Tinghan’s hands. Where am I supposed to use one? And this firing later on—look at this, is this reasonable? This temperature could smelt steel. If I had such a furnace, what couldn’t I make money doing? Why would I need to make a lamp?”

He asked Guo Pu: “Is this really just a lamp?”

Guo Pu: “… It’s just a lamp.”

Zhao Hu’s brow furrowed tightly: “What does it look like? Is the design prettier than the two palace lanterns I hung at my gate on Lantern Festival night?”

Guo Pu: … How could he tell him that the tungsten filament lamp was just a coil? Like iron wire wound in a circle, but it would emit light—and bright light at that. Though it seemed it really wasn’t as beautiful in design as palace lanterns, it was bright! And it didn’t use lamp oil. If you wound it around a house in one circle, two circles, or even many circles, wouldn’t the entire house be glowing?

This was an effect even palace lanterns couldn’t achieve.

Moreover, the light emitted by tungsten filament was white!

Guo Pu tried to convince Zhao Hu.

Unfortunately, Zhao Hu was a shrewd businessman. He rejected Guo Pu, but was very interested in the hand-cranked generator he mentioned, and also very interested in the radio.

“I’ve wanted these two things for a long time. If I had these two items and equipped all my stewards in various places with them, wouldn’t I immediately know what each place lacked, and then transfer goods from elsewhere…” Zhao Hu said: “Business is all about buying low and selling high. Besides the value of the goods themselves, price depends on whether they’re scarce. The scarcer something is, the higher the price!”

If he had this thing while others didn’t, wouldn’t he be able to charge in and out of the business world freely?

Just like Zhao Hanzhang—Zhao Hu felt that her ability to defeat the Xiongnu and recover Jiangnan owed a great debt to the radio.

Zhao Hu pulled Guo Pu close: “Shall we do this business together?”

Guo Pu: “I can’t make generators or radios. Give up that idea.”

“You can’t, but Tinghan can.” Zhao Hu said: “Your relationship with him is good—talk to him. Men should have some money in their hands, otherwise everything is inconvenient.”

“Look at Sanniang—three hundred sixty days a year she’s short on money. As her husband, he can’t help at all. If he’s willing to take out the formula, or have the weapons workshop make the items, I’ll take them to sell. We’ll split the profits fifty-fifty. One set of radio and generator—I can split fifty thousand with him. If he sells ten sets, that’s five million qian. Next time Sanniang cries poverty, he can take her to the money vault and push open the door. When money piled to the ceiling slides down, wouldn’t that be wonderful?”

Guo Pu: …

Seeing that Zhao Hu had absolutely no interest in tungsten filament, Guo Pu couldn’t be bothered to stay any longer. He stood up coldly and said haughtily: “Whether he’s interested or not, I don’t know, but I have absolutely no interest in this!”

He was now only interested in tungsten filament lamps!

Guo Pu turned and left.

Zhao Hu sighed with regret. Why was this business in Fu Tinghan’s hands? It was terribly difficult to conduct.

Zhao Hu stayed home supervising the stewards’ accounting for two days. Once the accounts were settled and the money deposited, only then did he go out again.

As soon as he went out, he felt the atmosphere outside wasn’t quite right. The common people were still happily foolish, but once in a restaurant, he could feel an unusual atmosphere.

Although everyone was still eating and drinking and chatting, they weren’t just eating and drinking and chatting. From time to time, people would move closer and speak in low voices.

Zhao Hu frowned watching them, then called over the restaurant manager: “What are they talking about?”

The manager glanced down and whispered: “They’re guessing whether the General will kill Censor Xun.”

“Xun Zu? How did he provoke our Sanniang again?”

The manager lowered his voice: “Grand Tutor Xun was assassinated during disaster relief. Censor Xun directly said the General sent someone to do it. The General then had Censor Xun go fetch Grand Tutor Xun back, guaranteeing he could return alive.”

Zhao Hu’s head hurt from listening: “What is this mess? Who did you hear this from?”

“Everyone outside is saying it. Everyone’s guessing whether the General will take this opportunity to kill both Xun brothers. If they both die, that little Emperor would truly become a dumpling—wouldn’t he be at the General’s mercy to knead round or squeeze flat?”

Zhao Hu was displeased: “He’s long been at the General’s mercy to knead round and squeeze flat. Would she need to go to such trouble? So where are Xun Zu and them now?”

“Someone calculated the distance—at least three more days before they can return. Grand Tutor Xun was injured, so they’ll definitely have to travel slowly. Besides, who knows if they can really return alive? Who knows what might happen on the road to delay them?”

—