What's wrong with me, a powerful minister, supporting a few female officials?

Chapter 311 The Empress is secretly delighted! Su Mo has finally figured it out!

Although the Empress seemed interested, she did not explicitly state whether she agreed to establish a pilot program to loosen housing regulations.

The two talked all the way and unknowingly arrived at Shenma Rock.

The sweet potatoes at Shenma Rock were surrounded by high walls. Su Mo pushed open the door and led the Empress inside.

The petite and clever white snake spirit was valued by Su Mo.

Besides the important tasks of guarding the sweet potatoes and driving away snakes, rats, insects, and ants, the most crucial thing is that this figure perfectly matches Su Mo's original aesthetic.

She lives in a detached house built next to the summer fields.

As a demon with considerable cultivation, although unlike ordinary snakes that need to hibernate in winter, the White Snake Demon still felt incredibly comfortable living by the warm Five Dragon Pool.

In fact, before Su Mo arrived at Gufeng Mountain, the White Snake would move to the edge of Wulongtan to spend the winter.

Hearing the commotion outside, she immediately came out of the house on alert.

"My lord, what brings you here?" Xiao Bai looked at Su Mo in surprise, then glanced suspiciously at the Empress beside Su Mo.

Su Mo was also surprised: "Why aren't you asleep yet so late?"

Xiao Bai quickly explained, "I am used to sleeping during the day, but I am much more energetic at night. I can help you guard the potato field and prevent birds and insects from harming it."

After saying that, he tactfully bowed to the Empress and said, "This servant greets Your Majesty!"

Su Mo was speechless again.

Why does everyone think the Empress is their own wife?
He coughed heavily and said, "This is Lord Leng, not my wife. Do not mistake her for me in the future!"

The white snake spirit was slightly startled.

The Empress suddenly waved her hand: "Never mind!"

He then looked the white snake spirit up and down for a moment, and nodded slightly, saying, "I didn't expect you, white snake spirit, to be so well-educated and polite."

Su Mo quickly explained, "Planting sweet potatoes in the mountains attracts wild boars, insects, rodents, and birds. Since Xiao Bai has nowhere to go and is afraid of being hunted, I had him watch over the sweet potato fields, which is a good way to make the best use of the resources."

The Empress nodded gently: "Being able to keep an eye on the potato fields is a great achievement!"

She didn't say how she would reward the White Snake Spirit, but instead turned her gaze to the vast potato field.

The sweet potatoes grown here are more than ten times more than those in Su Mo's greenhouse.

Several bonfires were burning beside the potato field, but the potato vines were already slightly withered and old, and many leaves had begun to turn yellow and fall off.

She frowned: "Can the sweet potatoes still be left in the ground?"

The Empress naturally understood the principle that crops must be harvested in time when they are ripe.

Sweet potatoes, in particular, look like fruit and are very juicy, making them more prone to spoilage.

Su Mo carefully examined the condition of the sweet potato vines and thought for a moment: "The temperature here is still okay, it shouldn't be a problem in seven or eight days."

"If you leave them for too long, the quality of the potato chunks will deteriorate."

The Empress's expression turned serious: "Since that's the case!"

"On the third day of the Lunar New Year, I will personally harvest sweet potatoes! My lord, please remember to keep a close eye on the sweet potato field these next few days!"

After inspecting the potato field, the Empress finally headed towards Su Mo's new residence.

The villa also has a courtyard wall to separate it from the outside world and ensure privacy.

Although Su Mo hasn't moved in yet, the place is all tidy and the furniture is basically in place, so she can move in anytime.

The Empress stopped outside and carefully examined the scene.

Clearly, the Empress was extremely tempted by Su Mo's promise to make a fortune by building skyscrapers.

If this cement house were sold to someone else, it would obviously be more representative than the "small house" where the villagers lived. In modern terms, it would be called a model house.

The wall, made of blue bricks and cement, is covered with lanterns, illuminating the surroundings.

The two thick doors were nailed with copper nails, and looked no different from ordinary house gates, except that they were not painted with vermilion lacquer.

Unlike other mansions, it did not have guardian beasts placed in front of the gate.

Seeing that the Empress had stopped, Su Mo whispered, "Your Majesty, there's nothing to see outside. Why don't we go inside and take a look?"

He was well aware, of course, that the performance of his residence could greatly influence the Empress's decision.

It was far more important than the model rooms of later generations.

On a larger scale, it affects national policy!

In Su Mo's opinion, the houses and courtyards here take up too much space!
Once sweet potatoes are widely available, the population of Dawu will definitely experience a major surge.

If building height regulations are not relaxed, there will definitely not be enough space to live in the buildings.

High-rise buildings are definitely the future trend of real estate development!
The Empress looked at Su Mo: "It seems that Young Master Su has a lot of confidence in his own residence!"

"I'd like to see what's so special about your new residence, my lord."

Su Mo smiled and said, "I certainly won't disappoint you, sir!"

With that, he pushed open the door and gestured, "Please come in, sir!"

The empress stepped over the high threshold.

The high barrier to entry means it's not something ordinary people can afford.

However, given Su Mo's current status, having a higher threshold is not a problem at all.

Upon entering the courtyard, however, there was no screen wall as is commonly seen.

What comes into view is a wide, perfectly smooth cement road, like a stone block, with many smaller paths branching off from the main road and extending into various parts of the yard.

Compared to other people's courtyards that are like gardens, Su Mo's front garden is not large, only about five or six hundred square meters.

However, it was quite elaborately crafted, with many exotic flowers and plants, and a number of craggy rocks and artificial mountains used as partitions.

The garden also features a small pond, pavilions, and winding corridors, creating a serene and refined atmosphere.

The Empress glanced around the courtyard, her expression suddenly changing slightly: "Huh?"

"Why is Su Lang's courtyard so much warmer than outside?"

Because of geothermal activity and hot spring water, the area around Wulongtan is warmer than other places.

Even in the coldest winter, the temperature in the vicinity is as high as seventeen or eighteen degrees Celsius.

However, the empress discovered that the courtyard was actually warmer than the outside.

Looking around, I couldn't find any campfire, charcoal pan, or other heating equipment.

Su Mo explained with a smile, "This humble servant is afraid of both cold and heat, so many underground water channels were laid under the house, extending to the spring. The warmer spring water is then introduced into various parts of the house through the underground channels and flows into the Five Dragon Pool. Therefore, the temperature inside the house is slightly higher than outside."

Leng Liuxi exclaimed in amazement, "What a clever idea!"

He paused, then asked, "And what about late summer or early autumn?"

Su Mo smiled and said, "Just close the sluice gate of the hot spring and introduce ordinary mountain spring water."

"In this way, it will be warm in winter and cool in summer."

Leng Liuxi was speechless, and finally snorted, "My lord, you should spend more time teaching me instead of wasting your time on pleasure!"

Even so, they were already walking along the cement path toward the main house.

When passing by the cement road, I gently stepped on it to test the hardness of the cement surface.

Su Mo's forehead creased with annoyance.

Fortunately, Leng Liuxi didn't use much force, and fortunately, her own house was made of solid materials, with a cement layer 30 centimeters thick; otherwise, it would definitely have been trampled and damaged by the Empress.

After walking along a cement path that stretched for dozens of meters, we arrived at the front of the main house.

This is completely different from ordinary houses.

Looking at it, it resembled a stack of cubes, which, from the Empress's perspective, was quite awkward.

The house is very compact, and you can't see the second or third courtyards, or even the patios, that are common in other large houses.

Such a stack of houses could house far more people than a typical house of the same size.

Moreover, it was mostly built with bricks, stones, and cement, and there was hardly any wood in sight.

There wasn't even a single pillar or beam that a house must have!
The Empress couldn't help but ask, "Is this the young master's residence?"

"Where are the kitchen, woodshed, and side rooms where servants and slaves live?"

Su Mo explained, "I think it's more lively when the whole family lives together."

"Inside the main building, there are five large halls, more than twenty bedrooms, and several bathrooms... enough for a family to live in."

"The kitchen is located in the side building... As for the servants and maids, they can also live in the side building."

The villa was only two stories high, but its area was enormous. In addition, due to height restrictions, Su Mo could only expand horizontally.

In addition to the main building, the side buildings on both sides also have seventy or eighty rooms and halls, enough to house hundreds or even two or three hundred people!
The Empress, suspicious, ascended the steps and entered the main building.

Su Mo immediately took out a tinderbox and lit the two large candles at the entrance. The Empress looked around and saw an extremely spacious hall.

There are also no screens or other common furnishings.

Throughout the lobby, numerous oddly shaped pieces of furniture were displayed, visible at a glance.

There are also corridors connecting to the bedrooms.

This was the first time Leng Liuxi had ever seen a layout where the bedroom and the main hall were directly connected.

It really saves space.

However, privacy is greatly reduced; if you make even a little noise at night, people outside will probably hear it.

The Empress was looking around when she suddenly paused slightly.

The ground reflected the firelight, and on it were square pieces of porcelain, which looked even more exquisite than the gold bricks on the Taiji Hall!

The Empress was instantly dumbfounded!

These tiles look even better than imperial porcelain; they'd probably sell for ten taels of silver apiece.
Su Mo actually used it to pave the floor?

Su Mo walked to the wall and pulled the curtain hanging on it. The bewildered empress then discovered that firelight was shining in from the lanterns in the courtyard.

Behind the curtain was an absurdly large window!
The light from the lanterns shone through the large window.

The Empress looked at the other curtains in astonishment.

Could it be that behind the curtain are windows like these?

What a strange layout!

He even allowed his servants to live in the same courtyard, which completely eliminated their privacy!
But the Empress soon discovered another problem.

The window frames haven't even been installed yet? Is there not enough time?
wrong!

The wind was strong in the mountains, but inside the main hall, there was no wind at all!
The Empress's beautiful eyes suddenly widened in shock as she stared at the translucent, crystal-like object on the window!

She walked quickly towards the window!

Seeing the Empress's shocked expression, Su Mo quickly explained, "This humble servant is using medicinal jade."

Even the composed Empress stared in disbelief at the enormous medicinal jade, which was at least six feet square, and exclaimed, "Medicinal jade?"

"The medicinal jade is even more translucent than white crystal? And it's so smooth and large?"

A six-foot-long medicinal jade was something the Empress had never heard of before!

Also, aren't all medicinal jades colorful?

How much silver would it cost to buy such a huge medicinal jade?

Su Mo was so extravagant as to use it as a window frame?

Uh?
That mirror in Su's Department Store?
The Empress immediately realized the problem, took a deep breath, and tried to make her tone sound calm: "Where did Su Lang get such a huge, transparent medicinal jade?"

Su Mo smiled and said, "My lord, you have looked carefully."

"Actually, this window is made of several pieces of glass pieced together and glued together with sap from a black lac tree."

“The glass workshop is not yet able to produce a whole six-foot-long piece of glass, so I can only make do with what I have.”

The Empress was utterly speechless.

This is called making do. Who would make do like this?
Even the imperial palace won't do!
She squinted, staring intently at Su Mo: "This glass was made by you, my lord?"

Su Mo casually said, "I heard that glass is precious and that foreign merchants have made a lot of money off Da Wu."

"I happened to have read some books on glassmaking, so I asked the craftsmen to try making it, and to my surprise, they actually succeeded."

Empress...

All I can say is that this bastard has seen far too many secret techniques!

She took another deep breath: "Is that glass mirror in the bookstore made of this clear glass?"

Su Mo nodded: "That's right!"

"Only one batch of clear glass was fired, and a lot of it was wasted. In the end, only enough was made for four windows."

"In addition, a small piece was left over, and that was used to make the mirror."

The Empress glanced at the other three curtains in the hall, her expression turning strange: "According to Su Lang, behind those three curtains lies the same medicinal jade?"

Su Mo was slightly taken aback, wondering why the Empress had such an expression, but still nodded and said, "Yes!"

"Using glass instead of paper windows makes them much clearer, eliminating the need for candles or oil lamps during the day and saving a lot of wax!"

"Although I am not short of money, sometimes it is better to save where you can."

The Empress's teeth instantly itched!
That mirror must be worth hundreds or even thousands of taels of silver. I was so envious of it that I barely managed to resist taking it back to the palace.

damn it!
The four large windows, each six feet square, used enough glass to make so many mirrors!
How much silver must that be?
Ten thousand taels? Hundreds of thousands of taels? Or even more?
This guy actually said that not using candles during the day can save money on candle wax?
Even the Taiji Hall, where the imperial court held its morning court session, dared not be this extravagant!
The Empress doesn't want to hit people, but sometimes she really can't help it!
So annoying!

The empress's pretty face darkened, and she was about to speak.

Suddenly, there was a loud knocking on the door.

Ding Bashi's distinctive obsequious voice came from outside the wall: "Lord Su, are you there? I have something to ask of you!"

Su Mo was immediately stunned.

Why is this guy showing up in the middle of the night?
However, seeing that the Empress's face suddenly darkened for some reason, Su Mo sensed something was wrong and quickly said to the Empress, "Ding Bashi suddenly came to see this humble servant, there must be something important!"

"Your subordinate will go and take a look!"

After saying that, he turned tail and ran away without waiting for the Empress to speak.

The Empress was both amused and exasperated!

As soon as Su Mo walked out of the main hall, the Empress snorted and flipped her hand, revealing the Xuan Tian Mirror.

Then, he channeled his magic power and cast a spell into the Xuan Tian Mirror, and Su Mo's figure immediately appeared in the mirror.

Su Mo walked to the courtyard gate, his face dark as he looked at Ding Bashi, who was grinning obsequiously, and snorted heavily, "What business do you have with me?"

Ding Bashi hurriedly and obsequiously handed over the huge brocade box!

"My lord, the dressing box you asked me to make is finished!"

"I heard that you have returned to your residence, so I brought this over immediately to avoid delaying your important business!"

Leng Liuxi frowned slightly, a look of suspicion on her face: "A dressing box?"

Ding Bashi then chuckled and said, "This was something that Zhou Dashu and I worked extremely hard to build!"

"It will surely win over Lord Leng's favor, and in the future, your promotion and advancement will be just around the corner!"

Leng Liuxi...

Su Mo immediately retorted with a dark face, "Stop talking nonsense!"

Ding Bashi was stunned: "Sir, didn't you say this was a gift prepared for Lord Leng? And that I should make it with all my might!"

Leng Liuxi...

Prepared for myself?

That infuriating guy not only knows how to annoy me, but also knows how to prepare gifts for me and please me.
Would this be considered bribing the emperor?

Should I accept it or not?

The Empress was immediately conflicted, but she also felt a secret joy and her heart was pounding like a deer.

How strange!

Uh... what is a dressing box?

I've seen dressing tables before, but I've never seen a dressing box before. The Empress was very curious.

Su Mo glared at the guy fiercely.

The Empress is currently inside the main hall, about forty or fifty meters away. Although the view is blocked by flowers, trees, and artificial hills, she cannot see what is happening here.

But a True Person in the Heavenly Infant Realm should have very sensitive ears!
It's best not to let her hear it!

He snorted and lowered his voice, saying, "Get back here right now!"

"Report back to me tomorrow regarding the situation of the artisan battalion!"

Ding Bashi was dumbfounded.

Why is Lord Su in such a flustered state?

Did I flatter the wrong person?
But before he could speak, Su Mo slammed the door shut with a grim face!
Ding Bashi could only leave dejectedly.

I must figure out where I offended Lord Su!
Otherwise I definitely won't be able to sleep tonight!
Upon seeing Su Mo carrying the brocade box, the Empress turned back quickly.

He hurriedly put away the Xuan Tian Mirror, then subconsciously smoothed his temple hair, before pretending to be nonchalant and looking around at the furnishings in the hall!

(End of this chapter)