Chapter 1055: Helan Minyue's shyness

Li Zhi took the zucchini and looked at it. "My dear brother, this thing seems to be a bit like a gourd."

Lin Lang smiled and nodded: "My royal brother, you have good eyesight. This zucchini looks a bit like a gourd, but it is not the same thing."

"When the gourd is old, it can be used as a container. Although it can be eaten when it is young, it has a bitter taste."

"As for zucchini, it's been a vegetable since it was young. It's bright green all over, crisp and tender with no residue. Whether it's stir-fried, stewed, or shredded and served cold, it's very refreshing."

After hearing this, Li Zhi smiled and exclaimed, "This bright green zucchini looks delicious!"

Lin Lang continued, "Look, my royal brother, this zucchini is round and well-proportioned, not like a crooked gourd."

"As for how to eat it, slicing and stir-frying the shrimp is so delicious that it'll make your eyebrows drop; dicing and stir-frying it with diced meat is a great match with rice; even simply blanching it and drizzling it with sauce is crispy and relieves the greasiness."

Li Zhi was very interested and asked, "What about the yield of zucchini? Is it easy to grow?"

"It's very easy to grow," Lin Lang said. "It's as sturdy as a gourd. Just plant it in any place and the vines will spread all over the ground, producing bunches of fruit."

"Plus, zucchini has a long fruiting period and can be picked and eaten from spring to autumn. If people plant a few, they can add a lot of freshness to the family's dishes."

Li Zhi held the zucchini in his hands, and the more he looked at it, the more satisfied he became. "This is another good thing! It can be used as a vegetable, and the yield is high. It seems we should ask the Forestry Administration to try growing it as well."

"My dear brother, your vegetable garden in Shanghai is truly a treasure trove!"

Empress Wu also smiled and said, "It sounds refreshing. I'll ask the imperial kitchen to try using it in cooking. I'm sure it will taste good."

Lin Lang smiled and said, "What the Empress said is true. Zucchini is very versatile and tastes good no matter how you cook it. Once the trial planting is successful, I'll let the people have a taste of it too."

The ministers in the hall came over to take a look. Seeing the zucchini's neat appearance and hearing that there were many ways to eat it, they all praised it, saying, "Another novel dish! Everything the Lord of Shanghai brought is truly useful!"

"It has high yield and is easy to raise. This is what the people need most!"

Lin Lang took out a set of "Improved Design Diagrams for Steel Smelting Technology" from his personal space and handed it to Li Zhi with both hands.

Li Zhi took it and unfolded it. He saw an ingenious mechanical structure diagram on the paper, with details of the blast device, furnace cross-section and gear linkage. The lines were neat and the annotations were detailed.

"Brother, this... is this the advanced steel smelting diagram of Shanghai Country?" Li Zhi pointed at the piston structure of the bellows in the picture, his voice trembling.

Lin Lang nodded and smiled, "Your Majesty, I understand. This is a set of improvements to upgrade the Tang Dynasty's smelting technology. The core is three things - piston bellows, desulfurized coal treatment method, and graded quenching diagram."

He pointed to a diagram of a bellows and explained, "The existing bellows have weak airflow. This piston bellows, pushed and pulled by a wooden rod, can increase the airflow by 30%, raising the furnace temperature by another 200 degrees, allowing the pig iron to melt more thoroughly."

"And this coal," Lin Lang pointed to another picture. "First, pile it up and burn it to remove the sulfur. Then mix it with charcoal and put it into the furnace. The resulting steel will be less brittle and won't break easily when chopped with a Mo Dao."

Li Zhi's eyes lit up as he listened, and he suddenly shouted, "Lord Yan, come and see!"

Yan Lide, his beard and hair all white, stepped forward quickly and took a closer look at the blueprint. His eyes suddenly lit up, and he stroked his fingers on the quenching diagram: "Is this the method of graded quenching? Using water to quench the blade and oil to quench the body, it combines hardness and softness!"

"Minister Yan has good eyesight!" Lin Lang added, "Forging according to this diagram will make the sword capable of splitting armor, the plowshare capable of turning over hard soil, and production will increase by 50%."

Li Zhi clapped his hands and laughed, "Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant! This picture, my dear brother, is simply adding fuel to the fire of the Tang Dynasty!"

Lin Lang suddenly pointed to a gear linkage in the corner of the blueprint, his voice tinged with a hint of laughter: "Brother, look here. The bellows lever is connected to the crank at the furnace feed port. When the bellows are pulled, the iron in the feed port automatically drops a little, saving the effort of adding materials manually."

Li Zhi's pupils suddenly shrank, and he gestured on the diagram with his fingers. "In this way, blowing air and adding materials can be synchronized? One person can do the work of two people?"

"That's not all." Lin Lang's fingertips moved to the bottom of the furnace. "There's a removable ceramic valve here. The molten iron flows directly into the sand mold below, eliminating the need for first casting the ingot and then remelting it. This step alone can save 30% of the charcoal fire."

Yan Lide suddenly gasped and pointed at the small diagram next to the quenching diagram: "This... is this adding phosphorus rock to molten iron? I've heard that phosphorus rock can turn iron slag, but I've never dared to mix it in such a precise ratio!"

"Minister Yan is indeed discerning." Lin Lang nodded. "If we add them in this ratio, the impurities in the molten iron will condense into slag and float away automatically, and the resulting steel billets can be fired twenty times less."

Li Zhi exclaimed, "One person pulls the bellows, the charge goes in, the molten iron flows, and the impurities are removed automatically... My dear brother! This isn't just an improvement; this is turning the entire iron smelting furnace into a living thing!"

Yan Lide stroked the edge of the blueprint with his skinny hand, his voice trembling, "I've been overseeing the manufacture of military equipment for thirty years, and I've seen no fewer than a hundred furnace blueprints, but I never imagined that bellows and furnaces could complement each other so well!"

"As long as we build it according to the blueprint, our Tang Dynasty's iron production can at least double!"

Li Zhi was so excited after hearing this that he immediately ordered, "Lord Yan, immediately mobilize the craftsmen to make a trial according to the blueprint. The necessary materials will be fully opened from the treasury!"

Yan Lide held the blueprint and bowed, "I obey your command! This kind of ingenuity should be a model for all craftsmen!"

After hearing this, the ministers in the hall began to flatter him again, looking at Lin Lang with awe and praising him with all kinds of words.

Empress Wu also smiled and praised: "My dear brother, you have brought not only fresh vegetables, but also the art of strengthening the country. You are truly a lucky star for our Tang Dynasty!"

Li Zhi excitedly gave Lin Lang a hug, patted him on the back, and said gratefully, "You are truly my good brother! I don't know how to thank you enough!"

"Haha... Royal brother, you are too kind. Since we are brothers, there is no need to thank me!"

"My dear brother, what you have given me today are all things that will bring prosperity to the Tang Dynasty. I will live up to your expectations and promote them as soon as possible."

Lin Lang laughed out loud and said, "When we brothers unite, we can break any obstacle!"

The ministers in the hall widened their eyes, stunned by the scene.

Li Zhi, who has always been dignified and self-restrained, is now arm in arm with Lin Lang. The two of them are chatting and laughing like brothers.

The tablet in the hands of the Minister of Rites fell to the ground with a "clack", startling the palace maids below the stairs so much that they held their breath and retreated.

"The friendship between Your Majesty and the King of Shanghai should be recorded in history!" The Minister of the Ministry of Rites was the first to recover. He flicked his sleeves and praised loudly, "In the past, we swore brotherhood in Peach Garden. Now we meet the brothers of the royal family. This is an auspicious sign for our dynasty!"

"That's right! Your Majesty possesses extraordinary skills to save the world, and Your Majesty respects the wise and humble. With these two talents together, the Tang Dynasty will surely prosper!" The censor stroked his beard and agreed.

The whole hall was filled with praise like a surging tide. Li Zhi finally let go of Lin Lang. As his dragon eyes swept over the ministers, he could not hide his pride: "The King of Shanghai is not only a virtuous brother to me, but also a close friend! From now on, whenever the King of Shanghai requests something, the Ministry of Rites must treat it as a brotherly country!"

"Your Majesty is wise!" The ministers bowed down in unison, their sleeves fluttering as countless envious eyes were cast at Lin Lang.

This kind of honor and favor that can allow the emperor to break the royal etiquette is truly unprecedented.

Helan Minyue sat at the table, her eyes following Lin Lang's handsome figure quietly.

Seeing him chatting and laughing with Emperor Li Zhi, and the wonderful ideas he offered amazed the whole court, even the usually majestic Majesty treated him like a brother, and even hugged him in public, her hands on her knees unconsciously clenched the handkerchief, and layers of light flashed in her eyes.

There was admiration, pride, and even a bit of the girl's admiration for her ideal husband in that light.

Helan Minyue thought to herself: It turns out that the emperor of Shanghai is not only gentle and considerate, but also has such extraordinary talent that the emperor of the Tang Dynasty relies on him so much and the civil and military officials in the court are so awed by him.

It is my great fortune to be able to marry into the Kingdom of Shanghai and become a princess.

Thinking of this, Helan Minyue's cheeks turned slightly red, and she quickly lowered her eyes, but she couldn't help but look up at Lin Lang again, and a shy smile quietly appeared at the corner of her mouth.

Wu Shun, who was sitting nearby, took in his daughter's expression. He nudged her gently with his elbow and jokingly said in a low voice, "Look at the way you're looking at me. You're practically glued to me."

Helan Minyue was so embarrassed by her mother's words that her ears turned red. She hurriedly lowered her head, covering half of her face with a handkerchief, and said in a voice as soft as a mosquito's hum: "Mom...what nonsense are you talking about..."

She secretly raised her eyes and glanced at Lin Lang not far away. Seeing that he was talking to Li Zhi and was not paying attention to this side, she breathed a sigh of relief, but couldn't help thinking sweetly in her heart: My husband, look at me, my husband, please look at me!

What you wish for will come true. Lin Lang seemed to sense something and suddenly turned his head. His eyes passed through the noisy crowd and fell directly on Helan Minyue.

The moment their eyes met, time seemed to slow down for half a beat.

Lin Lang's eyes were relaxed after chatting and laughing with the emperor, but when he looked at Helan Minyue, the smile softened, like a spring breeze blowing across the lake, rippling shallow ripples, with a bit of imperceptible tenderness and concentration.

Helan Minyue felt her heart suddenly skip a beat, as if a deer had suddenly bumped into her, and then she ran around in panic.

The gaze that was secretly expectant just now now met Helan Minyue's eyes. She panicked instead, her cheeks instantly became hot, and even her neck turned red.

In those clear eyes, there was first a flash of surprise, followed by an unconcealable shyness. Her long eyelashes trembled slightly like the wings of a frightened butterfly, but she was reluctant to look away.

She could clearly see herself in Lin Lang's eyes. The feeling of being cherished spread over her along with his gaze, making her whole body feel like she was immersed in honey, sweet and soft, and even her breathing became cautious.

But after a moment, Helan Minyue could no longer bear this burning gaze. She lowered her head shyly, tightly clasping her handkerchief with both hands, and couldn't suppress the corners of her mouth that were raised with joy.

But the pounding heartbeat could not be suppressed, and it made a "boom boom" sound in my chest, as if it was about to jump out of my throat.

It felt like there was a piece of candy in her heart, slowly melting, making her heartbeat instantly disordered.

My husband has indeed looked over here, hehe...