The rain was still falling outside, but the splashing raindrops did nothing to dampen Fang Er's excitement.
His Warrior motorcycle roared out of the studio and, as if feeling the rain, changed direction, stopping in front of the Liuli Workshop in a flash.
With a squeak, the wide tires and the ground produced a piercing screech of brakes.
Fang Er dismounted, walked into the Liuli Workshop, and asked the artisans to find a few glass products with color.
He selected a black ornament.
Due to the current craftsmanship, precise dyeing of glass was not yet possible.
This ornament had been made by chance.
Fang Er was direct and had someone melt down the ornament.
Then, it was made into a batch of lenses.
Carrying them in a cloth bag, he rode back to the studio with one hand.
Zhao Gang and the others had already left. He had personally made a few pairs of sunglasses, took out the most satisfactory one, and put them on. His vision instantly darkened.
'Hmm. A motorcycle and sunglasses, this is the standard setup.'
He glanced at the Type 54 pistol at his waist and chuckled, 'I'm starting to look like a motorcycle soldier.'
With good things, why wouldn't he go out to show them off!
He went out, got on his bike, and the Warrior roared towards Chang'an city.
His first stop was the Yangwei Army.
But before he could even reach the Yangwei Army camp, he saw a large number of refugees on both sides of the Chunming Gate from afar! booksbites.com
They were a black mass, numbering several thousand people.
His smug mood instantly cooled down.
After going over and asking a few people, he found out.
These people were all refugees fleeing from nearby prefectures and counties.
They were not victims of river floods, but due to the drought in spring and summer, the harvest was too small.
With no remaining grain, and the seedlings in the fields looking like they were about to drown, they had left their homes to escape.
Since they were fleeing, the imperial capital was naturally the first choice.
This was the area directly under the Emperor's rule, and the current Emperor would surely not ignore their plight.
With so many people gathered outside Chang'an City, Li Shimin must have already received the news.
Just as he was about to bypass Chang'an and head towards the Yangwei Army to find Cheng Yaojin, he saw the Chunming Gate open from the inside.
It was Fang Xuanling who came out.
Logically, shouldn't the magistrate of Wannian County have come out?
Fang Er was puzzled.
Fang Xuanling also spotted Fang Er and his eyes lit up instantly.
Although Fang Er was wearing sunglasses and was hard to recognize, not to mention Chang'an City, even throughout the Great Tang, it was only the Marquis of Liaodong who could frequently come up with strange and novel things.
Coupled with the Heavenly Fire Army uniform he was wearing, there was no doubt that it was him, Fang Anzhi.
He turned his head and said a few words to a minor official behind him.
The minor official then walked through the refugees and headed towards Fang Er.
It was fortunate that these refugees knew not to block the city gate, otherwise, this fellow might not have been able to squeeze through!
When the minor official arrived, he bowed to Fang Er.
"Your subordinate greets the Marquis of Liaodong. Duke Fang requests you to come over to speak."
Fang Er was somewhat speechless.
'Damn it, you, a big shot from the Imperial Ministry of Revenue, are constantly asking people for advice.
Is that really appropriate?'
But this was, after all, a matter of life and death.
He twisted the throttle, released the clutch, and the Warrior roared to Fang Xuanling's side.
He propped up the bike, cupped his fists towards Fang Xuanling, and asked him.
"Duke Fang, why have you summoned this young one? What are your instructions?"
Fang Xuanling pointed to the refugees on both sides of the city gate.
"Does this old man need to say it? Do you have any ideas, kid?"
The Ministry of Revenue can still afford some relief grain from the imperial granary.
But if these people keep gathering here and not disperse, what if an epidemic breaks out?
These refugees had already made him extremely worried.
This was the imperial capital, with merchants from various countries coming and going. If refugees continued to gather here, after a great disaster, there would be a great plague.
If any problems arose among these people, and they spread, the entire Chang'an might be affected.
Relief was not a matter of one or two days, but for the moment, a suitable place to resettle these people could not be found.
However, it was not good to forcibly disperse them, as Chang'an was their last hope.
Fang Er thought for a moment, then had an idea.
He took out his walkie-talkie, did not avoid Fang Xuanling, and directly called Qi Sui.
"Six-zero, Six-zero, this is One-zero, please respond, over!"
A moment later, Qi Sui's voice came from the walkie-talkie.
"One-zero, One-zero, this is Six-zero, please instruct, over."
'The waterproof performance of this thing is truly commendable!'
Immediately, Fang Er asked him to check on the expansion of the Taoist temple.
Yuan Tiangang's fellow disciples and descendants were too numerous.
Besides the group of Niu Ji Zi, another group arrived later, totaling over a thousand Taoist priests.
After the makeshift shelters were ready, the estate began expanding the Taoist temple for them.
If a place were to be found to house these people, the Taoist temple would be the first choice.
Most of these Taoist priests had basic medical skills, and with them present, there was no need to worry about epidemics occurring and spreading.
Upon receiving the order, Qi Sui sent someone to check on the Taoist temple.
It had been raining these days, so he was not very clear about the situation there.
After the walkie-talkie fell silent, Fang Xuanling pointed at it in surprise and asked Fang Er.
"Marquis of Liaodong, what is this contraption of yours?
Who was speaking just now?"
Fang Er grinned, picked up the walkie-talkie, and waved it at Fang Xuanling.
"Hahahaha! This is a good treasure, it can transmit sound for ten miles. Just now, I had someone check on Old Taoist Yuan's temple to see if it could accommodate these people."
Fang Xuanling gazed longingly at the walkie-talkie.
"Ten miles of sound transmission."
Although not as powerful as thousand-mile sound transmission, no one had ever seen such a thing!
It only existed in Taoist legends.
This was something that had appeared alive before his eyes.
He smiled at Fang Er.
"Marquis of Liaodong, would you be willing to let this old man take a look? Just a glance! One glance is all I ask!"
Fang Er shook his head.
"I can't give this to you. What if you mess up the channel, and I can't get a reply later."
"However, I'll give you this."
Saying that, he took out a pair of sunglasses from his pocket.
These were for Cheng Yaojin, but since he met Old Fang first, it didn't matter who got them.
He would let Old Cheng pick them up from the estate later.
He opened the sunglasses and put them on Fang Xuanling.
Fang Xuanling had only been paying attention to the walkie-talkie earlier. Although he had seen the sunglasses on Fang Er's face, he hadn't had time to ask about them.
As soon as he put on the sunglasses, Fang Xuanling's heart tightened, and he quickly took them off himself.
He looked around and asked.
"When you wear this thing, everything looks blurry and dark. What are you doing with it?"
Fang Er chuckled.
"It protects the eyes from the glare of the sun on sunny days, prevents rainwater from entering the eyes on rainy days, and keeps sand out of the eyes on dusty days."
"Hiss~"
"This is a good thing! Then this old man thanks the Marquis of Liaodong!"
Fang Xuanling quickly wiped the water droplets from the lenses and put them on again.
With an excited look, he looked around.
Although it was raining now, he couldn't bear to put away his newly acquired item.
Fang Er looked smug.
"Heh, I just like seeing you folks who haven't seen the world."
"Do you think I'm giving this to you for free? My Liuli Workshop is about to get more business!"
"Hiahiahiahiahia~~!"