radicalducati Page 322
Page 322
The upper part is a protruding shop.
Based on the lower part, a towering building, twenty feet tall and nine stories high, rises from the ground.
The building has twelve layers in total, which corresponds to the number of the Heavenly Stems.
Moreover, there is a seven-story wooden pagoda on top, nearly twenty feet tall, which is taller than most pagodas.
In addition, the Zhang family did not use traditional glazed tiles or install vermilion eaves.
Instead, it's a square high-rise building with reflective glass surfaces on all four sides.
For these glass pieces alone, the Zhang family mobilized all the resources on their island base.
Faced with such an imperial edifice, the powerful families and officials of the Wu Tang Empire, even knowing the Zhang family's grand ambitions, kept a close eye on the Zhang family's progress.
But seeing the skyscrapers in the intelligence report was still incredibly awe-inspiring.
Putting everything else aside, the sheer amount of glass on the walls, which seemed to be made of glass without any regard for cost, was enough to shock them.
How much glass would it take to cover the entire building!
Moreover, the magnificent and resplendent layout inside the glass building left everyone in awe!
This completely modern hotel, apart from lacking electricity, basically had everything Zhang Xiaoshan could convert into cash.
A huge crystal chandelier, a reflective toilet comparable to a royal palace, a manual elevator...
After all, these ancient master craftsmen were no joke, as long as they had ideals and designs.
Even if Zhang Xiaoshan only knew the principles of pistol design, the master craftsmen in the Tang Clan could create an even more terrifying hidden weapon—a pistol!
"Her Highness the Princess has arrived!"
As a royal guest tonight, Princess Taiping was also curious about what the Zhang family's shop, which took the longest to build and required the most craftsmen, actually looked like.
Because of the reflection of the glass during the day, Princess Taiping could see a building standing proudly like a sharp sword from afar.
Especially at night, the countless candles reflected in the glass resembled a giant lantern, so bright that they could probably be seen clearly even from the walls of the palace!
Even Princess Taiping couldn't help but be filled with curiosity about such a modern restaurant.
"I have met His Highness!"
Zhang Xiaoshan bowed respectfully, and those surrounding the Zhang family all bowed in return.
"Young Master Zhang, please rise, uncles and elders!"
Princess Taiping personally stepped forward to help everyone up. In terms of social interaction, Princess Taiping, who had already begun to set her sights on power, naturally played the game with unparalleled skill.
Especially since she was of the Li family bloodline, both sides were extremely favored.
Princess Taiping looked at the restaurant in front of her and smiled gently:
"Young Master Zhang has truly given the empire a tremendous surprise!"
Princess Taiping had not expected the Zhang family to make such a grand gesture; perhaps it was due to the Hong Mansion of yesteryear, or perhaps the Zhang family was simply unprepared.
"Your Highness, please come in!"
"Sir, please!"
Princess Taiping didn't put on airs. This was a world of high martial arts, and she naturally held a deep respect for a grandmaster like Zhang Xiaoshan.
This caused a huge shock throughout the entire Wu Tang Dynasty when Zhang Xiaoshan used his final move, the Dragon Slaying Saber Technique.
That's a legendary skill, comparable to the Tathagata Palm or the Heavenly Crippled Divine Skill.
"Princess, this is a mechanically designed automatic elevator. As long as you are in this space, you can raise and lower it by using the mechanism."
The ropes used to move this space are four castor ropes, each three inches thick. Unless someone secretly tampers with them, there will be absolutely no problem. The Zhang family will also replace the ropes every month.
As for the assassination attempt, if anything goes wrong at the Yingbin Building, the Zhang family will take full responsibility!
Upon hearing Zhang Xiaoshan's warning, the heads of the various powerful families immediately became alarmed.
Zhang Xiaoshan was warning them, and they had no doubt about the Zhang family's strength; if the Zhang family were to take action, the consequences would be terrifying.
Therefore, they secretly warned their family's descendants not to cause any trouble here.
"Does the princess intend to visit each floor one by one, or go directly to the third floor or the top floor?"
"Let's take it one floor at a time, we'll go up the stairs!"
Everyone nodded in agreement; they were also curious about what tricks the Zhang family had up their sleeves.
The three lower floors are a large living room, especially suitable for banquets, which immediately caught the eye of the heads of various powerful families.
2.0 You should know that the food and drinks at Zhang's restaurant are absolutely top-notch, as are the service and facilities. In particular, they can accommodate a large number of guests.
The top nine floors are private rooms, including large and small ones. Small gatherings can be held in the large private rooms.
But what surprised them most was that it was already late autumn and a cold wind was blowing.
But inside, flowers still bloom and the air is warm as spring.
Especially those flowers that only bloom in spring and summer; even Princess Taiping casually picked one and held it in her hand.
The top floor still houses a large private room, which is also where the Zhang family receives guests.
At this moment, Zhang Yuan was already receiving a group of guests who had arrived early.
Sashimi, cakes, fruits... Even Princess Taiping was shocked by the Zhang family's buffet.
These things aren't precious, but they're just out of season.
Just like the peony she holds in her hand, its blooming period is at most until May, so where did this late autumn peony come from?
This is not a story of a concubine's smile amidst the dust of a passing horse!
Moreover, she, as an imperial princess, had never even seen those various kinds of tropical fruits before.
Not to mention the black and white chocolate cakes and the top-quality seafood sashimi, which are definitely rarer and more precious than the sashimi before.
Chapter 386 Untitled
"This is the top-floor greenhouse, and together with the larger greenhouses below, the flowers produced in these greenhouses are basically self-sufficient, eliminating the need for external supplies!"
In addition, this flower room also has special private rooms, specially prepared for noble ladies such as princesses.
Summer isn't much to see, but in winter, you can smell the fragrance of flowers and look out at the snow-covered landscape amidst the vibrant blooms!
This can be considered a marketing tactic by the Zhang family!
Zhang Xiaoshan's words would definitely make all the women yearn for him!
Moreover, the Imperial Daming Palace was oriented north to south, so the shops along the central avenue were naturally laid out facing east or west, with ample sunlight on the rooftops.
Apart from the water supply system, there are no other facilities on the two rooftops.
Even Princess Taiping was amazed by the sight of the blooming, vibrant flowers in the greenhouse.
Is this the secret behind the Zhang family's consistent supply of flowers?
Or rather, is this the base where the Zhang family provides those out-of-season fruits and vegetables?
Not to mention Princess Taiping, even the heads of those aristocratic families were extremely shocked.
However, looking at those glass panes, they were double-layered for heat insulation, and only the Zhang family had the means to do so.
"This greenhouse should be reserved for Taiping. I never imagined that there would be such a place where hundreds of flowers would bloom so vibrantly in winter."
"Naturally, because flowers are prone to attracting insects."
Especially since there are poisonous insects, everyone except the flower maker needs the Zhang family's permission to enter the greenhouse!
"I see!"
Everyone nodded, and they understood that the Zhang family was guarding against those poisonous Gu techniques.
This method is difficult to prevent; the only option is to conduct targeted screenings and reduce human contact.
"As for this wooden pagoda, it is not used to enshrine gods or Buddhas; it was originally intended as a viewing platform."
Later, feeling that the top of the tower was too high and it was difficult to see the scenery below, Zhang turned it into an antenna tower.
At the top of this tower is a celestial globe made by the master craftsman Li Buyi, with the purpose of observing the weather.
To be honest, Zhang still doesn't understand the underlying principles, but through his observations and calculations over this period, he has learned that the astronomical instrument can accurately predict the weather conditions within a radius of 100 li (approximately 50 kilometers) for three days, and can even predict earthquakes and floods.
"A planetarium made by Master Li?"
Upon hearing this, everyone showed expressions of interest.
This is a divine artifact! Leaving aside weather prediction, it can also predict catastrophic natural disasters like earth dragons turning over and the Dragon River flooding.
Therefore, the value of this item is self-evident; it's unexpected that Li Buyi would actually give it to the Zhang family.
Upon entering the wooden tower, everyone initially thought it was just an ordinary wooden tower, but its interior was actually ingeniously designed.
Not to mention the various traps and mechanisms on the lower levels, there are probably even more traps and mechanisms on the outside.
After all, which thief would use the front door?
Meanwhile, inside, a group of master craftsmen were busy at work.
Looking at the objects in those people's hands, they seemed similar to the planetariums beside them, yet they were far more mysterious.
With the astronomical instrument in front of him, Zhang Xiaoshan couldn't afford to be lacking in skill.
He didn't know the principles of planetariums, but these experienced craftsmen did. Combined with his own ideas, it was something similar to a clock.
However, it wasn't based on the mechanical principles of later generations, but rather on a series of automatic timekeeping systems, primarily based on planetariums.
"Young Master Zhang, are these masters doing this?"
"They are working on a system that can automatically tell the time."
That is, the celestial instrument will be set to indicate the time of day. Once the exact time arrives, it will trigger a mechanism to vibrate the surrounding bronze bells, using the number of sounds to indicate the time; or it may play different pieces of music to represent different times!
This entire system is nearing completion and should be finished in at most three months!
Upon hearing Zhang Xiaoshan's introduction, Princess Taiping's beautiful eyes lit up.
She never expected Zhang Xiaoshan to give her so many surprises, even coming up with such an ingenious design.
Everyone could even imagine that if Zhang Xiaoshan succeeded, the sound of the bell would resound throughout the entire capital, representing the voice of the entire capital.
Work at sunrise and rest at sunset!
The significance of time is self-evident.
"Young master, this planetarium can even be accurate to the time?"
"Zhang had someone time it for a month, and the error was basically within one-tenth of a cup of tea (ten minutes)."
"If we adjust the mediation every ten days, the error can be basically eliminated!"
"It seems that you are well prepared, young master!"
The error within a month is only one-tenth the size of a cup of tea, which is already highly accurate.
As Zhang Xiaoshan said, adjusting once every ten days is essentially equivalent to zero error.
Time is no longer accurate to the second; even if there is a concept of a moment or a snap of the fingers, it is not accurate to the second.
However, the specific time still depends on the rising and setting of the sun, which is more accurately determined by a sundial.
When everyone returned to the banquet hall on the ninth floor, they were still amazed by the Zhang family's extravagant spending.
In comparison, if we were to name the most prestigious restaurants in the capital city before, it would be Taibai Tower and Zuixianju.
With the Empire State Building in the spotlight, all other restaurants paled in comparison. Apart from their individual unique features, they were all like fireflies compared to the bright moon.
In the entire capital city, how many restaurants are ten zhang tall?
Even the walls of the capital city were only five zhang high.
Moreover, its main building, standing at a height of thirty zhang, towers proudly over the capital, offering a panoramic view of the entire Zhuque Avenue.
From the moment the Empire State Building opened, it became the core of the entire Wu Tang Empire!
After all, it was surrounded by glass, so it was hard for anyone entering the city not to notice it.
As for the head of the Empire State Building?
It was Zhang Yuan, the head of the family.