Fu Zhiyu felt that both the peaceful days and the busy days passed by extremely quickly.
It’s just that the days of comfort seem to be the same every day, and as time goes by, it seems as if nothing is left. When I recall the busy days, I have all kinds of memories, but every time I recall them, I can’t make them clear.
Ever since Fu Zhiyu decided to do these things in Jiangnan, he has been very busy every day. Every time he opens his eyes, he feels that there are many things waiting for him to do. He always feels that there is too little time and he is unable to handle everything. He wishes he could be split in half.
Time passed like this, and another winter came. It was not until Yuan Wanyun cooked personally and served him a bowl of longevity noodles that Fu Zhiyu suddenly realized that his birthday had come again.
Another four years passed, and he is already twenty-six years old this year.
"How come time flies so fast?" Fu Zhiyu lowered his head and took a bite of noodles. He praised his mother's cooking skills and said with emotion, "It feels like my birthday last year happened just yesterday."
This year, his birthday was not as lively as in previous years. Many people were busy outside. Ming Dao wanted to rush back, but it suddenly snowed heavily on the way and he couldn't make it back. Although he didn't come, the birthday gifts arrived early and the gifts piled up in the room again.
In addition to gifts for relatives and friends, there were also gifts for other people. The Deng, Qian, and Lin families were also very active in sending gifts. However, knowing that gold, silver, and jewelry could not attract Fu Zhiyu's attention, the gifts from each family were also very thoughtful.
The clothes sent by the Qian family were woven by the best weavers in the workshop. This is also the best fabric on the market and it feels very comfortable. More importantly, the efficiency of weaving this kind of fabric has more than doubled. The weaving machine has been modified many times in the past four years and has been branched into many models for weaving different fabrics. More and more women are working in the textile factory, and no one thinks this is a shameful thing anymore.
As the weaving factories became more and more popular, some small weaving workshops also started to operate. Fu Zhiyu had already mentioned this to Qian Manguan.
"It's impossible for you to make all the money by yourself. I told you this when I gave you the blueprints. Even if you are the only one in the market now, would you dare?" Fu Zhiyu said, "You are still the largest fabric merchant, and that's enough."
Qian Manguan also knew that greed is the key to success, so he was very supportive of some small weaving factories.
It was not only a matter of listening to Fu Zhiyu's ideas, but more importantly, although his weaving workshops were in major cities in Jiangnan, they were only located within the city. Many embroiderers who lived in the villages would need an hour to go back and forth, and not every family could afford a horse-drawn carriage. Moreover, the embroiderers who lived farther away were scattered all over the place. Even if he wanted to provide unified pick-up and drop-off, there was no way as the cost caused by the inconvenient transportation was too high.
If some small factories were opened, the embroiderers could work in their own villages, saving some unnecessary time, which would also be beneficial to them.
Besides, no matter how many weaving workshops he opened, they would not be able to accommodate so many embroiderers in Jiangnan. Nowadays, more and more women wanted to earn this money, and it was no longer the case four years ago when he could not recruit workers.
In accordance with Fu Zhiyu's idea, Qian Manguan was willing to sell his weaving machines to the outside world, and the price was very reasonable. This also ensured that the fabrics woven by some small textile factories were of the same quality as those woven in his own factory. He would then collect them all at once, which would be much better than before.
What surprised Fu Zhiyu and Qian Manguan was that people's wisdom is unlimited. They only needed a little guidance and were able to quickly find further channels. Soon after the textile machines were sold to others, someone figured out a way to improve them. There was no significant improvement in efficiency, but it improved the weavers' experience of use. The weavers also reported that it was more labor-saving and their arms were less sore after a day's work.
The gift from the Deng family was a big item, a huge statue of Bodhisattva carved from agarwood, more than two people tall. It was a product of the Western Regions. Steward Zhou had asked them to place the statue in the Buddhist temple to protect the safety of the family. Fu Zhiyu didn't believe it, but the Bodhisattva was carved very well, with a look of compassion on his face, which would move anyone who saw it, so he followed his mother in worshipping it.
Agarwood is as heavy as iron and needs to be transported by horse team. It is really unlucky to transport such a large piece. However, it would be much easier if a large ship was used to transport it by water.
The ship in the blueprint that Fu Zhiyu gave to the Deng family has not yet been built. The requirements are too high, and only two-thirds of it has been completed so far. However, these few years are enough to make some improvements to the existing ships.
The ship in the blueprint was not built, but last year, a low-end version was built and officially launched in the early spring of this year. So far, it has transported goods several times, mainly to the ancient countries in the Western Regions and Jinzhou, Panggu and other places in the south of the Yangtze River. Currently, only one wharf has been cautiously opened in southern Xinjiang, but I heard that after a few business transactions, they intend to open a few more wharves.
As for what the Lin family sent, it was barley produced in the barbarian grasslands.
This grain doesn't taste as good as rice, but it's not easy to grow it on the grassland. Fu Zhiyu likes it very much.
He was not the one who discovered the grain highland barley. The barbarians had been growing it for a long time. Some cities in the north of Jilin also relied on it for food, but the yield was very low, with only a few grains on one plant. If there was a disaster year, they would not even have enough food to eat.
Ever since Fu Zhiyu found the melon vine in the farm, he has been trying to use his own blood to improve the rice traditionally grown in Jiangnan in the same way. He conducted repeated tests before daring to hand over the seeds.
The output has increased by about twice, and the taste is better than before. He didn't dare to change it too much. Moreover, he had only given a few limited rations to the outside world in the past few years. His main purpose was to solve the problem of food. If he changed too many things, even a fool could see that there was a problem.
When Fu Zhiyu promoted these seeds to Lin Yan, he only told them that these seeds were produced by the royal family and that he got them because of his good relationship with the emperor, but this matter must not be told to anyone else, otherwise he would lose his head.
Lin Yan usually doesn't talk much, and he was even more tight-lipped about this matter. When others asked him about it, he didn't say a word. When he got tired of being asked, he slowly said, "The Bodhisattva gave it to me."
Fu Zhiyu's concerns were not limited to the south of the Yangtze River. The staple foods he changed included rice, wheat and barley. In fact, he also changed potatoes and sweet potatoes. However, these two crops were rarely planted before, and few people knew what they looked like originally. He also asked the head of the village to share the melon originally planted in the village.
As the output of staple foods increases, more labor will be freed from the fields to do other work. People are mobile, and only if agriculture is done well can there be a foundation to do other things.
Yuan Mingdao gave him a few new horses, which had been delivered to the stable a long time ago, so that Fu Zhiyu could travel around Jiangnan. They were all rare Arabian horses, and everyone liked them. The Yuan family was much richer, with two uncles of the older generation, and even Yuan Xi and Yuan Lu. Not to mention gold, silver and jewelry, there were also some homely things, such as a hat specially sewn for Yuan Xi.
When she brought it to me, she said, "When my father and I were stationed at the border, the people there wore hats like this, which covered their ears and the back of their necks. They were very warm. You go out every day in the winter, don't get cold."
Yuan Xi had given birth to twins a long time ago, a boy and a girl. She came with her mother to give him gifts, and they were dressed like the dolls in the New Year pictures.
"Uncle is going out!"
"warm!"
They responded to their mother's words and giggled together again.
In addition to these people he knew, there were many more people he didn't know who sent birthday gifts to Fu Zhiyu.
These were handed over by the governors of various cities. There were all kinds of things, including eggs laid by their own hens, purses embroidered by young girls, and plaques with the words "The Best Official in the World" written on them.
This was a gift from the common people, so there probably weren't any fancy words to praise it, so it was written in a bold and straightforward manner.
Everyone can see the changes in Jiangnan. They all know who did it clearly.
Starting from the earliest medicine sheds and porridge sheds, changes have been made little by little. Today, the medicine sheds are still there, but the porridge sheds are almost no longer used. Nowadays in Jiangnan, everyone with hands and feet can find a job and go home to farm. Not only have taxes and rents been reduced a lot, but food is also easier to grow than before.
In fact, Fu Zhiyu is not so busy anymore. Many things have made great progress and people will take action on their own. Sometimes, he doesn't need to care at all.
The governors of several cities in Jiangnan were replaced in the past four years, except for the most important Luanzhou, where he still served as the governor himself. Fu Zhiyu said that he would organize the imperial examination in Jiangnan, so he started without stopping. Now it has been held for two consecutive years. Zhang Lin, who was hiding in the village teaching, hesitated for a year and finally came out to participate.
Today, he is the county magistrate of the county where the village is located. He is very capable at his job. Not only can he teach the children in the village to write and learn a craft, he can now help more people gain changes.
A lot of talents were selected in the imperial examination. Unlike the previous ones, most of them were young and promising. Most of them wanted to show their talents, so many things could be assigned to them.
Fu Zhiyu wanted to strike a balance. He didn't dare to do too much. As he said, the times were limited.
Even if there are changes in technology, one cannot achieve everything in one bite. Many things need to be done step by step. It will take not one or two years, or even five or ten years, but decades or even hundreds of years to digest. In fact, there are still limits to what one can do. Sometimes doing too much is not a good thing.
Now is the time to slow down and digest things slowly.
Besides, it is not enough for only Jiangnan to change.
Fu Zhiyu had received a letter from the capital a few days ago, saying that there would be new guests in Jiangnan after the spring.