After a lot of bidding, the peppers were pre-sold out.
Everyone was very satisfied with today's results. Back in the study, Qi Sheng looked at the signed order contract and the money and laughed out loud. The road to Yuping County is finally coming!
Qi Xiuwen stood aside, looking at the banknotes placed on the table, he admired his father's thoughtfulness in his heart!
Now is the slack period, it is very suitable to hire local people to build roads. Thirty Wen a day and two meals, the people who heard the news rushed to sign up, fearing that the final quota would be gone.
By the time of the Chinese New Year, Yuping County already had eight spacious and smooth roads from the township to the county seat. The people were overjoyed and thanked Qi Sheng for being a great official.
During the road construction period, the government encouraged villagers to expand breeding, and even sent professional farmers to the villages to give advice. After the Chinese New Year, people who made a lot of money by building roads were willing to kill a chicken or two to have a good year.
And Qi Sheng now has a good impression on the emperor.
Emperor Dasheng had long been a little tired of eating the dishes in the court all day long. After tasting the dishes with chili for the first time, not only his appetite increased, but he gradually became addicted to it, and even became more and more enthusiastic about hot pot.
And the emperor's liking is like a weather vane. The high-ranking officials and noble ladies who have tasted the taste of chili peppers at the palace banquet are also talking about it. Chili peppers have made a small limelight in the capital. It must wait for the next season to mature. It will cause everyone to fight!
At the end of February, Qi Sheng received another piece of good news, a caravan from the border brought the sweet potatoes he wanted!
Xu Yunyan, the head of the caravan, was shrewd and knew that sweet potatoes were a good thing. He originally planned to bring sweet potatoes to the Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas and sell them to high-ranking officials there, but when he heard about peppers on the road, he had an idea.
Xu Yunyan cupped his hands and said: "My lord, since the last time I heard you ask about the edible food, I have paid attention to it carefully. These are bought by the villain at a high price. They are called sweet potatoes. They are very suitable as a staple food. After careful investigation, this product is not only easy to grow and resistant to drought and barrenness, but also has high and stable yields, it is exactly the precious grain you are looking for!"
Qi Sheng checked the basket of sweet potatoes placed in the main hall, and it was indeed exactly what he wanted. Qi Sheng was overjoyed and praised with satisfaction: "Excuse me, Mr. Xu, I wonder what price you plan to sell these sweet potatoes at?"
Qi Sheng sighed inwardly, feeling that this time the sweet potatoes were unaffordable, this time it was not like chili peppers, the two of them didn't know the goods, so naturally they didn't care about how much money they had, but this merchant Xu obviously came prepared, the money he paid for the pre-sale of chili peppers It costs seven or seventy-eight eighty-eight dollars just to build the road, and it really can't be bought at a high price.
However, Qi Sheng didn't have much regrets. If sweet potatoes can be popularized in Dasheng and the people can have enough to eat, it doesn't matter if he steps in. It's not that he can't make political achievements except for doing these things.
Besides, there are a lot of other crops in his space, and it would not be suspicious to secretly take out one or two in the name of buying from a caravan. After all, there are no peppers and sweet potatoes leading the way.
It's a pity that Qi Sheng's thinking was wrong this time, each of these businessmen was smarter than the other.
Xu Yunyan complimented: "Your Excellency is also looking for this thing to understand the difficulties of people's livelihood. Xu admires Your Excellency's integrity. I heard that there is a food called chili pepper here. It has a unique taste but is very popular. Xu doesn't intend to go around the corner. Dare to ask?" Can my lord exchange it with chili?"
Sweet potatoes are used as food, except for selling sweet potatoes to high-ranking officials for a lot of money or selling them well in front of those nobles, but the profits they can get are limited. It is really rare to see a good official like Sheng who fundamentally wants to solve problems for the people, and Qi Sheng still has precious peppers in his hand, so it is perfect to trade with him.
Qi Sheng was surprised, he didn't expect this person to be very well informed, but he nodded in agreement: "Of course, but now the production of chili peppers is limited, and I can't provide you with much at the beginning, but I can assure you that it will be given priority in the next three years. offered to you."
In three years, the planting range of peppers will not spread too much. Compared with the wealthy class in the entire Dasheng Dynasty, it is definitely a profitable gold-sucking weapon.
The two chatted very happily, and finally Qi Sheng entertained him with hot pot. Xu Yunyan's eyes lit up after tasting the taste of chili, which is more suitable for ordinary people to eat than sweet potatoes, and rare chili can be sold for a better price.
Xu Yunyan was delighted, today's choice was indeed correct!
After Qi Sheng received the sweet potatoes, he quickly arranged for people to raise the seedlings. Although it was a few days late, he could still catch up with the spring planting.
**
Now it's June, and the first crop of peppers has been picked. Qi Sheng arranged for special people to dry the seeds to ensure that the peppers will not be exposed.
Because of the "private goods" added by Qi Sheng, it was only the first batch of picking, and finally harvested about 100 catties of dried peppers, but most of these peppers were given by Qi Sheng as tribute to the superiors.
No way, since Chili showed up in the palace, apart from the senior officials who came to inquire about him openly and secretly, even the emperor urged him.
When paying tribute for the first time, Qi Sheng handed over a small portion of chili seeds, and noted the way of growing chili peppers and the skills of raising them. Unfortunately, the emperor’s family has a great fortune, and there are countless concubines and princes in the palace, and they are close to each other. The royal clan members of the royal family had the cheek to ask for it. The peppers just harvested this year could not meet the emperor's needs at all. Qi Sheng had no choice but to give them a part of the tribute first.
By October, several crops of peppers had been harvested and the "debt" owed by Qi Sheng had already been fulfilled.
Looking at the piles of chili seeds, Qi Sheng was finally satisfied. These seeds will be distributed to the common people for planting in the coming year.
Sweet potatoes are also in harvest season, Qi Sheng looked at several baskets of harvested sweet potatoes and nodded in satisfaction again, one step closer to popularizing sweet potatoes!
A batch of sweet potatoes with the best appearance were selected as a tribute to the imperial court, and the planting method of sweet potatoes was noted, and the characteristics of high and stable yield directly caused an uproar in the court.
**
"Your Majesty, if it is true as Master Qi said, with the sweet potato as a grain, when it is extended to the whole Dasheng, the people in my court will finally not have to worry about not having enough to eat!" Some emotional people said.
There are also some who are more sensible: "The ministers have not seen what this sweet potato actually looks like. I am afraid that Qi Sheng is exaggerating for the sake of showing credit. I think we should send people to verify it as soon as possible!" Some people said: "Yuping County is located in a remote place. , the land is not fertile enough, if there is such a crop as sweet potato, it should be handed over to a county with fertile land for trial planting!"
Qi Sheng dared to tell the court that there is a high probability that this sweet potato is indeed a good variety. Even if there is suspicion of exaggeration, everyone thinks that this is a rare and good thing, and some people have already started to play with this sweet potato!
His majesty the emperor is in a very good mood now, and he is not angry when the ministers below are noisy. The emperor is now in his prime, but unfortunately his ability is mediocre, and he has not achieved much after he has been on the throne for more than ten years. Fortunately, there are two predecessors Fu Yin, It has been implementing the policy of the first emperor to expand border trade, and the people's life is not bad, and the imperial court can withstand the occasional natural disaster. Otherwise, how could it have a five-year tax reduction policy after the severe drought in Yuping County? ? It's not that the court is still rich.
However, the common people barely have enough food and enough food, and everyone no longer has to worry about hunger and fullness. This is still a big difference. For a small county like Yuping County, there are many more in Dasheng. If sweet potatoes are as easy to grow as Qi Sheng said, the yield will be high. , then these poor people can also have enough food, and having enough food will bring about the well-being of the people and the increase in population. For an emperor, this is definitely a glorious achievement worthy of being recorded in history.
The emperor prevented the ministers from quarreling and signaled the eunuch to announce the decree. The main content of the decree was: Cai Mingce, the left servant of the household department, and Li Wen, the doctor, went to Yuping County to investigate after the spring, and they must find out the details of the planting and production of sweet potatoes and peppers.
Zuo Shilang is a man who doesn't know how to make money, but does things in a down-to-earth manner. The emperor knows that this time is of great importance, so he will naturally send someone he can trust.
Qi Sheng had expected that the imperial court would send people here, but he was not worried. After inquiring about the character of the imperial envoys who came to inspect, he also felt relieved. It would be best not to deal with those old foxes in the officialdom.
In the spring of the next year, Zuo Shilang, Li Langzhong and a group of professional agricultural experts came to Yuping County early.
After Qi Sheng received the reception, he began to arrange for the distribution of chili seeds to the people in each village, and specially allocated a piece of land to arrange for good planters to raise sweet potato seedlings.
Mr. Cai is really serious in his work. He has worked tirelessly to personally inspect the planting of peppers and sweet potatoes, and has professional agricultural personnel from the household department to record and observe. He spent the whole spring planting period in a busy way.
In May, after the first batch of peppers had set fruit and sweet potatoes had been planted, Cai Mingce and his entourage set off for Beijing to return to his mission, leaving a group of people to wait until the autumn harvest before returning to Beijing.
This year, the people in Yuping County made a real fortune. Looking at the money they got, many people are planning to wait for the slack time to start a house and marry a bride. It may be that they were hungry in the early years, and many people have saved enough money. Eat a year's worth of food.
From time to time, the people of Yuping County would come to the gate of the county mansion to bow and thank them, which made Qi Sheng afraid to go out for a while.
Li Langzhong occasionally saw this scene and joked to Qi Sheng: "Master Qi is so helpful to the people and for the people, I really admire him."
"Your Excellency, this is absurd, but just like the other adults, I have done some things within my ability, but it is Mr. Li who has gone to the field for many times to inspect, which makes the lower officials even more admirable."
Qi Sheng and him had some modesty and politeness, and they boasted to each other without any trace.
Now Yuping County is no longer a small county where no one cares about, and there is an endless stream of caravans, all wanting to share the chili pie first.
Because of Xu Yunyan's relationship with Qi Sheng, he is now making a lot of money. This year's profit is actually more than the border trade!
In October, seeing the sweet potato harvest, Li Langzhong was completely relieved. If such a high-yield, delicious and easy-to-satisfy food is popularized in the future, it will surely save many poor people who cannot eat enough.
"Master Qi, there is no need to send him off. Now that we have successfully completed our mission, we should rush back as soon as possible and return to the present!"
Qi Sheng bid farewell to Mr. Li and the others, returned to the Qi Mansion, and said to Qi Xiuwen who was following him: "In a while, you will be leaving for Beijing to catch the exam. Calm down these few days and review your homework carefully."
In the past few years, Qi Xiuwen has followed his father's strategies and plans to do practical things. Looking at Yuping County's prosperity from a small impoverished county to the present, it would be a lie to say that he is not proud, and he admires his father's foresight even more.
After more than two years, his articles have finally been put into practice. Now that he has completed the topic assigned by Mr. Zhang, he has been recognized and praised several times by him. Even his father nods and praises him frequently.
Qi Xiuwen is full of confidence now, he will definitely be on the list if he will try at this time!
Seeing that his son was in good condition, Qi Sheng couldn't help but encouraged him: "Your articles are now admired by even Mr. Zhang. As long as you treat the exam with a normal heart, you will be named on the gold list. I was too impatient before being a father, and I almost delayed you." …”
Before Qi Sheng could finish speaking, he was interrupted by Qi Xiuwen: "How can father say such a thing, if the father hadn't disciplined him strictly, the son would not be able to achieve what he is today. The father said so, but he has broken his son."
Qi Sheng patted him on the shoulder and comforted him: "Okay, it's good if you don't complain about being a father, your daughter-in-law is pregnant now, so she can't go to Beijing with you, it's inconvenient on the way to Beijing, so bring some servants with you when you go and money."
It's rare for Qi Sheng to say these kind words, Qi Xiuwen felt a little sour for a while, since he has a father like this, he will definitely be diligent and cautious in the future to live up to his father's expectations.
In mid-November, before it was too cold, Qi Xiuwen set off for the capital. This time Qi Sheng sent him out of the city so rarely that Qi Xiuwen's eyes were sore and he almost couldn't hold back his tears when he left.
In the past, his father was strict with him, and because of his majesty as a father, he rarely sent him away personally like today. Qi Xiuwen stared at a place outside the window in a daze for a long time. Since when did his father change
Thinking of the family law incident more than two years ago, Qi Xiuwen couldn't help curling his lips. It was the first time his father spared him before the punishment was over. Presumably his father began to change slowly from then on. Bar.
The Qi family had a lively year this year, apart from Mrs. Wang who was extremely nervous, even Mrs. Lin was all smiles.
Not long after the Chinese New Year came the big exam, Qi Sheng was relatively calm, but during this time, Mrs. Wang was either eating fast and praying to Buddha or going to a nearby temple to offer incense and pray. If Qi Sheng didn't stop her, she still wanted to go to the famous temple in Fucheng. Offering incense at the Holy Buddha Temple.
Wang Shi was a little annoyed that he didn't get what he wanted, and secretly scolded Qi Sheng for saving face at critical moments. In the past two years, Qi Sheng's temper has become much milder, and Wang Shi and Liu Shi dared to show their temper in front of him. Mrs. Wang thought that if her son didn't win this time, you dare to touch my son and give it a try! After finishing speaking, she said twice again, her son will definitely win this time!
Not long after the exam, the whole Qi family hadn't waited for the good news from Qi Xiuwen, but it was Qi Sheng who received his good news.
The current emperor remembered Qi Sheng's contribution after Zuo Shilang returned to Beijing and returned to Beijing. When Mr. Li returned to Beijing and returned to Beijing, the emperor felt more at ease, and now he was promoted to Qi Sheng's official position within a few days of the beginning of the new year.
From the magistrate of the seventh rank to the magistrate of the fifth rank, Qi Sheng was promoted three ranks in a row. He envied a group of officials who had worked hard in their political performance. .
No matter what the outside world thinks about his promotion history, Qi Sheng himself is quite satisfied and can finally move his position.
This promotion is a direct relocation, or in Jeju, but the jurisdiction of the prefect has expanded, from the boss of one county to the boss of five counties, including Yuping County.
Qi Sheng thought about the situation in the other four counties, and couldn't help but twitch his mouth, well, this is because he has made Yuping County prosperous, and he wants to bring the surrounding counties with him.
But yes, the living standards of the five counties in Pingzhou used to be about the same. Compared with the other three prefectures in Jeju, they were like children who were not cared for. out of balance.
The emperor thought for a while and directly promoted Qi Sheng to be the magistrate of Pingzhou. Firstly, he was rewarded for his contribution to the imperial court, and secondly, he was to be tested. Not only the lower officials thought Qi Sheng was lucky, but even the emperor thought Qi Sheng was good. Some of the credit is due to the great luck. Thinking about Qi Sheng's previous political achievements, his current promotion is due to the great grace of the emperor.
Qi Sheng and his family came to the magistrate's mansion. The mansion is located in Jiaping County, which is also the county with the best economic conditions in Pingzhou. It is also a little closer to Jeju.
After taking office, Qi Sheng started a busy new year. Yuping County is now preparing for this year's pepper seedlings in an orderly manner because of the convenience of peppers. Heping County and Taoping County are the same as Yuping County two years ago. Weeding wheat is envious of the good life of every household in Yuping County. Caiping County does not border Yuping County. Although I envy it, I still live as in previous years. As for Jiaping County, it is bordered by Yuping County and Jeju in the east and west. , caravans often pass through here, and the economy develops accordingly.
Qi Sheng checked the county chronicles and development situation of each county, and began to plan how to improve the lives of the people in Pingzhou.
Take Jiaping County as an example, most of the people with spare money are businessmen, and most ordinary people still rely on the sky and the earth for food.
Qi Sheng was making a preliminary plan in the study based on the existing information, and when he was still thinking about how to perfect it, he heard the excited shouts from his servants.
"Master, I won the prize, the young master has won the list, the sixth place!" The boy who came to report the letter gasped for several times after finishing speaking.
Although Qi Sheng already had a premonition in his heart that his son would be in the list this time, he couldn't help laughing out loud when he heard the good news, "The order will be passed down, and everyone in the house will give you a monthly reward!"
The servants waiting in the yard were even happier when they heard the news, and rushed to tell each other how busy the Qi Mansion was at the moment.
Now that Qi Xiuwen is in high school, he is naturally overjoyed, but it is a pity that the new Jinshi cannot return to his hometown to worship his ancestors in the first year. He is now a Shujishi and will soon enter the Imperial Academy to study.
Although it's a pity that I can't celebrate with my father and mother, but fortunately, I have lived up to my father's expectations and added a little glory to the family of the Qi family.
Thinking that my father has been promoted now, I wrote a letter to express my filial piety and longing.
During this period of time, Wang's smile lines have increased a lot. Her husband was promoted and her son went to high school. There is nothing more comfortable than this.
Now facing her daughter-in-law, Lin, who is getting bigger and bigger, she is also very gentle and charitable: "Wen'er is staying in Beijing in high school now, you can take care of yourself and wait for the delivery at home. When the child is older, the three of you, mother and son, will go to the capital together to meet Wen'er." reunion."
"Really? Mother, do you really agree to let me go to the capital?"
Lin was a little unbelievable when she heard what her mother-in-law said, and she almost lost her composure at the moment. When I first heard about my husband’s high school, I was very happy for him, but when I knew that my husband was going to stay in Beijing, I couldn’t help worrying. I thought that she would have to wait a few more years to meet her husband. Hearing the promise from my mother-in-law, I am so happy now I couldn't help but shed tears.
Wang laughed at her: "You child, you are still alive, so you can't cry."
Lin quickly wiped away her tears, and then said worriedly: "Father..."
Mrs. Wang knew what she was worried about. It was just because she was afraid that the master thought that bringing the child there would cause trouble for her son, and he did not agree with her bringing the child to Beijing. But thinking about what the master said this morning, she couldn't help but smile: "It's still the master's words If you want to bring both children, don't worry!"
Lin was a little surprised when she heard the words. The father-in-law seemed to be much gentler in the past two years, but with her many years of experience, the father-in-law should care more about the future of her husband, so she didn't take it seriously, just thinking it was her mother-in-law. Pleading for her, so I am even more grateful to my mother-in-law for her love and consideration.
The author has something to say: Lun Qida accidentally promoted the relationship between Wang and Lin's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.
The first time I was promoted, I had to change the map after knowing the prefecture!