As soon as the word "sweet potato" came out of his mouth, Zhang Shou saw that the face of the old salted fish opposite him suddenly changed. It was not a pure slip of the tongue, but after saying the five words "officials do not make decisions for the people", he suddenly did not want to replace the two words "sweet potato" with something else. Although it was only the first time he met the mysterious old salted fish, he still decided to boldly take a bigger step to test it.
Under Zhang Shou's piercing gaze, Lao Xianyu tried his best to appear calm and natural, but because of his emotional fluctuations, he couldn't help but avoid Zhang Shou's sight. However, even if he looked away, he could still sense Zhang Shou's eyes. He struggled with himself for a while, and even had the worst idea, but finally gave up.
He turned around again and laughed dryly, "I've lived for most of my life, but this is the first time I've seen an official like you, Dr. Zhang, who is so humble and cares about the people's food and clothing. I'm really shocked... Since you've asked, I can give you all the seeds of the food we ate today. Not only the seeds, but I can also give you some advice on how to plant them."
Zhang Shou didn't expect that Lao Xianyu didn't use his nephew's matter to bargain. After the initial surprise, he smiled and said, "Only the ones we ate today? You really didn't hide anything else to eat secretly and not share it with others? For example... sweet potatoes?"
The old salted fish, who had just acted cheerful and carefree, finally tensed up again when he heard the word "sweet potato", and even unconsciously took a small step forward. However, when he saw Zhang Shou smiling at him, he finally stopped the impulse, and the smile on his face seemed extremely forced.
"Where did Dr. Zhang hear about sweet potatoes?"
"Of course it's the work of Emperor Taizu." Zhang Shou looked at Lao Xianyu with an unusually calm expression on his face. "You probably don't know that I once cracked a secret box left by Emperor Taizu in the capital, and the relics of Emperor Taizu inside were all rewarded to me by the emperor. Although I am not very knowledgeable and can only see that one of them is a timer, and I have no idea where to start with the manuscripts, but by coincidence I have figured out something."
"After all, many people in the court knew that Emperor Taizu had dreamed of a map of the four directions of the world."
Seeing the old man's mouth open, Zhang Shou looked more sincere and genuine: "Besides, I cracked the secret box, which is known to everyone in the capital. You are from Cangzhou, so you probably don't know. If you don't believe it, hearing is not believing, seeing is believing. If you are willing, you can go to the capital with me. Speaking of which, even if it is for your nephew, you may have to go to the capital."
"Because these good things can feed many poor people, and maybe they can help you save his life."
He paused as he spoke, with a warm smile on his face: "The reason why Zhu Erlang came to Cangzhou this time is because Ah Liu returned to Beijing from Cangzhou that day, and Zhu Erlang happened to hear that you have things that the Ming Dynasty has never heard of. Don't look at his character, but he knows that agriculture is the foundation of the country. If you don't trust me, you can talk to him. It won't be too late to make a decision after growing something in the capital."
Under such gentle persuasion, even though Lao Xianyu barely maintained his vigilance and doubt, he still had to admit that Zhang Shou's words did have some credibility.