When the hot air balloon of the tour group was ready to take off, the 'radio station' on Zhang Xiaobao's back started beeping. Wang Juan translated the content as fast as she could and looked at Zhang Xiaobao with surprise in her eyes.
"They're back. The people who went to North America are finally back. We can eat proper Sichuan-style hot pot in the future. We can also make scrambled eggs with tomatoes for Xiaobei and the others. And my cigarettes, roasted sweet potatoes, roasted potatoes, and …"
The first thing that came to Zhang Xiaobao's mind was to eat.
Wang Juan nodded vigorously. She also knew the value of the things that the team brought back. They would add many kinds of dishes to the tables of the people of Tang, especially potatoes, which could be preserved for a long time, just like cabbage. Chili was not only delicious, but also had certain medicinal properties.
Touching Xiaobei's head, Wang Juan said to her, "Xiaobei, it's almost time to eat popcorn. There are also pancakes made of corn flour. Eat salted fish. People who go out will have a variety of dry food."
"What is corn? Is it more delicious than rice? "Xiaobei stuck out her tongue and licked her lips.
"It's corn. Anyway, there are many names. It can be cooked as snacks. Order, stop the trip and ask Shui Yun to send some seeds."
Wang Juan didn't know how to explain it to Xiaobei. No matter how good it was, it was not as direct as seeing the real thing, so she immediately issued the order.
The people who had just returned to Jili State had a good sleep. According to the order, they packed a lot of strange seeds, tied them to Shui Yun's feet, and released them into the sky.
While waiting, Zhang Xiaobao thought of Li Bai.
Recently, Li Bai had written a lot of poems for Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan, hoping to be appreciated by them and get a satisfactory position. But the result was not very good.
This time, before Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan set off, they arranged for him to be a sixth-rank official in Jili Province. It was not a small position, but compared to his yearning for the capital, he still had many regrets.
Now that Zhang Xiaobao knew that a new variety was coming, in order to preserve it well, he did not plan to let Li Bai continue to be in charge of the warehouse. He was afraid that Li Bai would one day drink too much and kill the newly obtained seeds. If that happened, he would have no one to cry to.
When he found Li Bai, who was also packing his luggage, Zhang Xiaobao said to him directly, "Young Master Li, there are two official positions for you to choose from. One is to be the county magistrate in Jian 'an. I'll give you a mission. You are to lead the people of Jian' an to plant a new kind of thing in the greenhouse. This greenhouse is a glass greenhouse. It's no longer simple."
Li Bai listened carefully. When he heard Zhang Xiaobao talking about something new, he was a little curious, but he did not want to stay. How could a county with only a hundred people be called a county? Even if they grew smallpox, it would be useless.
Then he asked, "What about the second one?"
"The second one is to enter the capital and become an official. You first go to Jili Province and get some seeds there. When you return to the capital, you take them directly to the Sinong Temple and let people plant them. Your official position is also in the Sinong Temple. Well … you can be a garden supervisor. What should we call it? Oh, let's call it Shilai Garden. What do you think?"
Zhang Xiaobao suddenly thought of a new name and a new department, so he asked Li Bai.
Li Bai did a little calculation and knew that the new official position was a sixth-rank official with some real power. He was also an official in the capital. He had not considered whether this official position was what he wanted, but he had a new understanding of Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan's abilities.
From Zhang Xiaobao's words, he knew that the Sinong Temple did not have a Shilai Garden yet. Zhang Xiaobao was going to make one. He looked so confident as if the Sinong Temple would do whatever he said. He could give him a sixth-rank official as he said so.
Feeling Zhang Xiaobao's power, Li Bai temporarily believed that Zhang Xiaobao could successfully give him a garden in the Sinong Temple. But after thinking about it, he found that no matter what kind of garden it was, his official position was a little small and he still had to farm. He could not help but show an expression of embarrassment.
Zhang Xiaobao knew what Li Bai was thinking when he saw his expression. He felt very uncomfortable in his heart. He gave him a sixth-rank official and he was not satisfied? He gave him this because of his reputation as an immortal poet.
"Which one do you think is more suitable, Childe Li?" Zhang Xiaobao asked patiently.
"Can I change to another place?" Li Bai was not willing to study farming in his heart.
"Then you can go to the Ministry of Rites and be a secretary. That's also a sixth-rank official." Zhang Xiaobao thought about it and gave him another official position.
Li Bai lowered his head and thought for a while. The expression on his face was still the same as before. It seemed that the Ministry of Rites was not very good either.
"If the Ministry of Rites is not good enough, you can go to the Ministry of Revenue and be a manager. That's a seventh-rank official." Zhang Xiaobao was thinking of new things now. He wanted to get rid of Li Bai as soon as possible.
The Ministry of Revenue was in charge of money. It was a very important department. The manager could see the minister and it was convenient to contact him. It was a good place. But the rank was not good.
Li Bai gritted his teeth and asked, "Can I be a doctor?"
"What do you think?" Zhang Xiaobao asked rhetorically. He knew that Li Bai wanted to be the Physician of the Left and Right Departments of the Ministries, a fifth-level official who could attend the morning court. This was purely a joke. It was not that it could not be arranged, but how could Li Bai want to jump directly to an important fifth-level official position?
Li Bai also felt that his request was too much, but he was full of expectations. After thinking about it, he said, "Then I'd better be a governor."
This time, Li Bai was thinking about how to enter the capital and find a way to meet the officials in the capital. After getting familiar with them, he would ask them to recommend him. If they did not agree, he would use Zhang Xiaobao's suggestion and slowly look for an opportunity.
Zhang Xiaobao specialized in studying people's psychology. How could he not know what Li Bai was thinking? Li Bai's eyes moved. Zhang Xiaobao knew what he was thinking, but he did not expose him. He would let him try and see who would dare to interfere with the position he arranged. Not to mention the officials of each department, even if the position was a little bigger, it would not work. Zhang Xiaobao even got the position of the head of the secretariat.
Thinking of this, Zhang Xiaobao laughed in his heart. He took Li Bai into the room, spread out the paper, ground the ink, and wrote on it, "Recommend Li Bai Li Taibai to be the Minister of Revenue. He will try for a year and wait for the examination next year. Zhang Xiaobao. "
A few simple words confirmed Li Bai's position. After the examination next year, the new position would be discussed.
Li Bai thought that Zhang Xiaobao would praise him and write the reason for the recommendation. He did not expect that Zhang Xiaobao would write it so simply.
Looking at the ink that had not yet dried, he asked worriedly, "Is this correct?"
"Correct." Zhang Xiaobao put down the pen, picked up his seal, and stamped it. This seal was also made by him. It had long become a habit. Li Longji was very stingy. He only cared about the appointment of officials. As for the other things, such as the clothes, the seal, and so on, he was not responsible for them.
"Who will I show this to when I arrive in the capital?" No matter how Li Bai looked at it, he did not think that this letter could achieve his goal. It was written too simply.
Zhang Xiaobao put down the pen and blew on the ink. "You can show it to anyone. As long as you enter the capital, take it out. Anyone who sees it will take you to see the person who arranged your position. The Ministry of Personnel is in charge of officials. If you want to go to the Ministry of Revenue, it will not be a problem. Or you can directly let Li … His Majesty see it and arrange it for you.
Go. Don't forget to help me bring some seeds when you pass by Jili Province. I will write a letter to the Agriculture Temple and ask them to set up a special garden. Oh, when you arrive in the capital, you can ask about Wang Wei. He is also good at writing poems. "
After saying that, Zhang Xiaobao casually folded the new letter and stuffed it into Li Bai's hand. That was it.
Li Bai held the letter in his hand and watched Zhang Xiaobao go out. His face was blank. He always felt that Zhang Xiaobao had agreed too easily. He said that he would be an official in the capital, and he came too quickly. Logically speaking, if he wanted to be an official in the capital, he should not be like this.
He looked at the letter in his hand again. He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. He had to treat a dead horse as a live one. Whether it worked or not, he would give it a try after he arrived in the capital.
He lowered his head and walked out with infinite sadness. When he looked up, he happened to see Zhang Xiaohai squatting there and writing on the snow. Li Bai found that Xiaohai was silent for a long time in the days they spent together. Compared to his sister Xiaobei, Xiaohai was much more silent. Li Bai curiously went over to see what Xiaohai was writing.
When he saw what Xiaohai was writing, Li Bai was confused again. He could not understand at all because Xiaohai wrote, "Let the side length be X, the area be Y, 2Y = Z …"
What nonsense is this? What nonsense is this?
Xiaohai did not notice Li Bai's arrival at all. He was still meditating and calculating. If it were Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan, they would definitely shout that Li Bai was a genius. Unfortunately, Li Bai was not.
"Ah! I have to ask my sister how to eliminate Yuan. "Xiaohai calculated for a while and found that he could not calculate. He frowned and muttered.
"What are you writing?" Li Bai asked puzzledly.
"You won't understand even if I tell you. Did my brother arrange an official position for you?" Xiaohai was very surprised and said a few more words.
Li Bai nodded.
"Then do a good job. Don't think that the position is small. I heard from my brother and sister that my father studied hard for more than ten years and was the top scorer in the exam. In the end, he was just a small seventh-grade official. If you dare to smear my brother's name, I will ask my sister to impeach you."
Today, Little Hai spoke a lot, especially to outsiders.
Li Bai was obviously in a bad mood. He was threatened by a child. What did he mean? Did he look down on him?
Li Bai did not answer and turned to leave. He was really afraid that the nine children would jointly impeach him. It was not a joke. There had been a precedent, so it was very accurate.
Li Bai left with expectation in his heart. Under the protection of the four people, he went to the seaside to take a boat. When the time came, he would transfer to Jili Province and take the seeds to the capital.
Shui Yun also came, but she did not come alone. She also brought a companion, a big red eagle. One white and one red, flying in the sky was very conspicuous. It was named Hong Luan. It was considered a fairy bird. In Zhang Ying's eyes, only a fairy bird was worthy of Shui Yun.
The two eagles brought a package of things. Judging from the marks, they should have stopped to rest on the way. There was snow and ice at the bottom of the package, and there was also some soil and some blood stains of some animal left behind when the two eagles ate.
Zhang Xiaobao only looked at the package and didn't rush to open it. Instead, he touched Shui Yun's head and said, "Congratulations, you've found a good one. I haven't seen a red eagle before. When you have children, you have to give them a heads up so they don't fall to their deaths."
Shui Yun seemed to understand Zhang Xiaobao's words. She rubbed her head against Zhang Xiaobao's face. Her sharp mouth was frightening.
Xiao Bei asked someone to kill a deer and send it to Shui Yun. She also said, "When you have babies, our children's group will catch insects for you. It's best to catch more than 100 of them. You have to work hard."
After Shui Yun took Hong Luan to eat, Zhang Xiaobao opened the package. There were sweet potatoes and potatoes that had sprouted. It seemed that they were caused by the high temperature on the boat, so they dug them up and sent them to the greenhouse to be planted. In addition to these two, there were also coffee beans and cocoa.
"Send them to Lu Zhou to be planted." Zhang Xiaobao picked out two kinds of things. He could not plant them in Jianan.
Next were more than a dozen ears of corn, a lot of chilies, a pack of poorly made tobacco and seeds, half a plate of sunflower seeds, and washed tomato seeds. It seemed that the harvest was not small. As for the wood and other things, they did not send any samples. They were probably afraid that Shui Yun and the others would be tired.
Wang Juan also looked at them and said in confusion, "I remember that some of the things are from South America. They didn't go there, did they?"
"You remembered wrongly. Come, Xiao Bei, prepare the seasonings for the spicy hot pot. I'll make you a real spicy hot pot." Zhang Xiaobao replied to Wang Juan. Then, he picked up the chilies and instructed Xiao Bei, who was looking at him curiously.
Xiao Bei smacked his lips and shook his head. "Are we going to eat this? Let's keep it for seeds. "
Zhang Xiaobao pinched some chilies and put them in his mouth to taste. He stuck out his tongue and explained to Xiao Bei, "The inside is the seed. The skin outside doesn't count. You can eat it."
"Oh, it's good to eat!" Xiao Bei cheered and hurriedly ran to make the arrangements.
Zhang Xiaobao took the opportunity to call the people in the county and the people who stayed behind. He and Wang Juan complemented each other by introducing the planting methods of several crops. They could not wait until next year to manage the Tujue. As for the future plan, they had to wait until the local people had planted the crops.
Very soon, Xiao Bei finished preparing everything. All the seasonings and things to be boiled were brought over. The only thing missing was the chilies. With real chilies, there was no need for substitutes.
Zhang Xiaobao put a lot of chilies in a lattice and then went to fry chili oil. Together with the pepper oil and sesame paste, he waited for the water to boil before eating.
After Xiao Bei did his best to blow on the fire, the water finally boiled. Before they could eat, the smell of chilies entered their noses.
"Ahhh! It's so spicy. "Xiao Bei sneezed and said with red eyes.
The others who smelled the smell also nodded. They originally thought that scallions, ginger, garlic, and chilies were spicy enough. Today, they finally saw what spiciness was.
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan swallowed their saliva at the same time. Only the two of them knew the deliciousness of chilies. Zhang Xiaobao stuffed a handful of tofu skins into the lattice and boiled them vigorously. When the tofu skins were soft, he took them out and distributed them to his nine younger siblings. Then, he poured some chili oil and pepper oil on top.
"Eat. I'll make Boiled Meat Slices and Boiled Fish for all of you in the future."
Xiao Bei nodded his head vigorously twice and moved his nose closer to smell. The smell of chili oil and sesame oil mixed together. Before eating, he already felt that it was fragrant. He took a deep breath and prepared himself for the spiciness. Then, he carefully picked up a stick of tofu skins and put it into his mouth.
In less than two seconds, Xiao Bei's eyes suddenly widened and his hands stopped moving. After another two seconds, Xiao Bei took off the stick and chewed it vigorously. There was obvious sweat on his forehead. Even so, his mouth did not stop moving. When he swallowed the stick, he opened his mouth and exhaled. He said in a muffled voice, "It's so spicy.
I want that soup. Give me some of the soup. It's so comfortable. It's so warm. "
"You still want to drink soup when it's spicy?" Xiao Yuan had not eaten all this time. He was obviously frightened by Xiao Bei's reaction.
"What do you know? I want to eat it more and more. If you don't cooperate with me in the future, I'll pour chili water on you and let you know what's good for you." Xiao Bei suddenly thought of a good idea.
Zhang Xiaobao was stunned. He looked at Wang Juan and said, "It seems that our Xiao Bei is really talented. He knows how to pour chili water. I haven't tried pouring this thing into my nose to see what it feels like."
"It can treat colds," Wang Juan said.
Xiao Yuan watched Xiao Bei slurp and eat at the same time. He finally could not help but try it. In the end, he became like Xiao Bei. The more spicy it was, the more he wanted to eat it.
The others also came to taste it, including the people in the county. All of them felt that this thing was magical.
Seeing that they were almost done eating, Zhang Xiaobao stopped his brother and sister and gave each of them a big bowl of mung bean porridge. He was afraid that the spiciness would affect their digestive systems.
"It's a pity that we don't have green pepper seeds," Zhang Xiaobao said regretfully.
"That was cultivated later. When grafted with tomatoes, it will produce persimmon peppers. When more tomatoes grow, they can be made into ketchup. There will be one more fish in tomato sauce in the can. Pack up and prepare to set off."
Seeing that the thing she was looking forward to had arrived, Wang Juan's thoughts returned to the Turks.
Zhang Xiaobao nodded. "Okay, I'll arrange it right away. Roast an ear of corn for them to try. The fleet brought back a lot. Next year, we'll release it in our restaurant first and see the effect."
"Is there a need to see? As long as it's not popularized, new things will definitely become luxury goods. Smoking is harmful to health. You're not allowed to smoke too much even if you have cigarettes. "
Wang Juan seemed to be very disgusted by other people smoking.
"I'm planning to make cigars, not cigarettes or fertilizer. Oh, there's no such good fertilizer now. I've decided. In order to help the people of Xinluo become rich, not only will I put all kinds of smelting plants in Xinluo, but I'll also plant cigarettes in their fertile land. Before they're dried, they'll look like cabbages. They'll look green and pleasing."
Zhang Xiaobao's expression became one of bemoaning the state of the universe and pitying the fate of mankind. It was so sacred that no one could violate it.
After Xiaobei and the others tasted the corn and decided to eat corn all day next year, the tour group finally slowly rose into the sky and headed to a distant place for sightseeing.
*****
Before Li Bai arrived at Jili Province, Jili Province had already sent a fast ship to Dengzhou. Large bags of things were sent by Dengzhou on fast horses to the capital. The speed was only slightly slower than the speed of the 800 li urgent report.
As Zhang Xiaobao's tour group continued to float in the sky, bags of goods were sent to Savant's Restaurant. The chefs in Savant's Restaurant began to make food according to the method written in the letter that came with the packages.
There were actually only two kinds of food that could be made, chili peppers and corn. Some corn was still a little green, and some had already turned golden. It was probably not easy to preserve them.
After the morning court session ended the next day, when Li Longji was preparing to have lunch, the people from Savant's Restaurant arrived outside the palace. After a series of checks, the food boxes finally appeared on the dining table in front of Li Longji.
Li Longji's meals had long changed. There was no need for so many things to look at. More than ten dishes per meal was already extravagant enough in his opinion. He would only show the proper extravagance when he ate with the envoys from Japan, Xin Luo, and other countries.
Today, the imperial kitchen had yet to serve the food. When Li Longji heard that there was food coming from Savant's Restaurant, he immediately ordered the imperial kitchen to stop cooking and ordered someone to open the food boxes. He saw that there were many small yellow steamed buns inside. They looked quite pleasing to the eye and smelled a special fragrance. He did not know what it was.
When the other food box was opened, there was a charcoal fire heating it. There were many pieces of cooked meat, bean sprouts, and other supplementary ingredients. When he smelled it again, he almost cried.
"This is …?" For the first time, Li Longji felt that he was ignorant and inexperienced. He had never seen such things before.
According to the procedure, he first used a silver needle to test if there was any commonly used poison, such as arsenic. He then let the little eunuch taste it again. When the golden steamed bun was about to turn cold, the little eunuch was still alive and well. Only then did Gao Lishi pick up a steamed bun, pinch it into small pieces, and put it into his mouth to chew.
"Your Majesty, it's delicious. This subject has never eaten anything with such taste." As he spoke, Gao Lishi went to eat the boiled meat slices again. After sticking out his tongue because of the spiciness, he continued to nod at Li Longji.
Li Longji couldn't wait any longer. He was already used to the food sent by Savant's Restaurant and Joy House. Similarly, every time he watched others go through the procedures, he would think of Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan. If the two of them personally came to cook for him, he wouldn't have to wait for the food to turn cold before he could eat it.
Seeing Gao Lishi nod, Li Longji couldn't wait to pick up a steamed bun. He didn't care about the dignity that an emperor should have and opened his mouth to take a big bite. When the golden steamed bun entered his mouth, he immediately felt a chewy feeling, followed by a unique fragrance.
When he picked up another piece of meat, the spicy taste instantly filled his mouth. He quickly took another bite of the steamed bun and exhaled. He squinted his eyes and praised, "It's delicious. Xiao Bao and Cuckoo are so considerate. Does Lishi know what this is?"
Gao Lishi shook his head, "This subject doesn't know. I'll write a letter to ask."
"Mm, go quickly." Li Longji seemed to be very anxious.
Gao Lishi put down his chopsticks and went to write the letter. During this time, Li Longji had already opened his mouth and started to eat vigorously.
When Gao Lishi finished writing the letter and sent it back to Jili Province with a pigeon, he saw that there were only a few bean sprouts and vegetable leaves left in the big bowl with the boiled meat slices. There were only three small steamed buns left. The emperor was sitting upright with his stomach puffed out. His head was tilted backwards. Looking at the rise and fall of his chest, it was obvious that he was gasping for air.
"Luo Bin, quickly go to the medicinal kitchen and get the Dashan Cha Pill. Your Majesty, you are … sigh!" Gao Lishi looked very helpless.
Li Longji touched his stomach with his hand, "Lishi, I didn't eat them all. I left some for you."
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