My Backyard is the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 152: Ideas for trade fairs

??ps:

?? (Third watch is coming!)

??Li Yin called three maidservants to carry the pile of potatoes to the kitchen, Li Yin followed to the kitchen, Cui Yingying wanted to follow curiously, but was driven back by Li Yin.

??In the kitchen, Zhang San's head was so big that he didn't know what to do with this pile of potatoes. He had never served this thing before.

??Li Yin picked up a potato and said to Zhang San: "Look carefully, I will teach you once."

"Yes, Your Highness!" Zhang San squatted down and concentrated on how Li Yin peeled the skin. He saw that there was only a thin layer of translucent skin on the surface of the potato, which fell off with a light scrape, and a potato was scraped clean. Li Min washed in the water, took the potatoes and said, "Look, it's done, it's very simple, go and wash all the potatoes."

Zhang San got the order, called the servants who were watching from the sidelines, and said: "Hurry up, why are you still in a daze." These servants were specially assigned to him by Li Yin. As the saying goes, this chef also needs some side dishes Well.

It’s been a long time since Li Yan has made stewed potatoes with braised pork. It’s really a little hand-made. He cut a few potatoes into cubes, put the cut meat cubes in it first, and then put in star anise and other ingredients. , put potatoes in when adding water to stew.

Zhang San watched Li Yin’s cooking carefully all the time. In front of others, he boasted that he was unparalleled in cooking, but in front of Li Yin, he felt that he was an idiot. The dishes Li Yin made were not only unheard of , and the taste is delicious one by one, even an imperial chef like his master can't make it.

?? After stewing for a while, Li Yin lifted the pot and tasted it. He felt that it was almost ready, and said, "Let someone bring the dishes to the South Courtyard. By the way, all these potatoes are boiled."

?? "Yes, Your Highness!" Zhang San responded.

Just as Li Yin was about to leave, he thought of something and said, "These potatoes don't need to be peeled. Just put them in clear water and boil them. After they are boiled, you and the servants in the kitchen will each take one to taste, and the others will be delivered to me. Go to the South Court."

??Zhang San responded again. After Li Yin left, Zhang San hurriedly prepared a pot and started to cook potatoes. This thing is a new product, and this time he can show it off in front of his servants again. Thinking of the fish he was robbed last time, he still hated himself. , this time he vowed to eat the whole potato in front of the servants.

??When Li Yin returned to the south courtyard, Cui Yingying was chatting and laughing with a person by the small bridge. Li Yin took a closer look and found that it was Su Mo'er who was just about to walk over. Another figure ran up the small bridge, and Su Xiaoyan also came over.

??Seeing Li Yin, Su Mo'er blushed slightly, and said, "Your Highness, Xiaoyan insisted on making a fuss and going back to the palace to play. Mo'er brought her here, Your Highness won't be offended."

Just as Li Yin was about to speak, Cui Yingying interrupted and said, "Your Highness also likes this girl, Xiao Yan, so why would you be offended?" She looked at the sky and said, "It just so happened that His Highness ordered the kitchen to make braised pork and stewed potatoes. Mo'er and Xiaoyan Yan, let's stay and eat together tonight."

?? "This...how is this possible!" Although Su Morer said this, she looked at Li Yin with her eyes, which meant that even a fool would understand.

Li Yin sighed secretly in his heart, saying that three women play a play, and these two women can sing double reeds together, he said: "It is said that it is better to come early. Come down."

?? While talking, several maidservants brought the dinner for the evening, Cui Yingying led Cui Yingying with one hand, and Su Moer with the other and walked into the house.

?? Li Yin followed into the house.

?? Ask the maid to add two more bowls and chopsticks. Cui Yingying couldn't wait to pick up a piece of braised pork and put it in her mouth, then narrowed her eyes happily. In the Tang Dynasty, slaves and masters were not allowed to eat at the same table, even in the concubine's room, but Su Mo'er had a special status. And Cui Yingying and Li Yin didn't care about these things, but in Su More'er's view, it was their recognition of her certain status, so the happier they were.

Su Moer followed Cui Yingying's example and ate a piece. She was stunned for a moment, then slowly chewed in her mouth, obviously for aftertaste, she was still a little reserved, after all, this was eating with Li Yin, and Su Xiaoyan didn't This is reserved, she lived in the palace before, and the food is the same as Li Yin's, she eats whatever Li Yin eats, and the meals are all made by Zhang San.

??But after moving out, everything changed. Although this cook is Zhang San’s half-apprentice, what he used was the firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce and vinegar distributed by the palace, but the taste was different.

?? Therefore, after tasting Zhang San's cooking skills again, together with Li Yin's specialty dishes, the little girl devoured them hungrily, which made Su Mo'er very embarrassed.

?? "Come on, let's all try the potatoes, why are you eating meat!" Li Yin added a piece of potato to the three of them respectively, "This is the potato that can be harvested in the field immediately, come and try it."

??Cui Yingying hesitated for a while, but still didn't dare to move her chopsticks. After all, this is a completely strange food, and this kind of food, people instinctively resist strange things.

?? Seeing her like this, Li Yin picked one up and stuffed it into his mouth, and his mouth was filled with fragrance.

Cui Yingying saw that Li Yin was eating happily, so she ate a piece bravely. After the first piece, she couldn't stop talking. When Su Moer and Su Xiaoyan saw each other, she also picked up the chopsticks and stretched towards the potatoes. A plate of braised pork and stewed potatoes was quickly wiped out.

??After eating a meal, the three of them were still satisfied, Su Moer said: "I didn't expect these potatoes to be so delicious, I must buy some when they are harvested."

??Cui Yingying kept nodding, the two girls were chatting, a maid came in from the outside, and said that a pot of potatoes had been brought from the kitchen, Li Yin knew that the potatoes must be ready, so he went out of the south courtyard and asked Jin Daqian to be summoned.

After Jin Daqian came, Li Yin asked him to divide the pot of potatoes into several portions and send them to Shangguanyi, Wang Yinlong, Dou Xiande, Cui Zhang and others, and let them taste something new, let them have a recognition in advance, tomorrow is also good Discuss with them about harvesting potatoes.

After receiving Li Yin's order, Jin Daqian immediately sent people to send them one by one. When the family members arrived at Shangguanyi's mansion, Shangguan Yi was eating with his wife and children. Li Yin's requirement for officials serving in Yizhou is that all family members and children must Living in Yizhou is the same as today's "naked officials". If all assets and relatives are in other states, the price of betrayal is much smaller for them, and this is what Li Yin does not want to see. Of course , he's not targeting some people, it's just a system.

?? "Potatoes?" Knowing that Li Yinrang sent potatoes, a new type of crop, Shangguanyi immediately regained his spirits. Putting down his chopsticks, he took three cooked potatoes the size of his fist, "Hehe, it's really hot!" Shangguanyi laughed.

??The servant sent potatoes and left. At this time, a child with thick eyebrows and big eyes ran to Shang Guanyi. "Father, what is this?"

?? "It's called a potato!" Shangguanyi had already seen it. A few days ago, he was checking the ripeness of the potatoes in Yangshu Village. At that time, Wei Tieniu pulled out a few plants for him to see. He still remembered the satisfied smile on Wei Tieniu's face.

?? It's just that although he has seen it, he hasn't had time to taste it. That Wei Tieniu didn't know how to eat this thing. He took a bite out of a raw potato and spat it out.

?? Now that Li Yin brought this potato, Shangguanyi was a little afraid to say anything. However, thinking that it was specially sent by Li Yin, he picked up one and took a bite.

?? It was just this bite that made Shangguanyi stunned, the potatoes were mellow and fragrant. Very fluffy, really rare delicious.

?? "Tingzhi, try one too!" Shangguanyi stuffed a potato into Shangguan Tingzhi's hand, and gave the other to his wife.

?? At this time, Shangguan Tingzhi was only a six-year-old urchin. He believed in his father's words, and he took a bite, "It's delicious!", and chewed a few mouthfuls. Shangguan Tingzhi said happily...

??The next day, Li Yin went to the governor's office. When he saw a group of officials, Li Yin said with a smile, "How is it? The potatoes this king gave you are still to your liking."

?? "Your Highness, this potato is really delicious. I believe that I have eaten all kinds of delicacies since I was a child. But this potato still whets my appetite." Dou Xiande said first.

??Cui Zhang is not far behind, "His Royal Highness, this is the first time I have eaten this, but I think it is very delicious, better than many delicacies."

??The two said so. Shangguanyi, Wang Yinlong and others nodded in agreement.

??Potatoes are not really a real delicacy in modern times. These people are just eating them for the first time, so they feel amazing.

Li Yin still remembers chatting with an elderly man. He said that young people still like to eat hot and sour potato shreds, but their generation felt sick when they saw potatoes, because potatoes are produced in high quantities. At that time, there was no food to eat, so he would eat this, but he used to eat boiled potatoes and baked potatoes for three meals a day, which was really nauseating.

Of course, Li Yin’s original intention of bringing potatoes to Yizhou was to solve the problem of food and clothing first, but the current situation is much better than he expected. The sparse population in the early Tang Dynasty also led to a lot of land for the common people. There is a lot of harvest in ten acres, especially after Li Min re-equalized the fields, the people's paddy fields have been planted with rice, and the harvest this season is enough for food and clothing.

But food and clothing are not the goal that Li Yin pursues. He wants the people in Yizhou to have more money in their hands. Because they have no worries about food and clothing, people will pursue spiritual civilization, and discuss Van Gogh's oil paintings with a hungry person. It is no different, but after food and clothing are over, the people will naturally develop spiritual pursuits, so education will no longer be a problem.

"Then how much do you think a catty of these potatoes should be sold for?" Li Yin turned to the topic. Every village in Yangshu Village planted potatoes, adding up to about 20,000 mu of land, and he himself planted 40,000 mu of potatoes. Calculated at 20 shi per mu, this is 1.2 million shi of potatoes. If one person eats one catty a day, these potatoes are enough to feed 40,000 people for a month.

??Shangguanyi said: "Although these potatoes are delicious, they are produced in large quantities. If they are too expensive, they may not be able to be sold. After all, this is just a common food. I think that the price per catty should not be too different from rice."

"That's right!" Li Yin nodded in agreement. This is exactly what Li Yin thought. Although the potatoes are fresh, they have to be sold to make money. Otherwise, the villagers of Yangshu Village will not go there this season. Drinking the northwest wind, and wanting to sell it, the price of these potatoes should not be too expensive, otherwise no one would be willing to buy them. After all, these potatoes are for ordinary people, and the aristocratic families can't eat much.

Wang Yinlong pondered and said: "Your Highness, why don't you just pay ten cents a bucket, which is a little more expensive than rice, so that the people will be willing to plant it in the future, and according to what His Highness said, the harvest of this mu is twenty stones, and one stone is ten buckets. A mu of land is worth two pennies, and now each family in Yangshu Village has planted forty or fifty mu of land, and this season’s income is worth a hundred pennies, which was impossible in the past.” Wang Yinlong calculated that he would also pay In a single jump, it was as much as his one-year salary.

??Wang Yinlong's proposal was approved by many people, and Li Yin reckoned the same, and then he said: "It will take a while to fix the price, and then how to sell it is the big thing."

?? "What your Highness said is very true. Except for us, not many people have seen potatoes. If they are sold suddenly, no one will be willing to buy them." Cui Tong pondered.

Li Yin smiled, "That's why this king is looking for you. The people are more important than the king, and the interests of the people must be put first, so we have to find a way out for the people, that is to take Before the merchants from all over the world have left, holding a large-scale exhibition will allow merchants from all over the world to know this new food."

?? "Exhibition!" Everyone looked at me and I looked at you, and was speechless for a while.