Chapter 3177 Rice Ears

Zhou Man and Mingda leaned against the wall and listened as Xiao Qian took care of everyone inside.

The shopkeepers and owners who had arrived were startled when they turned around to see Zhou Man and Mingda standing behind them. Then they immediately smiled and saluted, "Greetings to the Princess and Lord Zhou."

Mingda nodded slightly, and the shopkeepers and Zhou Man complimented him, "Pork is all the rage in the county lately, and we heard Madam Zhou makes it best, so we shamelessly came to ask for advice. Madam Zhou, as expected of Master Zhou's sister-in-law, has agreed to teach us."

Zhou Man smiled faintly and said, "I was raised by my eldest sister-in-law, so I should be worthy of being her sister-in-law."

After a moment of silence, everyone nodded in agreement, and then showered Xiao Qian with compliments for free.

Xiao Qian came out from inside the door, gave Zhou Man an unpleasant look, and pulled her and Mingda into the house. "Since you're back, why don't you come in? The two children are clamoring to go out and play."

Pull people in and send all the guests away.

As soon as the door closed, Zhou Man asked, "Sister-in-law, have you made arrangements with them?"

Xiao Qianshi responded and said with a smile, "They are all home-cooked dishes, but there are some dishes that they don't have here, so I will teach you. It won't take much effort."

There were quite a few people who came, and it cost 500 coins to teach each one, and he taught several people at a time. It was just a matter of repeating a dish three times. It was very simple for Xiao Qianshi, and the money was easy to earn.

"But some pigs are castrated. The meat from castrated pigs loses some of its flavor, so it can still be delicious even with less spices."

Zhou Man nodded. "Now, the people who raise castrated pigs are all from official farms. There aren't many farmers willing to castrate pigs. After this time, many people should be willing to do it."

Veterinarian Pan has been continuing his pig castration business in Beihai County, and his apprentice Sun Xin has developed a chicken castration business, but both businesses are still mainly aimed at Guantian Village, and most of the pig and chicken raising families in the village are unwilling to try it.

Firstly, they don't believe that castrated pigs and chickens will grow faster or taste better; secondly, they are worried that the pigs and chickens will die after castration.

However, nothing will become a problem in the face of money. If there is, it must be that the income from buying and selling pigs and chickens is not enough to attract people.

But that's impossible.

Most of the pigs raised before the New Year and in early spring can be slaughtered. Guantian farms are built next to the villages, and they exchange what they have with local villagers.

There were several large government-owned farms where many farmhands lived, and they formed large markets with nearby villages.

So when the villagers saw someone coming to the farm to catch pigs, they drove the pigs out. Although they had only been raised for seven or eight months, they were fatter and bigger than the ones they had raised for a year.

The pig was tied up, and several people carried a large piece of wood to weigh it, and then calculated the money...

Seeing the string of copper coins being stuffed into the hands of the village manager, the onlookers were all excited.

Someone with a quick mind couldn't help but ask, "Steward, how do you raise the pigs on your farm? Do they eat rice every day? How come they grow so fast?"

"Yeah, yeah, it's growing too fast."

The steward said, "Just like you guys, we collect grass for the pigs. We grow vegetables on the farm, and occasionally we mix in some bean powder."

"Then how come it grows so fast?"

"My pig is castrated," the steward said. "Our masters have long said that castrated pigs grow faster. The same goes for chickens. If you don't believe me, go and see the chickens we raise on our farm. Don't castrated chickens grow meatier than roosters?"

"That's weird. How can someone with a disability grow flesh more easily? Is it the same for humans?"

"That depends on the eunuchs in the palace, right?"

"There are eunuchs around the princess in the county."

Seeing that their conversation was drifting further and further away, the steward quickly interrupted them and brought the subject back to the topic, "Don't you want to raise pigs? You can go to Guantian Farm on the outskirts of the county town and ask. That's where we get our piglets. They're all already castrated, so the price is higher, and you can just take them home and raise them."

He said, "You raise them now, and then you can kill them and eat them for meat next spring when you plant them. How wonderful!"

"Isn't that right around the time of winter and spring? There wouldn't be much to eat then, wouldn't it?"

"Pigs eat a lot, so I'm afraid I'll have to grow a lot of vegetables."

"And beans. They're good for livestock. Cows and horses have smooth, shiny fur after eating them, not to mention pigs."

Everyone was talking excitedly, as if raising pigs was full of difficulties, but the next day many people went to the county town to inquire about the piglets.

Veterinarian Pan, who had been idle recently, became busy again and hurried back to the county government office to find Bai Shan, but Bai Shan had gone to the countryside and was not in the county government office.

Mr. Cui, who was in charge of the county government affairs together with County Magistrate Dong, thought for a moment and said, "First, we can find piglets of the right age from the villages below, or continue to send people to purchase them from outside the county."

He said, "The sows raised in the farm won't give birth until next year, so there won't be enough to supply this year."

County Magistrate Dong stood aside and shook his head. "Pork prices are definitely going up this year for the Lunar New Year. Guantian Manor will make a ton of money. I went out to eat today, and eight out of ten tables ordered pork. This was very rare in the past."

Mr. Cui said, "Guantian Farm is very profitable now. We sell pigs every day. Besides, all the farms are about to harvest in the autumn. When the autumn crops come in, we will make a lot of money."

Even if they don't sell grain, they can still supply the salt fields and docks, as well as their own farms, and their expenses will be much lower.

Mr. Cui was calculating in his mind, but he didn't know that Bai Shan was standing by a field in a farm at this time, watching the farmhand put the cut rice ears in his palm.

He weighed it, his eyes brightening, "This year's new rice seeds have all been planted."

The farmhands had mostly been farmers before, and anyone who had grown rice in their family could tell the difference between this particular rice and the others. However, their parents had always forbidden them from telling anyone else about it. When the harvest started, they finally couldn't wait any longer. After harvesting a handful of rice, they gathered around and asked excitedly, "Master, can this rice be grown in our hometown?"

Bai Shan clenched the rice ears in his hand, looked at the golden rice fields, and said word by word: "It will definitely work!"

Because it was a matter of food, Bai Shan stayed by his side, waiting for the results after the harvest. That was why he did not go home for ten days. He wrote a letter back to the county government office, asking Zhou Man to send someone to contact Zhou Lizhong who was far away in Luojiang County as soon as possible.

All the new rice seeds in the first field were harvested, weighed once after threshing, and then weighed again after drying. Bai Shan wrote down the data and sealed it in a folder, and put a carefully selected rice ear and the folder into the box.

He summoned Daji and said to him, "You must personally deliver this box back to the capital."

Daji was surprised, "Master, it's safe here..."

"Just leave it to the Imperial Guards," Bai Shan said. "This thing is more important right now. Salt is even less important than it. Besides, the situation in Jiangnan has almost settled. No one will come to kill me now."

Bai Shan handed him the box and said, "Take it back and give it to the master, and he will deliver it to the palace."

Daji could only take the box, lower his head and say, "Yes."

(End of this chapter)