After lunch, Yinzhen had to prepare to go to the palace, as there was a banquet that evening, and he would have to pay his respects to the people in the palace that afternoon.

Shaoguang Academy.

"Why are you here at this time? Weren't you going to the palace?"

"I came to tell you to save some food for me tonight. There's hardly any edible food at the palace banquets."

"Okay, I'll save the pot and dumplings for you."

The Qing Dynasty imperial hot pot was quite popular, but the flavor was a bit bland. However, the cook was very skilled, and she had already found some chili peppers, so they would make a half-and half-half hot pot for dinner.

She had always thought that chili peppers were a very common seasoning, but after arriving, she discovered that there was no large-scale consumption of chili peppers during the Kangxi era.

She remembered that chili peppers should have existed in the Qing Dynasty. She asked Yinzhen and learned that chili peppers had been introduced to China at the end of the Ming Dynasty, but they had always been used as ornamental plants. The palace greenhouses should have had them.

Knowing she wanted to eat it, Yinzhen had someone get some dried chili peppers from the greenhouse. He also had people buy more, and planned to set up at least one estate next year specifically for growing chili peppers.

Le Shu is determined to promote chili peppers, such a wonderful food, no matter what.

To experience the festive atmosphere of the New Year, Le Shu went into the kitchen and even helped make dumplings. Xiao Lan could also cut paper snowflakes, and she did a very good job. Le Shu followed along and learned, and finally produced a simple finished product.

The afternoon passed in a flash.

After dark, Le Shu ate a small bowl of dumplings, and then stayed up all night with Xiao Lan, Granny Su, and the others until Yinzhen returned much later.

"You're back. How was the banquet?"

"It was quite lively, but nothing went wrong."

"Xiao Lan, quickly have the kitchen bring up the pot and start cooking the dumplings too."

"Yes, Princess."

The hot pot was served, and Yinzhen looked at the pot with one side bright red and the other with clear broth: "This is a hot pot made with chili peppers. It smells quite appetizing."

"Spicy beef tallow hot pot, clear pork rib soup hot pot, hurry up and try them. I had this pot specially made for me, it's much safer and more convenient than ordinary pots."

Yinzhen looked at the uniquely shaped pot and found it to be much more convenient to use.

"What's this?"

"This is specifically designed to adjust the heat."

“It’s very ingenious. This pot can be made into a blueprint. I’ll send a copy to my thirteenth brother, Father Emperor, and Mother Emperor later.”

As for the Fourteenth Prince, he naturally had one too, but he didn't want to speak up. Yinzhen was powerless to deal with this troublesome younger brother.

"Yes, it's in the study where the blueprints are kept. Look for it yourself."

The table was laden with meat and vegetables. The meat was mainly beef and mutton, with a small amount of pork. The vegetables were what we had available, but not much. Vegetables were scarce in winter, except for those from the hot spring resort, where heating the rooms could produce some, which was expensive.

Yinzhen ate with great satisfaction. Although there were pots at the palace banquet, they were all cooked in advance and kept warm over charcoal for convenience, so the taste was not as good as what Le Shu had prepared.

Who could resist a hot pot with butter? Even though Yinzhen found it too spicy at first, he still ate quite a bit. The main reason was that Le Shu had also made a simple dipping sauce, which made it taste better and better.

After finishing the hot pot, I ate a few dumplings as a token gesture.

"I'm going to the front yard to keep watch with some of the kids."

"Go ahead, I'm just getting sleepy."

Since Honghui's passing, Yinzhen has stopped going to the main courtyard for the New Year. He did go at first, but Ulanara resented him for not protecting Honghui. He didn't want to see her cold face, nor could he disrespect his primary consort during the New Year. So he spent every New Year with the children.

Yinzhen did want to spend the New Year with Le Shu, but there was no need to push her out and make her the target of public criticism.

The following day, with the new year bringing new beginnings, under the guidance of Granny Su, Le Shu personally distributed a batch of reward money to everyone in Shaoguang Courtyard.

After the New Year, another heavy snow fell. The production of honeycomb briquettes was in full swing, but due to the weather, the production capacity could not be increased.

However, since there were many migrants recruited, and many people meant great strength, they all wanted to do more and earn some wages, so that even if the workshop would be gone after winter, they could still settle down in the surrounding villages the following year.

Overall, it is quite objective.

A month later, Yinzhen received the account book and went directly to the palace.

"Father, I have good news to report to you."

"What is there to be happy about?"

"It's Kangxi Coal. Kangxi Coal made money."

Kangxi was stunned: "You made money?"

This was a matter that would benefit the country and its people. Emperor Kangxi noticed that this winter was colder than usual and was afraid that the Ministry of Revenue would cause trouble. So, the money was initially provided by his private treasury in order to prepare for disaster.

When he paid for it, he never expected that such cheap coal could make a profit. He was just glad he didn't lose money. Kangxi's first reaction was disbelief.

"Fourth Prince, you're not trying to fool me, are you?"

Yinzhen looked helpless: "Father, how could I dare to lie to you about such a thing? I didn't price the coal high. Although the profit is low, I can still make some money. A thousand catties of coal can make a profit of about thirty to fifty copper coins. The profit is low, but the output is large. We can make a lot of money with small profits. This month, we have earned about a thousand taels of silver."

This thousand taels is the profit after deducting the cost. The key is that his workshop is not yet at full capacity, and winter is not a good time to produce coal. Once the weather warms up, the profit from coal will only be greater.

“Father, this Kangxi coal is excellent. It’s not only good for heating, but after winter, ordinary people may buy more coal than firewood. The workshop was only set up temporarily for one winter, and it was so profitable. I think it should be promoted nationwide.”

Originally, Yinzhen and Le Shu planned to distribute the prescription, but when Yinzhen saw the profits involved, and thought of Yinxiang, and the possibility of the Crown Prince being deposed next year, he was determined not to let Yinxiang get involved this time.

So he planned to find something for Yinxiang to do, such as promoting honeycomb briquettes. It would take two or three years to do this well, by which time the first deposed crown prince would have passed. As for what happened after that, there was no need to worry too much.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!