Upon hearing Gu Yuzhi's words, Shu Xiaohan blushed and said in a very soft voice, "Um, I don't really understand traditional Chinese characters."

How could she possibly know what documents the young prince would show her? She was so embarrassed she could dig a three-bedroom apartment out of her toes!

Sure enough, her arch-nemesis Wen Xiuzhu didn't miss this opportunity to mock her, laughing so hard he was practically drooling: "Teacher Shu, aren't you supposed to be a teacher? Aren't you a PhD? How come you can't read?"

"Teacher Shu, do you think your descendants all learn by talking?"

"You even tried to teach His Highness pinyin so earnestly before, but it turns out you can't even read!"

"Pah!" Shu Xiaohan retorted fiercely. "We're learning simplified characters. Do you know what simplified characters are? For example, this character '壹' can be replaced with just one stroke!"

Shu Xiaohan snorted, quickly suppressing her embarrassment: "Young Prince, tell me, what kind of experience are these farming experts passing on? If it's good, let's promote it throughout Xinliang and strive for a bumper harvest for Your Highness this autumn!"

Gu Yuzhi clenched his little fists and nodded vigorously: "That's right, that's right, we want a bumper harvest! I want all the grain to be harvested in abundance! That way, next year during the New Year, I can send the grain produced in our fiefdom to my elder brother and sister-in-law!"

The famous specialties of the northern deserts are not only expensive, but also tribute items; even if he didn't send them, his elder brother and sister-in-law wouldn't lack anything. However, the grain produced in his fiefdom is different; it's his own, and can't be bought in the capital…

No, no, you can't buy them this year.

Prince Gu Yuzhi decided to carry on the tradition of "a small gift conveying deep feelings" to the very end!

Gu Yuzhi, feigning confusion about certain parts, had Xie Changshi read the entire document aloud. Gu Yuzhi listened attentively, nodding repeatedly as he listened to the details of plant ash, alternating planting, and the sowing times for crops…

Gu Yuzhi felt dizzy and confused. He only blinked and looked at Shu Xiaohan after Xie Changshi finished reading.

Shu Xiaohan exclaimed with admiration, "As expected, there are many hidden masters among the common people! This farmer is indeed quite skilled."

She smiled and said, "Your Highness, what Yu Xing mentioned are all things that must be paid attention to in planting. Besides these, there are many more. In addition to Changzhou, Your Highness can also choose talents like Yu Xing in other prefectures."

Only when there are more people who know how to farm can the crops in the prince's fiefdom be grown better.

"By the way, Your Highness, take this opportunity to talk to Chief Secretary Xie about building the reservoir."

The weather in northern desert is relatively dry, and in the summer there are often periods of no rain for a whole month. Therefore, almost every prefecture tries to build reservoirs to ensure the normal growth of crops during such special times, and in more serious cases, to ensure the livelihood of the people in the prefecture.

Xinliang is a deserted city with no reservoirs at all. To prevent this year's drought, the reservoirs must be built before the rainy season.

Gu Yuzhi scratched his head, completely unaware of what a reservoir was: "Is this important? The craftsmen that Prefect Qi mentioned haven't arrived yet."

We need to build a royal palace, residences for Xie Changshi and others, and houses for over a thousand people...

Gu Yuzhi felt that if he mentioned building a reservoir again, Prefect Qi might refuse to cooperate!

Shu Xiaohan straightened her expression: "It's very important! Your Highness needs to know that the northern desert is clearly vast and sparsely populated, so why is there still a shortage of food?"

"Because the climate here is dry, many crops will not survive even if they are planted. If Your Highness wants a bumper harvest this year, a reservoir is essential, and we must build one as soon as possible."

However, Shu Xiaohan didn't know which place would be suitable.

"Not only should we build one, but we should build a large one."

Shu Xiaohan already has a very detailed plan for Xinliang's future agricultural development, but the land reclamation has not officially started yet, so these words are just empty talk. If she uses them to tempt the young prince now, wouldn't it just be empty talk?

After explaining the importance of the reservoir, she gave Gu Yuzhi a brief explanation of what a reservoir is, and finally repeatedly urged him, "You must take this matter seriously."

It is important to take this seriously, but does Gu Yu know how to bring it up?

He rested his chin on his hands, always feeling a bit tired, and he would try to find excuses to talk about everything he learned from Manager Wen and Teacher Shu.

Ultimately, it's because he's too young!

Seeing this, Shu Xiaohan burst into laughter: "Young Prince, you don't need to be so troubled. You can try talking to Chief Secretary Xie about aquaculture. Small reservoirs can be used to raise fish."

Her original intention was to get Gu Yuzhi to come up with a way to discuss the construction of the reservoir with Xie Changshi, but Wen Xiuzhu saw a business opportunity in it.

In the Sang Dynasty, cattle were used for plowing and were the main source of labor. Killing cattle was illegal, so most meat was pork and poultry. There was also mutton in the northern desert, but fish was rare. This meant that fish was relatively expensive in the northern desert and was not the first choice for ordinary people.

If Your Highness has a reservoir where you can raise fish, that would be another source of income.

Wen Xiuzhu saw more than just the reservoir's ability to guarantee agricultural water and fish farming; he also saw the potential for cooperation with restaurants and control of the northern desert fish market.

He coughed lightly: "Your Highness need not hesitate so much. With the intelligence of Chief Secretary Xie and the others, Your Highness only needs to say that you want a larger pond to raise fish, and Chief Secretary Xie and the others will definitely think of a reservoir."

Gu Yuzhi puffed out his cheeks, feeling that things weren't so simple, but he didn't have a better way. He had someone call over Xu Mama and, in front of Xie Changshi, said that he wanted to eat fish for dinner, both steamed and braised!

In short, you should eat all kinds of fish.

Xu Mama naturally had no objections and tried to find a way to send someone to the market to buy it.

Chief Secretary Xie stroked his beard. "Not to mention His Highness wants to eat fish, they haven't eaten fish in a long time either."

To Xie Changshi and the others' surprise, the young prince not only wanted to eat fish tonight, but also the very next day and evening.

One meal is satisfying, two meals are enjoyable, but three or four meals can get a bit tiresome.

Xie Changshi and the others looked pale and sickly after eating. They felt a strong fishy smell as soon as they entered the mansion. He had no choice but to find Gu Yuzhi and whisper, "Your Highness, we've had fish for three meals in a row now. We shouldn't have it again tomorrow, right?"

Gu Yuzhi asked in surprise, "Isn't the fish tasty?"

Xie Changshi forced himself to say, "It's delicious."

But even the most delicious food can't be eaten every meal, right?

Gu Yuzhi pouted and said, "If we don't eat more while we're in Changzhou, we won't be able to eat any more when we get to Xinliang!"

He blinked. "Master Xie, you know what I mean, right?"

Hurry up and say you understand, then we won't have to eat fish!

Not only was Chief Secretary Xie fed up with eating fish three times in a row, but he was also fed up. No matter how good Xu Mama's cooking skills were, he couldn't bring himself to continue eating fish!