Chapter 219 Zhou Ying can also inherit the title
Shen Mansion
Early in the morning, just as Shen Huazheng and Zhou had finished their breakfast, someone came to the palace. It was An Desheng's apprentice Li Fu.
He brought Shen Huazheng good news: "Your Majesty has grown potatoes and vegetables in the hot spring manor according to the method given by Yinghua County Lord."
Shen Huazheng's eyes lit up: "It's really successful."
The royal hot spring resort is also located in the suburbs of Beijing, close to Mount Ying.
It is in the same place as the hot spring manor that Emperor Jingning gave to Chen Huazheng, but the terrain is higher than that of Chen Huazheng's hot spring manor.
Li Fu smiled and said, "Yes, the people from Sinong Temple are watching there every day. Several waves of vegetables have been planted before, and now even potatoes have been planted. His Majesty is very pleased and has ordered me to pick up the county lady and take a look."
When Li Fu first learned that so many fresh and tender vegetables could be grown in the greenhouse at Wenquan Manor, he thought Shen Huazheng was incredibly amazing.
In fact, in previous years when the weather was cold, the royal hot spring villa would also grow some vegetables, usually spinach and cabbage.
Compared with other vegetables, spinach is cold-resistant and has a short growth cycle.
Cabbage can also be planted in winter, but its growth cycle is longer than that of spinach.
With greenhouses, more types of vegetables can be grown.
Now that even potatoes are grown in the greenhouse, Li Fu is even more impressed by Shen Huazheng and his attitude becomes even more respectful.
Shen Huazheng would naturally not refuse Emperor Jingning's arrangement.
Her greenhouse is just a small thing; the royal farm is the real deal.
If there is a chance, of course I will go and see it.
Chen Huazheng said something to Zhou, then took Qingzhi Qingtang and followed Li Fu to the royal hot spring resort.
She thought they had arrived at the royal hot spring resort, and Li Fu was taking her around to have a look.
Who would have thought that it was Mr. Huang, the Minister of Agriculture, who personally took Shen Huazheng to see the vegetables and potatoes in the greenhouse.
"Please look, County Lord. The vegetables here have been planted for a while, and those over here were just planted a few days ago."
Mr. Huang looked at the vegetables in the greenhouse, his eyes filled with unconcealable joy.
During this period of time, he comes here every day to record and summarize the growth conditions and data of vegetables in the greenhouse in detail.
Don't underestimate these data, they are all treasures.
With this data, the people at Sinong Temple can conduct detailed research and plan the most suitable vegetables for growing in winter.
The greenhouse that Mr. Huang brought Shen Huazheng to was planted with lettuces. Because the growth cycle was relatively short, even though they had only been planted for a few days, sprouts had begun to appear sporadically.
Another batch of lettuces that had been planted for some time also grew tender leaves.
Chen Huazheng looked at these green vegetables and smiled.
"They are all growing well. As long as we keep the temperature and humidity right, there will be basically no problems."
Hearing Shen Huazheng's words, Lord Huang was greatly encouraged, and the smile on his face became even wider, as if he was as happy as when he was praised by his teacher when he was a young student.
He took Shen Huazheng to tour the entire hot spring villa. In addition to lettuce, the vegetables grown here also included spinach and kale.
Of course, these are just the first few batches of trial planting.
There are also some other vegetable seeds on the way from the south to the capital, so that more types of vegetables can be grown.
After visiting the vegetable greenhouse, Mr. Huang took Shen Huazheng to the potato greenhouse.
When potatoes were first planted, Emperor Jingning, based on Shen Huazheng's suggestion, ordered people to record the growth of the potato plants every two or three days and mark them on the land.
Chen Huazheng flipped through the record book given by Mr. Huang, and according to the marks, had someone dig out some of the first batch of potatoes planted.
There were hundreds of potatoes planted in the first batch, and those that grew well were marked separately.
Each plant has a thick stem and a well-developed root system. The potatoes they produce are of similar size, but some are much larger than others.
Although the unmarked plants did not grow as well, they still produced a lot of fruit.
A small potato plant can produce about ten or even a dozen fruits.
Although they are of different sizes, each one is round and looks very plump and pleasing to the eye.
…
Mr. Huang looked at the potatoes hanging at the base of the stalks and laughed out loud with joy.
Although the fruits grown on some plants were of different sizes, for them, this was already a huge success.
Among the potatoes planted, only two did not bear fruit, but the overall result was still satisfactory.
Greenhouse vegetables are fine, but growing potatoes with an astonishing yield per acre is a good thing that will be remembered forever! !
After the potato planting here is successful, we can start to promote it in Daliang.
Although Mr. Huang was not the one who discovered potatoes, nor was he the planner of this planting plan.
But he actually participated in the entire training process, doing everything himself and not daring to slack off for a moment.
His traces are left everywhere in the entire potato planting process.
Who knows, he might really be able to leave a record in history books, a glorious one, admired by future generations.
The more Mr. Huang thought about it, the more excited he became, as if he had already seen the praises of future generations when they mentioned his deeds, as well as those eyes of admiration and worship.
Hahaha, the ancestors of the Huang family appeared.
Huang Decun has really made it this time!!
Chen Huazheng looked at Mr. Huang's gradually becoming weird expression, and silently distanced herself from him.
Could it be that Lord Huang has gotten so carried away and gone crazy with joy?
Or maybe the work pressure is too great?
Qingzhi and Qingtang also stood silently on both sides of Shen Huazheng, watching Mr. Huang vigilantly in case he suddenly went crazy.
Fortunately, Mr. Huang’s strange behavior did not last long. He just stood there and grinned for a while, then started to take Shen Huazheng somewhere else.
In addition to potatoes and vegetables, some fruits and melons are also grown here.
As Mr. Huang introduced the fruits to Shen Huazheng, he sighed in his heart.
It is said that Princess Yinghua is a genius in cooking, but in fact her talents go far beyond that.
If there was no precedent for women entering officialdom in Daliang, he would definitely negotiate with His Majesty to allow Princess Yinghua to come to the Sinong Temple.
It’s a pity to lose such a talented person.
…
Royal Palace
Emperor Jingning handed the drafted imperial edict to An Desheng: "Go and announce it."
An Desheng took the imperial edict with both hands, and surprise flashed in his eyes: "Yes, Your Majesty."
Once this decree was issued, it was estimated that not only the civil and military officials in the court, but the entire capital city would be shocked.
Emperor Jingning looked at An Desheng's departing back, picked up the teacup and took a sip of tea, a smile slowly appeared on his face.
Originally, it would have been enough to just reward Zhou Cheng'an, but Zhou Cheng'an had no son, only a daughter, Zhou Ying.
The last time they were in the hunting grounds, Zhou Zeyan and Zhou Ying tied for first place in the hunting competition and were summoned by him.
I have to say that Zhou Zeyan is indeed an excellent man, outstanding in all aspects.
But Zhou Ying standing aside was no less impressive.
Such a wise and brave woman deserves this reward.
Besides, Zhou Ying had already made a great contribution by shooting a vicious tiger to death during the last hunt.
The Zhou siblings didn’t ask for any reward at that time, so let’s give them all together this time.
After leaving the palace, An Desheng went to the Grand Tutor's Mansion and the Shen Mansion to announce the imperial edict.
It has been confirmed that potatoes can be mass-produced. As the person who found and brought potatoes back to Daliang, Zhou Cheng'an was named Marquis of Lin'an and received a lot of rewards.
The imperial edict of Emperor Jingning also specifically mentioned that after Zhou Cheng'an's death, his title and fiefdom could be inherited. Only the eldest son of the legitimate wife would be considered, regardless of gender.
I don’t know if Emperor Jingning had planned it out. As soon as the carriage that Shen Huazheng was riding arrived at the Shen Mansion, the person who announced the decree also arrived.
Compared to Zhou Chengan's reward, Shen Huazheng's was more substantial.
In addition to boxes of rewards, Emperor Jingning also included a small coastal town next to Mianzhou County into the jurisdiction of Mianzhou County.
In other words, the area of Shen Huazheng's fiefdom has become larger.
There is one more seaside town.
As Andy Cheng had expected, when the news spread, everyone in the court was shocked.
What surprised them the most was not that Chen Huazheng and Zhou Chengan had made great contributions and found potatoes that could be mass-produced, nor that Zhou Chengan had won the title of Marquis for nothing, or that Chen Huazheng's fiefdom had expanded.
Rather, it was the sentence in the imperial edict given by Emperor Jingning to Zhou Cheng'an: "Only the eldest son shall be considered, regardless of gender."
What this sentence means is that Zhou Ying can inherit Zhou Cheng'an's title and fiefdom.
Even if Zhou Cheng'an gave birth to another son now, the title would still belong to Zhou Ying, and no one could take it away from him.
In other words, only Zhou Ying is the heir to the title.
It has always been men who inherit the title. I have never heard of a woman inheriting the title.
When someone thought about it, they realized the profound meaning of Emperor Jingning's edict.
Zhou Cheng'an made great contributions and earned titles for himself and his daughter Zhou Ying.
It seems that Zhou Ying will be the first female marquis of Daliang.
They are worthy of being the Zhou family, each and every one of them is extraordinary.
Even Zhou Cheng'an, who has never been an official, should not be underestimated.
When Duke Weiguo heard the news, he was slightly stunned.
He picked up the teacup beside him, drank it all in one gulp, and sighed slightly in his heart.
Alas, after all, the Song family is unlucky and cannot keep such a good daughter-in-law.
Fortunately, Ye'er is like his mother, not like his useless and bastard father.
Otherwise, the Duke’s Mansion would really be defeated.
Not long after, Song Ye also learned the news.
At first he couldn't believe the news was true until he got confirmation from Zhou Ying.
After confirming the authenticity of the news, Song Ye felt an indescribable joy and excitement in his heart.
In the past, I always thought about studying hard, growing up quickly, and asking for a title for my mother in the future.
Now that my grandfather has been granted the title of Marquis, my mother can inherit the title in the future.
My mother will be the first female marquis in the history of Daliang.
It's really great!!
…
"Wow, Zheng Zheng, His Majesty actually gave you Kuiyang Town. The seafood there is so delicious."
Princess Lejia was extremely envious when she heard that Emperor Jingning had included Kuiyang Town under the jurisdiction of Mianzhou County.
She had eaten the lobsters, crabs and squids sent from Kuiyang Town, all of which were fresh and delicious.
There is no need for any sophisticated or complicated cooking techniques. Just steam it in water and it will be so delicious that you will almost bite your tongue off.
Princess Lejia picked up a piece of mint mung bean cake and took a big bite.
As she ate, she imagined that the cake in her mouth was seafood. However, the greed deep in her heart not only did not diminish, but became even more greedy.
Ahhh, I really want to eat lobster!!
There are also big crabs and big squids!!!
As soon as Chen Huazheng saw Princess Lejia's expression, she knew that she was becoming greedy again.
She took a sip of tea and said, "Let's find some time to go to Mianzhou County and eat seafood."
Speaking of which, she had the idea of visiting Mianzhou County before. After all, it was her fiefdom and not far from the capital.
But later, when there were more things to do, this idea was put aside.
If Emperor Jingning hadn't suddenly allocated another small town to Chen Huazheng, she would have forgotten about it.
However, with this seaside town, won’t it be possible to go on vacation to the beach from time to time in the future?
Since there is a sea, there should be beaches besides seafood.
I wonder if it would be more comfortable to go on vacation in the summer.
"Okay, okay, we'll discuss the time with Aying later."
Princess Lejia was extremely happy when she heard what Shen Huazheng said.
Her mind is now full of seafood, and she can't wait to go out for a big meal.
Aying is not here, otherwise they could discuss the itinerary now.
After I get back, I should plan my time well, finish the manuscripts I owe, and free up some time.
Maybe if you go to Mianzhou County, see the cultural landscape there, and eat some of the local food and seafood, you can get some new inspiration.
…
Although the person who came from the palace to deliver the imperial edict had left long ago, Zhou Cheng'an's mood could not calm down for a long time.
At the beginning, he had people write down all the things that Shen Huazheng mentioned, and even drew detailed pictures of them, just to make it easier for the caravans going out to sea to keep an eye out for whether there were things that Shen Huazheng wanted.
According to Shen Huazheng's description and drawings, the caravan brought back a lot of new things, and potatoes were just one of them.
In Zhou Cheng'an's view, this was just an ordinary thing.
At the beginning, Shen Zhaonian told Zhou Cheng'an that if potatoes could really be mass-produced, Emperor Jingning would definitely reward him.
Zhou Cheng'an didn't take this to heart. In his opinion, the rewards from the palace were usually things like gold, silver, jade, and at most some rare treasures.
These things may be rare for other people.
But for Zhou Cheng'an, nothing is more precious than a new and delicious meal.
Who would have thought that the expected reward would really come.
The reward was unexpected.
Emperor Jingning gave Zhou Cheng'an the title of Marquis and also allowed him to pass on the title and fiefdom to Zhou Ying a hundred years later.
Zhou Cheng'an took off the bamboo embroidered sachet hanging around his waist and carefully stroked the texture on it.
He once swore in front of his wife's grave that he would take care of Zhou Ying with all his heart, give her the best things, and see her happy.
Now, he has achieved it.
Zhou Cheng'an clenched the sachet in his hand, his eyes slightly moist.
Ayu, did you see all this?
Our daughter will be the first female marquis of Daliang in the future.
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