"Besides buying rare ingredients, I have something more important to say about rare ingredients. Sit down and let's talk slowly."
"Xiao Yu, you and An Ge'er go back first."
Su Xingyi pinched Xiao Lingyu's little finger where no one could see. "Xiao Xi'er won't be able to see us, so leave this to me."
"Okay." Then Xiao Lingyu and Su Ning'an left the front hall.
Su Xingyi sat back on the armchair and said with an apologetic smile, "Master Cui, please forgive me for my negligence. The child is too young and shy. When he wakes up and can't see us, he will cry and it will be difficult to comfort him."
Cui Zhehan said, "That's true for kids. How did you get this rare ingredient?"
"It's a long story." Su Xingyi seemed to recall something from the past. "A few years ago, my husband and I saved a foreign businessman. To repay us for saving his life, he gave us three bags of seeds of rare ingredients."
Lu Yuan pursed her lips when she heard this. This was the excuse she had prepared with Xiao Yu in advance.
"After the foreign businessman left, we tried to plant it in our own yard, but after half a month, not a single green sprout emerged."
Cui Zhehan asked hurriedly: "Then how did they grow it?"
"When I saw that the seeds hadn't sprouted after a month, I thought the foreign businessman was teasing us. I was furious and wanted to throw away the remaining rare ingredient seeds..."
Cui Zhehan's heart tightened, and he listened to Su Xingyi continue, "Fortunately, my wife stopped him, saying that the foreign businessmen looked honest and wouldn't tease us. Perhaps the rare ingredients were not suitable for cultivation in my yard. Later, we searched everywhere for places to grow rare ingredients. After six months, we finally found a piece of land in the back mountain of my mansion and the rare ingredients sprouted."
Su Xingyi took a sip of water and continued, "We were too happy too soon. The rare ingredient withered and rotted after only half a month. My wife and I didn't give up. After all, these seeds were from the West and were quite delicate. So we carefully planted them and finally succeeded after half a year."
Cui Zhehan frowned. It seemed that it was indeed difficult to grow.
"Master Su, the divine dish made from this rare ingredient is delicious. Ordinary people simply can't afford it. Handing it over to the court for widespread cultivation in Beiyi will benefit both the country and the people. My Cui family has someone serving in the Sino-Agricultural Temple, which will make it easier for us to do this. If this is successful, the emperor will surely be very pleased. Your Su family will be a meritorious family and will receive generous rewards from the emperor."
"Master Cui, we were originally considering handing over the rare ingredients to the imperial court three years later, but we were worried about not having a way to do it. Now, it's great that we've met Master Cui ahead of time."
Cui Zhehan was delighted. "Now that he has met me, he doesn't have to wait three years. My brother is in Huayang County now and will return to the capital in seven days. It's just the right time to bring the rare ingredients back to the capital."
"Master Cui, it's not possible yet. We only succeeded in growing rare ingredients this year, and that was in the fields behind my home, in Huayang County, and in other counties in Lin County. We've tried to grow them, but all without success. My wife and I are currently refining the rare ingredients until they can be easily grown in the fertile fields of Beiyi. This will take three years."
Cui Zhehan frowned, "The improvement takes so long, can't it be done earlier?"
"We're improving rare ingredients so we can submit them to the imperial court. Once the imperial court gets the seeds, they won't have to spend too much time teaching the villagers how to grow them. Once they distribute them to the various counties, all of Beiyi will be growing rare ingredients within a year. If we submit them now, the Sinong Temple will have to experiment with growing them. Especially in the north, with its dry air and hot weather, rare ingredients won't survive easily."
"Yes, Master Cui, what you said makes sense." Si Chuyu joined in at the right time.
"It's not appropriate to submit it to the court now. The Sinong Temple can't grow it for a while, and the emperor won't be able to see the results. The consequences will be very troublesome."
Cui Zhehan thought that once this was submitted, the emperor would arrange for the second prince to go to the fields and lead the people in planting.
The Sinong Temple will not be given time to try planting. If it fails to grow, it will not only be of no help to the Second Prince, but will also displease the Emperor!
"Master Su, can we really succeed in improving it within three years? Can't we do it two years earlier?"
Su Xingyi said, "We can't rush this. My wife and I are already working on improvements and collecting farmland from various counties. It will take at least two years. We both want to improve the land quickly and submit it to the court to receive rewards, but we really can't do it in one year."
Cui Zhehan thought that this matter really could not be rushed. He had to ensure that the rare ingredients could help the Second Prince. If he failed to help the Second Prince and instead implicated him, the old lady would not forgive him.
"If the improvements are successful, please inform me immediately and I will submit them to the court on your behalf."
Su Xingyi said, "I would like to thank Master Cui in advance. I'll be sorry to trouble you when the time comes."
Cui Zhehan pursed his lips. Of course he had to put some thought into it.
This is the Cui family's "money prospects".
"Of course, our three families will definitely benefit from it." Cui Zhehan stood up. "It's getting late. Let's meet at Cui Mansion in two days."
Lu Zeyi sent Cui Zhehan out of the yard, and Su Ningjie entered the front hall from next door.
"Dad, didn't Mother say that we should give Lord Miao a reward for his achievements and have him submit them to the court? The Cui family will get the benefits for free, and we won't get any rewards at all. And he just offended Mother!"
Su Xingyi touched Su Ningjie's little head and whispered, "This is all your mother's idea. Your mother will never do a business that loses money."
Lu Yuan echoed, "Your mother is so smart, how could she let the Cui family take advantage of her?"
Si Chuyu smiled and said, "Ask your mother and you'll know what's going on."
"I'll go ask my mother now." Su Ningjie turned and walked out.
"Dinner will be soon." Su Ningjie ran away even faster after hearing that.
Fanghuayuan Study.
Xiao Lingyu tapped the table with one finger. She didn't expect the Cui family to reveal their true identity so quickly.
Is he not on guard, or does he think that now that the eldest prince has fallen, he can rest easy as no one will come to investigate?
Yan Wei said, "My subordinates have learned that the Lu family's iron mine has been operating all night for six consecutive years, and no one has noticed anything unusual. I guess the Cui family has let their guard down."
"Since Cui Zheli will be returning to Beijing with the iron ore in seven days, follow him along the way to find out who is involved. Where are the weapons being forged? Dig up all their secrets in secret and keep the evidence. The evidence that the Cui family cheated in the imperial examinations, illegally forged weapons, and colluded with Nan Kun to rebel should be sent to the Meng family!"
Xiao Lingyu felt that bringing down the second prince and suppressing the power of the Cui family were not enough!
It is necessary to unite all the forces in the court that are opposed to the Cui family, as well as those officials who support Feng Jinyu!
"Yan Wei, we have yet to find any evidence that the Second Prince is framing the Prince of Cangnan and our Xiao family. Please be careful when you secretly investigate and make sure you gather the evidence before the provincial examination results are announced."
"It's the princess."
"Also, send a message to your prince, asking him to prepare as well."
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