Chapter 117 Eating Meat
Over the years, the number of farmers in Qin State has continued to decline.
It was not easy for him to find these skilled farmers.
Zhao Yuanxi looked at this group of dark-skinned men and didn't know whether to be happy or worried.
She looked at Sun Li and asked, "Can they all read?"
It's not enough to just know how to farm, you have to find a way to spread these farming skills. If you can't read, there may be a lot of trouble.
Sun Li promised, "Don't worry, Queen Mother. These people were carefully selected by me, and they all know the Qin character."
Zhao Yuanxi finally breathed a sigh of relief and beckoned them forward, "Since you are all experts in farming from my Qin State, why don't we discuss how to better manage this wheat field?"
Everyone expressed their opinions and the discussion was heated, with Zhao Yuanxi also interjecting from time to time.
Although Sun Li had heard that Queen Mother Zhao was farming here and doing very well, he thought at that time that the Queen Mother was just passing on the order and that the local farmers were responsible for farming. But now he was surprised to find that the Queen Mother was the real farming expert.
Although he was not a farmer, as the Qin State's Grain Minister, he needed to manage farmland and grain, coordinate national taxes, and be responsible for agricultural promotion, so he had a certain understanding of these agricultural technologies.
When those excellent agricultural technologies were presented to him, they would inevitably pass through his hands before being spread to all parts of the country.
Sun Li listened quietly at the side, and the more he listened, the more shocked he became. Could it be that the waterwheel and water mill came from the Queen Mother?
Back then, he wanted the young man named Li to be his assistant, but was rejected outright. He was angry about this for a long time, but he never imagined that the young man already had a job.
"Sun Nei Shi, go back and tell the king that I will keep these people." Zhao Yuanxi turned around and said to Sun Li.
Sun Li came back to his senses and quickly bowed, "Yes, I will tell the king the truth."
"Also, the king has instructed that these people do not need to stay in Canglang Pavilion. I have already arranged for them to stay near the Yongcheng County Government Office. If you, Queen Mother, need anything, please feel free to send a message to them."
Zhao Yuanxi raised her eyebrows. Ying Zheng still remembered that she had no money. Since she didn't have to pay for the land herself, she was naturally willing to do it.
"I see."
She turned around and smiled, "Everyone has their own strengths. It's my honor to have your help. However, we still have different opinions on many things. To avoid unnecessary trouble, we must first reach a consensus on our goals. Therefore, I will have someone teach you some of the key points of farming here."
These people come from different places and have different habits and ways of doing things.
Farming requires adapting to local conditions, but the same piece of land obviously does not need different sounds, but rather the best sound should be selected.
Zhao Yuanxi felt that he needed to provide these people with some simple training.
No one objected.
These farmers were settled in a small courtyard in Yongcheng. They were still a little uncomfortable with the sudden arrival from those rural areas in the former capital of Qin.
The man in gray was chopping wood with an axe while chatting with his friends. "Tell me, does Queen Mother Zhao really want us to follow her and farm?"
The man in brown clothes in the corner had just finished a set of punches and said coldly, "Yes or no, don't we all have to stay here with her?"
It is said that this man was named Chen He, originally from Chu. His home was flooded by a flood, so he came to Qin to beg for food.
He had only been living in peace in Qin for a few years when he was inexplicably brought here.
Chen He has never had a good impression of those nobles. No matter how easy-going the Queen Mother of Qin was, he never had any hope for the nobles.
He only hoped that he could return home alive and see his wife and children.
"You seem dissatisfied with Queen Mother Zhao? I actually trust her quite a bit. She seems to understand everything we brothers talked about today better than we do."
Chen He did not deny it.
"No matter where we are, we are farming. At least we can eat government food now!" There was a man in the middle, squatting on the ground, holding a few cakes in his hands and eating them in big mouthfuls.
The biscuit was a bit dry and he accidentally choked. He took out a bamboo tube from his pocket, unscrewed the lid, and drank some water to recover.
"Tu, where did you get the pancakes?" The man who had just chopped wood immediately put down his axe and stared at the pancakes in Tu's hand.
"Someone just brought it to me at the door. They said they were from Yuanxi College and that Queen Mother Zhao had sent them. I don't know. Anyway, I ate it, so I ate it!" He couldn't help but burp, touched his stomach, and grinned.
"Don't eat all the food by yourself! Do you have any left? Share some with us!"
Tu pointed to the vegetable basket in the corner.
The man took three or two steps forward and lifted the rag covering the basket. A basket full of pancakes was revealed, steaming and emitting a faint fragrance.
On weekdays they eat bean rice, and they also eat wheat, but wheat is difficult to peel, so it is often mixed with wheat bran and eaten together, which makes the throat sore.
Even after being finely ground with a stone mill, food made from wheat flour is still not tasty.
But the pancakes that the Queen Mother ordered to be sent were also made of wheat flour, but they were soft and delicious, and there were some fillings inside!
"Is this meat?" The man's voice seemed to be shaking, and he stared in disbelief at the meat crumbs in the piece of bread he had bitten open.
He actually ate meat here?
When they heard there was meat, everyone gathered around.
"There really is meat in it. Even the oil used in this pancake is animal fat!"
"It smells so good! I don't know how long it's been since I last had meat!"
"Give me another one and I'll take another!"
Soon, the whole basket of meat patties was divided up.
Chen He also got two, and he felt a little uncomfortable while eating the meat-filled pancakes.
Some people couldn't help but sigh, "If I could eat this meat pie every day, I would be willing to work for the Queen Mother for the rest of my life."
People like them live in this world just to have something to eat and a place to live. Unfortunately, they don't have enough to eat and don't have warm shelter, so they can only barely survive.
"If my mother were here, maybe I could give her a taste of this cake."
When talking about family, everyone felt a little disappointed.
They were eating meat patties here, and they didn't know whether they had cooked at home today. After the whole winter, the remaining food at home was almost eaten up, and the little food they had had to be used as seeds for this spring.
Chen He also thought of his family. His wife was ill when he left, and his only son was only ten years old this year. Without him in the family, they didn't know what would happen to them.
When Xu Yi arrived, he saw that they had all finished eating. He bowed to them and said gently, "Xu Yi greets you all. I was entrusted by the Queen Mother to teach you."
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