Chapter 352 Novel Crops
After paying, and watching the shop assistants help load the goods onto the carriage, Xie Wanniang left the shop with Haitang and the others, accompanied by the chubby shopkeeper who had failed to sell the goods and watched her leave with reluctance.
Haitang thought the glass beads the plump shopkeeper was selling were quite pretty, and she whispered to Xie Wanniang, "Miss, are you really not planning to buy some of those beads? They would look quite nice as jewelry."
Xie Wanniang shook her head decisively, "That thing is worthless."
Haitang asked in surprise, "Have you met the young lady before?"
Xie Wanniang didn't answer her question, but skipped over that point and dropped a bombshell, "The production process of that thing isn't complicated. Later, when I have someone find the materials, we can try to make it ourselves."
If they actually manage to burn it, their country's caravans can use it to go overseas and swindle money—no, they can make money overseas.
By then, she'll have her own workshop, and she can burn as much or use as she pleases, which is much more cost-effective than buying imported goods at high prices now.
She whispered to Haitang, "Once your daughter finishes making this thing, you'll know how cheap it is."
Of course, as the first person to try this skill, she naturally wanted to make a fortune first.
Xie Wanniang's ultimate goal was to earn money from high-ranking officials, wealthy merchants, and tycoons as start-up capital, then expand her business, drive down the price of glass, and make it affordable for ordinary people.
Haitang was unaware of what she was thinking, but she was very interested in the glass workshop that had yet to materialize.
As the master and servant talked, accompanied by others, they went to other shops on this street and two nearby streets.
At the silk shop, porcelain shop, tea shop, and lacquerware shop, she carefully selected a batch of top-quality Hangzhou silk, Songjiang cotton cloth, lustrous celadon and white porcelain, Longjing and Biluochun tea picked before the rain, as well as exquisitely carved lacquerware trays and cosmetic boxes. She paid deposits for each item and agreed to send someone to pick up the goods in three days.
The shopkeepers were all smiles and quickly went to issue her a delivery slip.
Xie Wanniang paid the deposit, carefully kept the order and receipt, and then led her people to the most reputable restaurant in the area for a meal.
Upon returning to Dinghai County, she summoned the two stewards who had come from Baoding Prefecture. "Three days later, you will lead a team of guards, along with the workers we brought from our hometown, and the twenty hired bodyguards. Go to the shops in Ningbo Prefecture to pick up the goods according to these lists."
"I've already listed everything and its price in advance; you just need to follow the instructions."
She paused, then added, "And the gifts I prepared for the Xie family, the Dingbei Marquis's family, Uncle Hao's family, and other relatives and friends, as well as the books I had copied, you should take them back to Baoding Prefecture as well."
She had everything pre-packaged and listed beforehand, ensuring that anyone who was doing the work would not make a mistake.
Then there are the students from the academy who came here to study by tagging along with their group. "You should also send someone to contact the group of students that my father entrusted to us beforehand and let them go back with the group."
Steward Li bowed and asked, "Princess, if we cannot find those students at the academy, inn, or other places..."
While their most likely destinations are academies and inns in various prefectures and states, some will certainly go to temples, private residences, or even remote towns, as it is simply inconvenient to search for them one by one.
Xie Wanniang had already planned ahead: "My father has divided them into groups. You only need to find two or three people in each group, and they will naturally help contact and notify the rest of the students. If you can't even find two or three people, then hire some beggars and have them sing rhymes all over the streets, such as 'Students of Baoding, listen carefully, gather at the dock on the sixth day of the fourth month, and follow the caravan back to your hometown,' so that they can meet you at the designated location."
Manager Li and Manager Wang: ...
The two exchanged a glance and replied in unison.
Xie Wanniang waved her hand, and Steward Li and Steward Wang went out to prepare the carriages and horses and contact the bodyguards.
After dealing with these matters, Xie Wanniang had Shanzi prepare a carriage the next day. She changed into a coarse cloth dress, removed her gold, jade, and gemstone jewelry, leaving only a simple silver hairpin, silver bracelet, and silver earrings that held a hidden secret.
Following suit, Haitang and the others also changed into simple clothes and followed Xie Wanniang to the countryside.
Shen Guizhi, a female guard who didn't usually serve her closely, asked with some confusion, "Princess, what are you going to the countryside for?"
The roads in the countryside are difficult to travel, the living conditions are poor, and it's only early spring, so there aren't many beautiful sights for her to see.
Xie Wanniang was always amiable. She explained with a smile, "I'm looking for two things I've been longing for for several years. I asked the Hu merchants before, but they didn't have them there. I thought that after the lifting of the sea ban in the coastal areas, there would be frequent exchanges between foreign countries, so perhaps they could be found here."
What she was really thinking about were potatoes and corn. She was used to eating them in her previous life in modern times, but she hadn't been able to get them in ancient times for the past few years, and she missed all the delicious food made with these two ingredients.
Slurp~(￣ ii￣;)
Xie Wanniang wasn't worried about the people around her being curious about how she knew about these rare things. She simply said she'd read them in a book. When asked which book it was from, she replied, "Sorry, I've forgotten."
As the group talked, the carriage bumped along the way, leaving the city gate and heading towards the fields.
Not long after they left the city gate, they saw farmers working in twos and threes in the fields on both sides of the official road, turning the soil, sowing seeds, fertilizing... everywhere was a busy scene of spring plowing.
Seeing this, Xie Wanniang told Shanzi to stop the carriage. She led Haitang and the others out of the carriage and walked along the ridge towards the fields.
On the edge of the field, an old farmer who was hoeing the ground straightened up and looked at them with a puzzled expression. "Madam, are you here to see someone?"
Xie Wanniang smiled gently and spoke in a friendly tone: "Uncle, we're not looking for anyone, we're just here to see if there are any novel crops. I heard that after the lifting of the sea ban, some foreigners brought many novel crops, and we wanted to see if any of them could be grown in our Great Wei."
The old farmer wiped the sweat from his brow: "There are a few crops from foreign lands that can survive in our Great Wei..."
The old farmer thought for a moment, "Sweet potato?"
Xie Wanniang nodded, "Does the old man have any sweet potatoes at home?"
The old farmer shook his head, "There aren't many families like that in these surrounding villages."
Xie Wanniang was not discouraged. "Uncle, could you give us directions? I want to go and buy some sweet potatoes from someone who has them."
After thinking for a moment, the old farmer decided to take Xie Wanniang and the others to find the old patriarch of their Li clan.
In his memory, among the villages nearby, only three families, including his clan elder's family, had grown sweet potatoes last year.
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