Ding Youtian guessed that Huo Jincheng and his party had left the city gate, so he asked Niu San and others to post a notice, notifying all the people in the city to come to the government office to collect wool for making winter clothes.
Yesterday, many people had received donated clothing, but today they also received wool collars. Those who received the news thought they were the relief supplies that arrived with the cavalry yesterday. Word spread quickly, and soon everyone was rushing to the government office.
Now that’s good, even if there is an ice disaster this year, we can survive it, and the people in the city are all smiling.
A few days later, three or five more families returned home, having heard the news of the imperial court's disaster relief efforts in Danyang. Outside the city gates, they saw the notice posted by Ding Youtian, led by Tong Bajin, and soldiers guarding the city walls, explaining the notice to the common people. Upon learning that they could receive resettlement allowances, food, and other supplies from the government, several families, overjoyed, piled on their wooden carts and rushed to the city.
In the golden autumn of October, when the apples in the white fruit orchard were about to mature, the number of households in the city had increased from less than 400 to 502. Whenever a citizen returned, Ding Youtian would order Tong Bajin and others to help settle them. Since Huo Jincheng left, he and Jian Ning had been going out early and returning late every day, busy going to the towns and villages around the county to teach the people how to grow hybrid wheat.
That day, when they returned to the county government office, Gong Changchun, the chief clerk, handed Ding Youtian a letter from Qin Yifan. Inside the letter was a letter from Mei Niang to Jian Ning. Mei Niang had only had a son and daughter seven years after their marriage, and most of the letter was devoted to the children's upbringing.
Qin Yifan did the same. He only told Ding Youtian at the end of the letter that he would just be a county magistrate, even if he was only a seventh-rank county magistrate for his entire life. As long as he could live up to the conscience of heaven and earth and be worthy of his parents, wife and children, he would be satisfied with the rest of his life.
After reading the letter, Ding Youtian smiled. He and Qin Yifan were classmates when they were young, and they had several long talks all night long in Zhuling County. He knew that Qin Yifan was a man with great ambitions, so how could he be content with being a small county magistrate as the letter said?
The words "even if he is only a small county magistrate for his whole life" have revealed his intention. As long as he is given a place to use his talents, he will be able to show his abilities.
In mid-October, the apples are ripe. From a distance, they look like small lanterns hanging all over the trees, shining with an attractive luster under the warm autumn sun.
The apple trees in Jane Ning's Herb Garden were planted by Grandma Wu, who enjoyed tangerine peel, apple, and wolfberry tea to stimulate her appetite and aid digestion. Grandma Wu herself told Jane Ning that she planted apple trees in the Herb Garden because sometimes the apples she bought weren't to her liking, so she simply planted her own trees there.
In order to make the apples grow well, Grandma Wu would move a chair to the balcony to bask in the sun when the apple trees were full of fruit and it was a sunny day. The apples she produced were like crystal clear rubies.
Because of the good sunlight in Nanshan, Jian Ning learned from Grandma Wu how to plant and manage apple trees, and knew how to prune branches and leaves at the right time. In addition, with the spiritual fertilizer provided by Yang Dali to improve the soil, and the spiritual spring water for irrigation, each apple tree basically bears more than 500 apples, and the yield is much higher than that of Baicaojian, which makes Jian Ning and the people smile with joy.
Baimei and Guoguo were absolutely thrilled on the day of picking. Ever since the fruit trees were planted, they became Baoan Guo and Baoan Mei at night. After the fruits began to bear, Tong Bajin and his friends built a thatched hut next to the orchard. The young and strong men in the city also volunteered one person from each household, forming a group of five, and took turns guarding the Baiguo orchard with Tong Bajin and his friends at night.
Guoguo and Baimei still stick to their posts and are unprecedentedly united to protect the Baiguo Garden named after them. One is responsible for air alert and the other is responsible for ground alert. They are very dedicated and responsible. Tong Bajin doesn't know how they communicate with each other, but he found that they seem to know how to take turns taking a nap.
Jian Ning and Ding Youtian had them guard the white orchard, not to prevent the common people from stealing apples, but to prevent Prince Yong and Prince Rui from sending men to destroy the orchard. They had already boarded the Crown Prince's ship, and the Crown Prince was in charge of all disaster relief efforts in Danyang. They had also heard Huo Jincheng mention that the Crown Princess had taken the lead in mobilizing the court ladies, who were contributing both money and goods, creating a buzz in the capital that was bound to attract attention.
If they can make the ginkgo paste popular again in Danyang, the prince's prestige in the eyes of the people will naturally increase. There is no guarantee that Prince Yong and Prince Rui will not come to sabotage it, so they have to be on guard.
Fortunately, no one came to disturb it until it matured.
There is strength in numbers. All the able-bodied citizens in the city went out to pick apples. After half a day, all the apples in the orchard were picked.
Every household received five to seven kilograms of apples. Families with more children received an extra kilogram or two, and the people had no objections. Some families with children, after receiving apples, grabbed one and rubbed it on their clothes, then started to bite it with a look of satisfaction on their faces.
Ding Youtian also tasted one on the spot. After a few bites, he found that it contained milky white ice-crystal flesh, which was extremely sweet and refreshing. He quickly handed it to Jian Ning's mouth, "Try it quickly. I'm afraid that nectar and jade liquid will taste like this. It's really good, it's truly a fairy fruit."
Jian Ning smiled with her eyebrows curved, and took a bite from his hand, "Sweet but not greasy, really good, delicious."
When the common people saw this, they began to tease the couple, and some women even glared at their men, saying, "Look how much Lord Ding loves his wife. Learn from him."
The man who was glared at grinned and laughed, which they could not learn.
Next, the young and strong men in the city, led by Tong Bajin and others, pushed apples on wooden carts to various counties for sale, while Jian Ning led the women in the city to make ginkgo paste.
The place for making ginkgo paste had been chosen long ago, and the stove had been set up early in the morning. It was located in the courtyard of several houses adjacent to Cao's and hers.
Making ginkgo paste is a delicate job, but the steps are not complicated. Since it is a cough-relieving and beauty-enhancing paste, Chinese medicinal materials must be added. This Chinese medicinal material is extremely common in the north. It was planted in the yard of the Cao family in the past. It is ginkgo.
Ginkgo nuts, the seeds of the ginkgo tree, are known for their cough and asthma relief and anti-aging properties. Rich in protein and vitamin C, they are beneficial for maintaining youthful complexion and can also help with urination. However, ginkgo nuts contain hydrocyanic acid, so they must be soaked in water for a period of time before being cooked at high temperatures to remove the toxicity.
Jian Ning taught Qiao Feng and Cao in detail when to add the ginkgo nuts and how to control the heat. Considering that it is difficult to satisfy everyone, Jian Ning made three kinds of ginkgo paste: thick, medium and thin, and packed them in jars of one jin, three jin and five jin.
A jin of thick ginkgo paste costs 480 wen, a jin of medium ginkgo paste costs 280 wen, and a jin of thin ginkgo paste costs 180 wen, making it affordable for ordinary people. The effects are the same, the difference is that the thick ginkgo paste requires more apples, about ten jin of apples to make one jin of ginkgo paste, while the thin ginkgo paste can be made from three or four jin of apples.
After the first pot of trial product was cooked, Jane Ning tasted it. Since the apples watered by the ice crystals and spiritual spring water of the spirit race were already very sweet, she did not add any sugar. She was originally worried that the bitterness of the ginkgo nuts would greatly offset the sweetness of the apples, resulting in an astringent taste. In the end, the taste was just right.
As soon as it goes down the throat, there is a hint of bitterness in the sweetness, which is just right. It whets the appetite. If you savor it carefully, there seems to be a faint fragrance lingering on the lips and teeth.
"Mm, very good, you all come and try it."
Jane Ning smiled with satisfaction.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
