There are still 4,000 words left later.
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Qin Mu persuaded the Feng family father and son in just half an hour, making Feng Ang willingly treat him as an honored guest. Overjoyed, Feng Ang left his two sons to assist Qin Mu, as Qin Mu did not wish to interfere in the administration of Lingnan, only suggesting that Panyu be used as a pilot area first. In return, Feng Ang handed over all the power in Panyu to Qin Mu.
It has to be said that having many subordinates is very convenient. He can first understand their strengths and then send them out. As for whether they can complete the orders, Qin Mu isn't worried at all. If they can't even complete their first task, they certainly won't be given important responsibilities. Salt field site selection and planning, fruit tree statistics, pottery firing, and farmland planting all require data collection. Qin Mu's journey wasn't just about traveling; he arranged for people to collect agricultural byproducts from various regions—that is, output beyond staple grains. Although double-cropping rice had been widely promoted, there was no hybrid rice like Shennong's here, and the output was barely enough to make ends meet. Qin Mu knew he wasn't cut out for hybrid crops, so he could only focus on diversification.
Due to poor transportation and communication, besides staple foods, there were also some by-products, which varied from place to place. Qin Mu wanted to find another aristocratic family that produced several high-yield plants. He didn't want sweet potatoes or potatoes; he wanted cassava, kudzu root (a medicinal herb), ginkgo nuts, and chestnuts (dried fruits). He had already seen these items, and his purpose in searching was to compare yields and collect seeds, since different regions produced different flavors.
Cassava and kudzu root are high in starch, and whether cooked alone or made into noodles, they can compensate for the scarcity of staple foods. Crucially, these two plants are not demanding in terms of soil or labor. As for chestnuts and ginkgo nuts, the former is a wild fruit, and the latter can be used as medicine; planting more of them won't hurt. Ginkgo nuts and chestnuts can be added to dishes or eaten alone; they are high in starch and filling, but the downside is that they require more time to prepare. However, these are minor issues; it's always worthwhile to do more of what's beneficial in the long run.
As more and more people came to Panyu, the work progressed faster and faster. Although the New Year was a bit busy, Qin Mu felt even more at home after getting married, and the two spent a sweet New Year together.
After the New Year, the first batch of refined salt was produced. Although it was only ten catties, Feng Ang was still very excited, as this meant that what Qin Mu had said was true. A large number of people were transferred to Panyu, since the area was sparsely populated and even millions of people wouldn't be too many.
Not only was Feng Ang excited, but everyone who came with Qin Mu was also thrilled, because Qin Mu had promised them that he would open up refined salt production technology to the aristocratic families of Jiangnan in three years. The labor force sent from Jiangnan was even greater than that from Lingnan, which shows just how powerful these aristocratic families were.
The first to eighth aristocratic families were also very happy because Qin Mu promised to allocate land to them in Lingnan and let them manage the people who had been relocated there.
The Cui and Lu families were also pleased because Qin Mu not only allowed them to participate in management—a valuable experience—but also permitted them to form trading caravans to travel to and from Lingnan. While they didn't yet know what good goods Lingnan had, they were certainly lacking in certain areas. At least Qin Mu had placed a large order for medicinal herbs.
After the initial busy months, Qin Mu didn't actually have much to do. In addition, spring plowing in Lingnan started early, so he had already become idle by the beginning of May.
There's no custom of banning spring hunting here; hunting wild beasts is part of Cheng Huailiang's daily work. Qin Mu also takes time to accompany Princess Changning, treating it as a hunting trip.
"I'm sorry to have troubled you, coming all this way to suffer!" Standing on the mountaintop, with the wind blowing and his hair flowing, Qin Mu turned his head and said apologetically.
“I won’t feel wronged following you anywhere. Besides, you can’t see the sea in Chang’an, and the winters in Lingnan aren’t cold. It’s much better than Chang’an,” Princess Changning said, shaking her head slightly.
"What are you looking at?" Xiangli Yanran's somewhat indistinct voice came from behind the two of them.
Qin Mu and the other smiled at each other, then turned around to look. More than two years had passed, and the girl was still as delicate as ever. Her little mouth was puffed out as she chewed on something, and the greatsword, which was as tall as her, was still on her back.
When Xiangli Yanran walked up to the two of them, she stretched her snow-white neck to look down the mountain. Qin Mu couldn't help but touch her hair and said, "We're looking at the scenery."
Qin Mu didn't mean to tease her; it was just that as the height difference between them widened, Xiangli Yanran looked more and more like a younger sister.
"Ugh! How annoying!" Xiangli Yanran shook her head repeatedly, shaking off Qin Mu's hand, and gave him a disgusted look, saying, "It's all your fault, you always touch people's heads."
Judging from her tone, she was blaming herself for not growing tall. Qin Mu found it somewhat amusing and said, "You can't blame me for that. We haven't seen each other for three years. I thought you had secretly gotten married and were staying at home taking care of your husband and children."
"I don't want to get married. It's so boring at home. Luckily, we came to Lingnan. There's so much fruit here," Xiangli Yanran said, pouting. Behind them were several lychee trees, laden with fruit. It was clear that in a while, they would be able to enjoy a feast.
"At the foot of Mount Luofu, spring lasts all year round, and the loquats and bayberries ripen in succession."
"I'd eat three hundred lychees a day, and gladly be a Lingnan native forever. Lingnan truly has a lot of delicious fruits. I guarantee you'll have fruit to eat all year round!" Qin Mu said with a smile.
"Really? I've only ever heard of lychees, I don't know if they're as delicious as you say." Xiangli Yanran swallowed hard and looked up at the lychees on the tree.
Unlike Xiangli Yanran, Princess Changning's eyes shone with pride as her husband composed poetry.
"Of course it's delicious, but some people aren't used to it at first. In the next few days, the Sun family will be sending over a lot of fruit," Qin Mu nodded.
"Hehe, really? That's great." Xiangli Yanran laughed happily. After laughing, she took out a handful of mulberries from her pocket and handed them to Princess Changning.
“The Sun family controls some islands, where the fruit ripens earlier. I taught them how to make canned fruit, and they were very touched, so they send over a lot of fresh fruit every time they have some,” Qin Mu nodded and said.
The Sun family has excellent shipbuilding technology, and they promised to send Qin Mu three large ships. Actually, Qin Mu wasn't interested in the ships themselves, but rather in the technology. Shipbuilders gathered from Lingnan and Jiangnan would decipher their techniques, and then, by pooling their resources, they could build even better ships. Currently, two experts from the Xiangli family are overseeing the shipyard.
"Let's go! Let's go back. What's so fun about hunting?" Xiangli Yanran said impatiently, pulling on Princess Changning's arm.
"Okay! Ugh! Ugh!" Princess Changning had just agreed when her expression changed, and she covered her mouth and began to dry heave.
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