"There's no need to make a fuss. His Majesty doesn't want the excellent situation in Shuofang to be disrupted by another prefect, so he asked me to recommend someone," Qin Mu said calmly, taking a sip of tea.
"I knew it! So that's how it is. They're telling me to follow the old ways." Baili Bing breathed a sigh of relief.
"You could say that, but I need to take some people with me. Please help me prepare. I'll also take Triangle Cow with me."
"What kind of people do you need? Lingnan is so far away, why are you bringing Triangle Cow there?" Baili Bing asked with dissatisfaction.
“I need a group of experienced people from fruit growers, farmers, and people from Salt Town to help me teach others! You don’t lack livestock here, so of course I’ll take the Triangle Cow with me.” Qin Mu raised his left hand and counted on his fingers.
"Alright, alright, anyway, the Triangle Ox is your private property, take it or leave it," Baili Bing said with a hint of helplessness. He wasn't dissatisfied; in fact, he was very grateful to Qin Mu. After all, neither his age nor his family background made him a suitable candidate for the position of prefect. It wasn't that Baili Bing desperately wanted an official position. The main reason was that an official position greatly enhanced a family's prestige. And then there was personal prestige, the benefits of which for a Confucian scholar were self-evident.
"Brother Han! How about we venture into Lingnan again?" Qin Mu asked Han Chen.
"Go to Lingnan." Han Chen hesitated slightly.
“Go ahead! My son and I will go with you.” Baili Rou, carrying her one-year-old son, walked over and said gently. Qin Mu had never seen a woman holding her son high in the air with one arm before. Sometimes he maliciously wondered if this woman thought he was a fun toy.
"Great!" Han Chen said with a bright smile. Working with Qin Mu was not only beneficial, but also enjoyable; the two shared many common topics regarding alchemy. Being able to work together in the same place again was, of course, the best outcome.
Han Chen wasn't very interested in being an official in the past, but being an official in the Six Doors meant having many test subjects, which was what he liked most. Now that he has a son, he also has to consider his son's future.
Qin Mu breathed a sigh of relief at Baili Rou's support for Han Chen, and said with a smile, "Lingnan is rife with poisonous insects and miasma. I'm much more at ease knowing that Brother Han can go."
"With your skills, ordinary poisons are no match for you. I'm also very interested in the medicinal herbs from Lingnan," Han Chen said with a smile.
"We'll trouble Brother Baili to send someone to deliver the medicinal herbs that Shuofang has acquired to Lingnan."
"Yes, I will arrange this." Baili Bing nodded in agreement.
"You could organize a caravan to sell the refined salt from Shuofang to the south. Once you reach Lingnan, bring the refined salt from Lingnan with you. Buy silk and tea in Jiangnan and transport them back to Shuofang! This way, you could make a lot of money on this trip," Qin Mu suggested.
"Alas! I lack your intelligence and wisdom. It seems that besides following the old ways, there's no other way," Baili Bing sighed. He wasn't jealous, but genuinely admired Qin Mu. Governing a region wouldn't be a problem for him, but to transform a poor place into such prosperity like Qin Mu had been impossible. Although these past few years had been tough, he had learned a great deal and broadened his horizons.
"Don't be so discouraged. You can think about it more and experiment with your ideas on a small scale. Maybe you'll have an epiphany someday," Qin Mu said with a mischievous smile.
"Go away! Following the old ways is fine, no need to put in too much effort! But what about the students after you leave?" Baili Bing asked, waving his hand.
"I'll take the older ones, and the younger ones can stay and continue their studies. Whether you use them or not is up to you," Qin Mu said dismissively. Those students, the older ones having studied with him for two years, weren't particularly capable, but they could be taken to Lingnan to serve as minor officials.
“Alright! I’ll continue teaching them and see if I can produce one or two good talents,” Baili Bing said. He also wanted to learn from Qin Mu and teach some students to see if he could break through, since he had also reached the peak of the Grand Scholar level. Although Qin Mu hadn’t broken through yet, he still agreed with the method.
"Okay! That's good. You've been busy lately, so you can handle it yourself. I need to stay with Your Majesty."
"No way! You're just going to abandon it now?" Baili Bing asked anxiously.
"What's wrong with that? You've handled most of the things before, haven't you? The sooner you accept it, the less chaotic things will be," Qin Mu said, puzzled.
“I know you’re still here, and it’s a good thing that you’re letting me take over, but His Majesty is still in Shuofang! I’m worried about problems. If something isn’t done well, wouldn’t it implicate everyone?” Baili Bing hurriedly explained.
"Didn't I tell you? I'm accompanying the Emperor, so I won't notify you if anything happens. Just keep managing Shuofang as before."
"Oh! Oh! I was wrong." Baili Bing patted his forehead with his folding fan.
"Then it's settled! I should take a break for a while." Qin Mu felt relaxed and stretched as he got up.
Although others have shared the workload over the years, managing such a large prefecture city, regardless of the sheer number of tasks, requires considering how to develop the region. Every day brings different matters that require his decision-making, and these decisions must be thoroughly considered before he can make a firm commitment.
It's truly effortless to not use your brain at all. With a wave of his hand, Qin Mu walked out of the room with a flourish.
Li Shimin was extremely satisfied with the development of Shuofang, and praised Qin Mu several times early in the morning.
"This is pork floss, and this is salted dried fish! Pork floss is a specialty of Shuofang, and salted dried fish is a specialty of Juyongguan. We exchange refined salt for dried fish, which is then processed into salted dried fish at Juyongguan and transported back. It's a side dish for the city guards," Qin Mu explained, pointing to the dishes on the table.
The trade with Juyongguan is a win-win situation. Juyongguan now has a very large fish production, but it is very difficult to transport fish over long distances. Fortunately, fish can be dried. In this way, Shuofang gets a type of meat, and Juyongguan gets another source of income.
Salt is quite expensive, while dried salted fish is much cheaper and can completely replace it for ordinary people. Just add a little to dishes, or even just eat it on its own with rice.
As for meat floss, it's simple. The cattle and sheep brought in from the grasslands were already very fat, and since they were all male, they didn't need to be raised all of them, so they were slaughtered and dried into jerky.
The dried meat was hard and could be considered unpalatable, so Qin Mu thought of meat floss and had it pounded into meat floss and packed into earthenware jars.
Meat floss, dried fish, and pickled vegetables are the side dishes for the soldiers of Shuofang. The Anbei Governor's Office is trying to learn from and emulate Shuofang, but they are not as wealthy and have received some support from Shuofang.
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