Chapter 122: I don’t want to understand my wild imagination, I just look at the flowers,…
No? I want to understand. It's just looking at a flower, but they have to make it like a spy war. Qi Buchen is tired.
When they were approaching the manor, Qi Buchen noticed something different. There were many more people hanging around the manor, looking at their carriage subtly. Perhaps they recognized the mark of the Fourth Prince and did not stop them.
Once they entered the farm, they found that there was a guard post every three steps and a sentry every five steps. The servants in the farm were gathered together like quails. When Baohuan saw Qi Buchen, it was as if she saw a relative, and tears welled up in her eyes.
Imagine a group of people suddenly rushing in. Even if they explained their identities, she couldn't help but be scared.
Qi Buchen comforted the servants with a few words before walking towards Yinzhen who was talking to someone.
"This is Gu Daban." Yinzhen introduced.
Qi Buchen was startled. The word "Otomo" was not something that could be used lightly. She nodded and said, "Tani Otomo."
Gu Daban said solemnly, "Your servant greets the Fourth Lady." After the formalities, he got straight to business. "I imagine the Fourth Lady is aware of this. Please tell me about the layout of the farm and the varieties grown there, so I can arrange your itinerary for tomorrow."
Qi Buchen liked this official attitude. He talked about Zhuangzi's situation in detail and took people to conduct an on-site investigation.
That night, almost no one in the village got any sleep.
The next day, after breakfast, Qi Buchen and others welcomed Kangxi and the Empress Dowager, who were dressed very simply.
After the greetings, Qi Buchen walked to the Empress Dowager's side and helped the old woman up. "Have you had breakfast, Madam?"
"I have used it," the Queen Mother said with a narrowed smile, looking around. "Your farm looks a little different from other places."
Qi Buchen supported the old man as they walked, answering, "To cultivate new varieties, you can't just wait for them to bloom; that would be too time-consuming. That's why my granddaughter-in-law built many greenhouses so the flowers can bloom year-round. With more blooms, you can select the best ones and save time."
"I was just wondering why the flowers are so well-behaved in your care, with a new variety appearing every now and then." The Queen Mother patted Qi Buchen's hand. "This greenhouse must have cost a lot of money, right?"
Qi Buchen smiled and said, "It did cost a lot. All the money I had previously used for my granddaughter-in-law's rouge shop and clothing store was invested. Fortunately, I was lucky and it was fruitful. Now I have made a profit."
"That's good." The Queen Mother smiled kindly. "I won't take advantage of you. I'll give you something good later. I won't let you suffer any loss."
Qi Buchen acted like a money-grubber: "This is a good deal. When I raise a new granddaughter-in-law, I'll send her to you. I must get all your good things."
The Queen Mother laughed heartily, "Why are you imitating Concubine Yi? She's always brooding over my little wealth, and it's not enough, now she's got you."
The Queen Mother paused and continued, "But you're still better than her. At least you're trying to cheat her with something, while she's just trying to get something for nothing!"
"It seems that my granddaughter-in-law will have to learn more from Yi'er Niang when she comes back." Qi Buchen said playfully.
The Queen Mother said happily, "I am lifting a rock and dropping it on my own feet."
The grandmother and granddaughter were chatting and laughing, and Kangxi and Yinzhen just listened beside them without saying a word.
After taking the Queen Mother to show all the larger greenhouses, Qi Buchen estimated the old woman's physical strength and suggested taking the Queen Mother to rest for a while.
The Empress Dowager agreed, but refused to let Kangxi accompany her: "It's rare for the Emperor to come out. He should walk around more and stretch his body."
Kangxi agreed, and Qi Buchen accompanied the empress dowager to rest, leaving Yinzhen to serve Kangxi.
After the women left, Kangxi looked around the small farm and suddenly asked, "Is this just for growing flowers?"
Yinzhen paused, lowered his head and replied, "I also planted some crops."
"Where is it?" Kangxi said in a calm tone, "What's going on?"
Yinzhen stepped forward to lead the way. "They are mainly Western crops, such as sweet potatoes, potatoes, corn, peppers, cabbage, tomatoes, zucchini, and lettuce. Sweet potatoes, potatoes, and corn are now widely grown among the people. The ones that came after were only collected from foreigners in the last two years. They were named by Ulanara based on Western names. We've tried planting them, but the quality isn't very good. We're still trying to select and breed them."
"Why do you want to plant these things?" asked Kangxi.
Yinzhen paused, then finally decided to speak the truth: "Ulanara...had people gather many Western dishes, hoping to taste them and see if they were as delicious as described in the books...Since these things couldn't be shipped in ready-made, she decided to grow them herself."
"As for sweet potatoes, potatoes, and corn, after trying to cook them, she found they weren't as delicious as described in the book. She thought it might be due to regional factors that these crops didn't grow as well as they did in their native land. So she wanted to try cultivating them to see if she could improve their quality."
Kangxi: "What are the results?"
Yinzhen: "Nothing else has changed. After two rounds of selective breeding, the corn tastes much better."
Like a leader and a subordinate on an inspection tour, father and son inspected all the crops planted by Qi Buchen. When they saw the corn, Yinzhen broke off an ear on the spot, peeled it open and showed it to Kangxi: "The kernels are much larger and taste sweeter."
"Go make two." Kangxi was not polite at all.
Yinzhen instructed the eunuch Gu, who was about to go on his errand, "Just cook this in plain water for the best flavor." He then explained to Kangxi why he hadn't offered it to him: "There were too few seeds. After harvesting, we only cooked one to taste."
Kangxi didn't know what to say. He turned back to the Empress Dowager and asked, "Did she arrange all this?"
"I pay less attention to it." Yinzhen said.
After finding the Queen Mother, Eunuch Gu also brought some cooked corn kernels. Qi Buchen didn't expect that they would actually go to see these things, and he felt a little nervous.
At first, she thought too simply, only thinking about how to increase the yield of sweet potatoes and potatoes. Later, after she had a deeper understanding of politics and realized how great the contribution would be and what kind of subsequent impact it might bring, she urgently changed her plan and put the cultivation of flowers in the open. On the one hand, it was to conceal her tracks, and on the other hand, it would allow her to accumulate experience in hybridization, breeding, and cultivation. When the time was right, she would launch a general attack on sweet potatoes and potatoes.
None of this was told to Yinzhen, and no one knows what Yinzhen said.
The Queen Mother ate some corn kernels and said with a smile, "Hongxi will probably like this."
Hongxi is five years old this year. He is often taken by the Crown Princess to pay respects to the Queen Mother. He is also the great-grandson that the Queen Mother is most familiar with. She only sees the others during the New Year holidays.
"Eating too much sweets will damage his teeth. Mother, please don't spoil him too much." Although Kangxi was not as strict with his grandson as he was with his son, he did not approve of spoiling him.
The Queen Mother smiled and replied, "It's been a while since you came out. Let's go back."
Since her husband had spoken, of course no one could refuse. With the departure of Kangxi, all the guards inside and outside the manor also withdrew, and for a moment the manor seemed quite empty.
Qi Buchen finally relaxed for a moment and asked, "Did you take the Emperor to see the crops?"
"Hmm." Yinzhen looked at Fu Jin's posture with some disapproval. This was too relaxed.
Qi Buchen pretended not to see his expression and asked, "Why did you want to see those?"
Yinzhen had no choice but to give up and ask Fu Jin to be more restrained: "Since the emperor asked, I went to see it on the way."
"Then..." Qi Buchen asked tentatively, "What did the Emperor say?"
Yinzhen shook his head and said, "Nothing." He paused and continued, "Wait until this crop of corn grows up, pick out some good ones and send them to the palace."
Qi Buchen was somewhat reluctant because the scale had to be controlled, so the number of good quality seeds that could be selected from each batch was already small, and it was not enough to use all of them as seeds. Now if he sent them to Kangxi, it would be several steps further away from the final goal.
"Okay." Qi Buchen agreed with a heartache.
Yinzhen was amused: "Are you so heartbroken?"
Qi Buchen curled his lips and nodded: "Except for the one I cooked last time, I have never been willing to eat it again."
We lost three today, but we will lose a lot more in the future.
"If you really want to eat more, just expand the scale and grow more, right?" Yinzhen suggested.
Qi Buchen shook his head: "You don't even know how much a greenhouse costs. It's not worth it for that."
Yinzhen was puzzled. "You don't have to plant all the crops in the greenhouse. You can plant more in the spring according to the season. It may not be as good as the three harvests a year in your greenhouse, but the quantity is large enough to make up for the shortfall."
"With a large quantity, there's more randomness. Who knows if the ones we cultivate by then will be better or worse?" Qi Buchen continued to find excuses to refuse. "I don't have the patience to wait three or four years."
In fact, in hybrid breeding, the more samples the better, but that was under modern conditions with comprehensive monitoring mechanisms. But now, she has nothing. Just a group of farmers who don't even understand hybridization, relying on experience and carefulness to slowly explore, accumulation and progress are slow.
A larger area requires more manpower and more money. Qi Buchen does not plan to spend too much on this for the time being. She also plans to use the money to lure some special talents from the West, such as down-and-out mathematicians, chemists, inventors, etc.
She had been here for so long, but the most exciting thing wasn't meeting Kangxi and the others, but hearing that Newton was still alive! The moment she learned Newton was still alive, she fantasized about bringing this great god to the Qing Dynasty. Unfortunately, she learned the next moment that Newton was now in his fifties and his body could not withstand the long sea voyage.
After a moment of regret, Qi Buchen was struck by a new idea. If Newton couldn't do it, perhaps someone else could? She regretted not having memorized the names and birth and death dates of all those Western scientists. Otherwise, she could have planned ahead and found a way to bring these talented individuals to the Qing Dynasty.
What a pity.
However, Qi Buchen did not give up. She had become much more proficient in maritime trade through cooperation with others in the past two years. She also began to send people to follow the ships. It didn't matter whether they made money or not. What mattered was that they brought back the latest scientific works from the West. It would be best if she could seduce people. She would reserve both people and books and, if she had the chance in the future, she would try to develop science in the Qing Dynasty.
The Industrial Revolution is still a long way off, but the seeds of "basic science" can be planted first.
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Author's words: Qi Buchen [Dream Talk]: Newton, woo woo, I finally see you! Can you give me an autograph? I also want to take a photo with you
Yinzhen: Newton? A Westerner, sure. I'll flatten Europe right now. I want to see what kind of man my wife will never forget!
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