"Wine, wine...ah..."
The hot and spicy taste exploded in Sima Che's mouth, her face flushed instantly, and fine beads of sweat appeared on her smooth forehead.
It was like a fire, burning from her tongue to her stomach.
Xiao Xing'er quickly handed her a glass of wine, and Sima Che drank it all in one gulp in front of the shocked gazes of Fu Xiaoguan and Yun Xiyan.
Her tongue stuck out, and she was breathing heavily, but her face still had an unyielding look. "Isn't it just, hiss... spicy food? Cough cough cough... I can do it!"
Fu Xiaoguan grinned. This was a woman who refused to admit defeat. She was quite interesting.
He stood up and poured a cup of tea for Sima Che. "Take your time, but don't force it."
"Thank you...some things have to be forced."
Yun Xiyan applauded, "Brother Sima is right. A gentleman should do what he should do and not do what he shouldn't do. If you can't even make hot pot here, how can you make hot pot for the whole world? Come on, come on, let me toast Brother Sima!"
Sima Che was feeling very spicy, so she twisted the bottle without hesitation and said, "Three cups!"
"What a courage! Now I believe Brother Sima will definitely make it into the top five!"
Sima Che's face turned red again, luckily it was already red. She secretly glanced at Fu Xiaoguan, who was looking at her with a smile.
That article might actually make it into the top five.
But if this girl wants to become an official, she must clear an obstacle for herself... Disguising as a man is allowed in operas, but it is extremely inconvenient after all. It seems that I have to find a time to go to the palace and talk to His Majesty that women can also become officials.
After three cups of wine, Yun Xiyan talked freely:
"As for the origins of hot pot, it was first invented in Yuzhou by the Yangtze River boatmen for convenience. Then it gradually spread to Jiannan and other places, and now it has even become a specialty of Jiannan and other places."
He paused, put the tripe on the plate, and continued, "Speaking of which, Wofengdao is also a good place for hot pot. The climate there is also quite cold. If Brother Sima can really get to Wofengdao, I can tell you that this thing can effectively dispel dampness and is very good for the body."
"Brother Yun, have you ever been to Wofeng Road?"
Fu Xiaoguan asked curiously, but Yun Xiyan shook his head.
"My family is a fairly well-known Shu embroidery merchant in Chengdu Prefecture. We once had a silk cocoon supplier from Wofeng Road. I heard it from them."
"A Shu embroidery merchant? What's the relationship between Yunmeng Brocade and your family?" Sima Che asked curiously. Yun Xiyan smiled slightly and said, "Yunmeng Brocade is exactly my family."
Sima Che opened his mouth, but Fu Xiaoguan didn't know and asked curiously, "Is he famous?"
Sima Che nodded, "The four famous embroideries of the Yu Dynasty, Yunmeng Brocade Embroidery is one of them."
"Oh..." Fu Xiaoguan nodded thoughtfully, then asked, "Silkworms are abundant in Shu. I think silk weaving in Shu and Jiangnan is comparable. Do we still need to purchase raw materials from Wofengyuan?"
Yun Xiyan put down his chopsticks and said with a smile, "I'm not afraid of Brother Sima knowing this now. The silk cocoons from Wofengyuan are even superior in quality to those from Shu. The silk is extremely resilient, delicate and smooth. It has two great characteristics. One is that the silk yield is higher than that of Shu cocoons, and the other is... its price is 40% lower than that of Shu cocoons!"
"That place was once inhabited by the Yi people. The Yi people weren't skilled in weaving, so very few of them raised silkworms. Cocoons weren't easy to sell in the Yi country, so my family bought their cocoons for a long time. The only pity is that the quantity was small, only accounting for 30% of our needs."
Fu Xiaoguan became interested. "So, Wofeng Road is a very suitable place for growing mulberry trees and raising silkworms?"
"I've looked around the area under the new Wofeng Road, and it's really like that."
"Why are the silk cocoons from Wofengdao better than those from Shu?"
"...This," Yun Xiyan hesitated for a moment, then finally spoke out, "This is truly a secret. To be honest, brothers, I originally wanted to seek an official position under Earl Ding'an, and my administration would begin with mulberry planting and silkworm breeding. My father once made a special trip to study this area and concluded that male silkworms are predominant in the Wofeng Road area."
“Is there any difference?”
"Brother Fu, or perhaps even among the silkworm merchants in this world, there are probably not many people who know this."
Fu Xiaoguan poured another glass of wine for Yun Xiyan and raised his glass, "I'd like to hear more about it."
The two drank a glass of wine. Yun Xiyan smacked his lips and said, "My father has been dealing with silkworms and silk all his life. He once said that male silkworms are easier to raise than female silkworms. Secondly, male silkworms make better use of mulberry leaves. After a season of raising silkworms, male silkworms can save at least 10% of the feeding cost."
However, the silk production, number of cocoon layers, and silk production rate of male silkworms are 20% higher than those of female silkworms!
Therefore, my idea is to vigorously promote male silkworm breeding technology and build the county into the largest supplier of silk cocoons for the Yu Dynasty. This will attract powerful weaving merchants, such as a wealthy family like Brother Sima.
With weaving merchants, the silk produced can be provided to clothing workshops on the one hand, and to embroidery workshops on the other.
In this way, a production chain from raw materials to final products is formed. As a county magistrate, I can drink tea every day and do nothing else. This county can ensure the prosperity of the people and the satisfaction of the merchants. How easy and comfortable it is to be an official!"
Sima Che was unhappy when he heard this.
"Hey, hey, hey, what you said can't be considered your idea. I...I thought so too! My family's main business is weaving. If I become the county magistrate, my family's business will definitely be settled in the county under my jurisdiction!"
Yun Xiyan chuckled and poured a glass of wine for everyone. "Why are you so anxious? If I were assigned to Qizhou by Ding'an Earl, I wouldn't choose to plant mulberry trees and raise silkworms."
"Then where do you start?"
Fu Xiaoguan became more and more interested in this kid. Yun Xiyan's ideas were clear and well-organized. What he said was not just general talk, but practical and feasible strategies!
In particular, he was able to come up with a complete industrial chain, which is a rare and valuable idea.
"Silk is too expensive, so ordinary people still mainly wear linen clothes. Qizhou is a place that produces linen, and it was originally the main source of linen cloth for the Yi Kingdom."
He walked back, twisting the bottle of wine, and sat down next to Fu Xiaoguan. "If I were in Qizhou, I wouldn't even bother planting mulberry trees and raising silkworms. I could just order all the people under my jurisdiction to plant hemp trees, and countless weavers would come to me and ask me to set up workshops. It would just be a matter of policy, and I could eat hot pot and sing songs every day, living a carefree life."
"You...!" Sima Che glared at Yun Xiyan, "If we don't farm, what will the people eat?"
"Haha, farming?" Yun Xiyan raised his glass. "Brother Sima, we should adapt to local conditions. Farming... is Wofengyuan's business. The yield per mu of land there is twice that of other places. Why use our own weakness to attack the enemy's strength?"
As he said this, Yun Xiyan patted Fu Xiaoguan on the shoulder and said, "Brother Fu, Wofeng Road is a treasure land with great potential! So Brother Fu, you must pass the exam this autumn. When the time comes, use your connections to get transferred to Wofeng Road. We can join hands in this great cause and plan our future together!"
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