"No...no, I think it's better to..."
Prince Chen doesn't really like these things and only eats them occasionally. Besides, the ones He Jiuniang bought today look sour, and his mouth is already watering.
He Jiuniang pouted and said, "Alright, then I'll go eat by myself. Can I borrow the Prince's kitchen?"
As he spoke, he instructed the servants to take all the fruit to the kitchen.
Prince Chen became even more curious: "Isn't this fruit something you can eat directly? Why do we need to go to the kitchen?"
Lu Baichuan knew that He Jiuniang often used these fruits to make delicious food, but he didn't know what she wanted to make this time.
So he shook his head and said, "My wife always has ingenious ideas, Your Highness, please don't worry, you'll find out soon enough."
The princess had already followed them into the kitchen out of curiosity. Prince Chen was also very curious, so he went to the small courtyard outside the kitchen to sit and play chess with Lu Baichuan while waiting. Meanwhile, the princess rolled up her sleeves and joined He Jiuniang in peeling and mashing the fruit.
Prince Chen and Lu Baichuan sat outside, and they could often hear the woman's laughter coming out. Seeing the princess so happy, Prince Chen was also happy.
“Your wife is truly a wonderful person. Every time the Princess sees her, she smiles so happily. I really hope your whole family can move to the capital soon, so that the Princess can have more playmates.”
Prince Chen sighed sincerely, but it was impossible not to know. Lu Baichuan's official position was already quite high. If he continued to be promoted, it would definitely cause turmoil in the court. Besides, he couldn't promote him now. As for the old emperor, well, it was better not to have any hope.
However, if Prince Chen knew that the old emperor had previously brought up the matter of promoting Lu Baichuan to He Jiuniang, but He Jiuniang had refused without hesitation, he would probably be quite angry.
Such a good opportunity, yet she could refuse it; no one knows what He Jiuniang was thinking.
"I believe that day will not be too far off."
Lu Baichuan curled the corners of his lips, subtly flattering Prince Chen.
Prince Chen was naturally pleased and continued playing chess with Lu Baichuan.
"It's ready, come and have a taste!"
An hour later, He Jiu Niang and the Princess Consort each brought out various kinds of food made from fruits, such as jams, fruits boiled in sugar water, jelly, and freshly squeezed juice.
The most popular item was the jelly, which was bouncy and refreshing with a sweet and sour taste that they had never eaten before.
The freshly squeezed juice even had ice added. In the dead of winter, Prince Chen looked at He Jiu Niang in shock. Was she serious?
"Let's have some antique soup today! This iced drink goes perfectly with the antique soup, but people with sensitive stomachs shouldn't try it, as it can cause diarrhea."
He Jiu Niang spoke without hesitation, leaving Prince Chen and his wife momentarily stunned and somewhat bewildered.
"Cough cough..."
Lu Baichuan coughed, reminding He Jiuniang to watch her words. He Jiuniang replied, "But it's alright, I'm still here. I can get medical treatment anytime if anything happens."
Prince Chen and his wife: ...
This is the first time I've ever heard of getting sick from eating antique soup.
But thinking about it, it makes sense. The antique soup is hot and the juice is cold; eating them together would definitely cause trouble.
Fortunately, He Jiuniang wasn't always so unethical. Knowing that there were children in Prince Chen's mansion, she naturally didn't put ice in the drink for the children. However, since the fruit was so sour, she added a lot of syrup to flavor it.
After all this tinkering, He Jiuniang finally understood that even in the capital, there weren't many sweet fruits in this era; they all had a sour and astringent taste. Unless it was a pregnant woman who loved sour things, a child with a sweet tooth, or someone who was naturally fond of sour things, no one else could possibly like to eat such sour fruits unless they underwent some kind of processing.
After enjoying a hearty meal at the Prince's Mansion, Lu Baichuan and his wife returned to their own residence.
Back home, Lu Baichuan finally asked the question that had been bothering him: "Why did you suddenly buy so much fruit? Are you planning to start a fruit business?"
Lu Baichuan knew that his wife loved doing business and would never do anything without a reason; she must have her own reasons for doing this.
He Jiuniang looked at him with some surprise and said, "I do want to start a fruit business. What do you think I should do to make more money?"
"If you want to sell the food you made today, only jelly and jam are easy to make. Juice, candied fruit and seeds are not difficult to make. As long as you have fruit, you can make them yourself. It's not worth the trouble."
Lu Baichuan shared his insights. Although he didn't know much about doing business, he understood the most basic principles.
Wealthy families have servants, so they can arrange for the servants to prepare these delicacies so that the family doesn't have to lift a finger to enjoy them.
Poor families, however, felt that spending money to buy these things was too wasteful, and it was better to make them themselves. In short, these two kinds of businesses were not easy to run.
He Jiuniang nodded, agreeing with what he said, and said, "I think you are right, but the business I want to do is not just this. It is to improve the tree species so that everyone can eat sweet fruit, instead of the sour fruit on the market now."
"You mean, you're planning to plant trees?"
Lu Baichuan frowned, instantly becoming worried.
"Yes, that's what I'm planning. Right now, the only sweet fruits available are in the Western Regions, but transporting them back and forth is troublesome and expensive. Why don't we grow them ourselves? I'm determined to make money from this."
He Jiuniang was very confident and felt that she could definitely make this business a success.
Lu Baichuan said, “Improving tree species is no small matter. Seeds are hard to come by, and the climate for planting is also very harsh. It’s not that no one has thought about planting fruits from the Western Regions, but our climate here is really not suitable, and the fruit trees take three to five years to mature, which is time-consuming and laborious, and not worth it.”
Lu Baichuan was also worried that improving this tree species would cause a lot of trouble. If it was successfully planted and made money, it would attract envy and cause all sorts of problems.
If it's just a minor incident, that's fine, but if someone uses it to make a fuss and question her, then it'll be troublesome.
With the situation still uncertain, Lu Baichuan couldn't guarantee that things would develop according to his wishes. If something unexpected happened, he would be powerless to help and might not be able to protect his entire family.
He Jiuniang, however, did not care and said, "Don't worry, I have a plan for this. If the climate is not suitable, we will create a suitable environment for it to live in. It's all up to us, and I'm sure I can do it well. As for the other things you are worried about, there is no need for that. If I can really grow it, it will be a good thing for many people. Anyone who is blind and wants to cause me trouble will have to see if they have the luck to do so."
Hearing He Jiuniang say this, Lu Baichuan knew he couldn't dissuade her. Since that was the case, he could only work harder to improve his official rank and power. If anything happened, he would protect her with his life.
"Yes, I'll support whatever you do."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com