Chapter 46 Planting Ginseng
Cherry tomatoes became the imperial fruit, indispensable at banquets and sacrificial offerings in the palace. This alone ensured a steady income for the family.
Moreover, there were also powerful and influential figures from the capital who had come to visit...
Who would let him work for nothing? Since it's a royal fruit, isn't one tael of silver a bit too little? The price needs to be discussed further.
Jia Lian seemed to see strings of gold and silver ingots lined up as they entered their family's storeroom.
"It was my grandson who delivered it to Prince Xian's residence," Jia Lian replied after calming down.
Lady Wang was truly surprised that Jia Lian had actually managed to accomplish this. The eunuch Xia had been so respectful to her when he came to the house earlier.
"Eunuch Xia said he had such a good thing, but our family didn't contact him immediately. Instead, we sent it to Prince Xian's mansion. Do we look down on him?"
She still didn't want Jia Lian to be too smug, so she always had to make things difficult for them.
"It's nothing. When you go to the palace later, just say a few nice words to Eunuch Xia, and that will be fine. If the Emperor asks you anything, just answer truthfully; if you don't know, just say you don't know. The current Emperor is kind and gentle, and he certainly won't make things difficult for you because of these things."
Grandmother Jia looked at Jia Lian with a gratified expression. Among their younger generation, Jia Lian was the first to be summoned to the palace to meet the Emperor alone.
"Your father has benefited from your presence; the Emperor has allowed him to enter the palace with you. I'm worried about him in his current state. Be careful and make sure nothing goes wrong with him." Grandmother Jia was somewhat anxious when she thought about how the Emperor had also summoned Jia She to the palace.
As for Jia Lian, she had heard about his performance over the past six months. Now he seemed to have lost his youthful arrogance and was doing things steadily and methodically, so she had nothing to worry about.
"I understand, grandson," Jia Lian replied respectfully.
"You should seal off your cherry tomato farm and not let anyone come and go as they please."
Upon hearing this, Wang Xifeng couldn't help but laugh.
“Grandma, you don’t need to worry. Our Second Master Lian has assigned thirty or forty people to guard those one hundred tomato plants. If even one leaf falls from a tomato plant, those people will be punished. No one dares to touch those tomatoes.”
Grandmother Jia was truly surprised that Jia Lian would go to such lengths for these hundred tomatoes, which made her think more highly of him.
Hearing Wang Xifeng's words, Jia Lian felt a little pleased, thinking that Feng'er still cared about him. He had never told her these things before, yet she knew them all. She must have sent someone to ask her.
"The original steward knows best about the habits of cherry tomatoes. Feng'er, you two go and ask her again to see if there's anything you've missed or don't know." Grandmother Jia was thinking ahead after all. Thinking about where the tomatoes came from, she hurriedly sent someone to invite Yuan Hongqu over.
Yuan Hongqu never expected that Jia Lian would accomplish such a great feat with those one hundred tomato seedlings.
However, the Rongguo Mansion is a powerful family, and with the help of their family's resources, it shouldn't be too difficult for them to accomplish something like this.
Yuan Hongqu explained to them again the characteristics of tomatoes, all the possible situations that may be encountered during planting, as well as the nutritional value of tomatoes and how to eat them.
Jia Lian focused his questions on how to cultivate seedlings and whether it was possible to save seeds.
Yuan Hongqu thought for a moment. Although she could provide them with high-quality seeds for the space, it would be more convenient for them to keep them themselves. She couldn't just happen to have tomato seeds every time!
So she also told Jia Lian how to collect tomato seeds.
Logically speaking, these are all secret recipes that are not passed on to others, but when Yuan Hongqu gave away the tomato seedlings, she never thought that she would make them a rare commodity.
Because she has just too many rare and unusual items!
Moreover, the compensation Jia Lian offered was quite good.
The estate they visited last time has already been bought. It's a 400-acre estate, and there's also a property on the estate that belongs to her.
The greenhouse she wanted to build is also under construction in an orderly manner.
Jia Lian was in charge of all of this; she didn't have to worry about it at all.
In addition, there were the ginseng seeds that Jia Lian had given her last time. She had successfully cultivated ginseng seedlings and was waiting for the right time to transplant them.
She had already planted those few small ginseng roots in a cool, damp place in the space, and they were now growing vigorously, with one of them already sprouting ginseng seeds.
Five-year-old ginseng seeds can be used as seeds for sowing. That is to say, after the ginseng seeds have fallen four times, on the fifth time, she can plant a large area of ginseng.
Given the growth rate of the plants in the space, that day will come very soon.
Jia She brought Jia Lian along, and the father and son went to the palace to meet the emperor.
Although he knew perfectly well why he was going to the palace this time, he couldn't help but feel uneasy because the emperor's mind was unpredictable.
Madam Wang returned to her room, smashed several teacups, and was filled with resentment.
How come the credit for this time went to the eldest son's family all by themselves?
If this credit belongs to their second wife, wouldn't her daughter in the palace also gain the Emperor's favor?
Regardless of what the adults were thinking, the children were having a great time.
They had eaten their fill of tomatoes and were gathered together, painting pictures of the cherry tomatoes.
Xichun is very talented in painting.
Once the watercolor paint is mixed and applied to the paper, it looks exactly like a tomato with a pearly sheen.
Everyone painted with great interest today.
Tomatoes are easy to draw, but drawing them well is not an easy task.
In the end, only Xichun's painting was the most lifelike. After the painting dried, Xichun solemnly presented it to Yuan Hongqu.
Yuan Hongqu accepted the painting and then took them to the greenhouse to see the ginseng seedlings that had already sprouted.
Inside the greenhouse, there was a small pond about three feet square, filled with fertile soil and covered with straw. Through the straw, patches of green could be vaguely seen inside.
“Once these leaves grow straw, they can be transplanted to the place you have prepared,” Yuan Hongqu said.
"Teacher Yuan, I've already found the right place, and Sister Feng has given instructions that no one is allowed to touch those areas," Jia Baoyu said hurriedly.
"Has the base fertilizer been applied? The land for planting ginseng must be very fertile. Before planting, the base fertilizer should be applied at least three times," Yuan Hongqu emphasized again.
"Granny, we had someone mix wood ash, pond mud, old pit soil, and decaying leaf sand with the most fertile black soil. Granny, is anything else missing?" Daiyu was the one who kept records, so she was very familiar with these things.
Yuan Hongqu praised,
“Very good. The ginseng seedlings are growing very fast. I think they can be transplanted in about ten days. If you have time these days, go and check the transplanting site again. If there is anything unsuitable, change it as soon as possible.”
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