Chapter 176 175. Fox's Fruit - Tomato
tomato!
Zhou Yi didn't expect to see tomatoes at the port of Xiling. Just like the peppers, they were treated as ornamental plants.
He should have thought of it earlier!
He didn't know where the tomatoes in the Dayu Dynasty originated from, but in the previous life, tomatoes originated in South America and were originally wild berries in South America. People there believed that their bright colors made them highly poisonous and regarded them as "fox fruit". They were only used for viewing and not for eating.
When it was first introduced to China, it was also used as an ornamental plant. It was not until the mid-to-late 19th century that Chinese people began to eat tomatoes and began to grow them on a large scale in major cities such as Shanghai.
The same logic applies.
After peppers and tomatoes were introduced from overseas to the Dayou Dynasty, they were naturally introduced as ornamental plants. If he wanted to find these two things, it would be faster to find them among ornamental plants, just like the five-fingered ginseng is usually used as a medicinal herb to treat diseases instead of being used to make soup.
"You want wolf peaches?"
Lei Li saw him staring at the two potted plants. The leaves were emerald green and the fruits were bright red, somewhat similar to peppers. "Is that also a kind of pepper?"
"no."
Zhou Yi shook his head. "Tomato and pepper are two different genera, but they are both in the Solanaceae family and are close relatives. The only difference is that one is in the Capsicum genus and the other is in the Solanum genus. Tomato is more closely related to eggplant."
Seeing that Lei Li was a little confused, he thought for a moment and changed his explanation.
"For example, Sister Huaer and Xiaomu are siblings from the same mother, and are cousins of our little Jiang. However, we all have the same grandparents, our maternal grandparents."
"That's probably the relationship."
"Then I understand."
Lei Li made an OK gesture to show that he understood. "So tomatoes are just imported eggplants, right? Like eggplants and peppers, they can be made into dishes, right?"
"right."
Zhou Yi said, "But they all taste different. Chili peppers are spicy and pungent, eggplants are softer, and tomatoes are sour and sweet. They are delicious whether eaten raw or cooked."
He added, "Just like Sister Huaer, Xiaomu, and Xiaoshengjiang all have different personalities."
"I understand. I understand."
Lei Li's comprehension wasn't that bad. "But if it's called a tomato, why is it called a wolf peach? That doesn't sound like a good name for an eggplant."
Not like a good eggplant...
Zhou Yi was amused and said, "Tomatoes are actually slightly poisonous. Their fruits and leaves contain a toxin called tomatine, which can be toxic if consumed in large quantities. Of course, the amount we normally eat is far from enough to cause poisoning."
"The tableware of some Western nobles was made of tin alloy, which contained a lot of lead. The acidic juice of tomatoes interacted with the lead and caused lead poisoning. That's how the reputation of wolfberry spread."
"As for why it's called Wolf Peach, I don't remember. It seems to be related to some legend they have. There's a wolf-like monster that eats people, called a werewolf. And this tomato is poisonous and 'eats people.'"
"...This tomato doesn't sound like a good thing."
Lei Li looked at Zhou Yi dimly. Although Zhou Yi said it was only slightly poisonous, it was still poisonous and had even killed people. It was impossible not to be in awe of it.
“It’s really good stuff.”
Zhou Yi said confidently, "And it's really, really delicious. I guarantee it will be a big seller like chili peppers. It can also be used as a hot pot soup base, like a tomato hot pot. It can be used to cook dishes and as a sauce. It's sour and sweet, and you'll definitely like it once you try it."
Since he would definitely like it...
"All right then."
Lei Li was pleased by Zhou Yi's words and nodded in agreement. "Then I'll buy a few. This thing is as easy to grow as peppers, right? Don't buy anything delicate. I heard that peonies and peonies are difficult to grow."
They are all ornamental plants. Tomatoes are as expensive and difficult to grow as peonies. The yield is definitely not going to increase. How can he make money then?
“It’s very easy to grow.”
Zhou Yi quickly said, "Any kind will do. It's just like the Chinese cabbage, and it's easier to grow than peppers."
"That works."
Lei Li is rich now, and she is not stingy anymore when buying things. She just bought a lace handkerchief for one or two taels of silver, and she will buy anything her husband wants for a hundred taels of silver!
——Damn it!
This thing is really expensive!
Even if it's imported, it's still absurdly expensive to buy one hundred taels of silver per tree! Ten times more expensive than the original chili peppers. Crazy, right?!
"This is good stuff from Southeast Asia. One hundred taels a tree isn't expensive!"
The merchant talked incessantly, wiping away tears from time to time, looking grief-stricken and miserable. "You know, at sea, there are always stormy waves. One big wave hit our ship and capsized, and many people died!"
"Besides, these plants are not easy to grow at sea. Even though there are only three or four of them, we spent a lot of money to buy twenty of them and carefully cared for them to have so many left."
"If you hadn't come earlier, I would have wanted to get the silver as soon as possible to pay compensation to my deceased subordinates, and I wouldn't have offered you a low price of 100 taels of silver..."
"Stop farting!"
Lei Li sneered, "Do you think I'm easy to fool? This wolf peach is poisonous. If you accidentally poison someone, you'll pay for the crime. Not only will you receive compensation, but you'll also be able to reunite with your men at the Earthly Emperor's place!"
"Besides, these wolf peaches are easy to grow. Just water them and they'll keep growing. Are you lying to me by saying I'll take good care of them?"
"The flowers are small, and there are only a few fruits worth looking at, and they are half-dead. I don't even know if they will survive if I buy them. How dare you sell them to me for a hundred taels of silver per tree?"
"this……"
The merchant broke out in a cold sweat.
He didn't expect that this man knew so much. These wolf peaches were indeed unwanted by foreigners. He thought they looked pretty, so he took advantage of the opportunity and picked a few of them and brought them on board. He didn't take good care of them, so they became so sickly.
"Well, how much do you want to say? After all, I shipped this all the way from overseas. This is too little... I can't explain it to my subordinates!"
"That's all."
Lei Li slapped his face.
"Fifty taels per tree?"
"What the hell."
"...all fifty taels?"
"Guess again."
"this……"
The sea merchant rubbed his hands, swallowed his saliva, and stole a glance at the tall, strong, and stern-looking man next to the handsome young man, fearing that if he was dissatisfied, the man would punch him with his sandbag-sized fist.
"Please give me a specific number..."
"Five taels of silver."
Lei Li said mercilessly, "I want all four. Pay the money and I'll give you the goods."
"That won't do!"
The merchant screamed. This was the first time he had seen someone bargain like this. A fucking blow to the neck. Five hundred taels reduced to five?!
"Think carefully, this is poisonous. If someone dies from it, the compensation will be much more than this."
Seeing his hesitation and reluctance, Lei Li offered him a ladder to climb down. "Forget it. It's not easy for you to come all this way, and there are deaths on the boat... Fifty taels of silver for four trees, that's the highest price."
"OK!"
The merchant pretended to grit his teeth and accepted the money to sell the tomatoes, but in fact he didn't spend a penny to buy the tomatoes. He just picked them from the roadside. He got fifty taels of silver from them, which was not a loss at all!
He knew that Lei Li was deliberately intimidating him to lower the price, but this thing was indeed poisonous. Although he dared to do business at sea, there was a difference between someone dying at sea and killing someone himself.
Lei Li couldn't lower the price too much. Although Zhou Yi said that it would definitely sell well and he didn't know whether it was true or not, it was indeed shipped all the way from overseas, and it was probably true that someone had died. He should give him some hard work fee.
So everyone was happy, the money was paid and the goods were delivered, and both parties were satisfied.
There are still many strange things in the port, including rare treasures, but Zhou Yi is not in the mood to shop around anymore. If he doesn’t water the tomatoes, they will die!
The two of them hurried back home in a carriage, changed the flowerpots for the four tomatoes, planted them carefully, and then immersed the pots and flowers in the pool to let them drink enough water before they felt relieved.
This tomato is quite small.
It was even hard to tell whether they were cherry tomatoes or the large tomatoes used for cooking, but Zhou Yi picked all the ripe ones.
not much.
Only about twenty.
There was probably little sunlight on the boat and no watering in time, so the plants withered and many fruits fell off. Only a few lucky ones made it to shore.
But there is still a lot of juice.
Zhou Yi washed them and handed one to Lei Li. Lei Li raised his eyebrows and looked at the things in his basket mischievously. They looked quite precious, but he was only given one of them when there were so many.
However, he knew Zhou Yi's personality and understood that only by saving seeds and planting tomatoes could they continue to grow. After taking it, he said nothing and took a bite.
"How about it?"
Zhou Yi smiled a little, "Isn't it sour and sweet, and quite delicious?"
"really."
Lei Li nodded calmly and handed him the half-eaten tomato. "It's quite delicious. You should try it too. Don't eat the ones with seeds."
"good."
Zhou Yi took it without a doubt, took a small bite, and instantly doubted his life because of the sour taste. His facial features were slightly grim, "...Why is it so sour?"
"Isn't it sour and sweet?"
Lei Li glared at him with a smile, a hint of joy at having had revenge in his mischievous tone, "Such a sour thing actually dared to lie to me. Are you looking for a fight now that you've grown wings?"
“…Really not.”
Zhou Yi explained weakly, "These tomatoes probably haven't been well cared for and are malnourished, which is why they're so sour. After they've healed well for a while, they should be...sweeter."
etc.
Isn't this tomato variety sour?
Probably not...
Zhou Yi thought to himself, "Why not add more sugar when cooking? Sugar-coated tomatoes are also quite delicious..."
Regardless of whether these tomatoes are sour or not, Zhou Yi plans to keep the remaining tomato fruits for seeds. He can select and cultivate them later based on the sweetness issue. If those plants die, there will be no more for them.
Imported items.
It's really a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
—
When Liu Xiaocao and the others came back, they found a few new plants in the house. They were a little curious, but knowing that Lei Li wanted to use them for business, they didn't ask much.
Fortunately, Zhou Yi had picked all the fruits, otherwise Sister Huaer or the little ginger who loved to show off treasures to Xiaobao might have been in trouble.
The month before last, when we were still in Qingmi County, Xiao Shengjiang plucked two five-colored peppers for Xiaobao because he thought the colorful ones looked very pretty...
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