Chapter 68
The few people who ate the sweet potatoes were guarded by the doctor from Beisi for a day, and there was no abnormality at all.
The next day, the doctor discreetly checked the pulses of several people before reporting to Cao Mi: “Princess, these four people are healthy and have no symptoms.”
Cao Mi nodded and said happily, “That’s good.”
After that, when she brought the group from Beisi back to the sweet potato field, their attitude towards the green vines all over the ground was very different.
After all, on the day of cooking sweet potatoes, the sweet taste still lingers in everyone’s hearts.
The experienced old farmer pulled out two more plants, observed them for a while, and said to Cao Mi, “Princess, these… It seems that they can grow a little longer and grow bigger.”
Cao Mi nodded.
This batch of sweet potatoes was planted by vine cuttings during summer time. It has only been less than three months, and it is not yet time to dig it up.
“It does need to wait for a while.” Cao Mi affirmed: “You can pay attention to the vines. I remember that the previous one was withered and yellowed, and the fruit at the bottom was bigger.”
When everyone heard this, they all respectfully declared “yes”.
As the steward of the villa, Beisi thought more.
He asked, “Princess, are there still seeds of this ivy in the mansion?”
Cao Mizheng wanted to find a reason to mention this, and after hearing him take the initiative to ask, he replied, “I got the seeds by accident before, and I’m afraid I won’t have them again in the future.”
Bei Si pursed his lips, looking a little embarrassed.
He said: “This kind of plant is a bit strange. So far, we haven’t seen it bloom, and naturally no seeds have been collected… So, what should I do next year?”
Cao Mi smiled and encouraged: “It just so happens that the weather is still warm now, you can try something.
“This red fruit can be planted by cuttings as long as it has vines. Maybe you can find a way to keep some vines, or try to use other parts to raise seedlings.”
Bei Si nodded and said respectfully, “The villain understands.”
Before he was about to leave, Cao Mi couldn’t help but remind him again: “I once read a seedling raising method in a book, which is to put the fruit of the crop in a humid and warm place to make it germinate, and then use the small seedlings on the fruit to germinate. Buds are planted.
“You might try this method.”
Bei Si repeated it in a low voice, then nodded towards Cao Mi and said, “Yes, princess.”
Cao Mi was relieved when he saw that he had written it down and realized that he had a problem.
As for issues such as expanding the scale of planting, let’s wait until the sweet potatoes are harvested, and Beisi and others have tasted the sweetness.
Now that sweet potatoes have not yet been harvested, Cao Mi can’t describe to them the per-mu yield that sweet potatoes can achieve.
Cao Mi hopes to wait for them to find out by themselves, so that they don’t need to remind themselves at that time, and they will naturally take the initiative to consider expanding the planting.
After finishing the affairs of the villa, Cao Mi brought people back to the palace.
Less than three miles away from the villa, Princess Bei’an’s convoy was suddenly forced to stop.
Cao Mi opened the car window strangely.
The one who came out with her this time was a useful adjutant next to Qi Liu named Qi Man.
Qi Man came to Cao Mi’s carriage and reported, “Princess, there has been a small accident ahead. The ox cart driven by the nearby villagers got stuck in the pit and blocked the way. Please wait a moment.”
Hearing this, Cao Mi nodded and said, “Well, it doesn’t matter. You can find some people over there, and if you can help, try to help them as much as possible.”
Qi Man heard the words, nodded, and made arrangements on his own.
After a short while, Qi Man led an old man over.
In ancient times when the average life expectancy was not long, such an old man with white temples and hair was very respected. Cao Mi got the message from the maid, got off the carriage, and greeted the old man.
The old man was the village chief of the group of people who just got stuck on the road. They were helped by Cao Mi and wanted to thank Cao Mi before leaving.
Cao Mi didn’t dare to accept the courtesy of such an old man, so he gently avoided it and said, “The road is rough and difficult, and occasional twists and turns are common. When you go out, you should help each other, and the old man doesn’t need to be more polite.”
The old man saluted Cao Mi again: “Thank you, Wang Fei, for your help. Wang Ye and Wang Fei have good hearts, and our people in Liaozhou are happy!”
The two chatted a few more times before the old man left under the guidance of the guards.
Cao Mi returned to the car, but remembered something very important.
The carriage she was riding was equipped with the Bei’an Palace, which was not only luxurious on the outside, but also very comfortable on the inside.
The bottom of the carriage was padded with a thick cashmere blanket, and the surface was covered with a layer of silk. The carriage was driving on such a dirt road, as long as it was a little more stable, Cao Mi would not feel too bumpy.
But such road conditions are very difficult for ordinary people.
Now that the operation of the villa and various workshops is on the right track, Cao Mi has also gotten out of the dilemma of constantly pouring money out, and has become a rich man who is making money every day. She pondered that maybe she should take a long-term view and find an opportunity to repair the road near Cannes.
Fortunately, cement has been invented long ago. If you want to build a road, it is not difficult.
The most important thing is to build the road from Kangcheng to Rongguang Villa first, so that she can greatly reduce the time she spends traveling between the palace and the villa.
This alone made Cao Mi feel that it was imperative to build a road.
She took out a pen and paper, wrote down the road construction, and prepared to see if there were other things to consider.
After that, the convoy traveled unimpeded and returned to the Beian Palace smoothly.
After having dinner with a few children and chatting for a while, listening to them talk about the events and homework of the past few days, the day passed quickly.
Cao Mi gave himself another day off, and on the third day, after having enough rest, when he was about to ponder the barbecue powder he had mentioned to Zhang, the housekeeper came to report that Danba wanted to see him.
Cao Mi and Danba didn’t meet many times, but they had a lot of dealings.
This is mainly due to the fact that Danba is very good at being a man. Cao Mi is also doing business himself, and I have heard some rumors in Liaozhou, and often feel that Danba is a smooth and sophisticated person.
So Cao Mi put the matter at hand behind and said to the housekeeper, “Well, you can invite him in. I’ll go to see him in the hall after changing clothes.”
The butler bowed and said, “Yes.”
Cao Mi returned to the room and changed into the attire used to receive foreign guests. When he came to the hall, he saw that the rich man of the Rong family, who was nearly forty years old, was already enjoying his tea leisurely. When he was drinking tea, he held the edge of the tea cup with his thumb and forefinger, and put the other three fingers together slightly. He smelled the tea aroma first, and then tasted the tea.
I haven’t seen each other for a year, but Danba still looks kind and generous, and people can see at a glance that the other party is a person with excellent status and cultivation.
When he saw Cao Mi coming, he directly praised: “One gold and one tael of Bei’an Maojian can only be tasted in the Bei’an palace.”
After speaking, he got up and saluted: “Princess Jin An.”
Cao Mi raised his eyebrows and responded with ease: “Of course good tea is to be served to distinguished guests. How can a busy person like Mr. Danba come to the palace today when he is free?”
Danba smiled: “I take the liberty to visit, I just hope that I didn’t disturb the princess.”
Cao Mi shook his head: “Mr. Danba came to the door in person, why would you disturb me?”
Danba took a deep look at Cao Mi and said directly: “The villain knows that the princess has a lot of affairs, and she doesn’t want to delay the princess’ time.
“Remembering that the princess loves such novel flowers and plants, I brought them here for the princess.”
Cao Mi nodded calmly.
She was indeed on the lookout for exotic flowers and plants, as Todamba and other merchants had done before. But a few times before, Danba’s caravan brought these strange plants and seeds with her, but the people below Danba brought them up.
This kind of trivial matter does not require Danba to come forward in person.
This time Danba directly stated his intentions, and Cao Mi could immediately decide that the presentation of the exotic flowers should be just an excuse, and Danba must have other plans.
Wanting to understand this, Cao Mi decided to keep the same and respond to the changes, and asked, “Oh? Mr. Danba has a heart, but I don’t know…what kind of strange flower?”
Danba smiled and called out, and immediately a servant walked in with a bottle of dead branches and white flowers.
The servant put the bottle in his arms on the table next to Danba, and quickly went out again.
Danba reached out and touched the flocculent flowers, then turned to ask Cao Mi, “The princess is in a high position and has extraordinary knowledge. Have you ever seen such a plant?”
Cao Miqiang suppressed his inner excitement and shook his head: “I’ve never seen this before.”
She has never seen it before!
She could smell the dead branches and white flowers in the vase turning into ashes. It was clearly the cotton she had been thinking about for a while.
Cao Mi did not stock cotton seeds in her space, which has always been one of her regrets. Unexpectedly, after going around, she and Mianhua actually met under such circumstances.
Danba hooked the corners of his mouth and introduced indifferently: “I heard from people who have personally visited Clawsuo, and this kind of thing is called ‘Mian’ in Clawsuo.
“When ‘cotton’ matures, the flowers are **** of wool-like white cotton wool, and nobles with claws will use them as materials to make clothes.
“Clothes made of ‘cotton’ are extremely warm, but because ‘cotton’ is difficult to handle and contains black seeds, it takes a lot of effort to get rid of it, so the price is very expensive.”
Cao Mi nodded: “So it is.”
“The princess thinks…” Danba turned to look at her, “Can this kind of ‘cotton’ be made into something as warm and lightweight as a cashmere sweater?”
Hearing him mention “cashmere sweater”, Cao Mi felt that he had caught some clues.
She pondered in her mind by drinking tea with her head down, and then responded: “I think this cotton is indeed somewhat similar to cashmere, and there is a precedent for being made into clothing… Thinking about it, it should not be difficult to make ready-made clothing.”
When Danba heard the words, he nodded happily.
He said: “I don’t believe what other people say. Cottonseeds are difficult to get rid of. It took hundreds of years to instigate people, and they didn’t come up with any good solutions.
“But what the princess said, I really believe it. I have seen too many people, but none of them have the same vision and ability as the princess.”
Cao Mi paused while holding the teacup’s wrist.
Danba’s compliment lifted her too high, and even vaguely placed her above himself.
Cao Mi didn’t dare to answer such words easily.
She frowned and asked, “Why did Mr. Danba say this?”
Danba suddenly laughed “haha” and said, “Princess doesn’t need to be humble.”
With a sigh of relief, he seemed to recall something from the past, with emotion in his eyes: “To this day, whenever I see those woolen sweaters and cashmere sweaters, I still feel very emotional, why is the wool that my Rong tribe arbitrarily discarded? In the hands of the princess, can it turn waste into treasure and show such great value?
“The ancestors of the Rong tribe were born in the grasslands, and they have lived by water and grass since ancient times. I often feel that it is the injustice of heaven that prevents the Rong tribe from owning a large and fertile land like the people of the Sheng Dynasty.
“But after experiencing this, I suddenly discovered that maybe our vision is too short-sighted. The gods have always prepared gifts for the Rong, but we just throw them away every year, just like shaving off the wool that gets in the way. already.”
At this point, Cao Mi already understood his intentions.
Danba went around in such a big circle, thinking that it should be the method of making wool sweaters in her hands. As a member of the Rong tribe, he even has the value of such a sweater.
But what surprised Cao Mi even more was that Danba was too tolerant!
The sweater appeared in her villa last autumn and winter, and it has been a whole year now. Cao Mi believes that people like Danba should know about the existence of wool sweaters earlier than ordinary people. It is even possible that Danba has been secretly paying attention when she first started to cooperate with Zhang to buy and sell wool.
However, he has waited until now to come to the door.
Looking at the cotton on the table over there, Cao Mi had some vague guesses – during this time, Danba should have sent someone to look for this thing.
This is the confidence for him to come to the door today, the capital in exchange.
Cao Mi really wanted cotton, so she tried it out directly: “Mr. Danba, are you interested in how to make woolen sweaters?”
Danba nodded generously.
The communication of smart people sometimes doesn’t need to be too clear at all.
He moved the cotton in front of Cao Mi and said, “This time, my caravan brought back about a thousand plants of this kind of exotic flower. They are all covered with soil and have not withered. Maybe the princess needs it?”
Cao Mi nodded.
The role of cotton is actually not too different from wool.
However, for people like Shengchao who are used to shaving food from the ground, the meaning of what grows out of the soil and what is shaved from the sheep is fundamentally different.
In short, planting cotton is far easier to popularize on the land of the prosperous dynasty than raising sheep for wool, so as to benefit ordinary people.
So she nodded and said, “This thing is exactly what I want. Thank you Mr. Danba for finding it for me.”
“Princess, you’re welcome.” Danba looked at her and responded with a smile.
Cao Mi didn’t pretend to be stupid, and said directly: “I would like to exchange these thousand cotton plants with Mr. Danba using the method of making wool sweaters. What does Mr. Danba think?”
Danba heard the words and opened his eyes slightly.
Different from the Sheng Dynasty, for the Rong people who are good at animal husbandry, planting is nothing short of a fantasy. Cotton has little effect on them.
But contrary to the people of Sheng Dynasty, they own countless sheep, and wool is an inexhaustible material for the Rong people.
This transaction between the two parties can be said to be what each party needs.
“Thank you, wangfei.” Danba did not hesitate, and promised directly: “It’s the villain who owes the princess a favor. Within ten years, all the sweaters produced under my name will not appear on the land of Sheng Dynasty. Compete with the princess.
“In addition, my caravan will bring back at least 1,000 ‘cotton’ plants from Claws for the princess every year for three years.”
Cao Mi took a sip of tea, nodded and said, “Mr. Laodamba is here.”
The two looked at each other and smiled, then quickly looked away, silently calculating the benefits they had gained from this transaction.
The author has something to say: there is another chapter at 9 pm, thank you for your support~
Thanks to the little angel who threw the mine: Zhen Zhen 1;
Thanks to the little angel who irrigated the nutrient solution: 000, Dalabang Bar, 10 bottles of Xueluo;
Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!