Chapter 135 Don't mess with him
Before leaving, Shen Zhi checked Ah Si's health again. After these days of recuperation, Ah Si had almost recovered and gained a lot of weight. Xiao Bao also changed his appearance day by day, becoming white and plump, very cute. Shen Zhi took a photo of him every day and put them in the album in order. Shen Changzhou had already written a reply, waiting for Xiao Dun Dun to come back when he was one month old. Xiao Dun Dun was the nickname he gave Xiao Bao, and his real name was Shen Heng.
Shen Zhi dragged a cart of sweet potatoes to Baiyun Villa. It was still time to grow sweet potato seedlings.
The people Zhuge Ling brought were settled. There were many houses in Baiyun Villa, so there was still room for them to live. However, there was only one cook, and with so many people coming in at once, the cook was overwhelmed. Eunuch Cao went to the town today and bought two maids to help cook.
When Shen Zhi arrived, everyone had just finished their meal in the kitchen and came out to find a place to sit and eat. When Eunuch Cao saw Shen Zhi coming back, he said with a bitter face: "You are back. Starting tomorrow, our family will follow you."
Shen Zhi looked puzzled. He asked Liu Zhuangtou to unload the sweet potatoes from the carriage into the warehouse, then turned back to look at Eunuch Cao, "Why are you following me, Eunuch?"
Eunuch Cao sighed and said, "Maybe we are used to the food of the Shen family. Why do we find everything tasteless when we come here?"
Lord Sun also came over when he heard the noise, "I will follow Yixiang Jun in the future."
Shen Zhi...
"Why are you following me again?"
Lord Sun said, "The sugar-controlled meal that the cook prepared according to your request is not tasty."
Shen Zhi rolled his eyes and said, "It won't taste good even if I cook it."
Early in the morning, Shen Zhi went to the kitchen for a walk. Today's shopping had not come back yet, and there were only some long-lasting vegetables left in the storeroom. Shen Zhi picked a cauliflower and a few eggs, and skillfully fried some egg fried rice without rice. He also found a zucchini, grated it into shreds, added a handful of small shrimps, and fried a plate of zucchini pancakes.
At this time, the three cooks in the kitchen also came to work. The first cook here was surnamed Lu, and Shen Zhi called her Mother Lu. The two sisters who were brought back by Eunuch Cao yesterday were surnamed Hua, about sixteen or seventeen years old, much younger than Mother Lu. The two sisters looked completely different, the elder sister was plump, and the younger sister was delicate. Shen Zhi heard Mother Lu call the elder sister Hua Niang and the younger sister Hua Ni, so he followed suit.
After Shen Zhi greeted the three people, he left the kitchen with breakfast.
When Hua Ni saw Shen Zhi leaving, she snorted, "You're learning those foxy tricks to please men so early in the morning."
Hua Niang glared at her sister and said, "Be careful with your words and actions."
Hua Ni muttered guiltily in a low voice: "What am I afraid of? She's gone far away and I can't hear her." However, she would never have imagined that the vixen she was talking about had become so sharp-eyed and sharp-eared after drinking the spiritual spring water that even the slightest sound could not escape her ears.
After hearing Hua Ni's words, Shen Zhi frowned slightly and left without saying anything. The fox would eventually show its tail.
The restaurant of Baiyun Villa is next to the kitchen. It is more like a large warehouse than a restaurant. It is very large and has hundreds of small square tables. There are also many windows in the restaurant, so it is bright inside when the windows are opened.
Eunuch Cao and Lord Sun were already sitting at the small table waiting. When they saw Shen Zhi holding the tray, Eunuch Cao took it enthusiastically.
Shen Zhi handed the plate of rice-free fried rice to Lord Sun, "This is low in sugar, suitable for you to eat."
Lord Sun took a bite and found it tasted good. It was very satisfying.
Eunuch Cao picked up a piece of zucchini pancake and took a bite. It was so delicious.
While eating, Shen Zhi discussed with the two about the upcoming busy farming season. At this time, officers and soldiers came from the kitchen one after another to bring breakfast, which was usually two steamed buns and a bowl of millet porridge. Shen Zhi saw a young man in fancy clothes pick up a steamed bun, take a bite and throw it away, and frowned slightly. It seemed that he was a young master from a family who went to the countryside to gild himself.
"That is Ke Meng, the eldest grandson of Dali Temple Minister Ke Jiguang. He was the top scorer in the imperial examination last year and is currently serving as a fourth-rank academician in the Hanlin Academy. He is deeply trusted by the current emperor. Don't mess with him if you have nothing to do." Eunuch Cao reminded in a low voice.
Shen Zhi nodded in agreement.
Soon, someone outside reported that County Magistrate Song had come with representatives from each village. Eunuch Cao and the other two had finished their meal, so they got up and left.
There are 27 villages in Taiping Town, and each village sent people as required. Some villages sent two or three people as representatives, and some villages sent hundreds of people. Every household sent a strong laborer to learn, and the scene was crowded with people.
Shen Zhi brought these people to the fields and taught them how to grow sweet potato seedlings and hybrid rice. He also taught everyone how to grow potatoes. However, the time for planting potatoes had been missed, so they could only wait until the next crop of autumn potatoes.
The villagers listened carefully. They had heard that these were high-yield crops. Who doesn't want to have enough food these days? However, the output of the land is limited. Now that they come across high-yield crops, they have to seize the opportunity.
Shen Zhi also randomly checked these villagers, and they basically understood what she said. Farmers are experts in farming, and they know a lot of things, and they will understand with a little guidance.
Song Shijie did not expect it to be so smooth, so he said hello to everyone and left with his men. He ordered the officials to distribute sweet potatoes and grain seeds to each village, and supervised the distribution on the spot according to the size of each family's land in the land book, and absolutely did not allow anyone to use power to monopolize the villagers' share.
The officials who had finished their breakfast took a short rest in the restaurant before going to the field together. They did not expect that the place was already deserted.
"How ridiculous! Didn't they come here to learn technology? They left before we even gave them any instructions. What do they think of our Minister of Agriculture?" The highest official of the Minister of Agriculture, Lord Yin, left angrily.
Other officials were also complaining indignantly in the background.
"The Emperor sent us here to teach agricultural techniques, but how come no one takes us seriously?"
"Even Lord Sun was bribed by a mere village lady. It seems she is not a simple person."
Ke Meng glanced at everyone and left with his servant.
In the next few days, the workers began to get busy. The sweet potato seedlings that had been cultivated earlier had grown densely and were ready to be planted.
According to Shen Zhi's request, the workers carefully pulled the sweet potato seedlings out of the soil and replanted them in the dry land that had been turned over in advance. Everyone was busy pulling, planting, and watering.
Master Sun had been running around with the four masters, taking notes. The masters who came later kept shaking their heads and expressing their opinions, but the workers did not make changes according to their instructions. They only followed Shen Zhi's orders, which made the old scholars grimaced.