Dominate the ancient academy

People who originally thought that those statements about fine salt were all rumors were stunned when they saw Doctor Zhang buy three kilograms of salt at once. Could it be that this "snow salt" really could strengthen the body and prolong life? After all, Doctor Zhang bought it.

If the salt just looked good or was not bitter, they would not have spent thirty taels of silver to buy this fine salt. After all, the price difference between the two is so huge. It doesn't matter if it's a little bitter. It's not like they haven't tasted it before.

But if it can strengthen the body and prolong life, it's different. So after Doctor Zhang left, the others also took half a catty of it. After paying, they tasted it first. Sure enough, it not only had no taste but also had a little sweetness. It must be a good thing! Maybe it can really strengthen the body and prolong life, then thirty taels of silver is not expensive.

Soon, word spread about Doctor Zhang's evaluation of the "snow salt" and his purchase of three pounds of salt. People came to the shop in an endless stream to buy salt. Some officials became jealous and impeached the shop for selling private salt. In the end, they found out that the shop was licensed by the emperor. However, in order to avoid causing turmoil in the current coarse salt market and because the amount of fine salt was small, the shop only sold salt for one month.

After the news spread, there was another surge in the number of people coming to the shop to buy salt, especially those families in the capital who had some wealth and status. They bought hundreds of kilograms of salt each, and the consumption was enormous. The fine salt produced by Emperor Jingming almost couldn't keep up.

During this period, any favor exchange would not be sincere enough without a few kilograms of salt. Emperor Jingming looked at the shop's turnover and the steady flow of silver, and he really wanted to change the one-month contract to two months. It was too profitable.

Not only was the national treasury full, but even his own small treasury became prosperous. This was the first time he felt rich since he ascended the throne.

One month has passed, and he is a little reluctant to close the shop! However, he has already bought everything that needs to be bought in Kyoto, and he can't keep the sea salt. Moreover, since coarse salt is poisonous, the people of Daning must eat fine salt as soon as possible. This money is already an unexpected move.

And Han'er's junior brother is a talent! He is really smart, and he must be reused in the future. Maybe he can enrich his small treasury if there is a chance in the future! So this Ye Xiao can definitely be reused. He has solved so many problems for him before he entered the court. If he enters the court in the future, he will definitely be a capable official.

After seeing the hot sales of fine salt and the emperor making a fortune, Shu Xiaoxiao no longer got involved in this matter. There were many capable people here, and they could do a good job as long as she pointed in a direction.

Besides, this is also Emperor Jingming’s business, so she should let it go.

The important thing now is the affairs of the academy. Shu Xiaoxiao found that the sweet potato leaves are full and bright in color, and can be picked. Keeping them will compete with the sweet potatoes for nutrients. It is better to pick them when necessary, as they can also be made into a dish.

The teachers also remembered what she said about sweet potato leaves being edible, and three teachers had already come to ask her when they could be eaten.

Shu Xiaoxiao determined the most appropriate picking method based on her memory and communication with the sweet potato seedlings.

However, there are quite a lot of sweet potato leaves in these fifteen acres of land. The important thing is that there is no refrigerator now. If the sweet potato leaves are left overnight, they will not be fresh and delicious. They have to be picked and eaten right after they are prepared. So Prince Yun’s guards once again made a brilliant appearance.

Because there are only two meals a day now, Shu Xiaoxiao decided to save the cold-mixed sweet potato leaves for the morning, so she got up early today. The guards were already ready, with two people per acre of land. The headmaster, Senior Brother Yun, Huo Feng and some teachers who didn't have classes also came to see how they picked the sweet potato leaves.

Shu Xiaoxiao stood at the edge of the field, very serious: "I have already told you very clearly how to pick the sweet potato seedlings. You must not step on the roots of my sweet potatoes, and you must not pull them randomly, which will have a negative impact on the sweet potatoes. If anyone damages the roots of the sweet potatoes, I will ask him to carry manure!"

The guards standing in two rows twitched their lips, thinking back to the days of carrying manure, and became more cautious about their next actions.

"Okay, let's get started. I'm counting on you. Whether we can change the taste at noon depends on you."

The guards began to pick sweet potato leaves, and the headmaster and the teachers were also checking the fields. Although they had not seen the fruits that Ye Xiao mentioned, the fields looked full of vitality and were very pleasing to the eye.

Although Daning didn't have many seasonings, there were oil, sauce, vinegar and so on. Shu Xiaoxiao also found a piece of garlic, now called gourd garlic, in the back mountain, and led people to dig it all up, so they could all be used this time.

Pick off the old leaves and stems of the sweet potato leaves, wash them, then blanch them in boiling water, drain the water and put them in a large basin.

Add chopped garlic, fine salt, oil, vinegar and a little sugar and mix well.

The smell comes out immediately, in one word - delicious!

The headmaster pointed at a bowl of mixed sweet potato leaves and asked in surprise, "Is this... already ready? And there are garlic cloves?"

Garlic is not uncommon in Daning, but eating it will leave a bad smell in the mouth, which is really unrefined. In order not to be impolite, they rarely eat garlic, but this time it was quite fragrant.

Shu Xiaoxiao took the bowl directly, picked up half of it, and handed it to the headmaster: "Headmaster, how do you like it?"

Seeing other teachers starting to help themselves, Shu Xiaoxiao also picked up half a bowl for Senior Brother Yun. She really couldn't imagine how Senior Brother Yun could pick up food from the basin with a bowl. She decided to ask him to help.

"Brother Yun, why don't you try it too?"

As he spoke, he also picked up half a bowl. Fortunately, there was already some fine salt, otherwise the taste of this bowl of cold sweet potato leaves would be reduced by at least half.

The headmaster took a few bites and commented: "It's simple to make and tastes good."

Several teachers nodded beside them. This was different from what they had eaten before, but it tasted really good.

Shu Xiaoxiao then added: "Sweet potato leaves can only be picked in the next few days. Over-picking will affect the growth of sweet potatoes. Sweet potato leaves are delicious whether stir-fried, mixed with cold dishes, or steamed. When the sweet potatoes are ripe, these sweet potato leaves and sweet potato vines can be fed to chickens and pigs. They can also be stored for a longer time if dried. Pigs will also grow fat by eating dried sweet potato vines in winter. In addition, the sweet potato yield is also high, so it is definitely a must-have crop for Daning households."

The headmaster said happily, "Okay, I'll be waiting for the sweet potatoes you mentioned."

Shu Xiaoxiao joked, "Shanzhang, you can think about how to accept me as your last disciple in advance."

The headmaster laughed loudly: "Don't worry, if you can do it, I will hold a grand ceremony for you to become a disciple."

Shu Xiaoxiao said confidently: "Just wait and see!"

Su Shiche thought of what Shu Xiaoxiao said yesterday that there would be good food in the cafeteria today. He had been distracted several times during the morning reading today, and when the bell rang, he hurried to the cafeteria. Xiaoxiao said that he should not let the servant get food today, and it would be better to go to the cafeteria by himself so that he could get his bowl back.

They were itching to eat something because they knew that although Ye Xiao's cooking skills were not good, she had a lot of ideas. According to what she said, there must be delicious food in the cafeteria today.

In addition to Su Shiche and Qian Jinbao, Shu Tingfei and Shen Qingguan, who had received the internal information from Shu Xiaoxiao, also walked quickly towards the cafeteria.

When they arrived at the canteen, they had never seen it before, and there was still a large plate of vegetables. They were a little hesitant, but thinking of Shu Xiaoxiao's instructions, they still ordered a bowl of vegetables.

After eating two bites, they realized that Xiaoxiao was not lying. They looked at each other and immediately sped up, thinking they should hurry up and fight after they finished eating.