The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

Jingzhou is Zhang Juzheng's hometown. Transferring Qiao Zhilian to be the prefect of Jingzhou shows that the court attaches great importance to him. At least Zhang Juzheng is very optimistic about Qiao Zhilian. It seems that he has done a good job in Mizhi in recent years, and his political achievements are obvious to all.

"Congratulations, Brother Mingjie, on your promotion!"

"Congratulations on your promotion! You have a bright future!"

Everyone raised their glasses to congratulate Qiao Zhilian on his promotion.

During the dinner, Min Xi learned that the imperial court was vigorously promoting the cultivation of potatoes, corn and sweet potatoes in Shaanxi. Mizhi County had already been fully covered before the imperial court's promotion, and it had also spread to surrounding counties. No wonder the imperial court valued Qiao Zhilian.

Everyone was chatting happily, and when they were ready to leave after having a good meal and a few drinks, everyone waited at the door for the driver to drive the carriage over, except Feng Hao, who pushed out his bicycle, patted the bicycle seat proudly and said, "I'm leaving first, you guys wait for the carriage!"

Sun Hua reached out and grabbed his arm: "Don't go! Tell me clearly, what is this thing?"

Feng Hao chuckled: "Wenhui, you are out of date, aren't you? This is the hottest thing in Beijing right now, it's called a bicycle! You don't need to eat grass, you don't need to feed it, you just ride it and it will go!"

After he finished speaking, he rode on the bike and circled in front of the restaurant, saying in a boastful tone, "How is it? Isn't it amazing?"

Qiao Zhilian looked at the bicycle and was very surprised: "What is this? How come I have never seen it before? Is it something imported from the West?"

Yun Ji explained: "No, it's a gadget designed by my ninth brother. A means of transportation."

Qiao Zhilian stared at Min Xi with eyes wide open: "Quanzhen, did you do this?"

Sun Hua was about to argue with Feng Hao and wanted to try riding it himself, but Feng Hao disliked his fatness and refused to let him ride. When he heard what Yun Ji and Qiao Zhilian said, he turned around and asked, "Did you do that, brother Quan Zhen?"

Min Xi smiled and nodded: "Yes, I made it for fun."

"Can you make one for me too?" Sun Hua said hurriedly.

Feng Hao parked the bike in front of everyone and said, "This bike is not mine. Quanzhen and I borrowed it for two days. I have already reserved a bike from him. If you want one, go and queue up behind me! But I'm afraid it will be difficult for you to ride with your body shape. I'm worried that you will break the bike."

Sun Hua raised his hand to grab the car: "I don't believe it, I have to try it."

"No, that won't do. You can't ride this thing. You have to learn how to ride it." Feng Hao didn't give him the bike because he was afraid that he would damage the bike, and secondly, he was afraid that he would fall. Besides, there was no time for him to learn how to ride a bike as he had other things to do later.

Min Xi said, "I'll make one for Brother Wenhui later."

"Okay, okay!" Sun Hua rubbed his hands excitedly.

Yun Ji said: "It costs money. This car is not cheap."

"No problem! Any price is fine, but you must make a sturdy one for me." Sun Hua said to Min Xi.

Min Xi nodded and smiled: "Okay."

Feng Hao said, "Make more. I rode my bike to the government office yesterday and my brothers were all craving for it. They also want to buy some."

"Okay!" Min Xi smiled, knowing that there would be no worries about sales.

Yun Ji said: "Let me make it clear first, this thing is not cheap. It will cost at least fifty taels of silver." A high-quality war horse is about the same price.

"Fifty taels is not expensive, a hundred taels is no problem!" Feng Hao said nonchalantly, "I'll go first." Then he rode away on his bike in a cool manner.

Sun Hua also got on the carriage and waved goodbye to everyone.

Qiao Zhilian had not commented on the bicycle until he saw Feng Hao off. Then he said, "It's really a magical thing. It can run on two wheels, and at a pretty good speed."

Min Xi asked, "Brother Mingjie, do you want one too?"

"No, no, I don't want it. I'm going to Jingzhou in a while. This car is indeed interesting, but it's too expensive for me." Qiao Zhilian said with a smile.

"The cost price is actually not bad, I'll give you one for free." Min Xi said.

"No! It's too expensive. I have a carriage, which is enough for me. Let them play with this thing." Qiao Zhilian said, "I brought back some local products from Mizhi for you two. They are on my carriage. They are not expensive items, but local specialties. It is not easy to buy in Beijing. I hope you don't mind."

"How could I dislike it! It's amazing that you thought of bringing us gifts. Thank you for your trouble." Min Xi said quickly.

The local products that Qiao Zhilian brought to Min Xi and Yun Ji were very simple, they were millet and walnuts from Mizhi: "These were given to me by the local people when I left office. Thanks to the crop seeds you sent, the people of Mizhi will not go hungry. Although it is very poor there, the people are very honest and simple. They really regard me as their parent official. Because I solved their hunger problem, they all call me Qiao Qingtian, which I really don't deserve. It's poor there, and there is nothing else except agricultural products. But the local millet is really very good, it can nourish the stomach, and it is very good for people with weak spleen and stomach."

"Thank you, Brother Mingjie and the people of Mizhi!" Min Xi knew that Qiao Zhilian was deeply loved by the local people. It must be more than just the promotion of crops. He did enough and well enough to be called that by the people.

Qiao Zhilian brought a bag for each of them and looked at the only carriage: "Put yours together?"

"Yes, I still live in Brother Seven's house. Just give us a bag." Min Xi said.

"That won't be possible. We have brought them all. You can take them back and eat them slowly, or give them to others as gifts." Qiao Zhilian asked the driver to move the things to their carriage.

Min Xi couldn't help but ask Qiao Zhilian: "Brother Mingjie, have you built a granary in Mizhi?"

Qiao Zhilian said, "Yes, I built several granaries in Mizhi according to your suggestion. In good years, I bought wheat, millet, beans and other storable grains at low prices and stored them. However, I have been in Mizhi for five years, and this year is the only good year. The government bought some grain at a low price and put it in the warehouse. Before I left, I specifically told the county magistrate to replace the grain with new grain every two years. I hope that the future county magistrate will keep this in mind."

Min Xi felt relieved after hearing what he said: "The natural conditions in Jingzhou are much better than those in Mizhi. Huguang is the granary of the world, so generally speaking, there is no need to worry about food shortages. Unfortunately, it is located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, and floods are frequent in summer and autumn. Brother Mingjie is under no less pressure than in Mizhi."

Qiao Zhilian nodded: "That's right. I'm a northerner, and I'm a little worried about not being able to adapt to the climate there."

"I'm from the south and have experienced many floods. I've also seen various methods of flood control, so I can provide some reference for Brother Mingjie," said Min Xi.

Qiao Zhilian clasped his fists and said, "I will come to visit you some other day and listen to your teachings."

"It's not really teaching, I'm just sharing my experiences." Min Xi said.

On the way back, Yun Ji asked Min Xi: "Do you really have a way to deal with the flood?"

Min Xi said honestly, "I don't have any. To deal with floods, there are only two ways: blocking and draining. Brother Qiao is from the north, so he naturally doesn't know anything about this. I told him some methods of blocking and draining water in advance. As for the details, he will have to wait until he takes office to slowly explore and listen to what the local officials say about the treatment methods."

"Can the Yangtze River be blocked if it floods?" Yun Ji expressed his doubt.

"It's impossible to block it temporarily, so we have to build the river bank. There are also some ways to prevent and treat plague after floods, I can also teach him a little bit." With the current productivity of the Ming Dynasty, it would be difficult to achieve the situation where the army and the people worked together to move sandbags to surround the river bank during a flood. First of all, it would be difficult to achieve such execution. Moreover, without trucks and forklifts, where could we get sand temporarily? And how could we have so much spare cloth to make bags for sand?

Yun Ji sighed: "Although Mingjie has been promoted, it seems that his pressure is greater than before."

"With great ability comes great responsibility. The court must have seen this in him, so they transferred him to Jingzhou," said Min Xi.

Yun Ji nodded: "It should be like this."