The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

After Yun Ji left, Min Xi returned to his hometown, Jurong County.

In addition to visiting his hometown, he also wanted to investigate whether there was quartz stone in Jurong. If so, he wanted to build a Liulichang in his hometown. Although it is unlikely that the Liulichang will make the people of his hometown rich, it can at least create some employment opportunities, and those people can also learn some skills.

Min Xi did not make it public. He first took his people to travel around Jurong County to look for quartz sand mines. Unfortunately, there was no quartz sand for making glass in Jurong County. The main minerals were Carboniferous sandstone and limestone. So it seemed unrealistic to place Liulichang in Jurong.

After the geological survey, Min Xi returned to his hometown to worship his ancestors. Min Xi only returned to his hometown once every few years, and this time he would inevitably cause a sensation in his hometown. Although he was not a high-ranking official, he was still a Beijing official. Few of the villagers in the town had even seen the county magistrate, let alone the Beijing official, so the identity of the Beijing official was naturally extremely noble.

What's more, Min Xi came here as an imperial envoy this time, and he was accompanied by Feng Ruo, the palace steward appointed by Wanli. In the future, this steward would be responsible for supervising the construction of Liulichang.

Min Xi felt the enthusiasm of his fellow townsmen, but he did not stay long. He only stayed in the town for one night, offered sacrifices to his ancestors, visited his parents' graves, and then left.

Of course he also asked about the situation of the school. After all, he sponsored it with his own money. He heard that two of the students had passed the examination and became scholars, and they were planning to take part in the provincial examination next year. It seemed that their writing style was pretty good, and maybe one or two more would become juren or jinshi in the future.

After Min Xi returned to Yingtian Prefecture, he decided to build Liulichang outside Nanjing City because quartz sand was outside the city.

The main mountainous areas of the Ming Dynasty were owned by the imperial court. However, with the development of society, many of them were transferred to private hands. Unfortunately, the land that Min Xi had set his sights on to build a factory and the source of quartz sand raw materials were now private property.

The owner of this mountain land is the richest man in Yingtian Prefecture. Min Xi has to either buy the land from him or move Liulichang to other places.

Min Xi still planned to give it a try to see if he could buy it. There were many places with quartz sand, but he wanted to finalize this matter as quickly as possible and decide on a factory construction plan as soon as possible. He didn't want to waste too much time on site selection.

Min Xi did not alert the government at the beginning. They carried out the investigation work privately and sought assistance from Manager Qiu of the Yunxiang branch.

Manager Qiu also found out the owner of this mountain. The landlord was called Guo Pengxing. His ancestors had served as officials in the court, but there had been no scholars in recent generations and no one had entered officialdom. However, his business was booming and he had become the richest man in Yingtian Prefecture.

People with money want power, but the Guo family was not good at studying, so they found another way. Since the boys were not good at studying, they started with the girls. They trained their daughters and sent them to the palace for selection. So far, they have produced high-ranking concubines.

Feng Ruo, the palace maid who came with Min Xi, listened to the introduction of Shopkeeper Qiu and said, "Now that you mention it, I remember that among the concubines selected by His Majesty two years ago, there was a talented lady named Guo from Yingtian Prefecture. I think she is from this family."

Min Xi smiled and said, "It turns out that he is your Majesty's relative. It seems that this matter should not be difficult to handle." But we have to be wary of the Guo family interfering in the business of Liulichang. After all, the Guo family is a businessmen. It would be strange if they don't want to get involved in such a profitable business as Liulichang.

Feng Ruo asked: "Lord Min, should we go back and ask His Majesty to let the Guo family give up this land?"

Min Xi shook his head: "That's not necessary. Just buy the land from the Guo family in the name of His Majesty. I don't think they dare to ask for an exorbitant price. But since this Liuli Factory is built on the old land of the Guo family, I'm worried that they will want to get a piece of the pie in the future. If they just want to share the money, it's fine. What I'm worried about is that they want the skills and secret recipes for making Liuli."

Feng Ruo nodded: "Lord Min's worry is not unreasonable. The Guo family is definitely willing to sell the mountain for the sake of the future of Guo Cairen. However, when Guo Cairen gains power, the Guo family will surely want to get a piece of the pie."

Min Xi thought for a moment and said, "Then let's go find out what the Guo family thinks."

After learning about the identities of Min Xi and Feng Ruo, Guo Pengxing, the head of the Guo family, entertained them very warmly. When he heard Min Xi say that they wanted to buy the mountain, Guo Pengxing was surprised: "What did the imperial envoy find in the mountain?"

Min Xi said: "There is nothing unusual in the mountains, but I came here on the orders of the emperor to find a suitable kiln site for your majesty. We have selected and found that the location of your mountain land is the most suitable, so please name a price, and we will buy this land."

"That piece of mountain land is not valuable. If Your Majesty wants it, we will give it to You as a gift. It can be regarded as our sincere gesture to Your Majesty." Guo Pengxing is a man who knows how to handle things.

Min Xi smiled and said, "After all, Mr. Guo is your majesty's father-in-law. How can we take Mr. Guo's land for free? We still have to pay the money we owe. Otherwise, it will be said that your majesty took advantage of your father-in-law. Wouldn't that make people all over the world laugh at you? Your majesty is a role model for men all over the world!" As an emperor, how can he save face if he still has to live off his wife?

"I just don't know what kind of kiln Your Majesty wants to build? I don't even know what kind of kiln we can use here." Guo Pengxing is indeed a businessman and he grasped the key point at once.

"Min is not in a position to tell Mr. Guo for the time being, as this is a government secret. If Your Majesty is willing to tell, Min will tell it all." In this situation, using the emperor as a shield is the most appropriate.

Guo Pengxing really didn't dare to ask any more questions, and Min Xi was finally able to negotiate the price of the land with him. In the end, he bought the mountain and the land for building the Liulichang for 12,000 taels of silver. This price was much higher than when Guo Pengxing bought the land at the beginning, so he didn't suffer any loss. Min Xi did this on purpose, so that even if the Guo family coveted the prosperous business of the Liulichang in the future, they would not be embarrassed to come and share the pie.