Small supermarket welcomes visitors from all directions

Chapter 53: Emperor Yonghui and the Empress Dowager Go Shopping in the Supermarket

It was originally agreed that Emperor Yonghui and the Empress Dowager would stay overnight in the supermarket the night before the auction, set out from the supermarket to the auction venue on the day of the auction, return directly to the supermarket after the meeting, stay another night in the supermarket, and return to the Ming Dynasty the next day.

Under the urging of the two big Buddhas, the three of them arrived at the supermarket early. Of course, Wang Yue and the others also had lunch in the restaurant on the second floor.

Wen Hao received them. Seeing that they had arrived early and had nothing to do, Wen Hao asked Tang Qiao to take them to the supermarket. Supermarkets were new to them anyway.

Afterwards, Wen Hao went upstairs to eat, while Tang Qiao took Emperor Yonghui and the Empress Dowager to the dressing room to change clothes.

This changing room was also set up because of Tang Qiao. Tang Qiao had to travel back and forth between the two worlds every day, and the temperature difference between the two worlds was more than thirty or forty degrees, so a changing room became a necessity.

After the three of them changed their clothes, Tang Qiao took Emperor Yonghui and the Empress Dowager to go shopping in the supermarket. In fact, a big reason why they came so early was that they wanted to spend more time in the supermarket and feel the difference between this place and the Ming Dynasty.

Based on the principle of proximity, they first visited the fruit and vegetable section. The most noble mother and son in the Ming Dynasty asked questions one after another, and Tang Qiao had to answer them. Fortunately, Tang Qiao was already familiar with the supermarket and knew most of the things.

In fact, what they see now are what they have eaten in the past month, but what they ate were processed dishes, while what they see now are fresh vegetables.

"Jiao'er, what is this? Why is it so big? This one is enough for ordinary people to eat for several days." Emperor Yonghui was pointing at a large green-skinned winter melon.

“Winter melon! It can’t be used as a staple food because it contains almost no starch. It won’t fill you up after eating it. It can only be used to cook dishes.”

"Oh!" Emperor Yonghui felt a little regretful.

"Qiao'er! Are these all cabbages? Why do they look different?" The Empress Dowager questioned the strange-looking cabbages.

"This is a new variety they developed. This purple one, this pointed one, and these big ones over here are all Chinese cabbage."

"How come there are so many different kinds of cabbage?"

"The demands are different! For example, small cabbages are the best sellers. Nowadays, every family has a small population. If you buy a large cabbage, you can't eat it all in one meal. On the contrary, small cabbages are popular."

"Modern people have so many vegetables!" Emperor Yonghui sighed. Although the emperor was rich, his dining table was also subject to seasonal restrictions. Although there was a disaster in the past month, the food on his table was the richest in many years.

"It's summer now, so it's not surprising that vegetables are abundant. Uncle Royal, let me tell you, these vegetables are also sold in their vegetable markets in winter. Do you believe it?" Tang Qiao said mysteriously to Emperor Yonghui.

"How did you do that?" The emperor always enjoyed the best, but in winter, his table only had one or two more green leafy vegetables than others, but forget about fresh fruits.

"There are two methods: one is to heat the plants like we do, but they have plastic greenhouses that allow light to pass through but no air to pass through, so the heating effect is better inside. The second is transportation. The transportation here is very developed. It only takes one day to travel from the south to the north by car. If the value is higher, you can use an airplane, which only takes an hour from the south to the north." Tang Qiao gave Yonghui Emperor some popular science.

"When will our Ming Dynasty be able to develop like this?" It doesn't matter if it's good or not, but this transportation is what the ruler of an empire covets. Strengthening the communication between the north and the south is to strengthen the centralization of power, which is also the direction that every emperor strives for. "Take it slow! Now we have the opportunity, we just learn little by little, and it will get better soon." said the Queen Mother.

"Yes! We do have a chance. The supermarket owner also told me that the two varieties he introduced to us are crops that can produce more than 10,000 kilograms per mu. No matter what we do, we must fill our stomachs first. Everything else is meaningless to ordinary people." Tang Qiao said.

"What kind of crop? Are there any here?" Emperor Yonghui said this with interest.

"This is sweet potato, and this is potato. They can produce 10,000 kilograms per mu of these two crops. It may be less in our area, mainly because the fertilizer is not enough, but the yield is still considerable. Especially potatoes, as long as the place is not too cold, you can grow them three times a year."

"How much food would that require?" Emperor Yonghui was full of longing.

"The experts here told me that the temperature in the south should warm up in the second half of this year. Then we can replant potatoes to alleviate the food shortage in Ming Dynasty," said Tang Qiao.

"How much materials do we import from supermarkets now?" asked Emperor Yonghui.

"A few days ago, I made a preliminary calculation. This month, our main imports of food, medicine, military coats, and vegetables cost 12 billion yuan using the local currency. I used gold to offset billion yuan. The rest will depend on the auction, so it should be about the same!" Tang Qiao replied.

"Gold alone can't hold out!" Emperor Yonghui felt a little distressed. Although the treasury was still full, the conservative estimate was that the disaster would last for two years. This was a conservative estimate. What if the temperature did not recover as expected? Some experts also said that even if the temperature recovered, it would not return to the temperature of previous years. These were the areas that Emperor Yonghui was worried about.

"It's okay! Uncle Emperor, I have already ordered a batch of full-length mirrors and pearls from the supermarket, as well as a batch of precious glass products from the Ming Dynasty. I came here to learn, and I plan to hold an auction when I return, so that these nobles can also contribute. Miss Xiaoyue said that if it's done, this disaster won't cost us much money at all, because we have resources that others don't have."

Tang Qiao, on the contrary, was not in a hurry. As long as the portal existed, as long as the supermarket was still there, and as long as new things continued to appear, those nobles would not compare or chase after things, and their wallets would not be tight.

"Then do it well. Let the eldest prince and the second prince help you. If they don't understand, you can teach them and let them do any errands." The emperor sent someone here.

Tang Qiao was a little reluctant to accept it. Was this a favor? Tang Qiao didn't know how to respond for a moment. So he was stunned for a moment.

What kind of person is the Empress Dowager? She was very experienced and said immediately: "Emperor! If you really want to find a helper for Qiao'er, you can send Xiao Xizi over there. He will be beaten and scolded without even daring to talk back."

Emperor Yonghui said: "I just wonder if Qiao'er is so busy. I just want to find him an assistant and let the two boys learn how to deal with people from all walks of life."

"Wait until these two years are over! I have no control over how you taught my son. Don't come out and cause trouble now." The Queen Mother insisted.

"Mother, please listen to me first! I plan to let Qiaoer put down all the work he is doing and learn from the supermarket. The transactions here can be handed over to Prince Fu."

Emperor Yonghui expressed his plans.