Zhu Yuanzhang in the cellar

Chapter 40: Lao Deng, are you polite?
The next day, in the morning, Zhu Di went to Daming to pick up Zhu Yuanzhang.

But he came at an inopportune moment, as Zhu Yunfeng and Ji He were not at home.

Zhu Yunfeng was fine. An unpopular online writer was no different from an unemployed vagrant, so he had plenty of time.

Ji He is a civil servant and he cannot be absent from work without reason.

But he plans to resign.

Even if we put aside the Tang Sancai pottery figurine.

One hundred taels of gold is equivalent to 7.45 kilograms according to the ratio.

Although the smelting technology in the Ming Dynasty may not be as good as that of modern times, and may not reach the level of 999% pure gold purity, it should at least be 7 kilograms.

7 jin of gold, 3500 grams. The war some time ago caused the price of gold to reach 650 per gram, which is about 230 million, blinding Zhu Yunfeng and Ji He's titanium eyes.

No matter how popular civil servants are, it takes many years of work to save up 230 million.

So last night Zhu Yunfeng and Ji He discussed it. One decided to become a eunuch and bid farewell to his career as an online writer. The other chose to leave the poverty alleviation cause he loved and start a business to help alleviate poverty.

It has to be said that Zhu Yuanzhang found the right person.

Both of them have strong execution ability and they excitedly went down the mountain at just after seven in the morning.

Zhu Yunfeng brought some gold with him and planned to sell it first, and then go to investigate fertilizers and seeds. When the time comes, he will order a batch of fertilizers and seeds from the town and have them delivered to his home.

Ji He went back to submit his resignation report, and also had to go back to the county to study how to run an agricultural company.

The two men acted separately and asked Zhu Di to guard the house early in the morning.

After Zhu Di took Zhu Yuanzhang over, the two of them just stared at each other, not knowing what to do.

Fortunately, before Zhu Yunfeng left, he downloaded an electronic version of the History of Ming Dynasty for them on the computer and taught Zhu Di how to read the next page, so that they could kill some time.

Strictly speaking, Zhu Di has been in modern times for seven or eight days, so he should know something.

But in reality, they can only turn on a computer and turn on a light switch. At most, they can move the mouse and click around. They can't even type.

no way.

He has never learned pinyin, how could he learn to type in such a short time?

So every time, Zhu Yunfeng had to help me, whether it was watching TV series or reading materials, it was the only way.

"Father, how are you?"

By noon, Zhu and his son had already read "History of Ming Dynasty, Volume 2".

Zhu Di's stomach was growling with hunger, but he didn't dare to complain.

There were two computers, and he could only turn on one to accompany Zhu Yuanzhang to read the content of "History of Ming Dynasty" that he had read before.

There was also a golden retriever next to them, sticking out its tongue and grinning along with them.

It was not until Zhu Yuanzhang had pondered and read to the end of Volume 2, which was when Hu Weiyong rebelled in the 13th year of Hongwu, that Zhu Di asked cautiously.

“Although it only records major events and many details are not detailed and too brief, it is still complete.”

Zhu Yuanzhang subconsciously touched Pippi's dog head and said.

History books are like this, they only record the process of major events, but never record why they happened or what the reasons were.

So Zhu Yuanzhang knew why all the things that had happened before happened.

As for the things that happened later that he had not experienced, he could only guess and speculate as to why they happened.

of course.

He already had a general understanding of the whole story of Hu Weiyong's incident, as Zhu Yunfeng had also told him about it, so he didn't need to spend too much time figuring it out.

"Boom."

Just at this moment, the sound of a car engine roared from outside.

Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di were both on the second floor. When they heard the sound, they quickly got up and went to the second-floor balcony to look down.

They have no identity in modern times, and if they are found out by the authorities, they will be in big trouble, so they must always be careful.

Fortunately, there was an old white Toyota Camry parked in the yard. Zhu Yunfeng opened the door and got out of the car, holding a large plastic bag in each hand, and went to the side door.

Pippi ran down in a flash.

The two of them also went downstairs and just happened to meet Zhu Yunfeng who came in from the side door.

"The ancestor is here?"

When Zhu Yunfeng saw Zhu Yuanzhang, he picked up the bag in his left hand with difficulty and said, "Have you eaten? I packed some food from town. Let's eat together?"

As he spoke, he raised his foot and gently kicked Pipi. Pipi became very excited after not seeing him for a while and insisted on coming over to hug him.

"Well, let's eat together."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded his chin slightly. He had heard from Zhu Di that the food here was delicious, but he had never tried it. Today was a good chance to try it.

Zhu Yunfeng carried the bag to the living room.

I didn't cook today because I had something to do. I just packed six dishes from a restaurant in town - I specially made three light main dishes.

Hunanese people love spicy food. Zhu Di really couldn't accept it at the beginning. He had diarrhea every day in the first few days and kept clamoring to go back to eat.

It wasn't until these past few days that I finally got used to it, and I've even fallen in love with the fresh, fragrant and spicy taste of Hunan cuisine.

It can only be said that although stir-fried dishes existed in the Ming Dynasty, the richness and taste of the dishes were not as good as they are today. If someone who is used to eating Ming Dynasty dishes is asked to eat modern dishes, the latter will definitely be more popular.

After all, the times are advancing all the time. Various spices, chicken essence, MSG, and the use of high technology and hard work in every meal are obviously not comparable to ancient dishes.

Zhu Yunfeng placed the bag in his right hand next to the sofa, and the large bag in his left hand on the table in the living room. He brought the dishes to the table. The dishes were not packed in disposable lunch boxes, but in extra-large boxes, which he specially bought from the supermarket.

Because these three main dishes, one is braised pork elbow, one is stewed chicken, and one is steamed bacon, are things that can only be eaten during the Chinese New Year in their local area.

The other three dishes were also unusual: fish head with chopped pepper, three-in-one soup, and a side of yellow tofu.

Basically there is only one vegetarian dish which is tofu, and the other five are all meat dishes.

As soon as you open the toilet box, you can smell the fragrant aroma. The toilet box has a heat preservation function, so it is still warm. It is autumn and winter, and white steam can be seen.

“They are all delicious dishes.”

Zhu Di's saliva was almost flowing out.

Zhu Yuanzhang was shocked.

I wasn’t shocked by the aroma of the food, but by the fact that there were five meat dishes in one meal.

What a family.

Even when he became emperor, he didn't dare to eat like this.

Some historical records show that after he became emperor, his breakfast consisted of fried lamb, fried pork with yellow vegetables, steamed pig's trotters, and fried fresh fish.

Lunch includes pepper and vinegar shrimp, roast goose, garlic and vinegar white blood soup, steamed fish, etc.

But in fact, those are all unofficial histories.

The official history "Records of Ming Taizu" records that his daily breakfast "only consisted of vegetables, plus a dish of tofu". Most of the dishes were fried radish, fried leeks, fried vegetables, and chopped green onion tofu soup.

There is no record of lunch, but judging by the standards of breakfast, the food for lunch and dinner was probably not much better.

This was because there was a shortage of supplies in the early Ming Dynasty, and Zhu Yuanzhang was born in a poor family and was accustomed to hardship, so even his daily diet was simple and not wasteful, and naturally there would not be too much meat or vegetables.

When I got here and took a look, I saw that there were all kinds of chicken, fish, pork and beef, and they were served in different styles. Is this something an ordinary family can eat?
"Yesterday I heard from the Second Ancestor that the Grand Ancestor would be coming over today, so I prepared some New Year's food. It should be quite sumptuous."

Zhu Yunfeng said with a smile.

“Is this something we only eat during the Chinese New Year?”

Zhu Yuanzhang's mood improved a little.

Although he might not have had an egg to eat during the Chinese New Year when he was a child, but thinking that this was a prosperous future, it was normal to be able to eat something good during the Chinese New Year.

"No, I eat whatever I want to eat. It's just that it's very troublesome to cook. For example, this chicken needs to be stewed for several hours. It's faster to use a pressure cooker, but I don't think the food cooked in a pressure cooker tastes good."

Zhu Yunfeng took out the oversized lunch box, went to the kitchen to get three bowls, and returned to the living room to continue, "Life is fast-paced now, and there is no time to slow down and cook properly. I am usually too lazy to cook, so I just make noodles, fry an egg, and stir-fry some pork. I will do better when Ji He comes, but it's just stir-fried pork with peppers or stir-fried beef. Pork and beef are cheap now, thanks to Mi Sheng."

What the hell? What is he talking about?
Can you eat these things whenever you want?

Zhu Yuanzhang felt his head buzzing and he didn't know how he sat down in a daze and picked up the bowl and chopsticks in his hands.

"So, this food is what civilians eat?"

he asked cautiously.

"Yes."

Zhu Yunfeng said as a matter of course: "I know that life was hard in ancient times. Even the rich and powerful could not eat these dishes every day. But modern society is a different world from ancient times. Supplies are abundant. For dishes like these, if you cook them at home, a hundred yuan is enough. I bought them at a restaurant and spent more than two hundred yuan."

Zhu Yuanzhang didn't know much about modern prices, and didn't know what a hundred yuan meant, so he asked, "Is one or two hundred yuan expensive?"

"It depends on how you understand it. For people with low incomes, it is definitely not okay to eat every meal like this, because many people only earn 2,000 to 3,000 yuan a month. For example, the doctors and nurses in our town hospital only make 5,000 to 6,000 yuan, and the nurses make more than 2,000 yuan."

Zhu Yunfeng had already served Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di with food, and he also filled his own bowl and sat down and said, "But if the locals don't consider the rent issue, it's still no problem to ensure that they have meat for every meal. For example, pork here is only 14 yuan per catty, and with a monthly salary of 200, you can buy more than 6 catties of pork. Chicken is even cheaper. The feed chicken in the supermarket is 30 yuan per catty. If you want to eat better, buy free-range chicken. Free-range chickens in the countryside are only about 40-5 yuan. It's not a big deal to eat them once in a while. Eggs are even cheaper. Feed eggs are 1 cents, and free-range eggs are just over yuan."

Zhu Yuanzhang was startled.

What kind of fairy world is this?

When I was a child, I might not even have an egg to eat during the Chinese New Year.

In this world, one month's salary can buy five or six thousand eggs.

If the people of the Ming Dynasty could live in such a world, they would probably wake up laughing in their dreams.

"Father, let's eat first."

Zhu Di held chopsticks in his hand, crying for food.

He was hungry.

But how could he dare to start eating if his dad didn’t pick up his chopsticks?
"Eat, eat."

Zhu Yunfeng smiled and said, "One of our teachers said that food is important. No matter how busy you are, you must take good care of your body. The burden of the two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty is still on your shoulders."

"Ah."

Zhu Yuanzhang thought to himself, didn't he set up two capitals and thirteen provincial governments? Where did the thirteen provinces come from?

However, the Yuan Dynasty was called a province, so he didn't care. He picked up his chopsticks and sighed: "The life here is amazing. It would be great if the people of the Ming Dynasty could be like this."

"This way you won't have to worry about them rebelling against you, right?"

Zhu Yunfeng made a joke.

"Humph."

Zhu Yuanzhang rolled his eyes at him, picked up a piece of bacon and tasted it. He put it in his mouth and chewed it for a while. His eyes lit up and he nodded repeatedly, saying, "It's delicious, better than what the imperial chef in the palace makes."

"Then go to the kitchen later and get some thirteen spices, MSG, oyster sauce, etc. from the imperial chef. In fact, the imperial chef is definitely good at cooking, but the condiments in ancient times, such as soy sauce, vinegar, and salt, are definitely not as good as they are now."

Seeing him start to pick up his chopsticks and eat, Zhu Yunfeng also said something casually.

"it is good."

Zhu Yuanzhang responded, then picked up his bowl and chopsticks and began to eat slowly.

He ate very slowly indeed, unlike Zhu Di and Zhu Yunfeng who ate voraciously, stuffing the next bite into their mouths before finishing the previous one - many young people nowadays don't chew their food slowly.

Seeing that the two of them were starving like ghosts, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but said, "Eat slowly, no one will snatch it from you."

"What the old man said reminded me of what my mother said."

Zhu Yunfeng made a joke and threw the chicken nuggets with a lot of meat left on the ground. Pippi had been squatting obediently beside him, waiting for the chicken to come down.

Zhu Yuanzhang sighed and said, "Leftover chicken can actually be used to feed dogs. This is unimaginable in my Ming Dynasty. Why do you have so much food and meat here? In my Ming Dynasty, beef is not available at all. It has to be used for farming."

"Food is the foundation, whether it is wheat or rice, these are the cornerstones of the country. Only when these grains are sufficient, there will be enough food to make feed, and more feed can be used to feed livestock."

Zhu Yunfeng emphasized: "Now our country is still importing a large amount of grain, but most of the imported grain is not for human consumption, but as feed for chickens, ducks, pigs and cattle. Ensuring the basic supply of meat is the kingly way. This is why my first step in planning is to increase the grain supply in Daming."

"I see. Your country is truly farsighted."

Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but admire it.

"That is."

"By the way, since we're talking about food, how's your previous planning going?"

"It's hard to handle."

Zhu Yunfeng kept shoveling rice in his mouth without stopping for a moment, while his hands were still picking up dishes.

"Isn't it easy?"

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned and asked, "Why?"

“Because there aren’t that many.”

Zhu Yunfeng chewed a piece of chicken and said vaguely, "I went to the seed station to ask before. Now is not the season to buy rice seeds. The seed station doesn't have much stock at all. It will not be until next spring. Now there are only more than 1,000 kilograms of hybrid rice and ordinary rice seeds. There are plenty of fertilizers because vegetables can be grown in winter."

"It's only over a thousand pounds, what are you going to do?"

"Now that things have come to this, let's eat first. Man is made of iron and rice is made of steel. Eat first and then talk."

"Have a meal?"

When Zhu Yuanzhang saw Zhu Yunfeng reaching out to pick up food again, he was furious and hit the chopsticks he was using to pick up food with his chopsticks. He said angrily, "You haven't even finished your work, and you still have the mind to eat?"

"What the hell are you doing, Old Deng!"

Zhu Yunfeng dropped the bacon he had picked up on the table and said unhappily, "It's so rude to hit someone's chopsticks at the table."

"Politeness? What politeness do I need when it comes to the Ming Dynasty?"

Zhu Yuanzhang put down his chopsticks and said angrily: "You still have the nerve to ask me what's going on? Look at you first, I can't even do a small thing."

It’s no wonder that he is unhappy. The psychological gap is too big. He was full of expectations before, but the result is like this?
However, Zhu Yunfeng was also angry with him.

Lao Deng, how are you doing?
It’s not that we won’t do it for you, it’s just that it’s difficult to do now, which doesn’t mean it can’t be done.

And could your attitude be better?
Is this your attitude when asking someone to do something for you?

You yelled at me when I was in the Ming Dynasty, and now that you are in my territory you are still yelling at me. Didn’t it mean that I went to the Ming Dynasty to be a grandson in vain?

Zhu Yunfeng said bluntly, "It's not impossible just because it's difficult. Since I promised you something, I won't fail to do it for you. But what's your attitude now? I owe you something, right? I'm warning you, I have my own way of doing things, don't give me orders, this is my home, not your Daming, if it doesn't work, then we'll just break up and take your things and get out of here, or I'll call the uncles and aunts around to take you to the police station!"

"boom!"

"You little bastard, you are rebelling."

Zhu Yuanzhang was furious. He slammed the table and stood up, glaring at him, and the flesh on his face seemed to twitch twice.

"If you don't believe me, try it. When you come to my territory, you have to listen to me!"

Zhu Yunfeng was not to be outdone. He also stood up, put his hands on the table, leaned his upper body forward, and glared back aggressively.

He could show weakness in Ming Dynasty because he was fighting away from home. Although he was fully armed and not far from the pit, it would not be difficult to kill his way over, but he still had to be cautious and not be so impulsive.

But in modern times, that is their home ground. If they show weakness again, they will definitely be controlled by Zhu. How can they allow that?

Besides, Zhu Yunfeng is just like that. If you are nice to him, he will also be nice to you.

If you keep nagging him, he will never indulge you.

Now Lao Zhu suddenly attacks.

Zhu Yunfeng simply couldn't afford this loss.

Although I am a grandson, I am a grandson with dignity.

Even if you are my ancestor, you can't order me around!

This is a matter of principle and dignity!

It is also a question of whether he will obey Zhu Yuanzhang's orders in the future or have his own ideas!

(End of this chapter)