A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Starting from the Village Chief

Chapter 825 Phoenix Eye Blue

"Dad, this curly noodle dish is really delicious."

"Any more?"

The instant noodles in the shiny Yukihira pot had already been devoured by the little ones, and they didn't even leave the remaining soup behind, taking bites from each other.

Li Shu, nicknamed "Little Chili," was in charge of supervising. Crown Prince Chengqian took an extra sip of soup and was hit on the head. He was stunned for a moment, then turned to look at her. Li Shu glared at him and said, "One sip each, no more than one."

Li Yi watched with a smile on his face. He thought Chengqian would get angry, but the guy actually shrank back and obediently handed the blame to Duke Rong, Li Cong.

The noodles were finished, and the soup was drunk.

The group was still licking their lips, clearly not satisfied.

"This tastes different from our homemade noodles," Li Cong said. The Li family's noodle workshop produces several kinds of noodles: round, flat, thick, thin, and even hollow ones.
There are noodles made from wheat flour, pea flour, and rice flour, but none of them taste like this.

Chengqian licked his lips, savoring the taste. He had just eaten two bites of noodles and drunk two sips of soup, and had even been hit by Li Shu.

In the past, a bowl of noodles this delicious would have been his to enjoy all by himself; no one would have dared to take it from him or even beat him up.

just,

The feeling of grabbing and sharing the food just now seemed pretty good.

"Go have fun," Li Yi waved his hand and gave everyone a fire crystal persimmon on the tea table.

Li Shu shouted, "Let's go!" and a group of five- or six-year-old children all ran out in a flurry.

Looking at the empty Yukihira pot, Li Yi chuckled softly.

On a whim, he carried the pot to the house, went to the kitchen, turned on the tap, and water gushed out. He turned the knob to the left, and the gas water heater on the wall hummed and started up.

Hot water at 50 degrees Celsius flows out.

After Li Yi washed the pot, he lit the stove, and sure enough, a fire broke out.

I put a pot on the stove to boil water and cooked another bowl of mushroom and chicken noodles.

While the noodles were cooking, he made a thorough inspection of the room.
The front door still won't open.

Outside the window, everything was still shrouded in mist, making it impossible to see clearly or even distinguish between day and night. When he came to the large terrace, the tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, and other vegetables he had moved were all restored to their original state in the small vegetable garden on the terrace.

There was no sound of cars on the road outside the terrace.

He inspected the vegetable garden.
Just like the day he was hit by a meteor, he remains unchanged.

Even the water in those large vats remained unchanged.
The lotus flowers, small fish, and even the aquatic plants like pennywort and water hyacinth in the tank are all growing very well.

Those water hyacinths grew especially well.
I originally got them to purify the water, but they've grown so fast that I have to scoop some out every few days, otherwise they'll fill the whole tank in no time.

If it weren't for the fact that this thing is indeed effective at purifying water and looks quite pretty when it blooms, Li Yi would have chopped up the fertile soil long ago.

My wife used to like this plant, which Li Yi called water hyacinth, because its swollen, spongy petioles resemble gourds.

My wife calls it Phoenix Eye Blue, with bright green and glossy leaves, and blue-purple flowers blooming in spike-like inflorescences, dotted with yellow spots in the center, just like phoenix eyes. It is indeed quite beautiful.

This item did not exist in the Tang Dynasty.

It's a species that was introduced from abroad during the early years of the People's Republic of China, supposedly originally introduced for use as pig feed.
What I valued was this plant's strong environmental adaptability, especially its ability to grow year-round in the south.

With water temperatures of 20-30 degrees Celsius and sufficient sunlight, they can multiply by more than 20% per day.

Its reproductive method is a miracle of nature. It can produce new plants through stolons, and each plant can produce 150 to 200 divisions per year. Under suitable conditions, a single plant can cover 1,000 square meters of water surface in 90 days.

Although the seeds have a dormancy period of 5-20 years, they can quickly form new populations after germination. They can reproduce both asexually and sexually.
Later, it became a super killer among invasive species in China, rampant and devastating, especially in the south, blocking rivers, lakes and seas, and hated by people and dogs.

It is said that Dianchi Lake in Yunnan alone costs tens of millions of yuan every year for dredging and cleaning.

However, when it was introduced, its value as feed was highly regarded. It is rich in protein and crude fiber, and after fermentation, it can be made into high-quality feed, which is good for raising pigs and fish. The nutritional value of one ton of dried water hyacinth powder is equivalent to 0.2 tons of corn.

Its tender stems and leaves are even a decent vegetable.

In the past, when pigs were commonly raised in rural areas, people liked to collect water hyacinths as pig feed. Even in the winter in the south, these plants remained green.

Later, fewer people raised pigs freely, and water hyacinths became rampant.

It's quite popular in flower markets, with a small pot costing ten or twenty yuan. Its advantages are that it's easy to grow, looks good, and has a very beautiful flowering period. It's especially popular in the north, since it's difficult for this plant to survive the winter there and isn't as widespread.

Li Yi thought it was possible to bring this item to the Tang Dynasty.
There's no need to worry about it becoming a pest, since it can be used as both animal feed and vegetables, and it doesn't grow as fast as people and livestock eat.

Chicken, duck, pork, lamb, and beef are all edible.

During famines, people dug up grass roots and peeled tree bark to eat.

What pigs can eat, humans can eat as vegetables.

Water hyacinths are also high in protein, and when grown in the water towns of southern China, they can be ground into flour and mixed with corn and other grains.

In years of famine, transporting grain to the north as relief supplies is better than eating grass roots and tree bark.

A single water hyacinth can multiply and cover six acres of water in just one hundred days—what an astonishing speed!

No crop can be grown this quickly.

Most importantly, this plant has no natural enemies in China. Its natural enemy is the water hyacinth weevil from South America, but since it wasn't introduced to China, the water hyacinth can grow and spread unchecked.

In China, the only natural enemy of this thing might be drought.

The south has many rivers and lakes, so it doesn't die from drought. It's only the severe drought and cold winter in the north that can limit them, but as soon as spring arrives, these water hyacinths will reappear.

Li Yi looked at the water hyacinths in the water tanks on the terrace. There were only twenty or thirty plants in total. If he took them to the south now, they could grow into nearly two hundred acres in a hundred days.

In another three months, it will be more than 100,000 mu.

This is a treasure.

In Southeast Asia, these water hyacinths grow so well that locals dry them and weave them into mats, baskets, bags, and other items.

Li Yi moved all these treasures, including the jars, to his own library.

The stoves here are running day and night, keeping the room temperature around 20 degrees Celsius, which is the optimal growing temperature for water hyacinths. The only problem is the lack of sunlight.

However, the study window can be enlarged and covered with translucent tiles.

It would be best to go south of the Yangtze River and cultivate these water hyacinths there.

···
Inside Zhenguan Hall,

Empress Zhangsun served soup to the emperor.

"When it's cold, it's perfect to eat lotus root. This lotus root is a tribute from Anzhou in Shannan Province. It's simmered in a clay pot over low heat for an hour, and it becomes very soft and tender. The soup is especially delicious."

"Your Majesty, eat while it's hot to warm yourself up. You've been so busy that you haven't even had time to eat."

Li Shimin looked at the pile of memorials on his desk, put down his pen, and said, "I dare not neglect state affairs. Recently, the court dispatched inspectors to examine granaries throughout the country, and they uncovered many corrupt officials and embezzlers."

With spring famine and summer famine looming imminent...

The imperial court racked its brains to procure grain from all sides in preparation for the disaster.
But the termites were stealing from behind.

Li Shimin was furious. He had previously sent Wen Yanbo to investigate, but progress was slow. After dismissing Wen Yanbo, Li Shimin followed Li Yi's advice and transferred more than ten third-rank officials from the court to various regions to supervise the investigation.

They even assigned five hundred imperial guards to each of them, showing they were serious.

After this thorough investigation,
Granaries across the country were in deficit; corrupt officials were falsifying accounts, stealing grain, and even replacing new grain with old grain.

Some grains only exist on paper.

The warehouse was actually empty.

Those guys are a bunch of snakes and rats, embezzling public grain and profiting from disasters.

Li Shimin was furious when he learned of this and wanted to execute all of them. However, Chancellor Wei Zheng and Minister of Works Qu Tutong firmly opposed the mass killing, arguing that the crime did not warrant the death penalty according to the law.

Li Yi then proposed that the corrupt officials should make up for all the missing grain, and the replaced grain should also be returned. Furthermore, they should be heavily fined and required to pay a further grain payment.
All cases should be dealt with according to the law: those who should be exempted should be exempted, those who should be transferred should be transferred, and those who should be demoted should be demoted.

But whether it's exemption or reduction, the hole still needs to be filled.

The empress opened the casserole, ladled a bowl of soup for her husband, and brought it to him.

Li Shimin smelled the fragrance.

He couldn't help but sniff.

"Guanyinbi, are you trying to make me break my vows? We agreed not to eat after noon and to have two meals a day."

Lady Changsun smiled and replied, "It's not even noon yet. This is just a bowl of lotus root soup, not a full meal."

Li Shimin picked up the bowl, took a sip of soup, and immediately praised it.

"Guanyinbi, your cooking skills are getting better and better. This lotus root soup is incredibly delicious."

"It's all thanks to the good ingredients. The lotus root dug in Anlu, Shannan in winter, is paired with the ribs of the black pig raised by the Prince of Wei. Only a little salt is added, and the taste is so delicious."

The Empress said casually, "When I took my eldest son to the Prince of Wei's residence today, the Prince of Wei sent all of his bodyguards and wet nurses, who had been with him for many years, back to the Eastern Palace as soon as they arrived at the gate."

Now, Dalang doesn't have a single familiar face around him.
"I am very worried; I don't know if he will be able to get used to it."

Li Shimin drank a few sips of soup, picked up a piece of lotus root, which was stewed in simmering water until it was very soft and tender, and then picked up a piece of pork rib, which was also very fresh and tender.

"Li Yi's pork is indeed excellent; no other family can compare." After praising it, he comforted the Empress, "You don't need to worry about Dalang. Look how strong and healthy Li Yi's children are."

None of them were delicate. His eldest daughter, Little Chili, could ride a horse at full gallop and even shoot birds in flight. His eldest son, Li Cong, and second son, Li Yan, were both as strong as calves.

And then there's Xiaoyu'er. She was originally an orphan who was starving to death while fleeing famine. Back then, she was just skin and bones, but now look how well she's been raised, with fair skin and rosy cheeks.

Chengqian is a bit weak. I think we've been taking too much care of him. Let him stay at Li Yi's house to help him recuperate.

Let's follow Li Yi's approach; it's good that everyone around Chengqian comes back.

If Chengqian really recovers, I'll send Qingque there for treatment too. Qingque is a bit overweight, and being too fat isn't good either..."

"If you're worried, I'll send someone to check on it tomorrow."

(End of this chapter)