The first assistant of the poor family

Chapter 434 The Guest From Afar

Although Xie Shen was ecstatic in his heart, he had a calm look on his face.

He waved his hand and said, "Where is the Frangji who donated this thing now?"

Pei Yan immediately said respectfully: "Report to Mr. Xiaoge, this person is resting at an inn in the east of the city, do you think you want to summon him?"

Xie Shen shook his head lightly and said: "No need, I just go and see him."

In a guest room on the second floor of the Yunlai Inn in the east of the city, Francois Rodriguez's face was full of sorrow.

He spent a lot of money to meet Mr. Pei, the prefect of Shaoxing, through someone's recommendation, and donated the potatoes.He originally thought that Prefect Pei would be ecstatic, but his face sank like water, and he didn't say much.

After waiting for a day, there is still no news, it seems that there is no hope.

The corners of his mouth curled up slightly, and he shook his head with a wry smile.

Daming officials are really stupid to turn a blind eye to such a valuable thing.

Two years ago, Rodriguez sailed thousands of miles with Captain Francisco and brought back potatoes and gold, but only gold could satisfy the greedy lords.

So he wanted to come to Daming again to try his luck, but he didn't expect the officials here to be as stupid as the nobles in Europe.

Coming all the way from Europe to Ming Dynasty had almost exhausted Rodriguez's last savings, and now he is really poor and useless.

With a sigh, Rodriguez got up and packed his luggage, preparing to return to Europe by boat from Ningbo, which is near Shaoxing.

If he stayed like this, not only would there be no results, but he might also be kicked out by the innkeeper because he couldn't pay the room fee.

At this moment, the sound of fine footsteps sounded outside the house.

Rodriguez subconsciously went to open the door, but the moment he opened the door, he was stunned.

There were dozens of people standing in front of him, and among them stood a handsome man in his twenties, dressed in a gorgeous gown.And beside him is Mr. Pei, the prefect of Shaoxing.

"Dear Mr. Pei, Rodriguez Carl is very pleased to meet you again."

Rodriguez bowed slightly and saluted Pei Yan.

In front of Xie Shen, how could Pei Yan dare to hold her back.He coughed and said, "This is Mr. Xie, a cabinet scholar. Mr. Xie was very interested in the potatoes you offered, and came here to see you."

Xie Shen nodded and said, "Mr. Rogge, may I ask where you got these potatoes?"

Although Rodriguez didn't know what the official position of a cabinet scholar was, seeing how respectful Mr. Xie was from Prefect Pei, he thought he must be a big man.

"Reporting to my lord, we discovered this from a new continent during our voyage. At first we brought it back to Europe, but the European masters were not interested in it. So I want to bring it to Daming to have a look."

Xie Shen thought that this Rodriguez was really sincere, and he didn't hide it at all.

"How many potatoes do you have here?"

Although the potatoes presented by Rodriguez have germinated, they can still be grown as long as they are sliced.If there are enough potatoes, Xie Shen can even try planting them in his own farm immediately.

"There are probably a few hundred. I am Daming who came here by boat, so I can't bring too many."

Xie Shen nodded and said, "Can I let the officer take a look?"

Rodriguez was overjoyed when he heard the words, and immediately excitedly said: "My lord, please follow me."

Rodriguez led Xie Shen to the head of the bed, and took out a sack from under the bed.

After untying the rope tied to the pocket, Rodriguez said excitedly, "Thank you, my lord, the potatoes are here."

Xie Shen picked up a potato from it, looked it over carefully, and confirmed that it was definitely a potato.

He scanned the potatoes in the sack again, and found that some potatoes had sprouted, while others hadn't.This is not a problem, anyway, he is going to slice potatoes and plant them.Germinated potatoes are also exempt from germination.

Xie Shen coughed and said, "Mr. Rogge, I bought all of your potatoes."

Rodriguez was so happy that he almost passed out.He had even made preparations a moment before, intending to sail back to Europe.

But at this moment, he met this Mr. Xie, who was simply his noble person.

"I don't know what price Mr. Xie is going to offer?"

Xie Shen said calmly, "1000 taels of silver."

Rodriguez opened his mouth wide and looked at Xie Shen in disbelief: "1000 taels?"

"Why, Mr. Rogge feels less?"

Rodriguez shook his head again and again: "A lot, a lot."

He paused for a moment, then continued: "However, Sir Xie, can you exchange the silver for gold. I'm going back to Europe by boat, and it's really inconvenient to bring so much silver."

Xie Shen nodded and said, "That's easy to say."

Gold is not a currency in circulation in Ming Dynasty, but there are still some stocks in the homes of dignitaries.

Xie Shen is also a cabinet scholar, so it is not a problem to use some gold as funds to buy potatoes.

"It's just that the officer has a request."

"Sir, please speak."

Let alone one request from Xie Shen, even if there were ten requests, Rodriguez would agree without hesitation.

"I want you to bring a few other things to Daming, and I can buy them at double the price."

"My lord, please tell me, as long as I can find them, I will definitely bring them to Daming."

Rodriguez only felt that he had made a lot of money, so he patted his chest as a guarantee.

The corner of Xie Shen's mouth curled up and said, "These things are called corn, sweet potato, and pepper."

Before coming here, he had thought that since potatoes had been introduced to Europe from the Americas, so should corn and sweet potatoes.

Compared with potatoes, corn and sweet potatoes are obviously more in line with the eating habits of the people in the Ming Dynasty.

Moreover, potato planting takes up an area, which is more suitable for planting on slopes in the north. Planting in plains like Jiangnan is too wasteful.

Once corn, sweet potatoes and potatoes are popularized, the food problem that plagued Ming Dynasty will be completely solved.

The people will not rebel if they are full, and a series of chain reactions will follow.

As for chili, it is a great weapon to improve the taste of food. With it, the quality of food and drink can be improved a lot.

Thinking of this, Xie Shen felt secretly happy.Unexpectedly, he came to Yuyao to visit his eldest brother, and the unexpected harvest was so great.

"This is easy to handle. When I return to Europe to rest this time, I will come to Daming again and dedicate these to Lord Xie."

Xie Shen slightly nodded and said: "You have done a good job, I will report to His Majesty."

"Thank you sir!"

Rodriguez said excitedly: "My lord, where are you sending these potatoes?"

Xie Shen smiled and said: "You follow me to the mansion, and someone will hand over the gold to you."

One year, Xie Shen can grow enough potatoes in just one year, and once the emperor is convinced, the potatoes can be promoted on a large scale.

If all goes well, it will only take five years for the people to accept it.

Introducing potatoes in advance is really a great thing that will benefit the present and the future!

(End of this chapter)