The literary giants of the late Ming Dynasty began by copying books

Chapter 66 Fuqing Ye Family
The old woman was about to start cooking porridge, and the boatman quickly went up to her and whispered to her: "Cook more, these gentlemen also want to have a taste."

Watching Ye Chengxue and the others go out to wait, the boatman whispered to the old woman: "Just add a radish, these big scarves won't taste much, so don't waste food. I'll ask for the money for you as well."

When the old woman heard what she was told, she obeyed the instructions truthfully. It was just a bowl of vegetable porridge. The radish was cooked after boiling the water twice. Ye Chengxue and the others did not have the patience to wait any longer. They clamored to taste it before the rice bloomed.

The old woman picked up radishes and scooped out several bowls for them. Ye Chengxue saw that this bowl of porridge was strange. There were not many grains of rice, more like radish soup. However, there were a few chopped sugar cane in the soup, and the porridge contained Salt is also added, and when you drink it, you will say whether it is sweet or not, and whether it is salty or not. For these literati, wherever they can enter the mouth, it is just a taste.

Looking back, I saw that the old woman was enjoying the food. I saw that she ate the radish first, then picked up the sugar cane and chewed it. After chewing the sugar cane, she drank the rice soup.

After the people began to grow vegetables, they didn't know how to eat them at first, and they didn't even believe that they would be full by eating these things. Later, several families ran out of food first, and they were so hungry that they could only eat radishes and sugar cane. After a few meals, I found that I could really fill my stomach, and farmers gradually figured out how to make radish, sugar cane, winter melon, etc. into staple foods.

Radish and winter melon have fiber that can provide a feeling of satiety, but are low in calories. The main source of calories in this porridge is sugar cane. The sugar cane is cut into small pieces to facilitate cooking out the sucrose. In order to replenish physical strength, it is also added here Put a little salt in the porridge.

This kind of thing is really not delicious. This kind of vegetable porridge will have to wait until the potatoes mature in February next year. The taste will be improved if potatoes are used instead of sugar cane.

Although it is not delicious, it can save lives during times of famine.

Ye Chengxue watched the mother-in-law drink all the leftover bowls of radish and sugar water that they found unpalatable, and even chewed the sugarcane bagasse. He couldn't help but sigh: "What a merit I have now, I have never been engaged in farming. "

At this time, the family's children and daughter-in-law also came back from the fields, and several scholars asked the old woman's son: "Who is this famine-saving melon and vegetable fairy?"

The child of this family replied: "I heard that this virtuous Immortal Duke is a master in Fuzhou Prefecture, and his surname is Wang Wenlong."

Just now, several people were talking about Wang Wenlong's "History of Portugal" on the boat, and when they suddenly heard his name, they were all stunned.

Wang Wenlong himself did not expect that he thought that Guacaidai would be more famous among the people than writing articles, and many people had spread rumors about him, and they really regarded him as the deity who saved the famine.

Fortunately, it was just such a rumor among the common people. Wang Wenlong himself never said it. In addition, there were dojo flyers to prove that Wang Wenlong said that the Guacai Immortal was from Chaozhou. With Xu Xueju's protection, Wang Wenlong could push this thing away.

Otherwise, Wang Wenlong would be afraid that he would be arrested as a superstitious leader.

At the same time, the second half of "History of Portugal" has also been released on the market. The historical stage described in this book is that Portugal finally reached Southeast Asia and East Asia, which instantly caused great controversy.

Wang Wenlong's book straightforwardly records the process of Portugal and Spain competing for Southeast Asia, and also touches on Macau, Japan, and trade with the Ming Dynasty. It shows that in the eyes of these countries, the Ming Dynasty is a big fat piece of meat, and all the silver used for trading with the Ming Dynasty is The Spanish brought it from the silver mines of South America.

They can exchange the silver mines mined by slaves for Ming Dynasty goods, which is a huge profit.

Moreover, Wang Wenlong also revealed that these countries will definitely have plans for Ming Dynasty in the future.

People in this generation regard the red-haired people as barbarians, and suddenly find out that these countries are actually plotting against the great dynasty, and instantly feel embarrassed.

However, what Wang Wenlong wrote was well-founded and even listed the maritime strength of these countries. Each gunboat was equipped with pictures, which was well-founded and well-founded, so that people in the Ming Dynasty could feel that these countries were becoming increasingly powerful just through words and pictures.Many scholars felt a sense of crisis. Maritime merchants and small businessmen engaged in export trade called on Ming Dynasty to engage in foreign trade and plunder colonies.

However, the landlords, officials, merchants and weavers who occupied the mainstream of public opinion in the Ming Dynasty were unwilling to fight and pay taxes, and speculation came and went for a while.

Fortunately, Wang Wenlong only held an impartial stance and talked about foreign affairs. Therefore, no matter how much the two sides scolded him, they never criticized Wang Wenlong. Instead, they used his "History of Portugal" as an argument for the quarrel.

After returning to Fuzhou, Ye Chengxue felt the great influence of Wang Wenlong. From the ignorant people to the knowledgeable literati, everyone talked about Wang Wenlong's name. After staying in his hometown in Fuqing for three days, Ye Chengxue couldn't help but send servants to Fucheng to deliver posts. .

On the day he came to visit Wang Wenlong, Ye Chengxue thought that a scholar like Wang Wenlong must live in a quiet and elegant place, but he did not expect that the sedan stopped directly in front of a workshop filled with oil smoke.

Ye Chengxue endured the smell of pine oil and walked through the store. Wang Wenlong's office was in the back hall of the store.

After being led to a young man by the craftsman, Ye Chengxue saw Wang Wenlong looking up at him and quickly held his hand:
"Mr. Jianyang, student Ye Chengxue has been famous for a long time."

Wang Wenlong finally recovered from his working state, stood up in a hurry, and said with a smile:
"Wen Long has heard a lot about the good names of Mr. and Your Majesty in Fuzhou. Please come and sit down."

Wang Wenlong was also a little surprised to learn that Ye Xianggao's son suddenly wanted to see him, but he did not dare to neglect it. After all, Ye Xianggao would be the chief assistant in the future.

Ye Chengxue saw that there was still manuscript paper on Wang Wenlong's desk and curiously asked: "Sir, are you writing a book again?"

Wang Wenlong stacked the manuscripts into a pile, put them aside to make room for the two of them to drink tea, and said with a smile: "Write books to earn some royalties."

His raw material workshop is open, but his reputation has not yet spread. Wang Wenlong plans to write a book to show the advantages of wax block mimeograph technology, which can also be regarded as a living advertisement.

Ye Chengxue nodded and sat down. Wang Wenlong complimented him: "The Ye family has brought blessings to our country for generations, and the people of Fuzhou have benefited from it."

Ye Xianggao's family has really done a lot of good things in Fuzhou. In the past, the people in Fuqing were responsible for the food supply of the local garrison, and they were often blackmailed by the soldiers. A few years ago, Ye Xianggao returned to his hometown to defend the system and complained to his hometown elders, so Ye Xianggao first He wrote a letter about the case of the governor of Fujian at that time, and then wrote letters to the governor of Fujian and the magistrate of Fuqing one by one. He successfully caused the local "grain to change color". The people paid money and no longer paid grain. What did the soldiers do when they handed over grain? There is no way to deal with the "kicking tip" and "waste", allowing local people to save thousands of taels of millet every year.

Although it is said that wealthy families these days use this trick to bribe the folks, the Ye family has done a good job. For example, fighting against the soldiers and canceling the salt sentry has alleviated the burden on the poor people in their hometown.

Ye Xianggao took a lot of money, but he was also willing to spend money on his hometown. He was considered an outstanding gentleman these days.

Ye Xuecheng was very happy to be praised. As a country squire, he only wanted to have the reputation of being a countryman.

He smiled and said: "Sir, you are so complimentary. We are the literati who came here this time to organize a Wuzhong Poetry Society in Jiangnan. Your class is full of talents. Once "History of Portugal" was published in Jiangnan, it became very popular in Luoyang. Everyone in the society admired your talent. I have admired him for a long time, and at the invitation of my roommate, I invited him to join the poetry club and travel to Jiangnan."

(End of this chapter)