Chapter 411 Leading Industry (Special thanks to book friend yyangtq for 2 monthly tickets!)

When the people of Liugu heard that the only male member of the royal family who had escaped from the capital, Prince Jinfu Youlongbo, had already started a family in Bianjing, they were very pleased and all bowed to Chai Zongxun to express their gratitude.

"Your Majesty is benevolent and wise! Not only did you show mercy and preserve the bloodline of the Zhebu royal family, but you also implemented benevolent policies and benefited millions of people in Liugufan. You are truly a sage king of all ages!"

Chai Zongxun asked the people about their daily business and work, as well as judicial matters, and generally they were fair and in accordance with the law.

Chai Zongxun said:

"My fellow villagers are also the people of my Great Zhou. If you have any grievances, you can report them to me now and I will resolve them properly."

The people of the six valleys said:
“Since the establishment of the ‘Local Worthies Bureau’, the officials in the government have become more and more polite to ordinary people like us, and those officials who can stay in office for a long time are all good and honest officials.

Any official who is corrupt and harms the people will soon be caught by the court."

Chai Zongxun listened to the people for a while, and seeing that there were no issues they wanted to raise, he nodded with satisfaction.

A middle-aged man who looked like a businessman hesitated and said:
"Your Majesty, I have a suggestion, but I don't know if I should say it."

Chai Zongxun said:

"Oh? What's your suggestion? Feel free to tell me directly, fellow villager."

The businessman gritted his teeth and said:

"Your Majesty, under your benevolent rule, the people of Liugufan are living better and better every day.

However, it is only when we, the common people, and other merchants, have traveled around our Great Zhou to do business that we realize the prosperity of the capital, Yangzhou, Jiangnan and other places.

For example, the garment industry in the Jiangnan area is popular throughout the country, with hundreds of well-known brands and staggering annual profits.

I run the rapeseed oil business in Liugufan and have traveled all over the country. I'm not bragging, but the rapeseed oil from Liugufan is of excellent quality. However, due to its lack of fame, it is difficult to sell in other provinces. Currently, it is only sold in dozens of neighboring provinces, and the sales volume and profits are very limited.

The common people want to..."

He was unable to utter the following words for a moment.

Chai Zongxun smiled and said:
"My fellow countryman, if you have any ideas, please speak directly. Even if they are inappropriate, I will not blame you for the sake of Concubine Zhe Bu."

The businessman turned to look at Zhe Bu Tinglan, and seeing Zhe Bu Tinglan nod affirmatively, he immediately said boldly:
"I would like to... I would like to give Your Majesty a few barrels of rapeseed oil produced by Liugufan. Please give me a name for Liugufan Rapeseed Oil!"

The gift given to the emperor was actually a few barrels of rapeseed oil, which was not only inappropriate but also an offense to the emperor's majesty.

What's more, the businessman also wanted to ask the emperor to give a name to Liugufan rapeseed oil.

Chai Zongxun's close attendants, such as the chief eunuch in front of the palace He Yao, the commander of the imperial guards Chen Jixing and others, could not hide their contempt for the businessman on their faces.

Chai Zongxun thought: This Liugufan merchant really understands the principle of marketing. He wants to use me, the most prestigious person in the country - the emperor, to help advertise his rapeseed oil.

Chai Zongxun smiled and said:

"My fellow villager, what is the production scale of your rapeseed oil workshop? How many workers do you employ?"

The businessman said excitedly:
“Your Majesty, my workshop is the largest rapeseed oil workshop in Liangzhou, producing 50,000 kilograms of rapeseed oil per day.

We hired a thousand workers, and I offered them an average monthly salary of 2 taels per month, depending on their skills, and no one received less than the minimum monthly salary of 2 taels set by Your Majesty." The monthly salary of a thousand workers is more than 6 taels, enough to support a thousand families of six.

From this point of view, this businessman has played a significant role in solving local people's employment and promoting local economic development.

Chai Zongxun thought it was a good thing to help promote the rapeseed oil industry, the leading industry in the Liugufan area, in the Great Zhou Dynasty, promote its marketing across the country, increase people's income, and increase government tax revenue.

Chinese cooking is inseparable from cooking oil. Cooking with high-temperature oil can shorten food processing time, maintain a fresh taste, improve color and flavor, and increase nutritional value.

Common edible oils are usually divided into vegetable oils and animal oils. Edible oils have a long history and have formed a unique development history along with the progress of human civilization.

In ancient times, "people's fat and cream" was often used to represent wealth, which is related to animal oil. "Shi Ming" says: "Things with horns are called fat, and those without horns are called cream." For example, cow and sheep fat is called fat, and lard is called cream.

There is also a saying that "the fat that condenses is fat, and the fat that releases is ointment."

There are also differences in cooking methods for fats and ointments. The Book of Rites clearly states: to remove the fishy smell, “use onions for fat and leeks for ointments.”

The use of animal oil can be traced back to the Pre-Qin period.

The Book of Zhou states: "In the king's food, six kinds of grains are used for food, six kinds of clear water are used for drinking, 120 kinds of food are used for food, and eight kinds of delicacies are used for delicacies." Among the "eight delicacies", there is a dish called "fried pig", which requires "frying all kinds of fats until they are destroyed."

"The Book of Zhou: Tianguan Zongzai" records: "For bird offerings: in spring, lambs and pigs are offered with fragrant fat; in summer, pigeons are offered with smelly fat; in autumn, calves and deer are offered with fishy fat; in winter, fresh feathers are offered with smelly fat." Simply put, the princes had to offer different birds, beasts, and animal oils as tribute according to the changes of the seasons.

During the Han Dynasty, vegetable oil came to prominence.

The first vegetable oil consumed in large quantities was not soybean oil, rapeseed oil or peanut oil, but sesame oil.

The Eastern Han agricultural book "Monthly Orders for Four People" says: "Sesame can be planted in February, which is considered the best time."

The emergence of vegetable oil gave rise to a new cooking technique. There is a dish in "Qimin Yaoshu": "How to stir-fry chicken eggs: break them, put them in a copper pan, stir until the yellow and white are mixed. Finely fry the scallions, add salt and rice, and stir-fry them with sesame oil. It is very fragrant and delicious."

This is the first appearance of "stir-frying".

By the time of Chai Zongxun, the oils used for cooking in the imperial kitchen of the palace included lard, peanut oil, rapeseed oil and carp oil.

Chai Zongxun nodded slightly and said:

“Let me verify it. If your workshop has always been law-abiding and tax-paying, and the rapeseed oil is indeed of high quality, then I will not hesitate to grant it a name.

It’s just that I gave this name to the rapeseed oil produced in the Liugufan area, not to the rapeseed oil produced by your workshop. You must remember this and never use my name to promote your rapeseed oil in the future.”

The merchants were overjoyed. As long as Liugufan's rapeseed oil was named by the emperor, it would immediately become famous throughout the Great Zhou. As long as the rapeseed oil produced by their workshops was of good quality and at a reasonable price, it would naturally sell well.

The people-friendly banquet that night lasted until midnight.

The next morning, the merchant brought several of his men to "give gifts" to Emperor Chai Zongxun:
Two hundred kilograms of rapeseed oil produced in our own workshop with clear color and mellow aroma.

On the same day, Chai Zongxun saw the investigation report of the Liangzhou government on this businessman. He had been running a rapeseed oil workshop in Liangzhou for nearly 20 years, and had not evaded taxes or committed any crimes over the years.

Chai Zongxun ordered Xiao Liuzi and other people from the Ministry of Internal Affairs to carefully check the rapeseed oil sent by the merchant to make sure there was no problem. Then he ordered the accompanying imperial chef to cook a few dishes with it for tasting. Chai Zongxun also tasted a few bites himself.

(End of this chapter)

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