Linxia

Chapter 191, Fruits and Vegetables

Winter has passed in a hurry. It is the coldest time of the year. After a heavy snowfall, the sky and the earth are covered in silver.

Qiuqiu was extremely happy when she saw snow for the first time. When it just started snowing, her little body was like a silkworm, with its head sticking out and curling up to slide out, babbling. But after two days, she got used to the snow and found it monotonous and uninspiring. She didn't want to go out because of the cold weather. When Fang Lin carried her out, Qiuqiu also lowered her head and huddled in Fang Lin's neck, hiding her head and not wanting to even show her eyes.

In this kind of weather, vegetables are scarce and the only green vegetable seen on the market is cabbage.

On this day, the Fan family sent a load of fruits and vegetables, including cucumbers, watermelons, etc.

"Why are there cucumbers and watermelons in this season? Out-of-season fruits and vegetables?" Fang Lin was surprised.

"Off-season fruits and vegetables, Brother Fang's term is fresh, but also accurate."

Fan Qiguang, the eldest son of the Fan family, smiled and said, "To be honest, it is indeed 'off-season'. They are cultivated in the cave and are cave products. They are rare in Huai'an. I sent some to Brother Fang to give him a taste."

Fang Lin understood immediately after hearing this: "The so-called kang hole is probably similar to the earthen kang in the north, creating a greenhouse-like environment for growing fruits and vegetables."

Fan Qiguang sent these fruits and vegetables to show goodwill and win over others, but he also knew that too much is as bad as too little, so he left the fruits and vegetables without boasting about his achievements and left.

Again, the Fan family was not involved in factories or fleets, and was the only family in Huai'an City that had no competition. At the same time, because of the cooperation and advertising with the Popular Fiction Guild, they continued to win over Fang Lin, and sent him many good things, such as Xia Bing's share, rare fruits and vegetables, etc. For these sugar-coated bullets, Fang Lin naturally ate the sugar coating and shot back the bullets.

It's very interesting to say, maybe human nature is 'what you can't get is the best', he keeps the Fan family hanging, being close yet not deeply bound, but the Fan family appreciates Fang Lin's attitude of being neither humble nor arrogant, and not fawning on others, they think he has a noble character and they admire him more and more.

Having said that, Fang Lin was fine with the fruits and vegetables that were sent to him. They were just out-of-season vegetables and he had eaten a lot of them in his previous life. However, Fang's father, mother, and Tian Xuan found them quite rare. Seeing these green fruits and vegetables in this dead of winter was really a pleasure.

Just like using winter ice in summer and eating summer vegetables in winter, it makes people instinctively happy.

Fang Lin took out some and sent some to the Xu family. Xu Kuolao was amazed when he saw them. After seeing Fang Lin off, Xu Kuolao and Xu Xianwen, father and son, each held a cucumber in their mouths, looking so cool in front of all the surprised neighbors.

Because they got these fruits and vegetables today, Fang's father and mother invited Fang He, his aunt Sun Hongye, and two cousins ​​and other relatives to come over for dinner. They were even more surprised and amazed when they saw these fruits and vegetables.

——After spending a long time together, Fang Lin felt that his aunt, cousin and cousins ​​were all good people, so he was willing to get close to them and deal with them. These relatives would form the core team in the future.

Aunt Sun Hongye, Fang He, and cousins ​​helped pick vegetables and cook. Fang Lin also took some fruits and vegetables and sent them to the Ou family.

When Master Ou saw these fruits and vegetables, he was happy at first, but then he sighed: "There is so much waste behind each cucumber and vegetable. In the hot summer, they are cheap and anyone can afford them, but in the winter, the cost of planting them is ten or a hundred times higher, and ordinary people can't have them. Only the rich and powerful can enjoy them."

"In my opinion, when it comes down to it, the farmers seek profit, and the buyers seek the flavor, and it's all desire that's at work." He shook his head.

Fang Linshen agreed with this. The so-called "off-season fruits and vegetables" were, firstly, for the sake of novelty; secondly, eating summer vegetables in winter gave one a sense of superiority and highlighted one's status.

He subconsciously thought of the time when Xu Kuolao and Xu Xianwen came out to see him off, each holding a cucumber in his mouth, looking smug, and he couldn't help laughing.

"Fang Lin, do you know the origin of the 'off-season fruits and vegetables' you mentioned, that is, summer vegetables eaten in winter?"

"Master, please tell me about it!" Fang Lin said seriously. He could learn a lot every time he listened to Master Ou's lectures.

"As for eating winter vegetables in summer, there are records as early as the Han Dynasty: 'The Imperial Palace grows winter onions, leeks and mushrooms, covers them with roofs, and burns fire day and night to wait for the warm air to grow.' In the imperial palace, these vegetables are specially provided for the emperor to enjoy. In order to grow these vegetables in winter, a large house is specially built, and fire is burned inside day and night. The so-called 'fire' is not an open fire, and no flames can be seen, but it burns slightly red."

Master Ou said, "You see, this fire can't be too big, nor too small. If it's too hot, it won't grow well, and if it's too cold, it won't have any effect. It has to be just right, with people taking turns to watch over it day and night. How much money is wasted by doing this?"

"With the technology at the time, the cost of growing off-season fruits and vegetables must have been quite high," Fang Lin said.

"More than not low?"

Master Ou said angrily: "It is recorded in history books: 'Out-of-season food is harmful to people and should not be used for support. Please give up all of it and save tens of millions of dollars a year.' Did you see that? Just for summer vegetables and winter food, it costs tens of millions of dollars a year!"

"Tens of millions of dollars?"

Fang Lin was quite surprised: "Not to mention the Han Dynasty, tens of millions of dollars is not a small amount in any dynasty, and the economy of the Han Dynasty was not as good as that of the Tang and Song Dynasties. It is not an exaggeration to say that they were sucking the blood of the people."

He suddenly remembered that he had mentioned before that ice was available in winter and summer, and the Han Dynasty had no shortage of it. It can only be said that it is true that the Han Dynasty was powerful and feared the barbarians, but it is also true that the people suffered.

"Later, the court realized that this practice was wasteful and indeed banned it, but it didn't stop. Once people have tasted the sweetness of desire, how can they stop? Moreover, in many cases, it is often the royal family, nobles, and dignitaries who violate the rules first, and the upper and lower classes follow suit..."

Master Ou shook his head. "That's why, in the Tang Dynasty, the cultivation technology of eating summer vegetables in winter, or what you call 'off-season fruits and vegetables', became more and more mature. There is a poem to prove it: 'A hundred houses have wine curtains in high buildings, willows in front of the palace and flowers in front of the temple. The inner garden is given warm soup, and melons are eaten in the middle of winter.'"

"The poem is titled 'Early Spring in Front of the Palace'. 'Warm water is distributed to the inner garden'. 'Warm water' refers to Yang Guifei's bathing water, which is the hot spring water of Huaqing Pool. It is precisely because of the hot spring water that cucumbers can be eaten in the snowy winter."

"I still remember what the Master said, that Yang Guozhong, the brother of Yang Guifei, in order to enjoy himself, built an ice room by using ice to build a wall in the hot summer. He drank in it during the hottest days of summer and even wore a thin cotton jacket." Fang Lin continued.

"Yes, the middle and late period of Emperor Xuanzong was indeed in a mess. If not, the Kaiyuan Era would not have ended so quickly, and would not have declined after its peak."

Master Ou sighed and continued, "Not only that, what's even more ridiculous is that in order to ensure the planting of off-season fruits and vegetables, a special government office was set up, called the 'Wen Tang Supervisor', which is under the Sino-Agricultural Department. As the name suggests, the 'Wen Tang Supervisor' is an agency that specializes in managing hot spring facilities and is responsible for the fruits and vegetables in the warm rooms near the hot springs. There is one supervisor, who is of the seventh rank, and two assistants under him."

"It is recorded that in the Tang Dynasty, the warm rooms were divided into two layers, the interior was covered and sealed with paper, and there were ditches inside to bring in hot spring water. Cow dung, sulfur and other things were added to the hot spring water. At the same time, people were constantly stirring the hot spring water to make it steaming, and the cold water was immediately discharged... This cycle was repeated to produce fruits and vegetables." "It is indeed wasteful." Fang Lin listened. On the one hand, he thought that their ancestors had invented such high-end technology so early, which was really smart. Behind it was the leap in the process of civilization and the progress of mankind in conquering nature. On the other hand, the cultivation of these off-season fruits and vegetables was not only wasteful, but more importantly, it did not create social value and was of no benefit to ordinary people.

"The Song Dynasty basically did the same thing. "Qidong Yeyu" records that 'all flowers that bloom early are called Tanghua. The method is to decorate a secret room with paper, dig a pit in the ground...Put boiling water in the pit, wait for a while, and when the water vapor starts to steam, fan it with a breeze to bring in the warm air of spring. After a night, the flowers will bloom.' You see, the Song people were more elegant and knew how to enjoy life better than the Tang people. In addition to growing fruits and vegetables in the greenhouse, they also grew flowers."

Mr. Ou was talking about the "elegance of the Song people", which was obviously an irony: "Those scholars and officials took flowers to decorate their houses or gave them as gifts to friends. During the Lantern Festival, they gave peonies and kumquats as a fashion. The recipients were naturally very happy to receive flowers in the cold winter. But it was pitiful that the people of the Song Dynasty had to bear heavy taxes, support the Western Xia and Liao countries, and call it "annual tribute". At home, they supported the scholars and officials to enjoy luxury, with no clothes to cover their bodies and no food to fill their stomachs. They were still worse than the Tang Dynasty."

"Song Dynasty!" Fang Lin also sighed. If there had not been a Qing Dynasty as the bottom in the previous life, the Song Dynasty would have been the shame of all dynasties.

"In today's summer, in addition to warm rooms, we also cultivate in kang caves. Therefore, the fruits and vegetables grown in kang caves are called 'dongzi goods'. Compared with warm rooms, kang caves have better warmth preservation effect and lower cost... In the early Shuncheng and Hongde years, the court just opened kang caves to the public. At that time, fruits and vegetables in winter were really hard to come by. There is a poem that says 'Cucumbers are like ginseng when they first see them, and they are as small as hairpins and worth several gold coins'. There is also a poem that says 'White lettuce cucumbers are rare on the market, and they suddenly feel bright on the plate'... In recent years, more and more kang caves have been opened by the public in Beijing and Yingtian, and the price has come down, but there are still few in Huai'an."

Master Ou said, and finally concluded: "No matter which dynasty or generation, no matter whether it is using fire, hot springs, or kang holes, they all have one common feature, which is time-consuming, labor-intensive and costly. Even in my Great Xia, 'off-season fruits and vegetables' are already quite common, but outside of the capital and Yingtian, they still have nothing to do with ordinary people, and are mostly supplied to the upper class and dignitaries."

After hearing this, Fang Lin seemed to see the development of off-season fruits and vegetables from ancient times to the present. In the beginning, they were only enjoyed by the royal family, and then spread to the top dignitaries. Now, the wealthy families in Huai'an Prefecture can enjoy them. Who knows, in the future, the people of Daxia will be able to have a meal in winter if they grit their teeth.

He basically agreed with Master Ou's words, with only one slight objection: "Master, do you think that the so-called 'off-season fruits and vegetables' are nothing more than a waste of manpower, material resources and financial resources for the rich and powerful to satisfy their appetites and highlight their status?"

"Isn't that so?"

“That’s basically the case, but we also need to look at it dialectically.”

Fang Lin said: "In the Han, Tang and Song dynasties, the cultivation of 'off-season fruits and vegetables' was done by setting up government offices or sending servants to cultivate them. Only the princes and nobles could enjoy them, and there was no mature business model...Now it is different in Daxia. The court does not ban kangdong, but gardeners open kangdong, hire common people, grow 'off-season fruits and vegetables', cultivate them until they are mature, and sell them to dignitaries at high prices...In this process, the circulation of currency has created vitality for the market.

Just like in the past the government conscripted labor for free, but later it was reformed and changed to government employment, so the people could get jobs and their lives were much better.

Therefore, when farmers open kang caves, common people are employed and earn money, and the rich and powerful buy fruits and vegetables to enjoy... this process of currency circulation and economic circulation is a kind of value. On the contrary, if the rich and powerful hide gold and silver in the cellar and do not spend a penny, it may also be a disaster. "

"This angle is quite unique."

Master Ou seemed to be thinking about something, but after thinking for a while, he argued again: "Summer vegetables are eaten in winter. Ancient books say that 'things out of season are harmful to people'. It is also said that these 'off-season fruits and vegetables' have a bland taste... They are useless and tasteless. Why grow them?"

"Whether 'off-season fruits and vegetables' are harmful to the human body is not the point. Whether they taste good or not can only be known by trying them." Fang Lin wiped the two cucumbers clean with his sleeves, handed one to Master Ou, and kept the other for himself.

Mr. Ou took it. His teeth were still good, so he imitated Fang Lin and took a bite with a crunch.

"How do you feel, Master?"

"It's crisp and sweet, not bad." Master Ou is not a conservative person, nor will he force others to accept his ideas. He is able to tolerate different opinions.

The old and the young looked at each other and both laughed.

In the setting sun, on the grass and trees, in the ordinary alleys, Mr. Ou and Fang Lin talked about the past and present that were blown away by the rain and wind. Thousands of years passed in their mouths and were gone with the last rays of sunset.

……

Tonight, the Fang family's dinner, in addition to chicken, duck, fish and meat, also includes a plate of cucumbers with garlic sauce and a small bowl of watermelon pulp.

Fang Lin's family, as well as Fang He, his aunt Sun Hongye, and his cousins ​​who were visiting, all showed their love for these winter fruits and vegetables and their appetites were whetted.

Even though Qiuqiu, who couldn't eat yet, kept looking around in Tian Xuan's arms. Only after she was given a little watermelon juice did the little girl feel satisfied.

"Fruits and vegetables that are common in summer are rare in winter. During the Han Dynasty, only the emperor could enjoy them..."

As Fang Lin spoke, he recounted what Master Ou had said, picking out the interesting bits so that everyone at the table would enjoy the meal even more. But when he talked about the price, they were all shocked.

Fang's father, mother, and Tian Xuan were fine. They let it go after being surprised.

Fang He, his aunt Sun Hongye, and his cousins ​​could not accept this extremely high price.

To them, these winter fruits and vegetables do taste good, but they are just for the sake of novelty. If they really want to spend so much money, it would be far better to buy some meat and enjoy a satisfying meal.

"By the way, next year the factory will build workers' dormitories and open skills training classes... Since Chuanhui is not here, Hezi, Changzi, and Xiuer, you can go and learn." Fang Lin said.

If a large number of students are enrolled, the Four Books and Five Classics are taught, and it is linked to the imperial examination, it is bound to attract huge attention. However, if the Four Books and Five Classics are not taught, and it is not called a "school", and only training is done, no one will pay attention.

"Brother Linzi, I'll listen to you." Fang He agreed immediately. Fang Chuanhui had already joined the Nanyang Fleet and had a bright future. He also wanted to pursue progress, so he naturally would not miss this opportunity.

"Chang Chang and Xiu'er will go too." Sun Hongye knew that knowing how to read had its benefits, so she agreed on their behalf without waiting for Ren Chang and Ren Xiu'er to speak.

It was freezing cold outside, and time was passing by as people were eating and talking inside.

……

(End of this chapter)