Here Li Kai was quite happy to see the Xinguo, in fact, he didn't know what the name of the red fruit was, but because of its spicy taste, he called it Xinguo.

The taste of the spicy fruit is average, and Li Kai doesn't like it very much. When he was in Qinhuangdao, he met a businessman who traveled from south to north and gave him a taste of a bitter fruit, and in that cold winter, when he ate a bite of the bitter fruit, his whole chest seemed to burn. According to the merchant, it seems that the Xin fruit was bought from a foreign race in the Western Regions, and it is not common in the Central Plains. And today, seeing Xinguo again, Li Kai was a little nostalgic, so he picked one and threw it into his mouth.

"Crunch, crunch..."

In other words, it is summer, and in such a hot weather, he bites the Xinguo, and suddenly makes Li Kai sweat profusely. The taste was still not good, so Li Kai did not continue to eat.

"My lord, my subordinates told you, this bitter fruit..."

Li Kai turned his head and was about to introduce Yuan Chang, but he saw Yuan Chang's eyes glaring at him, and there was a look of a loser in his eyes, as if he had taken away Yuan Chang's treasure.

"My lord, what are you..."

Li Kai was startled, thinking that he hadn't done anything, why did an adult look at him with such eyes?

Yuan Chang shook his head and said regretfully: "Li Kai, do you know what you just ate?

There are not many peppers in front of me, probably only a few dozen square meters. Maybe someone just inadvertently threw some peppers here, and no one destroyed or picked them, and then they grew to such a scale. Speaking of which, there are only about 100 of these peppers, and there are only hundreds of peppers, which seems to be a lot, but in fact there are not many. When Yuan Chang arrived in this era, it was the first time he saw chili peppers, and there were many places to use them. In addition, Yuan Chang is going to use these chili peppers as seeds and continue to cultivate them, so that the chili peppers can spread, and in the end, he can use even less, and at this moment, he was eaten by Li Kai as a fruit, how could Yuan Chang not be heartbroken?

"My lord, do you know Xinguo too?"

Li Xingxing was curious, but he didn't expect Yuan Chang to be so knowledgeable. At the beginning, the merchant said that this fruit was produced by the foreign tribes in the Western Regions, and he had never seen it in the Central Plains. And this spicy fruit is not very delicious, so it will naturally not become the food of the nobility. Yuan Chang can know this bitter fruit, and he wants to see a lot.

"Li Kai, this thing is called chili, not called Xinguo. ”

"Oh!"

Li Kai nodded suddenly, this spicy fruit, no, this chili pepper is extremely spicy to eat, and the whole chest seems to be burning, it is indeed more appropriate to call it a chili pepper.

"Also, the chili pepper is not eaten like you, it has no taste at all, only after processing, can the true taste of the chili be revealed, and after eating, it must have an endless aftertaste. ”

Originally, Li Kai didn't love this pepper very much. However, after listening to Yuan Chang's words at this moment, his heart was aroused, and he seemed to be a little greedy. If it was really as Yuan often said, he would have tasted it.

"Come on, go to the city quickly and find farmers who are proficient in growing vegetables and fruits, and remember to be polite. ”

Just like that, Yuan Chang naturally has to protect it carefully. At that moment, he ordered the guards to go to the city to find people, and prepared to transplant these peppers into his Taishou Mansion. Now we have to cultivate a little seed first, anyway, it will only be enough for fifty or sixty days, so Yuan Chang is not worried about too long. Thinking about the fact that chili peppers will be all over the place in the future, and some dishes will be present because of the appearance of chili peppers, Yuan Chang is also very happy in his heart.

At this moment, because of the appearance of chili peppers, Yuan Chang didn't have the heart to enjoy the scenery anymore, picked more than 20 chili peppers, and ran back to the city. At the same time, Yuan Chang also left a message for Li Kai, asking him to go to the city in the evening to enjoy the delicious food.

Approaching night, dozens of people gathered in the courtyard of the Taishou Mansion.

In a slightly corner position, Ma Jun, Li Rui, Ou Nanbao, Ou Nanbao's son Ou Shixiong, and Li Kai were gathered together at this time, as if they were discussing something.

"Brother Deheng, you said that the lord asked us to go to his house, saying that there was a surprise for us to see, what kind of surprise is it?" Ou Nanbao asked Ma Jun puzzled.

Ma Jun glanced at Ou Nanbao angrily, he and Ou Nanbao worked together, and the relationship was still good. And Ou Nanbao also knows how to communicate, and brings Li Rui and Li Kai together. Speaking of which, under Yuan Chang's command, their status is slightly lower. Ma Jun, Ou Nanbao, and Li Kai are craftsmen, while Li Rui is a businessman, and they all belong to the lowly industry, so it is naturally easier for them to come together. As for Ou Shixiong, he is a junior, of course he has no part in speaking.

"Brother Nanbao, I am working with you in the courtyard, how can I know what the adults have called us to do. ”

Ou Nanbao smiled wryly, of course he also knew that Ma Jun didn't know. However, he was itchy and unbearable, so he rushed to the doctor when he was a little sick and asked people when he saw them.

"Brother Li Kai, do you know why the adults called us?"

Ma Jun couldn't get an answer, so Ou Nanbao turned his head and asked Li Kai again. Of course, he also knew that Li Kai didn't know. However, I was idle and bored at the moment, and at the same time, I wanted to get closer to everyone, so I asked Li Kai casually. Li Kai didn't answer, he would then ask Li Rui, it doesn't matter if he gets an answer or not, it's always good for everyone to get close.

"I know a little bit about that. ”

didn't want to, but Li Kai nodded and said something that surprised them. Moreover, around them, there were many people who were also discussing, and when they heard Li Kai's words, they all immediately pricked up their ears.

In other words, Li Rui is worthy of being a businessman, and his communication skills are also good, so he suddenly said with a smile: "Since Brother Li Kai knows, then tell us about it." Speaking of which, Brother Li Kai and I are both surnamed Li, maybe we were still a family five hundred years ago. ”

"What Brother Li Rui said is that it seems that we can get closer in the future. ”

Facing Li Rui, Li Kai didn't have much restraint. The key is that their status is not high, and they don't need to worry about Tian Duo. As for the others, although Yuan Chang did not look down on them, the others under Yuan Chang's command were either generals or important officials of Bohai County. They don't dare to call others brothers, and if they are ridiculed by others, they will lose face. Of course, Yuan Chang also knew that the noble and lowly ideas of the feudal era were deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and he had ideals to change, and he also knew that it would not be able to solve it in a while. Therefore, he did not force this thinking to change.

"Speaking of which, during the day, I was walking outside the city with adults and saw something called Chili Pepper. Then the lord hurried back to the city, and I thought it had something to do with it. ”

Everyone naturally didn't understand what a chili pepper was, and Li Kai also explained it to them at the moment.

"Adults always have unexpected actions, maybe this time we can see each other again. ”

Yuan Chang set up a banquet this time, and also called the He family, as well as several people from the small family who had thrown themselves to Yuan Chang when dealing with the Chen family and other three families.

The person from the He family is He Wen, He Wen supported Yuan Chang at the beginning, and persuaded the head of the He family not to go against Yuan Chang and become the guide of the He family and Yuan Chang, which is not a small credit. Although without the help of the He family, it was not much difficulty for Yuan Chang to deal with those families. However, others don't know that if they help Yuan Chang in such a seemingly difficult time, Yuan Chang will of course repay them.

Therefore, Yuan Chang handed over the new salt trade in Bohai County to the He family, and reduced their tax by 10% within a year. You know, salt is a must-have for everyone, and even a 10% tax can bring a lot of wealth. With the benefits, the He family was of course more active in approaching Yuan Chang. Today, the He family has faintly become one of the largest families in Bohai County. However, the He family did not become arrogant because of this, but became more cautious and low-key.

They all know that today's qiē was brought by Yuan Chang, and the head of the He family was also glad that he had listened to He Wen's words and joined Yuan Chang. Otherwise, their He family might be driven out of Bohai County just like the three Chen families. Yuan Chang's fair and strict personality is clear to the He family.

Not long ago, there was a small family because they took refuge in Yuan Chang at the beginning, thinking that they could be powerful and prosperous, and the children of the later generations bullied the people in Bohai County and robbed the people's daughters. In the end, he was directly thrown into prison by Yuan Chang. At that time, Yuan Chang said that he remembered the help they had given him, but it didn't mean that they could disobey the law and act recklessly. Yuan Chang's practice naturally caused some people to complain, thinking that Yuan Chang crossed the river and demolished the bridge. However, He Wen scoffed at this. If he hadn't broken the law, Yuan Chang would have done this? Moreover, Yuan Chang had also given everyone benefits at the beginning. The He family has always been very aware of their status, so they are rising higher in Bohai County.

"Brother He, do you know what a chili pepper is?"

The person who spoke was named Tie Lang, the head of the Tie family in Bohai County, that is, one of his sons violated the law and was thrown into prison by Yuan Chang. This time, I wanted to take advantage of Yuan Chang's banquet to prepare to intercede with Yuan Chang. Several other people around him are also the heads of the Bohai County family, but He Wen is not. The head of the He family is already in his seventies, and in this era, he is already considered to be a long life. It's normal to get sick all the time. Moreover, because of He Wen's merits, now the He family has the highest status in addition to the head of the family. The head of the family is sick, and He Wen, as the representative of the He family, is naturally not a problem. Besides, He Wen is still the county governor of Bohai County.

"Brother Tie laughed, but he was lonely and unheard, and he had never heard of chili peppers. ”

He Wen smiled faintly, which did not make people feel close, but it also did not make people feel distant. He Wen is a very real person, what he knows is knowing, and he won't say he knows if he doesn't know. Moreover, he also knew what Tie Lang had in mind, that is, he wanted him to help intercede.

He Wen has been with Yuan Chang for a while, and he knows very well that Yuan Chang is a person, and he has no intention of exporting at all. It's obvious that Tie Lang's son has broken the law, and he still wants to release people, which is ridiculous.

Yuan Chang usually looks very kind, but once he gets angry, He Wen feels terrible. Therefore, if you can not provoke Yuan Chang, He Wen will not provoke.

Tie Lang was a little angry in his heart, speaking of which, he was older than He Wen's generation, and he was a person of He Wen's father's generation. However, the He family is powerful, and He Wen is still a county prince, so Tie Lang posted it to prepare for a relationship with He Wenla. However, He Wen's attitude was obvious, he would not help himself, Tie Lang could only suppress his dissatisfaction, stand aside and stop talking.

And the other people who stood on the side didn't talk about He Wen boringly, they thought that the He family was powerful now, and they wouldn't take them seriously. In fact, they don't want to think about it, why don't they keep themselves strong, so that others will please them, and why do they need to stick their hot faces to other people's cold butts!

In the center of the courtyard are the main characters under Lu Bu and Yuan Chang, Guo Jia, Zhao Yun, Dian Wei and others. Among the five Ye Gucheng brothers, Lu Xiaofeng and Sikong Xingxing prefer to drill into the crowd, while the other three find a secluded corner to wait.

"Lu Xiaoji, you boast that there is no one in the world who is invincible, so tell me, the lord called us today, what is the matter?"

Lu Xiaofeng stroked his little beard twice, and said with a smile: "Li Kaidu said, the lord found a chili pepper, so he naturally called us to taste it." ”

"How can it be just for such a thing?"

Sikong Xingxing looked incredulous, and then looked at Guo Jia and said, "Strategist, tell me, did the Lord Guild call us for such a trivial matter?"

Guo Jia nodded, everyone knows that Yuan Chang is unreliable, and Sikong Xingxing actually thinks that what Lu Xiaofeng said is reasonable. However, the two quarreled, so they had to ask Guo Jia.

"Hmph, Yuan Chengzhi likes to do such flashy things. ”

Lu Bu snorted coldly, but he was not polite to Yuan Chang. However, Guo Jia and the others are also used to Lu Bu's attitude towards Yuan Chang, so they naturally won't be angry. Originally, Lu Bu didn't want to participate in such a banquet, but everyone came, if he didn't come, wouldn't he not give Yuan Chang face. Of course, it doesn't matter whether to give Yuan Chang face or not, the most important thing is that Diao Xiu'er is also here. If Lu Bu didn't come, maybe Diao Xiu'er would be dissatisfied, so Lu Bu followed.

Liu Xi, Diao Xiuer, Cai Yan, Guo Jia's sister Guo Ying, and Lu Bu's wife and concubine and daughter Lu Lingqi are all here, so they naturally can't mix with a group of men. Yuan Chang's Taishou Mansion was large, and a group of women were in a side hall, separated from the main hall by a curtain.

At this moment, of course, the women were also discussing the matter of Yuan Chang letting everyone attend the banquet together.

"Sister Zhaoji, you are your husband's secretary, do you know what your husband called us for?"

A group of women were in the side hall, of course they didn't know what Li Kai said about chili peppers. And Liu Xi sat next to Cai Yan and asked Cai Yan softly.

Liu Xi is Yuan Chang's wife, and everyone basically knows it, so Liu Xi called Yuan Chang his husband in front of everyone, which naturally did not surprise anyone. In fact, when Liu Xi said this in front of Cai Yan, he was also declaring the fact that he was Yuan Chang's wife. Although Liu Xi knew that Cai Yan would be accepted by Yuan Chang sooner or later, as a woman, Liu Xi would also have feelings in her heart, and she was just venting a little at the moment.

"Sister Xi'er, I don't know!"

Although Cai Yan is Yuan Chang's secretary, Yuan Chang does not always take Cai Yan with him. As for today's inspection of Li Kai Cement, Cai Yan didn't follow, and of course he didn't know about Yuan Chang's discovery of chili peppers.

"However, Yuan Gongzi has always had unexpected actions that will definitely surprise us. ”

With Cai Yan's intelligence, how could he not hear the meaning of Liu Xi's words. Cai Yan has not been constrained too much since she was a child under Cai Yong's education, so her character is daring to love and hate. When he was in Chang'an, he already had a good impression of Yuan Chang, experienced the affairs of the Wei family, and remembered Yuan Chang in his heart. When he learned that Yuan Chang asked her to be his secretary, Cai Yan was happy for a long time. Of course, what Yuan Chang meant to Cai Yan, Cai Yan also knew. Therefore, Cai Yan actually had some complaints in his heart, since you Yuan Chang is interesting to you, why don't you say it, do you want to say it first from a girl's family? Therefore, Cai Yan decided to be patient with Yuan Chang to see who couldn't help but say it first.

At this moment, Liu Xi wants to give her a fighting spirit, but of course Cai Yan does not hide what he means. seems to be a simple sentence, but it seems that she is very familiar with Yuan Chang, and it is naturally a counterattack against Liu Xi.

Liu Xi understands Yuan Chang's temperament and doesn't like his own people to be noisy. It's just a trivial matter like vindictiveness, Yuan Chang won't care, and Liu Xi only lost his temper a little, and he was not dissatisfied with Cai Yan. At this moment, Cai Yan counterattacked, and Liu Xi also let go of the matter and hugged Cai Yan and talked quietly. I have to say that the fickleness of women is really incomprehensible, one moment they are still fighting, and the next moment they are intimate like sisters. However, it is precisely because women are so incomprehensible that so many men flock to them, isn't it?

"Haha, we've kept everyone waiting, now it's time to start!"

Just as the people in the courtyard and the women in the side hall were talking, Yuan Chang's cheerful voice finally sounded.

Then they saw each maid come up with an iron pot the size of a basin on their plates, and the servant on the other side came in with a brick stove. All they saw was that the servant had put down the brick stove, and then the maid had put the iron pot on the brick stove, and inside the iron pot there was already food and soup boiling.

If there is someone who has crossed over like Yuan Chang, he will naturally understand what these things are in front of him, yes, it is spicy hot pot.

Although it's summer, eating hot pot is a bit weird, but, no way, the chili thing just came across. If you come across it earlier, eating hot pot in winter will naturally feel even more unusual.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this thing is called a hot pot, and there are already cooked things in the pot. There are other vegetables and meats below, and if you have anything you like to eat, you can put it in the pot and cook it yourself. ”

Yuan Chang explained simply, there is no difficulty, everyone understands.

In the main hall, there are four tables. There were only four people at one of the tables, namely Yuan Chang, Guo Jia, Lu Bu and Cai Yong. Yuan Chang's status is the highest, naturally at the main table; secondly, Guo Jia is Yuan Chang's military advisor, his status is incomparable, of course no one says anything sitting here; and Lu Bu is an ally with Yuan Chang, and everyone has the same status; and finally, Cai Yong, who is the oldest and has a high reputation, although he is now Yuan Chang's subordinate, no one at the same table with Yuan Chang has said anything.

There are three other tables, one table is Lu Bu's eight strong generals, Zhao Yun, Dian Wei and Han Sui are also at this table, one table is the family members of Bohai County, and the other table is Ye Gucheng's five people, as well as Ma Jun and others.

And in the side hall, all the women sat at a table.

After Yuan Chang's introduction, everyone moved their chopsticks, and after a while, all kinds of shouts sounded.