The dinner party of the eunuch yamen is very exquisite, the cooking level of the imperial chef who stayed in the Jinling Palace is very high, the selection of materials is exquisite, the technique is unique, and the dishes made are much stronger than the famous Kuixing Lou in the north and south of the river, although Zhu Daolin is not the first time to enjoy, but he still eats the delicious dishes with great characteristics.

Ying Changpei, who was born in a wealthy family, and the Zhang brothers also ate happily, and Ying Changpei, who was red-faced and red-faced, enthusiastically suggested a night trip to the Qinhuai River.

The Zhang brothers applauded loudly, saying that this time was too busy, and it was best to go to the "Mantang Chun" in Jiuyuan Street to take a bath and pinch their feet.

Brothers and sisters. The fascinated appearance was undisguised, and Wu Jingxian and his henchman, Zhao Huaizhong, the 38-year-old young eunuch of the Nanjing Town Guarding Yamen, were also amused.

Zhu Daolin declined the invitations of several brothers, politely asked the little father-in-law on the side to serve him a cup of strong tea, and then asked Zhang Deyi, who could not inherit the title of father and gradually took over the family business:

"Brother Xian, the day before yesterday, you asked Uncle Gui Zhi to send a pair of tusks, a box of jade and two bamboo baskets of brick tea to my house, did you just transport them from Yunnan?"

Zhang Deyi hurriedly put down his wine glass: "Exactly, 20 days ago, the caravan of the Duke of Qianguo and the Hou of Huaiyuan arrived in Jinling, and it was Uncle Mu, the old man of the Duke of Qianguo, who led the team and sent 800 stone brick tea and medicinal herbs, 50 pairs of tusks, 2,000 taels of sand gold and 3 baskets of jade. ”

"When I sent medicinal materials to Ziyangguan, my brother had already set off for Taiwan, and Uncle Mu and Uncle Zhu Jiu, the second shopkeeper of the Huaiyuan Hou family, regretted it for a long time, but fortunately, I left a lot of good things for the younger brother in the brother's warehouse, and Xuanqing Daoist and Uncle Mu and Uncle Zhu Jiu also talked about it, and before parting, I gave Uncle Mu and Uncle Zhu Jiu two gossip swords that were difficult to buy, which made Uncle Mu and the caravan return with a full load."

"I'm afraid the next caravan in Yunnan will have to wait until next year's spring to come. Brother, please rest assured, the large number of medicinal materials ordered by Ziyang Guannei Pharmacy and the best jade that my brother likes have been decided, and a large number of them will definitely be shipped at that time. ”

After Zhu Daolin thanked him, he made a request that surprised the Zhang brothers and Ying Changpei and others:

"Brother Xian, can you write a letter to Uncle Mu Wu and Uncle Zhu Jiu of the Huaiyuan Hou family, and ask them to help me bring a few hundred catties of Dali's thousand-year-old tea tree seeds next time, which are Dali's unique large-leaf tea tree seeds......"

"This tea tree only grows in Dali and the Pu people further south. Some tea trees are taller than the dysprosium towers of Jinchuan Gate, and the trees are more than 1,000 years old! ”

"Before this large-leaf tea tree blooms, the flower is in a regular five-petal shape, and I learned in the relevant records of Tianshu Pavilion that this kind of tea tree seeds can be planted in Fujian and Lingnan regions, so I want to bring a few hundred catties to Taiwan to plant."

Zhang Deyi felt very surprised, but agreed without hesitation: "I will write a letter when I go back, and entrust Huguang merchants to bring it to Changsha, Yunnan merchants have a business hall in Changsha." Most of the goods in and out of Yunnan transit in Changsha. ”

"Is there anything special about Dali's tea tree seeds?"

Wu Jingxian asked questions that everyone cared about.

Zhu Daolin scratched his head a little, he couldn't directly say that more than 400 years later, the best tea planting bases in the north and south of the river and Fujian and Guangxi were all large-leaf tea seeds and seedlings introduced from Dali or Pu'er areas, right?

And for the question of whether the origin of tea is in China or India, botanists around the world debated for hundreds of years, and finally domestic researchers and tea operators finally found the only two thousand-year-old tea trees in Dali and Pu'er areas after a lot of hard work, which came up with tangible evidence from the genetic characteristics of tea plants. It was justifiable to prove to the world that the origin of tea was in China, ending the century-old debate on the issue of the origin of tea. It has greatly promoted the export of tea plantations.

Zhu Daolin thought about it again and again, and gave a clearer answer: "I just know something from the books of Tianshu Pavilion, Dali large-leaf tea trees have existed for tens of thousands of years, as early as before the Han Dynasty, the local natives knew to use the fallen seeds, or dig out smaller tea seedlings for planting. ”

"After thousands of years of continuous reproduction. The tea tastes better and better, and the yield is getting higher and higher, but it is still between wild and artificially cultivated, and it is very vigorous, and it is the best tea tree known so far. It can be cultivated in the north and south of the river and in the Lingnan region. ”

"As long as it is done well, it will be a big industry that is more profitable than porcelain, and it will also be a great wealth for future generations!"

"I can't tell you the details for a while, next time, next time, I will bring back relevant books, including books on flowers and trees, grain planting, and poultry and livestock breeding, and if you are interested, you will not go to the Ziyang Academy Library to borrow these books."

"The big library of Ziyang Academy has been built?"

As the largest bookseller in the Ming Dynasty, Ying Changpei is very concerned about the first large-scale library in the Ming Dynasty with the goal of collecting 100,000 books.

Zhu Daolin smiled bitterly: "It has been capped, and the interior decoration is being done, and it will be officially put into use in a month......

"Because the output of cement and steel is too small, my master and uncle are not willing to wait for the first half of the year, so they can only use brick and wood structures to build, but in this way, just supporting the beams and columns and two floors, I can use up the good wood that I can build three big warships, which is distressing!"

Everyone laughed, Zhang Dezhong said with a smile: "A few days ago, I accompanied my father and grandfather Guo to board the 300-ton new warship for a trial voyage, and saw that Sichuan merchants sent a large number of good timber to the shipbuilding workshop, hundreds of thick logs lined up in a long raft, down the river and directly sent to the workshop wharf. ”

Without waiting for Zhu Daolin to explain, Ying Changpei said with a smile: "Although those woods are good, they can't be used within two years, and they need to be dried in the shade for at least two years before they can be used. ”

Zhang Dezhong was embarrassed when he heard it: "I was confused for a while, and I forgot such a simple thing, haha!" There is another thing I want to ask my brother, like the 300-ton new warship that the naval division under the command of Wei Guogong is currently using, how many guns are suitable for installation? ”

"What? Jiujiangwei and Long Jiangwei are still arguing about this? Zhu Daolin was quite surprised, this matter should have been resolved two months ago.

Zhang Dezhong smiled: "But isn't it? Even I, an outsider, could see that my grandfather was in a dilemma, and I asked my father to know that the generals of Longjiangwei generally believed that they should follow the example of the Shangyuan Naval Division under the command of their elder brother, and install 4 6-pounder bronze cannons and 8 12-pounder bronze cannons on the deck, and 12 18-pounder bronze cannons on the lower deck, so as to have enough destructive firepower. ”

"The generals of Jiujiangwei did not think that there was a need for so many cannons, and their opinion was that 12 12-pounder bronze cannons on the ground floor would be sufficient, and only 2 6-pounder cannons and 4 12-pounder bronze cannons would be enough on the upper floor."

"Both sides have their own reasons, and they both sound reasonable, so Grandpa Guo still can't make up his mind."

Hearing this simple question, Zhu Daolin couldn't help but laugh dumbly. (To be continued......)