In the next two days, Qi Yu put down all government affairs and all social activities, and concentrated on doing only one thing.
What's going on?
Painting, or rather creating his painted works.
This is his specialty, his hobby, and the unique skill he once relied on to survive.
However, since he became an official, he rarely picked up his painting brush again, firstly because he was busy with government affairs, and secondly because he had no shortage of small money.
In the eyes of outsiders, Qi Dalang is a typical example of laziness, neglect of duties, and even playfulness.
Yes, if you don’t do serious things and just doodle and paint at home, what else is this but laziness?
Has Qi Dalang changed his gender?
Probably not...
With this question in mind, Liu Quan quietly came to her husband's study, only to see that he was still writing and painting very seriously.
What surprised her was that all of his works were botanical paintings, including flowers, grass, and even tall ginseng trees.
In addition, these plants looked weird. Liu Quan looked around but couldn't recognize any of them.
This...what is this?
Seeing that his wife was deeply confused, Qi Yu explained: "These in the painting are all high-yielding and fine crops. It's a pity that their origin is not in China. It's normal that you haven't seen them before."
However, he suddenly smiled and said: "But, I believe that in the near future, these treasures will definitely come to our land of Qiongzhou and take root here."
What does this say?
Could it be that my husband is in a daze?
Liu Quan saw that his face looked like he was daydreaming, and he felt sad in his heart. His husband must have been disturbed by the heavy pressure of government affairs.
Alas, it seems that being an official is not easy!
After leaving the study, Liu Quan hurriedly found her mother-in-law: "Mom, my husband is using his brain too much and is in a trance. What should I do?"
Mrs. Zhou thought about it and said with a smile: "It's not difficult to do. I'll go to the meat market later and buy some pig brains. I'll stew them for him at night. I believe it will be effective soon."
Yes, don’t doctors often say, you will get what you eat?
Pig brain is indeed suitable.
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law chattered non-stop, but Qi Dalang turned a deaf ear. At this time, he was still concentrating on painting.
Look, every detail in this painting is drawn meticulously, just like an inlaid object, and it feels lifelike.
Qi Yu painted very seriously and did his best.
There was no way, no one had ever seen those crops growing in South America, so we had to try our best to draw what they looked like for reference.
Having a picture is better than not having one. If you know what it looks like, your chances of getting it will be higher.
The crops that Qi Yu needs to bring back from his trip to the East are divided into three levels, from low to high as follows:
The third level is optional: pumpkin, jicama, cassava, sunflower, tomato, kidney bean, lima bean, pineapple, avocado, cashew nut, American ginseng, papaya, upland cotton, cherimoya, guava, etc.
The second level is the necessary level: potatoes, peanuts, peppers, cocoa, and rubber trees.
The first level is the core level: corn and sweet potato.
Among them, the first-level crops are the most important. They are tasks that must be completed on this trip and cannot be missed.
Seeing this, someone may have said, it’s just a few corn cobs and sweet potato eggs. It’s not golden bumps, so why is it so important?
In fact, this is not the case. The actual value of these two crops is even more precious than that of gold mines.
Do not believe?
Well, let’s take sweet potato as an example to talk about its high value.
In the long history, there was a period of time that is often talked about, and its name is the Kangxi and Qianlong Dynasties. There are two main reasons for the success of this period.
The first is Emperor Kangxi's correct decision: "When prosperity breeds people, never increase taxes." Driven by this national policy, the country's economy has experienced steady growth. However, in addition to the national policy, there is another reason, and that is At that time, sweet potatoes (also known as sweet potatoes) were widely grown in China. It was precisely because of this that people were prevented from starving to death in disaster years.
Therefore, the prosperous age of Kangxi and Qianlong is also known as the prosperous age of sweet potatoes.
This shows how important high-yielding crops are to a country!
It is precisely based on this perspective that Qi Dalang spared no effort in drawing their graphics.
Going ocean-going is a waste of time and money. If you don't get rich returns, it's just money spent in vain.
After drawing the crops, Qi Yu then drew a large map, marking the location and direction as a guide to the East Ocean.
Fortunately, I know the techniques of painting, otherwise, I would have to rely solely on words to describe it.
The combination of pictures and text is the most intuitive and clear at a glance.
In fact, this is indeed the case.
For example, Fu Xian, although he had never seen these crops, he still saw the main characteristics of the crops from the pictures and texts.
The painting is really similar.
However, when he saw the big map, he couldn't help but be shocked.
Where did Mr. Qi get the information on this map?
In this regard, Qi Yu said that he was lucky enough to get it by chance.
Yes, eggs are delicious, so why should you care about what kind of chicken laid them?
Makes sense!
Regarding this issue, Mr. Fu didn't dwell on it anymore and just let it go.
Back to business,
The configuration of this trip to the East can be said to be quite luxurious. As far as the current Qiongzhou government office is concerned, it is almost as strong as the bottom of the box, which shows how seriously it is taken.
What's the bottom of the box?
Let’s listen to the breakdown:
For example, Qi Yu decided not to keep any of the two heavy artillery pieces, and asked Fu Xian to take them all with him. In addition, he also sent more than 300 musketeers, carrying more than 20,000 kilograms of gunpowder and five pellets. Thousands of shots to increase strength.
In addition to the above military supplies and food supplies, Hufang also specially allocated 30,000 taels of silver to prepare for unexpected needs on the way.
When you go out, it is always a good thing to bring more money to be prepared.
For now, silver is the world's universal currency, and there are no circulation problems. Everyone agrees.
…
"Sir, my fleet will set sail early tomorrow morning. Do you have anything else to say?" After everything was prepared, Fu Xian came over to say goodbye.
"Haha, I wish you a safe journey in advance and success soon!" Qi Yu sang some auspicious words and then asked: "Listen, although the Pacific Ocean is vast, there are many islands in it. When landing for supplies, you should pay more attention to them on the way, use them if you can, and try not to miss them."
"Yes!"
After chatting for a while, Fu Xian was ready to leave.
Unexpectedly, Qi Yu stopped him.
"Wait a minute!"
"Oh? Is there anything else, sir?"
"Um……"
Qi Yu did not immediately reply to his words, but frowned inexplicably, appearing to be a little hesitant. However, after struggling, he still made a decision.
"I have two special pictures here, please keep them!"
"yes!"
After passing it over, Qi Yu said very seriously: "The two crops on this picture are very special. If you get them, they must be sealed up immediately. They must not be touched by others, let alone spread."
what?
So cautious.
Out of curiosity, Fu Xian unfolded the two pictures and saw that one of them was labeled "Tobacco" and the other was labeled "Poppy".