Yuan Xi lowered his head and followed the maid, followed by the majestic Lu Lingqi. Comparing the two, Yuan Xi looked like a prisoner being escorted.
The two of them went up to the small building. Mi Zhen was already waiting inside. She bowed to them and said, "I have met the envoy, Lord Pingyang."
Yuan Xi and Lu Lingqi returned the gift, but Mi Zhen bowed again and said, "My brother has lost his etiquette. Please forgive me."
Yuan Xi hurriedly said: "It doesn't matter, Zifang is also an outspoken person."
Mi Zhen shook her head and said: "Although my brother is Liu Yuzhou's vassal, he is really unable to do many things. As a woman, I am a woman. Although I try to persuade him, I can't change my brother's behavior."
When Lu Lingqi heard the exchange between the two, she couldn't help but wonder: "Why do you two speak so politely? Didn't you hear that Liu Yuzhou promised you two a marriage?"
As soon as these words came out, Yuan Xi and Mi Zhen almost lost their composure. Mi Zhen stared at Lu Lingqi sadly, while Yuan Xi looked helpless and opened his mouth to make a mouth shape.
You are the only one who talks a lot!
Mi Zhen was at a loss. After panicking for a while, she quickly took a deep breath, tried to calm down, and said: "Originally, I should not have met the envoy alone, but now that my wife is present, it is not a violation of etiquette for me."
"The reason why I have the audacity to pay homage to the envoy is because I have something to discuss."
Yuan Xi said: "Girl, there is no need to worry."
Mi Zhen stood up, raised her hand and said, "Please follow me."
She walked in front. Yuan Xi and Lu Lingqi looked at each other, followed Mi Zhen, and walked inside along the corridor.
There were many rooms on the ground floor of this small building. After going around the corridor, Mi Zhen walked to a room. She opened the door and found several large willow boxes inside.
Mi Zhen walked to a box, raised her finger and pointed at it and said, "This is a specialty brought back from Siam by the Mi family's caravan."
"I am in charge of several boats of the Mi family's caravan. One time, Mr. Zhenfu came to visit and talked with my brother about going to sea. I listened and heard that the envoy returned the ships to trade in the South China Sea. I also learned that the envoy wanted to go to the South China Sea.
A few things to look for.”
"I was very interested after hearing about it, but the merchant ships of the Mi family were not as capable of sailing far as the merchant ships of the Zhen family, and it was difficult to reach Tianzhu, so I decided to do the next best thing and let him go to Siam."
"The ship just returned yesterday. I found that among the goods I brought back, there are a few things that may interest you, so I would like to ask you to take a look."
After saying that, she walked up. The box was already heavy and extremely difficult to open. Mi Zhen was slender and frail, so she couldn't open it after several attempts. Lu Lingqi saw her and rushed over to help. The two of them worked together to lift the lids of the boxes one by one.
Open,.
When several boxes were opened one by one, Lu Lingqi was fine, but Mi Zhen was tired and out of breath. When Lu Lingqi saw it, she turned around and complained to Yuan Xi: "You don't look at your eyes, shouldn't you do this kind of heavy work?"
?”
Yuan Xi didn't say anything. Mi Zhen thought that Yuan Xi couldn't lose face. She was just about to smooth things over, but she saw Yuan Xi staring straight at her. She subconsciously ducked away, but found that Yuan Xi's eyes didn't move at all, but what he was looking at was
There is a box behind him.
Some of the boxes contained spices and some were accessories, but this box was different. The contents were filled to the brim with tiny black particles.
Mi Zhen didn't know what it was, but she roughly guessed that it should be the seed of some kind of crop, and it looked very strange. It was smaller than sesame seeds, oval in shape, tan in color, with a black outer skin and a pattern on it.
The white and off-white fluff is completely different from ordinary crop seeds.
Yuan Xi walked a few steps forward blankly, reached out his hand towards the box, and picked up a few seeds. He retracted his slightly trembling fingers and put them in front of his eyes to examine them carefully.
Mi Zhen was confused when she saw Yuan Xi's appearance, wondering if this was the most valuable thing in the boxes?
It looks ordinary, but it can be more valuable than spices and jewelry?
Yuan Xi gently put the seeds back and stared at the box in a daze.
After a while, he suddenly laughed.
He smiled so happily that the corners of his eyes were a little moist.
Lu Lingqi and Mi Zhen looked at each other, wondering if Yuan Xi had been possessed by something evil?
Yuan Xi suddenly stretched out his hand and grabbed Mi Zhen. The two women were stunned. The next moment, Yuan Xi had lifted Mi Zhen up high and spun around in a circle.
Lu Lingqi was stunned, what is going on?
Mi Zhen's mind went blank, she grabbed Yuan Xi's arm and said angrily: "Put me down quickly!"
Yuan Xi groaned and then realized that he had lost his composure. He quickly put Mi Zhen down and took a step back, looking extremely embarrassed.
Seeing that Mi Zhen was about to cry, he quickly lowered his head and apologized: "I lost my temper!"
With a snap, Yuan Xi lay down involuntarily, but it was Lu Lingqi who kicked him in the crook of the leg from behind, and then shouted: "Are you crazy?"
"Hurry up and make amends to the Mi family girl!"
Yuan Xi also knew that he had made a big mistake and quickly bowed down to Mi Zhen and apologized.
Mi Zhen was originally so ashamed and angry that she couldn't say anything else when she saw the other party acting like this. She whispered, "You should get up first."
After hearing this, Lu Lingqi lifted Yuan Xi up and said to Mi Zhen: "I'm afraid this fool has the wrong brain. Don't be the same as him."
Mi Zhen covered her collar and whispered: "I'm okay with you."
All three of them felt that the atmosphere was awkward, but it was Lu Lingqi who spoke up: "Why does this look so similar to the batch that was soaked by the Zhen family caravan yesterday?"
Yuan Xi couldn't hide the joy in his heart, picked up a handful of seeds and placed them in front of the two of them, "Yes, this is the cotton seed I want most!"
He thought to himself that he was really stupid. It was true that cotton was introduced from India in later generations, but it was also cultivated in Siam during the same period!
Although there are some differences between the two varieties, in the final analysis, they must be planted under the climate and soil conditions of the Central Plains and slowly evolve into plants that are most suitable for local conditions.
As a cash crop, cotton has an extremely terrifying advantage, that is, it is extremely adaptable!
As long as there is sufficient light, it can be grown in anything from low-latitude Hainan to high-latitude Youzhou, and from acidic to neutral to alkaline soil.
Its disadvantage is that the yield is low and large areas of land need to be opened for large-scale cultivation. This did not pose an obstacle in the late Han Dynasty when the population was declining and there was no shortage of fields.
Although it may occupy some cultivated land, if it is grown on a large scale, the land utilization rate and practicality will far exceed that of hemp and silk fabrics.
Of course, there are many problems to be solved. For example, the one-stop technology of removing seeds, elasticizing cotton, spinning and weaving after cotton harvest cannot be perfected in a short time.
Even the initial harvest of these cotton seeds may not be good. The harvest may be poor for many years, and then in the continuous breeding process, I don’t know how many generations it will take to find suitable plants.
But everything is difficult at the beginning. At least now we have the seeds. Otherwise, given the extremely high risks at sea, we may not be able to succeed even if we make several trips to the Nanyang Sea Route.
Now that sowing can be done earlier, it means that people in the Central Plains may be able to wear cotton products a few years earlier in the future. The warmth of cotton is much stronger, which means that it can protect many people during the ice age that will last for hundreds of years in the future.
Avoid death in the severe cold!
Thinking of this, Yuan Xi couldn't restrain his excitement and bowed deeply to Mi Zhen: "Although the girl may have done it unintentionally this time, it is likely to save thousands of lives in the future."
"This is a utilitarian move that benefits the common people. Xi is deeply impressed by the girl's virtue and bows to her for everyone in the world."
Seeing Yuan Xi's seriousness, Mi Zhen asked doubtfully: "Is this thing called cotton really so powerful?"
"The Mi family caravan has also heard about things, and has occasionally seen a few cotton products, but they haven't seen much beyond linen and silk."
Yuan Xi took out a cotton boll from his arms, handed it to Mi Zhen, and said, "The warmth of this thing is unmatched by other crops."
"In this state, just stuffing it into the quilt is already much better than silk and linen."
"Today's quilts, poor people stuff them with scraps of lint, catkins, and even straw."
"Rich people use chicken and duck feathers, but in fact they are not like this."
"The reason why the cotton in the production area is poor is that the textile technology has not kept up."
He started talking about the rise of cotton planting and spinning, and talked about the future prospects. Mi Zhen took the cotton boll from Yuan Xi's hand and played with it while listening.
Based on her keen sense of smell over the years of inspecting commercial goods, she quickly determined that if what Yuan Xi said was true, then this so-called cotton cloth would definitely have a much wider range of applications than linen and silk!
She saw Yuan Xi's excited face, and for some reason, she felt sincerely happy.
Moreover, the other party is not happy because of the profit from cotton, but feels that in the future everyone will be able to improve their clothes and protect themselves from the severe cold. He really has a big heart for the world!
Mi Zhen felt that the warmth of the other person's palm still remained under her armpits, and she couldn't help but blush again.
One was listening carefully, the other was talking enthusiastically, and the atmosphere gradually became ambiguous. It wasn't until Lu Lingqi let out a bored yawn that the two of them suddenly came back to their senses.
Seeing this, Lu Lingqi waved her hands and said, "I'm fine, you continue."
No matter how thick-skinned Yuan Xi was, he couldn't continue talking. He said to Mi Zhen: "This box of seeds is of great significance to me. I am willing to pay a lot of money to buy it."
Mi Zhen shook her head and said: "This thing is useless in my hands. I don't know how to plant it, so I gave it to you."
"I feel that it can only be effective in the hands of the envoy."
Yuan Xi quickly thanked her and was thinking about how to compensate Mi Zhen when she heard Lu Lingqi smile and say: "Just use it as a dowry."
As soon as these words came out, Mi Zhen and Yuan Xi were immediately embarrassed. Yuan Xi glared at Lu Lingqi fiercely.
You are the only one who talks a lot!
Seeing that it was getting late outside, Yuan Xi said goodbye to Mi Zhen. He and Lu Lingqi worked together to push the box to the door, and asked Sun Li to bring the carriage over and move the box up.
He bid farewell to Mi Zhen and said, "Xi will definitely repay the girl's love this time."
Before Mi Zhen could speak, she saw several sergeants rushing in chaotically outside Mi Mansion, shouting: "General Guan has an order. Lord Mi Mansion must immediately mobilize all the soldiers and horses in the city!"