The time has arrived in March before we know it, the season of spring and flowers blooming, which is also a good time for an outing.
On this day, more than a hundred large ships came to the Weishui River pier, all of which carried the flag of water transport. People living nearby knew that these ships were used by the imperial court to transport grain to Guanzhong.
The arrival of these ships means that another batch of food has arrived, and it also means that Chang'an does not have to worry about food shortages for the time being.
But soon everyone discovered something different. This batch of food being transported was not the common wheat, corn or soybeans, but white rice.
Rice is a rare commodity in the north, and now more than a hundred ships have been sent there. Naturally, everyone is very curious.
What made everyone even more unexpected was that the rice was not sent to the granary for hoarding, but directly sent to major grain stores, and the price was very low.
Now the people in Chang'an City were excited.
Even if the northerners did not eat rice at this time, they still knew that this food was a fine grain and only the nobles could afford it.
Now it is sold at a reasonable price, which naturally attracts people to rush to buy it. There are long queues in front of major grain stores, just to buy some rice.
The common people are just curious about the rice itself, while the powerful bureaucrats are more concerned about where the rice comes from. Have you never heard that the imperial court transports rice from the southern granary?
So everyone showed their special abilities to find out the news.
You can't hide such a big thing from anyone, and soon everyone knew the origin of the rice.
…
Li Chengqian praised: "If Jing Ke hadn't told me, I still wouldn't have known that those small barbarian countries in the south that we don't take seriously are actually rich in rice."
Du He also praised: "Yes, it can provide nearly 200,000 dan of food to the Tang Dynasty every month, and Jing Ke has countless people alive."
Li Chengqian said: "This is just the beginning. In the future, the annual input can reach five million shi."
Five million stones, if you save some food, can feed three to four million people for a year, which is definitely a huge number.
Du He asked curiously: "Has Jing Ke been there?"
Chen Jingke shook his head and said: "No, I just heard from the elders in the family about the situation there. Later, I informed His Majesty, but I don't know what happened next."
Li Chengqian said: "This is enough. Aye will definitely take action when he knows it. That's why we have so much food."
While they were talking, Cheng Huailiang and Qin Huaidao also came here with their respective wives.
There was a greeting first, then the woman went next door to be entertained by Wu Shu, while the man stayed in the yard.
After everyone sat down, Chen Jingke smiled and said, "You two are late."
Cheng Huailiang complained: "You really can't blame us. There are people lining up at the entrance of every grain store, and the streets are blocked and impassable. We traveled a lot of unnecessary distance to get here."
Qin Huaidao then said: "Yeah, I didn't expect rice to be so popular. Everyone is going crazy to buy rice."
Du He said: "It's normal. Rice tastes good and is easy to make. It's just that it was expensive and difficult to buy in the past, so no one ate it."
"Now that rice is so cheap, people will naturally buy some to try. Even if they don't eat it, it's more convenient to stock up."
The four of them chatted like this. After about half an hour, another group of people came over.
The one who ran over first was none other than Xiao Sizi.
I saw her throwing herself into Chen Jingke's arms and saying, "Brother, you haven't visited me in the palace for a long time."
Chen Jingke rubbed her head and said dotingly: "My brother has been busy the past few days. Didn't he take you out to play as soon as he got some free time?"
Xiao Sizi was very happy and said: "Then I will forgive you."
Chen Jingke smiled and said: "Thank you, little Sizi. Oh, our little Sizi has grown up and is really considerate."
"Pfft... Haha, little Sizi is so shy." Princess Gaoyang, Princess Chengyang and their entourage who followed behind all laughed.
Li Chengqian and others also smiled.
Little Sizi has reached a shy age, her face is red, and she is buried in Chen Jingke's arms and dare not come out.
Chen Jingke naturally wanted to seek justice for his little daughter-in-law. He pointed at Du He and said to Princess Chengyang: "Second wife, this is your future husband. Come and see her soon."
Unexpectedly, Princess Chengyang was not shy. She looked Du He up and down, nodded and said, "Yes, he looks quite handsome."
Du He, on the other hand, was made red-faced and at a loss what to do.
"..." Everyone was speechless.
Chen Jingke was not surprised by her performance. This girl was stubborn. It would be damned if she knew how to be shy.
He then said to Princess Gaoyang: "I also invited Mr. Fang Erlang. I don't know if he will come."
Princess Gao Yang guessed his plan and said fiercely: "Hey, look, brother feels sorry for little Si Zi and wants to vent his anger on her behalf."
"Oh, little Sizi is really lucky to have such a considerate husband. It's not like the one in our family who is totally irritated. Brother, when will you help me teach him?"
Chen Jingke thought to herself that she was indeed Princess Gaoyang. She refused to suffer any loss and said, "The relationship is great. I will go to the prime minister later and say that you asked me to help discipline Fang Erlang."
Princess Gaoyang finally couldn't stand it any longer and stamped her feet: "How can a brother like you bully your own sister?"
Chen Jingke pretended to sigh and said, "You don't know a good heart."
Then he whispered to Xiao Sizi: "Look, all the sisters also have husbands, so Xiao Sizi doesn't have to be embarrassed."
"Yeah." Xiao Sizi finally recovered, but he was much quieter than before.
Today's party was originally meant to create space for Du He, so Gao Yang and others did not go next door to find Wu Shu. Instead, they sat down in the yard and chatted together.
Gao Yang stood out as a shrewd person who never wanted to be disadvantaged when speaking. Except for being scrupulous when talking to Li Chengqian, he was merciless when talking to others.
Chengyang stands out for her straightforwardness and never hides what she says. Perhaps influenced by Xiao Sizi, she is very curious about Du He and always takes the initiative to talk to him.
It's just that the little girl is ignorant, and a lot of what she said made Du He a little embarrassed. But it was obvious that he enjoyed it.
On the contrary, Xiao Sizi was the quietest one. He had been sitting next to Chen Jingke, quietly listening to his brothers and sisters chatting, and occasionally saying a few words.
After more than half an hour, Fang Yiai ran over in a panic.
Seeing him actually appear, Princess Gaoyang was very surprised and a little surprised.
Chen Jingke smiled and said, "What? I didn't lie to you, did I? If you ask him to come over, ask him over."
Then these two people performed for everyone what it means to have a woman sing and her husband follow her. Gao Yang really did whatever he said, and Fang Yiai could only say, "You're right."
But it was obvious that Gao Yang was gradually becoming dissatisfied with the somewhat dull Fang Yiai, and there was a hint of impatience in his tone.
This was not what Chen Jingke wanted to see, so he said: "In fact, the creation of heaven and earth is very magical. There are yin and yang, male and female."
"If a couple wants to have a perfect love, they must also comply with this rule, that is, they have complementary personalities."
Li Chengqian and others are all people with eighteen minds. They could easily guess his intentions and asked in unison: "Oh? I don't know how to complement each other?"