Ikun is gone.
He left overnight carrying a large bag of silver.
He also brought with him twenty members of the Li family, real warriors.
The task given by Li Hongbi to him was very simple. In addition to bringing back as many sweet potatoes and grain seeds as possible when he returned to Tianzhu, India, he also had to find his businessman friend at all costs, including his life and death!
Even if the bodies have been buried, they still have to be dug up and the navigation charts of their fleet can be found!
That's a nautical chart to the New World of America!
If the Ming Dynasty owned it, it would be equivalent to finding a safe route to the American continent!
Next, all you need to do is give this nautical chart to Zheng He when he sails to the West, and things will be settled!
A brand new continent is placed in front of the Dog Emperor, will he be moved?
This question actually has no merit.
It's like asking a delicate beauty, after taking off her clothes and lying on the dragon couch, asking the dog emperor if she can hold it back and stand up...
If he can hold on, if he can't stand up, he won't be a dog emperor!
Li Hongbi chuckled, feeling very good!
Looking at the sweet potatoes in front of him and the grain seeds in the clay pot, he felt extremely at ease.
No way, this is the charm of food!
Farming is engraved in the genes of the Chinese people.
Food is the result of tilling the land, and it is also the most reassuring thing!
There is food at home and there is no need to panic. Otherwise, why would those gentry and gentry want to annex fields like crazy and call themselves "farming and reading heirs"?
It’s not just for food!
This is the biggest opportunity for Lao Li’s family!
Li Hongbi thought happily for a while and suddenly realized something was wrong.
It’s the Mid-Autumn Festival now, which means the sweet potato planting season has passed!
The best sowing season for sweet potatoes is spring, especially between March and April, because this period is usually warm, humid and rainy, with temperatures generally above 20 degrees, and sweet potato buds and new branches grow vigorously.
If we plant sweet potatoes now, it will be a waste of grain crops.
We only have so much grain, but we can't let it go to waste.
But God knows if there will be any problems if these grains continue to be put away.
After all, sweet potatoes are not as delicate as potatoes, and they like loose, fertile, and well-drained soil.
When he thought of this, Li Hongbi couldn't help it and immediately sent someone to invite the old housekeeper Li Quan.
It was already dark at this time, and Li Quan and his family had finished the Mid-Autumn Festival reunion banquet and were about to go to bed. Suddenly, he heard that the Crown Prince was urgently summoning him, and he hurried over without having time to think about it.
"Young Master, what's going on?"
"Uncle Quan, is there any farming space in the Duke's mansion? I want to build a greenhouse."
When the old housekeeper heard this, he was immediately dumbfounded.
So good, why do you suddenly want to farm?
“It’s best to have a site with fertile soil and good drainage.”
Li Hongbi looked at the old housekeeper with hope.
Li Quan thought for a moment after seeing this, and finally gave a solution without asking any more questions.
"Young Master, if you really want to plant something, then plant it in the Duke's manor. They are all from the Duke's Palace, so nothing will go wrong..."
"No!" Li Hongbi shook his head decisively, "Just plant it in the Duke's Mansion. I want to see it every day, and I have to plant it myself!"
Hearing this, the old housekeeper frowned even more tightly.
"Young Master, what on earth is this?"
"This is a new grain, a very precious new grain, a new grain that can change the Ming Dynasty!"
As soon as these words came out, the old housekeeper was completely shocked, and he also realized the seriousness of the problem.
"In that case, let's plant it in the Duke's Mansion."
"There is a garden in the backyard, and the Duke has raised some expensive flowers and plants in it. They are all arty things."
"My young father-in-law also knows that these precious flowers and plants are the most delicate, so the soil is quite fertile, and there are dedicated people to take care of them every day..."
"Okay, right there!" Li Hongbi was overjoyed and made the decision immediately.
Then the old housekeeper took him to the back garden. The old man did raise a lot of exotic flowers and plants, but nothing compared to this sweet potato seed.
"Uncle Quan, call for someone to come right away and pull out all these flowers and plants and bulldoze them!"
Li Quan: "???"
ah?
Isn't it?
You can plant such a small amount of things and it won’t take up any space!
"Young Master, this is all the Grand Duke's pet peeve..."
"I am his pet peeve." Li Hongbi replied expressionlessly, "Hurry up and find someone to pull them all out. Don't hurt the soil by the way, leave the soil for me!"
Hearing this, Li Quan felt numb all over.
He finally saw it today, what a waste of natural resources!
However, Li Hongbi was resolute, so he couldn't persuade him any more, so he just acted honestly.
Dozens of guards rushed over and picked up all the flowers and plants with great brutality, showing no sign of mercy.
In the eyes of the gardeners who were tending the flowers and plants, this scene seemed as if it would kill them. They cried to death and wished they could die to apologize.
Li Hongbi doesn't like them either. It's shameless for a group of old men to cry like this over some flowers!
Under his command, the five gardeners diligently loosened the soil, while the dozens of guards began to build the greenhouse.
Building a greenhouse is actually not difficult. You need to clear the field first, then build the greenhouse with bricks and stones, and then dig some flues to burn charcoal for heating. It's almost done.
The only difficulty is that the greenhouse must be capped to ensure that the sweet potatoes receive sufficient light.
Sweet potato is a light-loving plant and has a high demand for sufficient sunlight.
Because of this, Li Hongbi just asked them to pull out all the other flowers and plants.
Because plants that are too densely packed will compete for sunlight and nutrient resources, resulting in limited growth of individual plants, thus affecting yields.
The length of light time directly determines the maturity time of sweet potatoes and the yield of sweet potatoes.
Therefore, when building a greenhouse, the roof must be made of transparent materials that can allow sunlight to shine in.
But in this Ming Dynasty, where can I find transparent materials?
In fact, glass is undoubtedly the best choice, it is colorless and transparent, and has strong lighting properties.
But I know I know, but Li Hongbi doesn’t know how to do it. He is not a great scientist and has mastered the glass firing process. At most, he can call the craftsmen from the Duke’s Palace to study together in the future to see if there is a chance to tinker with it. .
But now, we must plant the sweet potato seeds tonight, after all, things will change later!
"Uncle Quan, is there anything colorless and transparent?"
Li Hongbi could only ask the experienced old housekeeper for help.
Colorless and transparent?
What kind of treasure is that?
The old housekeeper shook his head.
"In terms of transparency, colored glaze should be considered transparent, but most colored glazes have colors, and the colors are very gorgeous!"
Liuli?
Li Hongbi could only nod his head when he heard this answer.
Although colored glaze is not transparent and colorless, its light transmittance is still very good, so it is currently the best choice.
Let's go overboard for the time being, and wait until Li Hongbi finds a way to tinker with the glass, then get rid of this rubbish.
"Uncle Quan, is there any colored glaze in your house? The kind that comes in one piece..."
"Ahem, there are some, such as glazed windows, which are a symbol of a wealthy family..."
Li Quan swallowed and answered cautiously.
As he expected, Li Hongbi immediately gave the order.
"Come here, tear down all the glazed windows in the Duke's Mansion. The greenhouse must be built tonight!"
