Chapter 169 Yu Yanran goes home
Zhao Xing doesn’t know the situation of the Sheng family, but is thinking about whether to agree to Yelu Zhongyuan’s request.
Eight thousand stallions, he was still very excited.
And he felt that this was definitely not Yelu Zhongyuan’s bottom line.
Coupled with the existing stallions in the Song Dynasty, after more than ten years of breeding, it should be able to alleviate the problem of lack of horses in the Song Dynasty.
But Zhao Xing is not in a hurry. He has to wait until Li Ge can't wait any longer and take the initiative to come to him. Only in this way can he test his bottom line.
…………
The water in the swimming pool in Mutang Pavilion made a splash. Zhao Xing showed his head next to Yu Yanran, leaned against the wall of the swimming pool, and took the hand from the palace maid. The handkerchief came over and wiped his face.
"Yanran, are you worried about something?" Zhao Xing said as he stretched out his hand to hold Yu Yanran in his arms.
"No... I was distracted by my thoughts." Yu Yanran squeezed out a smile and said.
"To be honest with you, do you miss your grandparents and them?" Zhao Xing pinched her face and asked.
"Yes." Yu Yanran hesitated and nodded, then said: "The Mid-Autumn Festival is coming soon, and I want to go back to see my grandparents."
The sweet-scented osmanthus is fragrant recently, and the East Palace is full of flowers. The maids and eunuchs miss their loved ones and talk about them in private.
It also aroused Yu Yanran's homesickness.
"Did I say that if you miss your grandparents, you can go back and see them at any time. You will go back tomorrow. Remember to bring some of the group cakes and osmanthus wine sent by the palace. There are many in the warehouse. "Old wild ginseng, bring some to your grandfather and others to replenish their health," Zhao Xing said.
"Thank you, Your Highness." Yu Yanran said excitedly.
“Forget it, I understand your temperament, I’ll have someone prepare it for you when you turn around.” Zhao Xing shook his head.
Yu Yanran has a weak temperament. She obviously wants to go back, but she keeps it in her heart and does not say it out loud.
But her behavior makes people feel pity for her.
Looking at Yu Yanran who was moved to tears, Zhao Xing lowered his head and kissed her.
After a long time, he let go of Yu Yanran, who was feeling weak all over, and said with a smile: "Swim with me for a while."
After that, he plunged into the water.
Yu Yanran came to her senses, smiled sweetly, and chased after her like a mermaid.
Zhao Xing swam to the opposite side, came out of the water, and admired Yu Yanran's swimming style.
During this period, under the guidance of Zhao Xing, Yu Yanran's swimming skills also improved by leaps and bounds.
From the moment he entered the water, he was trembling and pale, now his figure is agile, as if he is integrated with the water, like an elegant fish.
No wonder Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty wanted to build a nude swimming pool. Zhao Xing thought that raising more mermaids would be really pleasing to the eye.
…………
The next morning, Zhao Xing sent Yu Yanran out of the East Palace, watched her leave in a carriage, returned to the study, and reviewed the papers.
About half an hour later, the eunuch reported that Sheng Wei was here.
Zhao Xing asked someone to bring Sheng Wei in.
"Your Highness, Li Ge added two thousand more horses and said he is willing to exchange ten thousand stallions for the secret recipe of perfume." Sheng Wei said after saluting.
"Oh?" Zhao Xing pondered for a while and said, "Do you think this is his bottom line?"
"I tested it and it should be his bottom line." Sheng Wei said.
Zhao Xing thought for a while and asked, "Have you found anything out in the past few days?"
"No." Sheng Wei shook his head and said, "I think it's very possible that he doesn't know either."
"This is very possible." Zhao Xing nodded.
Li Ge is just a businessman who makes money for Yelu Zhongyuan, and he is also a Han.
Of course Yelu Zhongyuan would not tell him what his plans were.
"Is he interested in transparent glass?" Zhao Xing asked.
"Yes, he ordered a hundred thousand taels of goods, but he didn't bring that much money this time. He agreed to trade in cattle, sheep and skins," Sheng Wei said.
“This is a good thing, we made a profit.” Zhao Xing said with a smile.
The price of cattle and sheep skins is calculated based on the exchange market price. When shipped to Bianjing, the value is higher.
This price difference alone is enough to cover the cost of firing those glassware.
Those hundred thousand taels were all earned.
And this is just the first transaction.
Glass products cannot be eaten or drunk, but they can rob money from other countries.
Zhao Xing was thinking that he would have to fiddle with more of these flashy things, and then he would be able to bring down these countries through trade.
“Overseas transactions must also be carried out, and your own caravan must be organized.” Zhao Xing said.
"I understand." Sheng Wei responded.
"That's right." Zhao Xing said, "Send a message to those overseas merchants and tell them that Gu is very interested in various seeds."
"Seeds?" Sheng Wei was stunned.
Zhao Xing nodded and said: "Many of the seeds in the Song Dynasty today were brought back by Zhang Qian when he was sent to the Western Regions. The rice seeds grown in the south today were also passed from Champa. I think maybe overseas There will be some high-yielding grains. If they can be obtained and planted in the Song Dynasty, the people will not go hungry. "
The yields of potatoes, sweet potatoes, and corn are higher than those of wheat and rice in this era.
However, these were only introduced into the country during the Ming Dynasty.
Zhao Xing had always fallen into a misunderstanding before, thinking that these seeds were simply impossible to obtain with the Song Dynasty's navigation technology.
But he overlooked one point. The distance between Europe and Africa is much closer to South America than the Song Dynasty was to South America. Although potatoes have not yet been introduced to Europe and Africa, it does not mean that they do not exist in Europe and Africa.
After all, the spread of plant seeds does not rely solely on people. Wind and animals are also ways of spreading.
Potatoes and sweet potatoes are unlikely, but corn is not.
It is possible that corn had spread to Europe and Africa at this time, but because it was scarce in quantity and not found to be edible, it was still considered a weed and was not taken seriously.
This is why Zhao Xing did not say that he only wanted edible plant seeds.
With his status, those foreign businessmen would definitely spare no effort to collect various seeds if they had such an opportunity to curry favor with him.
Even if Feou has not yet appeared, getting some other seeds can enrich the plant species of the Song Dynasty.
Form an ocean-going caravan now, and in the future you can use Africa and Europe as a springboard to go to South America to find seeds.
No matter what, these high-yielding seeds must be brought back.
"Yes." Sheng Wei responded.
Zhao Xing explained again and let him go back.
…………
While Zhao Xing and Sheng Wei were discussing, Yu Yanran rode a carriage and came to the Yu family under the protection of the Forbidden Army.
Mrs. Yu, Yu Yanran's stepmother Ding, who had been notified, and Yu Yanran's younger brothers and sisters were all waiting at the door.
Yu Yanran has not been officially canonized yet. As an elder, Mrs. Yu does not need to come to the door to greet her.
It was just that Mrs. Yu missed her granddaughter, so she waited at the door, wanting to see her as soon as possible.
Ding came here to please Yu Yanran. She used to be mean to Yu Yanran. Since Yu Yanran was designated as the crown prince's concubine, she has tried every means to ease her relationship with Yu Yanran.
The carriage stopped. Xing'er got out of the carriage first and helped Yu Yanran out of the carriage.
"Grandma!"
"Yanran."
When Yu Yanran saw her grandmother, she called excitedly, got off the carriage, and trotted forward with her skirt in hand.
Mrs. Yu took two steps forward excitedly, grabbed her granddaughter's hand, and looked at her for a while.
"Why do you look so much thinner than last time?" Mrs. Yu said distressedly.
"Grandma, my granddaughter has not lost weight, she has gained weight. The weather was not hot last time we met, so she wore thicker clothes than she does now." Yu Yanran smiled.
The last time they met, grandfather and grandson, was at the polo match in March.
Ding looked at Yu Yanran who was dressed luxuriously and who was escorted by imperial guards when she came in and out. Jealousy flashed in her eyes and she said with a smile on her face: "Mother, Yanran, please sit down in the room and talk."
Mrs. Yu glanced sideways at her, turned to look at her granddaughter, and said with a smile: "Let's go in and talk."
After saying that, she took Yu Yanran's hand. Go inside.
"Mom, look at how beautiful the jewelry on her head and body is. My daughter wants it too." Yu Yanhong followed her mother behind, looked at the jewelry Yu Yanran was wearing, and pulled her mother and whispered.
"What do you want!" Ding scolded in a low voice: "She has an unusual status now. Your brother's future, you will have to rely on her in the future whether you want to be friends or not."
Despite what she said, she was also covetous of the jewelry on Yu Yanran's body.
Those jewelry are not only beautifully made, but the materials used are also valuable.
"Why show off? Now the prince is pampering you. When the prince marries the princess, you will suffer." Ding thought maliciously in her heart.
In her opinion, Yu Yanran's weak temperament could not compete with others.
Now it’s just that no one competes with her, so she gets the favor alone.
Actually, Yu Yanran is not a show-off person. After she entered the East Palace, Zhao Xing asked the embroiderer to make a lot of clothes for her and also gave her a lot of jewelry.
When she was dressing up this morning, her original intention was to use the clothes and jewelry she had before entering the East Palace.
But Mrs. Xu said that she had to dress up so that Mrs. Yu could know that she was doing well and Mrs. Yu would feel at ease.
Yu Yanran thought about it, and then let Xu's mother arrange it.
"Who wants to rely on her?" Yu Yanhong curled her lips.
Since she was a child, she has been suppressing Yu Yanran and often bullied her.
Now that her identity has changed, Yu Yanhong naturally cannot accept it with her temper.
"Be honest with me. If you dare to mess around today, you will never be able to go out again." Ding said with a glare.
"I know." Yu Yanhong said gloomily.
Old Mrs. Yu took Yu Yanran to the main hall of her yard and sat down on the soft couch at the top.
"Why did you come back suddenly today?" Mrs. Yu asked.
"The Mid-Autumn Festival is coming soon. My granddaughter misses her grandmother a little, so she came back to see her." Yu Yanran said with a smile: "His Royal Highness also asked people to prepare some old wild ginseng to replenish the health of my grandparents."
"Your Highness is really doting on Yanran. I saw there are many fabric jewelry." Ding said with a smile.
Mrs. Yu's smile softened after hearing this, she looked at Mrs. Ding and said, "Go and do your work, I'll have a conversation with Yanran."
Mrs. Ding pretended not to understand Mrs. Yu's expulsion. He said with a smile: "By the way, Yanran, you are too careless. A few days ago, I asked someone to clean up the yard where you live, and found a lot of jewelry that your mother left for you. I will ask someone to bring it back later. "Give it to you."
"Really?" Yu Yanran said excitedly.
Her mother died after giving birth to her. She has never seen her mother since she was a child, nor has she ever felt maternal love.
But it did not stop her from missing her mother.
(End of this chapter)