Spring and Autumn I Am King

Thanks to the book friends for their delusions of expansion, the night wind struck in 2006, and the stars were rewarded with praise from all directions!

……

"Cang Lin knows the etiquette of the truth, and knows the honor and disgrace when she has enough food and clothing?"

After talking with Zhao Wuxi, a rift appeared in Zigong's life philosophy for the past 20 years. As a merchant from all over the world, who buys and sells goods, Zigong has a lot of knowledge and contacts with the middle and lower classes of society. Naturally, he knows the importance of warehouses and food and clothing.

Because of his occupation, Zigong agreed very much with Zhao Wuxi's statement that millet, wheat, and hemp, these are the foundations of ritual and music. But the education he received in Qufu and his worship of the Master made Zigong feel that the Master was right.

The top and bottom are effective, taking ritual and music as the criterion is the real way of governance!

Before he could think deeply, Zhao Wuxi took hold of him and took him to the next area of ​​the craftsman's workshop.

The rammed earth building in front of you is a new big mill built on credit from the village temple and the people. After walking in, Zigong found that there were several animal-powered stone instruments rotating inside, and the sophistication was comparable to that of a keel waterwheel.

Zhao Wuxi said that this is a stone mill, which can replace manual pounding and pounding. The business he and Zigong talked about is here.

Actually, this was not Zhao Wuxi's original intention. But he was also helpless. The original plan was to sell high-quality porcelain, but the first firing failed, and the treasury was empty and uneasy, so he had to make up his mind on this first. Compared with the original hand-pushed stone mill, it has become much more advanced, and its size has become much larger. Unfortunately, there are few stone masons in the township, and the production is slow.

After Zigong entered the mill, he saw a large bag of hulled wheat grains being carried by a strong man and poured into the stone mill. Pulled by pack horses and mules, they were ground into wheat flour of different thicknesses and colors.

He was amazed when he saw it: "There are so many delicate things in a gentleman's territory. If it was replaced by a concubine, it would probably take several days, and this wheat flour..."

Zigong stretched out his hand into the burlap sack under the funnel, picked up a little wheat flour in his hand, and slowly rubbed it with his fingers.

"How can it be so fine, I don't know how it tastes?"

Zhao Wuxi laughed and led him to the noodle-making hut next to the mill.

Zigong saw that the place was steaming hot, there were all kinds of cooking utensils, such as knives, stoves, kettles, etc. A chubby young man in a bunt was rubbing a ball of white stuff on the wood.

Zhao Wuxi asked Zigong to sit opposite each other in front of the case, and did not disturb the young man in his work, he just waited patiently.

Zigong's eyes were all on the young man's craftsmanship. He saw that he first sieved the noodles with fine silk, seasoned the broth, and after cooling, he used it to knead the noodles.

Then, rub the fermented noodles into chopstick-like thickness, one foot by one, and soak them in water in a pottery plate. Finally, he rubbed the noodles on the edge of the copper kettle to make them as thin as leek leaves, and boiled them in the soup.

After a while, two big bowls of steaming "leek leaf water cake" were made, and then leek leaves, green onion and garlic, hemp peppers, meat zest, bean paste, etc. were added, and they were brought to the table.

That chubby boy is naturally Zhao Guangde, who loves the art of cooking very much. Since the wheat has been harvested and the flour has been milled, he has devoted himself to researching various new methods here. If he didn't know it, he thought he was a newcomer. The Yong people!

Zhao Guangde also understands why his cousin said before that tofu is just an appetizer, because these pasta can be eaten as the staple food of court! After tasting it once, Zhao Guangde completely abandoned the millet rice, and even felt that the wheat rice he ate before was a waste of good things.

Holding chopsticks, Zigong took a sip, only to feel that the mouth was soft and tender, and it was delicious. He also ignored the restraint of a bandit gentleman.

This is not over yet, and then, there are baked white flour cakes, brown and black whole wheat "steamed buns" and so on, and Zigong can't even eat it.

After he couldn't take it any longer, he wiped his mouth with a silk cloth and said with a sigh: "Zi is also considered a person who has traveled to various countries, and he has eaten a lot of delicacies in Weidi, rice and rice in Ludi, and sea fish in Qidi. This is the first time I have tasted such delicious and unique food.”

Zigong's reaction was already expected by Zhao Wuxi.

After returning to the Spring and Autumn Period, he found that the staple food of the Chinese people at this time was mainly grain food, that is, the five grains were steamed or boiled.

Even when the people of the Central Plains describe the nomadic Bei Di, they say that they "have those who do not eat grains".

But rice, millet, etc. are nothing but wheat rice because the seed coat is hard and the flour contained in it is sticky, which is difficult to digest and absorb when cooking.

"Eat without getting tired of essence" is not just a talk. These fine flours can make food patterns and tastes that the original monotonous wheat rice, even millet and liang cannot match.

In the original history, pasta gradually swept the whole of northern China. Only the rice in the south could survive its offensive. Zhao Wuxi just pushed it with his hand to lightly accelerate the historical process.

However, his hometown in his previous life was in the area of ​​Gansu and Shaanxi, a place where he perfected his craftsmanship. Therefore, he still thinks that this kind of primitive rolling noodles is not tasty enough, but unfortunately he can only eat it and can't make it.

After closing the door a few days ago, recalling the posture of the noodle master in his previous life, he secretly demonstrated it to Zhao Guangde, but in the end, he dumped the dough in the face of the little fat man, so he had to give up.

Now that Zigong has inspected the goods, then we can talk about business.

"Zigong, if you sell this wheat flour to you, is it possible?"

The reason why Zigong was so young was that he was able to withstand the competitive pressure of Qi and Zheng Jujia and make a small profit on the trade route between Jin, Lu and Wei. The main reason is that he "has been wrong", and his estimates of the market are extremely accurate.

Hearing what Zhao Wuxi said, his eyes suddenly lit up.

"Yes! Gentleman, although there are wheat husks pounded from wheat everywhere, but they are as finely made as wheat flour, but there is no one else! If this thing can be sold to the kitchen of a scholar-officer, it must have a price and no market. !"

He pondered again: "I just don't know, how much is this thing worth?"

Zigong has already made plans silently in his heart.

"In the Duanmu clan's estate in Weidi, Mai Shidou produced nine and two and a half buckets of wheat kernels!"

One stone in Jin is sixty kilograms in later generations. Ten buckets equals one stone, and one bucket equals six kilograms.

Keeping in mind the grain prices and grain yield ratios in various places, Zigong's true character as a merchant is undoubtedly revealed.

Zhao Wuxi nodded and said, "Indeed, the price varies according to the flour yield~www.wuxiahere.com~. The finer the wheat flour, the more precious it is."

"I will explain this detailed account to Zigong today. Ten buckets of husked wheat can be ground into nine buckets of whole-wheat flour and steamed buns, depending on the time spent and the bran removal. It can also be made from this. Grind out eight buckets of yellow wheat flour, and the scones just now are made from it; when it is grinded to the most fine, seven buckets of white wheat flour can be produced, and the water-yielding cakes just eaten are made from this.”

Zigong recalled for a while, and indeed, these three kinds of foods have very different tastes.

"So, I have to ask Zigong to help me guess what its value is." Zhao Wuxi's eyes were bright, and this was also an opportunity to examine Zigong's business talents.

Zigong habitually tapped the table with his knuckles, and when he hit the tenth time, he already had a problem in his heart, so he smiled and said, "Could you tell Ci how much you originally wanted to sell?

Zhao Wuxi replied, "That's what I planned. Rough whole-wheat noodles are not for sale, because the scholar-officials have people pounding them every night, and they can also get them."

"For the finer yellow wheat noodles, one bucket of corn will be exchanged for one stone (ten buckets)... For the finest white wheat noodles, one bucket of corn will be exchanged for two stones (twenty buckets)! Do you think it is feasible?"

Zigong closed his eyes, smiled and shook his head, "No."

Zhao Wuxi frowned, did Zigong think it was too expensive? This is his bottom line. If it is cheaper, the profit will not be big.

Who knows, Zigong opened his eyes, and his eyes shone brightly.

"It means that the price is too low!"

……

Ask for collection, ask for recommendation, ask for Sanjiang ticket...