The Great Ming in the Box-Chapter 227: Hong Chengchou Arrives
Zhao Sheng, just as Xing Honglang had when she first saw the cement formula, immediately regarded this piece of paper as a celestial prescription. Since it was a celestial prescription, it naturally required careful safekeeping.
Hurry and start rolling the paper!
But his physical strength was far inferior to Xing Honglang’s. Ten Zhao Shengs combined might not match Xing Honglang. The enormous, thick paper proved tremendously difficult for him to roll. After managing just a small section, he ran out of strength. Huff huff, he panted heavily. The moment his grip slackened, the rolled paper sprang open, pushing him backward until he tumbled to the ground.
Thump! He hit the floor, and the large paper promptly covered him.
Wriggling beneath the huge sheet, he created a small bulge above him. “Wah! Help! Somebody… help me…” he cried.
A large group of Villagers from Qingjian County rushed over immediately. They rolled the large paper back up, while two others helped Zhao Sheng to his feet. Face flushed with embarrassment, Zhao Sheng looked skyward and said, “Our apologies, Deity. Mr. Zhao is a scholar, unused to such physical tasks. Please leave such matters to us in the future.”
Li Daoxuan chuckled. “No matter at all. Just help him carry this paper back. Study it diligently and take care not to misinterpret any steps.”
The Villagers replied with solemn reverence, “Using the celestial prescription to plant celestial crops, we certainly dare not deviate from the steps. Please rest assured, Deity.”
The villagers shouldered the rolled paper and rushed back to Refugee Valley. With deep solemnity, they unrolled it. Illiterate themselves, they now realized Zhao Sheng’s true value. He read the words from the large paper aloud to them, character by character, sentence by sentence.
These Villagers were all seasoned old farmers with immense agricultural experience. They grasped the corn planting methods upon hearing them. Only the use of fertilizer presented something entirely new. Fortunately, people from Gaojia Village and Zhengjia Village were already familiar with fertilizer. Li Daoxuan sent two people over to instruct them, and that would suffice.
With the corn situation handled, Li Daoxuan could shift his attention back to the red chili peppers Xing Honglang had brought. Truthfully, he could have provided chilies directly to the crate before. Never doing so was simply because the idea hadn’t occurred to him. Now that Xing Honglang had brought these to Gaojia Village, they were worth investigating.
“Xing Honglang, take out those red chili peppers. I wish to examine them closely.”
Once Gao Yiye relayed the message, Xing Honglang was thrilled. Bringing back this small item and having the Deity take immediate notice meant her choice was validated. She quickly produced all the red chili peppers, holding them up in her cupped hands, lifting them as high as she could.
Truth be told, lifting high wasn’t strictly necessary. Li Daoxuan could now use the “Focus” function, eliminating the need for a magnifying glass. He pulled the image of the chili peppers closer for a detailed inspection. Excellent! They were indeed the familiar red chili peppers. Xing Honglang had brought back dried chilies.
This wasn’t surprising. Having been introduced to our dynasty not long ago, chilies had only recently appeared in the northwestern region. Even in larger cities like Xi’an, fresh red chili peppers were hard to come by. What one could buy were dried chilies, grown in the south, dried, and brought to Xi’an as a form of “spice.”
These would do perfectly!
‘Delighted,’ the Deity commanded. “This evening, once everyone has finished working, we shall all celebrate a festival. This festival shall be named the ‘Deity Hot Pot Festival.'”
Everyone blinked in momentary surprise, but quickly recalled the previous “Deity’s Unexpected Festival,” where the Deity had bestowed delicious soy-braised beef upon them, bringing immense joy to all.
“Wonderful! We get to celebrate today!”
“Let’s push hard and get our work done!”
“Finish today’s tasks early so we can start celebrating!”
Brimming with enthusiasm, the villagers…
As the sun set, the villagers concluded their day’s work and headed home. Normally, this time was reserved for hurriedly preparing dinner. But today was different. They were celebrating the “Deity Hot Pot Festival,” naturally requiring them to follow instructions precisely.
Under the direction of Gao Yiye, the villagers brought out numerous pots and woks. They set them up beside the big pond in Gaojia Village, filled them with water, and lit the fires.
Simultaneously, the “hot pot delivery” Li Daoxuan ordered arrived. He had procured single portions of a dazzling variety of ingredients. Now, he sliced only a tiny piece from each portion and placed it into the crate.
The villagers watched as chunks of chicken, pork, tripe, blood curd, duck intestines, bean sprouts, cabbage, mushrooms, and more descended rapidly from the sky.
“Wow!” many villagers exclaimed, their mouths watering copiously even before tasting anything.
Li Daoxuan chided good-naturedly, “What’s the rush? First, you need to prepare the broth base… Add these things into the pots step by step, boiling them with the water: chili peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, mature ginger, garlic, salt…”
He listed a long series of items. Most were unavailable to the villagers, especially during a famine when peasants lacked the resources to cultivate such seasoning crops. But it didn’t matter. What the villagers lacked, Li Daoxuan possessed. He conferred whatever was missing, small amounts each time, for them to add to their pots.
In that moment, hundreds of large pots simmering with hot pot broth lined the village, filling the air with a rich, savory fragrance.
Just as the atmosphere grew festive and lively, Li Daoxuan suddenly noticed something amiss…
On the official road running alongside the cement road connecting Gaojia Village to Zhengjia Village, a large procession emerged. A very large one. Laden mules and horses, carts laden with grain, and soldiers formed a mighty convoy. At its heart flew a large banner emblazoned with the character “洪” (Hong). Beside it, a line of smaller characters read: “Shaanxi Grain Transport Supervisor.”
Li Daoxuan murmured in surprise, “Hmm? A government grain convoy?”
Leading this grain convoy was a strong, middle-aged man dressed in the official garments of the Fourth Rank. Possessing a lean face and intensely focused eyes, he looked certainly no pushover.
Flanking him were over a hundred hired guards. Each stood tall and imposing, their gazes sharp, radiating formidable capability.
Li Daoxuan silently pondered: A Forth Rank Grain Transport Supervisor responsible for escorting military provisions, surnamed Hong… Might it be the very man I have in mind?
He was not mistaken. This man was Hong Chengchou, later a figure renowned across the realm, a top-tier powerhouse of the late Ming dynasty. Despite being a lean scholar, his military exploits were so formidable few military officers could match them.
Several days prior, Hong Chengchou had received orders from Hu Tingyan, the Governor of Xi’an. He was to gather provisions and transport them to Xi’an for military pay intended to combat the increasingly rampant bandits in Northern Shaanxi.
Setting out from Hancheng on Tongguan Road, Hong Chengchou led his grain convoy on the route destined to pass through “Heyang County, Chengcheng County, Pu County” to Xi’an.
They progressed uneventfully initially. However, upon nearing Heyang County, Hong Chengchou received s that a bandit leader named Fan Shanyue was gathering a force exceeding ten thousand bandits near Heyang County.
He didn’t fear bandits like Fan Shanyue, but engaging in combat with bandits while escorting grain carts was pure folly. He decided against traversing the Heyang County seat, opting instead to cut directly across desolate villages and wild hills into Chengcheng County. That decision led him inadvertently to Zhengjia Village. From there, following the official road running alongside the cement road, he approached Gaojia Village.
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Chapter 227: Hong Chengchou Arrives
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