Koi baby helps his mother farm and becomes the richest man

Chapter 229 Meeting the Emperor and Empress

The summer harvest is in full swing.

Qin Ying's farm started harvesting two days earlier than others, and the entire western suburbs of the capital started harvesting two days earlier than other places.

Therefore, even if the tenants on the farm are short of manpower, it is easy to hire temporary workers from elsewhere.

Basically, there are three strong laborers waving sickles to harvest wheat for one acre of land, and behind them are people bundling wheat and picking wheat ears.

It only takes one morning to transport the wheat from this acre of land to the threshing ground.

People had already been arranged at the threshing ground. When the wheat was unloaded from the truck, it was spread out on the threshing ground for threshing and drying. Because there were enough livestock, the efficiency was quite high.

But in just five days, all the wheat was harvested, and after two days of drying in the sun, it could be stored in the warehouse.

After the harvest, the time comes to plow the soil, water it, and start summer sowing.

Because the wages Qin Ying paid were high enough, the hired laborers would rather delay their own wheat harvest for a few days than not finish the work here.

Three days later, the seeds of corn, soybeans, sorghum and other crops were also planted.

Qin Ying sent people to pay the hired workers their wages, and distributed vegetables and bonuses to the tenants. The busy farming season was almost half over.

All that remains is to harvest the vegetables and take care of the cotton fields.

All these need to be done by the tenants, and there is no need to hire temporary workers.

Qin Ying consulted Mr. Zhou and Mrs. Zhou Er, and the family decided to return to Beijing.

Although the capital is hotter than the suburbs, the population of the marquis' mansion is small, so it is not too unbearable.

The Great Zhou had just suffered a disaster, and there was a shortage of ice in the capital.

On the way back, Qin Ying casually sighed, "It would be great if we could get some ice to sell."

An An blinked and responded with a smile: "How do you know if you can't get it if you don't try?"

Qin Ying held the child in her arms, almost put her lips to her ear, and whispered, "An Baoer, don't..."

"It's okay, Mom!" An An smiled sweetly, "There will be people who will do this with you, but the number of people will be small.

“Also, there are ice-making recipes on the market, but they’re just too expensive and can’t produce ice cubes.

"Let's get the ice, make a quick buck, and quit while we're ahead.

"Then, we just need to pass the improved ice-making recipe through a few hands before it reaches the new emperor, and that's it."

Qin Ying thought it made sense and nodded gently, "Okay, I'll take care of this matter, don't interfere."

"Yeah," An An nodded repeatedly, narrowing her eyes, "I believe that mother will do it beautifully!"

With her around, everything will be fine for mother!

After returning to the capital, Qin Ying deployed his men.

But within a few days, they received feedback: a large amount of ice had been found, which had been stored by wealthy businessmen who had died in the previous war.

Several businessmen have made similar discoveries, but the quantities they obtained are different.

The sales channels are naturally different. In order not to attract excessive attention, Qin Ying only transported a small amount of ice to Beijing for sale, and the rest was distributed to various places.

Even the ice shipped to the capital is not all sold as a whole block. Some of it is used to make cooling drinks and snacks.

Of course, these ice cubes cannot be used directly because they are not very clean, but the newly drawn well water is sufficient after being chilled with ice cubes.

In addition, the saltpeter ice making method can also be used to make some ice for sale, such as smoothies, ice bowls, cold teas, cold fruits, etc. Because the price is not high, they sell very well.

After returning to Beijing, Mr. Zhou didn't like to go out much because the mansion was cooler than outside.

He was old, and the younger generations didn't allow him to eat ice. At most, he could eat some fruits soaked in freshly drawn well water, or some cold tea and cold fruits.

Zhou Yu brought back several improved wind wheels from the Ministry of Industry and made several small spraying water wheels. When the wind wheels turned, the water mist drifted away, and most of the summer heat was taken away.

In fact, this way of cooling off is not uncommon. In the past, wealthy families all had special "cooling houses", which were houses with water wheels on the roof. The water would fall from the eaves on all sides. Because there were fine nets on the eaves, the falling water would be like drizzle, and the summer heat could not enter the room.

There is also an ice basin inside, which is naturally very cool.

But then again, this way of spending the summer is too extravagant. Now that the new emperor advocates frugality, no one in the capital dares to use it.

The Cheng'en Marquis Mansion didn't even have an indoor ice basin, but it was very cool, so Mr. Zhou's old friends loved to come and relax with him.

Also asked the reason.

Grandpa Zhou laughed and said, "Look, I have a lot of flowers, trees, fruits and vegetables planted at home, so the moisture is naturally much cooler.

"Besides, my family has few people, unlike you who have at least twenty servants around each master.

"There are less than 40 people in our house, so it's naturally not that hot with fewer people.

"Every day during the hottest weather, my grandson's wife would have people splash the courtyard with freshly drawn well water.

"The windmill wheel that Wen Ruo brought back is also very useful.

"The important thing is, I'm more open-minded than you old guys. As the saying goes, 'calmness brings peace of mind'!

"When all these things are added together, doesn't it seem cool?"

Everyone thought it made sense, and what Old Master Zhou said was not without some kind of suggestion. The new emperor advocated frugality so loudly, and there were not many servants in the palace. If their respective mansions were still filled with servants like before, wouldn't they probably disgust the new emperor?

After returning home, several old men urgently summoned their descendants to discuss the matter, and soon many servants were dismissed from each mansion.

In this way, the mansion saved a lot of expenses. I heard that a new method of making ice with saltpeter was circulating in the capital recently, so I tried every means to get the recipe and make ice according to it, so that summer would not be so unbearable.

After a while, the method of making ice was passed into the palace. The new emperor was very pleased to learn that the new method of making ice was lower in cost and more effective, and ordered people to promote it vigorously.

As a result, ice cubes on the market are not as popular.

At this time, the ice cubes in Qin Ying's hand had already sold as expected, and she made a lot of money.

After getting the money, she bought a lot of shops in the capital and purchased a lot of land near the capital.

When you have something to do, time seems to pass quickly.

July 7th is here.

Qixi Festival is a big festival in the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Mrs. Zhou Er said that Zhou Yu and Qin Ying had not had a moment of leisure since returning to Beijing, so she specially arranged for them to relax on this day.

The couple went to the garden during the day and watched the lantern festival and released river lanterns at night.

When I was tired and stopped at a teahouse to rest, a middle-aged man with a fair complexion and no beard came over and invited me: "Mr. Zhou, Mrs. Zhou, my master and his wife would like to invite you over for tea."

Zhou Yu pulled Qin Ying up, exchanged a few polite words, and followed the man to the private room on the second floor. Before entering, he mouthed to Qin Ying, "Empress."

Qin Ying understood, but she couldn't help feeling a little uneasy, wondering what the emperor and empress's intention was in summoning her privately.

After the door was closed behind them, the two of them were about to perform the formal ceremony. The new emperor personally stepped forward to support Zhou Yu and said with a smile, "Cousin, this is private now. We are just relatives, not sovereign or subject!"