Chapter 7056 Systematic Testing

Chapter 7056 Systematic Testing

Chen Xi took this matter lightly for a simple reason: as long as humans have self-awareness and distinctions of kinship, this is unavoidable. From the beginning of his work with state-owned enterprises, Chen Xi knew that this was only a matter of time.

As the saying goes, Chen Xi, based on his experience in the lower reaches of history, clearly knows that once things begin, all sorts of things will follow. However, Chen Xi cannot be sure when these things will happen.

Considering the current situation of the Han Dynasty, Chen Xi could not devote his energy to such matters before they even happened, nor could he arrange for people to keep an eye on them. Even if it was to prevent problems before they occurred, there was no experience for others to refer to if some things did not happen!
Moreover, some things, in the early stages, were not considered very serious. For example, when building roads, we helped build a few extra kilometers for the villages of acquaintances to connect their villages to the county road. Such a beneficial and cost-effective thing was really not a big problem.

Even if they are investigated, if there is nothing else but this one thing, they will take it lightly and let it go, because there is really nothing to pursue. This has always been the case since ancient times. The social nature and kinship of human beings have destined them to behave this way.

Therefore, Chen Xi was too lazy to spend time on this aspect. He would start with a state-owned workshop and let the rest run on its own. When the workers below couldn't stand it, someone would naturally raise the issue, and then it would be dealt with. Wouldn't it be better to put the extra energy into other things?

"Since it's supposed to be handled with care, it doesn't seem like we all need to come together." Li You looked around and felt that it was pointless for so many of them to come for something that could be let go so easily. But since they were already at the government affairs office, why not work overtime for a bit?
"Absolutely no overtime!" Chen Xi crossed her arms and directly rejected Li You's potentially damn suggestion. It's almost Chinese New Year, and you want me to work overtime? Have some decency!

"Since we're already here, and we happen to have some other things to take care of, let's deal with them all at once." Zhuge Liang sat back down, opened the official documents he had put away, and looked ready to get to work right there. Fa Zheng was quite annoyed by this, and understood to some extent why Guo Jia hadn't come at all—that was truly clever!
"Alright, alright, no more joking around. Official business isn't urgent." Liu Bei smiled and reassured everyone. "It's rare that everyone is here. I had someone at the door inform Fengxiao and Weishuo that it's the end of the year, so let me treat everyone to a meal."

Liu Bei was clearly in a good mood. He felt that although this year had been a mess, there had been steady progress overall, which was quite impressive. So he planned to host a dinner party for these people in the palace. Just as Liu Bei had said before, all conflicts started from seeing each other less often.

They spent all their time fooling around, eating and drinking, and would curse each other out without holding grudges. They couldn't get over any obstacles. They even lost Lu Su, which was already a great loss to Liu Bei.

For such a serious matter as Lu Su, being allowed to retain his title and travel to the Ganges is already a dignified thing. If there is really no punishment at all, then it would be a disregard for the laws of the country.

Therefore, it was a rare occasion to see even Liu Ye with everyone. Liu Bei thought it would be good to invite Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and others over for a big meal, which would also help to strengthen everyone's bonds. At this time before the New Year, there were many things to do, but it didn't really matter if they didn't do anything. Anyway, the accounts had been settled and everyone who was due had received their money. As for the rest, it wouldn't matter if it was a few days earlier or later!
Since that's the case, why not take advantage of this time to eat and drink together and strengthen your relationship!
It's rare to see such a complete gathering of people. You should know that since the first year of Yuanfeng, even during the Grand Court Assembly, it's been rare to see such a complete gathering.

“That’s right, such a good time, and I happen to have some top-quality Longxi lamb at home.” Fa Zheng was the first to agree. What’s the point of working? We’re working all year round, always keeping an eye on this intelligence or that intelligence, analyzing the possible deployments behind these intelligence reports, etc. It’s so annoying. We might as well do something productive and enjoy some food and drink.

"I also have some ingredients prepared for the New Year," Jia Xu said calmly. Of course, he didn't have any before, but now that the Empress Dowager is living here and Jia Xu has to take care of his daughter, there are naturally all sorts of things prepared for the New Year.

"In that case, I still have some local specialties that I brought back from southern Sichuan. The local people insisted on giving them to me when I left. I was originally planning to give some to each of you for the New Year, but now it's all good." Sun Qian was very satisfied with this team-building activity, saying that he had a lot of mountain delicacies, and more importantly, they were gifts from the people of the mountain area. Do they not know what status and reputation Sun Qian has?
“I also have some local specialties from Liaodong and Liaoxi,” Jian Yong said, stroking his beard. “They were all gifts from the local people. I don’t know if they’re expensive or not, but it seems I can’t leave if I don’t accept them.”

Jian Yong drove a car, but the locals would throw bundles of wild mushrooms they had picked from the mountains onto his vehicle. There was no other way; these days, doing logistics and transportation, especially for impoverished and remote areas, really won the hearts of the people. Sun Qian's road construction in the southwest liberated many people from the era of slavery and tribal chiefs, allowing them to quickly enter the feudal era.

To be fair, these days, if Chen Xi could build a road into Tibet and handle the logistics, the people who build roads there would be confident of becoming Golden Pearl Mami. However, the biggest problem now is this road. Chen Xi is not confident that he can build it well, and neither is Sun Qian!

"Just call everyone over here," Chen Xi said after thinking for a moment. "It should be more complete here, and most people are here right now!"

"This is Her Highness's territory after all, so it's best to be careful." Li You coughed lightly twice, feeling that it was better not to cause trouble in Weiyang Palace.

“The materials here are definitely not as complete as those elsewhere,” Chen Xi said with a light laugh. “Besides, Her Highness the Princess has been quite accommodating these past few days.”

How could we not give him face? Chen Xi gave Liu Tong the opportunity to choose all sorts of things from all over the world, with the only requirement that Liu Tong must use the post station for transportation.

Although Liu Tong didn't quite understand this, he still did as instructed. The fresh ingredients stored in Weiyang Palace were simply astounding. Liu Tong had almost everything that Fazheng, Sun Qian, Jian Yong, and others had mentioned before, and they were even fresher.

On the other side, Liu Tong was inspecting the kitchen with Si Niang, Bai Qi, and Han Xin. After all, Chen Xi had given Liu Tong a list, allowing him to freely use ingredients from all over the world. Given this great opportunity, Liu Tong, after confirming that Chen Xi wasn't up to any trouble, decisively picked up the list and began selecting ingredients.

After all, even Liu Tong has many things in this world that he has never tasted, or some that he has tasted a few times and found extremely delicious, but because Chang'an is far away and Liu Tong cannot freely tour the Central Plains, he cannot taste them again. Now all of these things can be arranged.

Of course, Liu Tong could get those things if he really wanted to, but having experienced the chaos of war, he was reluctant to spend money on unnecessary extravagance, since it was all his own money. But now that Chen Xi was reimbursing him, what else could he say?

Four-gilled perch from Northeast China, fresh water shield from Jingzhou, live silver carp from Yangzhou, and other seafood from the open ocean are all things that need to be eaten fresh. Liu Tong could get them if he wanted to, but the cost was too high. So, the reason Liu Tong usually eats a lot of vegetables is because he takes the cost into consideration.

But now Chen Xi says he'll reimburse me and has even given me a receipt, so all the things I didn't eat before because of cost considerations will be included.

"Is this ribbonfish?" Bai Qi was dumbfounded as he looked at the silvery-white, shimmering ribbonfish. Damn, this thing was actually alive! This thing was crispy and delicious, and it was so plump. Bai Qi had only eaten it a few times in his life, and those were when Chen Xi took him on his eastern tour. As for after that, Liu Tong thought it was too expensive and never got it, so Bai Qi never ate it again.

Having seen it before, Bai Qi knew very well that this thing was the kind that would die if caught. He had eaten it alive when he was on the coast of Qingzhou and Xuzhou. Now, seeing this living, shimmering thing in this sealed tank, Bai Qi had only one feeling: he was going to have a feast today. It was so fat, awesome!
"Seriously, none of these giant clams died after being transported here?" Han Xin stared blankly at the giant clam, which was almost the size of a pot. Although it wasn't as big as the one they had eaten at Old Mi's house in Xuzhou, this size was enough for them to eat. And big clams are great, they come with their own pots and pans!
"Hmph, you underestimated me! There's more! It's the New Year, of course we have to eat something good." Liu Tong said smugly. Then Han Xin saw the packaged wild mushrooms from southern Sichuan. Judging from their freshness, Han Xin had only one thought: they've really gone mad.

"It seems like seafood makes up the majority of the food here, and they all seem to be things that die easily," Bai Qi remarked in amazement. He thought it was good that Sun Wu and Wu Qi had run away; it was actually quite nice not to bring those two old folks to the seafood hot pot that night, at least that way they could enjoy their meal to their heart's content.

"This spotted fish looks like it's about to flip belly up. Don't waste it, scoop it out and cook it three ways!" Si Niang said excitedly to the chef waiting nearby, looking at the big fish that had swum too much and was now breathing in the tank.

"This fish is so fresh and chewy, this is the one." Han Xin was also very happy. It wasn't that he was ignorant, but after following Liu Tong for so many years, he had eaten and seen a lot, but this was the first time Han Xin had seen so many rare ingredients in Chang'an.

As the saying goes, the emperor may possess the wealth of the four seas, but you can't possibly eat much of what's in those four seas, haha!
"And this octopus, and this big crab, cook them all thoroughly." Bai Qi pointed to several things he had thought were delicious when he ate them before and called to the imperial chef beside him.

"Make some more meat porridge or something, that'll be our dinner tonight." Liu Tong was quite satisfied with the food, but she also noticed that some of the ingredients she had selected hadn't been delivered yet, and she vaguely sensed why Chen Xi was doing this.

"These things are not easy to preserve and transport, especially to send them all the way to Chang'an. In our time, the cost would definitely have been reported to the authorities." Han Xin clicked his tongue in amazement, then reached out and pulled out a colorful and huge lobster. This would be the main ingredient for their seafood hot pot that night. As for the other vegetables and ingredients that were obviously not locally grown, they were just for show!

"So what? Chen Zichuan made me choose them anyway. He gave me a notebook and told me to pick whatever I wanted. I didn't even go all out and just picked over a thousand things I liked, and some that I don't even know what they are. You don't need to understand that Chen Hou is paying for it," Liu Tong said smugly.

"By the way, how long does this kind of ham last?" Bai Qi asked, pointing to the ham that had been set up, sliced ​​thinly, and emitting a special aroma.

"I don't know, but this is what Chen Zichuan is going to promote next. It seems to have a long shelf life, and it has a special aroma that's better than regular pork. But a new problem has arisen: there aren't enough legs." Liu Tong said with a smile, covering her mouth. She had found it very interesting when Chen Xi first mentioned it.

"This is a collection of ingredients from all over the country, which is truly remarkable." Han Xin traveled throughout the Central Plains during the late Qin Dynasty and also accompanied Chen Xi on the Eastern Tour, so he could roughly tell from these materials that they were all high-quality ingredients from all over the country.

“No wonder Chen Zichuan let you choose whatever you want. Besides food, there must be some useful or fun things.” Bai Qi immediately understood after hearing Han Xin’s words.

"Yes." Upon hearing this, Liu Tong, who had already thought about this matter, also realized that Chen Xi's decision to have Liu Tong randomly select materials from all over the world was essentially a test of the operational speed of local stations and logistics, which was the fastest and most effective testing method.

Even if something has special preservation methods, if it can be delivered to its destination before it spoils, the actual transportation time will always be less than the time it takes for the item to spoil.

If they can deliver something so quickly, how can they deliver truly critical military orders and mobilize troops from various regions?
Naturally, expectations arose!

To put it bluntly, lychees, a fruit from Lingnan that spoils quickly in the heat, were still fresh when they arrived in Chang'an, regardless of the method used. Under the same circumstances, military orders could certainly be transmitted over the same distance within a few days.

This information can be used to deduce the speed of national intelligence flow, troop deployment, and even the hidden extreme walls. Chen Xi plans to conduct tests next year, and he will definitely need to test the speed of logistics flow first. Only by confirming this can subsequent tests be meaningful.

"That guy Chen Zichuan!" Liu Tong chuckled twice, and understood why Chen Xi had asked her to select ingredients from all over the world. To put it bluntly, he wanted to see the efficiency of transporting these things. These kinds of things, without special expedited delivery, best reflect the efficiency of a system.

It's obvious that everything that's arrived here has passed testing. As for the missing parts, either Jian Yong will fill the gaps or Chen Xi will send people to investigate. In any case, if something can't be delivered, it's either because there's a problem with the layout there or someone has tampered with it.

In short, there's definitely a problem if the package can't be delivered; the only difference lies in whether it's due to objective reality or subjective factors.

"This stuff was delivered from thousands of miles away." Han Xin scooped up a bowl of coconut water. The distance from Jiaozhou to Chang'an was no small feat, yet it was delivered just like that. Such logistics capabilities.

"That's amazing! This means we have plenty of seasonal fruits!" Bai Qi said with a hint of excitement. Back in the day, the Qin people didn't have many kinds of fruits to eat. Even though Bai Qi was a marquis, he simply didn't have any. But now, it's fresh, so he can show it off!
"Actually, I've never understood the difference between Zhou Gongjin's cold-stored fruit and fresh fruit," Liu Tong said, plucking a segment of tangerine from Si Niang's side and looking at Bai Qi with a hint of curiosity.

"Actually, I don't know either, but fresh fruit is more expensive than cold-stored fruit. I'm a vulgar person; I only eat expensive things, especially when everything tastes good. I always have to eat the expensive ones." Han Xin chuckled, and Bai Qi agreed, saying that locals were just that vulgar.

“That makes sense. Why should I choose the cheaper option when I’m spending Chen Zichuan’s money?” Liu Tong thought it made perfect sense.

"That's enough for now. Just make fish fillets from this fat ribbonfish." Si Niang used her inner energy to wrap a large amount of ingredients, indicating that this was enough to eat.

“That’s true, it would be a waste to add any more, after all, these are all precious ingredients, and it’s not good to waste them. Beef and mutton are common here, but these things, including vegetables, are not common.” Han Xin looked around and felt that he could indeed have a big meal tonight, so he didn’t add any more dishes.

After receiving a large amount of ingredients sent by Si Niang, Liu Bei and his group came over to choose their dinner after Liu Tong and his party left.

This scene made the Imperial Kitchen Manager feel a chill run down his spine. This was the royal treasury. What were you all doing coming here?
However, Liu Bei and Chen Xi's special circumstances left the Imperial Kitchen Manager with no choice but to bite the bullet and meet them, since it was clear they were there to empty the treasury.

"No need for formalities, let's see what new ingredients we have," Chen Xi said, waving his hand.

“Lord Chen, there are many ingredients here, but the variety is large and the quantity is small. His Highness has come here in person before.” The Imperial Kitchen Manager said, tugging at Chen Xi’s sleeve. He didn’t dare to tug at anyone else’s sleeve, since Chen Xi was the Imperial Kitchen Manager’s superior.

"It's alright, we'll restock. Everything in this warehouse will be replenished continuously until the Lantern Festival," Chen Xi said with a light laugh. This was a test, and since it was a test, could Chen Xi just do a quick one? Of course, it had to be sustained for a period of time to determine the true situation!

It's almost the end of the month, let's cast some monthly votes. The author's performance this time is actually not bad.