Chapter 7178 The Pace of the Times

Chapter 7178 The Pace of the Times

"I've only seen this in the data you submitted. Is the yield really that exaggerated?" Zhuge Liang looked at Zhuge Jin with some surprise and said, "To be honest, I have some doubts about this. I've seen the experimental fields myself, and there's a big difference between this and normal planting. So I only gave you a 40% discount on the data you sent."

“It’s true. We didn’t make any changes to the data. Our reasons for proposing to change the rice seedlings were actually quite valid.” Zhuge Jin shook his head and said, “We didn’t do anything wrong in this regard. All the data we submitted was authentic. Otherwise, Marquis Chen wouldn’t have let it go so easily. That matter was no small thing.”

Zhuge Liang nodded, but he was a little worried. He actually knew to some extent what Zhang Zhao and his group were thinking. It wasn't that they didn't want to fabricate things, but they probably couldn't guarantee that Chen Xi wouldn't know about this. They still weren't very clear about the limits of Chen Xi's knowledge.

Therefore, for safety's sake, even if there is a legitimate reason, we have to prepare a plausible document so that at least Chen Xi won't feel dissatisfied.

“If that’s the case, this stuff is indeed worth promoting.” Zhuge Liang considered the exaggerated output and very low management costs, and felt that it did have some advantages compared to rice.

"The downside is that it can only be grown there, and it has extremely high requirements for climate, environment, and rainfall, which cannot be met at all locally," Zhuge Jin said with a touch of emotion. "The locals don't farm, and they can survive by relying on the weather, purely because of the climate and environment."

"No wonder Li Shi was so angry back then," Zhuge Liang said with a touch of regret.

When Li You learned that the Ganges region had three harvests a year and no need for fallow land, he was so angry that he drew his sword during a meeting. Didn't Li You know what his family's year-round hard work looked like? It was precisely because he knew that he was even more furious.

Geographical and environmental factors have proven that effort is not as important as choice.

“Yes, once you step out of the country, you realize that the environment in some places has advantages beyond imagination. When I was in Langya, Xuzhou, I thought Xuzhou was a pretty good place. But after I came to Tiannan, just when it comes to farming, Xuzhou can’t compare.” Zhuge Jin said with a complicated expression, “They can really harvest three crops a year there. If you choose to cultivate seedlings, you can even harvest seven crops in two years, which completely exceeds our imagination.”

Zhuge Liang looked at Zhuge Jin, whose skin was dark red from the sea breeze and direct sunlight, and didn't know how to start a conversation.

Instead, Zhuge Jin, sensing his younger brother's gaze, couldn't help but smile. "Are you referring to the issue of me getting tanned because of the strong sunlight?"

Zhuge Liang nodded.

Upon seeing this, Zhuge Jin chuckled twice. "Kongming, you are now the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, but don't forget that most people in this world actually toil in the fields. My tanned appearance is nothing to almost all the common people. They don't care about being tanned; they only care about whether they can harvest more grain from the fields."

Upon hearing this, Zhuge Liang's expression turned serious, and he realized that he had been displaying some arrogance.

"I've heard that the epidemics, miasma, and parasites are quite serious over there." Zhuge Liang put aside his extraneous thoughts and turned to the main topic.

“Well, if it weren’t for the specific herbs and traditional Chinese medicine to treat parasites, to be honest, we definitely wouldn’t be able to survive there. But with these, the difficulty of survival there is much lower than in the north. After all, you can solve the heat by playing in the water, but the cold can really be deadly.” Zhuge Jin said very seriously, “So the north is suitable for wealthy families to survive, while the south is suitable for poor families.”

"That's good. Have any other symptoms appeared?" Zhuge Liang nodded and continued to inquire.

"Actually, there are only these three issues. The other problems are not significant. As for the issue of mosquitoes transmitting certain diseases, we have plenty of ways to deal with mosquitoes," Zhuge Jin said calmly.

Some Xuanxiang death formations are easy for armies to deal with, but for mindless mosquitoes, they are a world of difference. Moreover, the supermodel cloud of Kushan gave Zhou Yu enough inspiration. In addition, with the large amount of data extracted from Qu Nu City, it is easy to create an inefficient life-absorbing Xuanxiang in the residential area by combining Xuanxiang with secret techniques.

The absorption intensity of this Xuanxiang is not very effective even for flies, but it can be a fatal blow to a creature the size of a mosquito.

"I can't believe it's possible," Zhuge Liang said with a hint of admiration.

“There are always more solutions than problems, and don’t underestimate Wu Gong’s men. Besides causing trouble all the time, they also do some human affairs, and they’re quite capable,” Zhuge Jin said with a smile. “Especially when it comes to protecting their own interests, they can come up with some pretty clever tricks.”

To be fair, that's true. The Jiangdong men are prone to standing out when it comes to serious matters, but they are really good at handling personal affairs. And with Sun Ce, the big boss, keeping them in check, if those people do their personal affairs well, Sun Ce will promote it and let everyone enjoy it. In this way, many problems are solved.

"Hmm, Commander, you've been hanging out with Marquis Chen again. I've noticed that you often scold Marquis Chen, but after you're done, you still like to squeeze in with him," Zhuge Jin said, pointing in Chen Xi's direction.

"That's normal. Apart from Marquis Chen, there are very few people who can make the Commander so convinced," Zhuge Liang said matter-of-factly after glancing at the crowd.

"Aren't you going to offer him a toast?" Zhuge Jin said with a smile.

"There's no rush," Zhuge Liang said, shaking his head.

"Isn't this the Commander-in-Chief?" Chen Xi looked at Zhou Yu, who had an arrogant expression, and said with a hint of teasing. Well, in Chen Xi's eyes, Zhou Yu had some problems. He was arrogant on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, begged Chen Xi to help him out on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, and thought about how to pick a fight with Chen Xi the following week on Sundays.

"Let's let bygones be bygones during the New Year. Cheers to this, let's move forward with our heads held high." Zhou Yu mumbled a couple of times, raised his glass to clink, and then tilted his head back to drink it all.

"Stop!" Chen Xi saw that Zhou Yu was about to do it on the spot, so he quickly reached out to stop him.

"What's wrong?" Zhou Yu looked at Chen Xi, puzzled. What was going on? Why was he stopping her at this time?

"You haven't done something outrageous again, have you? I'll deal with you soon enough," Chen Xi asked quickly. Zhou Yu, who was unruly and neurotic for most of the year, had come over to toast him like this. Chen Xi had to consider how much he would have to pay for this drink.

Zhou Yu's eyes drooped, his face full of resentment. "What do you mean by that?"

"No, Gongjin, think about it. Recall it yourself. Has there ever been a single good thing when you toasted me? Or to put it bluntly, has there ever been a single good thing when you came over to apologize?" Chen Xi said helplessly. "I may have some money, but you can't treat me like a sucker!"

"Wait, you have some money?" Zhou Yu said unconvinced. "Stop talking nonsense. I'm toasting you. Hurry up and drink. After you finish, I still need to go and visit the scions of the Jiangdong families and the officers. I don't have time to waste here with you."

Hearing this, Chen Xi felt much more at ease. He reached out and clinked glasses with Zhou Yu, then finished his drink. Zhou Yu stood still and didn't leave. Chen Xi turned around and prepared to move. "You can sit here if you want, Zhou Yu. I'm not playing with you anymore. You son of a bitch, we agreed that I would leave after I finished drinking. Now that you're not running away, you have some other suggestions, don't you?"

"Why are you running away!" Zhou Yu said irritably, grabbing Chen Xi.

"If I don't run now, Zhou Bapi will skin me alive!" Chen Xi said irritably.

"Stop giving me nicknames!" Zhou Yu looked depressed. His nickname "Zhou the Skinflint" came from Chen Xi's constant nagging. Now, people in Jiangdong call him that in private, even though they usually call him Governor. But when they're angry and want to curse, they call him Zhou the Skinflint.

I, Zhou Yu, a man of honor, how can I tolerate such humiliation!

"If you have something to say, say it. If not, just leave now. I'm going somewhere else," Chen Xi said irritably. She could skip the banquet; at least it wouldn't cause any real loss.

"Do you still remember that commemorative coin thing?" Zhou Yu asked.

Upon hearing this, Chen Xi calmed down. He didn't have to pay out of his own pocket for the commemorative coins; it was a benefit, so it wasn't a loss. This matter was negotiable.

"Yes, I'll bring you the cast samples." Chen Xi said, while asking the servant to bring over the cast samples. Soon a box was delivered, containing the mother coin and several samples, some rose-colored, some pink, and some red, which looked quite nice.

"How was this made?" Zhou Yu looked at the pink-gold commemorative coin with a strange expression. This color was just too bizarre.

“75% gold, 4% silver, and 21% copper,” Chen Xi said after glancing at the contents.

“This color looks good, let’s keep this color. Roll out one million coins, and for the remaining 199 million, we can use the same material as the Wuzhu coins, according to the shape.” Zhou Yu thought for a moment and said. Although Wu was a large and powerful state, it wasn’t going to be so careless.

"Then you might as well just roll out gold coins." Chen Xi looked at the pink-gold commemorative coin that Zhou Yu had chosen and said irritably.

"The gold coins are too soft, so we need to add something else to them," Zhou Yu said seriously, adding that this would make them easier to preserve.

It's not that there isn't enough gold. Even if the Wu Kingdom doesn't have enough, they can borrow some from the Yuan family. It's not a big problem. After all, they are comrades who fought alongside them to the death. So, whether they are dead or alive, everyone should have this commemorative coin issued after the Wu Kingdom was officially established!
This is why there are so many millions of coins; if there are too few, there won't be enough to distribute. The remaining two hundred million commemorative coins of the same design are for rewards. Even though the real rewards have already been distributed, Sun Ce thinks it's only natural to distribute some more when he remembers this matter.

“Master Wu is quite ethical in this regard,” Chen Xi said with a smile. “Then you prepare the gold, and I will have the mint roll the rest.”

“Alright, get it ready before spring, then we can take it all with us.” Zhou Yu nodded. After spring, he and Sun Ce would have to return to Ye Diao’s place, as there were many things they needed to handle back there.

"No problem, we'll definitely prepare everything for you before you leave," Chen Xi said calmly. It's not the old casting method anymore; now it's all assembly line rolling, and it'll be rolled out in just a few days. There's no need to worry at all.

"By the way, I looked into the sago palm tree, and it's indeed a very good crop," Zhou Yu added to Chen Xi before waving and leaving.

Chen Xi frowned slightly upon hearing this, but still didn't say anything. He didn't care what Zhou Yu was doing with changing rice to trees. Even if Zhou Yu planted trees all over Ye Diao Kingdom, Chen Xi wouldn't care much. As long as Wu Kingdom completed the feed supply task according to the assigned quota, Chen Xi wouldn't care at all.

"What did the Governor mean by his last words?" Mi Zhu asked, somewhat slow to react.

"What else could it mean? They just want to plant this and gave me a heads-up," Chen Xi said nonchalantly. "But it's not a big deal."

Mi Zhu was completely bewildered upon hearing this; he felt as if he hadn't understood anything Zhou Yu was saying.

"Don't worry about him. Sometimes he just acts on a whim. He looks normal, but I don't really understand what he's thinking." Chen Xi said with an indifferent expression, while Mi Zhu could only offer an awkward but polite smile.

"Let's go and greet them all. It's rare to have all these mid-level managers here. Come on, let's go together." Liu Bei, with Guan Yu by his side, saw that Chen Xi was all alone and reached out to grab Chen Xi, calling out to him, "The banquet isn't just for you to eat, drink, and watch the dancing. It's also for you to socialize, deepen everyone's relationships, and bring everyone closer together."

"Okay, okay, I'm coming." Chen Xi looked at Liu Bei and Guan Yu, smiled, and then followed them.

Liu Bei, accompanied by Chen Xi and Guan Yu, first went to the positions of the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers who were not affiliated with Liu Bei, namely Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun. When the two saw Liu Bei, Chen Xi, and Guan Yu coming over, they sat up straight. To be honest, they were getting old and somewhat lacked energy.

"General Huangfu, how are you feeling?" Chen Xi touched Huangfu Song and asked with a slight smile, "If there's anything you're not used to, be sure to tell me and I'll take care of it."

"I'm eating so well that I feel like I've been eating pig swill for the past few decades. What should I do?" Huangfu Song smacked his lips twice. He had already tried more than twenty kinds of wine today. To be honest, each one was unique enough that Huangfu Song felt like a country bumpkin.

“Then you should send General Huangfu from the previous decades, and I’ll solve his problem,” Chen Xi said cheerfully. Huangfu Song shook his head repeatedly upon hearing this.

"I've probably seen more wine in the past few decades than I have in a single day. I don't even know what word to use to describe this. Is this considered extravagance?" Huangfu Song couldn't help but speak his mind.

"Probably not. I remember General Huangfu's guards were also present. You can ask one of them who likes to drink how many kinds they've tried," Chen Xi said after thinking for a moment. "This isn't extravagance, but rather a sign of progress."

"The times have progressed," Liu Bei said with emotion. Twenty years ago, he would have thought this was extravagance, but now, having seen dozens of kinds of wine at the old soldier's house, Liu Bei felt that it was just so-so. The quality of the wine here might be slightly better, but it was only a difference between 99 and 90 points. As for the types, they were actually all about the same. Chen Xi didn't like to play any tricks in this kind of thing.

“Yes, this is definitely progress of the times.” Zhu Jun has been in the country for many years, so he has not been out of touch at all. Even though there are rapid changes, he has become accustomed to seeing new things every day, so he is completely different from Huangfu Song.

It can only be said that Huangfu Song, who did not return to the Han Dynasty for several years during the period of the Han Dynasty's most rapid development, indeed felt that earth-shattering changes had occurred after his return.

Their past extravagance is incomparable to their current ordinary banquets; there's no comparison whatsoever.

"Can I swear?" Huangfu Song couldn't hold back any longer and turned to Liu Bei to ask.

"No, please don't. There's a dance later. You can watch the dance to relax. The changes in the Han Dynasty over the years have indeed been enormous." Liu Bei couldn't help but try to persuade Huangfu Song after hearing his words, but he still felt that it was really unnecessary.

Upon hearing this, Huangfu Song let out a long sigh, then relaxed his body and hunched back before the desk, looking somewhat out of place.

"General, how about you come with me to Jizhou this spring?" Chen Xi said to Huangfu Song.

To be honest, only Liu Bei was the leader. If it were someone else, like a civil official like Chen Xi, who bypassed Liu Bei and directly challenged the military leader, it would definitely lead to a rebellion.

“Jizhou, that’s fine too.” Huangfu Song thought for a moment. He really didn’t have much to do in the spring. After all, things were arranged at home, and Ruan Huihui could be brought to his home to experience the Huangfu family. Since Huangfu Song wasn’t there, it was a good thing to let Ruan Huihui do as she pleased.

"You can take a closer look then," Chen Xi said with a smile.

The final battle between Huangfu Song and the Yellow Turbans took place in Ji Province, so Huangfu Song was very clear about the situation in Ji Province after that battle. He even wrote a memorial requesting a reduction or exemption of taxes for Ji Province.

Therefore, taking Huangfu Song to Jizhou would allow him to experience the changes most effectively. Moreover, Jizhou was considered Liu Bei's second stronghold, so it was developing very well.

"General Zhu, would you like to go?" Liu Bei asked Zhu Jun.

"I don't need to. Let Yizhen go with me. I've seen enough new things over the years. Yizhen just hasn't been back to the Han Dynasty for many years and is a little out of touch with the times." Zhu Jun shook his head and refused. He was well aware of his own situation.

(End of this chapter)