C125 Asking for Oil in the Palace
C125 Asking for Oil in the Palace
Shen Jingli grew the peanuts very well, with a yield of 400 kilograms per mu. As it was the most unsophisticated oil refiner, there was only 3 oil per kilogram of the peanuts. 6 taels, 50 mu of peanuts, in total it weighed more than 20,000 catties. Shen Jingli had kept 1000 catties of peanuts to grow, and used 2000 catties of peanuts to cook and drink. He had squeezed everything else into oil, making a total of more than 7,000 catties.
During those few days when the oil was being squeezed out, Shen Jingli would go to the workshop every day to check, afraid that there would be some leakage from the peanut oil.
After Yan Chenglee found out about the news, he had also visited the place one or two times. When he smelled the peanut oil, he was immediately attracted by it and brought back 50 kilograms of peanut oil to the house that day.
"This peanut oil is really fragrant, much more fragrant than rapeseed oil." Every time Jin Yu came to the workshop with Shen Jingli, she would be captivated by the peanut oil taste and would sniff it with her nose.
"Not only does it smell good, it tastes even better."
Xun Er laid on Shen Jingli's back, curiously looking around. Sometimes, when he saw something he was interested in, he would point and shout at Shen Jingli, and here, he was pointing at bags of oil as he yelled, "Mama, Mama …"
"Those are oil dregs." Shen Jingli patiently explained to him, although he might not understand, but he could not dampen his enthusiasm, "These scum, how do you plan on doing it?"
Shen Jingli asked Steward Wang. Actually, he did not know much about the effects of the oil dregs, but he heard that it could be used to feed fish. He reckoned that it could also be used to raise pigs, chickens and ducks.
"This old servant doesn't know either. This old servant has never seen peanut oil before." What Steward Wang said was the truth, for the first time in his life, he did not have much experience.
"However, this oil dregs are quite fragrant. It's quite a pity to just throw it away." When he was young, his family had a drought in the capital. His family's field was barren, and after eating bark and Guanyin, they wandered to the capital. That was why he treasured food so much.
"This can't be wasted. Even if it can't be eaten by humans, it can still be used to feed livestock." It was indeed a pity to throw away so many dregs of oil.
Hearing that, the Steward Wang's heart started to stir again. He said to Shen Jingli: "Madam, the Old madam has a plot of land in Chen Family Village, there is a pond where you can raise fish in the early on. If these oil dregs can really feed the fish, why don't you buy some fish seedlings?"
He had stayed in the Yang Family for more than ten years and was very loyal to it. He knew that the old lady had been feeling sorry for the land, but the old lady felt that the land could not be cultivated and the pond could not be reared either.
Shen Jingli thought about it, and felt that it was a good idea. It would be a waste to stay in such a desolate area, so he decided to raise some aquaculture, which was good for fish and prawns. He could also raise ducks and geese.
"I'll think about it." Shen Jingli also did not settle the deal immediately, he had to send people to investigate the market requirements, otherwise, when he raised a large amount of fish, he would not be able to sell it, which would be very worrisome.
Steward Wang nodded his head. In his opinion, as long as Shen Jingli was willing to think about it, he had succeeded in half.
Shen Jingli looked around the factory again. After making sure that there were no problems, he returned home.
— —
From the carriage, Nanny Jin ran over to Shen Jingli happily and whispered to him, "Madam, someone from the palace is coming."
Is this something to be happy about? Shen Jingli did not understand what the ancient people were thinking. If it was him, his first reaction would be to get annoyed when he saw the people from the palace. After all, he did not wish for anyone to disturb his peaceful life.
"Who is it?" Shen Jingli asked casually as he got down from the wooden bench and patted off the dust on his clothes.
Seeing that Shen Jingli was not bothered, the Nanny Jin frowned, the people from the palace were a big matter, how could Master not care? If they neglected the noble guests from the palace, it would be incredible.
"Madam, that person is a noble person from the palace. You can't afford to offend him." Nanny Jin went forward to support Shen Jingli, her face and eyes filled with worry.
Following such a master who viewed power as nothing scared her half to death.
"Did he say what he was doing?" What was the point of sending someone from the palace? Shen Jingli thought about it. He had not accomplished anything recently, so who could he offend?
"I didn't say that. Not listening to him seems to have something to do with peanut oil."
The news had even reached the palace before his peanut oil was even released on the market? Shen Jingli was a little doubtful, but he did not mind it.
He first went to his room to change his clothes before rushing to the hall to see his father-in-law.
"Greetings, County Prince Lord." Eunuch Li was drinking his tea, but when he saw Shen Jingli coming out, he immediately stood up and greeted him with a smile.
Seeing him smile so much that the wrinkles on his face almost fell, Shen Jingli knew that this was not a bad thing. Otherwise, how could this father-in-law be so passionate towards him?
"Eunuch Li, please take a seat." Shen Jingli sat at the master's seat, and instructed Jin Yu to get him some tea, "Eunuch Li, why have you come today?"
"It's a good thing, a big good thing." He didn't know what luck the Nanping County Prince had. He was clearly just a country bumpkin, but once he entered the capital, he was bestowed the title of County Prince. The empress dowager's birthday had brought out all the limelight and bestowed upon him countless treasures. Now that this peanut oil had gotten into the eyes of the empress dowager and the emperor … Eunuch Li couldn't help but feel envious. "King Jing sent ten catties of peanut oil to Esteemed Empress Dowager a few days ago. Esteemed Empress Dowager tasted pretty good, so he sent some to Esteemed Empress Dowager. For the past few days, Esteemed Empress Dowager's appetite hasn't recovered, but have you eaten the dishes fried with peanut oil …?"
Shen Jingli laughed, with another plan, if this peanut oil could directly open up a market from the royal family, then he could have 100% of the market, and in the future, even if someone followed him to do this kind of business, it would not be able to take away his limelight.
"What does the empress dowager mean?"
"Esteemed Empress Dowager hopes that the County Prince will be able to provide peanut oil to the palace all year round."
This was a good thing for his business, so Shen Jingli naturally did not reject. After nodding his head in agreement, he had Nanny Jin give Eunuch Li a big red packet.
Eunuch Li accepted the red packet and was naturally happy. Not only was County Prince doing a good job, he was also generous and did not want to make a wasted trip to this place.
Don't think that just because he was a father-in-law, he could come whenever he wanted and let whoever he wanted run errands for him to do so. There was competition amongst them, normally many wealthy and generous families would fight over him, and Shen Jingli, who had received praises from the empress dowager multiple times, was currently a popular figure, yet the father-in-law of the palace didn't look forward to running over to him?
"I'll have to trouble Eunuch to speak up for me in front of the empress dowager." Shen Jingli respectfully saw Eunuch Li off.
"Definitely." Gonggong Li's eyes that were filled with laughter disappeared without a trace, with a red packet given by Shen Jingli in his hand. He was so happy that he almost lost his bearings.
After sending off Eunuch Li, Shen Jingli heaved a sigh of relief. He went back to eat lunch and eat, and then took a nap.
When he woke up, it was already three in the afternoon. When he heard the sounds of playing outside, he put on his clothes and came out to see that it was Yang Ningxin and Yang Ningtian kicking the shuttlecock. Xun Er sat on the doll car to the side and watched them play while clapping his hands.
Jin Yu brought a plate of fruits over. Seeing that Shen Jingli was already awake, she hurriedly put the fruits down and instructed the maidservant to get some warm water before walking over, "Madam, if you're awake, why didn't you call me a servant?"
"It's not like there's anything important. Why would I ask you to do?" Shen Jingli waved his hands, and just in time to get maidservant to bring water over, he used a washcloth to wash his face, and then rinsed his mouth, and said: "Old master, are you back yet?"
"I'm back." Jin Yu got someone to carry the water basin down and followed Shen Jingli to the pavilion. "I've just returned not long ago and I'm in my study to discuss something with General Zhan."
Speaking of Zhan Tialan, Jin Yu's eyes lit up, Zhan Tialan was a legendary figure that had swept through the entire capital, the one and only female official in the imperial court, and even Jin Yu's idol.
"General Zhan is here?" Just as Shen Jingli sat down, he stood up again, "Follow me to take a look."
Yang Ningxin, who was playing around, saw him and ran over to him. She grabbed his arm and hung onto him, acting like a spoiled child: "Sister-in-law, I haven't seen you for a few days."
She sniffed, pretending to look sad as she looked at Shen Jingli with her bright eyes, as if she was complaining about something.
Yang Ningtian followed along. Seeing her act coquettishly and make a face at her, Yang Ningxin snorted and counterattacked.
"Sister-in-law, I heard you made a name for yourself at the empress dowager's birthday banquet. Both the empress dowager and the emperor praised you, is that true?"
These few days, rumors were spreading about Shen Jingli, making him sound like a legend.
"Don't listen to other people's nonsense."
"I'm not talking nonsense. My Spring Restaurant is bustling with customers and can sell several thousand servings of snacks every day." There were a lot of rich people in the capital city, as well as a lot of business people. There were also a lot of people who came to order from her, saying that they would take her to the next town to sell.
"Isn't buying good?"
"It's good to earn money, but there are people who ask about your background every day. They say that your mother was not born yet, so she went to the temple to ask for Guan Yin to bestow her son. In the end, a seven-colored auspicious cloud fell into her dreams that night, and soon after that, she became pregnant. The one that was born was you, and they said that you were born with an auspicious sign …"
Shen Jingli was dumbstruck, the brains of these ancient people were quite big, with Liu Family's morals, how could they have Rainbow Clouds? He was laughing his teeth out.
"Yeah, I also heard that you and Fourteenth Brother were a match made in heaven. You were originally destined to be rich and powerful, but the bad luck of your original family prevented you from doing so, so when you married Fourteenth Brother, your days immediately improved …"
His words fit the current situation quite well, Yang Ningtian still believed him somewhat.
Shen Jingli laughed twice, and did not make any comment to the rumors, "Alright, you guys play for a while, I'll go see the guests."
With Nian Hua leading them to eat fruits, Shen Jingli brought Jin Yu to the study room.