20demayo Chapter 599 Adds Southern Dishes
Chapter 599 Adds Southern Dishes
The second prince refused to go to the office alone; he wanted to see the craftsmen instead.
Jiang Xiaoqi, who was standing to the side, also saw through the Second Prince's intentions and helped Qiu Cheng stop him.
"Your Highness, let Lord Qiu and I go and take a look. If there's anything we can't decide, we'll ask you for help."
This is just flattering the Second Prince. If the two of them can't solve it, how could the Second Prince?
not necessarily!
The second prince is new to the city and cannot reveal his identity. Who would listen to the orders of Lord Qiu's distant relative?
But the second prince didn't think much of it and was persuaded.
"Alright, then you two be careful not to get hurt."
Qiu Cheng gave his son Qiu Feng a look, and Qiu Feng understood immediately and led his men to the relatively quiet office.
It's called an office, but it's actually just a rented house. It looks cleaner and tidier than a construction shed, and it's also a bit bigger.
It couldn't compare to the palace, but fortunately, the Second Prince wasn't pretentious and was easygoing, so he didn't find the place dirty.
Jiang Xiaoqi followed Qiu Cheng to the gathering place of the craftsmen. Li Mo took the lead and pushed through the crowd to make a way out.
"What's going on? Why is everyone gathered here? Isn't it time for precautions? Why isn't anyone going to eat?"
As soon as Qiu Cheng arrived, he asked several leading craftsmen questions, and one of the craftsmen spontaneously stepped forward to answer.
"Reporting to Your Excellency, we were originally going to get some food, but these southerners said they couldn't get used to our food and were clamoring to eat southern cuisine."
"Yes, they even said we didn't put sugar in our dishes and that they couldn't swallow them. Listen to that! What kind of kind person would put sugar in their food? Forget about wasting it, how could it taste good?"
The southern craftsmen objected, saying, "How can anyone eat food without sugar! Food is supposed to have sugar in it!"
Jiang Xiaoqi understood; it turned out to be a debate between North and South, and between salty and sweet.
It's not a big problem; everyone just has different tastes.
Why not just have the logistics department add two more people to specialize in cooking southern-style dishes? Buying more sugar isn't too extravagant.
Moreover, he could purchase large quantities of inexpensive candy from the system's store and sell it to Lord Qiu at a lower price.
But before Jiang Xiaoqi could come up with a solution, a new wave of commotion suddenly arose in the crowd.
A craftsman from the north stepped on a log, lost his balance, and accidentally pushed a craftsman from the south.
The southern craftsmen, thinking the other party was acting on purpose, refused to back down and immediately pushed back.
The two sides instantly became tense and on the verge of fighting.
Qiu Cheng's expression changed, and he shouted, "Stop! What kind of behavior is this!" The craftsmen, intimidated by Qiu Cheng's official authority, quieted down slightly.
Taking the opportunity, Jiang Xiaoqi said, "Lord Qiu, this matter is actually not difficult to solve. We can arrange for someone to cook dishes with southern flavors to meet the needs of the artisans in the south."
Qiu Cheng pondered for a moment and nodded, saying, "That's the only way. They've come all this way and will stay for months. We can't just make do all the time."
"Lord Qiu need not worry about buying sugar. The Second Prince owns a pastry shop and can purchase sugar in bulk. He can then distribute some to the docks at a fair price, which will not increase costs too much."
Besides, Southerners eat much less than Northerners, so there probably won't be much extra expense.
Jiang Xiaoqi anticipated Qiu Cheng's concerns. Given Qiu Cheng's personality, he would definitely try to make up for the losses elsewhere, but there was really no need for that.
The real backers don't care about these paltry sums; Lord Qiu is truly too responsible.
Qiu Cheng's brows finally relaxed after hearing Jiang Xiaoqi's words. "That's excellent. Lord Jiang, you've thought things through very well."
Once the issue of food preferences was resolved, the point of contention between the two parties disappeared.
Southern craftsmen can enjoy the taste of home, while the normal supply of meals for northern craftsmen is not affected.
"You're back? What happened?"
Qiu Cheng reported everything that had happened at the dock to the Second Prince, but the Second Prince did not think it was a trivial matter.
"Food is the most important thing for people, and they all work hard. We northerners rely on salt to replenish our energy, but perhaps southerners are more suited to replenishing their energy with sugar?"
In any case, both of these are very important, otherwise there wouldn't be news of salt and sugar water saving lives in later generations.
Salt and sugar are equally important to the human body; neither can be dispensed with.
"Your Highness is right. We did not consider this carefully at the beginning."
"There's nothing that's been overlooked. There are so many trivial matters at the docks, and it's impossible for you, Lord Qiu, to attend to everything. In the end, it's just that we're short-handed."
The second prince offered him much comfort, which pleased Lord Qiu greatly. He felt that he was not tired at all and could fight for decades more!
"Things will be better from now on. The imperial examinations are coming up soon, and all the young people His Highness favors will participate, including my son."
"Alright, don't let Qiu Feng keep busy at the docks for a while. He should study hard. He wasted a lot of time going south."
"Yes, thanks to Lord Jiang, he sent my son several boxes of exam preparation materials and will not allow him to come to the dock anymore."
"In fact, the spring examination usually starts around this time. This year it has been postponed by more than a month, which is a blessing for the candidates."
As for why it was postponed, everyone knows the reason: His Majesty the Emperor wanted to take advantage of the winter to recover so that he could appear more energetic in the spring.
Although Qiu Feng had traveled to Beijing, he was not idle along the way, reading constantly while resting and staying at hotels.
Before leaving Beijing, Jiang Xiaoqi gave him two large boxes of practice questions, and he had a very fulfilling time during that period.
Jiang Xiaoqi had previously asked Qiu Cheng to pass on a message to Qiu Feng about this matter.
Of course, in addition to these, there are some commonly used medicines.
There are also two or three brain-boosting pills, as a small compensation for this fellow who can't even return to Beijing for the New Year.
Of course, if Qiu Feng doubts him, it doesn't matter if he doesn't take the brain-boosting pill, since it's just an auxiliary measure.
Even if you take brain-boosting pills, it will be in vain if you don't practice questions. After all, no matter how smart you are, you can't be born with knowledge.
"By the way, Master Qian and Master Xing will also be going back to the county office for a while. Spring plowing is about to begin, and the county office will be busy for a while."
What a coincidence! The imperial examinations coincided with the spring plowing season, and all three of my capable assistants were about to leave the dock.
"If Lord Qiu is short of manpower, he can borrow people from Liuxiang Pavilion."
Li Mo and Wen Bin cannot be lent out, but Wang Chuan and A Niu can.
Wangchuan is good at mathematics and can replace Master Qian. Aniu is skilled in martial arts and can replace Master Xing in keeping an eye on order at the dock.
"Oh dear, if Lord Jiang is willing to part with it for a while, I would be more than happy to do so."
Qiu Cheng had long heard how capable the manager and staff of Liuxiang Pavilion were. What was wrong with replacing two capable clerks with two capable staff members?