Raising chickens and pigs and digging for wild vegetables, the county magistrate's promotion wa

Chapter 168: 9 Exits and 3 Returns

As soon as the pot lid was lifted, a rich aroma rose with a cloud of white steam. The cook standing by the stove sniffed and exclaimed, "It's done! Master, this smells amazing!"

Is this stuff really delicious, sir?

Magistrate Yang gave a forced smile and told the cook to bring out the steamed luncheon meat to cool. He then cut off a small piece and said to the cook, "Cut the rest into pieces, and you can all share it and see how it tastes."

The cook responded with a "yes" and immediately used a knife to cut the remaining luncheon meat into pieces according to the number of people, giving each person a small piece.

"fragrant!"

"It's so fragrant!"

"Isn't this just meat!"

"No, this stuff smells even better than meat!"

"..."

The cook and the county officials both gave it high praise, saying that the luncheon meat tasted better than regular meat.

Unfortunately, the luncheon meat that the cooks and yamen runners thought was delicious was something that Magistrate Yang never wanted to eat again after just one bite.

What a mess! It does taste like meat, but the five-spice powder flavor is too strong. The pork's natural aroma is almost completely masked by the five-spice powder. It even leaves a burnt taste in your throat. It has absolutely no flavor.

After barely finishing the small piece of luncheon meat he was holding, Yang Shaofeng immediately instructed the cook: "Later, take some cartilage off the ribs, crush it, and mix it in. This time, use less five-spice powder. Put the meat paste directly into a jar and steam it, just like at the cannery. Make another batch and taste it. Oh, and use less flour and bean flour too."

With just a little bit of cartilage, you'll have a fine crunch when you chew it. Plus, by reducing the proportion of flour and bean flour, the feeling of stickiness in your throat should be lessened.

After pondering for a moment, Magistrate Yang added, "By the way, remember to weigh it later to see how much minced meat is needed in each jar. I still need to set a price for this stuff."

According to the prices during the Ming Dynasty, pork was about five times the price of flour. If you mixed two ounces of flour with eight ounces of pork and sold it for the price of ten ounces of pork, there would be a considerable profit margin. In addition, bone meal could be added to luncheon meat, which would further increase the profit margin.

Of course, Magistrate Yang was a kind-hearted man, a man who had transcended vulgar tastes. His conscience wouldn't allow him to sell ten taels of luncheon meat for sixteen taels. At most, he would sell nine taels of luncheon meat for thirteen taels, following the unwritten rules of the underworld.

There was no other way. Since the autumn harvest, the business of delivering grain and fodder to Yu Chun and Xu Da's army had been completely ruined. If they wanted to do this kind of business with no capital again, they would have to wait until next spring. The Ningyang County government urgently needed to find a new source of income, and the people of Ningyang County also urgently needed a new workshop to solve the employment problem.

The only problem is that the demand for pork will surge again. The pigs raised by farms in Ningyang County and the few pigs raised by the people in each village are simply not enough. In the end, we will have to find a way to purchase live pigs from surrounding prefectures and counties.

That's not right either. The pigs available for purchase around Ningyang County have already been bought up by canneries. If you want a large number of pigs now, you can only go to Jiangnan to buy them, and even then, you might not be able to buy many.

Another problem is transporting live pigs from Jiangnan to Ningyang County. It is a big problem. We have to consider the expenses of feeding the people and horses along the way, as well as whether the pigs will get thin from hunger on the way, or whether they will be targeted by some heroes.

Then, Magistrate Yang set his sights on the wounded soldiers—these wounded soldiers might not be very good at farming, but surely it wouldn't be a problem to send them to Jiangnan to buy a batch of live pigs and transport them back to Ningyang.

Then, Yang Shaofeng returned to the recliner and started to relax.

……

Just as Magistrate Yang was setting up his business in Ningyang County, Empress Ma had already left the capital with Zhu Biao, the Executive Vice Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Jin'er, Yu'er, Zhu Lao Er, and Zhu Lao San, under the protection of the Chang brothers, and officially embarked on their journey to Ningyang County.

Empress Ma was not going out for the first time, nor were Zhu Biao, Jin'er, Yu'er, Zhu Lao Er, and Zhu Lao San. The Chang brothers were even more familiar with the place.

The closer they got to Ningyang County, the heavier Empress Ma's mood became.

Even though she had heard from Emperor Zhu about the terrible suffering caused by the Tartars in the north, and had also heard about it from Jin'er, Yu'er, and Zhu Lao Er and Zhu Lao San, Empress Ma still couldn't help but sigh heavily and curse, "Those damned Tartars!" after actually entering Shandong.

Zhu Lao Er curled his lip and said, "Mother probably doesn't know, but beneath this vast expanse of white snow, who knows how much is buried..."

Before he could finish speaking, Zhu Biao covered Zhu Lao Er's mouth and whispered, "Mother is already upset. If you say a few more nonsense, won't that just make her feel even worse?"

After releasing Zhu Lao Er, Zhu Biao looked at Empress Ma and said, "Mother, the Tartars have indeed caused great harm to the Central Plains, but hasn't our Great Ming already driven them away? With officials like Magistrate Yang, the country will be well-governed sooner or later, and the people will surely be able to live a good life."

Jin'er chimed in, "Yes, godmother. It's hard to say how people live in other places, but you can rest assured that the livelihoods of the people in Ningyang County have improved a lot. When I went to Ningyang County last time, the people were already able to eat their fill."

Empress Ma patted Jin'er's hand and said with a smile, "Alright, what kind of scenes didn't your mother see back then? I don't need you, a little girl, to comfort me."

Jin'er gave a soft "Mmm" and said, "I know, Mother loves the people, and that is a blessing for all the people. But I don't want to see Mother suffer."

Empress Ma smiled, but Zhu Biao, who was standing next to her, suddenly said, "Actually, to be honest, it's not just the people of Ningyang County who are living better lives, but also the people of the surrounding counties and prefectures are living much better lives."

Seeing Empress Ma looking at him, Zhu Biao continued, "I heard from Wang Qiong that although Ningyang County suffered from drought and locust plagues this year, the autumn harvest was quite good, and now every household in Ningyang County has some stored grain."

"There's also the cannery in Ningyang County, which slaughters one or two large fat pigs every day. Now they're going to the surrounding prefectures and counties to buy live pigs. In a few months, they'll probably be coming to Jiangnan to buy live pigs."

"In addition to these, Ningyang County has also built many greenhouses specifically for cultivating bok choy and mushrooms. Besides keeping some to sell as tribute to the palace, the people eat some themselves and sell the rest, so they can gradually increase their income."

Empress Ma hummed in agreement, then looked at Zhu Biao and asked, "Do you think other prefectures and counties can be like Ningyang County?"