Facing Cai Qi and Li Zi, sitting down on the top, Xu Ping pushed the plate with the watermelon on the table and said, "Two husbands, eat a piece of melon to quench your thirst."

Cai Qi and Li Zi looked at each other and smiled, but they were not polite, each of them held a piece in their hands.

The watermelon planted by Xu Ping's family was neither sold nor given to anyone. Whoever came to his house was a guest, but he would eat it. I didn't expect that this strange rule was to cheat several priests in the court. These people were arrogant and there was no reason to visit the house of a deputy envoy of the Third Division. They could let go of their priests. The court would not allow them. How could the priests interact with the ministers in the court in private?

Cai Qi and Li Zi took advantage of the opportunity to discuss matters in the palace and gained the glory of the emperor to taste the taste of watermelon.

This time I came to Xu Ping's farm and saw 100 to 20 acres of watermelons planted in the field just now. Both of them were overjoyed, and they had the opportunity to eat it.

After eating the melon and chatting for a few gossips, Xu Ping saw that the red sun in the sky had already sagged westward, so he ordered the patio to come and drink. He then set up a banquet in the garden to entertain all the officials who came to the patio.

This season is when the fruits and vegetables are fragrant, and Xu Ping’s village can be said to have everything.

First, colorful grapes were served on the plate and wine was served for everyone. Then there were melons, watermelons and other kinds of fruits and melons grown in the field, and then there were all kinds of peaches, plums, forests, and basically all kinds of fruits that could be grown in the Central Plains in this era. Even some wild jujubes and so on were used to change their tastes.

In a moment, all kinds of melons and fruits were placed on the table. Then, some fresh vegetables, such as cucumbers, tender lotus roots, and radishes, were cut and placed in small plates, and arranged flowers among various melons and fruits.

These things may not be so rare or precious. It is rare to have more than one or all. If you change to another place, it is difficult to put so many things on a table.

Xu Ping said to Cai Qi and Li Zi: "What wine do you drink for your two husbands? The most famous ones in my house are naturally various spirits. In addition, there are also various fruit wines, which are lighter, but easy to drink."

Cai Qi smiled and said, "This year, a kind of bottle-scented fragrance is sold in the capital. I heard it is the best wine in your house."

Xu Ping laughed and said, "My husband is joking. As long as you sell it outside, how can it be the first-class good wine? Real good wine is not sold, and you will never see it outside."

"Oh--then you can get a few bottles of good wine that you don't sell in your house!"

Xu Ping Yingnuo turned around and asked the shopkeeper to pick up the best wine in the shop.

Li Zi said, "I am old and can't get used to drinking strong wine. I just need to get two bottles of fruit wine when I prepare."

Xu Ping nodded and also ordered someone to get the best one.

Cai Qi was less than 50 years old, with a heroic figure and an open-minded appearance. In the eighth year of Dazhong Xiangfu, Emperor Zhenzong appointed the top scholar to the top scholar and became known as the most. After thanking him, he specially granted guards and various guides, and gave him an imperial horse to Cai Qi to a party at Xiangguo Temple. After the top scholar was called, he rode an imperial horse and paraded on the streets, starting from Cai Qi.

Now in the Political Affairs Hall, Lu Yijian and Wang Zeng are gradually drifting away, and the debate is getting more and more intense. Several officials, regardless of whether they want or not, had to be divided into two factions. Cai Qi and Wang Zeng are the same faction, while Song Shou is the same faction. Zhang Dexiang rarely expresses his opinions and seems neutral, but in fact he is also the same faction of Lu Yijian.

A single prime minister must be dictatorial, and a joint two prime ministers will inevitably lead to a party. For so many years, both officials in the court and emperors are well aware of this. However, for emperors, it is better to let their subordinates build a party than to prevent autocracy. Two prime ministers or three prime ministers have become a common practice.

Cai Qi is from Jiaoshui, Laizhou, Wang Zeng is from Qingzhou, and both are from Jingdong Road. Their hometowns are not far apart. Of course, he may not have much relationship with his fellow villagers when they got together, but he still has similar temperaments and political views.

It is common to form cliques in political struggles, and it is difficult to achieve great things by fighting alone. Xu Ping has no opinion on such party divisions. He is guarding against the kind of gentlemen who are not right to others. The gentlemen and villains are not simple political struggles, but a big fight mixed with ideological and academic and personal grievances. The real political affairs are put aside, and they have strong ideological struggles.

However, Li Zi, firstly, he is old and the Privy Council is still far from the Political Affairs Hall. Another person who is alone is not a good person or a party, but is the one who is the most important among the priests at this time.

This time, Cai Qi and Li Zi sent to the two governments because they were both promoted from the position of the Third Division to the Prime Minister. They have both been in charge of the Third Division for a long time and have also presided over the excessive fiscal policy changes during the Third Division.

After a while, the shopkeeper brought the wine and put it on the table.

This is the best wine on Xuping’s village. The foundation is the old wine that was saved when the village was built. After careful blending. After so many years, there are not many left, and only distinguished guests who are above four will come out to entertain guests. As for other guests on the table today, they can’t drink this wine, but it is better than the scent of the bottle sold outside.

Xu Ping personally poured Cai Qi, Li Zi, Yan Shu, Li Shu, Fan Zhongyan, Wang Juzheng, Zheng Xiang and Zheng Xiang who were sitting with him, and said to Li Zi: "My husband, this wine is very rare for ten years to age. You can also drink a small cup to taste the taste."

Li Zi smiled and said, "Okay, it's just a small cup, I think it's okay."

As for the other guests, it was naturally Wang Gongchen and Han Qi who greeted several officials under him. Xu Ping could not cover everything with so many people, and there was no need to cover everything with everything.

Seeing that everyone's wine was already full, Cai Qi raised his glass and said, "Today, Xu's hospitality is very rare, let's drink this glass full!"

Everyone agreed and drank the wine in their glass.

Putting down the cup, Li Zi smacked his lips and sighed: "It's indeed a good wine. I have lived for more than 60 years and have tasted this taste for the first time. But I am old and can't drink this wine."

While saying that, he shook his head repeatedly and put down the cup in his hand reluctantly.

Everyone on the table laughed. It was really a torture to the alcoholics if they wanted to drink.

Li Zi passed the third place in the second year of Jingde, and was in the same year as Zhang Shixun, and his ranking was far ahead of Zhang Shixun. However, now, Zhang Shixun has been demoted from prime minister to Privy Councilor, and is still Li Zi's superior.

After three rounds of drinking, everyone let go. Xu Ping has never liked to drink and urged him to drink, but just let everyone have fun.

At this time, the night is low, the sultry heat of the day gradually dissipates, the cool breeze rises, and it is the most comfortable time of the day.

A candle was lit in the garden, as bright as daylight. A large fire was lit in the open space in the middle. A large oven was set up beside the fire, and a large chopping board was piled with newly slaughtered lamb. On the other side of the fire were several burning stoves, with freshly selected vegetables, slaughtered chickens, ducks, fish, and refined pork.

The bake there and stir-fry here, the ingredients are rich. If you want to eat, please tell the shopkeeper to make it fresh.

Xu Ping's farm has farming and pastoral food, which is different from ordinary farms. It tastes rough and rich.

In the countryside, it is not as cheap as in Kaifeng City. For example, around Xupingzhuangzi, there are also small grass markets in the next few days, which basically means whether people in nearby villages are in exchange for each other. In this kind of small grass market, pork is the most expensive type of meat, more expensive than mutton. Chicken, duck and mutton are the same price, eggs are the cheapest, and fish and shrimps are the cheapest. This is the natural economy. Villagers do not use exchange as their production purpose, which is very different from cities.

Xu Ping has been observing and recording his small village. From the beginning, he recruited several farmers at his home, to now there are tenants, and even land in Xuping's village. People who specialize in handicrafts and commerce only rent houses in the village and occupy a household registration. The owner of the house is a minister, so there are always some conveniences.

After drinking wine, chatting for a few words, a few talked about the cotton in the village.

Cai Qi said to Xu Ping: "This afternoon, after we arrived, we walked around the village and saw the cotton fields you mentioned. The fields were so white and cute, but they didn't look strange, and they looked less than tall. I used to buy Jibeibu twice at home, which was indeed softer than linen and not as smooth as silk. But I heard people say that the kapok in Lingnan is extremely tall and like a big tree. Why are you different in your village?"

"I don't know that there are two types of cotton, one is kapok and the other is grass cotton. Kapok is as tall as a tree, but the silk cotton in the flowers is short and fragile, and it is not easy to weave. Xiaguanzhuang is grass cotton. Although it is not as tall as Kapok, the flowers are fat, and the silk is long and tough, which is most conducive to textile."

Cai Qi nodded: "Oh - So that's it, there are two types of kapok and straw cotton."

Xu Ping studied the natural economy in his farm and has always paid attention to what crops can become commodities on a large scale, breaking this self-sufficiency natural economy, and opening up a new era of commodity economy. After observing for ten years, he found that cotton is the best choice. Traditionally, cloth is light goods, which is conducive to long-distance trafficking. It can be planted scatteredly and then processed in a centralized manner. The market is almost infinitely large and can be produced on a large scale.

Primitive grass cotton, such as the one widely planted and used in the Ming and Qing dynasties in Chinese history, was difficult to use machine looms because of its short fibers and brittle fibers. In the silk textile industry in Chinese history, water conservancy spinning and weaving appeared very early, but it did not develop further and was not promoted on a large scale. It was not that the ancients were too stupid, but because of the characteristics of the silk textile industry, the threshold for large-scale industrial production was too high. However, the cotton textile industry with low thresholds did not have suitable varieties of cotton and could not be used for weaving. Historically, it was not until the American continent was discovered, American grass cotton and Indian grass cotton hybrid breeding, and after a long period of cultivation, cotton varieties suitable for weaving appeared.

There are cotton varieties from his previous life on Xu Ping's village. They have passed the most important stage of seed selection and can be directly used to produce cotton on a large scale on industrial basis. This is the most important thing.

A good cook cannot cook without rice. Without these cotton varieties, Xu Ping could only raise sheep on a large scale like the British in history, starting with weaving wool.
Chapter completed!