It's November and the weather is getting cooler. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

Xiangyang is warmer than Chang'an's, but after all, it is still northern, Cui Yingying is more afraid of cold, and the kang has been burned in the house.

The autumn wind brought a bit of gloom to Xiangyang, the last time the emperor was angry, after the seizure of more than 100 Xiangfan households, Xiangyang City was still noisy and lively during the day, but at night, it was very quiet. The government's curfew became stricter and stricter, and at night, everyone stayed at home honestly, even in the workshop, and rarely went out.

As soon as dusk came, everyone hurried to their homes, and some shops in each square also changed their habit of closing early. Nowadays, even in the workshop, there is no shop that can open at night.

There is nothing important, and everyone does not go to visit relatives and friends at will, especially those local wealthy families, who are scared. In case he is suspected of conspiracy to commit such a crime as conspiracy and is wrongfully killed, there is no place to cry and be wronged.

Li Chao likes autumn very much, the autumn red leaves, the autumn grass yellow, and the autumn bleakness also have a different kind of beauty. But this year's autumn is definitely not beautiful, everyone is worried about food all day long, digging wild vegetables, digging kudzu, digging loaches, catching voles, and even snakes and geckos.

The Li family is not short of food, but Li Chao, as the prime minister and the feudal official of Shannan Dongdao, has to worry about the stomachs of eight million people.

In the evening, there was no banquet, no poetry and harmony.

Li Chao occasionally teaches classes to students, and spends most of his time with his wife and concubines, teasing his children.

Therefore, the relationship with his wives and concubines has become closer, and even several children have become more familiar and cordial to him. Now that his wives and concubines are in Xiangyang, Li Chao is still the same as when he was in Chang'an, taking turns to accompany his wives and concubines.

Cui Yingying is an eldest woman, and Li Chao spends more time here.

The house was lit with candles, made of the finest whale fat, mixed with sperm whale ambergris, the candles were smokeless, bright and smelled very good.

Such a candle is a tribute from the southeast coast, and Li Shimin gave it to Li Chao.

The people say that ambergris is condensed by the saliva of the dragon king in the sea when he sleeps, but in fact, how can this thing be so magical. Li Chao knew very well that ambergris was a product of indigestion in the stomach of whales who like to eat octopus and squid. Sperm whales like to eat octopuses and squid, but they can't digest their beak bones. These hard beak bones form a bond with secretions in the gut of the whale and will spit out after a certain period of time.

The ambergris that has just been spit out is actually black and soft, and it smells very bad.

It is only after years of washing by sun, air and sea water that it hardens and lightens, and the skin color and fragrance is strange. If the fishermen are lucky enough to pick up a piece, it is really rich, more valuable than gold.

Cui Yingying sat in front of the dressing mirror at the head of the bed to remove her makeup, listening to Li Chao's even the origin of ambergris so mysterious, she couldn't help but chuckle.

"I don't believe your nonsense, this ambergris is whale feces?"

Li Chao held a Zhuangzi in his hand, reclined on the bed, and looked at it casually.

"You really don't have to doubt this, if you don't believe it, you have a chance to kill sperm whales, and you have a good chance to get ambergris. It's just that the whales that are taken out are all stinky and cannot be used. After a long rinse, the lighter the ambergris, the better, but the longer it takes, and the best white ambergris often takes hundreds of years. ”

Cui Yingying listened with half a doubt.

Ambergris has always been so precious, and it doesn't matter because it's fragrant. also because it has a dragon character, the legend is that it is the dragon king's ambergris, which is so expensive and precious. If it's just feces from a whale's gut, is it worth anything?

But another question immediately came to her mind.

"If ambergris is really a condensation in the intestines of whales, then wouldn't it be profitable for us to send people to the sea to hunt this whale and then take ambergris?"

Ambergris is more expensive than gold, and after people along the coast get ambergris, they will be taken away at a high price, processed into ambergris incense, and then paid tribute to the emperor as a tribute. The emperor put it in the court and used it to reward the ministers and relatives, and ordinary people not only can't afford to use it, but they are also not qualified to use it.

"You forget that ambergris has to be rinsed for decades or even centuries before it becomes fragrant. Killing a whale, taking it out of the belly, is not okay. ”

"But it will become a precious thing in a few decades, and besides, there should be some way to speed it up. Even if it doesn't work, it can be saved for a few decades, and it will be just as expensive as gold. Isn't this like gold? The more Cui Ying thought about it, the more excited she became, as soon as she took off her earrings, she twisted into the bed, leaned over to Li Chao and said.

"That's a good idea, but whaling isn't easy."

"What's so difficult about it, and you don't need me to catch it. All we need to do is elect a reliable steward, then take the money to go to the coast and recruit experienced fishermen, buy a good whaling boat, and then go after the whales. ”

Whaling ships, whaling teams.

Cui Yingying's words surprised Li Chao a little, this is indeed a good way. In some ways, ambergris is expensive, comparable to diamonds, and does not depreciate easily. Even if the ambergris from the whale can't be used immediately, but its value is there, then this thing can not only retain its value, but also can be resold, just like a very strong stock, there are always people willing to buy it.

Take a step back.

Not to mention the value of ambergris, whaling itself is just as profitable.

Whale oil is a good material for making lamp oil and candles, and the quality of the lamp oil is good, the grade is high, and the market is good. In addition, whale bones, baleen whale skins are also very valuable materials.

Li Chao thought about it, if the whale meat was also used and made into a whale canned food to bring back, it would be even more perfect.

As long as you can really organize an experienced whaling team and sail out to sea to hunt whaling, no matter how you look at it, you will only make money and not lose money. No one knows the secret of ambergris yet, and ambergris is becoming more and more valuable.

"You can find your father-in-law and Uncle Cheng together, let's get more whaling ships and get a large whaling team."

Cui Yingying is used to whatever her husband does, and she likes to bring a large group of people. In fact, there are many things that the Li family can do by themselves.

But Cui Yingying didn't say anything, she got used to it and knew her husband better. If it is in someone else's house, a secret recipe and a business may be regarded as a treasure. But in the eyes of her husband, these are nothing, and they are not as good as connections.

It is also said that the Li family has made good connections everywhere in the past few years, laid an excellent connection, and led everyone to make money, how can everyone still speak ill of the Li family? I will definitely help when I can help, and I will definitely say good things when I should say it.

"With a whaling ship, an oil refinery and a canning shop, I think whaling is really promising." Li Chao smiled and proposed the most professional method for whaling ships to Cui Yingying.

Build a large whaling ship, and build a whale oil refining workshop on board, so that the whales caught can be directly refined on the ship, which is easier to preserve and can be out for a longer time.

In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, European whaling ships often returned to port for a year or two or even two or three years as soon as they went to sea, and they had to load their ships with whale oil before returning. If you do it all in one trip, you can make a fortune. Many whaling ships go to sea, in fact, they are joint-stock systems, and the merchants and people of the port jointly contribute money to buy fishing tools, etc., and the captain and crew are the people they invite, but they also get a share as a payment.

This form of business made the whaling industry extremely prosperous at that time.

Li Chao plans to bring in a group of nobles as well, such as Qin Qiongcheng's bite of Jin Luo Shixin, Niu Jinda, and Shan Xiongxin's group of people, all of whom can be regarded as world friends. Everyone worked together to contribute money and efforts, operated joint-stock operations, hired fishermen and sailors, built whaling ships, and then went to sea to whaling.

Whaling oil refining, canning, and bringing back whale skin, whalebone baleen.

Well, you can also invest in the construction of shipyards and whale oil processing plants, which is done, but it is a big industry. Especially now, if whale meat can be canned and brought back, it is also very valuable and sought-after.

"How can you always think of so many ways to make money in your head!" Cui Yingying admires her husband very much.

It's like the disaster relief lottery.

In fact, this is also completely the husband's idea.

"By the way, we have set up a charity relief association, I am the chairman, and all the ladies are directors, and now we are preparing to recruit new members. They also said that they would like to ask you to be the honorary president! ”

Li Chao closed the book, put it aside, and changed to a more comfortable position to lie down.

"You women are doing the almshouse, what do I mix up with a big man."

"Everyone knows that you came up with the idea of this lottery, and they all say that they want you to be the president and give us advice."

"Spare me, I don't get involved in your business. In fact, there is a more suitable person for this president, you can go and ask the queen mother to be the honorary president. If you invite this Buddha to come out, you will definitely be able to do a lot in the future. ”

It's also good to let Cui Yingying and them get this relief meeting. Compared to burning incense and worshiping Buddha, it is much stronger. Originally, Cui Yingying was going to give porridge, but the porridge was too simple, since she wanted to do something, then Li Chao gave her a plan to make it bigger.

"The idea of lottery is very good, why don't you use it in the imperial court?" Cui Yingying asked.

Li Chao smiled, stretched out his hand, and stroked his wife's tight thighs, "The lottery has an obvious gambling component, of course the imperial court can't openly promote this kind of lottery, or wouldn't it advocate the people of the world to gamble, so that everyone can get it for nothing?" Moreover, the issuance of lottery tickets, in fact, is mainly for those rich people, who have money. If the imperial court issued lottery tickets to the wealthy, it is estimated that these people would think that this was an apportionment, but few would definitely be willing to buy it. And if it weren't for the government, these people wouldn't have this concern. ”

"Madam, it's not early, let's not talk about this, let's go to bed early." Li Chao moved his hand up while laughing and blew out the light!

Brothers, let's support it with a monthly pass! (To be continued.) )