Chen Liejiu ignored them. He directly handed Song Yunfan's letter to the doorkeeper. The doorkeeper took the letter inside and soon invited Chen Liejiu in.
"Whoa!"
"He really got in?"
The crowd was stunned—ten cartloads of charcoal actually opened Lord Song's door?
However, Chen Liejiu didn't stay long at the Song residence. He went in, met Old Lady Song, explained his purpose, left the charcoal, and left.
The whole visit took less than half an hour. No thought he had accomplished anything, not even Chen Wu and the others.
"Was giving Lord Song ten cartloads of charcoal useful?" They knew their boss was there to gift charcoal, not sell it—he hadn't even mentid the word "sell."
He used the pretext that Lord Song had sent books to Xu Huaiqian, thanking Lord Song—as a teacher—for nurturing his student Xu Huaiqian, and presented ten cartloads of charcoal as a New Year's gift.
As a Prefectural Education Intendant, it wasn't wrong for Xu Huaiqian to call him teacher.
"I'm not sure either." Chen Liejiu shook his head, but he wasn't worried at all. "Might as well give it a try."
It was just ten cartloads of charcoal, not something expensive. Even if there was no response, it wasn't a big deal.
"So what do we do now?" asked Chen Wu, idle after delivering the charcoal. They couldn't just wait around forever, could they?
But waiting was exactly what Chen Liejiu had in mind. He nodded affirmatively: "Let's wait."
They waited for three months. By then, every was impatient.
Especially Chen Liejiu—as his heat flush period drew nearer with still no news, he felt like jumping into the river and swimming back to be with his little husband.
While they were anxious, Xu Huaiqian was equally anxious.
He had thought hiding from Xinghua Village to Taoyuan County would bring peace, but Taoyuan County wasn't peaceful either.
The magistrates of all five counties had come to Taoyuan County to find him.
"What guidance do you have for us, esteemed sirs?" On such a cold day, Xu Huaiqian, without his wife to keep him warm, was curled up in bed at the inn trying to stay warm when they repeatedly invited him to a meal at Taoyuan Restaurant. He was quite speechless.
"How could we dare ask for guidance? It is we who have come to seek advice from you." Magistrate Wu shook his head, his attitude quite humble.
He had always said Xu Huaiqian was a promising talent—that Mishan County couldn't hold him. Now it seemed he was truly a dragon lying in a ditch—inactive until he rose, then he would stir up wind and clouds. Probably soon, even the entire Jin Dynasty wouldn't be able to contain him.
"—Ah?" Their attitude made Xu Huaiqian a bit confused. "Esteemed sirs, please speak freely. As your student, I will share all I know without reserve."
"Ginger." Having been their student for a year, they knew Xu Huaiqian's character. Magistrate Sheng, unlike Magistrate Wu, didn't beat around the bush and got straight to the point.
With that, Xu Huaiqian understood: "Do you esteemed sirs also want the people under your governance to grow ginger?"
Before they could nod, he immediately rejected the idea: "Not very feasible. A small amount of ginger might work, but what about the sales channels for large quantities?"
He had signed a contract with Manager Qi for thirty thousand catties of ginger, but that was probably the limit.
Moreover, with his success in growing ginger, it was likely that people in both Mishan and Yong'an counties would start a ginger-growing trend. With so much ginger flooding the market, supply would exceed demand, and within a few years, ginger prices would fall.
Unless ginger became popular throughout the entire Jin Dynasty.
But that would be difficult—at least, it wasn't something he could achieve now.
"What about growing other things instead of ginger?" Magistrate Sheng, thinking of Duan Youyan's words, felt deeply conflicted. Giving up was hard, but not giving up was too bold. He truly lacked the courage to do it.
"My Youyan said we could encourage people to grow other medicinal herbs, not necessarily limited to ginger."
"That's excellent." Xu Huaiqian didn't expect Duan Youyan to react so quickly and already think beyond ginger to other medicinal materials.
Magistrate Sheng smiled bitterly: "But my heart is always uneasy."
"Everything has two sides, Magistrate Sheng," Xu Huaiqian explained. "If you seek stability, maintain the status quo. If you want to take a risk, you have to venture out. There's nothing in the world that is both completely safe and perfect. Even growing crops depends on the weather, right?"
But if he dared to manipulate taxes, success would be thing—failure could mean execution for his entire family and clan. His own death didn't matter, but what about Duan Youyan and Sheng Yunjin? They were still young with bright futures ahead.
The other magistrates felt the same. Without guarantees, they didn't dare act boldly.
"If it's really not feasible, why not start small with multiple trials?" Seeing how anxiously they looked at him, and having been an official himself, Xu Huaiqian knew they were afraid to act without backing. He suggested: "Don't aim for the whole county at once. Find a reliable village to serve as a model village. Once that village succeeds, slowly expand to surrounding villages."
The magistrates all looked at him.
Xu Huaiqian, unbothered by their gazes, sipped his tea slowly: "Also, don't use up all the villagers' land. It's best if each household uses only a few fen of land to experiment. That way, if it succeeds, great; if it fails, losses are minimized."
Magistrate Anning frowned: "A few fen of land?"
"Yes, a few fen," Xu Huaiqian nodded. "Grow crops with high yield and high unit price. This way, every household has some profit, and you avoid situations like mine where sudden wealth attracts the whole village's attention."
"Take my ginger, for example," Xu Huaiqian explained. "My five mu of land produced a huge sum. If that five mu were distributed among the whole village, with each household growing just or two fen, every would have some profit. It might not be much, but it's better than the whole village growing ginger and then having it rot unsold in the fields."
The magistrates nodded—it was a feasible method.
"However, don't plant blindly," Xu Huaiqian warned, afraid they might chase after high yield and high price without thought. "You still have to consider what the local soil is suitable for. I only decided to grow ginger because I saw wild ginger growing well by the roadside, and Duan Youyan said medical clinics paid high prices for it."
Xu Huaiqian didn't forget to praise his wife: "I had to study and didn't have time to manage the fields. It was all my husband who took care of it. He worked very hard to grow the ginger well—consulting many people and putting in great effort. Otherwise, the ginger in my five mu would have long since diseased and died."
"As the saying goes, leave professional matters to professionals," Xu Huaiqian added, worried they might pretend to understand when they didn't. "N of us are farmers, and we haven't grown medicinal herbs before. If you want to promote herb cultivation, you must find some who knows how to oversee it."
Xu Huaiqian's words covered every aspect, and the magistrates nodded repeatedly. Then, looking at Xu Huaiqian's strikingly handsome but unmistakably sickly face, they felt as if a warning bell had been struck in their hearts.
Early wisdom often brings early decline.
Could Xu Huaiqian's sickness be due to his excessive intelligence?
Although Xu Huaiqian's wisdom wasn't in poetry and songs, having such insights into current affairs at his age was still considered early brilliance.
Thinking of current affairs, the men felt a chill—now that the Emperor emphasized current affairs, and Xu Huaiqian had such talent...
Xu Huaiqian was puzzled by their looks: "Esteemed sirs, why are you looking at me like that?"
"...It's nothing." Magistrate Sheng withdrew his gaze and said to Xu Huaiqian earnestly, "Study hard for the provincial exam."
We will help you along the way.
In this current affairs-focused imperial exam, Xu Huaiqian was bound to excel no matter what. Rather than waiting to curry favor after his rise, it was better to give him a boost now.
"I will definitely study hard." Since the exam reform, Xu Huaiqian had felt much more relaxed. If he still ranked last in his own field, it would be unbearable!
But the provincial exam was still far off, and he wasn't too nervous about it yet. Since they had called him out, he was curious: "Esteemed sirs, what do you plan to grow back in your counties?"
Magistrate Taoyuan spoke directly: "Pinellia." He had observed that the fields in his county often grew pinellia, but it was poor quality and sold for little at medical clinics. But with professional cultivation, it might do well.
Magistrate Sheng answered: "Astragalus." Because Duan Youyan had said that well-grown astragalus could yield as much as ginger and was even more expensive.
Magistrate Anning said somewhat sheepishly: "Since you're all growing medicinal herbs, I won't join in. I want to grow sugarcane." Sugarcane made sugar, and sugar was expensive. He also wanted to open his own sugar workshop for self-production and sales—how great would that be?
Magistrate Yunmeng: "I'm not growing herbs either. Our county produces abundant silk; there are many mulberry growers. Every year, we have more mulberries than we can eat. I want to try brewing mulberry wine." This was what he had initially planned but didn't dare do due to lack of sales channels. But seeing Xu Huaiqian grow ginger without secured sales, his courage grew.
Only Magistrate Mishan, Wu, hadn't spoken. He truly couldn't think of what else his county could grow. Under every's gaze, he had to say awkwardly: "I haven't decided yet."
"Grow ginger." Xu Huaiqian turned to Magistrate Wu. "How about making Xinghua Village a model village?"
Magistrate Wu was startled: "Huh?"
"My ginger can't be replanted on the same land; next year my fields can't grow ginger," Xu Huaiqian didn't hide it. "I have a contract with medical clinics in Shengbei to supply thirty thousand catties of ginger annually. I want to distribute these thirty thousand catties among each household in Xinghua Village—not much, just two fen per household. But the purchase price will only be eighty coins."
Chen Liejiu had worked very hard growing ginger this year. Although he didn't complain to Xu Huaiqian, Xu Huaiqian saw his effort.
Next year, he couldn't let his wife work so hard.
Also, growing ginger in the village this year had made many people envious. If he didn't share the benefits, he feared being devoured alive.
But he couldn't let all his effort go unrewarded either—he had opened the sales channels, so he should earn a little.
Magistrate Wu hadn't expected such good news and agreed without hesitation: "Great! Do whatever you think best!"
Xu Huaiqian had already succeeded in growing ginger and even secured sales. There was nothing to worry about; he could just wait to collect taxes next year. What more could he ask for?
The other magistrates immediately looked at Magistrate Wu with envy and jealousy—suddenly feeling that this guy named Wu had such good luck!
Having a clever like Xu Huaiqian in his jurisdiction not only meant no worries but also a teacher-student relationship once Xu Huaiqian rose to prominence.
...Hmm, thinking this way, they all wanted to persuade Xu Huaiqian to transfer to their counties. If he came to their county, he could do whatever he wanted.
"Thank you, sir." The other magistrates were eager to poach Xu Huaiqian with their hoes, but Xu Huaiqian smiled and thanked Magistrate Wu. "However, sir, if Xinghua Village grows ginger next year, other villages can't be left out the year after. So please take some effort this year to promote the benefits of eating ginger within the county, and ideally throughout all of Changnan."
Get the marketing going!
Since the whole county would grow ginger, they had to build ginger's reputation—not just rely on purchases from Shengbei; local residents had to be utilized too.
Best to make all of Changnan's people start eating ginger, then know that Mishan County's ginger was the best—Mishan County: Ginger County!
That way, in the future, they wouldn't need to seek customers elsewhere; buyers would come automatically. How great!
Magistrate Wu, who had thought he could just lie back and collect taxes: "..."
"Alright." Xu Huaiqian had already solved many problems for him. Just promoting the benefits of eating ginger shouldn't be too hard, right?
He didn't know that this move would earn him an adorable nickname in later generations: Ginger-Loving Magistrate Wu.
No choice—Magistrate Wu promoted ginger so vigorously that he not only had local restaurants add many ginger dishes but also told every he met about ginger's benefits. He even made his superiors taste ginger's delights during meetings.
He had good literary skill and was persuasive. In the following years, Mishan County truly developed into the Ginger County of the Jin Dynasty.
Many ginger-based delicacies originated from Mishan County, and their ginger was branded as "Mi Ginger"—so sought after in other prefectures that people fought to buy it.
But all that was years later. Now, the magistrates sat in a tavern by the river in Taoyuan County, at a simple Eight Immortals table, listening to Xu Huaiqian explain the benefits of marketing to Magistrate Wu.
The hearts of all the magistrates trembled—this was excellent! Truly excellent! They had always known that people needed reputation, but they had forgotten that goods also needed reputation!
Taoyuan Pinellia, Pingxi Astragalus, Anning Sugarcane, Yunmeng Mulberry Wine, Mishan Aged Ginger!
Just thinking about it made the magistrates excited. If they could establish their counties' reputations throughout the entire Jin Dynasty, their own reputations as magistrates would also rise!
And it wouldn't be so conspicuous as to invite jealousy!
Promotion! Promotion! They would start promoting as soon as they returned!
The five magistrates saw the benefits of making a name for themselves and were eager to return and take action. But Xu Huaiqian, having finished his business, was thinking: Why hasn't his wife returned yet?