Zheng Shuqing was very efficient in his work. The court officials responsible for the management and planting of red lotus rice were invited to the Lotus Pond Courtyard by him. Not only that, Zheng Shuqing also took out all the delicacies he had packed at the bottom of the box, which made Fang Chongyong stunned.

Stunned.

What surprised him was not just the food, but the person in charge of the Red Lotus Rice Field, whom he had only met during the day... Gu Kuang!

At that time, I thought that this old man Gu Kuang was very easy-going and talked a lot. Who knew that he was actually a central official, even a minor official, who was directly under the imperial court!

The same rice feeds all kinds of people, the ancients were honest and would not deceive me.

"Superintendent Gu Tun laughed at this. They were all dishonorable meals."

Zheng Shuqing pointed to the sumptuous dishes on the table and said politely.

"Come on, Zheng Shijun is being polite. This kind of food is not common on weekdays."

Gu Kuang was very talkative and had a gentle personality. He pointed at the rice in the bowl and introduced to Fang Chongyong: "Fang Langjun doesn't know, this is called crystal rice. As the name suggests, every grain is as clear as crystal."

Whether you can pick out a bowl of rice from a good fight of rice is another matter. Each one must be carefully selected and cannot be careless.

Just this bowl of rice will cost at least ten pieces of rice."

Fang Chongyong picked up the bowl and looked at the bowl of "crystal rice" in front of him like a country bumpkin. Apart from being pretty, it was almost the same as ordinary rice. He didn't know how to describe Zheng Shuqing.

A bowl of rice costs 10,000 yuan! What’s the price of riding a horse?

Even if one penny equals one yuan, this bowl of rice is worth 10,000 yuan. What kind of rice costs 10,000 yuan a bowl?

Zheng Shuqing's luxury refreshed Fang Chongyong's understanding.

"Although the grilled lamb chops are simple to make,...this sheep is from Hedong. The transportation cost is very expensive, not to mention that after delivery, you have to raise it well and maintain the condition of the sheep.

This feeding costs a lot of money. Alas, I don’t even know how much money was spent on this dish. The sheep from Hedong just smell and taste different.

Without the smell of mutton, I will have a better meal today."

Gu Kuang sighed, and was also impressed by Zheng Shuqing's generosity. He traveled all over the country and saw a lot, and now serves as the supervisor of the red lotus rice farming land. However, red lotus rice can be grown but not eaten. If someone reports the theft of red lotus rice,

That is a serious crime of deceiving the emperor.

Gu Kuang usually eats very ordinary food, which are local specialties of Kuizhou.

Fang Chongyong looked at Zheng Shuqing helplessly, and saw the governor Zheng waving his hands gently, looking indifferent, as if he regarded money as dirt.

"This flying knife is also very good. You can see that the knife skills are very good. The fish fillets are as thin as cicada wings. I don't have such knife skills anymore. I have to practice for more than ten years."

Gu Kuang continued to introduce Fang Zhongyong.

"It would be great if we could get carp from Luoyang. The fish in the Shu River are very rustic, so we can only make do with it."

Zheng Shuqing said very "reservedly".

When it comes to treating guests, what you eat is secondary, who you eat with, and whether or not you save face are the most important!

For example, today, he has a lot of face!

Fang Chongyong thought about the first meal he had when he came to this world, and unconsciously felt ashamed of himself.

This is the luxurious taste from Chang'an!

Gu Kuang also introduced the other dishes on the table one by one. Even a simple water dish is extremely exquisite in workmanship. There are so many varieties. For three people to eat, there are twelve dishes on the table!

"Mr. Zheng invites you to a feast today. Could it be that he wants to share some red lotus rice with you?"

After drinking for three rounds, Gu Kuang asked while burping. The relationship between them seemed to be much closer, and there was a hint of teasing in his words.

"Gu Tuen Supervisor was joking. The red lotus rice is a tribute and must be handed over to the emperor for use. If there is no reward from the emperor, how can we share the red lotus rice privately?"

Zheng Shuqing waved his hand and directly denied Gu Kuang's speculation. Seeing Fang Chongyong calmly nodding slightly, he continued: "You and I are officials in Kuizhou City, so we should be close to each other. Today's banquet is just about talking.

Fengyue, let’s not talk about official business, let alone Hongliandao.”

Zheng Shuqing said very proudly.

"Your Majesty is a cheerful person, but this kind intention is disrespectful to me."

Gu Kuang put down his guard and started eating and drinking. After drinking until midnight, he was already drunk and unconscious, lying on the couch in the study to rest.

Zheng Shuqing opened his misty eyes, with a faint smile on his face, looked at Fang Chongyong and said: "The matter is done, you can start doing what you want to do!"

"It's easy to talk about. Please copy this poem with your left hand."

Poetry?

Zheng Shuqing was a little confused for a while. Although he had an "alcohol test", he had drunk a lot after all, and his mind was not as clear as usual.

"When autumn comes on the eighth day of the ninth month, when the flowers bloom, hundreds of flowers will bloom. The incense will spread to Chang'an, and the whole city will be filled with golden armor."

When Zheng Shuqing saw this seven-character quatrain written on the paper, he was sober that his back was wet with cold sweat.

"This...that...this..."

He was incoherent for a moment and was so frightened that he couldn't speak clearly.

"Gu Tunjian was a man of great talent, but it was a pity that he was not reused by the imperial court. As time went by, he became increasingly dissatisfied and wrote a poem after drinking to complain about his own injustice. But he knew full well that this was an anti-poetry, so he wrote it in a handwriting that was not his own.

”

Fang Chongyong looked at Zheng Shuqing and asked word for word: "Do you think we should have a good talk with Gu Tun Superintendent after he wakes up?"

"What to talk about?"

Zheng Shuqing's brain was confused and he subconsciously answered the question and asked.

"Of course we are talking about the red lotus rice, otherwise what else can we talk about?"

Fang Chongyong smiled slightly and said: "Gu Tuen Superintendent only needs to submit a letter saying that a lot of red lotus rice was burned by the Liao people's wildfires. This year's output is only 50% of previous years. It must be a very interesting thing!"

Zheng Shuqing was so frightened that his whole body was shaking. He forced himself to calm down and asked, "Wouldn't he be dismissed from office?"

"Cultivation of red lotus rice also requires experience. If it were someone else, the field might be damaged. If someone releases this poem again, I'm afraid the emperor of Chang'an and those princes will not think so."

Fang Chongyong took out another piece of paper and saw it read: "It's noon on the day of hoeing, and the sweat is dripping from the soil. Who knows that every grain of rice on the plate is hard work."

The title is "Meeting Gu Tuen Supervisor on the road working hard in the red lotus rice field and feeling sentimental".

The meaning of the whole poem is: Ah, when I was passing by Red Lotus Rice, I saw Gu Kuang planting red lotus rice in the farmland, and I thought about it and said the following, blah blah blah.

Zheng Shuqing looked at Fang Chongyong as if he were a monster, and murmured to himself: "You are really a child prodigy!"

"Otherwise, hasn't Zheng Shijun felt it yet?"

Fang Chongyong felt that he had behaved very evilly, but Zheng Shuqing actually accepted him without feeling any violation at all.

"But what do you want red lotus rice for? To sell it? To whom?"

Zheng Shuqing still didn't understand Fang Chongyong's brain circuit.

You said you should sell these red lotus rice. It can indeed be sold for a lot of money. However, it is impossible to expect a bowl of rice to cost ten guan! Hundreds of hectares of red lotus rice cannot be sold for more than 100,000 yuan.

Through.

Because all transactions are conducted privately and cannot be exposed publicly, it is inevitable that the price will be reduced.

"The secret must not be leaked. Telling it in advance will not work. However, today's dinner, Lord Shijun, is really not in vain. As long as Gu Kuang accepts my proposal, then half of the matter will be done."

Hearing what Fang Chongyong said, Zheng Shuqing opened his mouth, but in the end he said nothing, just sighed.

This guy writes anti-poems one after another. Is he really Fang Youde’s son?

Zheng Shuqing vaguely remembered that Fang Youde was Li Longji's confidant during his Qianlong period. He had always been very low-key and unobtrusive, and was famous in the circles of powerful people for his die-hard loyalty and stupidity.

His son writes anti-poetry very well!

Could it be that Fang Youde's wife did something to feel sorry for him and gave birth to a child with someone else?

At this moment, Zheng Shuqing's heart was in chaos.

……

Gu Kuang woke up with a hangover and felt a splitting headache. I have to say that the wine Zheng Shuqing treated him to was really powerful.

As soon as he woke up, he saw Zheng Shuqing and Fang Youde looking at him, their eyes full of meaning.

"Gu Tuen Supervisor, oh, how could you...at least you shouldn't!"

Fang Chongyong said heartbrokenly.

"What's wrong with me?"

Gu Kuang looked confused. He had just woken up and didn’t know what had happened.

"Hey, Gu Tuen Supervisor, even if you are dissatisfied with the court officials, you should not write such things after being drunk. You... why did you do it!"

Zheng Shuqing joined Fang Chongyong, both of them had the same expression and demeanor.

"What's wrong with me?"

Gu Kuang intuitively felt that something was wrong.

Fang Chongyong directly handed the other party the article "A City Full of Golden Armor".

Gu Kuang, who was still a little confused, suddenly stopped feeling sleepy, or rather woke up with a fright!

As a poet, even a poet who has written famous poems, how could he not know what this poem is alluding to? If it were spread, the consequences would be disastrous!
To be continued...