Eating meat is a very luxurious thing for most people in the Ming Dynasty.

Even ordinary people can only eat two bites of meat throughout the year, during the Chinese New Year.

The two mouthfuls of meat here are not a virtual reference, but a real reference.

It was really just two bites, and one more bite would be gone.

Because in most families, there is never a child.

The government encourages childbirth, and the common people also have a common understanding that having more children means more blessings, a prosperous family, and more people, greater strength.

In the words of later generations, the quality is not enough and the quantity must be made up.

The meat that can generally be eaten is mainly from six livestock species, namely: horses, cattle, sheep, chickens, dogs, and hogs.

A pig is a pig.

Cattle, especially farm cattle, are strictly prohibited from being slaughtered. Even if they die of old age or illness, they must be reported to the government for inspection before they can be killed for meat.

Not to mention horses, they are strategic materials.

Even if it is a horse, it is valuable and can at least be used as a carriage.

Don't underestimate the coachman. Those who can own a carriage are more than enough for food and clothing.

Sheep are good, but except for grasslands and other places suitable for raising sheep, most people cannot afford to raise those expensive feeds.

So those that can be eaten are chickens, dogs, and pigs.

There is a saying from ancient times: kill the chicken to get the eggs.

Hens lay eggs and roosters crow. How could they be so ordinary?

Dogs can look after the home, which is very useful, because whether it is farming or other activities, it is difficult to keep people at home, so the performance of dogs is very strong.

So the most likely meat to eat is pork.

Because besides being eaten, pigs have no other purpose.

In most places in the Ming Dynasty, raising pigs is relatively cheap. An ordinary person can raise a pig, sell it at the end of the year, keep some pork for himself, and use the rest in exchange for money, which can be regarded as a small fortune.

The biggest reason why Zhu Ying set her sights on the white pig was to allow more people to eat meat.

In terms of taste, white pork is not as delicious as black pork.

But the growth cycle of black pigs is too long.

Normally, a black pig takes nearly a year, ten to twelve months, to be ready for slaughter, and it must be raised from the beginning of the year to the end of the year.

The difference with white pigs is that they only take three or four months to be ready for slaughter.

In other words, in a year, white pigs can be sold three or even four times, while black pigs can only be sold once.

This can be said to be a difference of three or four times.

And white pigs give birth to more babies than most black pig breeds.

Naturally, Zhu Ying was not a big pig farmer in her previous life, and had no knowledge of the origin, breed, advantages and other data of white pigs.

But this did not prevent him from issuing an order to the Qunying Chamber of Commerce.

White pigs were purchased on a large scale from all over Western Europe to the Ming Dynasty.

...

"You and I have some kind of fate. I originally thought you would follow my third uncle, but instead of going around in circles, you came to my house and became the editor-in-chief of the Di newspaper."

"Tell me, what are your thoughts and suggestions about Di Bao?"

Zhu Ying smiled.

Sitting across from him was Yuan Jiachi.

Yuan Jiachi lowered his head slightly, not daring to look directly at His Highness Taisun for fear of violating a taboo.

During this period of time, he was very proud of himself.

Having become a diner of the Jin Dynasty before, at least I had no worries about food and drink.

Then I heard that Di Daily was recruiting editors and editors, so I took the assessment with the mentality of giving it a try.

I didn't have much hope at first, but I suddenly became the editor-in-chief of Di Bao.

Now I have been personally received by His Highness the Grand Sun, which can be said to be the pinnacle and highlight moment of my life.

The biggest change is that as the editor-in-chief of Di Bao, his monthly salary is 20 guan.

This is almost close to the monthly salary of a seventh-rank official.

Although there is no physical object, the price of Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes is still very valuable under Zhu Ying's constant control.

Hearing His Highness Taisun's question, Yuan Jiachi seemed a little nervous.

Ultimately, it’s because I haven’t seen anything big in the world.

With his mind completely blank, Yuan Jiachi replied with a trembling tone: "The common people will definitely live up to His Highness's expectations."

Zhu Ying was speechless after hearing this erroneous reply.

He pulled out Yuan Jiachi's previous policy question paper from the desk, placed it in front of him, and said, "Did you write the narrative above yourself, or did you hear it from others?"

Although he was not very serious, Yuan Jiachi was completely frightened.

Cheating was not a simple punishment in ancient times.

Once involved, in addition to physical pain, it is equivalent to the upward door being permanently closed.

Yuan Jiachi had no other choice, so he knelt down and kowtowed.

"Your Highness, spare your life! Your Highness, spare your life!"

If it had been anyone else, or any official had seen this, they would have probably concluded that Yuan Jiachi's answer sheet was plagiarized by you.

However, Zhu Ying knew that this person was entirely nervous about him.

Because the answer on the answer sheet is contrary to the current mainstream thinking of literati, even a knowledgeable person would not write such an answer.

"Don't be nervous, just give me a quick answer. Am I like a man-eating beast, making you so scared?"

"I asked you to come here this time because I want to have a good chat with you about the future development of Di Di Newspaper. If you look like this, I'm afraid you won't be qualified for the post of editor-in-chief."

Zhu Ying's words were like a head of cold water poured on Yuan Jiachi's head.

Of course he knew what it would mean if he was removed as editor-in-chief.

The consequences of this might even drive him out of the palace.

Forcing himself to calm down, Yuan Jiachi began to say: "Your Highness, seeing Tian En, the common people are terrified and uneasy. Just now they have no master, which made Your Highness laugh."

Hearing this, Zhu Ying nodded, without thinking too much, and said: "Okay, then you can explain the problem just now."

Yuan Jiachi then began to talk about his views on the future development of Di Bao.

Zhu Ying listened carefully.

In fact, of course Zhu Ying already understood what Yuan Jiachi said, and had discussed it seriously with the old man before.

But this does not prevent others from not having this awareness.

It can be said that most officials in the court have never thought about this matter.

"Your Highness, what the common people admire most is that Your Highness only charges three cents. The three cents newspaper can definitely let the world know the information in it as quickly as possible. Even farmers can understand national affairs."

"According to Cao Min's estimation, this cost is indeed a big deal. We can only find ways to make up for the shortfall from other aspects in order to continue to maintain the circulation of Di Bao."

?After finishing speaking, Yuan Jiachi bowed and bowed.

Zhu Ying nodded with satisfaction. It was already very rare to be able to reach this point.

It seems simple, but in fact it is vaguely beyond the knowledge of the times.

After thinking deeply, Zhu Ying said: "Zhengyang Avenue, as the largest project in the Ming Dynasty at present, has a great influence."

"Such a major event will naturally be highlighted in the first page of the Capital Newspaper."

"Especially the invention of cement, its effect on road construction in the Ming Dynasty must also be clear."

"I have talked with Grandpa. After the completion of Zhengyang Avenue, the official road from Nanjing to Peiping will be widened to four feet wide with cement. It is planned to be completed by the end of this year."

"On this road, a merit monument will be set up for donation purposes. At the same time, those who can stand on the merit monument can enjoy the right to walk on the official road without delaying military and state affairs."

?"On these three points, as the first page of the Capital Newspaper, you and the editors will write out an exposition as quickly as possible, clarify the pros and cons, and then leave it to me to make a decision."

?"Remember, the articles in the Di newspaper do not need to be written in elegant prose. They must be spoken in plain language, but they must be understood."

Yuan Jiachi quickly bowed and replied: "I sincerely comply with your Majesty's order."

...

More than a month.

The redress army led by Lan Yu arrived in Hanzhong.

However, when the army came, what they saw was desolation.
To be continued...