At the Ryukyu City Hebend Wharf, four-wheeled carriages loaded with fresh vegetables and fruits drove from the spacious cement roads, making the originally empty wharf become congested.
People in Ryukyu City were really happy when they learned that the fruits and vegetables they grew at home were to be given as tribute to the Queen. They were busy after being notified. Those who were not notified felt extremely aggrieved. They even went to the county to find out.
Order, found Li Yuanshan and kept shouting.
Here at the pier, baskets of fresh vegetables and fruits are being weighed. Once they are weighed, the money is counted on the spot and then moved to the Kunpeng's warehouse.
Li Yuanshan carefully inspected and stared at the side. The fruits and vegetables in this area were different from the vegetables and fruits sold in the Beijing and Tianjin areas in the past. These were meant for the queen in the palace, so there must be no mistakes.
Li Yuanshan must carefully inspect each variety and count the quantity at the same time. Not only must the quality be good, but the quantity must also reach a certain level.
In recent years, Ryukyu's vegetable and fruit industry has developed very rapidly, especially in winter, because most areas in the Ming Dynasty are cold and freezing, which is not suitable for the growth of crops.
Only Ryukyu, Qiongzhou, Nanyang and other places can be used to grow vegetables and fruits. Ryukyu is located in the northernmost position, so it has naturally become the most important vegetable and fruit base for the Beijing-Tianjin region and the Jiangnan region in winter.
In this regard, Liu Jin also established related industries and developed them in Ryukyu.
Not only did we collect a variety of vegetables and fruits for cultivation within the Ming Dynasty, but we also collected a variety of high-quality vegetable and fruit seeds from around the world, cultivated them, and then introduced them to Ryukyu.
After several years of development, it has begun to take shape. The output value of the entire Ryukyu vegetable and fruit industry has exceeded the traditional cane sugar industry.
Although the area of sugarcane plantations is still expanding, the scale of vegetable and fruit cultivation is also expanding rapidly.
As the most suitable base for supplying vegetables and fruits in winter, Ryukyu's vegetables and fruits can be sold at high prices in the Beijing-Tianjin area, Songhu, Nanjing and other places in the south of the Yangtze River.
An ordinary Chinese cabbage is not valuable at all in normal times, and can only be sold for one or two cents. But in winter, even an ordinary Chinese cabbage can be sold for dozens of dollars.
The price for writing is high, and demand exceeds supply.
Throughout the Ming Dynasty, there were many rich people, especially in the Beijing-Tianjin area and the Jiangnan area. These places had a developed economy, many factories, dense populations, and a lot of rich people.
In winter, it is easy to get tired of eating meat. Fresh vegetables and fruits are definitely the kings and most popular items on the winter table.
Especially in the past few years, hot pot has gradually become popular all over the country. In winter, when the weather is cold, it is definitely a pleasure to eat hot pot in front of the hot pot.
When eating hot pot, it is easy to get tired of the meat. Only various vegetables are more expensive than meat, and their sales are extremely strong.
This also allows the people of Ryukyu to make a lot of money just by growing vegetables and fruits.
"Well, the quality is good, and they are all top-notch."
After careful inspection, Li Yuanshan also nodded. Everyone moved out the best vegetables and fruits from their homes. Baskets of vegetables and fruits were piled up like mountains, but they were quickly moved to the Kunpeng.
Inside the warehouse.
"Of course, this is something that is brought to the palace as tribute, no one dares to be careless."
Next to Li Yuanshan, Huang Nan, the county magistrate of Ryukyu City, also nodded with satisfaction.
Although this time, Emperor Hongzhi did not issue an order in the form of a decree to Ryukyu City, and he did not need to bear any responsibility.
But this is because the emperor cherishes the power of the people and cherishes the people. He is not willing to let the local government attack vegetables and fruits in the form of decrees. Instead, he asks Liu Jin to purchase vegetables and fruits through procurement.
As the county magistrate here, he still needs to do his best to do this job well. This requires tribute to the palace and food for the queen. This is a big deal.
He didn't dare to do anything careless.
"It seems that in the future we in Ryukyu should focus on planting these vegetables and fruits on a large scale. It is best to plant them in large areas and on a large scale."
"In winter, our Ryukyu vegetables and fruits are more expensive than meat when shipped to Beijing and Tianjin."
Li Yuanshan looked at the endless stream of carriages coming from all directions, and was also thinking about the future development of the industry.
He is the person in charge of Tianjin Ocean Trading Company here in Ryukyu. He is not only responsible for the sugar business, but also responsible for the hundreds of plantations of Tianjin Ocean Trading Company here in Ryukyu.
The profitability of these plantations is directly related to Li Yuanshan's own performance and year-end bonus, and it is also related to whether Li Yuanshan can be further promoted. Of course, he must think carefully about it.
"It is necessary to introduce and cultivate more new varieties. The varieties of vegetables and fruits that can be grown in winter are still a bit single. In addition, in terms of market, the market in Liaodong region must also be focused on developing. In addition, we can also explore the markets of North Korea and Japan.
."
"Well, these are all things that will happen after production increases."
Li Yuanshan thought silently.
…
A few days later, here at the Tianjin port.
"Woo~"
Accompanied by waves of whistles, the Kunpeng returned to Tianjin port smoothly after five days of sailing. The steamer's trial voyage was very successful.
"Haha, I'm back~"
"It's really fast. It only takes twelve days to go back and forth."
Here at the Tianjin Port pier, Zhu Houzhao looked at the Kunpeng coming back and smiled happily.
These days, Liu Jin and Zhu Houzhao are not in a hurry to return to the capital, but are staying here in Tianjin, waiting for the Kunpeng to return.
The Kunpeng's trip to Ryukyu is its first voyage, and it is also a trial voyage of a steamship. No one knows what the condition of this steamship is. Only by taking a trip to the sea and checking it can we know what it is like.
If it works, we can also see how much faster it is than a sailboat.
Liu Jin, Zhu Houzhao, Ren Siheng and Chen Shou of Tianjin Shipyard were actually very anxious. This steamship was an epoch-making thing.
With the advent of steamships, the field of ships will usher in new developments. There will be more and more ships powered by steam turbines, and they will gradually replace traditional sailing ships.
At the same time, the speed of steamships was much faster than that of sailing ships, and they would also become an important tool for the Ming Dynasty to contact overseas colonies, vassal states, etc.
For example, if the Ming Dynasty went to Huangjin Island, if it was an ordinary sailing ship, it might take two months to reach the west coast of Huangjinzhou from Tianjin. However, if a steamship was used, it would only take one month.
Already.
And this is an ordinary ship. At Liu Jin's request, the Tianjin Shipyard is designing a small, fast steamship. The speed should be more than three times the speed of current ships, making it convenient and fast to travel between Golden Continent, Australia, and Southeast Asia.
etc., fast transportation of urgent letters, items, etc.
"Is this really fast?"
Liu Jin curled his lips slightly and said: "It takes twelve days to go back and forth. In other words, it took almost five days from Ryukyu City to Tianjin. In five days, I don't know if the vegetables and fruits on the ship are rotten."
Lose."
"The speed is still too slow. It would be better if it could be faster."
"This isn't fast enough~"
"It takes five days to transport vegetables and fruits from Ryukyu to Tianjin, which is already very fast."
When Zhu Houzhao heard this, he immediately pouted and said.
"Yes, this is already very fast. Five days is incredible. It would have been impossible in the past."
Ren Siheng also nodded and said.
"Yeah, it's already very fast~"
Chen Shou also nodded with satisfaction. He felt that the speed of this steamer was quite good. It was twice as fast as the speed of a sailboat. This was already a big leap.
"Hey, you guys, you guys, if there were planes and high-speed trains, you would know what it means to be fast."
Liu Jin curled his lips slightly and complained in his heart.
At this time, the Kunpeng had already berthed, and the porters at the dock began to unload the cargo from the Kunpeng. Only baskets of vegetables and fruits were constantly being carried down, and in the blink of an eye, they piled up like mountains at the dock.
“It’s still very fresh~”
Zhu Houzhao looked through it very casually. In fact, the fruits and vegetables were not too fresh in a few days, but compared with those shipped to Tianjin in the past, they still looked very fresh.
No, there were many businessmen here at Tianjin Wharf, as if they had seen gold, they swarmed over and looked at the baskets of vegetables and fruits in front of them, their eyes shining brightly.
"Who's the boss here?"
"Do you sell your vegetables and fruits?"
"I am willing to pay a high price to buy your vegetables and fruits. In this winter, there are still such fresh vegetables and fruits. Look at this Chinese cabbage, it looks like it has only been stored for a few days."
"And these fruits, all of them are very fresh, and the size and quality are all good!"
Each of these merchants couldn't help but nod. Such good products are rare, especially in this winter. Vegetables and fruits are luxuries, and fresh vegetables and fruits are even more rare.
There are many rich people in the Beijing-Tianjin area. As long as you have the goods, don’t worry about no one spending them. There are plenty of expensive things here that people can afford.
These vegetables and fruits are the most popular things in winter. The nobles who are tired of eating all kinds of meat love these most.