Chapter 3

After an hour, Li Chengqi had an idea.

Since his father abdicated and his aunt, Princess Taiping, was granted death.

The remaining five brothers, with the third eldest becoming emperor, the others dared not involve themselves in any political affairs.

During the day, they could only play, not doing anything else.

"Come, come, come, Brother Ren, try the secret sauce I made, soy sauce."

Li Yi was unaware of what Li Chengqi was considering; he was trying hard to promote soy sauce.

Li Chengqi came back to his senses and, as instructed, picked up a meatball and dipped it in the soy sauce.

With one bite, he felt an indescribable comfort, his tongue and mouth, and the whole body felt incredibly refreshed.

Li Yi watched and thought to himself: You know the power of monosodium glutamate now, right? Isn't it more direct than the sauce?

Thinking about this, Li Yi turned his head and saw that the people hired by this brother were taking a small bite of the dumpling and then dipping it heavily in the soy sauce.

Li Yi couldn't help but shudder; how much water would these people drink when they got home? Aren't they afraid of being too salty?

Li Chengqi dipped again, hesitated slightly, and asked, "Brother Xian, do you have more of this soy sauce?"

"Yes." Li Yi nodded vigorously: "When Brother Ren returns, take ten jars, each ten pounds."

As he spoke, his eyes swept over the people planting garlic, meaning it would be their wages.

Li Chengqi did not refuse, nodding and smiling.

He then asked, "The method for making bean oil?"

"Come tomorrow, Brother Ren. This method is not difficult. The 'Qi Min Yao Shu' has records. The main process is pressing and grinding. I use a wedge to squeeze out the oil."

Li Yi explained how people used to process plant oils in the past.

Sesame oil is the simplest; grind it into sesame paste, let it settle, and the top layer will have floating oil.

For other plant seeds, the method is to press and grind.

It wasn't until 'Tiangong Kaiwu' was published that the method of using wooden wedges to extract oil was introduced.

Li Chengqi felt a bit embarrassed and asked, "Brother Xian, is the method for making bean oil a family secret?"

Li Yi shook his head: "This method is my own creation. I don't want to keep it secret; I just want to reduce hunger in the world."

Li Chengqi was taken aback, put down his chopsticks, and bowed: "Brother Xian, your noble spirit."

"That... Brother Ren, take the soy sauce back. Whenever you meet someone with a connection, you can speak on its behalf. Each jar is ten pounds, one string of copper coins, no, one bolt of silk."

Li Yi, who had just been praised for his noble spirit, immediately started talking about selling soy sauce.

He originally wanted to sell ten pounds for one string of copper coins, which is one thousand coins, but thought it was too expensive.

So he changed it to one bolt of silk. During the Kaiyuan period, one bolt of silk was fifty feet long and eighteen inches wide, worth 550 copper coins.

So one pound of soy sauce would be 55 copper coins.

Li Yi thought it was reasonable; one pound of soy sauce also has a cost, mainly due to the high price of salt.

He had brewed a hundred large vats of soy sauce base, and this time only opened one vat, the first batch of oil.

Subsequent batches could be extracted two to three more times, requiring more salt each time. Without adding salt, no oil would come out, and then distilled water would be added.

Li Chengqi had no idea about the young man's calculations or the high profit margin of soy sauce.

He felt a bit embarrassed again; ten jars of soy sauce would be 5500 copper coins.

He had called a hundred people over, and in the afternoon, each person would get 55 copper coins, which was too high a wage.

So he decided to help sell it. A prince selling soy sauce would be a refined matter, right?

"Brother Xian, rest assured. I will find those with a good appetite and substantial means."

"Thank you, Brother Ren. When there are good things, I will share them with you." Li Yi was in a good mood.

He saw that the other party was quite wealthy and might have someone in the capital.

***

After the meal, the group left silently, waving their hands, not taking a drop of soy sauce.

But the plates used for dipping soy sauce were spotlessly clean.

"Master, this is today's account of oil and flour consumption." The steward, Song De, came to Li Yi's study and handed him a piece of paper.

"Thank you, steward." Li Yi took the paper and nodded to Song De.

This indicated that he understood the meaning: the flour was running low, and they couldn't invite so many people to eat dumplings anymore.

The steward left, and Li Yi entered the accounts.

The steward used the three-column method, which required literacy and calculation skills.

Li Yi used the double-entry bookkeeping method in his own accounts.

He also had a set of tables and charts he created.

For example, the method of combining three tables into two plus one.

This was not currently needed, but the rules had to be established.

Including line charts, composite pie charts...

***

Li Chengqi brought ten jars of soy sauce and one jar of bean oil and rode quickly home.

First, he crossed the Ba River, and then it was seven miles to the Tonghua Gate.

But he didn't go to the Tonghua Gate; instead, he ran diagonally from outside the city to the Chunming Gate.

North of the Chunming Gate was a large area called Xingqing Palace.

Originally called Longqing Fang.

Li Chengqi lived there, along with his three younger brothers.

This year, they were moved out and relocated to Anxing Fang.

If he returned to Anxing Fang, he should have gone through the Tonghua Gate.

Entering the Tonghua Gate, passing through Yongjia Fang, he would arrive. Below Yongjia Fang was Xingqing Palace.

He essentially took a longer route to circle around.

The purpose was to go to the main gate of Xingqing Palace, which faces south.

This indicated he had official business. He gave two jars of soy sauce to the people carrying the jars and then circled back home.

He thought that if his third brother didn't go to Yongxing Fang today, upon returning to Xingqing Palace and hearing that he entered through the main gate to deliver something, he would also inquire.

If he didn't return to Xingqing Palace, the people in Xingqing Palace would naturally inform his third brother.

To Li Chengqi, the soy sauce was a small matter, but the bean oil was a big deal.

One more type of oil meant less grain consumption for the people.

The key was the method of extracting oil. If beans could produce oil, other oilseed crops would produce even more.

In the palace, Li Longji was still reviewing memorials.

Since he gained absolute power, he was busier.

Dispatching key generals to various regions and placing trusted people in those positions.

The tax-exempt land taken over by Buddhism was too much, so he limited Buddhism.

The struggle for the throne was too brutal, killing many people, and the people were silent. He needed to improve the cultural life of the people.

Just after the New Year, he sent troops to fight the Khitans but was defeated, losing many soldiers.

A few days later, the Turks took advantage of the situation and attacked, but they were defeated by the Tang Dynasty, which was good.

Less than twenty days later, a group of Western Turks rebelled, but they were suppressed.

By April, the Turks were proposing marriage again.

Why were there so many things happening every day?

It was almost the time when the new grain hadn't come in, and people would go hungry again.

He couldn't even enjoy his meal; if it weren't for the bowl of soup noodles the empress just sent, he would be hungry now.

Just as he was thinking, someone came to report.

They said that today, Prince Song went to the imperial estate in the eastern city, heard the sound of children reading from a neighboring estate, and went there.

At noon, he had a meal at the neighboring estate, then led a hundred people to plant garlic, had another meal, and returned with eleven small jars.

At the main gate of Xingqing Palace, he left two jars called soy sauce and then returned to the prince's residence.

Li Longji was already annoyed. Hearing that his elder brother went out to help plant garlic and brought something back, he became interested.

Before he could inquire, someone else came to report.

They said that Prince Song returned to his residence and ordered a jar of soy sauce to be sent to each of his three younger brothers' residences.

He also sent two jars to the Baofu Hall and the Taishang Emperor.

"What is soy sauce?" Li Longji didn't think his elder brother would try to poison everyone with this soy sauce.

The messenger hurriedly said, "The supervisor of the imperial estate in the eastern city said that soy sauce is like water and oil, more flavorful than regular sauce, and can be used to dip meatballs."

"He also said that Li Yi at the neighboring estate knows the method of extracting oil from beans, and the estate has plenty of oil and grain."

"Additionally, the estate has three biogas ponds, with copper pipes inserted into the ponds to store gas, which can be ignited with a flame."

"The estate uses biogas for lighting, which is brighter than candlelight, providing light for poor students to read at night."

Li Longji took a deep breath, feeling shocked.

Next to the imperial estate, there was an estate with a kiln for making bricks and a biogas pond.

A pipe was inserted, and the gas could be ignited, brighter than candles?

How did they do it? In the future, would the estate not need to spend money on lighting?

Li Longji thought about it and looked at the candles around him.

The hall was dark in other places, but it was bright around him.

Candles were expensive.

Oil lamps had a bad smell and were not bright enough.

How could a biogas pond be brighter than his candles?

For some reason, Li Longji felt a bit jealous.

Thinking about it, Li Longji approved a few important memorials and went to find his elder brother, Li Chengqi, to get to the bottom of this.

By the time Li Longji arrived at Prince Song's residence, it was already the hour of Xu, 8 PM.

Li Chengqi was waiting to eat meatballs. He didn't eat much at Li Yi's estate but took the seasoning for the meatballs.

At home, he had people chop the filling and make meatballs, using the seasoning from Li Yi.

A mixed package, using one-third, enough for ten people.

When Li Longji arrived, the others withdrew.

The two brothers sat opposite each other and ate meatballs.

Li Chengqi first let his younger brother, the emperor, eat the meatballs without dipping them, just with the seasoning.

Then he switched to soy sauce.

Added garlic paste.

Mixed with vinegar.

Dropped in some sesame oil.

Li Longji tried each one and finally understood how good soy sauce was.

"Brother, why are the meatballs today more fragrant than usual?" Li Longji asked.

Li Chengqi smiled: "Your Majesty, Third Brother, I took the seasoning from Li Yi. The more meat, the more fragrant the meatballs."

"Look, the oil that drips from the meatballs into the plate is more because I added the bean oil from Li Yi."

"Even without meat, the vegetable meatballs taste good."

He talked about the good things, how the bean oil mixed in the filling was better than other oils, and the seasoning was even better.

"What about Li Yi?" Li Longji swallowed a meatball and asked.

"Scholarly, knowledgeable in agriculture, skilled in cooking, and understands engineering. From what I can see, he has a broad mind."

Li Chengqi gave his evaluation, or rather, praise.

He still couldn't forget the shock of the children reciting the 'Thousand Character Classic' in the morning.

That power, like the brilliance of the rising sun, like the splendor of the clouds.

After that, he saw the tenant children wearing the same clothes, carrying backpacks he had never seen but were very beautiful.

It gave a feeling of mountains and rivers.

The majesty of the mountains, the flow of the rivers.

Like a painting.

Then he told Li Longji about the rules for planting garlic, which were not in the 'Qi Min Yao Shu'.

Li Longji listened, and his mind was filled with endless thoughts.

He really wanted to see that place and meet that young man.

That night, Li Longji stayed at Prince Song's residence.

Lying on the bed, he couldn't sleep for a long time, muttering: "Frowning at a thousand critics, bowing to serve the people."

The next morning, Li Longji ate meatballs at Prince Song's residence again.

This time, they were steamed, with pure beef filling, so there was a meatball inside the meatball.

Still dipped in garlic sauce and vinegar, after eating, Li Longji packed four people's worth and left.

First, he went to the Baofu Hall and sent two portions of meatballs to his father and Empress Doulu.

He also gave a portion to Empress Wang, and the remaining portion was granted to Gao Lishi, along with soy sauce.

Gao Lishi, the Taishang Emperor, and Empress Doulu all ate it themselves.

Empress Wang took a bite and called the nearby palace maids and eunuchs, giving each one a meatball to eat with soy sauce.