Chapter 286 285 Pepper

The fleet followed the north wind and sailed southward, soon passing Zhenjiang and entering the Yangtze River.

When the fleet arrived here, it was already far away from Nanjing.

Before departure, Wei Guangde received a letter from Xu Bangrui, hoping that Wei Guangde could come to Nanjing before returning to Jiujiang so that they could meet first.

Although Xu Bangrui knew Wei Guangde for a long time, the two had never met by chance.

Although he had heard about Wei Guangde's general appearance from many people before, Xu Bangrui still wanted to meet Wei Guangde first, so he sent him a letter before Wei Guangde left Beijing.

In the cabin, in addition to Wei Guangde's servants, Xu Huai was also mixed in. As a messenger, he delivered Xu Bangrui's letter and then returned south with Wei Guangde.

It had been arranged in advance that Wei Guangde would disembark in Nanjing and then find a boat to return to Jiujiang, so when the boat was near Nanjing, the merchant ship carrying him turned and approached Longwan Wharf.

In fact, the goods carried by the fleet also need to be unloaded in Nanjing, so they are naturally stored on this ship.

After the ship docked and secured the berth, Wei Guangde and his party naturally got off the ship first. After they left the dock, the dock coolies who had been waiting on the side rushed to the front of the ship, waiting for the boatman to arrange work for them.

For these people, they have long been accustomed to such things. Large merchant ships often carry nobles who they cannot afford to offend. They cannot rush over after the ship docks, but have to wait for the nobles to get off the ship and leave before rushing over to compete for the work of loading and unloading goods.

Wei Guangde's current status is a bit embarrassing, so he naturally cannot go directly to the Duke of Wei's mansion, but Xu Bangrui naturally has a separate courtyard in Nanjing City, so it is still easy to settle Wei Guangde.

When they arrived here, Xu Huai naturally led the way. Several carriages appeared from nowhere. At Xu Huai's call, the group got on, the curtains of the carriages were lowered, and then they began to drive towards the city.

Wei Guangde and his companions were settled in a quiet courtyard on Sanshan Street. This was an estate purchased by Xu Bangrui. It was actually quite close to the Duke of Wei's Mansion, and he often used it to entertain relatives and friends.

"This house is nice."

After Wei Guangde got off the carriage, he followed Xu Huai into the house. It looked like a Jiangnan garden. Although it was just an outer house, it was not much different from the Wei family's house in Jiujiang Prefecture.

It can only be said that the heritage of aristocratic families may be like this. In Wei Guangde's eyes, it was a mansion, but here it was just a separate courtyard.

"The original owner of this place mortgaged the yard to the young master, and it was renovated a lot in the past two years to make it what it is now."

Xu Huai explained on the side.

"Oh."

Wei Guangde didn't want to care about the relationship between others and Xu Bangrui. It had nothing to do with him. He could just mortgage it, but Wei Guangde really liked this yard.

When getting off the car, Xu Huai introduced that the courtyard was only one street away from the Duke of Wei's mansion, very close, and it was probably convenient for Xu Bangrui to find an opportunity to come and meet him.

It was already afternoon, and after settling people down, Xu Huai said goodbye and went back to report.

In fact, when they got on the carriage, Xu Huai had already arranged for someone to report to Xu Bangrui, and he left and went back just to report the itinerary to Xu Bangrui.

In the evening, Xu Bangrui came and set up a sumptuous banquet in the flower hall to entertain Wei Guangde, as a welcome for him.

This was the first time Wei Guangde and Xu Bangrui met. Wei Guangde's appearance was similar to what he had heard. He was definitely not as handsome as a jade or as good-looking as Pan An, but he was also handsome.

Perhaps because of his studies, he was used to being pampered, but he didn't have the dark skin of his elder brother Wei Wencai. He looked like a guard at first glance, and he was fair.

Xu Bangrui was satisfied with Wei Guangde's appearance, as long as his sister would not be wronged.

In Wei Guangde's opinion, Xu Bangrui looked a bit like a pretty boy, but he was handsome and elegant. He came from the Duke's Mansion, so his temperament was naturally outstanding, but he felt a bit feminine.

Fortunately, seeing Xu Bangrui's appearance, thinking that his unmarried wife was his biological sister, she would not look bad.

Don't worry.

The two of them ate and drank and chatted for a long time. When they were slightly drunk, Wei Guangde suddenly took out two red fruits from his sleeves and asked, "Brother, where did this thing in the garden come from?"

"You mean the chili pepper, which came from Zhejiang two years ago. It was said that it was brought by the barbarians. The flower is not very good, but the fruit hanging on the tree is beautiful, so some were planted in the garden."

At first, Xu Bangrui didn't recognize what it was. After looking carefully at the fruit that looked like a bald pen tip, he remembered that it was the chili pepper that he had seen two years ago.

When he first saw it, Xu Bangrui thought the fruit was pretty, especially the large number of red peppers hanging on the branches.

It happened that he was renovating the villa here, so he also planted a few here, but he didn't expect Wei Guangde to be interested in this thing.

"Oh, so that's it."

Wei Guangde didn't know that peppers were introduced from abroad before. He always thought that this thing might still be hidden in the mountains and not discovered by anyone.

In the past, there was actually spicy food at banquets, but the condiments used were mustard and ginger, and the spiciness was naturally not comparable to peppers, so Wei Guangde was not used to it.

When he first came here today, Wei Guangde walked around the garden casually, and as a result, he saw a few small shrubs in the corner of the garden, with red peppers on the branches.

Wei Guangde wasn't sure at first, so he took one off and nibbled a little, just a little, and the long-lost spicy taste filled the tip of his tongue, making Wei Guangde hooked on the spot.

However, thinking that this was Xu Bangrui's yard, naturally I couldn't catch all the peppers on the branches. I just picked a few and hid them. I made up my mind to ask Xu Bangrui about the origin of these peppers and transplant a batch of these dwarf tree stumps back. There are chili peppers available.

Just thinking about it for a moment makes my tongue secrete a lot of saliva. I really miss the taste of chili.

But in my heart, I also secretly resented that these powerful people were occupying such a delicious thing. If I had known that there were chili peppers in Wei Guogong's house, he would have come to propose marriage. He didn't need the dowry, but he had to hand over all the chili peppers.

But, what do you mean by Xu Bangrui's words? To them, chili peppers are just beautiful to look at, not something to eat?

impossible.

Wei Guangde had the impression that Westerners were searching for spices all over the world. It was impossible not to know that peppers are edible and are a condiment.

But Wei Guangde soon came up with his own guess. It was possible that when the Yi and Ming people were trading, Ming people just thought the thing looked good, so they didn't bother to explain.

Wei Guangde touched his forehead and thought of the business opportunities. The condiments of the Ming Dynasty were still far less rich than those of later generations and were relatively monotonous.

With this chili pepper, you should be able to make a lot of money, right?

But thinking of this, Wei Guangde felt a little unsure.

Can people in the Ming Dynasty eat spicy food now?

Can they accept chili peppers?

Also, there is no technical content in growing peppers. I didn’t see that there were several pepper shrubs in the garden. It doesn’t seem to be considered trees, it can only be said to be shrubs.

If you plant some land, the peppers produced in the first two years may be sold at a good price, but only if rich people accept the taste and are willing to spend money to buy them.

But within two years, others would follow suit, and then the market would flood and there would be no profit.

Forget it, let's do something good and help promote the cultivation of peppers. At least in the future, I can eat them whenever I want, instead of being like now where I have no money to buy them.

"Didn't those barbarians tell me how to use this thing?"

Wei Guangde asked, pretending to be surprised.

"Hey, it doesn't just look good, it's bright red, and my little sister likes it too."

Xu Bangrui never thought that this beautiful-looking fruit could be eaten. For people like them, eating is not something you can eat casually. Others will use it first and eat it without any toxicity.

In fact, people who fought in the military generally kept some traditions, such as this pepper. You must not eat the beautiful-looking fruit because it may be poisonous.

Because of this, Xu Bangrui has never considered letting people taste the fruit to see what it tastes like and whether it is toxic.

Wei Guangde blinked when he heard this. He didn't know how to say that the correct usage of this thing is actually for eating and condiment.

Smacking his lips, Wei Guangde thought for a moment before saying, "This thing looks good, so I picked a few fruits."

Xu Bangrui's interest was also aroused by Wei Guangde at this time. He wanted to know what Wei Guangde had discovered. From the meaning of his words, it seemed that there were other uses for this pepper.

"What did you find? Here, if you have anything to say, you can say it directly. It's all from your own family."

Xu Bangrui couldn't help but speak.

"This thing is edible, and the taste is very unique. It is spicy, but the spiciness is very distinctive and delicious."

Wei Guangde was also unambiguous and said directly: "I also plan to order more peppers if there are more peppers here, but according to what you said, my house doesn't seem to grow this stuff specifically, so I don't think there are many. "

"eat?"

Xu Bangrui frowned slightly and looked at the sweet peppers that Wei Guangde put on the table, "Has anyone ever eaten this? We all come from military families, so we should know not to eat food randomly."

"When I got it, I took a bite. Apart from the spiciness, there was no other toxicity."

Wei Guangde replied without hesitation, will chili be eaten less in future generations?

As far as their hometown and many places in the country are concerned, there is no spicy food. It seems that except for some places along the coast where the food is relatively light and the dishes at banquets may not use chili peppers, it is really hard for people in China not to use this thing. Common.

Having said this, Wei Guangde took out a chili pepper from his sleeve and placed it on the wine table.

This chili is slightly different from the two that Wei Guangde took out earlier. The difference is naturally that the head of the chili is missing. It was obviously bitten by Wei Guangde.

Of course Xu Bangrui would not think that Wei Guangde wanted to harm him. It would not be good for him. Although the two met for the first time, they still had a good conversation.

Wei Guangde was good. This was Xu Bangrui's impression. Just because the two families were married, he did not hesitate to stand on his side and even helped him eliminate his father Xu Pengju's Austrian aid in the palace.

This is not as simple as destroying his father's layout in the palace. In turn, it also shows that Wei Guangde's relationship in the palace can help him speak in the palace in the future when he and his brother Xu Bangning compete for the inheritance of the title. Increase the possibility of him attacking the prince.

As for Wei Guangde, he received thousands of taels of silver from others for free, so naturally he can't think bad of others.

Those who give money to themselves are good people.

Looking at the pepper that Wei Guangde wanted to drop, Xu Bangrui picked up the one next to him, put the tip of the pepper into his mouth and took a bite. Just a little bit, and suddenly his mouth was filled with a spicy and stimulating taste. Saliva secreted crazily from the mouth.

"Bah spicy."

Xu Bangrui spit out the bit of pepper on the ground. He immediately picked up the spoon and bowl and scooped two spoonfuls of soup into the bowl and drank it. Only then did he feel that the spiciness in his mouth was slightly relieved, but it was still spicy. He couldn't stand it.

"What does it taste like? It's spicier than ginger."

Xu Bangrui kept talking, but his eyes were looking at the pepper in his hand.

"hehe."

Seeing Xu Bangrui's reaction, Wei Guangde knew that in this era, people in Ming Dynasty might not be able to accept the condiment of chili in a short time, because he had previously thought he could make money from it.

"I was like that at first too."

Seeing Xu Bangrui looking at him at this time, Wei Guangde had no choice but to put away his smile and said: "But with the second bite, you can feel the different flavors in the pepper. It's really delicious."

Seeing Xu Bangrui's look of disbelief, Wei Guangde didn't want to dwell on this anymore, so he raised his hands and said to him: "Brother, from what you said, we still have this pepper in the house, but it's just an ornamental plant, right?"

Seeing Xu Bangrui nodding, he continued: "I wonder if you can help me collect the spicy and sweet peppers in the house and give them to me.

By the way, there are also seeds of these peppers. I also want to go back and find someone to plant some, so that I can produce them for my own use. "

"Do you really like this thing?"

Xu Bangrui still looked a little unsure. He really couldn't taste the good taste of this pepper. Except that it was spicy on the tongue, it was spicy on the tongue. He didn't want to try it a second time.

Wei Guangde nodded hurriedly.

"This thing is not valuable. The seeds seem to be the seeds in peppers. I have to ask someone for details on how to plant them. I don't know how to get this thing."

As for Xu Bangrui, he definitely doesn’t know anything about plant cultivation. It’s good to know about pepper seeds, because Wei Guangde didn’t know that pepper seeds are actually the pepper seeds in peppers. He thought he just broke off the branches of the bush and inserted them into the soil. .

"There are still some in the house. I'll just ask someone to collect all the grown peppers and give them to you. When they first grew, they seemed novel, but after looking at them for a long time, they didn't look very good.

In Nanjing, other places also have hot peppers. I'll help you find someone to get some when the time comes. But have you eaten this spiciness? "

Thinking of the taste in his mouth before, Xu Bangrui was a little speechless. This thing can also be eaten.

"Thank you very much, brother."

Hearing that Xu Bangrui was willing to give him all the chili peppers in Duke Wei's mansion, and also helped him find some chili peppers from other dignitaries' mansions in Nanjing City, he also helped him get some natural joy.

He didn't want too much for such a rare thing.

I went back to find someone who learned how to grow peppers. I planted some here in Jiujiang Prefecture and tried some in the capital to see if they could be grown successfully.