Chapter 124: How Much Does It Cost

Very quickly, Yan Ning was led into the pigsty by Steward Feng.

Steward Feng was also drumming in his heart; their meals had not been prepared well, and if it weren't for Yan Ze being kind and generous, his head would have had to move today.

As soon as Yan Ning arrived at the pigsty, she smelled a stench.

She had heard that in the past, some people built pigsties under latrines to let the pigs grow up eating excrement; thinking of this, Yan Ning felt a chill.

But fortunately, the pigs on the manor were all fed with grain.

The only thing that was not so good was the smell on the pigs themselves.

Yan Ning asked, "Have you castrated the pigs?"

Steward Feng was stunned, "Ah? What is called 'castrating pigs'?"

Yan Ning then said, "It means turning the pigs into eunuchs."

Steward Feng knew in his heart that he should immediately do as Yan Ning said, but he still couldn't help asking, "Why must these pigs be castrated?"

Yan Ning explained, "If they aren't castrated, there is a gamey smell on their bodies, which is very unpleasant and the taste is not good either. Castrated pigs are also easier to fatten up. Keep one boar for breeding, and castrate all the others. Especially those small ones."

Steward Feng hurriedly arranged for people to do it.

One person was seen nimbly making the cut, the pig let out a miserable shriek, and it was considered done.

Yan Ning reminded them again, "The sheep must also be castrated."

Steward Feng had a few people go to the neighboring manors to pass the word, so as to avoid having that strange smell again when it came time to eat pork and mutton at the end of the year.

Yan Ning quite liked Steward Feng; he handled matters very efficiently and was also thoughtful.

Continuing to watch the pig castration was a bit bloody, and she was afraid she wouldn't sleep well at night, so Yan Ning strolled around the manor.

She had someone bring a basket, specifically for holding various vegetables: eggplants, tomatoes, cucumbers, and Corn.

There was also a plot of land specifically for growing chili peppers; all kinds of chili peppers could be grown, and there were many varieties.

Yan Ning also brought some back.

She was a bit impatient; she had eaten too many eggplants during this period and was tired of them.

After picking these, Yan Ning prepared to return to the palace.

Fortunately, she arrived early, and the next day's morning court session was not delayed.

After the court session, Yan Ning pulled Yan Ze along to go to the Empress Dowager's Cining Palace.

Recently, Ji Lan had been going to Cining Palace frequently; Yan Ning was busy non-stop making various infrastructure plans and money-making plans, while Yan Ze was having a headache from the noise of that group of ministers, so neither of them had been to Cining Palace lately.

Today at court, it was rare that no contrarian came out to argue with her; Yan Ning was in a good mood, so she pulled her father to Cining Palace.

As soon as they entered, they saw the Spirit Fruit that Yan Ning had gifted to the Empress Dowager; it hadn't been grown using Spirit Soil, but it had still borne quite a few fruits, though the fruits were still quite green and unripe and could only be eaten after some time.

She didn't know if these fruits grown with ordinary soil had any effect.

Yan Ning stared at the potted plant for a moment, then went inside.

At this time, the Imperial Physician was taking the Empress Dowager's pulse to check on her health, and Yan Ning watched with some worry for a moment.

Fortunately, the Imperial Physician said, "Your Majesty is in good health, everything is fine, but it would be best to walk around the Imperial Garden more."

It was probably because Ji Lan brought Spirit Fruit every time she came during this period, and the Empress Dowager ate a lot of it, so her health was getting better and better.

The Imperial Physician was just about to leave when he was stopped by the Empress Dowager: "Wait, take the pulse for the Emperor and Ningning."

The Empress Dowager muttered, "You are both busy every day, I expect you haven't asked the Imperial Physician to check your pulses."

The two of them were in excellent health and were still eating Spirit Fruit; they ate well and slept well, and had no ailments at all.

The Imperial Physician said the same thing after taking their pulses.

Only then was the Empress Dowager relieved.

Yan Ning acted spoiled toward the Empress Dowager: "Great-Grandmother, are you in a good mood lately?"

Actually, it was not very good.

Yan Yu and the late Emperor were both her own son and grandson, but the absurd things Yan Yu did—killing his father to usurp the throne—he even wanted to kill Yan Ze.

Yan Ze had blown Yan Yu to death; the Empress Dowager knew that was indeed what should have been done, but she still felt a bit uncomfortable in her heart.

After so long, seeing Yan Ning and Yan Ze, her mood could indeed be a bit better.

Yan Ning continued to pull on her sleeve and act spoiled: "How about I arrange an opera troupe for Great-Grandmother, so you can go listen to operas whenever you have nothing to do?"

The Empress Dowager beamed with joy: "Ningning is the best after all."

Yan Ning said she would do it and immediately arranged for an opera troupe to enter the palace; besides singing operas, there were also acrobatics.

She hoped it would make the Empress Dowager feel a bit better.

Yan Ning stayed in Cining Palace for a long time before pulling her father along to go back.

Yan Ze asked, "Why are you in such a hurry?"

Yan Ning held a bag of Seed; these were the seeds collected after they ate the Spirit Fruit, and she didn't know what the effect of growing them would be.

Anyway, they looked similar to the Spirit Fruit seeds that the cultivator had given them before.

Yan Ze had someone bring over several large empty flowerpots, and after the people left, Yan Ning began to take out that piece of Spirit Soil Brick, continued to chip off a fingernail-sized piece of soil, and put it into the flowerpot.

Before long, the soil began to expand, just enough to fill the flowerpot.

Yan Ning then planted the Seed inside.

In one go, she made more than a dozen flowerpots, all grown from Spirit Fruit pits.

If the seeds of the Spirit Fruit they finished eating could continue to be effective, then this Spirit Fruit might be able to be promoted, which could allow the soldiers to strengthen their bodies and also allow those capable old men to wait a few more years before retiring.

Thinking this, Yan Ning had someone send over twenty more flowerpots.

After planting them, Yan Ning went to a corner, where more than a dozen seedlings that had grown were placed, and two of the pots had already borne fruit.

It was just that most of the fruits were green, with one turning yellow.

If she remembered correctly, this pot was grown using the pits of the fruits they had finished eating; Yan Ning picked that yellowish fruit and ate it with a crunch.

The fully ripe fruit was sweet, while the semi-ripe one had a sweet and sour feeling, not astringent at all.

After eating, Yan Ning felt warm all over, as if a warm current had passed through her.

The fatigue on her body was swept away.

Yan Ning's eyes lit up, "Father, eat this fruit quickly; the seeds planted from it are also useful!"

Yan Ze could not help but go over and pick one, which was also yellowish-green, sweet and sour.

Once swallowed, his head stopped aching, and he felt the muscles and bones throughout his body relax.

Yan Ze said, "It is indeed the same as the previous Spirit Fruit; it is estimated that it still needs to be planted with Spirit Soil. If it were to be produced on a large scale..."

Yan Ning took out that stack of square bricks directly, a tall, large stack, "It should be enough."

"Even if it's not enough, perhaps we might be able to encounter people from the World of Cultivation in the future."

It is just that she does not know how this can be planted in batches.

This soil is too rare; it is their secret.

But there is no one who can help with the planting, so it can only be temporarily placed in the backyard of the Qianqing Palace.

The next day, having eaten the Spirit Fruit, Yan Ning arrived at court feeling refreshed and invigorated.

There had been no contrarians for these past two days, and Yan Ning felt that it seemed possible to propose the road construction plan.

After waiting for a few ministers to finish speaking, Yan Ning spoke up, "I want to build roads, with the first stop being from the Capital to Jincheng, and while at it, also repair the roads in the nearby villages."

A minister asked, "But the official roads have already been built, so what kind of roads are you still building?"

Yan Ning said, "It is to build Cement Roads; they are very hard, and one need not fear the carriage wheels getting stuck on rainy days."

At this moment, the Minister of Revenue's eyelids twitched.

He asked, "How much money will it cost?"