Chapter 544: Please Learn to Garden

Jadeite is a product of Lingnan, and by this time it had already become renowned throughout the Central Plains, shining in mutual splendor with white jade and equally favored in the palaces of the nobility. Heifu did not need to explain; those who could understand, understood naturally.

Yesterday, after that meal of "Jadeite and White Jade Soup," Heifu demonstrated the brine-coagulated tofu—a staple of every single historical time-travel novel, no need to pad it out again—for Qin Shi Huang at the newly built tofu workshop beside the great well in Jimo City.

This was one of the fruits of the Agriculturalists' half-year of hard work in Jiaodong. The raw material, shu, is the soybean, a native product of the Central Plains with a long history. Moreover, the soybeans grown in Jiaodong had an even higher yield than those of the Central Plains—the "Rong Shu" that Guan Zhong introduced from the Mountain Rong four hundred years ago, a famous case of foreign species introduction, along with "winter scallions." What Heifu had the Agriculturalists do in Jiaodong was actually quite similar to what Guan Zhong did, only more meticulous and complex.

In addition, under the promotion of Heifu and the Mohists, the stone mill had become a commonplace sight in Guanzhong, so all the conditions for preparing soybean milk and tofu were in place. All that remained was for Heifu to open the door to a new world for the Agriculturalists through an "accidental" event.

That had happened in autumn, and now it was already mid-November. Several months had passed, and the tofu-making process had been explored and brought to maturity.

Naturally, the process of making tofu drew a chorus of exclamations from the assembled ministers who had never seen such a thing. There was even Zhao Gao's younger brother, the court gentleman Zhao Cheng, who suspected that the stuff produced this way was poisonous.

Heifu's response was to drink a bowl of sweet tofu pudding sprinkled with sugar right in front of him, wipe his mouth, and show that nothing whatsoever was wrong. Zhao Cheng had no choice but to shut his mouth. In the end, quite a few ministers tried a little; some liked it sweet, some liked it savory, and so on.

And today, Heifu invited Qin Shi Huang to visit the Agriculturalists' vegetable garden outside the city. This thriving "agricultural science and technology park" in Jiaodong had been named "Dazhai" by Heifu, for reasons unknown.

At Dazhai, the Agriculturalist leader Xu Sheng brought his disciples to pay their respects to Qin Shi Huang and, at the same time, began his introduction: "This humble commoner dares to tell Your Majesty that in an ordinary vegetable garden, from the Xianyang Palace chambers in Guanzhong to the frontier military camps, what is grown is mostly these few kinds."

Xu Sheng counted them off on his fingers one by one for the Emperor: "Mallow, chives, xie, scallions, and bean leaves—these five vegetables can be said to be found everywhere. Among them, mallow is sweet, chives are sour, bean leaves are salty, xie is bitter, and scallions are acrid..."

As for others like mustard greens, celery, and so on, they were mostly regional and had not been popularized on a large scale.

"It's just that, once late autumn arrives..."

Xu Sheng pointed at the bare vegetable gardens along the way and shook his head: "All five vegetables are gone. Only the mallow—if planted in the sixth or seventh month and harvested in late autumn—can be salted and pickled into preserved vegetables. If planted in the eighth or ninth month, it is harvested in the first month of spring. Thus, in the lingering chill of early spring, the only fresh vegetable one can eat is mallow. But in Jiaodong, the weather is so cold that mallow often cannot survive the winter and more than half freezes to death. The mallow pickles made in autumn don't last many meals either..."

Because the yield of mallow was simply too small; for the long northern winter, it was a mere drop in the bucket.

If even mallow was like this, the rest of the vegetables, once winter set in, could not be eaten at all.

Among the accompanying ministers, no one asked a joke question like "Why don't they eat meat paste?" The Qin dynasty adhered to the principle that "a chancellor must rise from the provinces, a fierce general must emerge from the ranks." Even a member of the imperial clan like Ziying had worked his way up from the grassroots. Though he might not be clear on the seasonal cycles of vegetables, he at least knew the bland fare of ordinary soldiers and commoners during the long winter:

For three long months, the empire's several million households and hundreds of thousands of soldiers had to rely daily on a little dry, tasteless salted bean paste to choke down their unpalatable millet rice. Some families, ill-prepared and having finished their paste, could only gnaw on salt blocks with their meals. The most wretched were those families who could not even afford salt—can you imagine, day after day, eating nothing with your rice, washing down two bland, insipid meals with cold water...?

At such times, whether garrison soldiers or commoners, no one dared dream of meat, but even just a bit of vegetable to improve their diet would be an immense luxury!

So do not underestimate the vegetable basket; it is a matter that concerns the people's livelihood. The day you discover that vegetable prices in the market have risen, life for the common folk has already become hard.

At this point, Heifu took over from Xu Sheng and said to Qin Shi Huang: "But in Jiaodong, through the tireless efforts of the Agriculturalists, a vegetable has been found that grows in all four seasons, is more cold-resistant than mallow, has a greater yield, and tastes even better..."

Qin Shi Huang understood: "This is the 'song' that We ate the day before yesterday?"

"Exactly—song cabbage!"

Qin Shi Huang was accustomed to rich meats and fish; an occasional meal of "Jadeite and White Jade Soup" was quite a refreshing novelty.

And to be honest, under the imperial chef's cooking, that pot of soup tasted very good. The tofu was smooth, tender, and delicious, and the green song cabbage was also quite tasty. To Qin Shi Huang's palate, it was more delicious than the water-shield of Guanzhong or the mallow and celery of Ba and Shu.

Moreover, after the imperial physician Chen Wujiu and others sampled this vegetable, they determined that song cabbage is slightly cold in nature and sweet in flavor, possessing the effects of nourishing the stomach, generating fluids, clearing heat, and detoxifying. They even advised Qin Shi Huang to eat more of it...

At this moment, the group happened to arrive at a vegetable plot where winter mallow and song cabbage were planted side by side.

It had snowed only the night before, and in the already snow-covered ground, the winter mallow beside them had already wilted, but the song cabbage remained perfectly intact. Because it had only been planted in the eighth or ninth month, it was still young and tender, its color a pale bluish-white, bearing a little unmelted snow on top, yet still looking vigorous and full of life.

Xu Sheng smiled and said: "The reason this plant is named 'song' is that it does not wither through the harsh winter, growing in all four seasons, possessing the integrity of the pine. Unlike other vegetables, song cabbage only tastes especially delicious after a frost."

As he spoke, the group arrived at a hut beside the vegetable plot and opened the cellar. Inside were stored heads of song cabbage, though its appearance still differed considerably from the later Chinese cabbage: it had loose leaves rather than a compact head, and its size was far smaller than a head of Chinese cabbage weighing over ten jin.

But this was already a familiar sight to Heifu; he had been to northern villages and seen how commoners hoarded cabbages for the winter.

At the same time, Xu Sheng also sighed with emotion: "Though the ancients ate song early on, in former days this vegetable was only treated as a wild herb, gathered occasionally by commoners to prepare for famine years. Fortunately, the Commandant of Jiaodong gave a hint, saying he had seen this vegetable still intact in the cold of winter and that it might be worth trying to cultivate. Only then did we seek it out and plant it. Unexpectedly, what we got was the tripe song, with thick, large leaves that turn the color of jadeite when ripe, sweet in flavor, leaving no dregs when eaten, and its taste is no less than mallow!"

Although its size and texture still needed improvement, to be able to select a superior variety from several types of wild song in less than a year was already an extraordinary achievement.

Although the Agriculturalists were specialists in farming and gardening, they had no modern scientific research system. They could only use the method of Shennong tasting the hundred herbs, constantly accumulating experience, carefully finding a map of non-toxic foods among the multitude of plants, and then through continuous domestication and cultivation, selecting the best among the best, finally promoting their cultivation.

Heifu could only draw on his own experience from his rural hometown in a previous life and casually suggest a few possible points: for instance, interplanting song with mustard greens, because they both seemed to belong to the "Brassicaceae" family and could be crossbred. In this way, perhaps the quality could be repeatedly improved, in the hope that one day, the later Chinese cabbage could be cultivated...

Heifu did this not for his own appetite, nor to curry favor with the Emperor's palate, and still less to add dishes to the dining tables of high officials and nobles!

Rather, he hoped that during the long winter days, in every cold corner of the empire, the commoners and soldiers who could only chew on dry rations might be able to eat a bowl of tasty cabbage soup, or pickled cabbage that one never tires of eating...

Mencius said: "Let chickens, pigs, dogs, and swine be bred without missing their seasons, and those of seventy years may eat meat..." This was something Heifu could not guarantee. But at the very least, some easily popularized new things—a bowl of "Jadeite Cabbage Soup" that even the Emperor praised after drinking—could add a little flavor to the common people's otherwise drab lives.

Thinking of this, Heifu petitioned Qin Shi Huang for merit on behalf of the Agriculturalists: "Your Majesty, this subject has heard that in ancient times, when the people suffered illness and knew not of medicinal herbs, Shennong began to explore the tastes of plants, discerning their cold, warm, neutral, and hot natures, distinguishing the principles of sovereign, minister, assistant, and envoy. He tasted and in a single day encountered seventy poisons, yet transformed them through divine power, and thus wrote texts to heal the people—and the way of medicine began from this."

"Today, Xu Sheng of the Agriculturalists and his followers have likewise tasted the hundred herbs, selected song cabbage and cultivated it, and recorded every process of trial and cultivation on paper, so that disciples may follow their example. If in the future every household can eat this vegetable, it will also be a great benevolent policy!"

"It is indeed a benevolent policy."

Qin Shi Huang nodded and, at Heifu's request, bestowed rewards upon Xu Sheng and the Agriculturalist disciples, granting them noble ranks and land. But after Xu Sheng's disciples bowed in thanks, they spoke again: "Your Majesty, this old man has a matter to report!"

Although Xu Sheng had the past misdeed of supporting Lü Buwei and fleeing Guanzhong, that was in the past. Qin Shi Huang was still fairly amiable toward him and nodded: "Speak freely."

Xu Sheng begged forgiveness and began to recount an old story...

"Your Majesty, in former days, Fan Chi, a disciple of Confucius, asked to learn about farming. Confucius said, 'I am not as good as an old farmer.' He asked to learn about vegetable gardening. Confucius again said, 'I am not as good as an old gardener.'"

"After Fan Chi went out, Confucius said to his other disciples, 'A petty man indeed, this Fan Chi! If those above love ritual, the people will not dare to be disrespectful; if those above love righteousness, the people will not dare to be disobedient; if those above love trustworthiness, the people will not dare to be insincere. If it is so, then the people from all directions will come carrying their children in swaddling clothes on their backs—why would one need to learn farming oneself?'"

Confucius believed that he trained his students not so that they would go plant crops and vegetables in the future, but so that they could engage in governance and become officials, to become meat-eaters. As long as one became an official, all problems would be readily solved.

The Confucians also believed that those in high positions had no need to learn such knowledge as planting crops and vegetables. As long as they valued ritual, righteousness, and trustworthiness, that was sufficient!

In short, Confucian education was never meant to cultivate laborers, but to cultivate those who labor with their minds.

But the Agriculturalists had taken a path completely opposite to theirs. There was even a legend: the founder of the Agriculturalists was none other than a disciple of Confucius—that "petty man" Fan Chi whom he had despised!

No wonder, then, that the Agriculturalists had once been so scorned and disparaged by Confucian masters like Mencius that they could not even squeeze into the Jixia Academy, and could only seek a way out in the weak state of Teng, or look for opportunities in the distant state of Qin...

Xu Sheng glanced at Heifu, whose eyes were full of encouragement.

Heifu had told Xu Sheng that, just like the Agriculturalist chapters in the *Lüshi Chunqiu*, they should write down this process of "tasting the hundred herbs," teach it to their disciples, and at the same time let all under Heaven know...

"When granaries are full, people know ritual; when food and clothing are sufficient, people know honor and disgrace! The affairs of farming and gardening are not the way of petty men, but, like the Confucian Odes, Documents, Rites, and Music, they are a great learning that concerns the people's livelihood!"

This was encouragement Xu Sheng had never received before. Thus, he mustered his courage and petitioned Qin Shi Huang:

"Your Majesty, the way of petty men, despised by Confucian scholars, is precisely the practical learning of our Great Qin. This is a great fortune for the Agriculturalists, and also a great fortune for all under Heaven. This old man dares to beg Your Majesty to allow those 'petty men' who, like Fan Chi, wish to learn farming and gardening, to study under us as disciples. After completing their studies, they may serve as field officials, spreading to the commoners, for Your Majesty, the knowledge of seasonal nodes and farming seasons, the techniques of composting and fermenting fertilizer, and promoting goods like song cabbage..."

Qin Shi Huang and the assembled ministers were all taken aback. At this moment, Heifu immediately stepped forward and said:

"Exactly, Your Majesty! Just as the Chancellor said that day in Linzi when discussing the compilation of books and histories: now that all under Heaven is settled and laws and decrees issue from a single source, the common people in their households should devote their strength to farming and crafts, while scholars should study the laws, decrees, and prohibitions. In the public academies, there is already the study of laws and decrees. However, beyond this, there should also be established the study of crafts and agriculture! Let these useful branches of learning, let song cabbage and tofu, all be spread throughout the world, benefiting the common people! And let those who use the past to criticize the present see: what Shennong did, Great Qin can likewise do, and do better than in ancient times!"

PS: Second chapter. I have to travel tonight, so no need to wait.

Regarding jadeite, the *Huainanzi: Renjian Xun* records: "(Qin Shi Huang) also coveted the rhinoceros horn, elephant tusks, jadeite, and pearls of Yue, and thus sent Commandant Tu Sui to dispatch five hundred thousand troops, forming five armies: one army blocked the pass at the Tan Cheng range, one army guarded the pass at Jiuyi, one army stationed at the capital of Panyu, one army guarded the border at Nanye, and one army assembled on the Yugan River."

(End of Chapter)