Raising chickens and pigs and digging for wild vegetables, the county magistrate's promotion wa

Chapter 68 Your county magistrate has some brains, but not many.

Just as the cook was focused on making locust powder fried noodles, Magistrate Yang Shaofeng sent people to find the villagers who had slaughtered the pig last time, preparing to slaughter another pig.

Since the decision had already been made to fleece Xu Da and Chang Yuchun, simply having Limpy Wu bring fried noodles to them was definitely not enough. They also needed to get the canned pork out and have Limpy Wu take it along the way.

Then, a big, squealing pig was taken from the livestock farm to the county government office, ending its short pig life.

Add more Sichuan peppercorns and more salt!

To ensure the pork could be stored for a long time, Magistrate Yang Shaofeng not only poured all the remaining salt he had into the pot of boiling the meat, but also borrowed some salt from the homes of people near the county government office, making the meat extremely salty.

"Don't seal these jars yet. Seal them properly and then steam them over a low flame for 15 minutes."

Adhering to the attitude that it doesn't matter if you don't understand, as long as you dare to try, you will definitely get results, Magistrate Yang directly divided the cooked pork into two portions. One portion was steamed and then sealed, while the other portion was sealed first and then steamed.

After steaming for about half an hour and the jars had cooled down, Magistrate Yang Shaofeng had the jars marked and then placed in a cool, shady place.

Of course, the shady spot that Magistrate Yang referred to was actually a place that was not directly exposed to the sun and was relatively cooler than other places. After all, it was after the Grain in Ear season, and there was no truly shady place.

Five or six days later, Magistrate Yang Shaofeng had someone open one jar that had been sealed before steaming and the other that had not been sealed before steaming, to check if the meat inside had spoiled.

As it turns out, the antics of Magistrate Yang Shaofeng were not in vain.

After opening the canned food that was sealed in advance before steaming, a thick layer of lard floated on the surface. After carefully skimming away the lard with a spoon, you could see the clear broth underneath, and the aroma of Sichuan peppercorns and pork wafted out.

The canned goods that hadn't been sealed beforehand had already spoiled slightly, with chunks of lard floating on the broth, and the aroma wasn't that of Sichuan peppercorns and pork, but rather a slightly sour one.

Magistrate Yang Shaofeng sighed slightly and could only order the spoiled canned pork and all other canned goods that had not been properly sealed and were steamed to be thrown away.

As for the remaining canned goods that were sealed and then steamed, Magistrate Yang had a carpenter build some simple wooden shelves, stuffed them with a lot of wheat straw as cushioning, and then put the cans in one by one.

"This thing is susceptible to damage from shaking," Magistrate Yang instructed Limpy Wu before he and his men set off, "Open one and check it every two or three days along the way."

"If it's not spoiled, brothers can eat it. If it is, open another one to check. If it's all spoiled, throw it away. Under no circumstances should you eat it. Eating it will kill people. This is not the time to be sad about the meat."

"If everything breaks down along the way, just talk to Xu Xiang and Chang Pingzhang about the fried noodles, don't mention the canned food."

"If it hasn't spoiled by the time it reaches Xu Xiang and Chang Pingzhang's army, then ask them if they want fried noodles and canned food."

After pacing back and forth a few times and secretly calculating in his mind, Magistrate Yang gave the price of the canned goods: "There is about a pound of pork in each can. I think it's not expensive for me to sell it for fifty coins a can?"

Limpy Wu was stunned by the price set by Magistrate Yang: "This isn't expensive? Before I followed Changpingzhang on the Northern Expedition, pork in Jiangnan cost twenty wen per catty. Although it was not easy to find pork after crossing the river, transporting live pigs from Jiangnan to Changpingzhang's army only cost about thirty wen per catty. Now, Magistrate, you're asking for fifty wen. I'm afraid Minister Xu and Changpingzhang won't buy it."

Yang Shaofeng frowned slightly and pointed towards the kitchen, saying, "The butcher doesn't need to be paid? The cook doesn't need to be paid? The pig feed doesn't cost money? The jars don't cost money? Water and peppercorns are indeed free, but salt can only be obtained by exchanging grain, right?"

After thinking for a moment, Yang Shaofeng gritted his teeth and said, "Thirty coins, that's the lowest I can go!"

Limpy Wu was a bit dumbfounded, wondering why Magistrate Yang Shaofeng could suddenly accept the low price of thirty coins—in fact, strictly speaking, a can of food priced at thirty coins would not make much money, and could only be said to barely break even.

However, for Magistrate Yang Shaofeng, even if the canned goods resulted in a smaller loss, it was acceptable, because making canned goods required small ceramic jars, and firing small ceramic jars required a porcelain kiln.

Having a kiln means that it can not only fire ceramics, but also bricks.

If Xu Da and Chang Yuchun give up because of the price of canned goods, Ningyang County will lose not only a chance to make money, but also a chance to build a complete industrial chain around canned goods and help the people get rich!

……

"It's fucking salty!"

Xu Da gulped down a large bowl of cold water before wiping his mouth and cursing, "He has the nerve to charge fifty coins a pound for such salty meat! Why doesn't he just rob us!"

Limpy Wu muttered under his breath, "The county magistrate said that directly robbing money is illegal, and it's not easy to rob."

Xu Da was so angry he laughed: "What? So it's illegal for him to rob me, but it's not illegal for him to give me a pound of meat and charge me fifty coins? Should I thank him for robbing me fifty coins and then generously giving me a pound of meat?"

Limpy Wu chuckled and said, "Minister Xu, please calm down. Actually, the county magistrate said that the pork in this jar is quite different from ordinary pork and is definitely worth fifty coins."

Xu Da gave a curious "oh" and gestured for Lame Wu to continue.

"First of all, the pork in the jar is more durable. The small pieces were transported all the way from Ningyang County to Henan, which took about twenty days. You can see that the pork hasn't spoiled at all."

"Secondly, the county magistrate said that the military situation is urgent and cannot be delayed even for a moment. This canned food can be eaten hot or cold after opening the lid. If we eat faster than the Tartars on the other side, we can launch an attack before the Tartars."

Limpy Wu picked up a tightly packed piece of fried noodles and had someone soak it in hot water: "This fried noodle can be eaten with just water. The key is that it's cheap and delicious. With canned pork, the soldiers can eat better, right?"

Xu Da spat and said, "In my opinion, your county magistrate is just eyeing the military pay I have."

“Go back and tell him to keep the canned food for himself. My men can’t afford such expensive pork.”

"As for this fried noodles," Xu Da said after considering for a moment, "have your county magistrate arrange for people to make it. I will take as much as he can make."

After saying that, Xu Da simply walked over to the lame man, picked up a can from the wooden box, shook it vigorously, chuckled coldly, and mocked, "Your county magistrate has some brains, but not many."

"Doesn't your county magistrate know that food spoils easily in the summer, and that shaking it a few times after it cools down will make it spoil even faster?"

"With the army marching off, who cares whether this can of food is shaking or not? And how could we possibly keep an eye on it as constantly as you did when you came from Ningyang County?"

"If any of my soldiers get sick from eating this, do you think I should hold my men accountable for improper transportation and storage, or should I hold your county magistrate responsible?"

Upon hearing Xu Da's words, Lame Wu immediately broke out in a cold sweat.

The county magistrate had planned everything meticulously, but he overlooked the fact that canned food is susceptible to shaking. And an army on the march simply couldn't afford to spend too much time on canned food. If something went wrong, it would be a capital offense!

Xu Da glanced at Limpy Wu: "So, have you figured it out?"

Limping Wu wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, bowed to Xu Da, and said, "Yes, I understand. On behalf of the county magistrate, I thank you for the reminder, Minister Xu."

Xu Da then snorted coldly and said, "Go back and tell your county magistrate that I know he has a heart full of concern for the people and I admire him for always thinking about the people. But you have to eat one bite at a time and walk one step at a time. You can't be impatient."

After Limpy Wu bowed and agreed, Xu Da had someone bring him a small piece of silver and forced it into Limpy Wu's hand: "You should buy these canned goods yourself. Don't take them to Chang Heitan's place. That Heitan is only thinking about war and doesn't think about these things. If he buys your county magistrate's canned goods and something goes wrong, it will be entirely your county magistrate's responsibility."