Duan Yao looked at her determined gaze, realizing she was not joking at all.
She then looked at the sprouted seed before her. This time, she believed Zhao Jiaqi's words.
Her voice trembled slightly as she asked, "Sister-in-law, is this truly a rice seed?"
"Can we really plant rice here?"
Zhao Jiaqi nodded slightly, "This is indeed a seawater rice seed, but whether it can be planted successfully, I still need to conduct further experiments. So, I can't accurately tell you yet if it can be planted or not."
Seeing Duan Yao's hope dimming, she smiled, "Second Sister-in-law, for now, the seed has sprouted. This is a good sign. We must approach everything with hope. As long as we try our best, even if we can't plant seawater rice, we won't have regrets, will we?"
This time, she took Zhao Jiaqi's words to heart and nodded heavily, "Sister-in-law is right. What do you need me to do? I want to contribute!"
Speaking of this, Zhao Jiaqi actually had something for her to do.
"Now, prepare a piece of land, cultivate it repeatedly..." Zhao Jiaqi explained a series of things about farming, but Duan Yao understood none of it.
What was plowing? What was fertilizing? She truly didn't understand any of it. However, she couldn't interrupt Zhao Jiaqi's flow, so she silently committed the words to memory. Tomorrow, she would summon a few experienced farmers.
She hoped they could understand some of it and not let her sister-in-law's efforts go to waste.
That evening, Duan Yao stationed her personal guards there, ordering them to keep watch and not let anyone approach.
Now that the rice had finally sprouted, they couldn't let it be ruined. Therefore, Duan Yao took it very seriously.
That very night, she sent a letter to Helian Zhicheng, informing him of everything that had happened here.
The letter, sent by carrier pigeon, quickly reached the Emperor of Dingbei Liao. He was so excited that his lips trembled uncontrollably.
"This is truly a joyous occasion! I never expected my brother and sister-in-law to be so capable. To have such people to assist us is truly a savior for our Dingbei Liao."
Seeing the Emperor so happy, the eunuch in charge of internal affairs flattered him, "Yes, yes, Your Majesty is blessed by heaven and naturally has noble people to assist you!"
Helian Zhicheng's mind was entirely occupied with the matter of rice and the discussion of planting greenhouses. His thoughts had long flown to them.
"Issue a decree. Tomorrow, have the Minister of Revenue find several experienced farmers. I want people who are skilled, careful, and intelligent. Do not send any foolish individuals to the palace."
The chief eunuch was unclear about the Emperor's intentions but faithfully relayed the message.
The next day, the Emperor took the people sent by the Ministry of Revenue with him. In court, he temporarily entrusted the management to his sworn brother, the King of Li.
He had no worries about this sworn brother usurping the throne. If he had wanted to be emperor, he could have been the crown prince when their father was on the throne.
However, this person disliked court affairs and found them distasteful, thus wishing to be a carefree prince.
Helian Zhicheng was busy rushing on his way, while in the villa, all the seeds had sprouted. Zhao Jiaqi was overjoyed. Following the growth habits of seawater rice, she simulated the conditions, adjusting the temperature and humidity to the best of her ability. The rest, she left to fate.
Seven parts effort, three parts fate. She hoped for favorable timing, location, and harmony, so her hard work would not be in vain.
When the locals heard that the Empress intended to build greenhouses here and rent their land, the news spread like wildfire. The government office was surrounded before the next day even arrived.
Almost all the villagers from the surrounding area mobilized. The old, the young, and even some pregnant women cried out about their misfortunes, begging the Empress to rent their land.
Duan Yao and Zhao Jiaqi stood behind the crowd. Seeing this, neither of them knew what to say.
Zhao Jiaqi thought for a moment and decided to start with an experimental plot, directly using the fields of a farming family in a town.
This matter needed to be arranged by the government. Local officials understood the local affairs better than these outsiders.
While waiting for the news from the government, Duan Yao took Zhao Jiaqi to the workshop. The journey to the workshop was surprisingly smooth, which Zhao Jiaqi found quite satisfactory.
"Excellent. To prosper, one must first build roads. With good roads, merchants will come. Though there's no definitive proof, it holds some truth!"
Duan Yao was pleased by the compliment, her face beaming with joy. Upon arriving at the workshop, Zhao Jiaqi examined it carefully. It was built exactly according to her blueprints and was meticulously constructed.
"Good, very good!"
Seeing her satisfied, a weight was lifted from Duan Yao's mind.
"Then, Sister-in-law, when shall we begin?"
Zhao Jiaqi saw her second sister-in-law's eagerness and understood her intentions. She immediately decided, "Gather the long-term workers. Once they are trained, we will begin!"
Duan Yao turned and relayed the order. With her single command, the people below became incredibly busy.
Ever since the Empress settled here, the local officials and soldiers had been constantly occupied, running everywhere and attending to countless matters daily.
Now, they were almost counting every village under each prefecture. Such a fulfilling period had not been experienced in years.
However, with the greenhouses and workshops being built in their prefecture, they naturally felt a sense of pride and were happy to be busy.
While the government was enthusiastically collecting statistics on villages and populations, as well as the acreage owned by each household, the prefect was responsible for recruiting long-term workers.
The wages offered were twenty copper coins per day, with one meal provided at noon. Such a good opportunity had people fighting fiercely for it. Some even got into fights to secure a position as a long-term worker.
In response, Zhao Jiaqi directly informed the local officials that if any further fighting occurred, both individuals would be disqualified.
With her statement, the remaining people became more disciplined, as no one wanted to lose this opportunity to earn money.
As the days passed, the workshop was ready, and the training was nearly complete. They were just waiting for the command to start work.
However, for the first batch of preserved seafood, Zhao Jiaqi planned to send it to the inner city to gauge the market reception there.
Helian Zhicheng, despite rushing, managed to arrive before the opening.
Although exhausted, he was in a good mood looking at the workshop. With the sound of gongs and the crackling of firecrackers, the seafood workshop officially opened.
The long-term workers in the workshop put in their best efforts, not wanting to earn their twenty copper coins a day in vain.
Perhaps it was the first day, or perhaps the workers were very excited, but they worked with unparalleled zeal. All the seafood delivered here was processed with extreme speed.
Basket after basket of cleaned seafood was sent to the processing room, where seasonings were added.
These were secret seasonings, and Duan Yao specifically used her trusted confidantes. The processed seafood was then canned in clay jars, sealed, neatly arranged, and then transported to the port. From there, a special ship carried it to Deming Prefecture in the inner city.
Twenty days after the Princess's departure, Deming Prefecture finally received the letter from the other side of the sea.
Upon seeing the ship laden with goods, the prefect dared not delay. He sent people to quickly unload the cargo, while Xiao Ce waited there.
Through this transfer, the preserved seafood quickly reached the inner city and was distributed to various restaurants. At the same time, Xiao Ce acted as an observer, reporting people's reactions truthfully.
As people ate the preserved seafood, the shopkeepers had already warned them of the potential consequences. Those with sensitive stomachs and the elderly were advised against eating it, as the seafood was raw.
However, lured by the aroma, who could resist? The next day, although some experienced diarrhea, they had been warned in advance and did not cause any trouble.
Those who did not experience diarrhea continued to order the preserved seafood. Suddenly, it became a frenzy in the inner city.
This news reached Zhao Jiaqi and Fan Zehao, boosting their confidence even further.
The first step had been successful. The next step was seafood export, but this matter would be put on hold. She would plan it thoroughly upon her return.
That evening, Helian Zhicheng and Duan Yao invited Fan Zehao and Zhao Jiaqi for a meal. During the feast, Helian Zhicheng actually shed tears. In all these years, he had never met anyone like Fan Zehao who had helped him so sincerely.
"My dear brother, to be honest, I truly respect you from the bottom of my heart. If there is a next life, I want to be your biological brother!"
Fan Zehao smiled and patted his hand, offering comfort, "Though we are not biological brothers now, we are even better than brothers. If there truly is a next life, let us hope to be a pair of good brothers."