The road to wealth of a peasant widow

Chapter 179 Hand Over

Chen Cui picked out some unprocessed oak nuts and the finished oak jelly as samples, put them in a lunch box, and asked Changping to take it with him.

Words are not enough, it is better to bring something with you to provide better evidence.

When Changping was about to go out, Chen Cui was still a little worried, so she simply followed him into the car. Changping went to the yamen to find Wang Hengzhi, and she went to visit Zhang Ruomei.

The mother and son split up into two groups. When Changping went to the yamen to ask for a meeting, Wang Hengzhi was quite surprised.

If this kid had something to do, he would mostly visit my home, and they were all arranged in advance. He had never visited the yamen suddenly like this before.

But he knew that Changping was not a reckless person and that he must have come here for some urgent matter, so he let him in.

Chang Ping entered the inner hall with the petition in one hand and the food box in the other. He then put down his things and bowed to Wang Hengzhi: "Your Excellency, I am honored to meet you. I hope you will forgive me for my sudden visit!"

Wang Hengzhi couldn't help but frown when he saw the food box. He knew that Chen would often make some food for his wife, but it should be sent to the mansion and not to the yamen. After all, this was an office and one should not confuse public and private matters.

"No need to be polite, please sit down. Changping, what brings you here today?"

Although Wang Hengzhi was somewhat unhappy in his heart, his expression was still as calm as usual, and he asked.

"My mother went to the farm to inspect recently and accidentally made a discovery. After returning home, she conducted repeated experiments and was convinced that the fruit of the iron oak tree could be processed to remove the toxicity and be edible by humans and animals. I know that you care about people's livelihood, so I specially compiled this method and presented it to you. Please review it."

As Changping spoke, he handed the two pages of paper to Wang Hengzhi.

Wang Hengzhi felt like there was something wrong with his ears. What did he hear? Changping actually said that the fruit of the iron oak tree was edible. Isn't this a joke!

The iron oak tree is not unique to this place, it is also very common in Shu. He has no idea how many iron oak trees he has seen, and he even played with oak nuts with his friends when he was a child.

He has known since he was a child that this thing is poisonous. Even livestock cannot eat it, and it cannot be used for burning fire. It is completely useless. Now Changping actually told him that this thing can be eaten!

No matter how much Wang Hengzhi refused to believe it, the two thin pages of paper were right in front of him, and he couldn't help but pick them up and read them.

The paper was written in great detail, starting with how to process the oak nuts, how to shell, grind, filter, and then boil them to make jelly. Each step was very clear, and at the end there were some suggestions on how to make the matter public.

Wang Hengzhi was very excited when he saw it. It would be great if what was written on the paper was really feasible!

"Since you say this is true, do you have any evidence?"

"Yes, sir, please look!"

Changping opened the food box and showed the oak nuts and oak nut jelly inside to Wang Hengzhi.

Wang Hengzhi was not unfamiliar with the oak seeds, but there were two types of brown jelly, one without any seasoning, and the other after being seasoned and mixed cold.

"I fed this jelly to the chickens yesterday, and both chickens were fine. My whole family also ate it last night, and no one felt sick this morning. If you don't believe me, I'll eat it right now and show you."

Before Wang Hengzhi could stop him, Changping had already started eating with chopsticks.

One piece, two pieces, three pieces. He was afraid that the adults would not believe him, so he ate three pieces in succession before stopping.

"Sir, this unseasoned jelly tastes average, but it can fill your stomach. However, it tastes better when mixed with chili oil."

The jelly noodles sent to the yamen were seasoned without chili oil, for fear that the taste would be too strong and the original flavor would not be tasted. They were also afraid that if they were to be presented to the prefect, he might not be able to eat spicy food, which would be embarrassing.

Even if it is just mixed with sesame oil, soy sauce and vinegar, the jelly tastes pretty good and can be eaten as a staple food or as a side dish.

At this time, Wang Hengzhi completely believed that the oak nuts were really edible. Changping had no reason to lie to him, nor did he have the courage to lie.

Wang Hengzhi picked up another pair of clean chopsticks from the food box, tasted the unseasoned one first, then tried the cold one, and finally he nodded.

"Yes, this tastes good!"

Although he lives a comfortable life now, he also suffered a lot in the past. Originally his family was quite wealthy, but unfortunately his father died early and the family fell into poverty. However, his mother remembered his father's words and supported his studies no matter how hard it was.

He studied for more than ten years, and his family's original 40 acres of land were sold out, leaving only 7 acres. If he had not later gotten engaged to the girl from the Zhang family and had not had the support of his wife's family, it would have been unknown whether he could have continued his studies.

In his opinion, this oak jelly is not only filling but also tastes good.

Changping breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Wang Hengzhi's reaction.

When he first entered the room, he clearly felt that Lord Wang seemed a little unhappy. Later, when he heard him say that oak nuts were edible, he was even more suspicious of him. It was not until he presented his proposal and took the initiative to try the nuts that the Lord's mood obviously improved.

Wang Hengzhi was not just in a good mood, he was extremely happy!

Even Changping, a scholar, could see the benefits of the oak nut and hurried to report to him. After all, he had been a chief officer for several years and had a deep understanding of the lives of the grassroots people. How could he not see the benefits of the oak nut!

"As far as I know, the fruits of this iron oak tree mature in winter. Are the fruits you are using now from last year? Did you pick them from the ground or from the tree? How many are still available?"

Wang Hengzhi asked an important question.

Changping was not panicked when he heard this. Although he had not been there in person, his mother had already told him the answer to this matter.

"To answer your question, there are no oak nuts on the trees now. These were picked up by farmers on the farm. Because the oak shells are hard and there are large leaves on the ground, they are basically not damaged."

Upon hearing this, Wang Hengzhi nodded with satisfaction.

If this is the case, then the people will not have a sad year this year.

As we all know, when the year is bad, ordinary people are most afraid of winter and the turn of spring and summer.

People are afraid of winter because there is basically no output in winter, whether it is animals or plants. The turn of spring and summer is also a time of shortage of food. The old food has been eaten, but the new food has not yet come down. People who are extremely hungry will even eat the young crops in the fields.

But with these oak nuts, we don’t have to worry. We can harvest a wave of old fruits from last year and have them for another season in winter. We no longer have to rely solely on food, which makes things much more comfortable.

According to Chang Ping, the conversion rate of oak seeds into jelly is extremely high during the production process, and the feeling of fullness after eating is very strong. It can be eaten as food or as a vegetable.

The iron oak tree grows very tall and bears a lot of fruit. One tree can carry at least 100 to 200 kilograms of fruit, and some can even carry up to 400 kilograms.

Moreover, the iron oak tree has a very wide growth range. It can be found in Longnan, Shu, Guizhou, and there are certainly quite a few in places further south. Once this discovery is announced, it will benefit countless people. It is truly a great feat that benefits the people!