Cao Yun was half-believing and half-doubted about Qin Feng's promise. He knew very well that such a thing could not be fully believed by 100%. Sometimes, when the things that the above agreed to were well, they would be set up to make things difficult for them when they entered the actual operation, and they might eventually let this matter go completely.

Cao Yun carefully observed the equipment that Ma Xiangnan called the gantry crane. In fact, the overall construction is not difficult. The most important thing is the pulleys, which are somewhat similar to the bearings mentioned by the Ming people, but are not exactly the same. The core device is this thing, but this thing is exactly what Daqi cannot make.

The lineage is still open, but the whole body is not satisfied. Now Cao Yun has truly realized the words that doctors often say, "Isn't Daqi now a lineage that is blocked, and everything is restricted and cannot develop?"

Technology and technology can be used to steal, rob, buy, cheat, and cheat, but the most basic things can only be relied on yourself. Without that foundation, you can't produce good things even if you look at them.

In the next two or three days, Cao Yun, accompanied by Qin Feng, served as a guide from Ma Xiangnan to visit one place after another in Changyang County. Every time he went to a place, he could amazed Cao Yun.

Unlike other parts of the Ming Dynasty, Changyang's economic model was more of a collective manor economy, and the government deeply intervened in these productions. This has a lot to do with the extreme fatigue of Changyang County at that time.

Molo's turmoil made Changyang County, which was already poor, worse. When the Ming army took over this place, there was nothing here, and there were even fewer people in the most basic people. The ones that could be found were mainly women and children.

In order to develop local economy and people's livelihood, Ma Xiangnan could only gather these people together to keep warm, and the government provided funds, tools and organized production.

There was not enough land for Changyang County to grow grain, and at that time there were not so many people in Changyang County to grow grain and reclaim wasteland. Horses could only go in a different way, fruit trees and medicinal materials became two life-saving straws in Changyang County at that time.

Now, these two industries are still the pillar industries of Changyang County. It is different from the Daqi family planted separately as Cao Yun imagined. It is planted in one village and one village. Each villager is just a part of this planting unit, engaged in different jobs and receives different salaries.

"This method is beneficial and has both bad luck, but from the current point of view, the benefits are greater than bad luck." Ma Xiangnan introduced: "For example, medicinal materials planting, we combine them with pharmaceutical workshops or pharmacies, and agreed with them one year in advance what to plant, how much to plant, and the price is as follows. In this way, farmers can avoid the inability to sell medicinal materials indiscriminately, and in the end, they can also ensure a stable income. The medicinal materials grown in each village or place also have different plans, so as not to plant the same medicinal materials in a crowd, resulting in too many of a certain medicinal materials and insufficient others."

"This is indeed a good idea!" Cao Yun nodded in agreement. This reminded him of the situation where farmers in China often suffer from price fluctuations, resulting in a sharp drop in income per year.

"According to different situations, each county in Changyang County mainly planted fruit trees, and some mainly planted medicinal materials. It was because of these two things that Changyang County survived the most difficult time. Of course, I have to thank Your Majesty for helping Changyang County sell these fruits back then, Your Majesty also made great efforts."

"The fruits in Changyang are still delicious." Qin Feng said with a smile. "Especially in the past two years, you have a lot of tricks. Every time fresh fruits are on the market, there will be waves of crazes."

Ma Xiangnan said proudly: "Your Majesty, after experiencing the survival crisis, he naturally thought about making his life better. Come and take a look at these fruit trees."

Under Ma Xiangnan's guidance, the group walked into an apple forest. What surprised Cao Yun was that some fruits were actually covered with small wooden boxes of different shapes.

"What is this for?" he asked.

Qin Feng smiled, pulled a branch, pointed to the small wooden box on his head and said to Cao Yun: "Prince, please look, there are words on this wooden box."

When Cao Yun looked closely, he saw that the small wooden box on the branch that Qin Feng pulled over was hollowed out and carved with the words "Fu Lu Shou and Xi".

"If such fruits are covered in this box, their growth shape will be restricted. When they eventually grow, they will become square. These hollowed-out places will eventually appear on the peel because of the sun. When this fruit first appeared in Yuejing, it caused a sensation. One can be sold for more than one tael of silver. Our Ma County Ma made a fortune by this." Qin Feng shook his head and smiled: "At first, I was surprised, and I thought it was auspicious from the sky. Some officials even wrote a letter to congratulate me. Later, in the court discussion, Ma Xiangnan said how it was made. Those people's faces were beaten to a loud bang!"

Ma Xiangnan laughed: "The first person to write a letter was Mr. Pi, the Minister of Rites. After knowing the truth, he covered his face and left. I heard that he was sick for many days and did not attend court!"

"That's right. In the end, I sent someone to scold him, so he went to the yamen to return to the yamen to manage the matter!" Qin Feng said happily. "Although this thing gradually became well-known later, its price is still several times that of ordinary fruits. Who doesn't want to have a happy life?"

"Does the fruit trees in Changyang County be sold like this?" Cao Yun said dazedly.

"No, no!" Ma Xiangnan said: "There are very strict requirements for quality, and a tree cannot grow much. The best one is. We want to ask him to sell it at a high price. Ordinary ones, they can be sold directly. The secondies are made into dried fruits, etc. In short, it will not be wasted! Your Majesty, Your Highness, there is a dried fruit workshop in front of you. Do you want to go and take a look?"

"Let's go and have a look!" Qin Feng said with great enthusiasm.

A house with red bricks and green tiles appeared in front of everyone. Before they could enter, the sweet fragrance was already coming. Next to the mountain stream, someone was cleaning baskets of fruits. Now July is the season when peaches are ripe. The baskets of fruits are peaches, but they are of different sizes and are not very good in appearance.

After washing, he carried the fruits into the house. All the women in the house were sitting in front of the chopping board. He skillfully cut the washed peaches, took out the pits, and then cut the flesh into long strips. After the chopping board was piled up, he swept it into a large bamboo dustpan.

It is quite spectacular to move these dustpans filled with flesh to the sun outside to expose the sun to remove moisture. A large piece of flat ground filled with such dustpans is also magnificent. Some have just been lifted out to dry, while others have already been wilted by the sun.

"Fruits with poor quality are not sold at a price. It's a pity to throw them away. Later, someone came up with this method to make dried fruits. Not to mention, they are very popular, especially in winter, with excellent sales." Ma Xiangnan led everyone to another room. This is the last step to make dried fruits. The dried fruits were wrapped in honey, then dried on the bamboo fence, and finally put them in small pots to seal and store.

"Your Majesty, Your Highness, Prince, try it?" Ma Xiangnandao.

Cao Yun picked up one and put it in his mouth. The fragrance of the fruit and the sweetness of honey instantly filled his mouth and taste buds.

"It's really good!" Qin Feng smiled after tasting it, "Last year, the army purchased a batch, and the soldiers responded very well, especially in some places. It's difficult to eat a meal of vegetables in the middle of winter. After this thing was delivered, everyone was extremely happy. This year, this dried fruit is one of the major items on the procurement catalog of the Ministry of War. But don't be proud, you can do it like this now. Now you have to do it like this. At that time, it will still depend on who has the cheaper price and the better goods."

"We Changyang County are not afraid of others competing." Ma Xiangnan said proudly: "Without that county, which has planting scale and mature technology like ours, will not be our opponent in a short period of time, whether it is quality or price. After they have reached our level, we have long since gone forward. What's more, the things in Changyang County have become famous now. However, the prices of things we produce will be much better in the market. This is something that others can't make in a short period of time. At least I feel that when I am still alive, they have no chance to catch up with us."

"Dare you ask Ma Gong, how much income can these fruits generate for Changyang County in a year?" Cao Yun asked.

Ma Xiangnan said proudly: "The output of fruit trees alone was the income of one million taels of silver last year. In the past, our Changyang County had always relied on the court to support it. Now, we have begun to pay taxes to the court."

"Last year, Changyang County only paid a total of one million taels to the court. It seems that you have concealed the income of Ma Gong. But I know that the income of fruit wood is not big in Changyang County, but medicinal materials are the ones." Qin Feng said half-true and half-fake.

"Your Majesty, Changyang County still needs to develop, build roads and build bridges, all of which are a big consumption. Our Changyang County is not comparable to those outside. It costs extra money to do these things." Ma Xiangnan said seriously. "I used to owe too much debt, but now I still owe it. Please rest assured that in another two years, the income that Changyang County can pay to the court can increase by several times."

"Okay, then I'll wait and see!" Qin Feng said happily.

Cao Yun on the side couldn't help but silently. Luoyang, the richest in Daqi, only paid a tax of one million taels of silver to the court every year. In the Ming Dynasty, a county magistrate known for its poverty, the current income is on par with Luoyang. The small inconspicuous fruit tree can create such a great wealth. If he had not seen it with his own eyes or listened to him with his own ears, he would not have believed it no matter what.
Chapter completed!