"Shop! Come two pounds of braised beef and a pot of good wine!"

Seeing that the group had arrived at the gate of Liangzhou City, Li Shimin was attracted by a large food shop next to him.

Even if Li Shimin is today, he would not be able to eat so exquisitely on his way to Liangzhou.

Seeing the fragrant beef immediately, my appetite immediately grew.

Especially braised beef, except for Aizhisu, a few top restaurants in Chang'an City, it is relatively rare in other places.

Because slaughtering plowing oxen was still illegal in the Tang Dynasty.

Only those cattle that are injured or born, old, sick and dead can be slaughtered after obtaining permission from the government.

But Liangzhou is different. People are close to the grassland, and the most flawed thing is cattle and sheep.

Moreover, because the cattle here are generally not suitable for arable land, and many of the herdsmen on the grassland were not included in the actual management of the Tang Dynasty, the government could not control the Hu people slaughtering cattle.

This is also an important reason why you can see a shop selling braised beef at the gate of Liangzhou City.

"Your Majesty, when it comes to this braised beef, it is said that it is due to His Highness the King of Chu. Because of the large amount of spices from Southeast Asia, the price of spices in the Tang Dynasty has dropped a lot compared to more than ten years ago. Now, the money for buying a pound of spices can only be bought in the early years of Zhenguan. Therefore, more people can afford spices. The method of making this braised beef was first leaked from the King of Chu's mansion."

Lai Ji is very good at dealing with things. After sitting down next to Li Kuan, he took the initiative to choose a topic that suits the current situation and can also please Li Kuan.

No wonder he can rise step by step.

Many times, being able to speak is also a very important ability.

If Aye Lai Huer had the ability to speak, Lai’er would probably be the top noble in the Tang Dynasty now.

"Half of the delicacies in this world come from Kuan'er's mansion, and the number of restaurants in various places has increased several times. Many people have become more willing to go to the restaurant to try new dishes. This change has really had a great impact."

Although Li Shimin is not an emperor who pursues arrogance and extravagance, he obviously has something better, so he will not eat something delicious.

Just like cooking, before the Chu Prince Mansion promoted this craft, almost all vegetables were stewed and eaten, and the taste was far worse than cooking.

No matter how good the ingredients are, they won't work.

"Food is the most important thing for the people. It is the most important thing for the people of the Tang Dynasty to eat full, but it is also a very necessary thing for the people to eat well."

Li Kuan would not give up the credit in a false way, and directly agreed to the statements of Li Shimin and Lai Ji.

"Shopkeeper, where did you buy the spices for your braised beef? Is it expensive?"

When the shopkeeper personally brought a plate of exquisitely sliced ​​beef to the table, Lai Ji asked on his own initiative.

"Eighty percent of the spices in Liangzhou are purchased from the spice shops of Northwest Trade. Whether it is braised beef or stewed lamb, Northwest Trade directly helps us mix the spices. We only need to add the corresponding meat to the pot according to the weight of each spice bag. As for the price, it basically drops every year, which is much cheaper than at the beginning. Moreover, this spice bag is not scrapped directly after use. It is mixed with the new spices in an appropriate proportion, and can be used several times continuously, so the price is still acceptable to us."

The shopkeeper saw that Li Shimin and his group were dressed luxuriously, graceful, and naturally had a very kind attitude.

Of course, the most important thing is that the information he said is not a secret.

The large-scale popularization of spices in Liangzhou City has a direct relationship with the promotion of Northwest trade.

Everyone doesn’t know how to match spices, it doesn’t matter, I’ll help you match them.

You can use it as needed!

This is also very beneficial for the promotion of spices on the grassland.

Those herders have relatively simple minds and do not like too complicated things. This way of trading in the northwest is very much for their appetite.

"Kuan'er, how many spices do the East China Sea fishery transport from Nanyang every year?"

Li Shimin also saw the high price of spices in his early years. Many nobles even used spices such as pepper to store them at home as hard currency.

"I can't remember the specific quantity. Anyway, every now and then, a ship of spices will come back from the Southeast Asia. The scale is at least hundreds or even thousands of times that of twenty years ago. In addition, Northwest Trade has begun to promote the cultivation of spice crops such as pepper in Liangzhou and Ganzhou in the past two years, hoping to allow some spices to be produced directly locally in the Northwest."

"Cultivate pepper in the northwest? Can it be planted alive?"

Li Shimin's interest immediately came up.

Li Shimin naturally knew the value of spices.

If localized planting can be achieved, even if it is just one or two planting, it will be of great significance.

At that time, it will definitely attract more people in Guanzhong to move to the northwest, allowing them to open up spice plantations here and contribute to the consolidation of the Tang Dynasty's borders.

To a certain extent, the frontier problem in this era is actually a population problem.

As long as the number of Tang people in the border areas increases, this place is actually no longer a border.

"Yes! Guanshishan Academy Agricultural College has set up a spice planting research institute in Liangzhou, specializing in the localized planting of spices. At present, some progress has been made in the planting of pepper and star anise. The first batch of farms have been planted for more than two years. Calculate the cycle, and basically it has entered the stage of flowering and fruiting. We can visit it at that time."

Pepper is several of the most expensive spices in the Tang Dynasty.

Especially in winter, there is a dish called "Pig Belly Chicken" in a wine shop represented by Aijin, which requires a lot of pepper.

Since pork belly is not a particularly expensive thing, coupled with the decline in the price of chicken, ordinary people can eat it several times a year.

So the consumption of pepper immediately reached a higher level.

"It's really worth a look!"

Li Shimin had never heard of pepper growing near Liangzhou before.

Now I suddenly learned the news from Li Kuan, and I was quite surprised.

"No problem, I can go and have a look tomorrow. By the way, your majesty, I think this mutton soup can also be served. After adding a little coriander, it should taste very good."

After eating a few pieces of braised beef, Li Kuan felt that something was missing.

After scanning the shop, I found that there was actually a mutton soup sold in this shop.

Although the materials used in this thing are not high-end products, the taste is very good.

Especially adding a little coriander, which is the cilantro mentioned by Tangren, is a perfect match.

Even if Li Kuan makes the braised beef in front of you, it is not to eat it after being braised and sliced. Instead, it will add a little soy sauce and coriander, and then sprinkle with some sesame oil and stir. The taste will definitely be as delicious as it tastes.

"Chu...Li Langjun, this mutton soup, just by listening to the name, you will know that the ingredients used are not very clean. If the shopkeeper's stomach is damaged, it will be troublesome, so it's better not to eat it."

Cen Wenben, who hadn't spoken much, saw Li Kuan fooling Li Shimin into eating some mutton soup, immediately objected.

In his opinion, whether it is delicious or not is not the most important thing, as long as it is safe.

"Butler Cen is worried too much. Although these mutton offals look unclean, they should be all used for the internal organs of the lambs slaughtered on the same day. Pay attention to the abortions in this shop. It basically takes no time to consume a bucket of mutton soup, and you won't worry about using bad things in the shop.

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Besides, the business that this shop can still do at the city gate is so prosperous. Just now, a few soldiers guarding the city gate came in to drink a bowl of mutton soup, which shows that the shop’s goods are good, otherwise these soldiers guarding the city gate would come so stupidly to eat unclean food?"

After Li Kuan finished speaking, he didn't care what Cen Wenben would continue to say, and directly arranged for the shopkeeper to give each person a bowl of mutton soup.

When Cen Wenben looked around and found that it was indeed as Li Kuan said, he opened his mouth and said nothing after he opened his mouth.

"Shopkeeper, how much money can you make in a year with such a shop?"

When the shopkeeper delivered food again, Li Shimin simply called him and prepared to get a good idea.

"this……"

Although the shopkeeper kept a smile on his face, he obviously didn't want to answer Li Shimin's presumptuous question.

"Here, this is my reward for asking you questions. Don't worry, I don't plan to compete with you for business. To put it bluntly, do you think I'm going to open such a snack shop?"

Li Shimin took out a gold coin and placed it directly on the table.

This action made the shopkeeper's eyes fall out.

A gold coin is equivalent to ten jin of coins. I will reward myself just by asking a few questions?

This money is so easy to make!

The world of rich people, I don’t understand it myself.

"It's a great idea for this customer to know that my snack shop is taking the path of small profits but quick turnover, and there are quite a few things that can be sold every day. If you deduct the money from purchasing ingredients, the taxes paid, the wages of the guys, etc., you will eventually get a profit of about dozens of tons in a month."

Those who can take out a gold coin and reward yourself with one move will definitely not be their competitors.

The shopkeeper obviously saw this clearly.

When I went out to do business, I met more people, and the shopkeeper's eyes were also very good at recognizing people.

"Just like this small shop, how many dozens of traffic can you earn in a month?"

Although the number of dozens of stakes seemed very small to Li Shimin, he was not the emperor who "why not eat meat minced". He still had a clear understanding of the prices of the Tang Dynasty and the income of the people.

At the beginning, he thought that this small shop earns five or six guan a month, and nearly a hundred guan a year, which is very good.

If you go to a workshop to work as a helper, unless you can become a fourth-level worker or above, it is not realistic to earn 100% of the year.

But I didn’t expect that people said they would have dozens of stagnants in a month. By doing so, they might have a profit of about 500 stagnants in a year.

This is definitely beyond Li Shimin's expectations.

If you have this money, you can buy a not-so-large yard in Chang'an City.

"Customer, don't underestimate my small shop. It has to receive at least a few hundred guests every day, sometimes even more than a thousand people. The things here are a little more expensive, except for spices and beef, and other fresh ingredients are purchased directly from Taipei City, and the price is very low."

For the sake of a gold coin, the shopkeeper obviously did not intend to hide anything.

"So, although your shop is small, its business is the best in Liangzhou City?"

Li Shimin felt that if the best small shop in Liangzhou could earn hundreds of stagnant a year, he would accept it.
To be continued...