Chapter 93: Spring Imperial Examination

“Old Fang… I heard your three disciples are about to take the examination.”

During their research breaks, Zhu Houzhao inevitably exchanged a few casual words with Fang Jifan.

“Yes, I’m counting on them to support me in my old age.” Fang Jifan leaned over the stone table, studying the blueprint on the paper with great focus.

“This Palace could support you in your old age.” Zhu Houzhao said with a chuckle. “We could research Science together until we’re old.”

Fang Jifan lifted his head to glance at Zhu Houzhao, then looked down again. “That’s different.”

“How is it different?” Zhu Houzhao pressed.

Fang Jifan said earnestly, “These three disciples are like three sons to me. It’s only right for sons to care for their father in old age.”

“But we’re brothers!” Zhu Houzhao clicked his tongue in annoyance. “This Palace values loyalty highly.”

“Hard to say.” Fang Jifan shook his head again. “Sons are more reliable.”

Zhu Houzhao bared his teeth. “This Palace also heard you made a bet with someone, and you’re bound to lose. That Tang Yin is the Jieyuan from Yingtian Prefecture.”

Fang Jifan ignored him.

Zhu Houzhao then bent his head to study his ‘Science’ again. After a long while, he said, “You said fireworks can lift firecrackers into the sky. Could they lift a person into the sky too?”

Fang Jifan looked at Zhu Houzhao in astonishment. The Crown Prince was indeed clever, having grasped the principle of rockets. “Theoretically, yes.”

Zhu Houzhao’s eyes gleamed. “But if a person goes up into the sky, wouldn’t they fall to their death?”

“Give them a parachute to carry. Actually, we could have Liu Jin try it.” Fang Jifan said thoughtfully.

Zhu Houzhao grew excited. “Good, This Palace can’t wait. But… could you lend some money?”

“Borrow money?” Fang Jifan looked at Zhu Houzhao suspiciously. Are you kidding me? You’re the Crown Prince.

Zhu Houzhao said with a mix of amusement and frustration, “Imperial Father’s monthly allowance is pitifully small. The provisions from the House of the Crown Prince haven’t decreased, but sometimes when This Palace sends Liu Jin and the others out to buy some snacks, after winter, the prices skyrocketed. Liu Jin said that before, a stick of Candied Hawthorn Fruits only cost a few coins, but now it costs over thirty coins.”

Fang Jifan clicked his tongue in shock. That’s robbery!

Did Liu Jin that guy embezzle?

Zhu Houzhao said, “He said it’s because of the continuous heavy snow, many fruits and vegetables had reduced yields, so prices surged.”

Fang Jifan suddenly understood. He had wrongly accused Liu Jin. That fellow Liu Jin probably wouldn’t dare to scheme against Zhu Houzhao.

As the Young Lord of the Fang Family, Fang Jifan was indeed somewhat detached from worldly matters. Only now did he recall something. The impact of the Little Ice Age was far from simple, like just needing heating in winter. Because the winters were so long, snow began falling even before mid-autumn. This cold weather lasted for almost half a year, inevitably reducing crop yields. Fortunately, the main grain-producing areas of the Great Ming Dynasty were in the Jiangnan region, which, being in the temperate zone, was slightly better off. Grain could be transported to the Capital via the Grand Canal. Combined with Emperor Hongzhi’s diligent governance, at least the military and civilians’ grain supply could be ensured.

But fruits and vegetables were different. Their shelf life wasn’t long, and with grain yields already severely reduced, Jiangnan couldn’t be encouraged to grow more fruits and vegetables to send to the Capital. The Capital area was perennially covered in heavy snow; what fruits and vegetables could survive there?

Thus, even some in-season cold-resistant fruits and vegetables saw prices surge to outrageous levels.

The terror of the Little Ice Age might be hard for later generations to comprehend. Or perhaps, even in later times, with the technological means then available, production could barely be maintained. But in this era of small-scale farming, the impact was immense. The Little Ice Age contributed significantly to the fall of the Great Ming Dynasty. Because of the extreme weather, many northern regions had crop failures, masses of common people became Refugees. When Refugees accumulated in large numbers, they eventually converged into a flood, wreaking havoc across The World.

He took a deep breath…

Fang Jifan smelled a business opportunity. “Your Highness, we might be about to get rich.”

“Ah…” Zhu Houzhao looked at Fang Jifan in surprise.

Fang Jifan said, “If at this time, we could grow fresh melons and fruits, wouldn’t we get rich?”

Upon hearing the word “rich,” Zhu Houzhao immediately became excited, his blood racing.

“Getting rich, include This Palace! Melons and fruits… what kind of melons and fruits can be grown in this season?”

Fang Jifan narrowed his eyes. Greenhouses… using Greenhouses to create a warm environment, what melons and fruits couldn’t be grown?

And in this season, everyone’s mouths were tasteless and bored. Ordinary commoner families could make do; having enough to eat was already good. But in the Capital, wealthy households were as common as dogs, the powerful and noble were everywhere. Which mansion didn’t need to supply large quantities of rare delicacies?

What are rare delicacies? The key is rarity. For example, eating a melon in summer, but being able to have a bite in this season when even vegetables are scarce, isn’t that a rare delicacy?

What are rich households? Rich households eat what others can’t eat and buy what others can’t afford.

He took a deep breath. “We need to test it first. Same as before, each invests half. But first, we need to research. We need a piece of land, preferably within the city. If it’s too far, it’s hard to tend.”

“We have that.” Zhu Houzhao was a practical person. If Fang Jifan said they could get rich, he believed it. “The House of the Crown Prince has plenty of land. The back garden, let’s go to the back garden. There are lots of flowers and plants there; tell Liu Jin and the others to pull them all out.”

What boldness!

Fang Jifan loved cooperating with the Crown Prince. How to put it? Once he set his mind on something, he was capable of any outrageous act. The back garden of the House of the Crown Prince covered a vast area, but the flowers and plants there were all cultivated by countless master gardeners with immense effort. Every single flower and plant represented untold amounts of care and thought.

That was a garden! No, it should be called an estate garden!

But… whatever. It wasn’t his family’s estate garden anyway, why should he worry?

The most important thing now was to find a place to test first. The House of the Crown Prince was good; the Crown Prince was there every day watching, and he also had to report for duty there every day, so it was convenient. Once successful, the wasteland purchased near the coal mine in the Western Hills would come in handy. The initial purchase of wasteland was because he worried that coal might be mined in that area too, to prevent others from taking a share. Now it could be put to use.

Fang Jifan perked up. “That makes it easy. Starting now, clear out several dozen acres of land. Dig a kiln, fire bricks, build a row of Greenhouses, install Flues. Anyway, smokeless coal is cheap. Heat the Flues, and cover the top with…”

Cover with what? This era had no transparent plastic sheeting.

Glass would work. Colorless, transparent, with strong light transmission. But surely they couldn’t build a Glass Workshop just for this one Experimental Field.

The purpose of this field was to verify the feasibility of Greenhouses in the Ming Dynasty. Glass definitely needed to be produced; its production cost was low anyway. For large-scale planting in the future, it could be used. Maybe they could even sell Glass alongside.

But right now, they couldn’t go to so much trouble.

Fang Jifan narrowed his eyes and saw the windows of the towers and halls of the House of the Crown Prince not far away. These windows used Colored Glaze, not the paper windows of ordinary homes. Colored Glaze was actually Glass, just not transparent and colorless. To some extent, its light transmittance was actually quite good.

That’s it.

“That… the Colored Glaze windows, take them down, cover the Greenhouses with them. Then comes seeding, that’s easy. Let’s try growing Watermelons first. Speaking of which, I feel like eating melon.”

Zhu Houzhao was full of enthusiasm and ready to act immediately. He rolled up his sleeves. “This Palace will go call the Artisans.”

Getting rich was Zhu Houzhao’s deep desire. Although this spendthrift clearly had no idea how much this Experimental Field would cost – for instance, the valuable Colored Glaze, the expenses of large-scale construction, or the destruction of the precious flowers and plants in the back garden.

Experimentation always requires some sacrifice. Once large-scale planting begins, costs can plummet dramatically.

Fang Jifan comforted himself this way, making his conscience feel a bit better.

…

The Spring Imperial Examination was approaching.

Ouyang Zhi and the other two were eagerly preparing, rubbing their hands in anticipation.

Over the past few months, they had lost count of how many essays they had written.

When the ninth day of the second month arrived.

They got up early and saw their Mentor had, unusually, also risen early and was waiting for them in the front courtyard.

Ouyang Zhi and the other two stepped forward and bowed to their Mentor with great solemnity.

Fang Jifan looked at them with satisfaction and said, “Do well in the exam.”