The spring is bright and the ice and snow melt. Zhang Zong rolled up the gauze on the greenhouse, so that the plants that were stuffed inside could breathe. At the same time, he baskated in the sun. Some of the more cold-resistant plants were also moved out of the greenhouse. As long as they could not die of freezing, the natural environment would be more conducive to their growth.

But at this moment, I suddenly saw that the gate of the courtyard was pushed open, and then Liu Rengui walked in in a square step. When he saw Zhang Zong, he immediately smiled and said, "It seems that even if he was a bachelor's degree, you will still not change your previous temperament. But today is not ten days. Don't you have to go to Fu Chongxian Pavilion to order Mao?"

Sure enough, it is worthy of being Liu Rengui. He was looking for Zhang Zong's fault as soon as he met. However, Zhang Zong also fought back without showing any weakness: "I am just a free job, but Liu Xiang, you are in an important position, but you are not in the Secretariat to handle official duties. What's the point of doing when you come to a humble house?"

"I haven't seen you for many days, your words are more sharp than before!" Liu Rengui was not angry when he heard Zhang Zong's reply, but instead smiled calmly.

"If you don't go to the Three Treasures Palace, Liu Xiang wouldn't have come to chat with me, right?" Zhang Zong also put down his work, then clapped his hands and walked over and asked directly. He asked himself that he was not a match for the old fox Liu Rengui, so the best way is to stop talking nonsense and directly figure out the other party's purpose before talking.

Liu Rengui seemed to see through Zhang Zong's thoughts at a glance, but he did not go around the circle, but walked to Zhang Zong's greenhouse for a while, then said, "Is this the legendary greenhouse that can grow vegetables in winter?"

"It's almost the same, but my greenhouse can only keep it in heat. If you want to grow vegetables, you must install a stove in the greenhouse. It will consume a lot of fuel in one winter." Zhang Zong did not hide it and immediately explained.

"So that's it!" Liu Rengui nodded thoughtfully after hearing this, and then looked up and said again after a while, "But even if it needs fuel, it cannot be as expensive as it was sold before. A pound of vegetables costs dozens or even hundreds of dollars. How can ordinary people afford it?"

Zhang Zong was speechless when he heard this, but he still explained: "In addition to fuel, the investment in the early construction of the greenhouse is also very large. In addition, the manpower and material resources are consumed during planting, and there are also considerable risks. Combining these costs, the cost of greenhouse vegetables will naturally remain high."

"What do you mean is that the vegetables grown in the greenhouse are not for ordinary people to eat?" Liu Rengui frowned and asked again.

"Although the truth is not very nice, it is indeed the case!" Zhang Zong spread his hands and said helplessly. Growing vegetables in greenhouses is very common in later generations. That is because the cost of greenhouse technology and materials in later generations have been reduced. Coupled with large-scale breeding, the cost of greenhouse vegetables is not high, and the income of ordinary people has increased, so ordinary people can eat fresh vegetables in winter, but it is obviously impossible to achieve this during the Tang Dynasty.

"If the court built the greenhouse and mobilized supplies, it should be possible to reduce the cost of the greenhouse vegetables by a part, right?" Liu Rengui asked without giving up.

"The court is so worried about the Changsun family?" Zhang Zong asked speechlessly. The Changsun family finally had a way of wealth, but Liu Rengui actually wanted to take it back to the country. This was simply not a way to live for the Changsun family.

"Don't talk nonsense. The court will not suppress a duke because of this little thing!" Liu Rengui said with a stern face, but his words made Zhang Zong unable to convince him. Even if the court did not really target the Changsun family, it would definitely have this meaning.

"What are you doing? Is it just that you want to earn the little money for greenhouse vegetables?" Zhang Zong asked again. Although greenhouse vegetables are very profitable, they have a lot of investment. Moreover, that little money is not even a drop in the bucket for the court, and it is not worth the court's attention.

"Of course it's not for that little profit!" Liu Rengui showed a solemn expression at this time, "Do you know what consequences will be if a person does not eat vegetables for a long time?"

"Night blindness?" Zhang Zong blinked when he heard this. He knew that lack of vitamin A can lead to night blindness. Especially in ancient times, fruits and vegetables were the main sources of vitamins, but these things are not easy to preserve, especially in winter, where there are almost no fresh vegetables, so over time, it will lead to night blindness.

"Yes, the name of night blindness is very appropriate. It is generally called "Sparrow blind" by the people. This disease has little impact on the people of big cities, but on the battlefield in the northwest, it can affect the life and death of soldiers. It is colder and the conditions are even worse. Sometimes there is no fresh fruits and vegetables for half a year, so many people have the problem of night blindness. If the enemy attacks at night, the consequences will be extremely serious!"

Liu Rengui looked solemn, and he paused here and then said, "So after I learned that you could use the greenhouse to grow vegetables, I also had the idea of ​​promoting greenhouses in the northwest border. At that time, the soldiers in the army could also eat fresh vegetables, which not only prevents night blindness, but also improves the food in the army."

"If you just want to prevent night blindness, then wouldn't it be enough to let the soldiers drink tea?" Zhang Zong said casually. Compared to things like vegetables that are inconvenient to store, tea is much simpler.

However, as soon as Zhang Zong said, he found that Liu Rengui looked at him strangely, which made Zhang Zong stunned. Then he smiled awkwardly and said, "I almost forgot that tea is much more expensive than vegetables."

Tea during the Tang Dynasty was not common, and it can even be said to be a drink that only wealthy families could afford, and the price was even more expensive. The main reason is that the tea during this period was steamed tea. Not only was the production complicated, but the output was not high, resulting in the price being high. If the soldiers in the entire army were allowed to drink tea, it would probably bankrupt the Tang Empire.

"If it really doesn't work, just use stir-fry tea!" Zhang Zong thought for a while and finally spoke.

Since steaming tea is too complicated and the price of tea is too high, use simple stir-fry tea instead of steamed tea. There is another advantage of stir-frying tea, which is that it can be drunk by rinsing hot water. Even when there is no conditions, use cold water or chewing tea directly.

"What is fried tea?" Liu Rengui was stunned when he heard this. He also liked to drink tea, but he had never heard of the name fried tea.

"As the name suggests, fried tea means picking off fresh tea leaves and putting them on a hot pot and stir-frying them quickly, so that the tea leaves are dehydrated and drying. In this way, the fried tea leaves can be drunk directly with hot water. The taste is slightly bitter and sweet, which can also prevent night blindness. It can also remove greasy and boost stomach and intestines. For those areas in the northwest that feed on meat, it is simply a godsend!" Zhang Zong explained with a smile.

"This... is also called tea?" Liu Rengui showed an incredible expression after hearing this. After all, the steamed tea he usually drinks requires at least seven processes, steaming and pounding, and finally making qualified tea leaves. In comparison, the fried tea mentioned by Zhang Zong is too ridiculous.

"The spring tea will come down in a while. If Liu Xiang doesn't believe it, I will stir-fry some tea leaves for you to taste!" Zhang Zong said with a smile.

"Okay, then I want to try what's special about this kind of fried tea!" Liu Rengui nodded without hesitation. Although he is old, he is not repulsive to new things.

"Fried tea will definitely not disappoint you, Liu Xiang!" Zhang Zong said confidently at this time. In fact, in comparison, he also prefers fried tea, not just for convenience, but the most important thing is that fried tea is purer, unlike the Tang Dynasty who likes to make tea, and adds all seasonings to it. Therefore, the Tang people called tea soup instead of tea because it is really like soup.

In fact, even if it is fried tea, the cost is still relatively high. After all, tea is not like grain. It usually takes three or four years to produce tea, and the yield is not high. Therefore, even if the fried tea reduces the cost, it is still relatively expensive. Therefore, if you want to solve the problem of the lack of vitamins in the winter of the army, the best way is to let them eat cheap vegetables.
Chapter completed!