Sheng Tang: What is Liu Jianjun going to do today?

Chapter 115 Revisiting Liu Rengui's Gate
Li Xian's eyes widened.

"Oil extraction? This thing...can produce oil?"

He simply couldn't reconcile these hard, small particles with the slippery grease.

The oils we usually see are all extracted from sesame seeds or animal fats. How can cottonseed be used to extract oil?
"Otherwise, do you think I went to all this trouble to grow this stuff?" Liu Jianjun snatched the cotton seed triumphantly and pinched it with his fingernail. "This stuff is the most suitable treasure at this stage!"

"It's a pity that the oil extracted from this stuff can't be eaten directly; it has to be extracted by pressing. The taste is a bit pungent, and people might get diarrhea if they eat it."

Li Xian was taken aback again: "You can still eat it?"

Sesame oil has a strange smell and is usually only used for lighting or medicine.

I said you can't eat it!

Liu Jianjun rolled his eyes and said, "Even if you can tolerate the risk of getting diarrhea to eat it, can you tolerate its other side effects?"

"What side effects?"

"To be childless and without descendants."

Liu Jianjun's words sent a chill down Li Xian's spine. Pointing at the cottonseeds, he asked, "This stuff... is it poison?"

"Not really. Eating a little bit won't cause any problems, but eating too much can cause men's penis to atrophy and women to experience miscarriage or menopause. Anyway, I don't plan to eat it."

Liu Jianjun waved his hand, unwilling to dwell on the issue, and said, "Just use it to light the lamp!"
"This cottonseed oil produces less smoke than pine torches, and the brightness is acceptable. The key is that it's cheap! If we press all 20,000 catties of cottonseed into oil, it will be enough to light the lamps in the Prince's mansion for several years!"

After saying that, he lowered his voice and winked, "Besides, the residue left after pressing oil is a good thing. It can fatten up pigs and chickens! Even... if you mix it with some wheat bran, it can keep people from starving for a while. It's a lifesaver during famine years!"

Upon hearing this, Li Xian was once again shaken.

He looked at the bustling cotton field, his gaze now different.

It turns out that not only are the white and soft cotton fibers a treasure, but these seemingly useless black seeds also have such wonderful uses.

Lighting lamps, providing fodder, and even... famine relief?
"So, it seems there's absolutely nothing wasted on this cotton?" Li Xian exclaimed.

"Theoretically, yes!" Liu Jianjun waved his hand, his voice filled with pride. "Cotton fibers can be woven into cloth for warmth, cotton seeds can be pressed for oil for lamps, cotton cakes can be used to feed livestock, and even the cotton stalks can be dried and used as firewood! Perfect!"

“By the way… don’t tell me you can’t burn cotton stalks!” Liu Jianjun suddenly said.

Li Xian looked puzzled: "Why can't we burn cotton stalks?"

"Who knows? A bunch of experts said that burning this stuff will damage the environment."

"Destroy the environment?" Li Xian looked blankly at the cotton field and asked, "Then why not burn them... what's the point of leaving these cotton stalks in the field?"

"You're making me even angrier! Those people say this stuff can be used as fertilizer if left in the ground!" Liu Jianjun said angrily, "Xianzi, do you think that's plausible?"

Li Xian immediately scoffed, "If this stuff can be used as fertilizer, wouldn't all the barren mountains be fertile land?"

This time, it was Liu Jianjun's turn to be caught off guard. He asked, "What do you mean?"

“Those barren mountains are covered with withered branches and rotten leaves, and I’ve never seen anyone grow crops on them!” Li Xian replied matter-of-factly.

Liu Jianjun immediately gave a thumbs up: "Damn it, none of these people are as insightful as you, a prince who's never lifted a finger!"

Li Xian chuckled, wanting to ask Liu Jianjun who had come up with such an absurd statement, but then, thinking of the many wonders of cotton, he felt that this question was the most urgent, so he couldn't help but ask, "How do you know all this about cotton?"

This knowledge was definitely not recorded in classical texts. Liu Jianjun chuckled and mumbled, "Hey, I read it in books, passed down from the older generation, just some random guessing..."

Sensing Li Xian's increasingly suspicious gaze, Liu Jianjun finally couldn't contain his anger and said, "It doesn't matter how you know it, as long as it's useful, isn't that enough?"

Well, Li Xian chuckled and then conceded, "Fine, I won't tell you then. You're making it sound like I'm genuinely curious!"

Although he said that, Li Xian knew that Liu Jianjun was one of his own, and the more capable he was, the better.

After thinking for a moment, he asked, "So... what do we do now?"

"What else? Tell Lao Liu the news and tell the people of Yongzhou to plant them as soon as possible! This is more than 20,000 catties of seeds! We spent more than half a year working on it, so let Lao Liu arrange for them to be planted ahead of time!"

……

Li Xian and Liu Jianjun arrived at Liu Rengui's residence again.

The study in Liu Rengui's residence once again welcomed these two uninvited guests.

Liu Rengui invited the two to sit down and said with a smile, "In order to appease me, the Empress Dowager has sent over some of the Yiyang Maojian tea that was a tribute in previous years. I will let Your Highness and Chief Secretary Liu taste my cooking later."

While Liu Rengui was brewing tea, Liu Jianjun spoke up directly: "Lord Liu, the cotton in the hundred acres of land in the Prince's mansion has been harvested. It will be finished in a few days, and then the cotton seeds can be picked and distributed."

"Oh? How was the harvest?"

Liu Rengui put down his teacup, revealing an interested expression.

Although he seems to have a lot of free time now, he still cares deeply about matters that concern people's livelihoods and may be able to solve urgent problems.

"Roughly calculated, a hundred acres of land should yield at least 20,000 catties of lint cotton! And the cottonseed should amount to about 30,000 catties!"

"Twenty thousand catties of cotton?" Liu Rengui was slightly moved.

That's quite a lot.

"And!" Liu Jianjun leaned closer, "we've discovered that these cotton seeds actually have a lot of uses!"

He once again displayed his storytelling skills, embellishing the various benefits of pressing cottonseed oil for lamps, feeding livestock with cottonseed cakes, and even sustenance during famine years.

Then he said, "You have seen the situation this year. There is drought everywhere in Guanzhong. To be honest, in my opinion, this drought will not end in a year or two. You also know that cotton is drought-resistant. We need to promote these cotton seeds in various parts of Yongzhou as soon as possible!"

Liu Rengui pondered for a moment, then slowly nodded and said, "In that case, now that the cotton seeds have been harvested, they should be temporarily stored in the Prince's granary. They must be properly stored and protected from moisture and rodents."

"These past few days, I have found a pretext to summon the officials of the subordinate prefectures and counties, including the Minister of Agriculture and the village heads, in the name of Yongzhou Prefecture. I told them that I had discovered a novel crop from the Western Regions that is drought-resistant and high-yielding. Its down can be spun, and its seeds have other uses. I ordered them to find suitable slopes and sandy land in their respective jurisdictions to try planting it."

"At that time, Your Highness will hand over these seeds to this old minister..."

Before Liu Rengui could finish speaking, a servant's voice suddenly came from outside the door: "Master! An angel from the capital summons you!"

Li Xian and Liu Jianjun exchanged a glance.

"An angel from Luoyang?"

……

(End of this chapter)