Li Ying gave a gentle smile. Instead of rushing to report to the emperor about the fish ponds in the fishing village, she calmly turned to the dishes on the table.
"Your Majesty, the method of polder fields can't be rushed. Why don't you have your meal first, and let this commoner explain it to you in detail."
All the emperor could think about was how to relieve Jiangcheng from the disaster. How could he have any appetite now?
He casually glanced at the delicate dishes on the table. They were just the usual chicken, duck, fish and meat, which failed to arouse his interest.
It was Empress Pei who personally served him a chopstick of eel cooked in hot oil and invited him to taste it.
"Your Majesty, although state affairs are important, it's crucial to take good care of your dragon body."
The emperor looked at the plump eel in the bowl. It did look more fragrant than usual. Moreover, not wanting to reject Empress Pei's kindness in front of the officials, he frowned and chewed the eel with her jade chopsticks.
The outer skin of the eel was fried to a thin, crispy crust, while the inside was smooth, tender and soft. After removing the large bone, there was not a trace of the earthy smell of ordinary eels. Instead, it carried a faint sweetness and the aroma of rice seedlings.
After just one bite, the emperor's appetite was greatly whetted. Then he looked at a roast duck with shiny red skin on one side.
Li Ying quickly introduced with a beaming smile, "Your Majesty, this is the 'Great Red Robe' crispy rice-field duck. Why don't you have a try?"
The duck skin was roasted to a bright jujube color and cut into suitable large pieces, laid on the Great Red Robe Chinese prickly ash which was roasted to a spicy and fragrant smell.
These Chinese prickly ashes were plump, known as the "lion's head", the top-grade among spices, all personally supervised and harvested by Shi Hu.
However, it wouldn't be anything special just like this.
The emperor looked at the shiny duck on the plate. Although he had seen Li Ying's fruit-wood roasted duck at the empress dowager's birthday banquet, this rice-field duck seemed leaner than that fruit-wood roasted duck, and the taste was not greasy when eaten.
The duck meat was juicy, soft, tender but not dry, without the slightest fishy smell of waterfowl. Instead, one could also taste the unique sweet smell of rice.
The emperor looked at Li Ying's calm expression, then suspiciously at a bamboo-grilled fish.
The fish was not big in size and didn't look special. It was skewered with green bamboo and roasted to a slightly golden brown on both sides, giving off a fragrant smell, with a somewhat rustic charm.
However, among the richly flavored dishes on the table, this dish really seemed ordinary, so the emperor overlooked it for a moment.
But at this time, seeing Li Ying's confident look, a thought suddenly popped up in his mind - this unassuming salt-baked fish might be the key to all the dishes on the table!
The emperor put down his chopsticks and picked one. Empress Pei wanted to remind him that small fish had many bones and might not taste good, but she only heard Li Ying explain with a beaming smile, "Your Majesty, this is the rice-flower carp. It's quite different from the ordinary grass carp. The meat is tender and has few bones. Please have a taste."
Rice-flower carp?
The emperor murmured to himself and took a bite doubtfully.
Sure enough, it was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. The small and soft fish bones had been roasted to a crispy texture. Chewing carefully, the mouth was filled with fragrance.
The emperor frowned. Although the fish tasted delicious, that familiar, faintly sweet aroma of rice seedlings wafted over again.
The name "rice-flower carp" made him have some vague guesses in his mind.
At this moment, Li Ying had already placed the last dish in front of the emperor with a smile.
The thing on the plate was even more strange. It was a bunch of round snail shells.
The snail shells were tightly stuffed. With a slight suck, one could easily suck out the minced meat inside the snail shell.
The emperor easily tasted that this minced meat was obviously made from the rice-flower carp just now. There were also some fine minced meat wrapped inside, which had a bit of chewiness. Obviously, the snail meat was chopped and mixed in.
In this way, the soft and slippery fish meat stuffing added a chewy texture, and the taste was even more rich.
He raised his eyebrows, looked at Li Ying and said in a deep voice, "If I'm not wrong, I guess this snail meat is also the so-called 'rice-flower snail'?"
Li Ying's smile grew wider. She bowed humbly and said, "Your Majesty is truly perceptive."
All the dishes on the table today had the name "rice-flower". The emperor didn't need to think too much to immediately realize that this must be closely related to the so-called "polder field farming" and "pond-based aquaculture" that Li Ying had mentioned.
Seeing the emperor put down his chopsticks, Li Ying curtsied, cleared her throat, and then said softly, "Your Majesty, all the dishes you've tasted today are actually the products of 'pond-based aquaculture'."
"The so-called pond-based aquaculture is adjusted according to local conditions. Besides fish ponds in mulberry fields, there are also many different models such as rice-crab symbiosis, rice-fish symbiosis, duck-rice symbiosis, and shrimp-rice symbiosis."
"These rice-flower carps and eels have been raised in the rice fields since they were young. They don't need to be fed on a daily basis. The fish fry will naturally feed on the rice flowers that fall in the rice fields. Over the years, the fish meat will naturally carry the sweet smell of rice flowers."
The hemp ducks are also raised in the rice fields. They wander around, feeding on the pests on the rice seedlings and the small fish and shrimps in the water. The duck meat is sweet, firm, tender and juicy, but not as greasy as ordinary duck meat.
The snails raised in the rice fields have become natural "scavengers". In this small paddy field, with the introduction of fish, snails and ducks, a delicate balance has been achieved, forming a harmonious and smoothly operating ecosystem.
The segmented "polder fields" have greatly increased their water storage and flood discharge capabilities, and their ability to resist floods has also been greatly enhanced, ensuring a good harvest in both drought and flood.
When the rice seedlings are harvested, the fish are fresh and the ducks are fat. They can also be harvested together, creating a considerable income for the villagers on the river beach.
Seeing that there was still a hint of hesitation on the emperor's face, Li Ying exchanged a look with Lu Xunguang. Lu Xunguang immediately stepped forward and said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, all the rice-flower fish and other things you've eaten today were transported from the fishing village in the southern border by my order. I originally planned to report it another day, but unexpectedly, the flood disaster in Jiangcheng suddenly happened."
He kept saying that he had followed Li Ying's advice. At first, he had tried the method of "pond-based aquaculture" in the paddy fields of the Lu family's private property. Seeing that the harvest was really good, he had vigorously promoted it in the fishing village in the southern border.
Princess Yongning wondered, "So, Miss Li is really a wonderful person! What kind of ingenious ideas could she have to come up with so many unprecedented and wonderful methods!"
She laughed and said, "I've seen the women's health club that Miss Li arranged for my aunt before. The silver it earns every month enriches the national treasury, which is really amazing."
"I thought Miss Li only knew about things in the kitchen and beauty and health preservation. I didn't expect that in the field of farming, which is closely related to the national economy and people's livelihood, Miss Li also has unexpected and unique insights. It really makes me, a princess of the country, can't help but feel a bit inferior. I'm really ashamed!"
Although her words seemed just casual remarks, in fact, she was secretly reminding the emperor that the profit from the health club of the eldest princess accounted for a large proportion of the income in the national treasury.
He hadn't paid attention to these before, but now thinking about it carefully, they were all Li Ying's merits.
This woman must not be underestimated!