Because he had offered the formula for making ice, the emperor had personally offered Xiao Hanzheng 100 taels of gold.

This gold did not seem to be much, but it signified a kind of honour.

Mo Qingling brought the imperial edict and gold to Xiaxi village, and all the villagers there were extremely excited.

In this era, the identity of one’s clan was very strong.

If there was someone in the clan who performed well, apart from a few who were narrow-minded, most people would be happy.

The chief was also very happy and brought a few clan elders to congratulate them.

Xiao Hanzheng placed the gold he received as a reward into the house and came out to welcome Mo Qingling and the rest.

If there wasn’t an urgent need, they would normally not spend away this kind of gold reward.

This time, Mo Qingling came to Xiaxi village and discovered many differences.

There were many stalls set up at the village entrance, and many people from the county town visited this village.

Those who didn’t know would think that Xiaxi village was a lively town.

Then, they saw a few workshops built by the Xiao family.

After asking around, they found out that these were all purchased by the Xiao family for making mosquito incense and so on.

There were some who deliberately came to buy sugar.

Of course, many also came for saltpetre.

Ever since the formula for making ice was made public, the entire Daliang had been looking for saltpetre mines.

However, because they were limited to the land above sea level, the saltpetre mines they could find were limited.

The saltpetre mine in Xiaxi village that could be mined off the shelf became a hot topic.

There were still large clans in the prefectural city who wanted to occupy this saltpetre mine.

He was the one who stopped them.

This was a place under his jurisdiction, and no other clans or people were allowed to chip in.

He had grown up in the capital and visiting Nanxi county was the first time he had travelled so far.

He had also seen the underprivileged communities which were very different from the prosperity among families in the capital.

He had originally come for the iron mine, but now he really wanted to do something for the commoners.

Seeing Xiao Hanzheng’s graceful movements brewing tea in a way that he had never seen before, Mo Qingling felt that he might have underestimated this couple previously.

After taking a sip, the tea was very refreshing and mellow.

It tasted better than the tea that he used to drink.

“What kind of tea is this?”

Xiao Hanzheng smiled and said, “This is the Gongfu tea that my wife learned.”

Mo Qingling took another sip. “It’s very good.”

Xiao Hanzheng said generously, “If you like it, you can let the people around you learn it. When you want to drink it, you can make your own tea.”

His wife had said that adding some ingredients into the tea now would lose the taste that it should have. It would be good if they could promote Gongfu tea to outsiders too.

Mo Qingling really liked the taste of this refreshing tea. “Okay, thank you very much!”

After sitting and chatting for a while, he asked, “I heard that you have a good relationship with the Bai family. Why didn’t you cooperate with them on the mosquito incense?”

If he cooperated with the Bai family, the Xiao family would save a lot of trouble.

Moreover, he felt that the profits should not be less than the profits from selling it in bulk.

Xiao Hanzheng guessed that he would ask this question, so he told him honestly, “My wife doesn’t just want to make money. She wants to use the mosquito incense and other goods to spur the village’s development.”

He shared his little wife’s idea on bringing the stagnant water of Xiaxi village to life.

It was obviously the first time Mo Qingling heard this kind of discussion, so he could not help but think deeply.

The more he thought about it, the more wonderful it felt.

This technique was not only useful for Xiaxi village, but also for the entire Nanxi county.

He thought for a moment and asked, “Where’s your wife? Can you ask her to come out and say a few words?”

Xiao Hanzheng stood up. “Please wait a moment, my lord. I’ll go and ask my wife to come over now.”

Shi Qingluo was currently arranging for the goods to be shipped out from the workshop.

She felt that she should properly groom a few helping hands, otherwise she would be too tired.

Just as she was thinking, she heard Xiao Hanzheng call out, “My wife, Magistrate Mo wants to see you.”

Only then did Shi Qingluo put down her work and walk out. “Why does he want to see me?”

Xiao Hanzheng said, “I told him about your idea of keeping Xiaxi village alive. Perhaps, he wants to have a chat with you about the development of Nanxi county.”

Shi Qingluo nodded. “We can have a chat on that.”

Nanxi county’s development would greatly benefit Xiaxi village.

As she walked into the house, Shi Qingluo greeted Mo Qingling. “Greetings, Magistrate Mo.”

Mo Qingling raised his hand. “No need for formalities. Please sit down!”

Shi Qingluo was not restrained and sat not far away.

The chief and the others did not say anything. It was obvious that they had already acknowledged Shi Qingluo in their hearts.

If she were any other woman, they would definitely not agree to a woman appearing in public like this.

Mo Qingling did not interact much with Shi Qingluo, but he felt that she was a straightforward person.

Hence, he did not beat around the bush and went straight to the point. “What do you think Nanxi county should do in order to bring it to life?”

Shi Qingluo smiled and replied, “Develop according to its geographical conditions.”

Mo Qingling thought this made a lot of sense.

“How should we develop according to its geographical conditions?”

Shi Qingluo thought for a moment and said, “Let me give you an example. Nanxi county has a lot of flax seeds. If we only sell flax seeds, the profit will actually be limited.

“But if we make it into something else, not only will the selling price increase, it can also become a specialty product of Nanxi county.

“For example, flax oil, flax paste, flax cake, flax paste and so on.

“Next time when others mention flax oil in the future, the people of Daliang might think of Nanxi county first.”

She paused and said, “For example, the mosquito incense we make is called Nanxi mosquito incense. When we mention mosquito incense in the future, everyone will know that Nanxi county is the place where this mosquito incense came from.

“If the county wants to make flax related products, they can make Nanxi flax oil and Nanxi flax paste.”

In this era, flax was sesame, and most of it was used to make cakes and for extracting oil.

She had gone to the county town and asked, but there wasn’t any sesame paste.

The food culture in Daliang was relatively simple.

Most of them were prepared by boiling and roasting, and there were very few stir-fried dishes.

There wasn’t fried sauce noodles or anything like that.

Hence, choosing sesame paste should be a good choice.

Mo Qingling took in everything she said.

He knew Nanxi county well, so he knew that there were many people growing flax here, both the white and black ones.

But he did not expect that flax could produce so many things!

Not only him, even the chief and the others were stunned when they heard it.

They thought to themselves, Dalang’s wife was indeed amazing.

Not only was Dalang blessed to marry her, but the entire village was also blessed.

Mo Qingling asked curiously, “What is flax paste? How does it taste?”

Shi Qingluo replied, “The paste made from flax tastes very good, especially for boiled shabu.”

Speaking of which, she thought of eating shabu mutton.

Daliang’s staple food was mutton, chicken, and duck. In fact, they rarely ate pork.

Although Mo Qingling was asking, his tone was filled with affirmation. “You know how to make it?”

Shi Qingluo nodded. “I do!”

She continued, “I’ll buy some flax seeds to make it tomorrow. After I’m done, I’ll send some for you to taste, my lord.”

She could also eat boiled mutton in passing.

Mo Qingling smiled and nodded. “If that’s the case, I’ll have to trouble the Xiao family’s wife then.

“Can you also cook the flax seeds and flax seed oil you mentioned earlier?”

If it was possible, it could add quite a few characteristics to Nanxi county and boost its domestic economy.

Shi Qingluo nodded graciously. “No problem. After it’s done, I’ll ask my husband to send it to you, my lord.”

It was right to be on good terms with Mo Qingling.