That simply wouldn't do. It jumped right up to sixth in the Hundred Family Surnames. While there weren't any practical benefits, the prestige was immense!
Fang Er quickly cupped his hands in thanks, a cheerful smile on his face.
"Your Majesty's high regard is appreciated. As you command, I will revise it and submit a copy for your perusal later."
Li Shimin waved his hand and walked towards the dried fish area. "This matter can be set aside for now. I can smell the fish and my stomach is rumbling. Let's go!"
No wonder he was hungry. They had traveled all the way from Laizhou, and he hadn't eaten for five hours. It would be strange if he wasn't hungry.
Everyone hurried to follow. Li Shun walked at the very back, a wry expression on his face as he quietly reported the day's progress to Fang Er.
"Duke, we've already stored over a million shi of dried fish. Now that you've taken the tractors away, we can't transport them out, and they're all piled up in the warehouses.
When do you think we can get them shipped? We've already built hundreds of warehouses, and if we don't move them soon, we'll have to build more."
"One million shi, hiss~~~"
Fang Er did a quick calculation and gasped.
"My god, that's over a hundred million jin of dried fish?"
He glanced towards the warehouses and indeed, they were packed densely, far more numerous than the first time they had dried fish.
"It's not good to keep them here indefinitely. The seaside humidity is high, and the fish is salty. It's easy for it to get damp."
"The tractors will be returning in the next couple of days. We'll ship them out once they're back!"
"Yes, I've noted it down. Oh, Duke, a few carts of canned bottles were sent from Chang'an some time ago, but I've tried all sorts of methods, and the seals are always leaky. Could you take a look when you have time later?"
"Alright, you go ahead and busy yourself. I'll have someone call you when I have time."
Fang Er's stomach was already growling, and he didn't have the time to ponder the issue of sealing cans.
If there was a problem, shouldn't he get a lobster first?
Li Shun left with a look of injustice on his face.
"You didn't include me in shipbuilding, and now you won't help me with my problems. The Duke has changed!"
Chai Lingwu led the way for Li Shimin, chuckling as he spoke.
"Uncle, you've arrived at the perfect time. We just got a boat back this morning. We caught dozens of lobsters as thick as thighs!
Nephew will let you try some fresh ones today!"
Fang Er, catching up, heard this and his mouth immediately started watering uncontrollably.
Lobsters as thick as thighs!
Damn it!
He quickly began searching the warehouse for horseradish, soy sauce, and aged vinegar. Every time he found something, he took it out and put it in his pocket for easy access later.
When they arrived at a wooden house next to the pier, Chai Lingwu said, "These days, nephew has been living here. I work during the day and sleep listening to the sea breeze at night. It's incredibly comfortable!"
He opened the wooden door, revealing a room of about two hundred square meters. Inside, there was a concrete pool, which alone was forty to fifty square meters!
As soon as they entered, everyone heard the splashing sound of water.
"Your Majesty, Ninth Uncle, look. The lobsters in this pool are all the good stuff nephew has been saving!"
When they reached the edge of the pool, everyone was stunned!
My god, the lobsters in the pool were indeed as thick as thighs, just as he had said. And they were as thick as the thighs of adult martial artists!
They were almost a meter long!
A single giant claw would be enough to fill the belly of one person, even someone with a voracious appetite like Cheng Yaojin!
Not only lobsters, but Fang Er also saw king crabs the size of millstones in there.
"This is outrageous. Where in the hell did these brutes go fishing?"
"How much does that Emper— King Crab weigh?"
Fang Er almost blurted out "Emperor" but quickly changed his words and asked Chai Lingwu.
"Oh, not much, only about twenty jin!"
"I caught one even bigger a few days ago!" Chai Lingwu said with a smug expression.
Although the work was tiring, he had to admit that eating so well every day was truly satisfying. If he wanted to, he could eat different things every day!
"These things are edible??" Li Shimin stared at the lobsters and crabs in the pool with astonishment.
"They look like monsters. Where do I even start?"
Fang Er couldn't wait any longer. He found bowls and plates in the wooden house, mixed the soy sauce, vinegar, and horseradish, and then jumped into the pool to catch a lobster.
Damn it, so big! Just thinking about holding a giant claw and gnawing on it was exhilarating!
Getting into the pool, he reached into his clothes and pulled out a dark military dagger.
The pool water was not deep, only about a meter. Seeing a lobster in front of him, he walked over softly and aimed his dagger at the connection between the lobster's claw and its body, stabbing fiercely.
*Crack~~*
A crisp sound echoed. The dagger smoothly pierced the joint of the lobster. With a strong twist of his right hand, the entire claw was pried off from the lobster's body.
He picked up the large claw and weighed it in his hand. This single claw weighed several jin.
"So, lobsters can molt continuously, and they are truly immortal?"
He walked to the edge of the pool, used the dagger to break open the hard shell of the claw, revealing the white flesh inside. He dug out a piece and held it up towards Li Shimin.
"Your Majesty, how about trying some first?"
Li Shimin hesitated for a long time, then looked at Li Xiaogong. "Are you sure this is edible?"
However, Li Xiaogong looked embarrassed. "I don't know! I've never seen such big shrimp!"
Although he had served in the navy and sailed out with five-toothed warships, encountering such large lobsters was not a common occurrence.
"Alright! Second brother, come try my dipping sauce!"
Seeing that Li Shimin was hesitant to try, Fang Er invited Chai Lingwu. Before he could come over, Fang Er took a bite himself.
The tender white shrimp meat, dipped in the sauce, was fresh, juicy, and had a perfect balance of sweet and savory, with a smooth texture that was simply amazing!
Under the stimulation of the horseradish that went straight to his brain, with just one bite, Fang Er felt as if his soul was ascending to heaven, and he couldn't help but exclaim.
"Refreshing!"
"Come, come, let me try!"
Seeing this, Chai Lingwu quickly ran over.
Following Fang Er's example, he took a bite and his eyes immediately widened.
He had eaten plenty of shrimp and crabs, but with this dipping sauce, the taste had instantly leveled up.
While the two of them ate happily, Li Shimin, Li Xiaogong, and Li Ji watched from the side, their mouths watering.
"Old Ninth, how about you go chop one down?"
Li Shimin pointed at a lobster in the pool that still had one large claw.
Thus, among the dozens of large lobsters in the pool, the unfortunate one that had just been attacked by Fang Er was once again visited by Li Xiaogong. The two-clawed great general, in the next moment, transformed into a clawless general.
The three of them gathered around Fang Er and tried a taste with the dipping sauce.
Li Xiaogong was the first. After all, although he hadn't eaten such big ones, he had eaten smaller ones.
However, as soon as the shrimp meat entered his mouth, he immediately opened his mouth wide and spat it out, fanning his mouth with his hands and letting the snot and tears flow freely.
"Ha~~ Ha~~ Ha~~~~"
"Hahaha~~ Seeing him constantly breathing out, Fang Er burst into laughter.
"Brother, you put too much horseradish in it, hahaha~~"
After speaking, he carefully demonstrated to them, explaining the properties of horseradish, and personally picked up a piece of shrimp meat, dipped it in the sauce, and handed it to Li Shimin.
Old Li was incredibly apprehensive. He had clearly seen Li Xiaogong's reaction just now. If he made a fool of himself, how could he maintain the emperor's dignity?
However, seeing Fang Er's enthusiastic gaze, refusing seemed inappropriate.
"I'll just eat a little bit. Hmm, I shouldn't make a fool of myself."
He took it, put it in his mouth, held his breath, and took a bite. After chewing carefully for a few moments, his eyes instantly lit up.
"Oh my! It's so delicious!"