Li Shimin felt somewhat anxious, "Then this year, if we use this thing..."
Lin Shen waved his hand broadly, "Don't worry, I have a plan in mind. As long as we solve the locust plague, I will take back this thing."
"It won't cause such a big impact."
Li Shimin nodded.
He couldn't help but feel emotional as he looked at Lin Shen with a complicated expression. "I originally thought the locust plague was a punishment from the heavens for me, but now it seems like it's a test."
"I truly am the chosen one... to even meet someone like you."
Lin Shen felt a bit uncomfortable under Li Shimin's gaze.
He quickly raised his hand and said loudly, "Stop! I'm not interested in men. Don't look at me like that, it's creepy."
Li Shimin couldn't continue his next words.
Empress Zhangsun covered her mouth and laughed beside him.
It was the first time she had seen her husband being at a loss like this.
Li Shimin also felt a bit aggrieved.
He originally wanted to say some flattering words and improve his relationship with Lin Shen.
But he didn't expect this kind of reaction.
If these words were said to another courtier, they might shed tears and embrace each other in anguish, displaying their friendship.
Lin Shen stood up, stretched lazily, and said, "Leave this thing here. Arrange for someone to conduct a test yourself. If you decide to use it, send someone to my supermarket."
Li Shimin nodded. As Lin Shen was about to leave, he suddenly called out, "Chu... uh, Mr. Lin."
This address felt a bit awkward for him.
But Lin Shen naturally agreed and turned around, asking, "What's up?"
Li Shimin took a deep breath. "Have you ever thought about obtaining an official position in the court?"
"Being an official?" Lin Shen quickly shook his head. "No, being the King of Chu is good enough for me."
Li Shimin was somewhat surprised. "Isn't being an official good?"
Lin Shen smirked. "It's tiring, having to worry about this and that every day. I already have a supermarket to keep me busy."
Entering the court as an official.
It was almost every scholar's dream.
Li Shimin glanced deeply at Lin Shen.
This oddball, he had never seen one before.
Lin Shen asked, "Anything else? If not, I'll go back."
Li Shimin waved his hand. "Go ahead."
Lin Shen turned and left.
Li Shimin looked at the door that wasn't closed, feeling a bit lost. "Guanyin Bi, what do you think of this person?"
"He's a weirdo." Empress Zhangsun furrowed her brows and walked over to close the door.
Li Shimin nodded heavily.
"Yeah, I am the Son of Heaven, the chosen one, the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty. But this kid's attitude towards me..."
For a moment, Li Shimin couldn't find the right words to describe this kind of relationship.
Empress Zhangsun said, "He treats Your Majesty as an equal."
Li Shimin nodded. "Yes."
"Others respect me and fear me, but only this kid doesn't treat me like an emperor. Or rather, he just sees me as Li Shimin. Is being emperor just... a job to him?"
"Is this the expression of the Mohist philosophy of universal love?"
Empress Zhangsun smiled and rubbed Li Shimin's shoulders. "It's not bad to have someone like this in the Tang Dynasty. It's much better than the previous stagnant atmosphere."
Li Shimin sighed. "I don't know if it's good or bad."
"By the way, have someone test this insecticide later to see if it really works."
From the shadows nearby, a member of the Imperial Guards came out, saluted, and cautiously picked up the bottle of insecticide, then left the room. Less than an hour later, he hurried back.
Here is the translation of the following content:
In his hand, he still held a small bowl, which contained more than a dozen dead locusts.
"Your Majesty, the insecticide really works!" The voice of the Qian Niu Wei was also somewhat excited.
Li Shimin was somewhat surprised. "So fast?"
The Qian Niu Wei nodded. "Following the instructions of His Highness the King of Chu, I loaded the insecticide into a watering can and sprayed it on the locusts in the imperial garden. Those locusts seemed to detest the scent and flew away directly. However, they didn't fly far before falling to the ground and dying. These are some locust corpses that I picked up. Please have a look, Your Majesty."
Li Shimin couldn't help but feel emotional. He had previously harbored doubts about Lin Shen's words, even thinking that this kind of medication might not be as effective as Lin Shen claimed. However, the reality was before his eyes.
In less than an hour, so many locusts had died. If the entire Tang Dynasty were to spray this pesticide, wouldn't the locust plague in the entire Tang Dynasty be resolved?
Li Shimin sighed, feeling a bit uneasy. "Once again, the Tang Dynasty owes him a favor."
Even if Lin Shen classified this matter as a business transaction, Li Shimin knew very well that if not for this deal, the locust plague in the Tang Dynasty could only be resolved when winter arrived and the locusts died naturally.
Chang'an City was not small. However, news of the owner of Ruyi Supermarket being rewarded by His Majesty and becoming the King of Chu spread quickly.
Almost overnight, all the people of Chang'an knew about this news.
This had a huge promotional effect on Ruyi Supermarket.
Everyone wanted to see for themselves what kind of legendary figure this mere merchant who had ascended to become the King of Chu overnight was. Was he born with an extra eye, or perhaps with extra limbs?
But when they arrived at the entrance of Ruyi Supermarket, they found a wooden sign erected there.
It was pasted with a piece of red paper, upon which was written a long string of text.
The crowd gathered around this board.
"What's written on this board?"
"Why are you asking me? I can't read."
"Is there a scholar who can read? Please read aloud what's written on this paper for us."
The crowd became noisy.
Before long, a man dressed as a scholar walked out of the crowd and stood beside the wooden board, bowing to the others. "What is written on this paper is..."
"His Highness the King of Chu has invented a potion that can effectively kill locusts within half an hour. Now, in order to help the people of the world, he has specially brought out this potion."
"And it's only ten wen per bottle."
Upon hearing this message, the crowd began to discuss.
"Is there really a potion that can kill locusts?"
"And it's so cheap, just ten wen for such a miraculous medicine?"
"Could it be a scam..."
"It's impossible. That's His Highness the King of Chu. Do you know how he was conferred the title of King of Chu?"
"Why was he conferred the title? Do you know the reason?"
"Of course. Let me tell you, it's because His Highness the King of Chu was concerned about the people of the world not having enough food during the locust plague, so he specially brought out his own grain to help the people of the world..."
"My third uncle's sworn brother's nephew has already eaten the grain provided by His Highness the King of Chu. I heard he even made a profit."
"No way, how much money would that cost?"
"So, His Highness the King of Chu is indeed a saint. Do you think a saint would deceive you in such a matter?"