"Little Zhu, won't they be suspicious if you use bags that don't exist in this world!"
[What's there to be afraid of? If the emperor asks, you can just push it onto your maritime merchant friends, Master. They won't be able to find me anyway.] The system's voice was filled with smugness.
Yue Fuguang imagined herself shaking her head and claiming complete ignorance; the thought was quite amusing.
Sure enough, Emperor Mingxi wasn't in a hurry to see the contents of the bags. Well, he had just taken a peek—it was golden inside, which should be corn.
Instead, he asked about the bags. "Fuguang, I have never seen this kind of bag before, nor can I tell what material it's made of. Have you heard your friend mention it?"
Yue Fuguang shook her head, playing dumb while knowing perfectly well, and asked in return, "Your Majesty, aren't all bags the same? Does our Great Yan not have this kind?"
Lu Qi and Yu Chongshan also leaned in. Lu Qi examined it for a long time and said, "It's neither hemp nor silk. It feels even sturdier than the clothes I am wearing."
Yu Chongshan touched his own soft and breathable clothes, which were made from several bolts of fine cotton cloth his granddaughter had gifted the family during the New Year.
It was said to be woven from the kind of cotton she was going to plant. Because of this cotton cloth, the adults in the family were now even more attentive to that cotton field than Fuguang herself.
Before the Lantern Festival was even over, the family steward had already taken a group of people over to clear the wasteland.
Yu Chongshan touched the bag; it wasn't the kind of cotton cloth he was wearing either. None of the materials these men had ever seen matched the bags in front of them.
Emperor Mingxi instructed Wang Shouchen, who was standing behind him, "My dear Minister Wang, instruct the farmers of the Court of Agriculture to be careful when opening the bags. Do not ruin them."
They could absolutely use these bags to store some delicate seeds. He still remembered Lord Divine Artifact saying that this material was pest-resistant and moisture-proof.
Only after inspecting the bags did the group of people turn their attention back to the grain seeds inside.
They each grabbed a handful, carefully examining the golden corn kernels in their hands under the sunlight streaming through the window.
"Why do these seed kernels look bigger than the ones we ate last time?"
"Elder Minister Wang has good eyes. The ones we roasted and ate last time were tender corn, which is best eaten fresh by roasting or boiling.
These ones in the bag have a high starch content and a high yield, making them the most suitable as a staple grain."
Hearing another new word, Wang Shouchen quickly asked out of curiosity, "What is this 'starch' that the Junior Preceptor mentions?"
Yue Fuguang paused, realizing she had just slipped up and blurted out a modern term. She braced herself and explained, "It's a substance contained in corn. The rice and wheat we usually eat also have it.
The higher the content of this substance, the stronger the feeling of fullness in a person's stomach after eating."
[Good thing you didn't say that starch is a natural high-molecular carbohydrate synthesized by plants, Master, otherwise these people would ask you what a carbohydrate is again.]
Hearing this, everyone silently memorized the new term 'carbohydrate' in their hearts. Some of the sharper ones even wondered if this was the knowledge of biology, chemistry, and physics that the Little Immortal Lord had mentioned.
After looking at the corn, next was the sweet potato. Yue Fuguang had chosen two varieties for Emperor Mingxi this time. As for herself, she was going to test plant all seven or eight varieties. Mainly because they were all delicious and hard to choose between.
Looking at the list the system gave her, Yue Fuguang said to Emperor Mingxi, "Your Majesty, my friend selected two varieties this time."
She picked up a sweet potato weighing nearly half a pound and said, "This kind has red skin and white flesh. It also has a high starch content and a high yield, but the texture is a bit dry."
Then she picked up another sweet potato that was significantly smaller and said, "This kind has red skin and yellow flesh. Its yield isn't as high as the white-fleshed one, but it tastes sweeter and has a softer, more glutinous texture.
If used to make sweet potato sugar, the sugar yield is higher."
[The sweet potato is a treasure from top to bottom. It can be grown from cuttings, and the vines can be used to feed livestock. If made into sweet potato sugar and glass noodles, the waste material can also be used to feed livestock.]
"Sweet potato leaves and stems can also be made into a dish, and the waste material you mentioned can serve as rations for people during famine years."
Everyone smiled as they listened to her detailed explanation, learning that sweet potatoes could also be made into glass noodles, although they didn't know what that was.
But since Lord Divine Artifact mentioned it alongside sugar-making, it must be something good.
They gazed at Yue Fuguang earnestly. The Little Immortal Lord would surely tell them, right?
After the sweet potatoes, they looked at the potatoes. Upon seeing the potatoes, Wang Shouchen suddenly said, "Junior Preceptor, is it time to harvest the potatoes in the greenhouse? I noticed the leaves have turned a bit yellow."
Uh... Hearing Elder Minister Wang's question, Yue Fuguang finally remembered that she still had several large vats of potatoes planted in her glasshouse!
Ever since he found out that the vats contained high-yield potatoes, Yue Fuguang hadn't needed to worry about them at all. Elder Minister Wang had been serving those vats of potatoes as if they were the emperor.
Speaking of which, she hadn't been to the greenhouse for nearly a month and had almost forgotten about it.
Concealing her inner embarrassment, Yue Fuguang put on a confident, all-knowing expression and said, "It is indeed time to harvest them."
Wang Shouchen glanced at his emperor and probed, "Then shall I have the Imperial Astronomy Bureau choose an auspicious day?"
What did that mean? Choosing an auspicious day just to dig up a few vats of potatoes? Choosing a day was one thing, but getting the Imperial Astronomy Bureau involved!
Wasn't that making a mountain out of a molehill?
What was the Imperial Astronomy Bureau for? They were only consulted for picking dates for sacrifices, the emperor's birthday, and the crown prince's wedding.
Getting the Imperial Astronomy Bureau to dig up potatoes—wasn't he afraid the emperor would take offense and the imperial censors would impeach him?
Yue Fuguang openly glanced at Emperor Mingxi, then shot a look at Feng Tang, who wasn't far away. Unexpectedly, both of them were nodding in agreement.
Seeing Yue Fuguang's expression, everyone knew what she was thinking. To the Little Immortal Lord, it might just be digging up a few potatoes, but to their Great Yan, it held extraordinary significance.
Emperor Mingxi swept his gaze over everyone present. They were all his trusted pillars of the state, so there was nothing to hide. In fact, if it weren't for saving face, he would have wanted to play the pity card with Yue Fuguang.
"Fuguang, although the snow disaster from last winter has passed, there are still many rumors circulating among the people. The common folk are ignorant, and many live in fear because they believe these rumors."
Yue Fuguang thought: Isn't the ignorance of the common folk the result of your generation after generation of obscurantist policies? And as for the rumors, aren't they just saying that the snow disaster is a punishment sent by heaven because the emperor lacks virtue?
God in Heaven: Sleeping, do not disturb!
Seeing Yue Fuguang's calm expression and that Lord Divine Artifact didn't jump out to scold him, Emperor Mingxi let go of his anxiety a little and continued, "Therefore, we need a tremendously good piece of news to boost the morale of the common folk."
As long as they could see hope and the promise of better days ahead, the populace wouldn't fall into chaos. Once potatoes with a yield of thousands of pounds per acre were revealed, those with ulterior motives could forget about slandering him anymore.
The Crown Prince also chimed in, "Sweet potatoes and corn won't be ready to harvest until autumn, so the living potatoes growing in the pots are the best choice.
When the seeds currently in the warehouse are harvested, Great Yan will hold a grand sacrificial ceremony to inform Heaven and Earth."
Yue Fuguang nodded. "Your Majesty and all the lords can arrange it as you see fit." It didn't matter to her; she wasn't the one doing the work. She would just act as a mascot when the time came.
Speaking of which, lately, she had been feeling a bit strange, from her soul down to her physical body. When she asked the system, it couldn't figure it out either, and there had been no response after contacting the main system.
Therefore, she was anxious to complete this natural disaster quest, which was worth one hundred and eighty thousand points.
