Dong Si smiled carelessly. "Lord Sheng, the weather is dry and scorching. Do take care of yourself and drink more nourishing medicinal broth."
Sheng Chi’s voice seemed to squeeze through clenched teeth. "My health is perfectly fine."
He was deeply frustrated, but once he learned that Ge Feng possessed high-yield grain seeds, he dragged himself out of sickness to handle the situation.
With drought and war, food had become the biggest problem, and they were all at their wit’s end over it.
Zhang Tinghan and Huo Chun didn’t dare say anything unpleasant this time, sitting quietly in their places.
The truth was, this man surnamed Dong was far too unyielding. Earlier, just because they’d made a few rude remarks, he had driven them half to death with anger and even made Sheng Chi spit blood.
As the atmosphere grew awkward, even Sheng Shang pretended to be deeply absorbed in the tea on the table, as if he could see flowers blooming in it.
Sheng He felt exhausted. He was only a minor colonel—why did he have to be the diplomatic mediator here?
He forced a stiff smile and broke the ice. "May I ask what kind of high-yield grain seeds Ambassador Dong is referring to?"
Dong Si raised two fingers. "There are three types in all. Two of them yield about ten thousand jin per mu, with a growth cycle of around two months. The third grows in about twenty-odd days but produces only one to two thousand jin per mu."
Everyone had heard Sheng He mention the ten-thousand-jin yield before, but hearing it again, they still found it hard to believe—especially with two or three varieties on offer.
Kong Yi spoke up. "How can we trust that you’re telling the truth about these high-yield seeds?"
Dong Si smiled. "That’s simple."
He clapped his hands.
Immediately, several soldiers of the Jinyang Army carried in three wooden-box-like objects. After setting them down, the soldiers withdrew.
Dong Si stood up and lifted the cloth covering them, revealing white radishes growing in the boxes.
The crowd stared with bewilderment at these things they’d never seen before, like some kind of huge ginseng roots, growing quite well.
Dong Si pulled one up—a plump, snow-white radish, pleasing to the eye.
"This is a white radish. Though what I’ve shown you is only this much, you can estimate the yield per mu from the area. It won’t be perfectly accurate, but it’ll be close."
Sheng He’s mouth fell open. "You... you mean this thing is edible?"
Dong Si nodded. "Naturally. You can eat it raw, boiled, dried, or pickled. In short, there are eighty-one ways to prepare it."
With that, he wiped the radish on his clothes and tried to break it apart with both hands to demonstrate eating it raw. But it didn’t break!
His eyebrow twitched. A bit embarrassed, he barely kept his calm expression from slipping.
Shuangjiang kindly took the radish from him, offering comfort. "It’s just that the radish is too big. It’s normal not to be able to break it."
Crack.
Before she finished speaking, she snapped it cleanly in two.
Dong Si: "..." He’d never met someone who undercut their own people.
Sheng Chi and the others were exasperated. They couldn’t help glancing at the cracked jade floor that hadn’t been replaced yet.
Come to think of it, since they’d damaged the floor, could they ask for compensation?
Jade was expensive.
But then they remembered that Dong Si had brought his own tent, and supposedly even his own water, claiming it was hard to find water sources during the drought.
Hah. He was clearly just guarding against them!
Never mind—even if they asked, he probably wouldn’t pay. The main matter was more important.
Shuangjiang handed the radish back to Dong Si. "There you go. Next time, you can bring a dagger and even peel it."
Dong Si gave a polite smile that wasn’t too awkward. "It’s still tasty without peeling. Ordinary folks eat tree roots, after all."
Crunch.
He bit into it hard, then handed the other half to Sheng He. "Give it a try. Raw, it’s a bit spicy, but very crisp and refreshing."
It wasn’t that he was being rude by not offering it to Sheng Chi; as the family head, Sheng Chi would never eat food of "unknown origin."
Sheng He, having fewer concerns, took the radish and bit down.
A sharp spiciness surged through his mouth and nose. He shivered, feeling instantly awake, and soon tasted a sweetness along with plenty of moisture.
"This—this is delicious!" His eyes lit up, and he took a few more bites.
Sheng Shang swallowed. "Let me have a bite too."
He didn’t care about Sheng He’s saliva and took the half-eaten radish to eat.
Though it wasn’t the best taste, it was certainly filling. Just this one white radish must have weighed a jin or two. At that rate, a yield of ten thousand jin per mu actually seemed possible.
Sheng He nodded to Sheng Chi. "Lord Sheng, this white radish is indeed good. According to Ambassador Dong, it should taste even better when prepared other ways."
Sheng Chi finally broke into a smile. "Good, good."
Dong Si uncovered the cloth on the other two wooden boxes. "This is Chinese cabbage, and this is baby bok choy. Take a look."
He glanced around at the group, seeing them silently calculating yields, and said with a smile, "So, you all know about the high-yield grain seeds now? Care to introduce your ships?"
Kong Yi frowned. "How adaptable are these seeds? If they can only be grown in wooden boxes or under special conditions, and can’t be planted on a large scale, they’re useless."
Dong Si shook his head. "No need for that. We’ve grown them in Ge Feng before. These were planted by ordinary folks in their own yards. I brought them specially to show you the yield."
"Of course, the seeds need proper fertilizing for high yield. I can send people to teach you how to farm. In exchange, you teach us how to sail."
"If the yields aren’t what I’ve promised, the deal is off. After all, your ships are still at your dock—we can’t take them."
Kong Yi chuckled. "You’ve got it all figured out. Sailing is a real skill. What is farming compared to that?"
Dong Si disagreed on that point. "Farming is the true discipline. Food is the foundation."
"It’s October now, and winter’s coming soon. You can plant this baby bok choy first. Short cycle—it’ll be ready in about twenty days."
While Dong Si was negotiating terms with the clans of Ze’a Commandery, Mu Ning, passing through Lingfeng Commandery in Haijiazhou, ran into trouble.
Watching dozens of horsemen galloping toward them from afar, Hua Ruo tightened her grip on her blade.
She remembered only a few scouts had gone ahead—how had so many suddenly appeared?
Seeing no change in Mu Ning’s expression, she wisely chose not to ask.
A Dragon Shadow Guard dismounted and quickly reported, "There’s a patrol of Jiao Army cavalry up ahead."
The dozens of people behind bowed to Mu Ning with clasped hands. "Team Leader Mu."
They were members of a nearby liaison post, led by Jingzhe.
In total, from Ge Feng through to the several liaison posts in Sizhou, each post typically held anywhere from a dozen to several dozen people.
These operatives were usually hidden in remote mountains and dense forests, using carrier pigeons for relay communication. Their numbers were small, all elite soldiers, and they were highly flexible in combat.
When they needed to move openly, they’d disguise themselves as bandits or refugees to avoid drawing attention.
This time, Jiang Jin had ordered all liaison posts activated. Jingzhe estimated when Mu Ning would pass through and had been active nearby for the past two days.
Hearing them address Mu Ning, Hua Ruo immediately understood—these were all Ge Feng’s people.
Her heart shook. Was Ge Feng’s reach now stretching to Haijiazhou?
No, and Sizhou too. Feng Gexuan had already established a firm foothold in Jiu’an.
As for whether there were any other forces in Sizhou besides Feng Gexuan that belonged to the Ge Feng faction, she had no way of knowing.
After all, during the time Chen Xi and the others were in Sizhou, most of the cities there were still open for free entry and exit, so it wasn’t difficult to send people in.
She had to reassess the strength of Ge Feng.
Looking again at the people before her, they were all women!
"How many people? How long until they get here?" Mu Ning asked.
Jingzhe quickly replied, "About a hundred and fifty, all cavalry. They should be here in roughly fifteen minutes."
Mu Ning frowned. "Is there any other route nearby we can take to go around them?"
Jingzhe pulled out a hand-drawn map, pointing to a spot on it. "There’s a small path through the mountains that can bypass them."
They didn’t just function as a liaison point; they regularly scouted the surrounding area, created accurate maps, and so on.
