Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Li Zhoule and Li Yishu were anxious to know the results and moved ahead. Elder Brother Li left a note for Hanno, asking him to buy six servings of Jianbing Guozi before following them. His strides were long, and by the time he reached the edge of the field, Li Yishu and Li Zhoule had just arrived. Li Yishu was pulling at Man Cang Uncle, asking questions. Just as Elder Brother Li was about to approach, High Magistrate rushed over, his face flushed with excitement, forgetting all formalities as he exclaimed to Elder Brother Li, "General Li, the Celestial Seeds are indeed Celestial Seeds! Two One Thousand Jin, two One Thousand Jin!"
Elder Brother Li understood; after everyone harvested Sweet Potatoes, they realized the yield was not just One Thousand Jin but doubled. Everyone went wild. Two One Thousand Jin of grain per acre! What does that mean? After paying taxes, the remaining grain would last the common folk for three meals a day for an entire year! If all farmers planted Sweet Potatoes, no one would starve anymore, and there would be no more famines. Thinking of this, the villagers began to cry. They remembered their relatives who had starved during years of famine.
Tears welled up in the eyes of Magistrate and Master Liu as well. Though they had never experienced hunger themselves, they had witnessed scenes of starvation. As public officials, they had seen many die from hunger, more than those high-ranking officials in the capital could comprehend. Among grassroots officials, there were corrupt ones, but in recent years of turmoil in the Great Zhou Dynasty, there was little to steal. Instead, those corrupt officials were overwhelmed by various disasters and impoverished victims, extinguishing their greed and leading to a rare period of integrity in the Great Zhou Dynasty.
"High Magistrate, calm down," Elder Brother Li said as he patted Magistrate's shoulder to soothe him. Two One Thousand Jin is a lot? In modern times, there are yields exceeding ten thousand jin per acre of Sweet Potatoes. It’s just that ancient farmers lacked experience; their first planting yielded half or even two-thirds less than modern standards.
Magistrate quickly took several deep breaths to steady his emotions. Once he regained his composure, he cupped his hands toward Elder Brother Li and said, "General Li, I apologize for my earlier rudeness."
Elder Brother Li smiled and replied, "It's alright; I understand your feelings. A yield of two One Thousand Jin is indeed exciting. However, after your excitement subsides, you still need to handle serious matters—hurry and submit a report to the Emperor."
"Yes, yes! Thank you for reminding me, General Li," Magistrate said as he cupped his hands again in thanks before taking his leave. "I shall take my leave now."
Elder Brother Li nodded as Magistrate departed with his men, carrying away One Thousand Jin of Sweet Potatoes. The villagers were indifferent about it; let them carry it away—after all, it was just the yield from half an acre. Now that they had food, they weren't worried about what others took.
Elder Brother Li turned his gaze toward the weeping villagers; among them, the older villagers cried even more intensely. They had endured more hardships and had tasted the bitter wait for death from starvation while witnessing their loved ones perish before their eyes... Suddenly, Great-Uncle sprang up from the ground and ran in one direction while crying. The other Elders were initially stunned but soon understood and followed Great-Uncle's lead. Then came the village chief along with Man Cang Uncle, Man Jin Uncle, Uncle Guangdan, Uncle Jiang—these middle-aged men—and then Seedling Greenwood and other younger villagers followed suit; even the women trailed behind them.
Elder Brother Li realized that the villagers were heading toward the ancestral hall. He quickly pulled aside Li Yishu and Wen Zixia to give them instructions. The two immediately split up: Li Yishu went home to fetch a flashlight while Wen Zixia returned home to write what Elder Brother Li referred to as an "Ancestral Message." Once they had both items in hand, Elder Brother Li used his lightness skill to slip into the ancestral hall without being noticed by anyone.
The Elders and village chief led the way as all villagers knelt in the courtyard of the ancestral hall to bow before their Ancestors' tablets, thanking them for bestowing Celestial Seeds upon them and solving their food problems so that future generations would never have to face panic again. Everyone was filled with tears of joy and overwhelming emotion as they revered their Ancestors from Aoyama Village.
Suddenly, a young boy's voice rang out: "The Ancestors have shown their spirit again! The Ancestors have shown their spirit again!"
Everyone quickly looked up in the direction pointed by the boy and saw that a long-closed room on one side of the ancestral hall suddenly lit up. The people of Aoyama Village had witnessed this phenomenon three times before; they quickly got up and rushed into that room together.
The boy who had just called out was none other than Li Yishu. He entered the room with everyone else, looking around for his elder brother while thinking about how to cover for him but couldn't find where he was hiding. Just then, a grain of rice hit him on the head. Startled, Li Yishu looked up to see his elder brother hiding on a beam above him; he smiled down at him before turning around and disappearing from sight. Disappeared!!! Li Yishu's eyes sparkled with admiration—his brother was so amazing! That move and speed were even more agile than those of cats from the Li Family! Truly worthy of being my elder brother.
"Seeds! So many seeds!!!" The villagers shouted excitedly.
The village chief stepped forward to pick up a stack of white paper from atop a sack and looked around but didn't see Guan Rulin; remembering he had gone to Provincial Capital for the Provincial Examination, he called Wen Zixia over and handed him the white paper: "Zi Xia, you read this."
Wen Zixia felt awkward; after all, he had forged this Ancestral message himself—now being asked to read it felt so strange.
“...The rice is the same as what was given to you last time, carefully nurtured, and an yield of five hundred pounds per mu can be achieved. We know that the rice you just planted was confiscated by the Magistrate, and the seeds left for planting are insufficient, so we grant you two One Thousand Jin of rice seeds to use as you wish.”
“...Another type of grain is called potatoes. The planting method is similar to that of Sweet Potatoes, but they cannot be propagated through cuttings. The yield can also reach One Thousand Jin per mu. Potatoes are drought-resistant; if planted in September or October, they can be harvested by February next year, making efficient use of land.”
The Villagers were overjoyed upon hearing this. Another type of Celestial Seeds with a yield of One Thousand Jin that could be planted in winter was simply… the villagers were so excited they could hardly express their feelings at that moment.
Wen Zixia suppressed her expression and recited the taboo about potato sprouts being toxic to everyone. After hearing this, the others dismissed it. They wouldn’t eat the sprouted potatoes; instead, they would plant them in the ground and grow fresh potatoes.
“Our Ancestors are too good to us!” The older villagers wiped their tears, moved.
“Next year we will have new food to eat.” The young villagers grinned widely, showing their teeth.
The village chief led the Villagers out of the ancestral hall; there were potatoes waiting to be planted, so they needed to hurry and harvest the Sweet Potatoes to clear the land. The Li Family and Wen Family then retired back to the Li Family’s home. Hanno had already sent them Jianbing Guozi and fresh soy milk. Everyone happily drank soy milk while eating Jianbing Guozi, feeling satisfied.
“Big Brother, you’re amazing! You’re even better than the Li Family’s cat; you can move freely on the beams. I blinked and you disappeared!”
“Indeed, indeed.” Wen Ziyu nodded repeatedly in agreement, filled with admiration. “Brother Li is incredible; I wish I had such skills too.”
Elder Brother Li raised an eyebrow: “Do you want to learn?”
“Yes!” the three exclaimed loudly, though Wen Zixue was just going along with it; he didn’t really know what he wanted to learn.
“Good, then wake up early tomorrow morning. I’ll teach you martial arts.” Elder Brother Li glanced at Wen Zixia. “Zi Xia will join us too.”
Wen Zixia exclaimed, “Ah! Do I have to? I still need to prepare for the county exam.”
“It’s precisely because of the imperial examination that you need to practice martial arts more. Training can strengthen your body and benefit your exams. With nine consecutive tests and the spring chill, if you don’t have a good body, you won’t be able to endure it,” Elder Brother Li said.
Wen Zixia recalled what Guan Rulin had mentioned about many candidates being carried out of the examination hall due to poor health—some even losing their lives without ever taking the exam—and nodded in agreement to follow Elder Brother Li in learning martial arts.
In the capital city, a thousand miles away, the emperor was troubled by the total grain output after the autumn harvest. Although the court had promptly taken measures to respond to the drought, grain production had still decreased. The emperor planned to open his private treasury to purchase grain from Jiangnan and other countries in preparation for next year’s famine. However, his private treasury had been nearly depleted over these years; at most it could guarantee grain sales for this year. If another disaster occurred next year, he would have no money left to buy grain. What would he do then?
"Your Majesty, the Jingyang County Magistrate has submitted a memorial." The Minister of Revenue entered the palace, holding a memorial with great excitement. Normally, a seventh-rank county magistrate's memorial would not reach the emperor, but the contents were so shocking and exhilarating that the Minister of Revenue personally brought it to him.
"Jingyang County?" The emperor pondered for a moment. "I remember now; last time, the waterwheel and Hand Pump Well were presented by the Jingyang County Magistrate, from a village called Aoyama."
The Minister of Revenue nodded repeatedly. "This time, Aoyama Village has new developments. The Jingyang County Magistrate reports that they have collected rice and a type of Celestial Seeds called Sweet Potato from Aoyama Village. The rice yields four stones per mu, and the Sweet Potato yields two thousand jin per mu."
"What?" The emperor was taken aback. "Quickly, bring me the memorial."
The Minister of Revenue immediately presented it, and the emperor began to read. After a moment, he furrowed his brow and asked, "Zixian, is this matter regarding Aoyama Village and the Ancestors' manifestation true or false?"
The Minister of Revenue lowered his gaze and replied, "Regardless of its truth, the items are real."
The emperor said, "Bring them to me; I want to see."
Upon hearing this, Guan De Zhu left the room and soon returned with two eunuchs carrying the rice and Sweet Potato brought by the Minister of Revenue. Looking at the heavy and plump rice ears, the emperor was convinced that their yield of four stones per mu was no exaggeration. After all, he had never seen rice that could compare to what lay before him.
"Indeed impressive. Assign someone to take charge of this matter and promote this type of rice," the emperor ordered as he set down the rice.
"Yes, Your Majesty," the Minister of Revenue immediately responded.
The emperor's gaze fell upon the Sweet Potato. Observing its purplish-red skin, he expressed skepticism: "Can this be eaten?"
Comment 0 Comment Count