Demoness, where are you Fleeing to?
Chapter 821 - 680: Unprecedented Prosperous Era

Chapter 821: Chapter 680: Unprecedented Prosperous Era

The Shen Nong Institution was built on a farm outside the East Chaoyang Gate of the Capital City, close to the Chaobai River, with both dry and paddy fields.

Originally, this place was the property of a major salt merchant from Tongzhou, but after this individual got involved in the Xia Guangwei case, his entire family was apprehended and then the property was allocated to the Shen Nong Institution by Yu Hongchang.

When Li Xuan hurried over, Yu Hongchang had already been waiting for quite some time. Holding Little Yu Youlong in her arms, she looked at Li Xuan and Xue Yunrou with a strange expression.

The gazes of Xue Yunrou and Yu Hongchang met, sparking what seemed to be a clash of fire and electricity in their eyes.

Then, the two girls smiled charmingly and linked arms, huddling together like close sisters.

Li Xuan, on the other hand, was deep in his schemes and thick-faced; he ignored Yu Hongchang’s gaze and went straight to several Spellcasters in charge of planting potatoes to inquire about the situation.

This time, the potatoes brought by the Nanyang businessmen totaled about twenty stones, all packed into twenty-two sacks.

Li Xuan had once asked about the origin of these potatoes.

In another world, potatoes were originally from South America. Initially, when they were brought to Europe, people only used their flowers as ornaments, but soon they became the second staple food of Europeans.

Li Xuan’s inquiry aimed to ascertain whether the god-given land on the eastern coast of the great sea existed and how far the Westerners’ great voyages had progressed.

Unfortunately, these Nanyang businessmen knew nothing when asked, only mentioning they bought the goods from the spice-trading Folangji merchants, and they had no idea about the exact origin of these potatoes and corn.

And the term ’Folangji’ was a term used during the Ming Dynasty to refer to the Portuguese and the Spanish.

Following Li Xuan’s instructions, the potatoes were cut into pieces and planted on different plots of land, each with varying temperatures.

Since they only had a limited number of potatoes on hand, and the Shen Nong Institution lacked sufficient Spellcasters, a more extensive trial had not yet been initiated.

The potatoes that were being harvested this time were from a three-acre dry land plot near the river.

As Li Xuan had instructed, the temperature was maintained between seventeen and twenty-one degrees, the soil was thick and loose, and there was ample sunlight.

The mercury thermometer was made by Leng Yurou based on Li Xuan’s "creative" idea, and its scale should not differ much from modern thermometers.

Therefore, these three acres of potatoes were the first to reach the harvest period.

After Li Xuan arrived, several Spellcasters began to dig out the potatoes from under the soil and meticulously calculated the yield.

As time passed, the breathing of everyone present gradually became more labored.

Xue Yunrou, observing the large pile of potatoes stacked to one side, speculated with a gleam in her eye, "The yield per acre should be around twelve thousand catties."

She had not expected that this inconspicuous crop, similar in size to a bell, could really produce such an exaggerated yield.

Yu Hongchang, on the other hand, found it difficult to breathe, her head somewhat dizzy, as she struggled to remain calm, "The yield is astonishing, but this field was fostered by techniques and attentively cared for. Under normal circumstances, the yield per acre couldn’t possibly be this high.

Besides, there is the moisture content; these potatoes contain much more moisture than wheat and rice. Once the moisture is removed, the yield is not so impressive. Therefore, they are not suitable for military provisions, as they are difficult to transport."

But even with such drawbacks, it made Yu Hongchang so ecstatic that she was nearly beside herself with joy.

She was learned in various subjects and understood agriculture.

Just by looking at the growing conditions of these potatoes, Yu Hongchang could imagine in her mind:

——In the south, potatoes could be planted after a season of rice.

——In the north, billions of mu of barren wasteland could be utilized and developed.

The people would not need to take much care of them; after planting the potatoes, they simply had to wait for the harvest.

These potatoes might not sell for much, but for the people, they were a means to stave off hunger.

"The key is, how do we eat these?" Xue Yunrou asked curiously, "Do we just boil them?"

"There are actually quite a few ways to eat them. They can be steamed, fried, boiled, made into mashed potatoes, potato pancakes, or potato flour."

Li Xuan thought to himself that french fries were out of the question, considering the high oil consumption, which the common folk probably couldn’t afford yet.

He had already ordered the Shen Nong Institution in Liaodong to research crop rotation with soybeans, corn, and wheat.

With enough soybeans, they could have a sufficient supply of soy oil for civilian use.

Furthermore, the soybean meal left after extracting the oil could be used to feed livestock, raising large numbers of pigs and cattle for consumption.

In his world, the Northeast was a splendid source of soybeans.

During the Republican era, the soybeans of the three Northeast provinces were in high demand internationally. Marshal Zhang had relied on the soybeans from the Northeast to support his several hundred thousand well-equipped Northeastern Army.

Unfortunately, the Shen Nong Institution had too many projects to research, and currently, only the lands near Shanhai Pass in Liaodong were still under Jin control.

Li Xuan looked at the potatoes, "In any case, let’s first expand the planting area, and then consider the ways to eat them."

In fact, there was no need to worry too much about how to eat them; when people are extremely hungry, they would eat tree bark and Guanyintu.

In the Jin Dynasty, there are plenty of culinary experts among the commoners who are capable of inventing various ways to eat them.

At this moment, he realized that ’Lady Lv,’ despite the risk of being noticed by Yu Hongchang, had directly materialized outside of his body, staring dazedly at the pile of potatoes in front of her.

Li Xuan’s eyebrows raised slightly, a touch of surprise in his voice, "Lady Lv?"

Of course, he was not speaking out loud but communicating through thoughts.

Lv Qiluo had a complex expression and did not respond to Li Xuan, gazing vacantly and remaining silent.

After about half a moment, the Spellcasters finally tallied the results.

"Twelve thousand three hundred and twenty-five catties——"

This number shocked everyone present; even the dozens of Spellcasters working at a distance temporarily stopped their tasks and looked in their direction.

At this moment, someone let out a light sigh, "This is truly Heaven’s blessing on Jin!"

Yur Hongchang unconsciously hugged Yu Youlong tighter, thinking to herself that this was indeed Heaven’s blessing!

This was a divine gift from Heaven, to prosper our Jin!

Following this, the Jin Dynasty must be entering a golden age—one that would surpass anything the ancients could have imagined!

She could even feel her own Dragon Qi surging and growing vigorously within her.

A series of loud Dragon Roars were echoing in her ears.

—This was a sign of resonance between Heaven and Man, indicating that the Dragon Vein of Jin was receiving immense nourishment.

How fortunate was this little one in her arms, to become the master of an unprecedented golden age?

However, little Yu Youlong obviously felt none of this and began to cry loudly.

Yur Hongchang quickly loosened her grip, "In the next three months, the Shen Nong Institution will suspend other work and focus entirely on cultivating these potatoes, researching planting methods for all regions of the north and south. Within three months, I need the Shen Nong Institution to supply enough potatoes to meet the planting needs of the entire north and south Zhili."

In three months’ time, it would roughly be the harvest season for rice and wheat. That would be the perfect time to plant potatoes in both north and south Zhili.

Li Xuan quickly interjected, "Research on corn and sweet potatoes should not be stopped either. The significance of these two crops is no less than that of potatoes."

Corn could be rotated with wheat, and sweet potatoes, which don’t occupy farm land, make for delicious and filling meals, whether in porridge or solid form.

Research on hybrid wheat and rice couldn’t be halted either, but with only Zhao Xixue involved in that, there was no need to mention it.

Upon hearing this, Yur Hongchang nodded slightly, "Don’t worry, Xuan, I will draw another two hundred wooden Spellcasters from various Taoist sects to dedicate themselves to this task."

Her regard for the Shen Nong Institution was now completely different from what it had been before today.

Xue Yunrou also spoke solemnly, "My Tianshi’s mansion will also support this with all our might."

She realized that these inconspicuous little things carried tremendous merit and could even affect the rise and fall of a nation’s fortune.

The Tianshi’s mansion she led, along with the Zhengyi Sect, had to be involved no matter what.

※※※※

On the way back to Capital City, Li Xuan and his companions all looked slightly out of the ordinary.

Their spirits were clearly elated, but they were all deliberately trying to suppress it.

After entering Chaoyang Gate, Yur Hongchang headed straight for the imperial palace, as she wanted to draft the imperial decree to mobilize the Spellcasters as soon as possible.

Xue Yunrou also left in a hurry. Regarding the matter of potatoes, she felt it necessary to have a deep conversation with Zhang Chengye, far away at Tongguan.

Li Xuan needed to return to the Dudu’s mansion to deal with some documents, and after that, go to the Taihe Gate in the palace to participate in the court meeting.

While on the way, Li Xuan asked Lv Qiluo out of curiosity, "Lady Lv, what were you just thinking about?"

"Nothing much—"

Having revealed her form, Lv Qiluo shook her head, "I just didn’t think there would be such magical crops in this world. I’m becoming more and more confident in you, Li Xuan. You might really be the one favored by the fortunes of Jin."

Upon hearing this, Li Xuan couldn’t help but let out a laugh, "Favored by the nation’s fortunes? Isn’t that a bit exaggerated? This time it was actually just luck."

He hadn’t expected that potatoes would actually be transported to Nanyang—

"When the nation’s fortune congregates upon you, your own fortune is naturally extraordinary."

Lv Qiluo spoke earnestly, "By the way, I have a favor to ask of you, Li Xuan. Could you have Leng Yurou and Xue Yunrou work together to create a Puppet Body for me?"

"A Puppet Body?" Li Xuan was somewhat surprised, "Aren’t you afraid of being detected by your enemies, Senior?"

"Now that the Heaven Gap has been opened a crack." Lv Qiluo explained, "As long as I don’t stray too far from you, it shouldn’t be much of a problem. Weren’t you hoping to study hybridized rice and wheat? I should be able to help.

I have observed the phenomenon of interspecies hybridization in nature before, and I feel that your idea is feasible. Whether it’s for disease prevention or yield enhancement, hybridization could achieve that."

She thought such a grand event was something she could not miss.

Lv Qiluo figured that if she had a physical body, she could increase the potato yield in three months to cover the entire north and south Zhili and unravel all the characteristics of the plant.

She was an entity that wielded the Supreme Gates of Fa of "Taichu" and "Life and Death."

Taichu, also known as Alpha, is the fundamental origin and the beginning of all things.

Her abilities in plant research were far superior to those of Spellcasters.

Li Xuan’s eyes lit up with excitement at the thought. Indeed, it sounded like a great idea.

He was well aware of Lv Qiluo’s capabilities in wooden spells.

But Li Xuan then grew greedy, "That could work, but could you also help me condense an external incarnation? I don’t need one as advanced as the Second Mind, just one to handle official duties would be fine."

Lv Qiluo immediately gave him a withering look, "Get lost!"

She thought to herself that she would never condense an external incarnation for this man again.

She knew exactly what Li Xuan wanted to do. If she did make an incarnation for him, he was likely to spend all day every day on the bellies of women.

Poor her, she had to shrink deep within Li Xuan’s Primordial Spirit and sleep to avoid the situation outside—it was simply too much for the eyes...

Lv Qiluo wanted a Puppet Body so that she could stay further away from Li Xuan at night; otherwise, life would really be unbearable.

Li Xuan, on the other hand, was left feeling regretful. Then a thought crossed his mind, "By the way, Lady Lv, what did you mean by a crack in the Heaven Gap?"