Chapter 226
Moreover, it had been irrigated with the Spiritual Rain. If the yield didn't increase, wouldn't her Spiritual Rain Talisman have been a total waste of money!
"That's not right. Why is the yield so low!" Her muttering wasn't loud, but the people on the platform and those in the front rows below all heard it.
Gah! The people who were just laughing heartily choked on her words, letting out a sound like a duck honking.
Three catties and two taels was considered low? Judging by the plants, a single mu of land could easily grow over two thousand of them. Even with a conservative estimate, the yield per mu would be nearly fifty piculs!
The Junior Preceptor still thought it was too little. Truly, immortals did not understand the affairs of mortals.
Before the crowd could react, Yue Fuguang raised the trenching shovel in her hand and dug into the soil, digging out...
Eh? Sure enough, she dug out three more potatoes from the soil, two large and one small, and placed them on the scale, signaling Wang Shouchen to continue weighing them.
Wang Shouchen's hands trembled as he mechanically lifted the steelyard scale. Because of his shaking hands, he failed to find the balance mark several times. It was Zhang Zhongping who stepped up again, and with their cooperation, they finally got it right.
Emperor Mingxi leaned over to look at the weight, and then, with a slightly cracked voice, he shouted, "Four catties and three taels!"
"Four catties and three taels!"
"Four catties and three taels!"
Four catties and three taels! It was passed on thousands of times, spreading by word of mouth all the way to the outskirts of the city without a single mistake, which was a miracle in itself.
Hearing this weight, Yue Fuguang saw another scene transmitted by the system: hundreds of thousands of commoners were all kneeling on the ground, thanking the heavens for bestowing this life-saving grain.
At this moment, the system's highly displeased voice reached everyone's ears. [Master, these people are blind! It was clearly you who bestowed these excellent seeds, yet they only remember to thank the Heavenly Dao.
Does It deserve it? Watch me go settle the score with It! I guarantee I'll beat Its soul right out of Its body!]
Gah!
Someone was so frightened they hiccuped. After their initial shock, Wang Shouchen, Zhang Zhongping, and the others very obediently bowed to Yue Fuguang.
"Thank you, Lord Junior Preceptor, for finding these excellent seeds for the people of Dayan!"
"Thank you, Lord Junior Preceptor, for finding these excellent seeds for the people of Dayan!"
......
"Thank you, Lord Junior Preceptor, for personally planting these excellent seeds for Dayan!"
Um, the person in front, please keep in formation. The word 'finding' was quite appropriate, but as for 'personally planting,' there was no need to bring that up!
"Lord Wang, Lord Zhang, please rise quickly! All you lords, please rise as well!"
Old Mr. Wang was already in his sixties. Having him kneel to her made her feel somewhat unaccustomed, but as an 'immortal,' she had to appear exceptionally calm.
Especially since Yu Chongshan and his son were still kneeling below, and further away in the pavilion, the female members of the Yu family, led by Old Madam Yu, were accompanying the Empress Dowager, the Empress, and others.
It looked like they also wanted to stand up and follow suit in kneeling. The family members of other high-ranking officials were doing the same, regardless of anything else, they just needed to follow the lead of the lords of their households.
Of course, not everyone knelt. A small number of them looked at their kneeling colleagues in confusion, and someone let out a quiet sneer, "Lord Zhao, you're following the crowd again!"
Zhao Shen didn't even spare a glance at this fool. Couldn't he see that the first, second, and third-rank officials in front had all knelt? What right did a mere fifth-rank official like him have to put on airs? Just because his rank was low, was he not afraid of being stripped of his position!
You cannot discuss ice with a summer insect. Following the crowd was the ultimate survival method in the imperial court.
This survival tool had saved him many times, and he definitely hadn't chosen the wrong side this time either!
Besides, the Lord Junior Preceptor truly deserved their gratitude.
Just as the crowd rose, Emperor Mingxi and the Crown Prince, father and son, bowed simultaneously to Yue Fuguang. "I, on behalf of the millions of citizens of Dayan, thank Fuguang for your life-saving grace!"
"Thank you, Lord Junior Preceptor, for your life-saving grace!" Xie Zhiyan bowed deeply, even more respectfully than Bao Zihui offering a toast at his wedding.
As expected of a martial artist, his body was so flexible. In her past life, she could never have managed such a movement.
At a time like this, the fact that this was the first thing to pop into Yue Fuguang's mind meant she was genuinely a bit envious!
The people who had just been sneering at Zhao Shen were dumbfounded when they saw the actions of the Emperor and the Crown Prince!
Their Emperor and His Highness the Crown Prince treated Junior Preceptor Yue with such courtesy, not discounting her contributions regarding the potatoes in the slightest.
Then what they had just done...
Suddenly, their legs felt a bit sore, and they really wanted to kneel. What was going on!
With this beginning, there was no need to say more about what followed. Originally, the Ministry of Rites had brought in local squires and experienced old farmers from the villages and towns around Shangjing City to serve as witnesses and to have them dig up the potatoes themselves. This was meant to prepare them to promote the potatoes in the future upon their return.
Unexpectedly, they didn't even get a chance to lay a hand on them.
After the Lord Junior Preceptor and their Emperor worked together to dig up a vat of potatoes, the officials standing below swarmed over.
They begged the Emperor to let them participate in this potato-digging work that was so beneficial to their physical and mental health.
Of course, the elderly officials led by Wang Shouchen, as well as young and robust officials like Wei Ping, spoke very implicitly. The above was just Yue Fuguang's automatic interpretation of their words.
Zhang Zhongping closed his eyes. It was a mess, a total mess. How were they supposed to proceed with the rest of the schedule!
He glanced again at Wang Shouchen, who had already started digging the soil with his bare hands. For some reason, his own hands began to itch with the urge to join in.
Yue Fuguang caught a glimpse of Zhang Zhongping, who had been hesitating a second ago, using his nimble footwork and slender physique to quickly squeeze his way to the front of a large vat the next second.
She almost failed to maintain the unfathomable expression on her face. Minister Zhang had truly executed the phrase 'if you can't beat them, join them' seamlessly.
One second he had a look of deep-seated grievance, and the next he transformed into a groundhog, digging out an extra-large potato and grinning like a fool.
The Left Vice Minister of Rites looked at his Minister, who was laughing like an idiot, and silently took on the responsibility of the remaining procedures.
Looking at the potato vats that were almost completely emptied, he swallowed hard and told himself, 'I am carrying the banner for the Ministry of Rites. Today's ceremony cannot go on without me!'
Emperor Mingxi looked at his pillars of the state, who were buzzing around the seven large vats, arguing noisily over who got to dig first and whose potato was bigger.
He silently turned his back. He did not see Cai Xian, who had almost half his body leaning into the vat.
He did not see Wei Shouyi, whose head and face were covered in dirt. He did not see Ling Yinghua, who had one of his shoes squeezed off in the crowd. He did not see...
His ministers were all elegant and well-mannered pillars of the state!
Young, low-ranking officials like Wu Yong stared blankly at the big shots squabbling on the jade steps.
The intensity of this was even greater than their performance in the imperial court. It seemed that their superiors had been holding back when they verbally sparred in court.
With the enthusiastic help of the various lords, the eight vats of potatoes were 'smoothly' harvested, yielding a total of thirty-six catties and eight taels.
As soon as the news spread, the crowd fell silent at first, and then erupted like a boiling pot. The cries of the spectating commoners truly made it sound like a massive funeral procession!
After a period of futile effort to complete the remaining procedures, the Left Vice Minister of Rites followed his Minister and joined the celebrating crowd, crying and laughing at the same time!
[Master, they're acting like this just because they dug up a few dozen catties of potatoes. Is it really necessary?]
"I don't know! Little Zhu, mortals have a good saying: you may not understand it, but you should respect it!"
[Alright, potatoes do indeed have many advantages. People say they're hard to store for a long time, but that's just because they're using the wrong methods. Just like sweet potatoes, if you dry them into potato slices or make them into potato flour, can't they be kept for a long time?
They are both a vegetable and a staple grain. By the way, Master, four of these vats should belong to you, right? How do you plan to eat them?]