Chapter 227
The words "how do you plan to eat them" exploded in everyone's ears. They were so busy being happy that they actually forgot half of the potatoes belonged to the Junior Preceptor!
Those who originally only had tears welling up in their eyes couldn't hold back anymore upon hearing this, and their tears streamed down.
It was fine for those who knew Yue Fuguang had saved potato seeds for them, but for those who didn't, it felt like someone was slicing off their flesh—their very own flesh.
"Tonight, we'll have potato stewed with beef, hot and sour shredded potatoes, crispy potato pancakes, spicy cumin potato wedges, hot and sour potato noodles..." As Yue Fuguang listed over a dozen dishes, quite a few people disappointingly gulped, their stomachs suddenly rumbling with hunger.
Yu Chongshan looked rather melancholic at the dozen or so catties of potatoes he was carrying. This meager amount probably wouldn't be enough for his granddaughter to devour tonight!
The Crown Prince was the most quick-witted. He leaned in close to Yue Fuguang and asked, "Lord Junior Preceptor, since the potatoes have been successfully harvested today, shouldn't we proceed with a tasting?"
"A tasting?" What was there to taste? Hadn't she already eaten them before?
Looking at Xie Zhiyan's eager eyes, uh... it seemed they really hadn't tasted them yet.
Glancing at the commoners outside the field who hadn't dispersed but were instead gathering closer, she continued, "Since I was the one who found the potatoes, naturally, I should be the one to taste them."
She gazed at the Great Yan commoners in the crowd, each dressed in coarse cloth, their skin tanned dark from years of hard labor.
The originally sorrowful eyes of these young and old people were reignited by the new crop, the high-yielding potatoes, filling with a vibrant will to live.
She paused for a moment, and ultimately addressed the crowd, "Potatoes have a high yield. The imperial court has just planted them for the first time this year. Once we figure out the planting patterns and save enough seeds...
...we will start promoting them among the commoners next year. Everyone, go back and tend to your fields well. If you want a bountiful potato harvest, it will still depend on the fertility of the soil."
Hearing her state so affirmatively that they would be able to plant them next year, several elders took the lead and knelt to thank Yue Fuguang.
"This humble old man thanks Lord Junior Preceptor for this life-saving grain!"
"Thank you, Lord Junior Preceptor, for your life-saving grace!"
Thank you...
"Everyone, please rise!"
Facing the massive crowd kneeling before her, Yue Fuguang looked incredibly calm, perhaps even a bit aloof—that is, if one ignored the fact that she was curling her toes so hard in sheer embarrassment she could have dug a three-bedroom apartment in the ground!
"It's time to head back!" Walking briskly as if riding the wind, she headed towards the palace. It really wasn't easy to become famous; first and foremost, one needed a thick skin.
[Master, didn't the Emperor and the others discuss having the court officials plant them first next year, and only promoting them to the commoners after saving enough seeds?]
The monarch and officials of Great Yan: Right, right, right, that's exactly what we agreed upon earlier!
"I suddenly changed my mind. Next year, we'll slowly start promoting them from the capital. As for the seeds, we can just go cast a couple of spiritual rain showers on the imperial estates.
Wouldn't that boost the yield? Besides, if I want the commoners to plant them first, would they dare disagree?"
Yue Fuguang swept her gaze over the people around her.
Wherever her eyes landed, everyone silently lowered their heads, not daring to meet her gaze.
Yet their hearts were pounding wildly. When the Junior Preceptor looked at them so calmly, it was truly terrifying! Scared to death.jpg
Once Yue Fuguang turned around, Emperor Mingxi and his officials exchanged a glance. Whatever the Junior Preceptor decided, they naturally had to execute it to the letter!
After the silent exchange of glances between the monarch and his subjects, Emperor Mingxi leaned over and asked, "Fuguang, you just mentioned promoting them to the commoners next year. Will all three types of grain be promoted together?"
Yue Fuguang shook her head. "It's better to divide it by region. Elder Lord Wang has inspected the trial planting areas for the seeds; he knows best what is suitable to plant where."
After thinking for a moment, she couldn't help but remind him, "Your Majesty, it would be best to establish a promotional team to travel across the country and properly disseminate the knowledge related to these improved seeds, lest someone takes the opportunity to mislead the commoners.
Ideally, you should also publish a newspaper once or twice a month to increase the promotion of the seeds and the imperial court's policies."
"A newspaper? What is that?" Emperor Mingxi heard this new term for the first time and asked with some curiosity.
Yue Fuguang then explained what a newspaper was, how to run one, and what its benefits were. This could be considered the longest speech she had given since arriving in Great Yan.
Emperor Mingxi and the officials listened with continuous gasps of amazement, a shrewd light flickering in their eyes. A newspaper—the mouthpiece to control public opinion!
Imperial power rarely reached the rural villages, but with this newspaper, and by setting up newspaper reading stations everywhere, even illiterate commoners would be able to learn about the court's decrees in a timely manner.
Especially the agricultural knowledge provided by Yue Fuguang, which could be published in the newspaper for the commoners to learn. As long as they reaped the benefits from what they learned in the newspaper,
they would take the initiative to seek out the newspaper for information, without worrying about obstruction from those with ulterior motives.
Having finished discussing one serious matter, Emperor Mingxi automatically switched the topic to another: what were they going to eat later?
"Fuguang, how about your potatoes be cooked in the imperial kitchen? We, the monarch and officials, can taste them together, which will also facilitate future planting."
What the heck did tasting them have to do with facilitating planting?
However, she was a kind person, so she didn't expose the Emperor's flimsy excuse. "Your Majesty, the dishes I want to make are not something the imperial chefs know how to cook."
"That is but a trivial matter. I will immediately send someone to the Yu Manor to invite your cook."
He said he would send someone immediately, but in reality, the person dispatched to the Yu Manor was already almost at its gates.
The one sent to invite the cook was Shen Kang. Emperor Mingxi had promised his nephew an extra seat at the table later.
Since his imperial uncle promised to save him a seat, Shen Kang went wild with joy. Riding his prized horse that could "travel a thousand miles a day," he dashed madly toward the Yu Manor as if his life depended on it.
Finally, he wouldn't have to stand while others sat, or watch while others ate. Of course Shen Kang had to seize this rare opportunity!
Seeing that Emperor Mingxi was dead set on hosting a meal, Yue Fuguang just treated it as a working lunch and followed the crowd toward the Hall of Delicacies.
Looking at the massive crowd, Yue Fuguang tossed aside the concern of whether there were enough potatoes. Anyway, she wasn't the one treating them, so it wasn't her place to worry.
Still, she couldn't shake the feeling that she had forgotten something!
Trailing behind her, Xie Zhiyan's eyes flickered slightly. He wanted to remind Yue Fuguang of the word "treasury," but seeing his royal father walking side by side with the Junior Preceptor, he shrank back.
Thinking of his royal father's future plans for the Junior Preceptor, it seemed even better than a trip to the treasury. Although she was a "deity" descended to the mortal realm,
since she was walking in the mortal world, she couldn't lack the corresponding status and position. Being offended by an idiot like his fourth brother must absolutely never happen again!
It didn't take long before the monarch and officials of Great Yan smelled and saw the rich aromas of the potatoes cooked into various dishes.
Why was it smelling and seeing instead of eating?
It was simply because there were too many mouths to feed and not enough food. Some of the officials witnessed the deliciousness of the potato dishes but had no chance to even take a bite.
Of course, this did not include Yue Fuguang and His Majesty the Emperor, who were eating so heartily that their mouths were glistening with oil.
Just as Yue Fuguang was feasting with the Emperor, the news that Great Yan had a miraculous grain yielding five thousand catties per mu spread through the crowds, from one to ten, and from ten to a hundred. In just a few days, rural villages and towns hundreds of miles away had all heard this monumentally good news.
Dozens of miles outside the capital, in a town named Shangxi, there was an ordinary grocery store called Chen's Groceries.
It was noon, yet a group of commoners were neither working nor eating; instead, they were all gathered in front of Chen's Groceries.