Although the newly appointed prefect has taken back all the grain seeds, there aren't enough to grow even in Qingyang Prefecture, let alone in the surrounding counties.

The situation in Xiyancheng was even worse. Zhuge Zhongshen had embezzled all the grain seeds and had his family take them away. No one knew where they had gone. He was a cautious man and had not planted sweet potatoes, corn, or pumpkins in Xiyancheng. Unless his family was found, no one knew where the grain seeds had been taken.

Wu Chong was surprised that the princess was so helpful, secretly sending someone to deliver grain seeds. It was as if heaven was helping him.

“Princess, you have truly been a great help to this humble official. On behalf of the people of Xiyan City, I thank you for your kindness.” Wu Chong bowed deeply.

"Lord Wu, there's no need for such formalities. This is what I should do. I know you are a good official. You must govern this region well in the future so that the people can have enough to eat and wear. Only in this way can you live up to the Emperor's trust in you," Xingxing said solemnly.

Two days later, Zhu Lin said he would go to greet the grain convoy, but Wu Chong said he wouldn't dare trouble Young Master Zhu and that he would go himself.

Wu Chong definitely can't go to meet them. He won't be able to meet the convoy delivering the grain seeds, because the grain seeds are in Zhu Lin's spatial storage. Only when Zhu Lin leaves can the grain seeds be taken out and then a few carriages be found to deliver them.

If they wait for the imperial court to send grain seeds, it will take forever. Even if the princess speaks, it won't work because grain seeds are too scarce. Right now, they only have the seeds grown in Zhu Lin's space.

Three months have passed since the first time sweet potatoes were planted. Three batches of sweet potatoes have been harvested in total, and the sweet potato vines have piled up in huge heaps. Zhu Lin gets a headache every time he enters his space and sees the mountain of vine seedlings.

It's a waste to throw them away, but there's nowhere to plant them for the time being. However, it's not good for them to pile up so much. We need to get rid of them and distribute them to the people to plant as soon as possible.

Although Wu Chong was eager to personally greet and send off the grain carts, Zhu Lin's attitude was adamant, and Wu Chong could not argue with him, so he had to give up his idea.

Two days later, Zhu Lin led several carts of oxen and horses back with sweet potato vines, dozens of bags of sweet potatoes, two sacks of corn seeds, and more than a hundred golden pumpkins.

"Why was it delivered by oxcart?" Wu Chong asked, somewhat puzzled.

At this moment, Xingxing stepped forward and began to ramble, "Lord Wu, these grain seeds weren't sent by my father. I had someone transport them from the south. You know I lived in the south for a year and have some connections there. Some time ago, I sent a message by carrier pigeon and asked my friends there to help collect these grain seeds and send them over by fast horse."

The reason they eventually switched to oxcarts was because the horses couldn't handle the speed on the road. Once they reached the north, they switched to oxcarts. The carts didn't matter; the important thing was that the grain seeds were delivered safely.

"These sweet potato vines are quite durable. They've been here for months since I brought them from the south and they haven't withered at all. They're still very fresh," Wu Chong said in surprise.

Her starry eyes darted around as she said, "Sweet potato vines are very easy to grow. They can survive even if you don't plant them in soil, just put their roots in water. They like water but are also drought-resistant, which is what makes sweet potatoes so valuable."

Wu Chong didn't have time to think much at this moment. He was overjoyed and was so excited to see the sweet potato vines piled up on the oxcarts that he didn't know what to do. He quickly told the yamen runners to put the grain seeds into the wooden house that had been built just two days ago, so that they could be distributed to the people to plant the next day.

Another half month passed in the blink of an eye, and the houses where the people lived were all built. The mountains in this area were not deep and there were no large wild animals, so there was no rush to build a fence.

Everyone was busy clearing land and planting crops. That day, Magistrate Wu ordered that each village be given ten catties of sweet potatoes, which were then cut into small pieces and stewed in a large iron pot so that the people could all taste them.

The people tasted it and found that the sweet potato was incredibly delicious, soft, glutinous, and sweet. Everyone said it was tasty. Each village also received half a pumpkin. The pumpkin seeds were first removed and kept by the government. The pumpkin was then cut off and shared.

Pumpkin and sweet potato are popular, but corn is a bit disappointing. Because corn is meant for planting, it's grown too old, making it tough to eat and requiring a lot of firewood to cook thoroughly.

However, Xingxing told Wu Chong that corn can be ground into cornmeal, which is delicious. It can be used to make porridge or cornmeal pancakes, which are filling.

When the people heard that corn could be eaten in so many ways, they naturally liked it. As long as it could fill their stomachs, it was a good thing. Since everyone was poor, how could they complain about food?

After more than a month of such torment, the disaster-stricken area gradually returned to normal. The people were diligently clearing land and planting crops every day. Sweet potato seedlings were the most abundant, and each household received a considerable amount, enough to plant at least one acre of land. Then, they could plant one-tenth of an acre of corn and one-tenth of an acre of pumpkins.

Wu Chong figured he couldn't go back to Xiyan City for the time being, and he would be staying here for quite a while, so he named the place Xiaoxiyan.

With the matter of Xiaoxi Salt settled, Xingxing breathed a sigh of relief. However, she hasn't had any visual cues in her mind lately, so she guesses that no disasters have occurred elsewhere.

Thinking about it, that makes sense. This flood is already severe enough. If other places were to experience major disasters, the Great Jin Dynasty would really be wiped out by natural disasters. What's the point of trying to save it then?

Just when Xingxing thought she could rest for a few months or half a year, bad news came from the border in the northwest: the soldiers at the border had run out of food.

For more than half a month now, they have not been able to get enough to eat. On the other side, Wanyan Xiong is leading his troops to declare war on the city walls every day. How can the soldiers of the Great Jin dare to open the city gates to meet the enemy? They are not well-fed and have no strength to fight. To meet the enemy would be to send them to their deaths.

It had been raining for a while, and the road from Xiyancheng to Qingyangfu was blocked by floods, so letters couldn't be sent out, and carrier pigeons couldn't fly either on rainy days.

The rain has finally stopped and the letter has been sent, but it will take at least two months to send grain from the capital. In fact, the soldiers on the border will probably starve to death in just half a month. How can they wait two months?

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