Back at the Grand Commandant's residence, the wicked man continued to monitor the progress of the various pilot projects. As time passed, the rice gradually grew from seedlings into mature seedlings, entering the tillering stage. This stage is crucial for rice growth, directly affecting the number of panicles and yield in the later stages.

Every few days, he would receive reports from each pilot project. He was most satisfied with Huayin County and Mianchi County, where the rice was growing best, with the number of tillers far exceeding that of ordinary rice varieties.

However, some places have encountered problems.

The rice paddies in Huazhou were infested with insects. Swarms of tiny green caterpillars were feeding on the rice leaves, damaging the crops. Upon receiving the report, the wicked official immediately dispatched a skilled farmer to control the pests.

These people used ducks to catch insects in the fields and sprinkled them with water containing wood ash, and soon the insect infestation was brought under control.

However, the fields in Tongguan were suffering from drought. Due to the reduction of local river water, the previously dug irrigation ditches were insufficient to irrigate the fertile fields.

Upon hearing the news, the wicked man immediately dispatched a skilled water conservancy worker to dig a deep well to draw water from the ground, thus averting the drought crisis.

Despite some challenges, the pilot program has progressed smoothly overall. By the booting stage, the hybrid rice in the ten pilot counties showed significantly superior characteristics compared to ordinary rice varieties—stronger stalks, lush leaves, and larger panicles.

With the arrival of autumn, the hybrid rice in the pilot fields has matured one after another, and the harvest is in full swing.

The wicked man then went to Mianchi County to observe the harvest. He saw farmers wielding newly made sickles, cutting rice with incredible speed, far surpassing what they had done before. The cut bundles of rice were taken to the threshing floor, where the newly made threshing machines were used to extract the grains; the entire process was orderly and efficient.

"How much was the harvest?" the wicked husband asked impatiently.

Mr. Chen was overjoyed: "Reporting to the Grand Commandant, after a brief measurement, each mu can yield about 430 jin of rice, more than double that of ordinary rice!"

He then pointed into the distance and said, "Because this rice grows so fast, they've already started preparing to plant another season on those plots over there!"

This figure shocked the evil man. Although he had expected the hybrid rice to yield a high output, the actual results were even better than anticipated. If this yield could be achieved on a large scale, it would mean a qualitative leap in the grain production of the Qin Dynasty.

Subsequently, harvest data from each pilot county were compiled. Overall, the average yield per mu (a Chinese unit of area, approximately 0.067 hectares) in the ten pilot counties reached 420 jin (a Chinese unit of weight, approximately 0.67 hectares), with Huayin County achieving the highest yield of 450 jin (a Chinese unit of weight, approximately 0.67 hectares). These data unequivocally demonstrate the superiority of "Qin Zhan No. 4".

Even more encouraging is that, due to the short growing season, three counties have already begun planting the second crop. According to the plan, the second crop of rice will be harvested before winter, meaning that two harvests a year will become possible.

After the harvest was completed, the wicked man immediately reported the good news to Ying Zheng.

"Your Majesty, the trial results are in," the wicked man said excitedly.

"In the ten counties, the average yield was 420 jin of grain per mu, more than double that of ordinary rice."

"Even more encouragingly, the rice grows quickly, and in some areas, a second crop has already been planted."

"What does this mean? It means that the same acre of land can yield two or even three times the grain!"

Upon hearing this, Ying Zheng was overjoyed: "This is truly wonderful news! If it can be implemented nationwide, the grain reserves of our Great Qin will increase significantly, and we will no longer have to worry about famine!"

The wicked man continued his report: "Your Majesty, besides its high yield, 'Qin Zhan No. 4' has another important advantage—it is more cold-resistant than ordinary Champa rice, allowing it to be grown in more northern regions. This means we can expand our rice cultivation area northward by about two hundred li, covering the entire Yellow River basin."

This news also delighted Ying Zheng. After unifying the six kingdoms, the Qin Dynasty had a vast territory, but due to climate limitations, the northern regions mainly cultivated dryland crops, with yields far lower than those of rice in the south. If rice cultivation could be shifted northward, it would greatly increase grain production in the north.

"Excellent! My dear minister, you have rendered a great service this time!" Emperor Ying Zheng was overjoyed. "If this type of rice can be widely promoted, it will be the foundation for the eternal prosperity of our Qin Dynasty! I will reward you and all the talented people at the Agricultural Research Institute handsomely!"

The wicked man thanked the emperor and then proposed the promotion plan for next year: "Your Majesty, based on the current situation, we plan to promote hybrid rice on 100,000 mu (approximately 6,667 hectares) of land in the Yellow River basin next year. Seed production has been arranged, and technicians are being trained. It is expected that within three years, the planting area can be expanded to over one million mu (approximately 667 hectares)."

Ying Zheng approved of the plan and ordered officials at all levels to fully cooperate in its promotion. He also issued a special decree to promote the magistrates of Huayin County and Mianchi County, where the pilot program was most successful, by one rank as a reward.

After the harvest season, the Agricultural Research Institute began a new round of research. On the one hand, they continued to improve "Qinzhan No. 4" and screen out higher-quality seeds; on the other hand, they increased their research efforts on "Qinzhan No. 5", especially those strains that performed exceptionally well.

Tao Rang reported the initial results to the wicked man: "Grand Commandant, we have selected more than a dozen high-yielding strains from 'Qin Zhan No. 5,' with a potential yield of over 500 jin per mu. However, their stability still needs to be improved, and further breeding is required."

The wicked man was overjoyed upon hearing this: "Five hundred catties? That's more than twice the weight of ordinary rice!"

He patted Tao Rang on the shoulder and said, "Dean, we must do our utmost in this matter. If we can cultivate such fine rice, our Qin granaries will be even more abundant!"

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