Zhou Wan'er hurriedly explained, "Think about it, this year... this year is only the tenth year of the Ganwu reign, and the Dagan state has only been established for ten years. The Great Zhou has already had five generations of rulers. Although the four countries have had a hard time these past few years, with wars and various natural disasters, in terms of development, the Great Zhou is definitely better than the Dagan!"

"But my husband is a man of great stature..."

Gu Zijian was taken aback; she did not accept Zhou Wan'er's far-fetched explanation.

The Great Zhou Dynasty had five generations of rulers, but the new generation of rulers also seized the throne through a coup.

The Great Zhou Dynasty was already beset by internal and external troubles. Besides, who said that the career prospects of an official depended on the number of people who succeeded the monarch?

The Sui Dynasty, the predecessor of the Great Gan Dynasty, also went through several generations of emperors. Didn't we see many loyal ministers and capable people die tragically?

In contrast, it is more promising to work hard when everything is in need of people and everything is waiting to be rebuilt. Moreover, Sun Jian is a citizen of Dagan, so he will certainly not be subject to many restrictions or suspicions about his identity when he becomes an official in Dagan!

"What does this have to do with nationality? Your current prime minister is also from the Great Zhou..."

Zhou Wan'er was still trying to argue her point.

"We're going all out? Aren't you...?"

"What are you whispering about behind me? Hurry up and catch up!"

"Oh, here it comes."

Gu Zijian wanted to argue with Zhou Wan'er again, but Sun Jian ahead had already stopped and was calling out to them. So he gave Zhou Wan'er a complicated look and chased after her on his own.

Zhou Wan'er sighed helplessly, thinking to herself:

If someone like Sun Jian had actually gone to serve as an official, then the Zhou, Song, and even the Xia kingdoms would probably never have a peaceful day again.

With a talent like Sun Jian assisting them, it wouldn't be impossible for the other three kingdoms to be wiped out!

It's a pity she can't contact the Great Zhou Kingdom right now. If she ever gets to regain her princess status, she'll kidnap Sun Jian and bring him to the Great Zhou. As long as Sun Jian is willing to assist the Great Zhou, she's willing to pay any price...

The nearest hillside to his home was planted with potatoes. It wasn't actually that far away, but when Sun Jian stood on the hillside, he was dumbfounded.

Looking around, there was a ground covered with withered vines and broken branches, with the sprouting potato vines scattered everywhere.

The potato seedlings that had been planted on the two acres of land long ago were all ruined, looking as if they had been chewed by dogs.

"this……"

Seeing this scene, Sun Jian, standing in front of the earthen slope, felt his heart bleed and a sense of speechlessness welled up within him.

"How could this be? Is the land inadequate?"

Zhou Wan'er and Gu Zijian also arrived one after another, and the two of them were stunned by what they saw.

"It doesn't look like a problem with the hillside; it looks like it's been gnawed on by something."

"You're right, it's man-made, not a land issue."

Sun Jian sighed softly and answered Zhou Wan'er's question.

These are super potato seedlings! They can survive even in suitable water, let alone soil.

Gu Zijian frowned slightly and asked, "Man-made?"

"Could it be that someone in the village is deliberately trying to cause trouble for my husband? Or is it intentional sabotage? That doesn't seem likely."

“Hey, who in the village would dare to mess with him now? This looks like something that was eaten by wild cats, dogs, or some other wild animal,” Zhou Wan’er analyzed from the side.

Sun Jian ignored the Great Zhou princess who had never done farm work before. He squatted down and examined the damaged stems and vines. “From the signs of gnawing, it is not hard to tell that this was done by people. Moreover, they only ate the leaves and the tops of the branches. They did not eat the bitter vines.”

After listening to Sun Jian's words, the two women squatted down on the ground in a similar manner, picked up some broken branches, and began to examine them.

"Wow, it really is man-made. Look, the teeth marks are still there."

"My God, what kind of people are these? How can they eat this?"

"Yeah! I really don't understand, can this stuff even be eaten... they just put it in their mouths."

Sun Jian rolled his eyes at them, looking helpless.

One was the daughter of a rebel, and the other was a princess of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Both were of noble status and had never experienced hunger before. After marrying him, he never mistreated them, so they had never seen what real starving people looked like.

When a person is starving to a certain extent, what can't they eat? Tree bark, leaves, even soil.

If they continue to starve, those with weak wills might even resort to cannibalism!

Living in such an era, these are not exaggerations at all; this scene is probably still playing out in many places to this day.

By comparison, the area around Sunjiazhuang is considered quite good!

Sun Jian sighed, not intending to tell them everything, and instead continued his calm analysis:

Have any refugees or starving people passed through or stayed overnight in the village recently?

"I don't think so?" Gu Zijian replied.

Zhou Wan'er shrugged: "Don't ask me, I don't know. The other day when I was talking to the villagers, it was all about Sister Gu and Sister Chu."

"Forget it, I don't want to think about it anymore."

Sun Jian patted his hands, which were covered in dust.

"Luckily, we planted potatoes. If we had planted other vegetables and grains this time, it would have been a complete disaster!"

"Forget it, I don't want to think about it anymore."

"Husband, shall we go home?"

"Don't rush home. Come with me and dig up some potatoes before we head back."

After saying this, Sun Jian squatted down again and started digging in the soil with his hands.

Although Gu Zijian and Zhou Wan'er had both eaten potatoes, they did not know that potatoes grew in the same way as winter melons and watermelons, and that they grew on stems. It was only after Sun Jian dug out a potato that they realized the truth.

"This...this potato actually grows underground?"

Sun Jian shrugged helplessly. "When did I ever tell you that potatoes grow on the ground?"

Sun Jian picked up a palm-sized potato, examined it for a while, and then nodded in satisfaction.

"As expected of a super potato, although the growing time is a bit short and it's not quite ripe yet, it's already quite big, not bad at all."

"Those refugees who eat potato vines are probably like you, unaware that the potato food is actually below the soil. If they had tried a little harder, they would have eaten food instead of some grass roots. This is a stroke of luck amidst misfortune."

"Sigh! Let's not talk about this anymore."

"Don't just stand there, come on over!"

Sun Jian directed the two women to work with him.

In the blink of an eye, the three of them had dug out dozens of potatoes.

Since he hadn't brought any containers with him when he went out, and he couldn't carry any more soil with him, Sun Jian filled the soil back up and called it a day.

"Okay, this should be enough for us to eat and take with us."

"Let's go back."

After saying that, the three of them carried the potatoes full of mud and headed home.

As Sun Jian passed by his house, he found that his doorstep was once again surrounded by people.

It must have been the village chief and several respected elders who came to visit after learning that Magistrate Wang was at their home.