Two days later.

Guan Zhiyue got up early in the morning because she had consulted the Imperial Advisor Shan Liuxian, who said that the weather was fine today and suitable for planting various crops. Therefore, she arranged to plant rice today.

The seedlings were all grown in the black soil in her space, and she also used a lot of spiritual spring water to irrigate them. I think planting them a month early shouldn't be a problem!

Originally, early rice seeds were sown and seedlings were cultivated in early April. According to the normal procedure, the rice seedlings were transplanted in early May, and the rice could be harvested in July or August. All the people of Nanding Kingdom cultivated rice in this way.

However, Rosamund Kwan wanted to plant two seasons of rice, and she did not follow the procedures here at all.

She started planting rice seedlings in mid-March, and they should be ready to harvest in June or July. However, it depends on the weather and climate here, and whether it goes as smoothly as she imagines. This can be considered a transformative experiment.

Her goal was to develop a rice variety that could be grown for two seasons, so that more people would not go hungry.

The people of Nanding Kingdom generally only grow one season of rice. After the harvest in July, the weather gradually gets colder, so there is no time to plant a second season. Therefore, the paddy fields are basically controlled for about half a year.

Consider where the land lies vacant; for the remaining six months, the people can only go out and do odd jobs. But how many copper coins can they earn from odd jobs? This is why the people of Nanding Kingdom are all poor.

"Bilian, are you ready?" Guan Zhiyue stood in the courtyard and called out as she looked at the empty yard.

Bilian, dressed in coarse linen clothes, a short style, ran out of a nearby house and said cheerfully, "Your Majesty, alright, alright. Let's go to the back mountain."

When Guan Zhiyue brought Bilian to the back mountain, Liu Debao had already gathered all the servants from the Cold Palace around the terraced fields on the back mountain.

"The terraced fields were all turned over yesterday, and we can start planting rice today," Liu Debao reported to Guan Zhiyue, who was also dressed in coarse linen clothes.

Their Empress is so down-to-earth!

Guan Zhiyue looked around at the terraced fields from top to bottom and nodded in satisfaction. This terraced field was about fifty acres in size, and the rest were separate plots of land.

Guan Zhiyue stood at the highest point of the terraced fields, looking down over the 180 acres of land. After thinking for a moment, she said, "After we plant the rice, let's start sowing a new type of crop!"

Liu Debao had no idea what new crops his mistress wanted to plant, but he didn't dare delay his attempt to flatter her!

"Your Majesty, just give the order. I'll do it even if it kills me!"

Guan Zhiyue smiled but didn't say anything. Then she took off her shoes and got out of bed wearing only her socks.

Since she couldn't show her feet to others, Guan Zhiyue thought, "Why don't I just wear socks to the fields?"

When Liu Debao saw this, he was shocked to find that even his own concubine had gone into the fields. He quickly took off his shoes and socks and went into the fields. Seeing this, the palace maids also followed suit, wearing socks, and the eunuchs also took off their shoes and socks and followed closely behind.

Guan Zhiyue was speechless. So many people, all in one field, what was going on?

"Everyone up there! If you keep tamping down the soil like this, how are we supposed to plant rice seedlings?" Guan Zhiyue shouted, pointing at the group.

The palace servants quickly climbed out of the water and slipped onto the paddy field embankment. Guan Zhiyue then had a young eunuch throw her a handful of rice seedlings. She took the lush green seedlings and bent down to plant them.

While planting, he demonstrated to the people on the bank how to plant rice seedlings, and after explaining the key points of rice planting, he told them to finish planting all the seedlings in the fifty acres of paddy fields that day.

Liu Debao and his group studied very seriously because their goddess said that if any of the rice seedlings they planted died later, they would be punished by not being allowed to eat for a day, and they would have to eat food made by the goddess herself.

Upon hearing this, everyone focused intently on handling the rice seedlings in their hands and ensuring that all the seedlings were planted in the paddy field according to the instructions.

Guan Zhiyue was working in the field with her back bent over, while in the Golden Palace, the ministers were arguing wildly. However, this time the argument was all about joy, exclamations, and flattery!

——

"My goodness! These glass windows are so bright! I used to think the palace was dark and gloomy when I held court there, but seeing them today, wow! This palace is really bright!"

"When a person is in the light, everything around them is bright! It's simply wonderful!"

Some ministers looked at the glass windows surrounding the Golden Palace and exclaimed in admiration, while others made sarcastic remarks.

"Your Majesty, how much money will this cost? Our national treasury is already depleted, this..."

"Alas, who can say otherwise? We used to think the Emperor was a wise ruler who could lead our Southern Kingdom to new heights, but now it seems..."

Shen Zhongchangshi looked smug. Now the Emperor had something on him, and his precious daughter was about to be invited to his bedchamber.

"Your Majesty, you must think this over! This glass was originally a tribute from other countries. Now that you have purchased so much glass, the national treasury must be... Our country is not a wealthy country to begin with, what should we do?" Consort Shen's father, Attendant Shen, looked heartbroken.

Li Qiji sat on the high seat, looking down at the old minister kneeling below. But when the crowd couldn't see him, he rolled his eyes at the sky. So what if all the windows in the Golden Palace had been replaced with glazed windows?

"Minister Shen, please rise quickly, for I have a tremendous surprise for all of you!"

Shen Zhongchangshi stood up from the ground with a bewildered look on his face, but in his heart he was thinking: "Hmph, let's see how you, you yellow-haired little waiter, try to argue!"

Li Qiji stood up from the dragon throne with great joy, looked down at the court officials below and smiled, "My dear ministers, what do you all think of the glazed windows of my Golden Palace?"

The ministers all expressed their approval!

Li Qiji's smile grew even louder, and he said with a satisfied expression, "This glass! Actually, I only spent some money on materials and labor. I plan to sell this glass in the capital. I wonder if any of you gentlemen would be interested?"

Upon hearing Li Qiji's words, all the court officials were shocked. What did the Emperor mean by that? Could it be that the Emperor could make glass? That shouldn't be the case. If he could make glass, he would have done it long ago. Why wait so long?

"Your Majesty, what do you mean by that?" a minister asked.

Even Su Xu, who was standing to the side, was somewhat shocked. Did the Emperor have the recipe for making glass?

Li Qiji stopped beating around the bush and said directly, "I have the recipe for making glass, so naturally our country will no longer need to envy overseas countries for having glass items."

These words caused an uproar throughout the court. Li Qiji was not annoyed and waited for them to discuss it. He sat on the dragon throne and looked at the court officials below with a smile.