Chapter 422: Someone from the Disabled Village Arrives

Tianyi appeared at the door in a flash, bowing respectfully: "Master!"

Mo Liyuan handed the porcelain bottle to Tianyi and said, "Quickly send this to Huguo Temple and give it to the Queen Mother for consumption."

Tianyi took the porcelain bottle and retreated.

Mo Liyuan gently closed the door, turned and walked to the desk, slowly sat down, spread out the rice paper, and started sketching.

Lan Xiyue lay lazily on the small couch beside her, squinting her eyes, as if she was half asleep.

Mo Liyuan glanced at her, a faint smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and he continued to concentrate on sketching.

The room was quiet, with only the rustling sound of the pen tip rubbing against the paper and Lan Xiyue's even breathing intertwined together to create a warm picture.

Lan Xiyue leaned against the window with her eyes half closed. Outside the window, the sky suddenly changed its color. A strong wind blew up, and the snow flew all over the sky.

Mo Liyuan was concentrating on his work, his brush whirring and his paintings coming to life on the paper. However, the sudden snowstorm made him put down his brush. He stood up, walked towards Lan Xiyue, picked up the quilt beside him, and gently covered her with it.

Lan Xiyue rubbed her sleepy eyes and looked out the window, a look of wonder in her eyes: "It's snowing again. It just stopped not long ago..."

Mo Liyuan's gaze remained fixed on the window, his brow furrowed, only heightening his worry. "It's snowing again, and the weather is getting even colder. Be careful not to catch a cold."

Lan Xiyue sensed Mo Liyuan's worry, and turned to look out the window, feeling an inexplicable sadness in her heart.

The silver charcoal was burning in the house, and it was as warm as spring, but she thought of the common people who were still struggling in the wind and snow. How could they afford the expensive silver charcoal?

"Are you worried about the people?"

Mo Liyuan hugged Lan Xiyue tightly in his arms, "It's like this every year, there's no point in worrying."

At this moment, a gleam suddenly flashed in Lan Xiyue's eyes, "Mo Liyuan, does Dongyao Country have sweet potatoes or potatoes?"

Mo Liyuan looked puzzled when he heard this. "What are sweet potatoes?"

Lan Xiyue patiently explained, "Sweet potatoes and potatoes are both food, and sweet potatoes are easy to grow. I still have some seeds in my space that I forgot about before. If we can plant a large number of sweet potatoes and potatoes before winter comes, the people will be able to rely on them to fill their stomachs during the winter and won't starve."

At this moment, An Yi's voice rang out again, "Princess, Master, the villagers of the Disabled Village sent some sweet potatoes and potatoes, as well as some vegetables. They said they were all seeds given to them by Princess, and now they've been harvested. They specially sent a cart here for Princess to try."

When she heard An Yi's voice, her eyes suddenly lit up. She quickly stood up, pulled Mo Liyuan beside her, and walked out anxiously.

"It's snowing so heavily, why are they here at this time? Where are they?" There was some concern and confusion in Lan Xiyue's voice.

An Yi replied respectfully, "In the front hall."

Lan Xiyue heard this and smiled at Mo Liyuan, "Let's go and take a look."

Mo Liyuan took the oil-paper umbrella beside him and gently opened it. The umbrella was like a blooming lotus, shielding the two of them from the falling snowflakes.

He hugged Lan Xiyue and walked towards the front hall.

Snowflakes were dancing in the air, and the figures of the two people were looming in the snow, like a moving painting.

When I arrived at the front hall, I saw two young men kneeling on the ground. They had simple smiles on their faces and gratitude in their eyes.

Lan Xiyue hurriedly said, "Hurry up and get up! It's so cold, why are you here?"

One of the young men stood up and answered excitedly, "We in the Disabled Village are very grateful to the princess. If she hadn't given us so many seeds, taught us how to plant, and treated us, allowing us to be self-reliant, we would have had a very difficult winter. Now that we have this harvest, we won't have to go hungry this winter. We specially sent this to the princess to try as a token of our gratitude."

Lan Xiyue heard this and walked over. She looked at the sweet potatoes and potatoes in the frame. She saw that each of the sweet potatoes was large and plump. She turned to Mo Liyuan and smiled, "Mo Liyuan, these are the sweet potatoes and potatoes I was talking about."

Mo Liyuan heard this and walked over. He squatted down, picked up a sweet potato, and examined it carefully. However, when he saw the dirt on the sweet potato, he couldn't help but frowned, "Yuer, how can I eat this?"

Seeing this, Lan Xiyue smiled slightly, and with a flash of thought, a sharp dagger appeared in her hand.

She picked up a sweet potato and began to peel it skillfully.

After peeling the skin, she handed the sweet potato to Mo Liyuan's mouth and said softly, "Yes, you can eat it raw like this."

Mo Liyuan opened his mouth and took a light bite of the sweet potato.

"How about it?"

Mo Liyuan smiled slightly, "It's very crispy and a little sweet."

"Actually, these sweet potatoes have to be roasted to taste better. The skin is crispy and the inside is soft and sticky. Look, those in the basket over there are called potatoes, and they are also good."

Mo Liyuan's gaze followed Lan Xiyue's gesture to another basket of unremarkable lumps, his brows furrowed slightly. "This... I've eaten this before when I was fighting on the border, but the people back then had different names for it. So it's called potatoes?"

Lan Xiyue waved her hand. "Who cares what it's called? What's important is its practical value. Come spring, we can have the people plant large quantities of sweet potatoes and potatoes. These two crops are not picky about soil and can grow even in barren land. Sweet potatoes, in particular, their vines and leaves can be stir-fried and eaten as a vegetable. This not only solves the food problem, but also enriches the dining table."

Another young man nodded repeatedly as he listened. "Yes, yes. We couldn't even find any wild vegetables these days, so we just relied on picking sweet potato leaves and frying them. I didn't expect that the leaves of the sweet potato vines are much tastier than those weeds."

Mo Liyuan's brows furrowed once more upon hearing this. "Sweet potatoes? I've never seen them before. Yue'er, how about saving these for seeds and having the people from the Agricultural Department cultivate them in the spring?"

"Sure, that's a good idea. It can not only solve the problem of food and clothing for the people, but also promote new crops. It's killing two birds with one stone."

As she spoke, Lan Xiyue waved to the steward standing beside her. The steward hurried forward and bowed respectfully, "What are your instructions, Princess?"

Lan Xiyue ordered, "Send someone to escort them back. Also pack some silver charcoal, some food, and blankets for them to take back."

The two young men waved their hands upon hearing this. One of them said gratefully, "No need, Princess. Today, our disabled village is much better than ever. You have already helped us so much. We cannot trouble you any more."