Even in the capital city, the roads were always bumpy and uneven in this era.
So the carriage always swayed and bumped as it traveled from the palace, except today the road was a bit steeper.
Therefore, it is not difficult to understand why the carriage swayed a little more.
The carriages of the wealthy were never just for transportation.
For top-tier nobles like Xiao Xiuning, a carriage is more like a mobile boudoir.
The Ninth Princess's residence is in an excellent location, right next to the Imperial Palace.
However, this stretch of road took almost half an hour to walk today.
If one were to compose a poem at this moment, Du Mu's "Mountain Journey" would be the most fitting.
The poem reads: "A winding stone path leads up the cold mountain, where houses stand amidst the deep white clouds."
I stopped my carriage to admire the maple forest at dusk; the frosted leaves were redder than the flowers of February.
........
"Princess, we have arrived at the residence."
Outside the Ninth Princess's residence, Xi'er got off the carriage, her pretty face flushed as she lowered her head, not daring to look up.
Mu Zian straightened his clothes, lifted the carriage curtain, and took a step forward, but felt his legs were slightly heavy.
I imagine I'll need to use that potent Liuwei Dihuang Pill that the system rewarded me with soon.
"Your Highness, I will not disturb your rest any longer."
As soon as Mu Zian finished speaking, there was no faint response from Xiao Xiuning inside the carriage.
Only after Mu Zian had walked away did Xi'er dare to lift the curtain.
At this moment, Xiao Xiuning was seen inside the carriage, having changed into a palace dress.
Her long, flowing hair cascaded down to her waist like a waterfall.
"Your Highness."
Xi'er called out softly.
Xiao Xiuning's cheeks flushed red upon hearing this, but she pretended to be calm and said...
"Put away the brocade carpet inside the carriage."
Princess Xiao Xiuning's residence and the Duke of Zhenguo's residence were only separated by one street.
Mu Zian had just arrived home when Liu Rushi came to greet him.
As soon as they got close, Liu Rushi's nose twitched slightly.
Looking closer, one could still see some red marks on Mu Zi'an's neck.
Liu Rushi looked at Mu Zian with lingering interest.
"Young master seems to be in a good mood."
Looking at Liu Rushi's ambiguous smile, Mu Zian felt slightly embarrassed.
He coughed lightly and then immediately changed the subject.
"How are the sweet potatoes?"
Upon hearing this, Liu Rushi did not dwell on the matter, and the two walked one after the other towards the backyard of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion.
As they walked, Liu Rushi let out a long sigh.
"Reporting to the young master, the survival rate is less than 30%."
Mu Zian remained calm upon hearing this, as he had anticipated it.
After all, it's very difficult for sweet potato seeds to flower in the northern climate, and they also consume a certain amount of nutrients during their growth.
Therefore, a reduction in production was inevitable, and it would be a miracle if 30% of Mu Zi'an's production survived.
How many kilograms?
At this point, Liu Rushi's previously gloomy expression instantly brightened.
"Reporting to the young master, even though only 30% of the crops survived, half an acre still yielded a full 800 catties!"
It's no wonder Liu Ru was so shocked, considering that in this era, the yield of one mu of millet is at most three shi, which is about three hundred jin.
This can only be achieved with the best fertile land; on average, ordinary fertile land yields only about 200 jin per mu.
Even with a year of hard work, some poor fields might only yield a little over a hundred catties.
Even for double-cropping rice in the south, the maximum yield per mu (a Chinese unit of area, approximately 0.067 hectares) is only about 450 jin (a Chinese unit of weight, approximately 0.67 hectares) per year.
If only 30% of the sweet potatoes survive on this half-acre plot, there will be a harvest of 800 jin. If word gets out, it will probably shock the world!
After all, 95 percent of people in this era are starving.
To be precise, throughout China's millennia of history, apart from the last twenty years, even in the most prosperous dynasties, it was impossible for all the people to have enough to eat.
The extent to which ordinary people at the bottom of society can survive cannot be explained in a few words.
Sima Guang's "Zizhi Tongjian" records a total of 1,364 years of history from 403 BC to 959 AD.
In the more than 1,000 years since then, the term "great famine" has appeared forty-one times, and on average, a nationwide famine that is recorded in history occurs once every thirty-three years.
There were 33 instances of cannibalism, averaging one occurrence every 41 years.
What does this mean?
This means that in this era, if you live to your thirties or forties, you will almost certainly experience a great famine and cannibalism in your life.
A person's life can be summarized in just a few strokes of the pen in history books.
The six short characters "When there was a great famine, people ate each other" represent the blood and bones of countless people and the destruction of countless families in history books.
Fortunately, Mu Zian has arrived now, and these mere 800 jin of sweet potatoes are the lever that Mu Zian uses to change the world.
Upon reaching the warehouse and opening the door, they saw countless large urns inside.
And this holds one of the hopes for the entire Chinese nation for the next thousand years.
Liu Rushi spoke.
"As per your instructions, young master, all the sweet potato fruits and roots have been preserved, not a single one has been wasted."
Sweet potato seeds have a very low survival rate, but if sweet potato tubers are used for seedling cultivation, the survival rate can reach 99%.
Propagation by cuttings of sweet potato vines also yields an extremely high survival rate, provided there is adequate base fertilizer and sufficient water.
Upon hearing this, Mu Zian felt at ease.
If 30% of half a mu of land survives, it can yield 800 jin. This means that if all the plants on a full mu of land survive, the yield per mu can reach more than 3,500 jin.
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