"Good! It's alright!"
Their Xianjia Village is located right by the sea, and every year during hurricane season, it suffers a natural disaster.
The same thing happens every year; the only difference is the magnitude of the disaster.
This year's hurricane was quite powerful, and the damage to the village was quite severe.
However, the villagers were experienced and there weren't many injured or missing people.
It refers to houses and fields.
"Fortunately, His Highness the Prince and His Highness the Princess are kind and have sent soldiers to repair our houses and cultivate our farmland."
Village Chief Xian said gratefully.
He wasn't putting on an act; his gratitude came from the bottom of his heart.
These two items alone—houses and land—can save villagers a lot of money and reduce their losses to some extent.
"...We common folk, if we just hold on a little longer, we'll get through this!"
Village Chief Xian said with a hint of relief, "Although Yuezhou is prone to hurricanes, it is also rich in resources. If we go to the mountains to dig up some wild vegetables and make a few more trips to the sea, we won't starve!"
Xie Yuan felt a pang of sadness upon hearing this.
Hang in there, keep going!
That's how difficult it was for impoverished people in ancient times.
She walked along, observing her surroundings.
Behind Xianjia Village, there is a mountainous area. The mountain is not very high, and there is a flat area at its base.
However, because it was located in a mountain valley and had a small area with insufficient water, it was left unused.
When Xie Yuan was on the high platform, he vaguely saw that some crops seemed to be planted here.
Because of the mountains blocking the wind, the impact of the hurricane was not particularly great; the crops were only flattened and not uprooted.
"Oh! There, it's just some sugarcane that the villagers casually planted!"
Upon hearing Xie Yuan's words, Village Chief Xian quickly replied.
"sugar cane?"
Xie Yuan's eyes lit up. She thought of something: "Sugarcane is great! It can be eaten and made into sago."
Most importantly, sugarcane can also be boiled down to make sugar!
However, Xie Yuan learned from the original owner's memories that there was no sugar in this era.
The only ways people could get the taste of "sweetness" were by eating honey or by pressing sugarcane into juice.
Xie Yuan was familiar with the process of boiling sugar.
Brown sugar, dark brown sugar, rock sugar, or even white sugar.
Xie Yuan could do it.
Lingnan is suitable for sugarcane growth, so it is entirely possible to establish a sugarcane plantation and cultivate it on a large scale.
Previously, Xie Yuan had worried that sugarcane would encroach on fertile land.
But after taking a walk around Xianjia Village, I discovered that the black-skinned sugarcane here can still be grown on the hillsides and in the valleys.
It's wonderful that we can still reap a harvest without encroaching on fertile land.
"Village Chief Xian, these sugarcane look good, please sell them all to me."
Xie Yuanrang, led by Village Chief Xian, arrived at the mountain valley. Seeing the sugarcane that was either lying down or barely standing, he suddenly spoke up.
Village Chief Xian was initially delighted, then shook his head, "No! I know the Princess is kind and wants to help us minimize our losses!"
"But these fallen sugarcane stalks aren't sweet enough; they don't taste good!"
One should have a conscience.
Not to mention, the person standing in front of him was none other than the esteemed Princess Consort.
Village Chief Xian neither wanted to nor dared to cheat people!
Xie Yuan smiled.
She was indeed kind and willing to help these poor people.
She doesn't ask for anything in return, but she hopes the other person can appreciate her kindness instead of taking her for a fool who's rich and gullible.
"It's alright! I bought sugarcane not to eat it directly!" Xie Yuan said softly.
"Even if it's made into mulberry juice, it won't taste sweet!"
Village Chief Xian persisted and reminded them again.
Xie Yuan's smile grew even brighter. "I'm not going to make it into mulberry juice. I want to make sugar!"
Sugar production?
What is sugar?
Is it made from sugarcane?
Village Chief Xian was full of questions.
"Yes! Sugar production!"
Xie Yuan didn't go into the specifics of the process.
She wasn't deliberately keeping it a secret; rather, such a highly profitable formula was something even ordinary nobles might not be able to protect.
Not to mention a mere village chief.
Xie Yuan herself, she can recruit and take her in, and build workshops for her.
But once sugar becomes extremely profitable, powerful and wealthy people will covet it.
She also wants to "cooperate" with Helian Jue on the sugar-making matter!
Xie Yuan didn't say much, and Village Chief Xian didn't dare to ask any more questions.
He was educated and understood the principle that "possessing a treasure is a crime."
"Since Your Highness needs it, then we, your humble servants, will sell all of these sugarcanes to you!"
"Okay! Don't worry, I will definitely not treat you unfairly regarding the price."
"Yes! Yes! The Princess is kind and generous, as we commoners all know."
"By the way, besides your area, are there any other villages nearby that grow sugarcane?"
Three or four acres of sugarcane is indeed quite a lot.
However, Xie Yuan wanted to produce sugar and turn it into an industry, and this small amount of raw materials was definitely not enough.
Furthermore, Xianjia Village is certainly not the only coastal village affected by the disaster.
If we buy more crops from the villagers, they can recover as soon as possible.
We need to hire workers!
Yes, once the workshop is established, a large number of workers will be needed.
Planting, harvesting, processing... a series of tasks can form a complete industrial chain.
Having made up his mind, Xie Yuan returned to the high platform and whispered to Helian Jue about it.
"Sugar?" Helian Jue had never heard of it before.
"Yes! It's made from sugarcane. It's very sweet, you can soak it in water to drink, use it in medicine, and make many kinds of delicious food."
Xie Yuan said excitedly.
Helian Jue raised an eyebrow. "I've already said, I'm entrusting all matters of the Prince's Mansion to you."
"Whether you want to make sugar or build workshops, it's all up to you."
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