Chapter 35
At this moment, the black pieces in the game are surrounded by players from all sides, and it seems that the game is already lost.
Song Chaoyun looked up at Song Chaohua sitting opposite her, smiled slightly, and said, "I lost."
She put down the chess piece and turned to look at Qingyun, who was sitting down. Noticing her gaze, she stopped putting the pastry into her mouth and wisely turned to face the two of them, chuckling, "You finished so quickly?"
Song Chaoyun smiled and leaned back on the soft pillow. "Is there something you need?"
She saw through Qingyun's intentions with a single sentence. After all, this person rarely came to her place unless there was a reason, and they had even had a fight last time. She thought that this person's temper would definitely linger for ten days or half a month.
Qingyun was obviously testing Song Chaoyun. Her job was to plant trees, and she suddenly said she wanted to farm, so she definitely needed Song Chaoyun's approval. Besides, no land had been allocated to her, so where was she supposed to farm?
A maid came in to change the charcoal, and a blast of cold air rushed in as the door opened. Qingyun sniffed when she saw this, "It's only the beginning of Shuangqiu, why are we already burning charcoal?"
However, this room is indeed much warmer.
“The wind blows fiercely in this desert. If we were in the capital, there would be no need to burn anything,” Song Chaohua said with a sneer, looking at her as if she were an idiot.
This person seemed uncomfortable if he didn't say something to her, but Qingyun didn't take it to heart. She continued on the topic, "It's just that with the screen barrier, the wind isn't as strong as it used to be, according to the villagers."
So you're trying to take credit?
"The achievements I have made today are not solely due to my own efforts. If Your Highness believes that I am seeking credit, you might as well reward everyone."
Upon hearing Qingyun's words, Song Chaohua merely scoffed, "This is simply your duty; there's no question of merit involved."
"Alright," Song Chaoyun interrupted the conversation in time to prevent the two from continuing to argue. She looked at Qingyun and said directly, "Whatever it is, say it now."
Upon hearing this, Qingyun smiled and then mysteriously said that she needed to borrow the charcoal stove in the room. She put the potatoes and sweet potatoes down. The others didn't find the sweet potatoes particularly interesting, but they were intrigued by the golden-yellow, stone-sized objects.
When asked what Qingyun was, she only said to wait. The aroma of roasting and starch rising from the oven, the maids waiting on both sides lifted the top of the oven and used fire tongs to take out the sweet potatoes and potatoes. They then used a small silver knife to cut the sweet potatoes and potatoes in half and used a small spoon to scoop out the meat inside. After this series of actions, they brought the dish to the group.
The small tea tray also contains several small cups filled with white sugar, honey, and various other condiments.
Qingyun: It's really exquisite.
The two first tasted the potato and found that it tasted very similar to a sweet potato, only it wasn't very fibrous. "What exactly is this?"
Qingyun replied, "It's called a potato. You two may not have seen it before. My father obtained it from abroad when he was trading with foreign countries."
"It's just like a sweet potato, what's so special about it?" Song Chaohua said. "It even makes your mouth dry."
Qingyun wasn't in a hurry and told them to try the sweet potatoes again.
Song Chaoyun was skeptical, wondering what kind of medicine Qingyun was selling. Though she didn't know the reason, she carefully scooped up a spoonful and put it in her mouth. In an instant, a sweet taste permeated her mouth and tongue. This was completely different from what she usually ate. Most domestically grown sweet potatoes were dry and hard, lacking sweetness and full of starch, so they were mostly eaten by ordinary people. Even the sweet potatoes processed in the imperial palace had this texture. Song Chaoyun, being pampered, had only eaten sweet potatoes once in her life.
The sweet potatoes that Qingyun presented at this time had a completely different texture. They were moist and had a distinct sweetness. After being roasted, the original flavor of the food was brought out even more, which surprised her.
Qingyun stopped keeping her in suspense and said directly that this was a new variety of sweet potato that she had researched. Not only was it high-yielding, it was also delicious. Although potatoes and sweet potatoes are common topics in novels and TV dramas, and authors just keep rehashing old ideas, she could now directly feel the importance of these two crops in this world. The fact that it ranked fourth in the world was a perfect testament to its value!
These are things that can truly save lives.
【The followers of the Potato Cult are determined to spread potatoes all over the world!】Qingyun thought to himself, excitedly telling the system in his mind.
Song Chaoyun was skeptical of these claims. She hesitated and said, "How can you be so sure?"
"I had already cultivated some before, and now that I have achieved results, I dare to take this out," Qingyun hurriedly said.
Upon hearing this, Song Chaoyun recalled that she had previously prepared a plot of land to cultivate saplings, but she hadn't expected to include these other things as well. Instead of showing much surprise, she had a tense expression, clearly wanting to say something but unable to.
The air was so quiet while waiting for Song Chaoyun to speak. Qingyun was a little puzzled and didn't understand what the other party's reaction was.
"Someone already took this from you. You're stealing someone else's work. Qingyun, you're really something." Song Chaohua pointed at the potato and said just one sentence, catching Qingyun off guard. The words came so suddenly that she didn't even have time to react until the other person's voice continued, and then she came to her senses.
What's going on with the system? Are there other players in this world?
This feature is currently unavailable; only one player can use it per world.
Does that mean potatoes really exist in this world?
The global context of the survey did not indicate that potato samples did not appear in this dynasty.
My potatoes were stolen sometime ago, and who handed them over?
It was obvious that there were only two candidates, but she didn't know who they were.
Qingyun knelt down, clasped her hands in a respectful gesture, and said, “This servant said it was found abroad, so naturally it wasn’t found by my family. It’s good that someone presented it to Your Highness first, but this servant can’t be considered to have stolen someone else’s things.”
“That’s true, you should get up first.” Song Chaoyun straightened his sleeves and stared at Qingyun, observing the expression on her face.
Not wanting to investigate who took the items, Qingyun began to explain his considerations: to cultivate these two things on a large scale to solve the problem of food and clothing. He noticed that most of the people in the city relied on buying and selling grain to make a living. Although wheat was planted in the fields, the yield was not high. Only sixty catties of wheat could be harvested from one mu of land. Others might not have a concept of this, but in modern times, one mu of land would produce five hundred kilograms.
This comparison clearly shows just how low the yield is here, not even considering the weather, daily watering, or the fact that the wheat seedlings haven't been improved.
As soon as she spoke, Song Chaoyun knew that this matter was going to be difficult. "Putting aside whether it's even worth planting, have you considered whether the people here would even be willing to plant it?" Everyone is cautious when faced with the unknown, let alone gambling with their lives like this. Whether it's a good or bad thing, the people have no idea.
Upon hearing this, Qingyun first explained the survival rate issue, including the characteristics of potatoes and planting methods. Furthermore, she knew that people were hesitant to try it easily, so she suggested, "Plant sweet potatoes first, as they are more readily accepted than potatoes."
She then distributed seedlings directly to the public. She also gave a few kilograms of sweet potatoes to interested people to try, which increased their likelihood of planting them. Potatoes were planted in the same way, but the difference was that Song Chaoyun would find a plot of land to plant an acre herself. When the harvest came, the scene would be indescribable.
[Host, I must remind you of something. Your region is in the north, so potatoes can still be planted in late August, but sweet potatoes cannot; they can only be planted in the spring.]
[Holy crap? This is ridiculous!] Qingyun was shocked. [So, all I can do right now is grow potatoes?] Isn't this just giving me a free boost?
[I suddenly feel that there's no need to rush this, don't you think?] Qingyun thought to herself with a forced smile.
Sure enough, the next second she heard Song Chaoyun bring this up, which stumped Qingyun. If she were to build a greenhouse, she felt she would go bankrupt and not know if she could even get the points by next spring.
"How about Your Highness lend a hand?" she asked tentatively.
Song Chaoyun lowered her eyes and remained silent, instead looking at Song Chaohua standing to the side. Facing her younger sister, she seemed to be waiting for her to speak.
After a long silence, Song Chaoyun coughed a few times and said seriously, "Let me think about this some more."
Before she could finish speaking, Song Chaohua, who was playing with winding thread beside her, interrupted her, saying, "Does it have to be in such a hurry?"
Even if we plant the potatoes first, we can distribute the new varieties of sweet potatoes to everyone next year. Then, we can take out the planted potatoes and there will be no shortage of people to plant them.
Growing crops depends entirely on the weather, even in modern times. Qingyun thought about it and agreed. She didn't seem to be in a hurry, but she never had enough to eat on ordinary days. What would happen when winter came?
Why bother, host? You don't need to worry about food and clothing right now.
Qingyun: [No, no, no, you don't understand the deeper meaning behind this. I'm not going to waste my breath on you.]
In my opinion, everyone can plant if they want, or not if they don't.
Qingyun thought to herself, "You make it sound so easy that you're an artificial idiot. If it were that easy, she would have been having a headache for half a day. Anyway, this guy probably thinks it's not a main quest and it can do whatever it wants. Although the systems in novels and TV series always try their best to give the protagonist tasks and cause trouble, the system that is currently parasitizing her doesn't cause her any trouble, but it's practically the same as being dead most of the time."
"Winter is coming, and we won't be full just eating the usual food."
Song Chaohua smiled upon hearing this, "You're not like them. Right now, your supplies aren't even enough for you to eat?"
Qingyun did not answer the other party, but only slightly raised her eyes to meet Song Chaoyun's gaze, and then quickly looked away. "I have enough to eat, but the people in and outside the city may not have enough to eat, and it is unknown whether they can survive the winter."
After several conversations, Song Chaoyun made the final decision, saying that she had her own considerations and that Qingyun should not rush into anything, but should tell her when she had a better idea.
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