Sun Jian didn't want to tease the girl anymore, so he quickly explained his purpose in doing so.
"As the saying goes, it's not the thief you should fear, but the one who has his eye on you. Things are not peaceful everywhere these days. The fact that we have so many fish today is like telling everyone that we have food to eat."
"Leaving aside the villagers' reaction, those who are starving will definitely harbor malicious intentions upon hearing this news, so we must get rid of them!"
"Even if we switch to coarse millet, they'll still be eyeing us, right?" Chu Qingcheng asked.
Sun Jian smiled and continued, "I will distribute those coarse grains to some villagers who have no land to cultivate today."
"Until all the millet has been distributed."
"Oh, I see. Your purpose in doing this is to train subordinates, to train thugs, right? That way, when Sun Hu and his gang cause trouble, we'll have someone to help us fight, right?" Zhou Wan'er's eyes lit up instantly, as if she had already grasped Sun Jian's intentions, and she was very excited.
"Train my ass!"
Sun Jian rolled his eyes at Zhou Wan'er.
This girl is indeed a princess of the royal family. She used to be pampered and spoiled. Now she tries to bribe people as soon as she has a little bit of resources. Tsk tsk.
You have to understand that these vagrants and refugees are different. Even if they are given a full meal, they may not necessarily fight against the officials for such a small thing when danger comes.
Human nature is inherently selfish, and this remains true regardless of the era.
Besides, this isn't how you train subordinates and thugs.
"My purpose in doing this was to get those villagers to help us with the work and to help us clear land so that we could grow crops."
“We provide them with food and drink, and they help us with the work.”
"I already have the seeds, now all I need is the land."
“These days, as long as you give them a bite to eat, they will work hard for us. If we feed them coarse grains and wild game every day, their numbers will only increase.”
"Clearing up wild land? And then making them eat wild game?"
The three women listened, completely bewildered.
But it also feels like a relationship between landlords and farmers.
“But now most of the land around the village has been taken, leaving only some hillside land and some dry land. They are all very far from water sources, and weeds can hardly survive on many of them. Even if seeds are planted, it is difficult for crops to grow…”
Sun Jian continued to keep everyone in suspense, saying, "Don't worry, as I said before, I have a brilliant plan. You just need to do as I say and trust me."
With the super potato, crops could grow anywhere, so Sun Jian had no worries at all.
The only thing he lacks right now is manpower.
In those times, manpower was the easiest problem to solve. As long as you could feed the starving people, they would be willing to do anything, let alone work. If you could provide them with food long-term, they would even be willing to harm themselves.
"Purple Sword, you have some martial arts skills and your archery is quite good. Take the compound bow I gave you and go hunting in the mountains. Remember! When you pass through the village after you come back from hunting, tell the villagers that anyone who doesn't have land to farm can come to our house for food. We'll feed them all!"
"Yes, my love." Gu Zijian nodded, his face full of admiration.
"Qingcheng, go find Old Jiang and ask him to find two trustworthy friends. Take these fish with you and go to town to exchange them for grain. Promise to give him ten catties after you exchange them for millet."
"Remember to take the main road so everyone can see us taking the ribbonfish to town."
"Why do we need to find Old Jiang? Why can't I go with her?"
Hearing Sun Jian's arrangement, Zhou Wan'er was somewhat confused.
“Although Old Jiang is poor, he has connections in the local government, so even if he encounters starving people on the road, he won’t be in any danger,” Sun Jian explained patiently.
"Taking the main road is safer, and it also lets everyone know that we're exchanging grain. That way, no one will be able to ignore our meager food supply. I reckon that by the time we get the grain back, Zi Jian will have returned from hunting, and we can do both things at the same time."
"oh."
Zhou Wan'er gave a cute "oh," and her eyes lit up again. "What about me? What about me? What do I need to do?"
Sun Jian patted her head, but she gently pulled away. However, Sun Jian didn't mind. After all, she was a princess. It would take some time before he could get her to be intimate with him.
"You stay home with me and are in charge of cultivating the seedlings."
Sun Jian smiled and thought to himself: "It's a blessing that you, my princess, don't cause me any trouble. Who would dare to assign you any work?"
"Alright, that's all for now. In short, please be careful."
"Yes, my husband."
After giving all the instructions, Gu Zijian and Chu Qingcheng split up, while Sun Jian led Zhou Wan'er to the cellar.
Sun Jian had already placed the super potatoes in the cellar. When Zhou Wan'er and Sun Jian went down into the cellar, they were stunned to see a lot of neatly arranged clods of earth on the ground.
"What are all these clods of earth?"
"Potato, what? You don't recognize it?"
Her question left Sun Jian completely bewildered.
Although super potatoes are much larger and more colorful than regular potatoes, they shouldn't be that hard to tell the difference!
How come the dignified princess of the Great Zhou Dynasty doesn't recognize potatoes today?
Could it be that members of the royal family never go to the fields and are unaware of how ordinary people farm?
What is a potato?
Holy crap!
She really didn't know him.
Sun Jian patiently explained: "Potatoes, also called taro or potato, are grains like other crops. Their nutritional value is similar to other grains. You probably don't understand the nutritional value, but you know that they not only fill you up, but most importantly, they are high-yielding and mature quickly."
"What!"
Zhou Wan'er was shocked again, holding the large potato in her small hand with an incredulous look on her face.
"But this stuff is all dirt... how can we eat it..."
"Hehe, there are so many ways to eat it: steaming, baking, stir-frying, even cold dishes are all possible. The most important thing is that it tastes really good."
Sun Jian patiently explained.
"That's amazing."
After spending these few days together, Zhou Wan'er had no doubt about what Sun Jian said, after all, this man was full of mystery and miracles.
In fact, Sun Jian did not know that it was not that Zhou Wan'er was unwilling to work in the fields or did not understand farming, but that in this era, potatoes had not yet been introduced to the Huaxia region.
Even a farmer who has toiled his whole life wouldn't recognize her, let alone Zhou Wan'er.
Although potatoes are one of the world's five major crops, alongside wheat, rice, and sorghum, they only entered China in the 16th century, even in the previous era.
"Okay, now all we have to do is wrap the potatoes in wet mud and wait for them to sprout. Once they sprout, cut them into four or five pieces and then you can plant them in the ground."
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