Chapter 226 [VIP]
This upgrade came very close to the last one, and with tens of millions of experience points, Wang Ying originally thought it would take several years to upgrade.
I never expected that the two books I wrote would be so effective. Ever since they were spread, my experience points have been increasing like water, rising rapidly every day. In just over two years, I reached level nine.
Wang Ying couldn't wait to enter the test field to see what new features had been added after the upgrade.
【Experimental Field 03】
Level: 9
Bound Person: Wang Ying (Chen Qingyan)
New bonus 1: 300 jin of potatoes (Dongnong 303: Dongnong 303 is an early-maturing variety, generally requiring 85-90 days from sowing to first harvest. It has strong moisture resistance, high resistance to mosaic virus, and is slightly susceptible to leaf curl virus and bacterial wilt.)
Wang Ying was stunned. The system had given him a basket of potatoes?
No, the Wu Dynasty didn't have potatoes; this is a basket of seeds!
Wang Ying was overjoyed. This was a wonderful thing! It had a high yield and a strong feeling of fullness, making it perfectly suitable as a staple food.
Moreover, potatoes taste good and can be made into potato chips, French fries, stewed chicken, stewed meat... Wang Ying swallowed, heaven knows how much he loved eating this stuff in his previous life.
I picked out a few that were well-shaped and large to eat tomorrow, and used the rest as seeds to plant in the experimental field.
Wang Ying continued reading and saw another reward, marked as a special reward.
Upon opening the page, Wang Ying's head buzzed and she felt dizzy. A huge line of red characters read: "Back to Modern Times."
Back to the modern era?
Can he go back?
If he goes back, what will happen to Wang Ying in this era?
Wang Ying closed the page without even thinking.
If he hesitated when he first chose this place, he has now lived here for thirteen years. His lover and his children are here. How could he bear to go back?
Forget it, let bygones be bygones, just treat the past as a dream.
Continuing on, this upgrade did not improve the basic functions of the experimental field.
She had probably reached the highest level, and the experience required to advance to the next level was a nine-figure sum. Wang Ying's eyes were blurry from counting it all, and it seemed that the next level up was a long way off.
Wang Ying was carrying potatoes and was about to leave when Chen Qingyan came in.
"I didn't see you inside, so I knew you must have come here." Chen Qingyan had just finished showering and was still drying her hair with a towel in her hand.
"You've arrived?"
"Has the experimental field been upgraded again?" Although Chen Qingyan had the right to use the experimental field, he did not have the authority to control it, so he did not know what reward he had received.
"Yes, you've reached level nine. They gave you a basket of potatoes as a reward." Wang Ying took one out and handed it to him, deliberately concealing the special reward.
"What is this for? It looks grayish and dull, like a lump of mud."
"This is a good thing! Don't be fooled by its ordinary appearance, it tastes extraordinary. Moreover, it has a high yield and is very adaptable to the soil. Ordinary low-grade fields can yield about seven or eight shi per mu, while high-fertility high-grade fields can yield about fifteen shi per mu."
"So many! If this were promoted to the people, wouldn't every household be able to have enough to eat!"
Wang Ying shook her head. "It's not without its drawbacks. Although potatoes have a high yield, they are also susceptible to disease and degeneration. So they are not suitable for large-scale planting. They can be used as a supplementary crop, but they can indeed feed many more people."
Chen Qingyan held the potato with a serious expression. If what A Ying said was true, then this thing was very important and could save many people in times of famine.
"It's getting late, go back to sleep first. I'll let you taste these potatoes tomorrow!"
*
The next morning, Wang Ying carried a basket of potatoes and tomatoes to the kitchen. His wife, who was in the kitchen, saw him and quickly got up to greet him, "Greetings, sir. Is there anything you would like to eat? Just send someone to tell me."
Wang Ying said, "No need, I'll cook for myself today."
Roll up your sleeves, peel and wash the potatoes, then cut them into slices about one finger wide, then into strips, and fry them in preheated oil until golden brown. The fries are ready.
Then, she simmered the tomatoes into a tomato sauce, and Wang Ying tried dipping a French fry in it; the taste was absolutely amazing.
Besides French fries, Wang Ying also stir-fried a plate of hot and sour shredded potatoes and a pot of chicken stew with potatoes. When they were eating breakfast, Old Liang looked at the food on the table and asked curiously, "What is this?"
Wang Ying deliberately kept everyone in suspense, saying, "Why don't you try it and see how it tastes?"
Liang Boqing first picked up a piece of hot and sour shredded potato and tasted it. "Hmm? Isn't this shredded radish?"
Wang Ying smiled and asked, "No, how does it taste?"
"Not bad, sour and crunchy, delicious." He couldn't help but pick up another bite with his chopsticks, enjoying it especially with the millet rice in his bowl. Older people tend to have stronger tastes, and this sour and spicy flavor was particularly appealing.
Yuanbao picked up a French fry and examined it closely. "Father, how do you eat this?"
"Eat it with that tomato sauce."
Yuanbao tried dipping some fries in his mouth and took a bite. The crispy texture of the fries instantly won him over. "Delicious! This is delicious!"
Sure enough, whether in ancient or modern times, children can't resist the taste of French fries.
Chen Qingyan couldn't resist picking up a piece of potato from the stewed chicken. The stewed potatoes tasted even better, absorbing the aroma of the chicken while having their own unique texture, making them simply irresistible.
Old Liang asked impatiently, "Little Wang Ying, tell me quickly, what exactly is this made of?"
"This thing is called a potato, and it was discovered in Shanzhou before."
Old Liang didn't press further, saying, "It tastes good, I'll have this again tomorrow."
After finishing his meal, Chen Qingyan had to go to the Ministry of Revenue for his shift. Since his official rank was not yet at the fourth grade, he was not qualified to attend court. He didn't need to get up too early each day; he just needed to arrive before 3:45 AM.
Upon arriving at the Ministry of Revenue, his subordinates brought him a stack of account books. "These are the account books from Huzhou, Liuzhou, and Yangzhou for the past three years. There are quite a few because they involve salt tax..."
Chen Qingyan rubbed his forehead. "Let's put it there for now. By the way, has Lord Zhou arrived?"
"They haven't finished court yet, have they? They'll be there soon."
His superior, the Vice Minister of Revenue, was a man in his sixties named Zhou Yun. His daily catchphrase was: "Why haven't I retired yet? Qingyan, you'd better study hard, or I'll make room for you."
Chen Qingyan was always at a loss for words, but for someone his age, the workload of the Ministry of Revenue was indeed enormous. Every day, he had to handle land taxes, customs duties, transit taxes, public bonds, currency, and money shops all over the country, which was equivalent to the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Ministry of Finance in later generations.
The Ministry of Revenue had very few departments, only four, and each department had one official, Chen Qingyan being one of them.
He was mainly in charge of land tax and taxation, making him the busiest of the four departments. Of course, this department was also recognized as the most promising, essentially guaranteeing him a promotion to Vice Minister, and who knows, he might be promoted to Minister in the future.
Around 7:00 AM, Lord Zhou returned from the palace and began to sigh as soon as he entered the door.
"Your Excellency, Chen, the Censor, is here to see you."
"Call him over."
Before long, Chen Qingyan arrived at his room. Before he could even speak, the old man began to complain, “Every day at court, all he does is ask for money. He wants money for border allocations, money for floods in the south, and not a drop of rain in the north this spring. Who knows, there might be another drought. He really treats our Ministry of Revenue like a money box, demanding money from anyone who comes.”
"What did the Minister say?"
Zhou Yun scoffed, "What can he say? He can just play peacemaker." The two had served in the same court for over thirty years, and Zhou Yun had always been overshadowed by Minister Sun. Now that he was older and had no hope of promotion, he naturally wasn't afraid of him.
"He readily agrees to pay when others ask for money, but who knows if the Ministry of Revenue has any money left? The Empress Dowager's sixtieth birthday is just around the corner, and the Emperor plans a grand celebration, which will inevitably cost a lot of money. Even if we tighten our belts, we still can't come up with that much money!"
Chen Qingyan frowned, but his mind was on the drought in the north. Since the aristocratic families moved south, the land they left behind was concentrated in the areas of Jizhou, Yanzhou, Laizhou and Zhengzhou in the north.
Tens of thousands of hectares of fertile land feed almost half the country's population and are the main source of tax revenue for the imperial court each year. If a drought were to occur, tax reductions would be a minor issue; the real problem would be the starvation of the people!
Zhou Yun waved his hand and said, "Alright, there's no point in talking to you all this time. What did you want to see me about?"
"I've heard that the Ministry of Agriculture is recruiting. I wonder what the requirements are?"
"I haven't heard of that. I'll ask you when I have time." The Ministry of Agriculture is a branch of the Ministry of Revenue, in charge of agricultural affairs.
*
Meanwhile, in Chenjiazhuang, Qingshui Town, my hometown in Jizhou.
Several elderly farmers were carrying water to irrigate their fields. For four months, not a single drop of rain had fallen, and the wheat seedlings in the fields were turning yellow and withered. The farmers were so worried that they couldn't eat.
The Tian family's land was on a hillside, making it difficult to carry water, so the couple arrived before dawn.
They worked all morning and only managed to irrigate two acres of land. There are many others like them, but it's all just a drop in the ocean. The river is almost dry because it's not raining.
An elderly man, who had encountered this situation before, rolled up some welding fumes and puffed on them, saying, "This year's spring harvest is bad. With the dragon controlling the water, there definitely won't be enough water. We should store up more grain at home, because we might have a total crop failure."
Chenjiazhuang is doing alright; they've accumulated some savings over the years, and every household has surplus grain. It's just that they don't know how long this drought will last.
In June, the winter wheat harvest in northern China failed completely.
For six months, no rain fell north of the Qinling Mountains, affecting more than ten million people.
The imperial court began to organize the allocation of grain for relief, with the Ministry of Revenue taking the lead. The allocation of 800,000 shi of tax grain was a drop in the bucket. As long as it didn't rain, the autumn beans couldn't be planted, and if the season was missed, there would be no harvest this year.
Not only was the Ministry of Revenue anxious, but the Emperor was also so worried that his mouth was covered in blisters.
Two years ago, the country experienced war, leaving the treasury empty. Now, with such a severe drought, millions of people may starve to death.
The turmoil in the country will inevitably damage its fortunes. In addition, the powerful families, forced to move south, are beginning to stir. News has already spread that the four major families intend to support his cousin, the Prince of Pingnan, to become emperor...
"Your Majesty, the Grand Minister of Agriculture requests an audience."
Emperor Wuping raised his hand and said, "Let him in."
Before long, the Grand Minister of Agriculture entered, knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "Your humble servant greets Your Majesty."
"Get up, what is it?"
Wen Yanping pondered for a moment and said, "This drought is truly a disaster for the north. The Ministry of Agriculture has failed to share Your Majesty's burdens, and this old minister is truly ashamed."
"My dear minister, there's no need to say such things. This is a natural disaster, what does it have to do with the Ministry of Agriculture? I am not a foolish ruler who cannot distinguish right from wrong, and I will not blame you for this matter."
“I have come here today on another matter. I would like to recommend someone for a position in the Ministry of Agriculture.”
Who is it?
Wen Yanping clenched his fist and mustered his courage to say, "This person is none other than Chen Qingyan, the supervising secretary of the Ministry of Revenue, and also Wang Ying, the author of 'Qi Nong Geng Shu' (The Art of Farming in Qi)."
A note from the author:
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