Chapter 275

The fifth of May of the lunar year was Dragon Boat Festival in modern times, but there was no such convention here. After Xu Ran had time-traveled to this world, he had never celebrated this festival.

Since he was busy, Xu Ran had no time for celebration. On this day, he went to King Yan’s Residence with the potatoes.

King Yan did not go out this day. When seeing what Xu Ran had taken out, he stared at him in confusion. “What are these? Why do they look so weird?”

Xu Ran looked at the potatoes over and over but didn’t find them strange. He shook the potatoes in his hand and said to King Yan, “These are called potatoes, but how come they are weird to you?”

“They are neither long or short. They have pot-holed surface. How come they are not weird? But you told me that they were called ‘earth beans’ (potatoes), and now I see what you mean,” King Yan said.

Xu Ran didn’t know why King Yan believed that the name “earth beans” matched potatoes, but since he thought the same, no more questions were asked.

Xu Ran handed the potatoes to King Yan and explained to him, “Your Highness, they are productive crop, and can be consumed as food. They can be eaten with rice, or alone, and can also be cooked as a dish. They are tasty.”

As soon as he heard that potatoes could be eaten, King Yan became interested in these ugly things immediately. He held them in his hands and looked at them over and over. “They look ugly. Can they really be eaten?”

Xu Ran explained, “We have to peel them first. After peeled, they look white inside. They can be eaten when they are cut into cubes and boiled with the rice. Since they grow in the ground, they are called earth beans.”

After explaining, Xu Ran asked someone to get him a knife, and chopped the potato in King Yan’s hand into cubes.

Xu Ran picked up one of the cubes and explained patiently, “There is a pit in each cube, in which there is a sprout. As long as it sprouts, it will grow. In autumn, you will be able to harvest a bunch of potatoes, big or small. They are delicious. At first, I made my family’s fortune by growing potatoes in Xu Village. Otherwise, I couldn’t have lived such a good life. You could ask Gao Quan about it. They all know my history, and I’m not fooling you.”

King Yan shook his head. “I didn’t mean that way. I don’t think you are fooling me. I just want to know how to grow this thing. The temperature of the south is different from that of Yanzhou. Can they survive here?”

Xu Ran answered, “I’ve done some research when I first arrived. I’ve also consulted people about it. In the south, we start to grow them in January. In here, now is the perfect time. Besides, it happens to be raining during this period, so we may harvest the potatoes in autumn. No matter they will survive or not, we have to try it anyway. Apart from that, if you want to keep the seeds, we also have to plant them. If we fail this year, we can improve the method next year. After all, these seeds can’t be kept to next year without being planted.”

King Yan agreed and said to Xu Ran, “What should I do with this thing? Tell me how to deal with them, and I’ll have people do it. Now we have to be discreet, and I won’t have the people of Yanzhou grow them until we succeed.”

Xu Ran thought the same and nodded. “Well then, I’ll write down the steps later. We need the land first, and then I’ll bring the seeds over here. In addition, there is another crop called corn. Now that I’ve got the corn seedlings, the land is all we need. You might ask Lu Qi about it. I’ve told him about this. He knows everything.”

King Yan didn’t ask why Lu Qi, instead of him, was the first one Xu Ran disclosed this information to. He only nodded and asked Yan Chuan to go for Lu Qi.

King Yan and Xu Ran had a further discussion about growing potatoes and corn. When he reconfirmed that these two things were easy to grow, productive, as well as edible, King Yan managed a weak smile.

“Speaking of which, I want to say that you are my lucky star. Ever since you arrived, I feel that everything has been going so much smoother. Besides, you can always come up with some strange ideas. It is a pity that you don’t work for the imperial court to benefit the people.” King Yan sighed.

However, Xu Ran shook his head. “That’s all I can come up with. Not only I can come up with the idea, many other people who have seen these things can also come up with this idea. The only reason you can’t is that you don’t know the existence of these two things, so it’s not because I’m smarter than others.”

“As for working for the imperial court, I’d better forget it! I’m not an ambitious man to begin with. I just want to live a peaceful life with my family. I’m not made for power struggles. It’s exhausting. And also, if you weren’t Tongtong’s brother, I wouldn’t have told you this.”

King Yan naturally understood that. Many people would be jealous of the one coming up with the fresh idea if he had no powerful background, and he might die accidentally because of it.

Besides, the imperial court had been keeping an eye on Yanzhou, so they could never be too careful.

King Yan and Xu Ran had talked for a while before Lu Qi came over with Du Xin. Lu Qi and Du Xin saluted, “Greetings to Your Highness. How can I help you, Your Highness?”

King Yan pointed to the chairs aside. “Take a seat. Where have you been? What took you so long?”

Lu Qi explained, “I’ve been to the mountain today, and I just came back. I heard Butler Yan say that you were looking for me, so I came over immediately.”

King Yan looked at Lu Qi’s shoes, which were stained with mud. It seemed that he had really been to the mountain.

King Yan didn’t ask why he had been to the mountain. Instead, he told Lu Qi what Xu Ran had told him.

King Yan had grown up with Lu Qi, and Lu Qi had also given him advice and helped him find his younger brother. Therefore, King Yan was really grateful to him and trusted him from the bottom of his heart. Otherwise, among so many people in the world, why was Lu Qi the only one who lived in King Yan’s Residence? Even if he was with the ignorant Du Xin, King Yan had no objection.

The reason King Yan explained to Lu Qi in person was because he wanted Lu Qi to give him an opinion on whether the operation was possible or not. Although Lu Qi had not been in Yanzhou for the past few years, they had sent letters back and forth, so that King Yan could know the situation outside Yanzhou while Lu Qi could also know the situation of Yanzhou.

Of course, Lu Qi quite approved of this idea. Back when he had been in Xu Village, he had learned potatoes and corn. He had even tasted them himself. In his opinion, he found them delicious. In addition, they were productive crops, and perfect for Yanzhou, but the premise was that the seeds were able to survive in Yanzhou.

When Xu Ran had given him a dozen corn seeds and asked him to sow them, Lu Qi wasn’t confident of it. Then he had used the method that Xu Ran had written him. As a result, these corn seeds should have really sprouted and grown well. Xu Ran had said that he could move them into the pits when it got warmer.

King Yan told Lu Qi about it, and Lu Qi told King Yan about the growth of the corn seedlings.

After hearing this, King Yan said that he really wanted to see them, partly because he was curious, while it was also because he would like to find himself a reason to believe. After all, seeing is believing.

Lu Qi said, “Your Highness, I just went to the mountain to look over the corn seedlings. They are growing very well. If you also want to look over them, let’s go now when the sun isn’t high. Xu Ran also wants to go to the mountain to see where he can plant those potatoes.”

Xu Ran had no objection. After all, he would be more certain if exploring the field himself.

The mountain was the exact one where Lu Qi and the others had picked wild vegetables before Spring Festival. The reason that they chose the mountain was because very few people came here. More importantly, there was a field of flat land on the other side of the mountain, and the soil of this flat land was quite fertile, which was perfect for growing corn.

Lu Qi had discovered the land himself. He said that he had discovered it as a child when he had accidentally walked through the woods. He, together with Du Xin, Xu Ran and Liu Tong, had already sowed the corn seeds in this open land.

Now, these corn seeds had grown into corn seedlings. When the covering cloth was lifted, a large field of green corn was shown.

Xu Ran had planted a dozen corn seeds, which were many, and only kept two in reserve. He had planted the rest ones, because he had decided to take a gamble.

Since the seeds had been sown, Lu Qi came to the mountain with Du Xin every day to check them.

Meanwhile, the big-mouthed Du Xin had actually kept his mouth shut on this matter. He hadn’t told anyone about it, nor had he mentioned to anyone the fact that they went to the mountain every day. It was rare that he should be so obedient.

Pointing at the exuberant corn seedlings on the ground, Xu Ran explained to King Yan, “Your Highness, these seedlings have to be transplanted to somewhere else after some time. They will become tall when they grow up, and in the middle of the cornstalk, there will be one or two corn cobs. If they grow well, the corn cobs will be large; if not, small. Similarly, the well-grown ones produce large corn kernels, while the ones that don’t grow well small corn kernels.”

“Corn can be made into steamed buns, corn paste or corn pancakes. A lot kinds of food can be made out of it, and it’s quite filling. All the seeds that we have sown this year will be used as seed stock. Next year, those seeds will be widely sown. The people without field will cultivate virgin land. When the first year ends, if the crop fails and the people need to pay taxes, the government will pay for it. In short, the people have to be confident on corn. They need to believe that corn is productive and edible. When this result is achieved, then it can be considered a success.”

After Xu Ran had explained for a while, Lu Qi also echoed his opinion, because he had seen the corn grown by Xu Ran before, and that was why he approved of this idea.

King Yan knew that they were all doing it for the sake of Yanzhou, but after all, he was the king, the one who was really governing Yanzhou. He couldn’t just believe them completely because they were close to him. However, he couldn’t say that he didn’t believe them either, because the result had not come out yet.

King Yan said, “It’s still too early to talk about these now. Let’s wait until we see the result! I will arrange for people to work with you, but this matter must be kept absolutely secret.”

Xu Ran and Lu Qi nodded. Naturally, they knew the importance of this matter.

Xu Ran asked King Yan, “Your Highness, whom are you going to arrange for to help us?”

King Yan replied, “Just that bunch of outlanders! Even though I’ve allowed them to enter my realm, I haven’t arranged anything for them to do. I can’t let them stay idle and be freeloaders, right? This is just a test for them. If there’s any problem, I will handle them all.”

King Yan’s last remark was meant for Yan Chuan, but Xu Ran and Lu Qi understood what he meant. They said nothing. Each monarch had his own way of governing, and this was not something they should step in.