"Since this thing can be used as food and cultivated..."
The Queen Mother pondered for a while and told Aunt Chang: "Take it to the Emperor and tell him its function."
Grandma Chang said with a smile: "Your Majesty, this is something that the eldest lady specially gave you to try as a filial piety."
The Queen Mother waved her hand and said: "I accept your wishes. It is more important for the people of the world to have enough food than for me to try new things."
Grandma Chang nodded and went away with the sweet potatoes.
The emperor originally didn't pay much attention to sweet potatoes. After all, the vassal countries in Southeast Asia paid tribute every year to countless treasures, not to mention a mere sweet potato.
When he heard that Xiao Fuyuan asked Bai Sanzhuang to find it from Nanyang, and thinking of the rumors about Xiao Fuyuan's good fortune, he ordered someone to take it to the Agriculture Department for cultivation.
In the evening, the Queen Mother and Aunt Chang chatted and talked about the rare Nanyang objects presented by Cheng Mei.
"...What a coincidence, she went with the third son of the eldest lady's family this time." Grandma Chang mentioned it inadvertently.
The Queen Mother smiled and said: "There is no such thing as coincidence. I think everything that seems to be a coincidence in this world is all arranged with great effort."
Grandma Chang didn't dare to answer.
Speaking of Cheng Mei, the Queen Mother sighed: "I always feel ashamed of her mother."
Thinking of Cheng Mei's burned face and changed identity, the Queen Mother felt pity and pain in her heart.
Grandma Chang's eyes were wet.
The mother of Cheng Mei mentioned by the Queen Mother was Ah Hua, another maid of the Queen Mother at that time, and she had a deep sisterly relationship with Granny Chang.
When the Queen Mother went to get married, she was robbed on the way and Ah Hua was washed away.
Two years later, the Queen Mother, who had already married King Jing, learned that A Hua was mistaken for her after being separated from everyone, and embarked on the marriage procession.
What a twist of fate.
Originally, the Queen Mother was the one to marry the princess on behalf of the princess. Unexpectedly, in a roundabout way, the person doing the marriage became Ah Hua.
Ah Hua was weak-tempered and suffered a lot in Xiyue Kingdom. He died in a hurry after giving birth to his daughter.
Her daughter Lin Ran, now the businesswoman Cheng Mei, secretly brought a token with her when she was a child and followed the camel traders to the border to find the Queen Mother who was still Princess Jing.
"...If I had known earlier, I should have arranged a marriage for her instead of letting her follow Shen Junshan to Huaicheng."
Aunt Chang said cautiously: "Queen Mother, you are just too thoughtful."
But no, the Queen Mother has suffered something she shouldn't have to endure since she was young, the fate of her family and the fate of her old friends.
This made her never truly happy for a moment.
Let's talk about Lin Ran, that is, Cheng Mei came to the border from Xiyue Kingdom, and had a childhood friendship with Shen Junshan, the son of the caravan leader, who ate and lived together. How could such a fate be blocked?
Besides, Shen Junshan's death was not caused by the Queen Mother, and Lin Ran's transformation into Cheng Mei also had nothing to do with the Queen Mother.
But the Queen Mother always kept it in her heart, feeling that if King Kang hadn't coveted the throne and harmed innocent people, Lin Ran and Shen Junshan would not be in this situation.
"I heard that Aran had a daughter before. Has she found her now?" the Queen Mother asked.
Grandma Chang thought for a while and said, "It seems not yet. I heard that because she missed her daughter so much, she went to the Bai family to meet the village master Furong."
The Queen Mother was silent for a long time, and then suddenly said: "The young prince of the Zhongjing Hou family has passed the full moon ceremony, right? When he grows up, he can be a companion to A Zhen. A Zhen will always come back."
Grandma Chang said: "It's been two months."
At the same time, she was very surprised. Last month, during the Prince's full-moon ceremony, the Queen Mother clearly gave Ruyi a handle of jade as a gift.
"Since the prince will be a companion in the palace from now on, let the eldest lady accompany her mother at home from now on."
Grandma Chang felt something in her heart, she was about to terminate the engagement between the eldest prince and the Zhongjing Hou Mansion.
She wondered why the Queen Mother went from Cheng Mei to Furong Township Master and then to Zhongjing Hou Mansion.
They're all waiting here.
However, the engagement has already been released. If it is released at this time, it will not reflect well on the eldest daughter of the Zhongjing Hou Mansion.
"Let the old Marquis make a concession, saying that the two of them are incompatible and requesting that the engagement be cancelled." The Queen Mother told Aunt Chang.
Grandma Chang agreed, feeling relieved.
…
It’s April in the blink of an eye.
Shenshu Village is another rural scene that looks like the sea in late spring.
Compared with last year's drought, this year's weather has been smooth and the wheat has begun to ear. It looks like it will be a good year for a bumper harvest.
"Brother, the sweet potato seedlings have really sprouted!"
Xiao Fukuoka, who came back from private school, saw her elder brother standing next to his "experimental field" holding a grass-like vine and laughing so hard that she couldn't close her mouth. She hurried over to see what was going on.
In order to live up to his sister's sweet potato seeds and ensure the survival rate, Bai Dazhuang built a shed in the "experimental field" and filled it with mud and wheat straw to create a warm and dry environment for the sweet potatoes.
With Bai Dazhuang taking care of him like a child, the first batch of sweet potato seedlings finally came out fresh.
Bai Dazhuang carefully broke off a seedling and breathed a sigh of relief.
It seems that the cultivation method is on the right track!
I originally thought that sweet potatoes should be planted into the soil like peanuts and allowed to sprout and grow freely.
It seems not.
My sister is right. Sweet potatoes are just rhizomes, not seeds. Naturally, they are grown by inserting stems.
"Sister, it's done."
Bai Dazhuang handed the sweet potato seedlings to his sister.
He plans to plant part of the vegetable plot at home and interplant the rest in the field.
The fields in the countryside are very precious, and crops are planted everywhere. No one will use the extra land to plant unknown crops.
If it fails, a quarter of land will be wasted.
Not many people dare to take a piece of land to plant new crops like Bai Dazhuang.
"Brother, I can eat roasted sweet potatoes from now on." Xiao Fuyuan couldn't help drooling as he thought about the sweetness of roasted sweet potatoes.
Bai Dazhuang felt guilty. His sister wanted to eat sweet potatoes so much that she resisted and gave him sweet potatoes to plant.
If it fails, I would be so sorry for my sister.
"Yes, you can definitely eat it, big brother guarantees it to you."
Originally, Bai Dazhuang was not sure. Faced with his sister's desire to eat roasted sweet potatoes, he had to grow them.
"Brother, when will these seedlings be planted?" Xiao Fuyuan asked.
"Plant it today."
Bai Dazhuang got into the greenhouse, carefully pulled out the sweet potato seedlings from the sweet potatoes, handed them to Xiao Fuyuan and said, "Sister, touch them and tell them a good harvest."
Xiao Fuyuan smiled, took the sweet potato seedlings, and said one by one: "Great harvest, great harvest."
Bai Dazhuang felt relieved. He felt that the batch of sweet potato seedlings he cultivated would definitely succeed.
He Shun frowned when he received the letter from the Agriculture Department in the capital.
The letter mentioned that the sweet potatoes given to the Queen Mother were sent to the agricultural department for cultivation. I don’t know if the people who cultivated the sweet potatoes were not careful or their skills were not up to par. In short, the sweet potatoes were soaked in water and the buds were broken from the roots.
The Agriculture Department was severely reprimanded by the emperor and wrote a letter begging He Shun to find new sweet potatoes to remedy the situation.
He Shun felt bitter in his heart. How could he get any new sweet potatoes?
After thinking about it, I went to Lao Bai’s house.
As soon as he arrived in the yard, he saw little Fuyuan squatting on the edge of the vegetable field, with a row of green seedlings in front of him.
"Uncle He." Xiao Fuyuan greeted He Shun.
He Shun walked over with a smile and asked, "Xiao Yuanbao, what are you doing?"
Xiao Fuyuan pointed to Bai Dazhuang, who was sweating profusely in the vegetable field, and said, "I see my eldest brother is planting sweet potatoes?"
He Shun looked at it for a long time. Isn't Bai Dazhuang planting rice seedlings?
So he asked: “Where are the sweet potatoes?
Xiao Fuyuan pointed to the young seedlings in front of her and said, "This is the sweet potato seedling."
He Shun looked at it for a long time and found that the seedlings no longer looked like sweet potatoes.
Bai Dazhuang came over, rubbed his hands full of mud, and said, "Housekeeper He, these seedlings are grown from sweet potatoes. If you plant them in the ground, they will produce sweet potatoes."
He Shun couldn't ask for sweet potatoes at this time.
What else do you ask for? Bai Dazhuang has successfully raised seedlings.
He deserved to be reprimanded by the agricultural department. A large group of people could not compare to farmer Bai Dazhuang.
(End of chapter)
