Chapter 952
: Being Taken on the Pirate Ship
Chapter 952: Being Taken on the Pirate Ship
"Hiss, this dark, fuzzy thing is taro? It's quite big, each one weighs at least three ounces, no wonder the yield per acre is so high."
"What are these small black beans, about the size of a jujube? Can we eat them?" Kang Rong saw something like a round black bean at the bottom of the box. It looked very crunchy. She held it up and asked, even wanting to open her mouth and eat one.
"Don't eat them! These are bulbils that grow on yam vines. They can be used as seeds, but they're not edible; they're slightly poisonous!" Uncle Chen hurriedly warned.
"Poisonous?!" Kang Rong was startled and threw away the sweet potato bulbils. She then asked Qin Xiaomi, "Master Qin, didn't you say that the mountain people of Lingnan Prefecture have been eating sweet potatoes for many years and that they are not poisonous? How come they are poisonous now?"
Qin Xiaomi said, "Taro and yam are indeed not poisonous when cooked, but the bulbils that grow on the yam vines are slightly poisonous, so it's best not to eat them."
"You can eat it if you want, it won't kill you, it'll just make your throat itch and you won't be able to scratch it."
"Also, these two types of potatoes release juice after peeling, and this juice can cause itchy skin. If you experience itchy skin, just wash your hands with hot water and don't come asking me again."
After thinking for a while, he sat down again, picked up his pen, and wrote six pages in detail, recording some important information about taro, sweet potato, and wild yam.
Jiang Dalang stayed by her side the whole time. After she finished writing, he took the six sheets of paper and handed them to Master Qiong: "Master Qiong, these are the instructions for the second batch of potatoes written by Master Qin. Have the students copy them down and make copies, and then have everyone read them carefully. There is no need to ask Master Qin again."
Su Su is not their teacher and has no time to answer their questions.
"Alright. Thank you, Master Qin." Old Qiong was overjoyed. He took the paper and handed it to Ying Zilin, asking him to find a few students to copy it.
The students got busy, studying potato seeds, copying notes, and asking Chen Shijiuye and other Lingnan people in detail about the growth habits of these two crops.
How long does it take for a plant to completely die from frost?
"The yield of wild taro and sweet potato in the mountains can be over 1,500 catties per mu? Uncle Chen, do you have a growth record book? Let us see it."
"The sage and the master actually had a growth record book, and several of them at that! Uncle Nineteen, you're amazing!"
"This, this is a sweet potato, it's grown so big, it's as big as a ceramic basin!" Li Zhiyuan was astonished by the size of the sweet potato.
"It's so big, no wonder the yield per mu is so high!" Other students also gathered around, looking at the huge sweet potato the size of a washbasin, and exclaimed in amazement: "There are such things in Lingnan Prefecture, it's really amazing."
The Chen family members said with great pride, "This thing has always grown in the mountains. We've been eating it since we were little. It's strange that you northerners don't have it."
The large yam of Lingnan Prefecture in the Great Wei Dynasty was actually a giant tuber similar to yam. After peeling, it was slippery, just like modern yams.
However, the color of the yam is purplish, not white like a regular yam, and its taste is similar to that of modern yams.
After the students had looked at the yams for a while, Kang Rong asked, "How do we eat them? Uncle Nineteen, how about you bring a box of yams and sweet potatoes and cook us a meal to try?"
*Slap!* Old Qiong stepped over the two students and slapped Kang Rong on the head: "These are potato seeds, meant to be kept for planting. All you know is how to eat! You even want a whole box!"
Master Chen was a clever man. He sighed and said, "There aren't many potato seeds brought to the Northeast Prefecture. If we eat a whole box, I'll feel bad... If the more than a thousand carts of potato seeds outside Tai Zhou Prefecture could come in, and you all could try ten carts, I wouldn't feel bad at all."
Ah this?
There's no need to be so blatant.
Ying Zilin was the first to speak: "I, Ying Zilin, will immediately write a letter instructing the Ying family to send people to receive the potato seeds and to escort the convoy safely to Taifeng Town. If anything happens to the potato seeds, I, Ying Zilin, will never take the imperial examinations or enter officialdom for the rest of my life, to atone for this sin!"
This?
Shi Songxin cursed on behalf of the Ying family: You unfilial son! If your elders in the Ying family heard this, they would beat you to death!
Ying Zilin looked at the students, bowed deeply to them, and said, "I beg you all to resolutely write to your families and work together to protect this life-saving food for all the people of the world!"
Those inside and outside the main camp who heard these words were all moved. Kang Rong, deeply emotional, raised his hand and shouted, "Send a letter to the family, asking the elders to join us in protecting this life-saving food for all the people!"
Kang Lang and Master Lu: "..." They wanted to pinch their own philtrum.
But Kang Rong had already made the call, so what could they do? Naturally, they followed suit, since it was a righteous matter that would benefit all living beings.
Since it's a matter of great importance, how could the other students not follow suit? If they didn't, their family's reputation would be ruined.
Students such as Shi Songxin, Yang Zeru, Dong Chengxin, Zhao Wuming, and Lu Qian all shouted: "Let's write to our elders and mobilize the entire clan to protect this life-saving food for all people!"
The sound was so loud that half the camp could hear it.
You know what, the Duke of Yan, Master Qiong, and Master Xun really did the right thing by putting in so much effort to mentor these students...
Regardless of their family background or concerns, the youthful righteousness they possess at this moment, willing to do something for the common people, is precious.
"Alright, come on, the brushes, ink, paper and inkstone are ready. Come and write your letters. Hurry up and finish so the soldiers can send them to your elders as soon as possible, and your elders can escort the high-yield grain and potato seeds to the Northeast Prefecture sooner!" Uncle Qin laid out the papers and urged them to get to work quickly and stop just talking nonsense.
Students: “…”
Why do I feel like I've been forced onto a pirate ship?
Well, whatever, we're already in this situation, what can we do? Let's get this over with!
"They've arrived." The students picked up their pens, dipped them in ink, and began writing letters. In order to avoid being punished by their family elders, they sincerely praised the protection and trial planting of the potato seeds. If successful, they would be recorded in history, and even if they failed, they could still earn their families the reputation of "protecting high-yield grain seeds for the benefit of all people."
In short, they put in the same effort they used to appease their grandparents during the Lunar New Year, and the letter they wrote was so... that anyone who read it and didn't follow it would be punished by their grandparents with family discipline.
After the letter was written, signed, fingerprinted, and stamped with the personal seal, it was taken away by Commander Zhong and Commander Wang.
Commander Wang smiled and said, "You students are truly righteous, protecting the grain for the sake of all people. I will certainly report this righteous act to His Majesty!"
After speaking, Commander Wang gave the students a formal salute typical of the Wei army.
The students were so excited that they wanted to rush home, hold a knife to their own necks, and force their family elders to agree to promote these two high-yield coarse grains!
If they are not supported in implementing this policy, they are willing to slit their own throats on the spot for the greater good.
Wang Baihu, Qiong Lao, and even Uncle Qin were a little embarrassed and kept praising them: "Good children, all of you are good children."
Good heavens, I knew you guys were easy to fool, but I never imagined you were this easy to fool.
I just don't know if yours works well?
Regardless of whether it was effective or not, Commanders Wang and Zhong immediately dispatched troops to quickly deliver the students' letters home to their family elders.
"Master Qin, how about we try these two kinds of grains?" It was Elder Qiong who suggested eating the potato seeds this time.
The play is over, we can eat now.
After all, tasting high-yield grains is a necessary experiment.
Qin Xiaomi smiled and said, "Old Qiong, you can decide with the military officer, Master Lu, and Clerk Guan."
Qiong Lao: No, this is the mess you caused, and now you're just going to wash your hands of it?
Qin Xiaomi said, "Yes, I have done enough. I have already used the high-yield grains to elevate the Qin family to a new level, so that even if the aristocratic alliance hates me, they will not dare to harm my Qin family again."
My Qin family is safe now, so you can take care of the rest of the troublesome matters with the students; I won't do it anymore.