I Rely on Beauty to Stabilize the Country - Chap 167 END
The dark soil rolled, and with a rake, clumps of round yellow things were dug out.
Gu Yuanbai’s eyes slowly opened wide and he looked at these potatoes in disbelief.
Xue Yuan, who was beside him, said to him in amazement: “Your Majesty, although the potatoes cannot be kept alive, these sweet potatoes look very good.”
Gu Yuanbai: “…well.”
Potatoes and sweet potatoes have different seedlings growing out of the ground. Gu Yuanbai has seen these two crops. But he has been in Daheng for fourteen years, and the memory of modern times is so far away that he can no longer tell the difference between potatoes and sweet potato seedlings.
He clearly remembered that potatoes were grown on the south side and sweet potatoes were planted on the north side. Why was it different now? Or did he get the seeds of these two high-yielding crops mixed up?
Or are the farmers confused?
Gu Yuanbai looked into the corn field. The plump corns were wrapped among green leaves, exuding a delicious fragrance. Corn was still right, and Gu Yuanbai felt a little relieved. What’s embarrassing is that he has been thinking that the potato seeds are dead for the past four months, and the people around him also believe so. In the past few days, Gu Yuanbai had been thinking about how to quickly spread the cultivation methods of sweet potatoes and corn throughout the country. He even thought about eating roasted sweet potatoes, dried sweet potatoes, sweet potato cakes, glutinous rice fruits and sesame balls… He also wanted people to eat them. Sweet potatoes were made into sweet potato flour, but what came out was not sweet potatoes, but potatoes that he had long given up hope for.
The yield of sweet potatoes is better than that of potatoes, but when it comes to the variety of food that can be made, potatoes still have more.
But Gu Yuanbai was unprepared and didn’t expect that. He was caught off guard and could only stare at the potatoes all over the floor in a daze.
Xue Yuan kept talking, “Look, Your Majesty, these sweet potatoes are really bigger than the last.”
“…” Gu Yuanbai paused for a moment and said quietly, “Yes.”
The farmers had never seen potatoes or sweet potatoes. In order to prevent these crops from being different from what they would look like in the future, and to keep them secret, Gu Yuanbai did not describe to them what these crops looked like when they grew up, nor did he tell them what they were.
Probably everyone except Gu Yuanbai now thinks these potatoes are sweet potatoes.
The Privy Councilor standing behind him stared at the ground without blinking, and the words in his throat were no longer coherent, “Your Majesty, the amount of sweet potatoes dug out from this piece of land alone is about two or three stones… If, if this whole If an acre of land is of this size and size, wouldn’t it be worth dozens of dan per acre?”
The people around him took a breath.
The noise suddenly started, and some of the ministers who had followed Gu Yuanbai to see the new crops started talking in twos and threes, staring at the potatoes and mouthing “sweet potatoes” one after another, “I don’t know how these sweet potatoes taste. It’s not easy to feel full.” “It’s covered in mud, but after being washed, it’s eaten raw as fruit?”
Gu Yuanbai rubbed his brows and ordered someone to pick up dozens of potatoes. He stood up and asked the ministers behind him with a smile, “You gentlemen would like to know… how to eat these sweet potatoes?”
The ministers saluted respectfully and could not restrain their curiosity, “Your Majesty, I have been discourteous.”
“Tian Fusheng, send someone to deliver the sweet potatoes to the imperial kitchen.” Gu Yuanbai took a deep breath and said gently, “Let the people in the imperial kitchen pay attention. Remember, if the sweet potatoes turn green or sprout, they must be removed. Dig it out and don’t eat it. The skin of the sweet potato needs to be peeled off. It can be used for cooking, making soup, and can also be used as a substitute for wheat ears to make cakes. I’ll tell you a few ways to do this. Come and do…”
After he finished speaking, he felt melancholy in his heart, as the name of the potato was lost in a blur. From then on, the spicy and sour potato shreds will become the spicy and sour sweet potato shreds.
Tian Fusheng dared not forget every word, “Young man, go and prepare now.”
Xue Yuan also listened carefully, “Your Majesty, are the sweet potatoes delicious?”
Gu Yuanbai looked back at him and nodded affirmatively, “It tastes very good. Whether it is made as a vegetarian dish or with meat, it is a good thing to serve on the dinner table.” He thought for a while, and said calmly and shamelessly: “It’s not inferior to potatoes. ”
“Then I will be blessed,” Xue Yuan smiled, “and the people in the world will be blessed too.”
Potatoes all over the ground are close together, which makes people feel happy about the harvest. Gu Yuanbai led everyone through the potato field and came to the corn field.
The corns had been torn off and placed on the ground. They were piled high in layers. Gu Yuanbai reached out to pick up one from above and removed the outer covering of the corns himself. As soon as the golden corns were exposed in front of everyone, everyone was stunned and stared at them blankly. This is as beautiful as a fruit made of jade.
“This thing, I call it corn,” Gu Yuanbai gently pulled off the corn silk above the corn, revealing the golden and slightly white corn head in front more clearly, “This thing is soft and waxy. It is sweet and delicious whether it is baked, fried, steamed or boiled. The rice grains can be used in dishes or as a substitute for corn. It has many uses. Come, bring some to the imperial kitchen to steam them, so that you can taste them. One taste.”
The ministers thanked them, and Gu Yuanbai smiled, “Compared to the taste of these two things, I pay more attention to their yield per acre. There are too few seeds from these foreign countries, and they can’t be found on an acre of land, but You have also seen with your own eyes that even if there are less than a hundred seeds, there is definitely a lot of things produced. ”
Everyone looked back and saw a pile of corn and “sweet potatoes” as high as a hill on the left and right.
If there was such a quantity in one acre of land, it would be much more than an acre of millet! Even if “sweet potatoes” and corn don’t taste good, as long as they don’t kill people, they are good things. I just don’t know how full they feel, and they are not troublesome to grow.
The ministers had many thoughts in their hearts, but their joy and excitement were still greater than their worries. After getting permission from the Holy Father, they carefully touched the corn and sweet potatoes, as if they were looking at their newborn grandson, loving them but afraid of accidentally damaging them.
After a while, Tian Fusheng ran over to ask the saint to serve the meal. Gu Yuanbai asked and found that the corn had been steamed, so he simply asked the saint to serve the steamed corn first.
After the corn is filled with water, it becomes plumper and more beautiful, and the heat lingers in the seams. Steamed corn is sweeter than boiled corn. As soon as it is placed in front of him, the sweet smell wafts to his nose. Gu Yuanbai can’t help but relax his eyebrows when he smells this strange and familiar aroma.
After the Holy One moved his mouth, the others tentatively tasted the corn. As soon as the sweet taste entered my mouth, my eyes widened in surprise.
When you pierce the rice grains with your teeth, the juice is sweet but not greasy, and it tastes really delicious. It’s unexpected that a crop that produces so much tastes so good.
Everyone can’t help but look forward to the next “sweet potato” taste.
After the meal was served, their eyes lit up when they tasted it.
Some of the ministers were old and had bad teeth and could not taste corn. Gu Yuanbai specially ordered the potatoes used by these ministers to be stewed to make them softer and glutinous. The soup was locked in the potatoes and was more fragrant than just eating stewed meat. Much more.
This lunch was enjoyed by both the guests and the host. When the ministers were about to leave, some old ministers came to secretly request the Holy One, asking if the Holy One could give them some “sweet potatoes”.
Gu Yuanbai smiled and shook his head, “These must be saved for next year, and you will be able to eat these two things next year.”
After this day, the important officials in the court memorized the names of corn and sweet potato. The two crops have been vaguely known before they are released, and they are secretly looking forward to next spring, patiently waiting for the imperial court to release seedlings.
*
After winter, spring comes slowly.
In February of this year, the imperial court’s “sweet potato” seeds and corn seeds were transported to various places by land and water. The number of seeds this year was not large, and local officials gritted their teeth and hoped to get more seeds. Eighty percent of the memorials sent to the capital from various places were crying, but there was nothing we could do about not being enough, and there was only so much in total.
In September of the same year, the yields per mu of sweet potatoes and corn reached a level that shocked the people of Daheng.
More and more people regard it as food given to the Holy One by the gods, just because the Holy One loves the country and the people, is diligent and kind, and manages Daheng in an orderly manner.
The longevity tablets were erected, and people stepped into the temple. When offering incense, I was sincere and only wanted to make the Holy Lord live a long life.
More and more people are able to eat. The people are full of emotions and want to thank the Holy One for allowing them to have full stomachs. However, they don’t understand anything. They can only pray to the Buddha and gods. If they want the Holy One to be healthy, as long as the Holy One If it lasts for a long time, the prosperous age will also last for a long time.
*
On the Lantern Festival, Gu Yuanbai and Xue Yuan left the palace in a low profile.
The figures were swaying, and the two of them were walking among them. Time seemed to have left no trace on Gu Yuanbai’s face. When Xue Yuan looked at him, a complicated look would occasionally flash through his face.
Gu Yuanbai’s eyebrows or smile still seemed to be shining with tiny stars. The lanterns are not even half as good, and the vegetation serves as a foil.
He became more and more cheerful, but Xue Yuan, who was two years older than him, had begun to realize the cruelty of time.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Gu Yuanbai looked up at him with a smile and teased, “Idiot.”
Xue Yuan couldn’t help but raise his hand to hook his long hair at the temples. The silk hair passed through his hand.
Gu Yuanbai was curious, “What?”
Xue Yuan shook his head and went to hold his hand, “You will know the day you find out.”
Gu Yuanbai smiled and walked slowly with him in the shadow of the lamp.
Xue Yuan was dressed in a mysterious robe, which made his aura that had become sinking in recent years even more compelling. When he was by Gu Yuanbai’s side, he was like a carefree old man accompanying his treasure that everyone coveted.
When Gu Yuanbai thought about it, he couldn’t help but smile deeper. He looked sideways at Xue Yuan. The world undoubtedly favors Xue Yuan. Even though his brows have severe wrinkles caused by deep frowns, he is still handsome and tall. Time has brought him not only age, but also accumulated style.
The strong tea is fragrant, and the sword takes off its sheen. The long-lasting flavor is more abundant, and there is no need for other things to make useless green branches and green leaves.
Gu Yuanbai looked at the sky and calculated the time.
When the two of them walked to the bridge, hundreds of sky lanterns suddenly rose from all over the capital. These lights were as warm and yellow as stars, and instantly became a scattered galaxy.
Surprising cheers and admirations sounded under the bridge. Everyone raised their heads to see the bright Kongming Lanterns in the sky, the stars, and the hundreds of scenes of life. This scene was reflected from the eyes into the heart, and cast a light that went deep into the memory.
Xue Yuan also looked up at the Kongming Lantern in surprise, and Gu Yuanbai suddenly coughed. Xue Yuan lowered his head for a moment and looked at him anxiously.
There was a trace of joyful smile on the corner of Gu Yuanbai’s lips. After noticing his gaze, he turned back with a smile and said: “Today or later, I meet this beloved man.”①
Xue Yuan paused, only looking at him.
Gu Yuanbai raised his hand and touched his eyebrows gently, “The north wind is cool, the rain and snow are cool. Please be kind to me and walk hand in hand.” ②
The north wind blows coldly, and the rain and snow fall heavily. Thank you for putting so much affection on me, I am willing to hold hands with you and walk together.
Gu Yuanbai knew that Xue Yuan had been waiting for this sentence for a long time.
And they have been together for fifteen years.
Time passes slowly, but when I suddenly look back, I find that it is extremely fast. The past fifteen years have almost taken up most of the happy memories with each other.
If Xue Yuan hadn’t loved him more and more year by year, Gu Yuanbai wouldn’t have believed that there really was such a strong and pure love in the world, with such persistence for years. .
He urged with a smile, “Speak.”
Xue Yuan was a little stiff, and the hesitation he had not felt for a long time came to him again. He opened his mouth, but his tongue began to tie.
The Holy Emperor’s eyes were brighter than the Kongming Lantern behind him.
Xue Yuan straightened his tongue with difficulty and mumbled, “I’ve been holding your hand.”
Gu Yuanbai lowered his head and looked at the two people’s hands. Xue Yuan clenched them subconsciously. Gu Yuanbai smiled and said, “Then hold them.”
