The next day.
The officials received news that they would not be attending court today and were all to go to the Da Qin Farm.
Although they didn't know the reason, this was an order from Ying Zheng, they couldn't disobey.
Ying Zheng, sitting in a sedan chair, led a team of nearly a thousand people, including civil and military officials, invited elders, and skilled farmers, to the Da Qin Farm.
"Tian Fei, meet the King!"
"Where are the things called potatoes and sweet potatoes that the young lord mentioned?"
"Please follow me, Your Majesty."
Tian Fei led Ying Zheng and his entourage to a carefully cultivated field.
Looking at the lush green leaves, slightly yellowed, but without any sign of fruit.
"Tian Fei, these are potatoes and sweet potatoes! Why haven't I seen any fruit?"
"Your Majesty, potatoes and sweet potatoes are special. Their fruits are underground, and you need to dig them out to see them. I will dig them out now!"
"Hmm! First dig up one mu of land each to let me see how the yield is."
Although the farmers' planting methods were wrong, they still saved a lot of potatoes and sweet potatoes. There were a total of thirty mu planted here.
Ten mu of potatoes and twenty mu of sweet potatoes.
"I obey!"
"The King has spoken, dig!"
Here they were digging potatoes and sweet potatoes in a flurry of activity.
Zhao Chen was still sleeping in his sea of flowers.
At this time, Yue Shen came in and woke him up.
"Sister Yue Shen, you're out of seclusion."
"Young Lord, the King brought all the officials to the farm to witness the potatoes and sweet potatoes. Why aren't you going?"
"What's there to see? Anyway, no one will starve in Da Qin from now on."
Hearing this, Yue Shen couldn't help but laugh and cry. Young Lord, are you being calm?
Or just plain lazy!
"Young Lord, I've calculated the weather and found that this winter will likely be the coldest in a hundred years. We need to warn the people to prepare for the cold."
As the Da Qin National Teacher, Yue Shen not only needed to perform calculations, she also needed to calculate the calendar, measure the weather, and so on, just like the later Qin Tian Jian of the imperial court.
"Cold winter?"
Zhao Chen furrowed his brows.
This wasn't a small matter.
Da Qin did not have cotton at the moment, and people could only wear thick cotton and linen clothes to keep warm in winter.
But facing a harsh winter, many people simply couldn't withstand it.
Ah, although there is no cotton now, it's not like there's no way.
It seems like a kang (heated bed) would work.
And charcoal too. Coal resources are abundant throughout the world, so they can be used.
"Sister Yue Shen, don't worry. The people of Da Qin will surely make it through this harsh winter."
Zhao Chen said confidently.
"Oh, have you thought of a solution, Young Lord?"
"Of course. Just watch, sister!"
Zhao Chen got up directly, washed up, ate, and went straight to his study.
He began to draw the construction methods for a kang, as well as the design for a small stove.
These were truly warming artifacts.
Although the stove would still be a luxury for the people, the kang would not. Mud bricks are easy to make, and every household can build a kang.
After drawing these two blueprints, Zhao Chen began to think about the distribution of coal.
Although the largest coal resources were located in the state of Zhao, after all, Zhao was the future province of Shanxi, which was rich in coal resources.
But Da Qin also had coal resources, and not far from Xianyang City.
In the current Yongdi area.
If it was mined, it would be enough for Da Qin to use for many years. Once Da Qin unified the Six Kingdoms, the coal resources of Zhao would naturally belong to Da Qin.
However, it was too early to talk about this now. He took out a map of Da Qin.
Based on his memory, Zhao Chen began to circle areas on the map. His goal was to mine coal.
No one knew the value of coal yet, so it was essentially useless.
After finishing the map, Zhao Chen began writing the process for making smokeless coal.
By the time he had finished everything, more than three hours had passed.
And at the Da Qin Farm...
While Tian Fei was digging potatoes and sweet potatoes...
The officials were all very curious about what these things were that made Ying Zheng so important, and which grew underground. They had never heard of them before, nor had the elders and farmers.
Everyone stretched their necks to look at the field.
When the first potato was dug up, everyone's eyes widened.
It had a long string of yellow, ball-shaped fruits, was this a potato?
One plant could produce so many fruits, how many would a whole mu produce?
Then they looked at the sweet potatoes, which had red skins but were also in a long string, it seemed like a lot.
In an instant, everyone was shocked.
If these fruits could be eaten, it would be truly extraordinary.
Seeing this harvest, Ying Zheng also breathed a sigh of relief, his eyes filled with anticipation. He almost couldn't help but personally go down and dig. But to maintain his dignity, he forced himself to stop.
However, someone couldn't hold back, the first was Nei Shi Teng, the Minister of Finance.
He rushed into the field without hesitation to examine them.
If there's one, there's two.
Wang Jian, Feng Wan, Meng Wu...
Everyone joined the digging team.
Soon two mu of land were dug up.
They truly dug the land three feet deep, not letting go of a single potato or sweet potato.
"Your Majesty, one mu has been dug up."
"Ahem, weigh them!"
Looking at the mountain of potatoes and sweet potatoes, even without weighing them, Ying Zheng knew it was a great victory, a victory for Da Qin, a victory for the people.
Just as Zhao Chen said, from now on, no one in Da Qin would starve anymore.
Soon, the weighing was complete.
Everyone held their breath, waiting for Tian Fei to report the numbers.
"Your Majesty, there are a total of forty-one shi of potatoes and forty-eight shi of sweet potatoes."
Silence. Hearing this number, everyone was stunned.
Even though they heard it with their own ears, they felt like they had hallucinated.
This number usually required ten mu of land to achieve, and it had to be good land.
Now, one mu had a higher yield than ten mu, was this real? It was simply unbelievable.
Coming back to their senses, everyone started to discuss.
"Is this real? Forty plus shi per mu?"
"Unbelievable."
"Can these potatoes and sweet potatoes be eaten?"
"They should be able to, right?"
"If they can be eaten, then we don't have to worry about hunger anymore."
"Truly, heaven favors Da Qin!"
Many of the elders shed tears of joy.
"Your Majesty, can these potatoes and sweet potatoes be eaten?"
"Of course. Zhao Gao, cook the potatoes and sweet potatoes for everyone according to the method written here." Ying Zheng handed Zhao Gao the instructions Zhao Chen had written.
Zhao Gao began to have people roast the sweet potatoes and potatoes. This was the simplest method of eating them, given the limited conditions, this was the only option.
Tian Fei continued to have people dig potatoes and sweet potatoes!
Soon, everyone faintly smelled an aroma.
The taste was unique, but very fragrant, arousing people's appetites.
Some people couldn't help but swallow their saliva.
After they were roasted, Zhao Gao first tasted a few himself, and after making sure they were not poisonous, he presented them to Ying Zheng. Then he had them distributed to everyone.