Chapter 133

Chapter 133

Even Xie Chengyan, a Chancellor who had never worked a field, could not resist going down in person to learn plowing from the old farmer and enjoy the experience.

Ever since the valley began allocating land, Xiao Jingmo had been compiling the Records of the Valley.

It categorized every important and trivial event that occurred in the valley. It resembled a local county gazetteer, but was far more detailed.

The appearance of the curved-shaft plow benefited not only the farmers of Black Pine Valley but would eventually spread throughout the Northern Frontier. Therefore, it had to be documented in the Records of the Valley, with Jin Bao specifically named as the person who improved it.

Since the curved-shaft plow was both efficient and labor-saving, Xiao Che immediately announced that it would be adopted throughout the valley.

He ordered the craftsmen to work through the nights producing the plows.

Over the next half month, dozens of curved-shaft plows were built.

They now had farming tools, but were still desperately short of seed.

That day, Xie Chengyan and Xiao Che summoned several residents native to the region.

One of them excelled at leading armies into battle, while the other excelled at wielding a writing brush. When it came to farming, neither knew anything at all.

Therefore, they needed to hear from the common people about what to plant.

Jin Bao knew true spring planting was about to begin, so she wandered nearby whenever she had nothing else to do.

That was because every night, while half asleep, she heard Daddy and Mommy talking.

Daddy was always worried about food.

Yet he refused to tell Jin Bao. They did not want to depend entirely on her powers to solve every problem.

After all, Jin Bao would eventually leave. The many people here would still need to survive, and they could not rely on her powers for everything.

If they wanted everyone to live independently in the long term, they had to solve the problem of seed.

Jin Bao could select superior seed. The seed she chose resisted drought and cold, grew quickly, and produced large yields.

But Daddy would not let her interfere, leaving her helpless.

Baby was an obedient child and could not oppose Daddy.

So whenever Jin Bao had nothing to do, she listened nearby. If an opportunity arose to help, she would secretly do it.

Today, she was beside the stream with her friends, using sticks to spear little fish, when she saw Xiao Jingmo lead a group toward the council chamber.

Jin Bao immediately dropped her wooden stick and ran.

“Jin Bao, your fish!”

“I don’t want it anymore. You can have it!”

Running at top speed, Jin Bao hurriedly called back over her shoulder.

She reached the front of her home and prepared to climb over the threshold as usual, only to discover it was lower. She could enter by simply lifting one leg.

Jin Bao scratched her head and continued forward, though she looked back several times.

“Strange. Did Baby grow taller? Why is the threshold so low today? Baby stepped right over it. That’s right, Baby must have grown taller from eating so much.”

After convincing herself, Jin Bao happily ran outside the council chamber. She clung to the window, rose on tiptoe, and secretly peeked inside.

The chamber was filled with farmers. In the middle of spring planting, their clothes and shoes were covered in mud.

They were too restrained to sit.

Some stood by the door and others crouched on the floor. No one stepped onto the animal-hide rugs, afraid the mud on their bodies would dirty those precious hides.

With no other choice, Xiao Che and Xie Chengyan sat at the head of the room, had the animal hides removed, and brought in wooden stools for everyone.

Only then did the group sit down awkwardly.

“We invited everyone here today to discuss spring planting. As you all know, we have allocated three thousand mu of land.

“But seed is limited. Even after adding what we traded from the Cannibal Tribe and selecting good grain from what we seized in town last time to reserve as seed, we can plant only three hundred mu. That is not even close to enough.
“So we want to hear everyone’s ideas.

“After all, Old Xie and I know nothing about farming, nor do we know what crops suit the Northern Frontier.”

As soon as Xiao Che finished, everyone looked at one another, none daring to voice an opinion.

Xiao Jingmo sat nearby recording everything with paper and brush. When no one spoke for a long while, he set down his brush and said gently, “There is no need to be nervous. We sincerely invited you here for advice. What we sow this season is not merely seed, but the food everyone will depend on in the future. If we choose the wrong crops, the entire season’s work will be wasted.”

Everyone realized he was right, so one man stood.

“We’re all farmers born and raised in the Northern Frontier. I’ll tell you what we grow back home.

“The Northern Frontier spends half the year in bitter winter. From the tenth month until the fourth month of the following year, the earth is completely frozen and cannot be cultivated. The frost-free season is extremely short, only three or four months.

“We usually plant millet and buckwheat.

“In early May, once the frozen ground fully thaws and temperatures rise, we can turn the soil and scatter the seed. Then we harvest in late August or early September.

“Buckwheat is like millet: planted in May and harvested in August or September. But buckwheat tolerates cold better and grows extremely quickly, so we plant it widely. We also plant some beans, such as soybeans and black beans.

“That was outside the valley, though. Things are different here. Inside the valley, it feels like spring all year and water is plentiful. We have many more crops to choose from and can plant throughout the year.

“While reclaiming the wasteland recently, we discovered that the soil here is extremely fertile. The yields should be excellent as well.”

After the man finished, the others voiced their agreement.

“That’s right. What he described is basically the same where we come from, though some people there also plant spring wheat. Its yield is extremely low.”

Everyone expressed their own views while Xiao Jingmo recorded them rapidly.

Once they had said nearly everything, the room suddenly fell silent, and no one spoke again.

The question was no longer what they could plant, but the fact that they had no seed.

Given the valley’s uniquely favorable conditions, if they had seed, these people would not remain idle for a single day. They wished they could plant three crops a year.

“Creak.”

The door suddenly opened from outside.

Everyone turned toward the entrance.

A large eye blinked through the gap, followed by one little pigtail squeezing through.

Seeing that everyone had noticed her, Jin Bao simply pushed the door open and entered openly.

She waved her small hand in greeting.

“Hello, uncles and grandpas! Hello, aunties!”

Everyone was delighted to see Jin Bao. This was not only because she was the Star Maiden, but also because she was exceptionally polite and lacked the arrogance of a noble young lady. She obediently greeted everyone she met. Even from far away, people could hear her calling out in her childish voice, waving her little white hand and bouncing as she greeted them.

“Daughter, why are you here?”

Jin Bao hurried over, then shyly nestled into Xiao Che’s arms.

Greeting others reflected her upbringing; shyness was her nature.

When both traits appeared together in Jin Bao, they made her especially adorable.

“Daddy, Baby has something to say too.”

Hearing this, Xiao Che laughed several times.

Xie Chengyan, however, affectionately held Jin Bao’s small hand and asked, “Jin Bao, what would you like to say? Tell us.”

Jin Bao had seen another vision before.

The scene showed the world from her previous life.

Its environment resembled the present Northern Frontier.

She saw many people growing potatoes, and their yields were extremely high.

Therefore, she wanted to suggest that Daddy plant potatoes here.