Chapter 134
Chapter 134
“Daddy, Uncle, Second Brother, can Baby suggest growing potatoes? Baby can select lots of seed, enough for everyone to plant.”
The moment Jin Bao spoke, everyone froze.
Potatoes were no longer unfamiliar in the valley.
Nearly everyone had tasted them. Their texture was soft and starchy, they were very filling, and they tasted much better than buckwheat. Most importantly, their yield was high. Although there were no precise figures yet, Xiao Che knew they produced at least one thousand jin per mu.
Xiao Che turned to the others for their opinions.
“What does everyone think? If you are all willing to grow potatoes, I’ll have people move them out of the cellar today.”
Everyone looked at one another, then answered in unison, “We trust the Young Miss.”
Thus, the main crop for the year was settled.
They would still reserve some land for millet, broomcorn millet, and buckwheat. A change in flavor would be welcome.
Moreover, broomcorn millet could be used to brew alcohol.
Since arriving in the Northern Frontier, no one had tasted wine, but how could festivals and sacrificial ceremonies go without it?
Although they had determined the main crop, no one knew how to grow it. Aside from the tens of thousands of jin of potatoes Jin Bao had produced, no one had ever seen how potatoes were planted.
Everyone looked at Jin Bao and her father.
“Valley Master, none of us knows how to grow potatoes. We’ll need the Young Miss to guide us.”
Jin Bao could finally help openly and would never miss the opportunity. Before Xiao Che could speak, she patted her little chest and solemnly promised, “Uncle, don’t worry. Leave it to Baby. Baby will select the very best seed for everyone.”
No one took Jin Bao’s promise lightly. In everyone’s hearts, they would not have what they had today without her.
After the meeting ended, Xiao Che immediately sent people to move potatoes out of the cellar.
Jin Bao had warned him that potatoes sprouted easily and that potatoes which sprouted and turned green were poisonous and could not be eaten.
The valley was warm as spring, so stored potatoes spoiled easily.
Following Jin Bao’s advice, Xiao Che had ordered a cellar dug specifically for them. By keeping it cool, dry, and well ventilated while removing any rotten potatoes, they could preserve them for a long time.
Aside from Jin Bao, no one here knew how to plant potatoes, so everyone circled her curiously.
Jin Bao asked Second Brother to find several skilled farmers so she could first teach them how to induce sprouting.
Xiao Jingmo worked exceptionally efficiently and soon gathered around a hundred people.
In truth, eighty percent of them came from farming backgrounds. Their families had worked the land for generations, and all of them knew how to farm. Each simply had different skills. As long as the weather was favorable and the soil fertile, every one of them could grow food.
But they could not all come to learn, nor was there room for so many people to stand.
The hundred or so people Xiao Jingmo selected were older in appearance and more experienced.
They gathered around Jin Bao and watched the potato in her hand. It was not especially large, only about the size of an adult’s fist.
“Uncles, look at the potato in Baby’s hand. There are little eyes on it. These are called buds. Before planting, we have to make them sprout, then cut the potato into pieces. Each piece needs two buds. After that, coat it in wood ash and put it into prepared soil.
“This is only the first step Baby is explaining. When it’s time to plant, Baby will tell everyone what else to watch for. There is still lots of planting knowledge you don’t know, and Baby will explain it in the fields. For now, Baby will teach you how to make them sprout.”
Following the process shown in her vision, Jin Bao explained every detail of inducing sprouts.
Only after everyone understood did they move all the potatoes out of the cellar.
The temperature outside was more suitable for sprouting.
Jin Bao could have used her power to help them sprout.
But she remembered Daddy’s words. When she was no longer in the valley, everyone’s lives would have to continue, and she would not be there to help.
In Second Brother’s words, this was called giving a person a fish versus teaching them how to fish.
However, Jin Bao discovered that the potatoes in storage were nowhere near enough for seed.
She did not know how to calculate it, but someone else did.
After returning home, Jin Bao ran straight to Xiao Jingmo.
“Second Brother, if one mu needs more than three hundred jin of seed potatoes, how many jin do we need for all our land?”
Xiao Jingmo’s expression changed immediately. He was excellent at arithmetic.
Without using a brush, he could estimate the required seed in his head.
They were far short – far, far short.
“We don’t have enough seed. We’re short by a great deal.”
Xiao Jingmo anxiously paced back and forth across the room.
Jin Bao raised her little face and tugged on his clothes with one small hand.
“Second Brother, stop walking. You’re making Baby dizzy going around and around. Hurry and tell Baby.”
Only then did Xiao Jingmo stop.
“Based on the amount you gave me, we need at least 1.2 million jin of seed potatoes. The entire storehouse currently holds less than one hundred thousand jin.”
Jin Bao blinked. So they needed that many.
“How many potatoes is 1.2 million jin? How much more is that than we have now?”
“Twelve times more.”
Jin Bao nodded her little head.
Without saying anything, she turned and ran away.
Xiao Jingmo began considering other plans. Perhaps they could plant only part of the land this season, then continue after selecting seed from the next harvest. Given the yield per mu, they should have enough by the following season.
He drew up a plan in his study.
He had no idea that Jin Bao had already run to the storehouse, asked Ye Qi to summon workers, and moved all the potatoes into the fields.
She told the farmers to place each potato in a hole.
Everyone was currently busy preparing the fields.
The previously plowed soil still had to be leveled carefully with rakes.
They could help with that now.
Everyone was puzzled. Weren’t the potatoes supposed to sprout first? Were they already ready to plant?
But no one stepped forward to ask. They would do whatever the Young Miss instructed.
Once everyone had placed the potatoes in the soil according to Jin Bao’s directions, they saw her close her eyes and stand motionless in the sunlight.
As time passed, a miraculous scene unfolded.
Tender shoots emerged one after another from the soil. Then, visibly, they grew taller, denser, and lusher. Flowers appeared, the blossoms fell, and the leaves gradually turned yellow.
This was Jin Bao’s first attempt to use her Mental Power to accelerate the crops across two hundred mu of land simultaneously.
She slowly opened her eyes and found the people kneeling all along the edge of the fields.
This was the first time they had witnessed Jin Bao perform a miracle. No one spoke; only devout reverence filled their eyes as they bowed.
The air was so quiet that only a gentle breeze passing through the valley could be heard.
Jin Bao’s lips curved slightly, her face filled with happiness. At last, she murmured, “Baby finally made enough seed. All the uncles will have seed and won’t go hungry.”
Then her small body toppled straight backward.
Fortunately, Ye Qi had remained beside her. He quickly caught Jin Bao, lifted her into his arms, and hurried back anxiously.
The people no longer cared what had happened to the potatoes in the fields. They all followed Ye Qi of their own accord.
When the Xiao Family heard Jin Bao had fainted and fallen into a deep sleep again, they all rushed over.
Lu Shuangshuang hurriedly checked Jin Bao’s pulse. Finding her condition the same as before, she concluded that Jin Bao was merely exhausted and asleep.
Xiao Che loved his daughter dearly and refused to leave her side. But when he heard that the people filled the ground outside the Xiao Family’s gate on their knees, he remembered that worship could help Jin Bao wake sooner.
He strode out of the courtyard and reached the gate, where he saw countless worried eyes.
“Valley Master, how is the Young Miss?”
“Valley Master, the Young Miss used her divine power to obtain seed for us. We are the ones who caused her suffering.”
Xiao Jingmo raised a hand.
“Everyone, be quiet and listen to me. I know a way to help the Young Miss wake sooner. Follow me to the shrine and worship devoutly.”
No one objected. Every person ran toward the shrine.
When the entire valley heard Jin Bao had fallen unconscious, everyone stopped working. There was not enough room to kneel outside the shrine, so people knelt before their own homes, facing the shrine as they worshipped.
For a full two hours, not one person rose. They knelt, bowed, and prayed for her.
Finally, just as dusk was about to fall, Jin Bao woke.