Chapter 221: Great Snow Arrives

Another reward is not far from what the king had in mind;

【Congratulations, my lord, you have drawn an A‑grade low‑quality reward: Farmland Base ×1, already placed in the warehouse, please check.】

Indeed!

But hey, why is it one level lower than a vegetable garden? A top‑top‑grade grand prize has to be paired with a low‑quality one, right?

"This Farmland Base should be for growing grain, right?"

【Farmland Base;】

Producer: Vast Wave Realm

Function: With the Farmland Base, there will be no poor‑yield grain! Optimize seed genes, taste buff +200%.

Additional function: Gift this realm's rare grain seeds – 5 types (already stored in the warehouse).

Usage area: fifty mu.

Usage rights: permanent.】

The king nodded, "I know why it's low‑grade – for growing grain, what can fifty mu do?"

The buff hasn't been reduced, the seeds were given too; I guess it's just that the size isn't enough, so it ended up low‑grade.

Bai Ze said, "Enough for you to eat; if you can't finish it, you can sell it as quality seed."

The king laughed, "Hahaha, no wonder it's you, no wonder I love you most! You thought just like me!"

Bai Ze said, "Thank you. I'm just speaking for you, thinking with your brain's circuits."

The king: ……

This can be placed on the map right away; the king first thought of his own little patch of wasteland.

Once this Farmland Base is put down, no matter how many people pass by later, they won't have the right to mock the king's farming skills – his reputation could flip in a year, right? The more the king thought about it, the better it seemed.

He found on the map the plot behind the prince's mansion; his surroundings were also military households' farmland, and the king planned to requisition it. Later he would give each person some silver as compensation, letting them open another plot elsewhere – those fifty mu would then be his.

Now the fields of Youzhou are empty; whatever was planted has already been harvested.

The king immediately placed the Farmland Base; this time he felt nothing unusual even though he wasn't on site.

With this, the king's enthusiasm for farming grew; he really wished spring would come tomorrow.

Unfortunately, spring is still far off; they first welcomed a heavy winter snow.

In the middle of the night, Youzhou was drifted with goose‑feather‑like heavy snow; the king got up on time for court and found the sky already bright.

This guy was startled, thinking he had overslept again.

"Why didn't Zhao Bao wake me? It feels like it's already noon."

Bai Ze got up, stretched, and said, "It's snowing."

Upon hearing that, the king jumped out of bed gleefully, "Auspicious snow promises a good harvest – looks like there won't be a major drought next year!"

When he ran to the window and looked outside through the glass, he was dumbfounded.

From his sleeping hall he could see the small square of Suiyu Hall; now the snow covered one‑quarter of its steps, looking as if the lowest part was buried under six or seven layers of steps.

"Such heavy snow!"

After the shock, he immediately thought of the city's dwellings – if Suiyu Hall's steps are buried this deep, won't the houses of Youzhou, with their poor quality, be crushed?!

The king's face grew solemn, and Bai Ze guessed what he was thinking.

It deliberately said lightly, "Your Highness Prince You, you'd better not go out today – if you fall into a snowdrift, you probably won't be found."

The king: ……

"You're implying I'm short, don't think I didn't get it!"

Bai Ze: "…You're wrong, it's said outright to your face, where's the implication?"

The king: ……

"Hmph…… Bai Ze, what should we do? Our prince's mansion will surely be fine, but what about the shabby houses inside Youzhou City and the surrounding villages – won't this thick snow crush them?"

Seeing him a little panicked, Bai Ze spoke up to comfort him: "Actually you slept too soundly; yesterday there was wind, so some places might be thicker. The roofs probably aren't that thick, of course, though some spots are still dangerous. Now is the time for the troops you keep to be useful – send them out to help the people shovel snow and relieve the victims."

For the first time, the king felt glad he had spent money on all those Black Wind Horses – ordinary horses' height makes running in such deep snow extremely exhausting.

The king then suddenly recalled the Leke Horse he had bought for his maternal grandfather – that horse excels at jumping, surely suited for this weather, too bad he has no money to spend on blind‑box pulls.

He first summoned Zhu Ti, saying he wanted to send some soldiers from the camp out, needing to immediately gather dry rations and cold‑proof tents for them to take.

The tents are in the army's supply depot, and the dry rations are under Zhu Ti's charge.

Zhu Ti immediately replied, "No problem – let those who go out pick up the military rations packs at East Splendid Gate before setting out; we have specially prepared dry rations packs, which we've had stored for a few days without expecting to use them now."

The king is now not short of grain – he's sunk his main wealth into food, because he sees the corrupt ways of the Great Jin and thus keeps a huge sense of crisis, always stockpiling.

The cavalry going out to scout our expressways should be able to return the same day. To be safe, bring two days' worth.

Zhu Ti went to gather personnel for preparations, and the king also set out for the East Main Camp.

Zhao Bao grabbed the king at the gate, who was wearing only a single robe: "Ancestors! My lord! What weather is it out there, and you're still in just a single garment?!"

Actually, it's not cold on snowy days……

Unfortunately, even though the king said he wasn't cold, nobody believed him – he ended up wrapped into a fluffy ball, and only then did Zhao Bao let go.

A wind‑lined cotton robe, with a fox‑fur cloak over it, and the slimmed‑down king immediately regained his former bearing.

Rounded out, he now looks shorter……

Weini and Zhetian stared at him curiously, wondering how he suddenly got fat.

The king gave up, knowing the follower‑bug‑bear would definitely tag along, so he shouted outright: "Come on, Weini, we're heading out! Stick close to me, okay? Zhao Bao dressed me like this – if I end up rolling away later, you'd better grab me, you hear?"

Zhao Bao: ……