Chapter 157: Sky Screen Live Streaming System (32)

The candles in the Imperial Study burned for the entire night.

The core members of the imperial court discussed and formulated a plan overnight: divide the forces into two groups, one responsible for searching for high-yield food crops like sweet potatoes, potatoes, and corn; the other group to research increasing the yields of rice and wheat.

Just at this moment, the Imperial Guard who had been watching the Sky Screen outside to take notes trotted in to report:

"Your Majesty, there is a heartfelt wish from a hunter in a village in Lingnan, saying that they once dug up a type of coarse grain called 'sweet potato' in the mountain behind their home, which is similar to the sweet potato from the Heavenly Palace..."

"Clatter!"

Xiao Yanze overturned his inkstone as he stood up abruptly.

Ink splashed onto the cuffs of his dragon robe, but he paid it no mind, striding out of the Imperial Study and looking up at the Sky Screen.

The comment section was currently filled with talk about the sweet potato mentioned by the hunter:

【Lingnan? That place is incredibly poor, is there really such a divine crop as the one in the Heavenly Palace?】

【Which village in Lingnan are you from? My wife's niece's husband visited Lingnan when he was a merchant; if there really is that kind of high-yield sweet potato from the Heavenly Palace, I must find a way to contact him and entrust him to bring me a few.】

Unfortunately, the hunter was illiterate and only blurted out his heartfelt wish out of shock when Nuo Nuo Ba mentioned the yield of sweet potatoes.

After discussing it with his two sons, he decided to head up the mountain in the dark to look for the sweet potatoes they had dug up last year.

If this sweet potato was truly the same thing as the sweet potato from the Heavenly Palace, would there be any fear of going hungry in the future?

This heartfelt wish revealed by the hunter caused a stir within Daliang.

Food is the first necessity of the people.

Although the passenger planes flying in the sky and the high-speed trains and cars running on the ground were equally fascinating, they were merely fascinating; but once it involved food related to the people's livelihood and hunger, who could sit still!

【The village chief just sent someone to notify us to have every household provide one laborer to go up the mountain tomorrow morning.】

What to do up the mountain? Naturally, it was to look for crops similar to sweet potatoes and potatoes!

【Our village also said there will be a meeting tomorrow, most likely for this same matter.】

【I really envy you all who live near mountains or the sea. We live neither near mountains nor the sea, and all the wasteland that could be planted has been opened up for rice. Unfortunately, the harvests have been bad these past few years, and many rice grains are empty and shriveled. We already know we won't last until next autumn's harvest before we've even gathered it, sigh...】

【If only the Little Marquis's aunt could say something about methods to increase yields.】

No sooner had the words been spoken than they heard Xie Yang, who was eating grilled fish, quickly bring up a topic that made the subjects of Daliang prick up their ears in unison:

"This is Rice Flower Fish, right? It's so tender and fragrant when grilled!"

"Hey! It seems you are an expert on fish! This is indeed Rice Flower Fish."

The one who answered her was the manager in charge of the farm's barbecue area.

Today was the eleventh, and there were simply too many tourists; the farm had temporarily hired many extra hands, but they were still struggling to keep up.

Even the manager had come out personally, bringing a pitcher of Freshly Squeezed Corn Juice to Xie Yang's table.

Hearing her mention the Rice Flower Fish, he took the opportunity to promote the farm's Rice Flower Fish:

"Fish fry from the reservoir, ecological rice paddies. The fry are released before transplanting, and the fish are harvested when the water is drained before the autumn harvest. Don't look at how they've only been raised for four or five months; it's precisely this size that makes them taste fresh and tender. They are guaranteed to make your tongue fall off with freshness when made into soup, and they are also delicious grilled—grilled until crispy and crunchy, even the bones can be chewed and eaten."

Xie Yang followed up on this topic and asked: "Are there any drawbacks to Fish-Rice Symbiosis? Why don't rice paddies raise fish much anymore?"

"Bah! What drawbacks could there be! On the contrary, it's a win-win situation. The fish eat the rice flowers, saving on feed costs; the excrement they discharge fertilizes the rice paddies, saving on fertilizer costs. If this isn't a win-win, what is?"

"Then why haven't we seen much Rice Flower Fish for sale these years?" Nuo Nuo Ma also asked curiously, "According to what you say, Rice Flower Fish should be very easy to sell. Ecological farming and good taste—it should have more of a market than ordinary farmed fish."

She went to the vegetable market to buy groceries almost every day and frequented the freshwater aquatic stalls the most; if there were Rice Flower Fish, it would be impossible for her not to have heard of it.

"That's because the large-scale planters nowadays, in order to make money and save trouble, spray a lot of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and ripening agents on the rice. How could the fish survive?" The manager shook his head and complained, "Just the other day, I heard a friend say that the large-scale grain growers in their hometown don't even eat the rice they sell. You think about that!"

"..."

At this time, guests at other tables wanted to order drinks, and the manager hurried over to attend to them.

Xie Yang handed the freshly grilled Rice Flower Fish to her nephew: "Eat slowly, watch out for bones. Does Jinbao still want to eat?"

Xiao Jinbao was gnawing on a Cumin Lamb Skewer, her little mouth oily, and nodded upon hearing this: "Jinbao still wants to eat fishy."

"Alright. Aunt will pick out some more fish meat for you."

While picking out bones for her niece, Xie Yang continued the topic of Rice Flower Fish:

"I heard from the older generation that in the seventies and eighties, when supplies were scarce, Rice Flower Fish was truly popular for a period of time. At that time, very little chemical fertilizer was used in farming; it was all farm manure, so the rice paddies were suitable for raising fish."

Nuo Nuo Ba nodded in agreement: "My grandfather's generation raised Rice Flower Fish. They raised not only Crucian Carp, but also Carp, Rice Field Eel, and Loach. Rice paddies that raise fish can increase their harvest by about 10%. Not to mention the income from the fish, so when the Rice Flower Fish matures, it often means a bumper harvest for the rice paddies."

All of Great Liang: "!!!"

"Your Majesty!!!"

The core members of the imperial court were truly excited now.

No matter how high the yields of sweet potatoes, potatoes, and corn were, they were ultimately far away, and no one was certain if they could be found and promoted for planting within Daliang.

But Rice Flower Fish was different!

Which farmer facing the yellow earth and backing the sky hadn't grown rice?

And who hadn't seen fish in lakes, rivers, and streams?

As long as these two things were combined, it could increase rice yields, and one could also harvest Rice Flower Fish that were plump without even needing to be fed. Why not do it?

"Your Majesty, if you are worried, permit your subject to hire a few old hands at farming to conduct trials at the Farm outside the city before promoting it."

"Agreed."

Xiao Yanze nodded, but he did not let the Minister of Revenue hire people or find a farm; he directly ordered the trials to be conducted at the Imperial Villa.

After the harvest results come out next year, he would decide whether or not to promote it on a large scale.

But although the imperial court did not promote it immediately, there was no lack of quick-witted officials among the local authorities.

The first to be moved was the County Magistrate of Yongan County, who was devoted to the people.

Yongan County was located in the central plains of Great Liang, neither near mountains nor the sea.

But there were lakes and fields; there were fish in the lakes and rice in the fields.

If Fish-Rice Symbiosis could truly increase rice yields, it would be an effortless task for Yongan County... oh, at most, it would cost a bit of labor.

And labor was precisely the least valuable thing.

However, it is too late for this year; winter arrives quickly after the autumn harvest, and while the Fish might survive, the rice might not endure the cold winter, so it is better to wait until the spring plowing to implement this, though the Fish fry can be protected starting now.

Consequently, at the city gates of Yongan County, a notice issued by the county government was posted the following day: all lakes and rivers within the territory of Yongan are henceforth strictly prohibited from private fishing, and violators will be severely punished.