Chapter 339: Plant Hybridization

Baifeng was lost in thought, and Xuanyuan also became silent; neither spoke first. The Soldiers of Huaxia likely guessed the reason, while the people of the Xuanyuan Tribe were very confused, not knowing why a handful of Wild Rice had rendered the two of them silent.

In the end, Xuanyuan could not help but speak first: "Baifeng, you should know what is going on here. Could you explain it to me? Of course, you may also propose corresponding conditions; as long as it is something I can do, I will do my utmost to satisfy you."

After pondering for a moment, Baifeng twisted the Wild Rice in his hand and said: "I can tell you the reason, but I do indeed have conditions. I need full-plant specimens of all the plants in your tribe, including roots, stems, leaves, flowers, and seeds. If you cannot obtain them fresh all at once, complete dried ones will also do."

I will not hide it from you: my youngest son is doing the same thing as Shennong, though there is still some difference between what he does and what Shennong did. Shennong used his own body to select all edible plants for the human race, while my son wants to name every single plant and research its uses, so that even if it cannot be eaten, it might have other functions.

I think you should be unable to refuse this matter, because he has already figured out all the plants within the territory of our Kingdom; we are already using the ones that can be used. If we discover a plant in your tribe's territory that is useful, and has great use, we will certainly need to trade with your tribe to obtain it, which is also a good thing for you, don't you think?"

Hearing Baifeng's words, Xuanyuan was so shocked he could hardly close his mouth. He knew Baifeng's youngest son; although he was not too young in this era, he had actually accomplished such a great thing. While his current contribution did not exceed Shennong's, the future was hard to say.

Xuanyuan also understood the benefits of this matter for his own tribe immediately. He would of course agree, but the details still had to be made clear.

"Of course there is no problem. I naturally have no reason to refuse such a thing that is beneficial to our tribe. However, the variety of plants in our territory is so vast that I cannot even count them. If you were to exchange so many things based on just this one question, wouldn't that be inappropriate? I believe the answer to this one question can only be exchanged for a certain quantity of plants."

Baifeng did not deny it, nodded, and said: "That is certainly true. How about this: if you have any questions, as long as they do not touch upon overly secret matters, I can answer them for you. Your price will be plant specimens, and they must meet my requirements. Furthermore, if the plants you provide are ones we already have, then those will not count. How does that sound?"

Xuanyuan retorted: "How can I be sure that you have that kind of plant? If you just say so casually, wouldn't we be at a loss?"

Baifeng smiled and said: "Your head shouldn't be able to ask such a question. If we have them, then we can just bring over more of the same plants than the specimens you provided, can't we?"

Xuanyuan was rendered speechless by the retort and could only offer an awkward laugh, then continued to ask: "Alright then, how should this quantity be calculated? How much is one question worth?"

Baifeng pressed his hand on the stone table, thought for a moment, and said: "Based on your personality, the questions you ask will certainly be ones that are of great benefit to you, just like this Wild Rice. After I explain it to you, your future Rice yields will certainly increase significantly. Moreover, with your ability, you will surely apply the same method to other plants. When that time comes, your agricultural level will surely develop as if it were flying. You won't lack food; you could achieve that in a dozen years or so."

"However, the probability of picking one useful plant out of countless plants is truly too small. You are a descendant of the Shennong Clan, so you naturally know this better than I do. The Shennong Clan tasted all the Grass under Heaven before finding those few plants that humans could eat. We still have to pick from what was left over, so the chances are naturally even smaller."

"Therefore, I think, how about five hundred plants for one question?"

After hearing this, Xuanyuan immediately shook his head: "Five hundred is too many. Just finding five hundred different plants would consume an unknown amount of our energy. Not to mention, it is not even certain that we have five hundred. If you ask me, let's say one hundred."

There were fifty thousand types of plants in this world, but Baifeng estimated that there were at most ten thousand in the Xuanyuan Tribe's territory. Therefore, the five hundred plants was just Baifeng asking high, giving Xuanyuan room to negotiate.

However, one hundred was still too few. Just as Baifeng said, there were many plants, but the number humans could actually use was truly too small. The probability that not a single one of those one hundred would be useful was also very high, so Baifeng did not accept Xuanyuan's proposal.

Trade is just like this: going back and forth to negotiate a price. In the end, the quantity was set at two hundred and fifty. Baifeng was not very satisfied with this number, as it had a special meaning after all, but Xuanyuan did not have that thought.

The concept of the decimal system was something Baifeng had instilled in other tribes during trade. Other tribes accepted the decimal system in order to obtain food from the Baifeng Tribe. For such a round number, Xuanyuan even felt it was quite appropriate.

After confirming the quantity, Baifeng spoke to Xuanyuan about the Rice seeds. As for the two hundred and fifty plants, they were owed. Baifeng trusted Xuanyuan, because if he wanted more long-term benefits, he would certainly not break his word.

Baifeng picked up two different types of Rice seeds: "If I am not mistaken, the Rice your tribe grew in the past should have been only one type. It was only after you grew other Rice that all the types of Rice underwent changes you did not understand, right? And the foreign Rice should have come from Xiling, correct?"

Xuanyuan did not hesitate and nodded. Baifeng was very correct, which also proved that Baifeng indeed knew the reason and would tell him the truth.

Having received a positive answer, Baifeng continued: "Rice is the same as people. When tall ones breed with tall ones, the offspring are highly likely to be tall. When tall ones and short ones breed, the offspring could be short or could be tall. But the offspring born from two short ones are unlikely to be tall. Rice follows the same principle. Do you understand?"

Upon hearing this, Xuanyuan fell into a long period of thought. He had never paid attention to these things. Moreover, among the wild people, children were born without knowing who their fathers were, making it difficult to summarize patterns. He could only look for patterns from his elders, and from those high-ranking Leaders who had fixed women, looking for patterns from their offspring.

Slowly, Xuanyuan's eyes became clear, and Baifeng knew he had found the answer.

However, he dealt Xuanyuan a blow: "Don't think too much about this Rice business. It cannot be interfered with by humans; its changes are very random. It might not change for decades, or it might suddenly change in a year. Anyway, we haven't succeeded yet."