I Just Won't Play By The Book
chapter-286

Not long after, Jiang Beiran took out a potato from the pot and broke it in half, handing it to the two girls.""Try it."

Puzzled, Muyao took the potato and took a bite.""Yes... It was soft and had a strange fragrance. It was not bad."

Having been by Jiang Beiran's side for a long time, Muyao had naturally eaten all kinds of delicacies. She didn't think that such a strange thing was worth Jiang Beiran cooking for her.

On the side, Deng Xianghan, who had tasted the potatoes, also said,"Although it's only half a piece, I already feel full. Your Majesty, may I ask what this is?"

"Not bad, that's the point." Jiang Beiran nodded." What you're eating is called potatoes. If it's simply planted, it'll be about 200 dan per mu."

'Two hundred…Stone? Deng Xianghan was shocked. She looked at the potato in her hand with an extremely surprised expression." This..."

Seeing Deng Xianghan's shocked expression, Muyao thought for a long time before showing the same look.

"If the common people grow this, won't they starve to death a lot less??"

In this Sheng Kingdom, where the coin-making system was extremely imperfect and inferior coins were rampant, the salaries of officials were often replaced by food. After all, in this big continent, food was the real hard currency. Copper coins and silk could not compare. It could be said that with food, there was no need to worry about not having a place to exchange for what they wanted.

In the imperial court, the highest ranking official's salary was two thousand dan, an amount that ordinary people could not even imagine.

In modern units, a stone was 120 catties, and two thousand stones were 240,000 catties. The yield of potatoes per mu could reach a terrifying 2000 to 4000 catties, which meant that less than 100 mu of land could produce the salary of a top official. This could be said to subvert the thinking of the common people.

One had to know that the yield of rice per mu was only two stones, but the yield of potatoes had increased by a hundred times.

It was ridiculous.

"Your Majesty…This... Did you find this?" Deng Xianghan asked with a trembling voice.

Some time ago, she had followed Jiang Beiran into the various villages and had seen too many people who had starved to death for various reasons. These people clearly had their own land, but they were all emaciated, making it seem as if they would collapse if a gust of wind blew.

These scenes greatly shocked Deng Xianghan, who had been living a luxurious life since she was young. She also remembered the matter of finding ways to feed more people.

Now that he saw the Emperor suddenly take out such a divine item, he was extremely excited.

"It doesn't matter how it came about. You just need to know that it will be planted in the fields of Sheng Country soon. Do you know what kind of change this will bring?"

"Forgive this servant for being ignorant and unable to imagine."Deng Xianghan shook her head and said.

" The productivity will be greatly increased. Many changes that were previously impossible can now be attempted."

"Your Majesty, do you have more ways to change the situation in the Sheng Kingdom?" Muyao asked."

After putting out the fire, Jiang Beiran put away the pot and said,""Of course, or rather, the change has just begun. Come to the table."

Walking to the table, Jiang Beiran laid out all the reform plans he had considered on the table for them to see.

Jiang Beiran naturally had his own reasons for letting the two girls watch.

He wanted Muyao to tell her father that such a drastic reform plan would require his support as a Xuanzong cultivator.

He had shown it to Deng Xianghan because after spending some time with her, Jiang Beiran realized that it wasn't tiring to be with Deng Xianghan. Although this girl had a lot of things on her mind, her way of doing things was very much in line with Jiang Beiran's wishes.

Moreover, the woman had triggered two new Unique Attribute Points in one go previously, allowing Jiang Beiran to see the immense potential in her. Therefore, Jiang Beiran did not want to push her to the opposite side if they could work together.

If he wanted to cooperate with Deng Xianghan, the prerequisite was to get her to tell him how much she knew about Liang Country and what kind of contact she had with Liang Country.

After all, mutual trust was the foundation of cooperation. Now that Jiang Beiran had shared such a confidential matter with her, based on Jiang Beiran's understanding of her, she would probably return the favor and find an opportunity to reveal everything about Liang.

But if she didn't say anything…In that case, Jiang Beiran could only admit that he had misjudged the situation and resorted to some methods that he did not want to employ.

After recovering from their shock, the two girls leaned over the table and began to carefully read through the various plans that Jiang Beiran had written down. After a while, the shock they felt when they saw the potatoes did not subside. Instead, their eyes widened.

The things written on these papers were far beyond their understanding and even completely subverted their worldview.

Of course, the two of them didn't have much of a worldview to begin with.

Just as the two of them were engrossed in their reading, there was a sudden knock on the door. Jiang Beiran said,""Enter."

Pushing open the door, Kong Qianqian, who was rubbing her butt, walked in and bowed,""Your Majesty, this servant has already received the punishment of fifty battles."

Jiang Beiran glanced at her and asked,""You must have smelled the fragrance."

"Ah..." Having been exposed, Kong Xian was at a loss for words. In the end, she could only reveal a silly smile."Your Majesty is wise."

After saying that, she looked at the burnt firewood on the ground and couldn't help but drool.

Compared to the imperial chefs, Kong Qianqian felt that the Emperor's food was thousands of times better than theirs. When she went to inspect the various villages, Kong Qianqian looked forward to seeing the Emperor suddenly in the mood to casually cook some dishes.

And the taste of those dishes…Kong Qianqian was practically drooling just thinking about it.

When she returned from receiving the punishment, Kong Qianqian had smelled the smoke in the air and knew that the Emperor was definitely giving her a special treatment.

Therefore, at the risk of another beating, Kong Qianqian still knocked on the door of the royal study.

After all, compared to the Emperor's cooking, what was a beating?

"Close the door!"

Hearing the Emperor's words, Kong Qianqian was overjoyed and quickly turned around to close the door.

"Come." Jiang Beiran waved at Kong Qianqian.

Kong Qianqian was so happy that her snot was about to pop out. She ran up to Jiang Beiran.

Just as Kong Qianqian was about to ask what delicious food they were having today, Jiang Beiran spoke up.

"Go clean up the firewood and wipe the floor clean."

In an instant, the smile froze on Kong Qianqian's face.

——————————————————————————