Ch 97: The Malevolent Monster Just Wants To Farm

Even more outrageous was his own son!

Although living outside the palace, as the prince and heir to the Shang dynasty, the best things from the palace were constantly sent to Zi Shou. But he didn’t care for fine clothes, gourmet food, or precious treasures. Since he learned to walk, he spent every day following the Dragon Prince, squatting in the courtyard to plant things!

Emperor Yi had once considered bringing Zi Shou back to the palace early, but a king’s word is as good as gold, and he didn’t want to go back on his promise. Moreover, when he thought about it, there have been many emperors throughout history with peculiar hobbies; liking to farm seemed like a very down-to-earth and normal hobby by comparison.

It seemed, perhaps, there was nothing wrong with it?

—Aside from the fact that every time he visited his son, the boy was covered in mud.

The queen, a gentle and kind-hearted woman, felt a twinge of pity when she saw her son like this but never blamed Jiang Lin in her heart.

“A Shou,” she called softly to her son.

Zi Shou stood up and patted the mud off his hands.

Now three years old, he was no longer the little boy who, upon realizing that Jiang Lin was not his father but Emperor Yi was, had clung to Jiang Lin’s clothes, crying until he was out of breath, demanding to switch fathers.

“Mother,” Zi Shou greeted the queen in a childish voice.

Although Jiang Lin didn’t directly oversee him, the palace attendants taught him proper manners and etiquette as the heir to the throne.

The queen took out a handkerchief to wipe his cheeks and hands, but Zi Shou dodged away.

“Later, later! Father, Mother, I have something good to show you!” Zi Shou hurriedly paid his respects to Emperor Yi and the queen, then eagerly picked up his small bronze trowel and returned to digging where he had been before.

This patch of land was lush with green, vibrant plants of an unknown variety growing healthily.

“Dragon Prince, what is A Shou doing?” Emperor Yi asked, looking at Jiang Lin, who stood nearby.

By now, Emperor Yi had completely lost any previous admiration he had for Jiang Lin.

If every time you saw a beautiful person, they were rolling up their sleeves and pants to play in the mud, you’d lose all your admiration too.

So at this moment, seeing Jiang Lin dressed in commoner’s clothes, sleeves rolled up, squatting in another patch of the garden in a very unrefined manner, Emperor Yi remained utterly calm.

Jiang Lin smiled mysteriously. “This is A Shou’s third birthday gift to Your Majesty.”

“Oh?” Emperor Yi’s interest was piqued.

He had a hunch about what it might be and couldn’t help but look at his son with anticipation.

The thing was deeply rooted in the soil and difficult to dig out. Even with the sharp bronze trowel, Zi Shou was sweating by the time he finally unearthed it.

At last, he managed to dig it out.

Holding the treasure still covered in moist soil, A Shou happily showed it to Emperor Yi. “Father! This is what I grew…”

He hesitated for a moment before proudly declaring, “Sweet potato!”

His face was smudged with dirt, mixed with sweat, making him look like a little mud monkey. Yet his eyes sparkled with innocence and joy, a smile so infectious that Emperor Yi couldn’t help but smile back.

“Oh? A sweet potato, you say? What is this, and what is it used for?” Emperor Yi asked, carefully taking the object from his son’s small hands.

It was about the size of a palm, oblong in shape, with a reddish-brown skin, and felt heavy in his hand.

A Shou couldn’t help but glance back at Jiang Lin.

Jiang Lin gave him an encouraging smile.

A Shou turned back, speaking with great seriousness, “It can be eaten! The tuber fills your stomach, and the leaves can be used as vegetables!”

Fill the stomach?

Emperor Yi was taken aback, looking at the rather unappealing red fruit in his hand. He asked uncertainly, “Can this truly be filling?”

Zi Shou wasn’t too sure either and replied, “I haven’t tasted it myself…”

At this, Jiang Lin chuckled and said, “Whether it can satisfy hunger, Your Majesty will know after trying it at the meal later.”

Emperor Yi glanced at the sky and then patted his son’s little head. “Very well.”

Aside from this small patch of earth that Jiang Lin had personally taught Zi Shou to cultivate, he had also planted sweet potatoes in two other sections of the garden. However, it was Zi Shou who had the honor of digging up the first sweet potato.

Sweet potatoes are easy to prepare, so Jiang Lin had Zong Yu start a fire and quickly prepared a simple sweet potato feast. There was a plate of raw slices, a plate of steamed sweet potatoes, and a few more were simply thrown into the fire to roast. Huaiyin washed the sweet potato leaves, then stir-fried them lightly with some pork fat sent from the palace, creating a delicious side dish.

This novel way of cooking intrigued Emperor Yi since at this time, the technique of “stir-frying” hadn’t yet been invented.

Jiang Lin assured him, “Your Majesty need not worry; all of these are safe to eat and non-toxic.”

Emperor Yi trusted him and didn’t wait for the palace attendants to serve him. He used chopsticks to pick up a piece of raw sweet potato. Upon tasting it, he found it crisp, sweet, and full of moisture.

Emperor Yi’s eyes lit up. “This is quite delicious!”

He signaled for the queen to try some as well.

The queen tasted a piece and nodded in agreement. “The flavor is indeed good.”

The steamed sweet potato was left whole, so Emperor Yi took one and easily broke it apart, revealing the golden flesh inside. A rich, sweet fragrance wafted out.

He handed half to the queen and took a bite. The sweet, crisp flesh had softened after being cooked and was even sweeter than when eaten raw.

“This is truly delicious.” Before he knew it, he had eaten half the sweet potato. Rubbing his belly, Emperor Yi felt very satisfied. “This food is both tasty and filling; it’s truly wonderful!”

Moreover, “sweetness” was a particularly rare flavor at this time. Only the upper class could enjoy the taste of honey.

Yet sweet potatoes, whether eaten raw or cooked, offered a rich sweetness. This was truly a valuable discovery!

Zi Shou was eating as well, but because of his young age and the risk of choking, the palace attendants were feeding him spoonfuls of mashed sweet potato.

The usually reserved queen, after finishing her half, couldn’t help but comment, “These cooked sweet potatoes are incredibly delicious.”

Emperor Yi responded, “I think they taste better raw.”

The queen countered, “They’re softer and sweeter after being cooked.”

Emperor Yi insisted, “Raw, they’re crisp and juicy.”

As the royal couple began to debate the best way to enjoy sweet potatoes, Jiang Lin hadn’t anticipated this turn of events.

Just then, Yin He entered, carrying a large tray of roasted sweet potatoes with an impassive expression.

Since Huaiyin wasn’t comfortable appearing before Emperor Yi and the queen, whenever they visited, the task of serving usually fell to Yin He.

Seeing Yin He, Emperor Yi instinctively glanced at his son. Upon seeing Zi Shou obediently eating his food, he felt reassured.

Indeed, sending A Shou to the Dragon Prince was the right decision. Having grown up accustomed to the beauty of the Dragon Prince and this Mr. Yin, what fear would there be of the allure of any other beauties?

This thought crossed his mind for only a moment before his attention shifted to the tray of roasted sweet potatoes.

Without any professional tools, and with Jiang Lin not particularly concerned about appearances, he had simply tossed the raw sweet potatoes into the fire. The result…wasn’t exactly visually appealing.

The outer skin had turned charred black, and the sweet potatoes looked like lumps of coal.

Emperor Yi frowned instantly. “Is this also a sweet potato? Why is it burned like this?”

The queen added with disdain, “This is far too dirty. Why didn’t the servants clean it before serving?”

Jiang Lin remained unfazed by their comments. Unbothered by the overdone appearance, he picked up one of the roasted sweet potatoes and, with a slight force, broke it open…

The rich and overpowering sweet aroma, mixed with a hint of char, filled the air.

Emperor Yi, who had been about to continue his criticism, immediately closed his mouth, changing his tone, “This sweet potato, when roasted, smells this good?”

The roasted sweet potato’s flesh had turned a deeper red, and with the rising steam, it looked even more enticing.

Without needing Jiang Lin to say anything further, both the emperor and the empress each tried one and unanimously agreed: Compared to eating it raw or steamed, roasting it resulted in the best flavor.

—It’s just that eating it this way isn’t particularly elegant and not suitable for eating in front of others.

“Dragon Lord, your great kindness is beyond measure. Zi Xian is deeply grateful,” Emperor Yi said to Jiang Lin.

He was well aware that his son was still very young—barely able to recognize a few types of herbs—so how could he have discovered and cultivated a previously unknown, edible crop? It was evident that Jiang Lin had taught him.

However, at that moment, Emperor Yi hadn’t yet realized Jiang Lin’s true intentions.

Jiang Lin waited for a long time, but when Emperor Yi didn’t ask him about it and was about to leave with Empress and Zi Shou to return to the palace, he finally couldn’t help but ask, “Is Your Majesty not curious about how this plant is cultivated and what its yield might be?”

Emperor Yi replied, “Such a delicious thing must be delicate and scarce. I plan to send my agricultural ministers to inquire in detail after returning to the palace.”

But Jiang Lin shook his head.

He pointed to the small plot where Zi Shou had dug up the sweet potatoes. Jiang Lin had specifically set aside this plot for Zi Shou to play with, given his interest in farming. It was no more than two meters wide and was now covered in sweet potato vines.

“How many sweet potatoes does Your Majesty think can be harvested from here?” Jiang Lin asked.

Emperor Yi pondered for a moment and gave a cautious number, “Five?”

Jiang Lin smiled and shook his head.

Emperor Yi frowned and asked, “Three?”

Jiang Lin shook his head again.

Emperor Yi’s frown deepened. “Surely, a single vine doesn’t produce just one sweet potato?”

Jiang Lin decided to stop teasing and answered, “Sweet potatoes mature once a year. From this small plot, you can harvest three jīn annually.”

A jīn was approximately 30 pounds, meaning that this plot could yield about 90 pounds of sweet potatoes in a year.

Although farming techniques were very primitive at this time and crop yields were extremely low, the seeds Jiang Lin had used were of excellent quality, and the nourishing environment of the Jade Space had boosted the yield significantly.

This output would be considered meager in later eras—in fact, Jiang Lin felt it was almost embarrassing to mention—but for the Shang dynasty, it was enough to cause a capable and ambitious emperor to lose his composure.

Emperor Yi was dumbstruck. “Three jīn!”

He turned back to look at the small plot and then confirmed with Jiang Lin, “From this little piece of land?”

Jiang Lin nodded.

Emperor Yi felt a wave of dizziness.

What was the current level of agriculture in Shang?

For one of the primary crops, rice, it took five or six people working together to farm 30 mu of land, and in a particularly good year, the yield per mu would only be about two jīn.

But how big was Zi Shou’s plot?

And yet, it produced a hundred times that yield!

Emperor Yi, dazed, muttered, “Could this be the food of the gods?”

Jiang Lin shook his head. “The gods do not eat grains and cereals, nor do they have food like this. This is something A Shou discovered, which can be used to benefit the people of Shang.”

He emphasized the words “A Shou discovered.”

Emperor Yi suddenly realized the implication, his face flushing as he looked at Jiang Lin, then abruptly stood up and pulled Zi Shou along.

“A Shou, bow to the Dragon Lord. Today, you owe him a great debt.”

Zi Shou, still a bit confused, obediently gave Jiang Lin a deep bow, “A Shou thanks the teacher.”

This was a matter of great importance, enough to unsettle Emperor Yi. After obtaining Jiang Lin’s permission, he personally took the tools and turned over the small plot of land that A Shou had planted. Seeing the sweet potatoes buried in the soil, he was almost too excited to speak.

He ordered his most trusted palace attendants to quietly transport these sweet potatoes back to the palace, then took his leave of Jiang Lin with Zi Shou, saying:

“Tonight, there will be a grand banquet in the palace to celebrate A Shou’s birthday. I hope the Dragon Lord will attend.”

Jiang Lin nodded. “I will be there.”