Chapter 179 What!

What! Xie Jin Yan was shocked and almost lost his footing.

A yield of two thousand *jin* per *mu*. What kind of concept was that?

For a moment, Xie Jin Yan even suspected he had misheard.

He was shocked, and his face couldn't hide his surprise.

Fortunately, he had seen his fair share of storms, and he quickly calmed down. He hurriedly asked the middle-aged man, "Uncle, are you… are you telling the truth?"

"Hey, young master, would I lie to you about something like this?"

"If you don't believe me, you can come to my house and take a look. I still have quite a few potatoes at home."

"We have them in our house too. Didn't we just harvest a batch a few days ago?"

"That's right, that's right, we have them in our houses too."

At that moment, the villagers all spoke up.

Xie Jin Yan's eyes, who had originally been disheartened at not being able to invite the descendant of the Farmer School, lit up instantly. He asked the middle-aged man with a smile, "Can I really go to your house and have a look now?"

"Of course, we have plenty at home. We can even give you some. That stuff is delicious, steamed or boiled." Speaking of potatoes, the middle-aged man seemed a little proud.

The dark-skinned and sturdy woman also laughed, "We harvested several hundred *jin* at our house not long ago."

"Then, can we go to your house and take a look? If possible, I'd also like to take a look in the fields." Xie Jin Yan suppressed the excitement in his heart and asked again.

The dark-skinned and sturdy woman immediately nodded and said with a smile, "Of course, we're just about to go to the fields anyway. If you don't mind getting your clothes dirty, we can go straight to the fields now."

Mind getting dirty? Compared to solving the food problem, what dirt could he mind?

Xie Jin Yan agreed without even thinking.

Afterward, he called Yu Qing Wu and returned to Peach Blossom Village, following the woman and her husband to the fields.

If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn't have been so shocked.

That crop called potatoes was indeed as the villagers said, both delicious and high-yielding.

So, Xie Jin Yan originally planned to postpone his trip to Yunzhou by a day. He did nothing all afternoon but listen to the couple introduce the potatoes.

The couple's surname was Li, and they were both locals from Peach Blossom Village. According to them, they originally didn't quite believe that potatoes could yield so much, but after personally watching the people from the Farmer School plant and harvest them, they followed suit.

Afterward, they discovered that this thing was indeed easy to grow, produced a high yield, and was delicious and filling. Therefore, they had planted some every year since then. Although this year's harvest was not as good as in previous years, it was still good. In any case, compared to other villages, they had never heard of anyone not having food to eat in the surrounding villages.

Listening to the Li couple's description, Xie Jin Yan was extremely excited.

After learning how to grow potatoes from the Li couple, he also bought some potatoes from the villagers' homes, about a hundred *jin* from each family, adding up to several thousand *jin*.

That night, he arranged for Feng Yuan to transport the potatoes out of Peach Blossom Village and to Kyoto as quickly as possible. Then, he wrote a letter to the Emperor.

By the time he had finished all this, it was already late at night.

When he returned to the inn, Xie Jin Yan was covered in mud, and Yu Qing Wu and Yan Qing Qing were not much better.

But the three of them were in a good mood…

Especially Yan Qing Qing. As soon as she entered the door, she couldn't help but smile at Yu Qing Wu and say, "Senior Sister, I never thought that there would be such food in this world. If potatoes were planted everywhere in Wei, would there still be any need to worry about people starving to death?"

"Yes, if this thing were planted throughout the country of Wei, it would be a good reserve of food," Yu Qing Wu also sighed, saying with great relief.

As they spoke, the three had reached the door of their room.

After entering the room, they all spent a lot of effort cleaning up.

Afterward, they each ordered some late-night snacks.

In the dim light, Xie Jin Yan had changed into a snow-white inner robe.

Even though he was chewing on a *baozi*, he was still holding a potato in his hand, staring at it with a frown for a long time. He looked up and asked Yu Qing Wu, "Senior Sister, where do you think that old man from the Farmer School got this stuff?"

"Moreover, he could clearly use this thing to save the disaster victims from their suffering, but for some reason, he just refuses to be used by the imperial court. His Majesty had previously sent people to invite him, but he avoided them all. If it weren't for Master's recommendation this time, he probably wouldn't have been willing to see me either."

"If you hadn't reminded me today, I wouldn't have gotten this unexpected surprise."

"Do you think that old man from the Farmer School has any other crops in his hands?"

"Also, why exactly is he unwilling to be used by the imperial court?"

Xie Jin Yan put down the potato and asked a series of questions.

There was confusion and regret.

He knew that if he could get some more crops like potatoes, or get guidance from the descendants of the Farmer School to increase the yield of wheat and rice, it would not only solve the problem of the people's livelihood for Wei, but also give the country's strength a boost.

Could it be… that the old man from the Farmer School just didn't want to see Wei become strong?

Thinking of the woman he had seen in the back mountain that day, the Nan Yue princess Xiao Yu Mo, Xie Jin Yan's brow furrowed again.

Before Yu Qing Wu could speak, he looked up at her again and sighed, "Senior Sister, why would the old man from the Farmer School, whom no one can invite, be willing to see me because of a few words from Master? Also, since he is willing to help the surrounding people, why is he unwilling to benefit Wei…"

"Your Highness, you're asking so many questions at once. Which one should I answer first?" Yu Qing Wu smiled, looking at Xie Jin Yan's appearance, and couldn't help but feel a little heartache.

In the past, she only knew that Xie Jin Yan was indeed busy.

But after truly witnessing his busyness, his concern for the country and the people, and all his fatigue, she increasingly understood that it was not easy to be a crown prince of a country.

He looked noble, but he thought a lot and did even more.

After a moment of silence, she pointed to the *baozi* in front of him and said, "Alright, Your Highness, eat something first. As for the other things, didn't you already write a letter back to Kyoto? I believe there will be news soon."

"Although we haven't been able to invite the descendant of the Farmer School, getting a crop like potatoes is a major problem solved. Don't always think so much."

"That's true…" Xie Jin Yan nodded, picked up the tea and took a sip. He raised his eyes to look at Yu Qing Wu again, and when he saw the woman's eyes revealing a bit of heartache, he smiled and reached out to smooth her eyebrows and eyes, saying, "Senior Sister, why are you looking at me like that?"

"It's nothing. I just never thought that our dignified, most outrageous Crown Prince would actually go down to the fields to work," Yu Qing Wu sighed softly, the heartache in her eyes deepening a bit.

Xie Jin Yan curled his lips and replied to her gently, "Isn't this normal? As the Crown Prince of Wei, I naturally can't only know about matters of the court."