Chapter 40: Chapter 40 Auspicious Signs! These are
Auspicious Signs!_i
Translator: 549690339
As the days passed by, the bellies of the three ladies of Mu Zixuan grew larger and soon the time for childbirth approached.
Ever since the news spread that the North Prince had been assassinated by Blood Moon Tower and then saved by a Mysterious Grandmaster, North City had become much more stable.
This made some forces realize that the Mysterious Grandmaster by the North Prince’s side might stay with him permanently, protecting the North Prince.
Although the North Prince was ineffectual, the Mysterious Grandmaster by his side was certainly not to be trifled with.
Moreover, due to the Sum Emperor’s warning, Prince Lu Shuyun no longer continued to send assassins after Lu Chen but merely instructed Wang Qingci to continue monitoring Lu Chen in North City, and to inform him immediately if there was any contact between the North Prince and the Chu Family.
Over these months, Lu Chen had not been preoccupied with the affairs of North City, it was still managed by the Prefecture Governor Li Rui.
However, Lu Chen had had the land of the Prince’s Mansion surveyed, then ordered the people to reclaim the wasteland and had all ten thousand catties of seed potatoes planted.
There was plenty of unused land in North City, and not many people paid attention to the surveying and reclamation of land by the North Prince Mansion.
These days, Lu Chen had been consistently present at the Prince’s Mansion, accompanying Mu Zixuan and the other two ladies, who were due to give birth soon, thus he took extra care of them, fearing any potential mishaps.
At that moment, Lu Chen gently stroked Mu Zixuan’s protruding belly and said with a smile, “My consort, for now, entrust the businesses of the Prince’s Mansion to Madam Chu. From here on, just focus on waiting for the delivery, and don’t worry about those matters.”
In these few months, Mu Zixuan had expanded the soap and perfume industries a hundredfold, and now across the entire Great Xia Dynasty, whether it was nobles and dignitaries or common folk, all were using the perfumes and soaps produced by their Prince’s Mansion.
Although these two products were quite profitable, because they belonged to the North Prince’s enterprises and with Mu Changtian overseeing them in the Capital city, for the time being, no one dared to covet these industries.
What Lu Chen found most surprising was that Mu Zixuan seemed to be a person with a sharp business acumen, having combined perfumes and soaps to create the product known as “scented soap.”
Of course, this combination was no simple matter; the scented soap had been improved to be used for bathing.
With these industries in the Prince’s Mansion, they could reap hundreds of thousands of Silver every month, and Mu Zixuan was still actively expanding the trade routes, intending to sell these products to other countries.
Unfortunately, as her belly swelled day by day, her energy waned more and more, and she felt sleepy every day. Now, she was completely unable to manage the businesses of the Prince’s Mansion.
Upon hearing Lu Chen’s words, Mu Zixuan said, “Hmm, I have already transferred all the business ledgers of the Prince’s Mansion to Madam Chu, and she has been familiarizing herself with those enterprises these past days.”
Although Chu Yuqin could not be counted as a member of the North Prince Mansion yet, everyone there trusted her, knowing that she would eventually be one of Lu Chen’s women.
Handing over the management of the Prince’s Mansion’s businesses to her, no one was worried about any potential issues arising.
Just then, the maid Xiao Rou entered the room and said softly, “Prince, General Li seeks an audience with you, mentioning it’s an important matter.”
Hearing this, Lu Chen caressed Mu Zixuan’s cheek and then said, “My consort, I need to step out for a while, you stay here and rest.”
With a smile, Mu Zixuan said, “Alright, Prince, go attend to your affairs.”
Lu Chen then stood up and made his way towards the Training Ground.
Seeing Li Feng, Lu Chen asked without waiting for a salute, “General Li, what brings you to me? What is the matter?”
Li Feng promptly replied, “Prince, good news. Those plants that you had us… those…”
Pausing for a moment, Li Feng then quickly added, “Oh, right, potatoes.”
“The potatoes are ready for harvest.”
Hearing this, Lu Chen’s eyes lit up.
Potatoes were considered the most suitable crop for addressing the food shortage in North City, and were a product that Lu Chen valued highly.
Lu Chen immediately said, “Let’s go have a look.”
With those words, he headed towards the main gate of the Prince’s Mansion.
Lu Chen was eager to know just how much harvest they could obtain from the potatoes planted in North City.
He was no agricultural expert and could only follow the planting methods of the people in this world, so he was quite uncertain.
Soon, Lu Chen arrived at the field where the North Prince Mansion had planted the potatoes.
By that time, many soldiers and local commoners were already waiting there.
The local commoners were all interested in the new crops planted by the North Prince, even though the North Prince Mansion had never revealed to them what they were planting. But the fact that soldiers were sent out every day to patrol the fields showed how important these crops must be to the North Prince Mansion.
Seeing so many commoners nearby, Li Feng asked, “Prince, should we drive all these commoners away?”
After all, potatoes were a secret of the North Prince Mansion. If too many people knew about it, there would likely be many who coveted the North Prince Mansion’s potatoes.
Lu Chen shook his head and said, “If we drive them away, how will we promote the planting of potatoes in North City in the future?”
He had planned to let the commoners of North City grow potatoes, and if they could not witness the yield per acre, they would certainly not take up potato cultivation.
If the North Prince Mansion forced the commoners to plant crops they had never seen before, it could potentially cause public outrage.
At this moment, the surrounding commoners saw the North Prince himself coming and began to discuss.
“Look! Isn’t that the Prince?”
“Yes, it’s him. I saw him when he first came to Yan County!”
“What is being planted in these fields that even the North Prince himself has to come?”
“They say it’s food that can be eaten.”
“Really? This is the first time I’ve heard of food buried in the ground.”
“Let’s just wait and see. They’re probably about to start digging, and then we’ll know.”
Lu Chen ignored the commoners’ discussions. He glanced at the crowd and then said to the soldiers holding hoes, “Start by digging up one acre and see how much the yield is.”
At Lu Chen’s command, the soldiers started digging, and soon enough, several irregularly shaped, oval potatoes appeared before everyone’s eyes.
Seeing so many potatoes beneath a single plant, the surrounding commoners were astounded.
“Can these really be eaten?”
“My god, there are so many under just one plant!”
“If they all can be eaten, then won’t North City never suffer from famine again?”
“But will the North Prince distribute the seeds of these plants to us commoners?”
As time passed, the digging of the one-acre plot was soon completed.
Seeing the potatoes piled up like a small hill, both the soldiers of North City and the surrounding commoners were spellbound.
In the end, after weighing, the yield of potatoes from one acre was nearly two thousand kilograms.
When Li Feng saw this number, he could hardly believe it—two thousand kilograms of potatoes from just one acre!
In this era, an acre of wheat did not even yield two hundred kilograms…
As unbelievable as it was, all of this was unfolding right before his eyes, leaving Li Feng with no choice but to believe.
Li Feng then approached Lu Chen to report the measuring results, but Lu Chen directly said to Li Feng, “General Li, tell the commoners loudly how much yield we have per acre of potatoes.”
Instantly understanding Lu Chen’s intention, Li Feng loudly announced, “Reporting to the Prince, after our measurement, the yield of potatoes per acre is two thousand kilograms!”
Hearing this, the surrounding commoners erupted in excitement.
“Heavens! Two thousand kilograms!”
“With so much food, we won’t have to worry about going hungry again in the future!”
“Auspicious omen, this is an auspicious omen indeed!”
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