Royal Gold Magistrate

After waiting for an hour, the hundred officials finally descended the stairs one by one, leaning on the railings. It seemed these old bodies had lost a lot of strength and energy.

Who knows how much toilet water they drank last night to end up in this state.

As soon as they came downstairs, they saw Fang Zheng loudly reprimanding the innkeeper.

“You lazy idiots! What have I been teaching you? Ah! Not changing the cleaning rags for half an hour, how can this kind of work put guests at ease!”

He jabbed a finger at the innkeeper. “I specifically told you before: scrub the toilets seven times, flush them seven times, and then have the servants take a sip to make sure they’re clean. Are you telling me these sanitation standards haven’t been met?!”

The innkeeper was drenched in cold sweat. “Responding to my lord, we definitely did everything you instructed!”

“It’s just that this kid is new and doesn’t know the rules. I’ll immediately have him change the rags…”

“If there’s a next time, I’ll skin you alive!”

After this performance, the officials’ expressions eased somewhat.

So it turns out the water was potable… Everyone drank it, so it’s not that embarrassing.

Damn that Fang Zheng, although he’s not a good person, his sanitation standards are surprisingly good. You can tell from the cleanliness of Taoyuan County’s streets. It shouldn’t be a ruse.

Seeing the situation calming down, Fang Zheng secretly wiped away some cold sweat.

He couldn’t offend everyone too badly, or he really wouldn’t be able to get by. Fortunately, he was able to smooth things over. Once they see the sweet potatoes, everyone’s attention should be diverted.

It’s just that that brat Li Yuanzhao kept gloating the whole time. Seems like His Majesty didn’t beat him enough!

Seeing everyone gathered, Fang Zheng walked over to Emperor Jing. “Your Majesty, everyone is here. It’s some distance to the fields, so this minister arranged carriages. Please board the carriages.”

Then, the group rode the carriages led by Ao Chen and headed to the fields in a grand procession.

Upon arriving, everyone felt a bit disappointed. The ground looked bare with just some leaves. There didn’t seem to be anything…

Could it be that Fang Zheng was really lying…

Emperor Jing also furrowed his brows, feeling a bit let down. There were clearly only some leaves on the ground, no fruits in sight.

“Where are the fruits of this Prosperity Potato? Could they grow underground?”

“Exactly! Your Majesty truly has discerning eyes. This minister is in awe!”

“No need to say more. Hurry up and let us see what this Prosperity Potato looks like!”

Emperor Jing nodded, staring intently at the ground before him, his passion reignited. “Come, measure out the land for us. We want to witness with our own eyes how much this thing can yield!”

With Emperor Jing’s order, Fang Zheng began instructing people to measure out one mu of land and mark the boundaries.

Then he directed the farmers in the field to start harvesting.

When it came to harvesting, this group of Taoyuan County farmers was already experienced. Moreover, sweet potatoes were buried directly in the ground and could be dug out, much easier than ordinary grains.

The containers for holding the sweet potatoes and the tools for weighing had long been prepared and placed to the side.

Several dozen people entered the field and began lightly digging in the soil. Soon, fist-sized sweet potatoes were unearthed one by one and tossed into the containers.

As the soil was continuously turned over, the fruits buried in the loose soil appeared layered and stacked. And they were all about the same size too, each the size of a fist.

Fang Zheng shook his head as he watched.

What a failure! Such a failure! The varieties are too inferior. The sweet potatoes are half the size of what he remembered.

In his previous life, just one sweet potato sold by the street vendors could fill him up until his eyes rolled back. But with these freshly dug ones, he estimated he could eat three at most, while Brother Biao could easily wolf down a dozen.

It’s clear the varieties weren’t great. He had to find a way to cultivate superior varieties!

At this point, anxiety was already showing in Emperor Jing’s eyes, and beads of sweat had formed on his forehead.

The hundred officials also pointed at the field, discussing animatedly. Everyone was very curious about sweet potatoes.

Emperor Jing seemed a bit impatient. He ordered Guo Tianyang beside him to bring over the containers and scale to weigh them in front of him.

Then Guo Tianyang instructed a few young eunuchs to carry over the large scale and the already filled containers from the field. They began placing them on the scale one by one to weigh.

Fang Zheng also couldn’t help feeling a bit nervous…

In his previous life, a yield of five or six thousand catties per mu was considered low for sweet potatoes. High yields could reach over ten thousand catties.

Although Taoyuan County didn’t have great land, they had already tried their best to select the best plots and apply fertilizer to cultivate these sweet potatoes.

At this critical moment, this primitive variety better not disappoint. A thousand catties would be considered a success!

“Your Majesty, fifty-seven catties…”

“Seventy-three catties.”

“Ninety-four catties.”

Each time the weight was measured, Guo Tianyang would loudly announce the number.

Now the officials and His Majesty were anxious. This was an excellent opportunity to show off.

Damn that Fang Zheng, ever since he appeared by His Majesty’s side, they felt like they had become invisible. His Majesty asked him about everything!

This opportunity absolutely could not be wasted.

Emperor Jing stood on the field ridge, listening to the continuous reports of numbers. His eyes blazed as he stared at the sweet potatoes and farmers in the field.

This matter concerned the livelihood of the commoners and the future of Great Jing. He absolutely would not tolerate the slightest deception when it came to the Prosperity Potato! So he had to keep a close eye!

Over the years, local officials had falsely reported achievements to the court countless times, especially loving to exaggerate matters related to the people’s food and drink.

News of crops yielding a thousand catties or several hundred catties per mu had appeared in court before, but each time it was disappointingly ephemeral, a mere illusion…

Today, Emperor Jing was personally going down to the fields for the first time to witness these so-called “auspicious signs”. Just how many Prosperity Potatoes could be produced from this one mu of land?

“One hundred seventy-nine catties!”

Emperor Jing couldn’t help getting excited. Only a small part of the ground had been dug up, but there was already so much yield… Just a bit more, a bit more and it would surpass the output of ordinary wheat…

“Three hundred catties!!!”

Guo Tianyang screamed in excitement, his voice even more shrill than usual. This level of output had already steadily surpassed the yield of wheat and rice.

Over three hundred?

Fang Zheng’s eyes lit up. He quickly walked over to the large scale, shoving Guo Tianyang aside with his butt.

Then he began loudly announcing the numbers.

“Three hundred seventy-seven catties!”

“Four hundred seventy-nine catties!”

“……..”

The servants continuously lifting sweet potatoes were already panting and gasping for breath, sweat beginning to slide down their foreheads.

Emperor Jing tightly clenched his fists, his whole being trembling with excitement… It broke four hundred… It’s already at four hundred seventy-nine catties!

Let alone eight hundred catties per mu, even reaching the current results was an immense achievement.

One mu of land could be used as two mu, sustaining the lives of how many commoners?

Emperor Jing walked to the front of the scale and picked up a sweet potato, examining it carefully.

It was this unassuming thing that could unexpectedly keep countless people alive?

“Five hundred ninety-four catties!!”