How much bolder could he be?
And yet, he had already ventured to guess a yield of twelve hundred catties. That, to his mind, was daring enough.
Tian Daren could scarcely contain himself. He felt as if his breath had caught in his throat, and the hand gripping the dried corn stalk trembled uncontrollably.
"Could it be... that it reaches fifteen hundred catties?" he asked, voice unsteady.
Yun Shu said nothing.
"Poverty truly had stunted his imagination.
Did Tian Daren truly not understand what it meant to guess boldly?
Who only raised their estimate by a mere three hundred catties and called that bold?"
Yun Shu shook her head slowly, then let out a soft sigh with deliberate gravity.
"So be it. If Tian Daren continues with this cautious guessing, This Princess fears that even if the true yield were laid plainly before you, you still would not believe it.
This way, please. Everyone, come forward and see it for yourselves."
"Your Highness means... it surpasses even fifteen hundred catties?"
Tian Daren, entirely oblivious to the subtle rebuke hidden in Yun Shu's tone, had no room left in his thoughts for shame or hesitation. All his attention was consumed by the shocking yield figures.
Trailing close behind Yun Shu, he pressed on eagerly with his guesses.
"Could it be eighteen hundred catties?
Then... perhaps two thousand?
No, surely not... not as much as two thousand three hundred?
Your Highness, and what might this be over here?"
Just as Tian Daren, after much internal struggling, managed to push his estimate to two thousand five hundred catties, another official pulled back the curtain of a nearby warmhouse.
"Why are there no corn stalks in this one?"
"Ah, this area..."
Yun Shu leaned in for a look, then replied casually, "This side was planted with tudou. The harvest here is already complete. If This Princess recalls correctly, the yield this year reached around two thousand catties per mu."
Two thousand.
Tian Daren nearly shrieked aloud.
Thankfully, Yun Shu had anticipated this reaction. She swiftly cut in before he could even open his mouth.
"Yes, two thousand is correct. Three years ago, the yield was only one thousand. But over the past two years, This Princess has closely overseen the improvements made to the fertilizers at the imperial farm. That is how we managed to exceed two thousand this year, for the first time."
"Of course..."
Yun Shu smiled, her tone light.
"What This Princess intends to show you next has an even higher yield."
The sound of swallowing spread audibly through the crowd.
Yun Shu's smile deepened. She turned to lead the group onward, but her sleeve was suddenly tugged from behind.
It was Yun Chuhuan.
The boy had always had a brain like a tudou, and due to the scarcity of tudou in recent years, he'd long since been craving them.
He had behaved himself only because he knew tudou were precious and still undergoing cultivation trials. Otherwise, he would have made a fuss long ago.
Now, hearing that tudou could yield two thousand catties per mu, his restraint crumbled.
"Fifth Sister, if tudou can yield two thousand catties per mu, it isn't too much to ask for one hundred catties a year for myself, is it?"
Yun Shu stared at him, speechless.
Three hundred sixty-five days in a year, one hundred catties... that was one catty every three or four days. It wasn't excessive.
But she feared that if he kept eating like that, he'd turn into a walking tudou before he even came of age.
In the original novel, this boy was destined to become the male lead. That meant, at the very least, his appearance had to be exceptional.
But if he started eating fried tudou with every meal from now on... tch.
Yun Shu flicked a finger against his forehead, sighing in exasperation.
"Whether you get one hundred catties a year, you'll have to ask Father Emperor. What This Princess can promise is this: once we finish the tour, not only tudou, but corn, sweet tudou, and tomatoes—you'll be free to eat your fill."
"Really?"
Yun Chuhuan's eyes lit up with excitement.
"Truly," Yun Shu replied, raising the sleeve he was still holding on to.
"So if you want to eat sooner..."
"Then let's move! Let's hurry and finish this!"
Yun Chuhuan immediately caught her meaning and released her sleeve at once, bouncing with energy.
"The sooner we finish, the sooner we can eat!"
With Yun Chuhuan urging them forward, and with the group of officials already awestruck by the corn and tudou fields, the rest of the journey passed more swiftly. Before long, they reached the area where sweet potatoes were being harvested.
The farmers were hard at work, diligently unearthing sweet potatoes from the soil. Beside them, massive bamboo baskets brimmed with freshly dug, soil-covered tubers.
Although Emperor Xuanwu had already learned of sweet tudou from Yun Shu—and had even tasted them over the past two years—this was his first time witnessing them being unearthed from the ground.
He waved off the farmers who had begun to bow to him in greeting, then strode forward himself. Bending down, he picked up a sweet potato and weighed it in his palm.
"And this crop—how was the yield this year?"
"Replying to Your Majesty..."
The farmer speaking looked positively petrified to be addressing the Emperor face to face for the first time. Still, despite his fear, his expression was lit with unmistakable excitement.
"With the new fertilizer developed under the guidance of the Crown Princess, the yield this year has reached five thousand catties per mu!"
"Five thousand?"
The moment that figure was spoken, the crowd reeled—not just Tian Daren and the others, but even Emperor Xuanwu himself widened his eyes in disbelief.
"You are certain of this number? Could it be that only one plot achieved that yield, while others did not?"
"Replying to Your Majesty—no, it does not seem to be a fluke!"
The farmer nodded with force.
"We've already harvested seven or eight mu of sweet tudou. The yield has remained steady at around five thousand catties across the board. If Your Majesty wishes, I can call more hands to dig up the rest right before your eyes and weigh them all."
"Five thousand catties..."
Tian Daren, who had just barely worked his way up to guessing two thousand five hundred, stood frozen from the moment the number was uttered. He felt as though he had stepped into a dream.
It wasn't until he held a sweet tudou in his own hands that the truth of it finally struck him. His lips trembled as he repeated the words "five thousand catties," and two lines of tears streamed down his cheeks.
Yet, despite the tears, his face twisted into a wild grin.
"Hahahahaha... five thousand catties per mu!
If this is not Heaven's blessing upon our Tian Sheng, then what is?
It is a boon to our people, a blessing for all under Heaven! Hahahaha!"
Yun Shu fell silent.
Was he truly... mad with joy?
If this was his reaction now, what would happen when he saw the tomatoes? Would he faint on the spot?
That would not do.
Tian Daren was, all things considered, a decent man. It would be a shame if such good fortune truly drove him into hysteria.
Yun Shu curled one hand into a loose fist and coughed lightly into it. Though she addressed Emperor Xuanwu, her words were clearly meant for everyone present.
"In truth, it is not so extraordinary. Your Daughter originally projected a yield of six thousand catties per mu. From the looks of it now, there remains room for improvement."
Thump.
Tian Daren, already half-delirious with joy, heard the words "six thousand catties" and immediately collapsed to his knees on the spot.