Shortly after the assistant minister left, the prince received a long-lost piece of good news.
Sean, the personal guard who went to Clear Water Harbor to buy crop seeds, is back.
When Roland followed the guard who reported the news to the garden, he saw Sean and several other guards unloading bags from the back of the mount.
It has been almost a month from the day of departure to today, and he seems to have tanned a lot and his body has become thinner.
Seeing the prince appear, Sean immediately stood up straight and raised his hands to salute. Roland stepped forward quickly and patted him on the shoulder, "Good job. What seeds did you bring back?"
Sean crouched down and untied the package on the ground, "Pearl rice, ground eggs, candy bars... I bought all the plants you described in Clear Water Harbor. It is true that most of them are produced in the country of fjords, but Clear Water Harbor already has A lot of farmland is growing these crops.”
"Have you asked the merchants how to plant them?"
"I asked, but they couldn't say the specific method. They also said that if these plants leave the southern border, it will be difficult to grow them elsewhere." Sean grabbed a handful of yellow-orange-orange particles from the package and spread them out in front of Roland. , "His Royal Highness, this is pearl rice. The merchant said that if I bought it together with the pearl stick, it would be cheaper. But the pearl stick is too heavy and inconvenient to carry. I only bought a complete one, and the rest were peeled. good seeds."
There is no doubt that pearl rice is the corn he is familiar with. He excitedly picked up a kernel of corn and looked at it in the sun. The fruit is a little shriveled, and it seems that it has been stored for a winter's stock. The yield of corn is inherently much higher than that of wheat, and it has low soil requirements. With the transformation of leaves, it may soon replace wheat and become the main ration in Border Town.
Sean unwrapped another package and took out a round brown crop, "This is a ground egg, I ate it in a hotel in Clearwater Harbor, cut it into strips and soaked it in a water basin, it was very crispy to chew. There is a hint of sweetness."
Seeing this familiar appearance, Roland was very emotional. It's clearly a potato! He used his fingers to dig open the dirt-stained outer skin, revealing the deep yellow potato flesh inside—compared to later generations, the potatoes were small at this time, the tubers were darker in color, and not every piece looked like an egg. He noticed that there were still potatoes in the bag that were long, like carrots.
"This thing is more delicious when it is crushed and steamed into a paste."
"Uh... Your Highness, have you eaten?"
"Well, I ate it at the palace banquet," Roland decided to lie, because the name Didan was too ugly. "The royal chefs don't call it Didan, but potatoes. The delicious steamed snack is called Didan. Mashed potatoes."
"It turns out that, as expected of His Highness, he is very knowledgeable." Sean sighed, he opened the last straight package and pulled out a black leather stick, "His Royal Highness, I think this crop is the most important thing. The honey in Bishuigang is very cheap, to a large extent it is because of it. I heard news in the tavern that more and more farmland has started to grow candy sticks. The stalks of this magical plant are actually sweet and cut After peeling off the skin, you can squeeze sugar water, the price is one-tenth of honey, but it tastes as sweet as honey * water."
"..." Roland wanted to say that he had seen this crop before, and changed the name to sugar cane by the way, but he thought about it. Sugarcane is the raw material for making sucrose, and it can also be used to extract ethanol if it is grown more. It can be regarded as a crop that can greatly improve the happiness of residents. Think about it, the pancakes made of flour are bland and tasteless, but if you sprinkle some sugar to wrap them, it can instantly enhance the taste a few layers, even a salty party like Roland will fall for it.
"Are there any other crop seeds?"
"That's all for Bishui Harbor." He took out five or six small bags of skins from his personal pocket and handed them over to His Royal Highness, "You explain that I will also bring back the plant seeds that Greycastle has but the town does not have. These bags are all I picked it up when I passed Liuye Town and Zuilongling. There are grapes, soybeans, cotton, flax and olive tree seeds. But the farmer said that most of the grapes are grown by inserting the branches into the ground. Although the seeds can also be planted, But the germination period is very slow, and the grapes that come out are not very tasty.”
With leaves, none of this is a problem, Roland thought. Now that you have grape seeds, it might be time to try the vine version of wheat. As for soybeans, cotton, flax, and olives, they are all useful crops. First, the leaves are improved to produce seeds suitable for the climate and soil in the western regions, and then they are handed over to serfs for small-scale planting. Finally, the Ministry of Agriculture is responsible for summarizing improvements and writing planting manuals.
"His Royal Highness, I still have some news to report to you," Xiao En said in a low voice, "about the situation of Clear Water Port."
"Is it related to the three princesses?"
Sean nodded, "I've been in Clearwater Harbor for nearly two weeks. Except for buying seeds, I mostly spent the rest of the time in the tavern. Rumor has it that your sister, Garcia Wimbledon, made an agreement with the sand people. She took the edge of the southern border. The land is provided for the sand people to live in, and the sand people regard her as their king and obey her conscription and dispatch. During my time in the harbor, I did see a lot of Mojin people on the streets.”
The Mojin people in the extreme south... Although Border Town does not ask about their origins, it is another matter to bring a large number of aliens to the kingdom's territory to settle down. It seems that Garcia is really unscrupulous in order to compete for the throne, Roland thought. "The sand people are also divided into many factions, and it is impossible to follow her instructions. Do you know which clans she attracted?"
Sean shook his head, "Sand people are very wary of the people of Greycastle, and I can't buy more detailed news with Golden Dragon. But... There is one thing that is very strange. The day before I originally planned to leave the port of Clear Water, Garcia became a hero. Eagle City returned victoriously, and the city was celebrating their queen's defeat of the false king, Tifeko. As a result, there were four or five murders in the city the next day, and one of the victims was still torn apart in the street. piece."
"Clear water port was subsequently banned, and I had to stay there for three more days. The taverns were closed, and everyone gathered in the hotel lobby to talk about this matter. Some people said it was the revenge of the fake king, and some people said it was the sand people. Do it. One of the fjord merchants said he witnessed one of the murders with his own eyes. The abuser was not tall, obviously not a sand people, but the strength and speed were not like normal people can have. Heard the news The security team was killed by him, and even though he was stabbed several times, the blood was dripping all over the floor and he was indifferent. He was not killed until more security team arrived, and the shields and spears came together. Later, the ban was lifted. , I didn't dare to make any more stops, and immediately rushed back on a merchant ship."
"You did a great job," Roland pondered for a moment. "The golden dragon left over from the purchase of seeds does not need to be returned to the City Hall. It will be regarded as your reward."
"Thank you, Your Highness, for the reward!"
"The strength and speed are far beyond ordinary people. Ignoring the pain caused by the stab wound, it sounds like... a pill from the church." After the guards left, Nightingale's voice rang in his ears.
"I think so too. But this makes it even more unreasonable," Roland frowned. "According to Sean, Garcia will only get the pills earlier than me, and at the same time support the two sides competing for the throne... What the hell are they? What are you thinking about?" He faintly had a bad idea in his heart, isn't the real purpose of the church to see a stable Graycastle
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