Chapter 12: The Spice Equivalent to Gold
“Uncle.”
At the end of the meal. Although everyone didn’t want to leave, it was only the beginning of spring, it’s still very cold at night. Even the superhuman Ardennes couldn’t resist the cold blowing in the night for a long period.
Bai Luo asked everyone to go back first. They can come back tomorrow morning to discuss what to plant and how to plant it.
There aren’t many Ardennes, but now it is the dawn of hope. Everyone wants to contribute to this nation.
“It’s been hard for you.”
Uncle Saros patted Bai Luo on the shoulder.
“Tired?”
“Go take a rest.”
Bai Luo’s legs are still injured, but he stood forcibly all night today. He couldn’t hold it anymore.
“Brother, are we still going to have this rice porridge tomorrow?”
After tasting such food, Inya became completely obsessed with it. She is looking forward to her next meal.
“Yes, we won’t be hungry in the future.”
“Yay!”
The life of the Ardennes had been very harsh in the past few years. Their physical fitness is much higher than ordinary people’s, but their food consumption increases accordingly.
Especially the Ardennes that reached Adulthood. If it’s simply to keep themselves alive, they need just two ordinary meals every day.
However, if they want to strengthen themselves and fully play out their strength, they need at least 3 times the food volume of ordinary people.
It is conceivable how difficult was the life of the Ardennes in the past few years.
Now, with the sacred pouch, the Ardennes can finally fill their stomach. When they aren’t malnourished anymore, they will become truly the elite of the elites, the kind that can fight against dozens to over a hundred ordinary soldiers alone.
“I’m so full and happy…”
Inya is a simple girl. When she is full, she falls asleep.
The words elegant or beautiful can’t be reflected on her at all!
Obviously, she and his elder sister are relatives, and they look alike!
However, one is a temperamental goddess and the other is a sloppy wild girl, which makes people wonder if Inya is truly her younger sister.
“Uncle, rest early too. From now on, our life will get better and better.”
Bai Luo was also sleepy. He shares a room with Inya, but the two sleep on different beds.
In the middle of the night, Bai Luo was awakened by Inya’s teeth grinding.
The quilts that the Ardennes use are quite thin, hence most of them wear thick clothes to sleep. Bai Luo turned around and saw the bundled Inya sleeping carelessly.
Her sleeping position was quite weird. She spread her limbs around like an octopus and drooled as she slept.
“I can’t eat anymore…”
“Hehehehe.”
“I really can’t eat anymore.”
Inya muttered in her sleep.
Inya might look like an idiot, but she is quite a thoughtful girl. During the previous dinner, she only ate four bowls of porridge, restraining herself from eating any further and leaving more for the rest.
“Obviously she is a beautiful girl, but unfortunately, her temperament completely clashes with her looks.”
However, Bai Luo has always regarded her as his younger sister, so it didn’t matter to him.
“Sure enough, Elder Sister is the face of the Ardennes.”
“Oh?”
Suddenly, Bai Luo seemed to be aware of something. He collected his thoughts and looked through the window and into the courtyard.
Bai Luo noticed a figure sitting at the bottom of the stairs, smoking a cigarette.
It was his uncle Saros.
“Uncle, you…”
Bai Luo walked out and came to the old man sitting by the moonlight, “What’s wrong?”
“I couldn’t sleep, so I came out to take a breath of fresh air and see the moon.”
Bai Luo looked up, the sky was dark and the moon was obscured by the clouds.
“What about you?”
Saros lowered his head and smoked silently,
“Woken up by the little girl again?”
“It’s not the first time, I got used to it a long time ago.”
Bai Luo didn’t have a hobby of smoking, so he just sat next to his uncle.
In fact, Bai Luo also guessed the reason for his uncle’s unusual state tonight. He suddenly got a miracle, which caused the old man to be quite uneasy, so he consciously walked out and guarded Bai Luo and Inya.
Whether it’s practical or not, uncle Saros is always like this, guarding his children silently.
It doesn’t matter when or where, he always wants to be the soberest one.
“Uncle…”
“I also couldn’t sleep, so I came out for a walk.”
Uncle Saros smiled,
“Don’t worry, recuperate at ease, I’m here.”
Counting his two lives, both his past and current world, uncle Saros is the only elder Bai Luo had.
Bai Luo was an orphan in his previous life, and his parents died early in his current life.
Only the old man in front of him has been teaching him, taking care of him, and nurturing him.
“I have a few questions.”
Bai Luo didn’t feel sleepy, so he just accompanied his uncle in his night vigil, but before that, the two went to the old uncle’s house and lit the lamp.
The door was open and facing Bai Luo’s house.
Father Saros used to protect the children, but now it is the father and eldest son protecting the youngest daughter.
“What’s the problem?”
“Time should be almost up.”
Bai Luo said so, took out the basic sacred pouch, and as expected, he could pour out things from it again.
“This is soybeans, red beans, and mung beans.”
“These two, one is the seeds of potatoes (Note: potatoes also have seeds, but tuberous roots are more suitable for planting), and the other is the seeds of sweet potatoes.”
“This is wheat, and this is the rice we have eaten before.”
“These are all crops that I ate in my dreams.”
Bai Luo poured out most of the crops that he ate in his previous life, then lined it up in front of the old uncle,
“My question is, how should these things be planted?”
“Are there so many?”
Uncle Saros was obviously a little surprised. He picked up the beans, and then the seeds of potatoes and sweet potatoes, then wheat, and finally the rice that he had examined not long ago.
“The fields in our village are indeed a little barren.”
The Arden village is located in the mountains, the land here is very hard, not suitable for the growth of crops.
“However, I don’t know much about these crops.”
Bai Luo has never farmed in his previous life. He naturally doesn’t know how these crops are grown,
“The only thing I know is that rice needs paddy fields to grow.”
Paddy fields need to be close to a water source, and well water alone is far from enough.
The location of Arden village is actually not bad. There is a river not far away. Unfortunately, the river is full of stones, which is of no value for reclamation.
To bring water to the farmland, the villagers still need to work together.
“We have never grown such crops before.”
Uncle Saros thought carefully, but Bai Luo knew that the old man should already have an idea.
The basic crop of the Ardennes is golden cascading wheat, which does not require paddy fields, so since ancient times, the Ardennes have never reclaimed paddy fields.
However, there are crops that require a similar environment in this world, and the old man is very knowledgeable. He can always find similar techniques.
“I don’t recommend planting this rice, because this kind of rice is rather special.”
Bai Luo had heard of the fact that hybrid rice could not retain seeds in his past life. He wondered whether the sacred pouch could solve this problem.
Saros listened to Bai Luo’s explanation and said,
“Since the finished product is already available, it is only a matter of time to recreate it.”
“Yeah.”
Bai Luo nodded in agreement, “Then these two, potatoes and sweet potatoes, and this one, corn.”
The varieties of seeds poured out by Bailuo, without exception, are modern crops that have been cultivated over hundreds, maybe thousands of years. They are absolutely excellent.
“These are very high-yielding crops.”
“Oh? Is the output very high? how high is it?”
“Take this crop called potatoes as an example. Its yield per acre is 5,000 to 8,000 pounds, with proper fertilizer, and the highest can even reach 10,000 pounds.”
“Cough! Cough cough…”
Uncle Saros looked at Bai Luo with a shocked expression. E felt like he was listening to fairy tales,
“How much did you say?!”
“Up to ten thousand pounds.”
Hearing this number, uncle Saros almost crushed the pipe in his mouth,
“Little Luo, are you serious?”
“Yes!”
“Although there should be a slight difference due to the quality of the soil and lack of fertilizers, it indeed has such high yield in my memory. In fact, it’s even higher than that.”
This sentence basically solved uncle Saros’s suspicion.
Because no one can truly understand the power of miracles. Although uncle Saros couldn’t believe in such a ridiculous number, he absolutely believes in Bai Luo.
What’s more, Bai Luo is now the new patriarch of the Arden clan.
Now that Bai Luo has an idea, Saros must give his full support.
The Ardennes have been persecuted by the Iron Eagle Kingdom for 200 years, escaping genocide time and time again. Compared to such difficulties, what is it to wait for a year or two?
“Let me study it first.”
Bai Luo doesn’t know much about farming. Uncle Saros is the expert, he grabbed the seeds and carefully examined them.
“What about the cycle, how long does it take to harvest?”
Bai Luo isn’t very clear about this, his past life memory is very blurred. He could only roughly say.
“Some can only be harvested in one season a year, some in two seasons a year, and some might be harvested every season. I’m not sure about the specifics.”
“It’s okay, we can slowly study this.”
The Ardennes have time, and the old man has made a lot of preparations for this moment.
“You said you can pour out the crops you have eaten from the bag, right?”
After the old uncle finished speaking, he rummaged in the room before pulling out a dark powder. Bai Luo’s eyes immediately lit up upon seeing it,
“Chili powder!”
“I understand!”
Bai Luo knew the essence of the problem that his uncle had previously mentioned.
He was telling Bai Luo that although the pouch could support the agriculture of the Ardennes and even become the foundation of a nation, it would take a long time.
And before that, they must solve the fundamental problem of the Ardennes-food shortage.
The daily 100 kg of crops will definitely keep the Ardennes from starving.
But for everyone to thrive, and to pull out the maximum potential of the Ardennes, 100 kg is not enough.
What’s more, it’s undoubtedly very stupid to consume all the food the pouch can create every day.
Just planting potatoes and sweet potatoes have nothing to do with how many seeds Bai Luo pours every day.
It takes time.
It will take at least half a year to harvest.
What should they do within that half a year?
To develop, Arden needs a lot of important materials.
The power of the basic sacred pouch lies in its accumulation ability.
Hence uncle Saros reminded Bai Luo that they could pour out very valuable seeds and fruits, sell them, and buy back general grain.
Spices would be a great alternative. They’re extremely valuable in the outside world.