Chapter 13: Potatoes

From today on, be a noble person; from today on, be a pure person; from today on, be a person with no great ambitions; from today on, be a person who is content to live a life of idleness; I only wish to face the South Mountain, where spring blossoms. Yun Ye did not need to build a house, because the great, wise, bright, and generous Emperor Li II, in addition to conferring on him the title of Baron, also bestowed 1,200 mu of land as a reward for his selfless contribution to the secret method of making salt.

Cheng Yaojin was also full of praise for the emperor’s generous gift. The titles of the imperial court were divided into five levels: marquis, count, baron, viscount, and knight. Yun Ye was made a baron this time, which was a leap from a commoner to a nobleman.

Under the prevailing situation where the country and the land have been settled, the nobles have been extremely cautious about the distribution of titles. The whole court is thinking about how to reduce the nobility and lower the titles. With his secret method of making salt, Yun Ye has broken through this restriction and has been awarded the title of a genuine founding baron in one fell swoop. This is also unprecedented.

You have to know that Cheng Yaojin had followed Emperor Li Er for many years, and was an absolute confidant, before he was awarded the title of Marquis of Lugu County. The famous minister of the same generation, Yu Shinan, was only the son of Yongxing County.

Now the title of baron is preceded by the words “founding” and is even more rare. In comparison, the thousands of acres of land is insignificant. From the map, it is 50 miles from Chang’an City. According to Cheng Chumo, is this still worthy of being called Chang’an fiefdom? It is only three inches away from Longyou, of course, this is measured from the map. Anyway, we are also new people with titles, official positions, and land.

Under the impact of great happiness, Yun Ye had already forgotten that Cheng Chumo had used a dirty handkerchief to cover his mouth. Since the Chengs liked to express their joy by slapping each other’s shoulders with their palms, Yun Ye also forgot to explain to the old Chengs that he did not have epilepsy.

Yun Ye opened his backpack. He had deliberately not looked at his old belongings in recent days, fearing that he would once again be plunged into painful memories. He picked up his phone, which had run out of battery and was now a black screen. He opened the back cover, took out the battery, and carefully blew off the dust inside. The water that had seeped in some time ago had long since dried up. Cheng Chumo used it as a mirror, and he still thought it wasn’t as good as a copper mirror.

He took out the solar charger, opened the light-absorbing panel, chose a place without shade, placed the charger, connected the phone to it, and in less than four hours the phone was fully charged. There was a family photo there, and Yun Ye really wanted to take a look at his wife and son, worried that if he continued like this he would forget them.

There was only one Yingshaxia knife left, and the hairpin was still so beautiful. Yun Ye’s hand gently brushed past the hairpin, as if brushing past his wife’s silky long hair.

The locator had been thrown away, as had the wallet. The only sign of his existence was this body.

The two potatoes that he had not eaten had sprouted purple buds. Yun Ye knew very well the value of these two potatoes. If they were not there, the Tang Dynasty would have to cross the vast Pacific Ocean to the American continent to find this important crop.

He called his personal guard and ordered him to find some large pots, intending to cut the potatoes into pieces and plant them in the pots. He hoped that they would mature before the weather turned cold.

The entire set of kitchen utensils had been borrowed by Cheng Chumo, and it was said that he wanted the blacksmith in the camp to make another set, but there had been no news so far. The tent and sleeping bag had not escaped this fate.

The compass and map were personally collected by Yun Ye and he had no intention of letting them see the light of day again. The compass was easy to explain, but the map was too important to be destroyed.

The engineer’s shovel Cheng Chumo didn’t seem to want to give it back to him. After emptying the backpack, Yun Ye shook it to get the dust out. He didn’t expect a few golden things to fall out. When Yun Ye looked at them, they turned out to be five corn kernels. He didn’t know when they had fallen into the gaps in the backpack. Yun Ye picked up the corn kernels and wrapped them in linen, putting them with the chili seeds. He hoped to grow chili and corn in the coming year. Whether his own farm would prosper depended on him.

Yun Ye did not have high hopes for electronic products. If there were no photos of his wife and children in his phone, he would definitely choose to throw it into the Yellow River. Zi Bu Yu strange forces and chaos, too advanced things will not bring happiness to themselves, only disaster. His Majesty Li Er did not believe in any gods from the bone. If he came up with an unexplainable artifact, Li Er would not worship it but raise the butcher knife first.

Yun Ye found that he was a complete pauper. Not only did he have no money, he also owed Old Cheng a plate of silver. Although money is a bastard, it is really difficult to move without it. How could His Majesty Li Er forget to give some gold and silver jewelry? It’s not kind. How can you make me a lord without money? Yun Ye felt that he was the saddest lord in the world. Do lords have to make their own money? Isn’t it said that noblemen have beautiful women on their left and right, eat delicacies every day, travel on fine horses, and return to magnificent mansions? How come I have to be a laborer to earn money? Where is the justice in this!

Lao Cheng looked at the five short pots lined up in front of Yun Ye’s tent. What was strange was that Yun Ye had also knocked a hole in the bottom of the pot. The sergeant was mixing rotten leaves and mud from the river together, which looked very fertile in the dark. Yun Ye carefully buried a strange stem with purple buds into the pot. The mulberry leaves were covered with a thin layer of soil. After Yun Ye finished watering the plants, Lao Cheng couldn’t help but ask, He asked Yun Ye, “What are you doing, kid? Planting flowers? You wouldn’t be doing something so out of place in the barracks, would you?”

Yun Ye patted the dirt off his hands and bowed to Lao Cheng: “Uncle Cheng, I am very grateful for your trust in me. You have not scolded me for doing such a ridiculous thing, but have instead asked the sergeant to help me complete it. I will always remember your kindness. As for the object in the jar, I will keep it a secret for now, and you will know after the autumn harvest. But I can tell you that this thing is priceless. If it is successfully cultivated, it will ensure that our country will never again suffer from famine.

“Kid, is this true? Can five large tanks keep the Great Tang free of famine?” Cheng Yaojin asked in a trembling voice.

“Hey, my nephew has just been knighted and given 1,000 acres of land, but unfortunately he is still a penniless pauper. At the end of the year, I will rush to Chang’an to thank His Majesty and officially take office. How can I do that without money? After this species is grown, my nephew can also present it to His Majesty and make tens of thousands of dollars in banknotes, so that he can live off it and die.” As soon as Yun Ye finished speaking, a giant claw grabbed his neck and dragged him towards the tent.

After a routine pattern of beating, resistance, then beating again, and then surrender, the old Cheng walked out of the tent with his hands behind his back, sat down by the jar, carefully counted the sprouts in the soil, called ten guards, and solemnly ordered them to take care of them. He touched the edge of the jar and muttered, “This is more precious than life!”

Seeing the general in such a state, the ten bodyguards put aside their disapproval and kept a close watch on the five large jars, not missing a beat.

Yun Ye lay on the bed, rubbing his numb buttocks, and wailed miserably: “It’s just potatoes. Do you have to beat me up?”