Volcanic Fertilizer

"What?" Bibi Dong could no longer keep her composure.

She hadn't misheard just now, had she?

Five thousand jin per mu?

What kind of crop was that?

The main crop on Douluo Continent was wheat. With sufficient irrigation, a yield of four hundred jin per mu could already be considered a bumper harvest.

Yet potatoes could yield five thousand jin per mu. Didn't that mean there would never again be famine on Douluo Continent?

One had to know that across Douluo Continent, droughts and floods often caused hundreds of thousands of people to starve to death.

Agricultural disasters were also a problem that the Two Great Empires and Spirit Hall had no choice but to face every year.

But what had Chen Jian said?

Potatoes yielded five thousand jin per mu!

Planting one mu of potatoes was equivalent to having twelve mu of fertile farmland!

Bibi Dong nearly suffocated for a moment. That number was simply too terrifying.

Compared with Bibi Dong's inner shock, Hu Liena was far more direct. She curled her lips and said, "Old Chen, are you trying to fool Teacher and me? I may never have worked in the fields, but I know that fields yielding five hundred jin per mu are already few and far between across the entire continent. If you said one thousand jin per mu, I might believe you."

"But five thousand jin is far too much, isn't it? Even if they grew by drinking water, they couldn't possibly yield five thousand jin per mu!"

Chen Jian stroked his white beard and chuckled. "It's only natural that you don't believe it. When Young Master Ye Tian first told me, I absolutely didn't believe him either. How could there be a crop with such an astonishing yield in this world? But after I truly saw potatoes being cultivated, I believed it completely."

At the side, Ye Tian walked over to Hu Liena and patted her shoulder. Calm and composed, he said, "When has your brother ever lied to you? It just so happens to be potato harvest season. The southern part of the farm is the potato-growing area. If you don't believe it, you can go take a look yourself."

Those words caught not only Hu Liena's attention, but Bibi Dong's as well.

Potatoes were simply too significant. If what Ye Tian said was true, their benefits could not be measured by any exact figure.

They would not merely solve the problem of feeding the people.

They would also help increase Spirit Hall's tax revenue.

It meant Spirit Hall could recruit even more powerful Soul Masters.

Seeing that his sister was also quite interested, Ye Tian suggested, "Why don't we dig up some potatoes ourselves and have the farm kitchen make us a potato dinner?"

"Okay!" Hu Liena was the first to raise her hand in support.

Crops harvested with one's own hands always tasted the sweetest.

She had always remained in Spirit City cultivating, so she rarely had the chance to experience something so enjoyable.

Now that she had the opportunity, she had to give it a try no matter what.

After Hu Liena agreed, Ye Tian turned his gaze to Bibi Dong.

Bibi Dong lightly nodded as well. Since becoming the Pope, she had faced endless government affairs every day. Forget entertainment—sometimes, she could not even find time to eat.

She truly missed the days of her childhood, when she helped her parents harvest crops.

Those were among the few warm memories hidden deep in her heart.

Led by Ye Tian, the group headed toward the southern part of the farm.

Hu Liena did not forget to trot back onto the road and pick up her shoes before returning to Ye Tian's side and taking hold of his wrist again.

Before long, the group arrived at the southern part of the farm.

They saw vast stretches of lush, mature potato fields.

Tall potato plants stood upright, while many farmers diligently dug up potatoes.

Bibi Dong stepped forward first and pulled up a potato plant.

Since the ground was sandy, the plant came up easily, roots and all.

Then Bibi Dong froze.

Potatoes of all sizes clung to the plant's roots, weighing a full five or six jin altogether!

She stared at the potatoes and murmured, "It's actually true."

Hu Liena's eyes widened at the sight. "Oh my heavens! There really is a crop in this world with such a high yield."

Ye Tian came to Bibi Dong's side and smiled lightly. "How could I lie to you, Sister? Do you believe me now?"

"With such a high yield, could it taste bad?" Bibi Dong voiced her doubt.

Everything had its advantages and disadvantages. Since potatoes had such a high yield, they surely had weaknesses in other areas.

"Not at all." Ye Tian shook his head. "Potatoes can not only serve as a staple food, but can also be stir-fried as a dish. Better yet, if they are cut into strips, fried in oil until golden, and served with secret seasonings, they can even become an exquisite delicacy!"

Chen Jian picked up the conversation. "Potatoes can also be ground into flour to make potato noodles. The potato noodles produced by the farm have already become widespread along the East Sea Coast and are very popular."

After hearing Ye Tian's words, Hu Liena was practically drooling. She stepped forward, grabbed Ye Tian by the collar, and looked at him eagerly. "Brother, are potatoes really as delicious as you say?"

"You little glutton. You'll find out when you taste them tonight." Ye Tian pressed a finger against Hu Liena's forehead. What a food lover.

"Mm!" Hu Liena did not mind Ye Tian's gesture in the slightest and nodded solemnly.

It reminded her of the Hot Pot she had eaten at Ye Tian's home earlier. It had simply been the finest delicacy in the world!

She even wanted to stay by Ye Tian's side forever.

That way, she could keep eating delicious food!

No, no, how could I think that?

Being greedy will make me fat.

Besides, I'm Spirit Hall's future Holy Maiden. Teacher definitely won't let me stay behind.

Then... then maybe I can persuade Teacher to stay too...

While Hu Liena struggled inwardly, Bibi Dong, who had been deep in thought, suddenly noticed the land beside the potatoes.

A long-stemmed plant grew in the neighboring plot. It had long vines and lacked the thick underground stems of the potatoes.

She looked at Ye Tian, pointed at the adjacent plot, and asked curiously, "Are these potatoes too?"

Ye Tian shook his head and pointed at them. "These are Sweet Potatoes, but they haven't fully matured yet. They need another round of fertilizer, then we'll have to wait another month before harvesting them."

"Fertilizer?" Bibi Dong was taken aback. By Ye Tian's side, she always heard novel terms.

Chen Jian stepped forward to explain, "Fertilizer is the nutrition plants need to grow. Just as people grow fair and plump from eating meat, land must be fertilized in order to produce high yields."

Chen Jian even gave an example. "I once conducted an experiment on the farm. In wheat test fields of the same kind, unfertilized wheat yielded only five hundred jin per mu. Wheat fields treated with fertilizer could yield twelve hundred jin per mu."

"Wheat can yield twelve hundred jin per mu too?" Bibi Dong, who had always maintained perfect control over her expression, was utterly astonished.

One had to know that increasing wheat yields had always been a direction the Two Great Empires and Spirit Hall worked hard to research.

Spirit Hall even had a department dedicated to studying such issues, staffed with food-system and support-system Soul Masters.

They had researched it for years without solving the problem.

Yet Ye Tian had actually solved it.

Unable to contain her surprise, she asked, "Old Chen, when you conducted those experiments, are you sure the wheat variety hadn't mutated?"

If the wheat variety had mutated, that would still be understandable.

However, Chen Jian said with absolute certainty, "I'm sure it didn't mutate. This is actually easy to explain. According to Young Master Ye Tian's theory, aside from sunlight, plants also need elements such as Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium to grow."

"You may know this, Young Lady: if a field is fertilized with manure, its crops will grow slightly better than those in other fields."