The group soon boarded a small boat and headed for Xinhua Commandery.
These boats had all originally been used by the Han Tribe to sell goods everywhere during the era of the Xin Tribe. Especially during that time when iron was exchanged for copper, a great number of these single-masted boats had been deployed. They were only twelve meters long, with a sculling oar at the stern. Even without sails, such small boats could still move forward by rowing.
The small boat soon traveled upstream along the Clearwater River, while Gu Ji and Tian Hong stood on the deck, gazing at the scenery on both banks.
Both banks of the Clearwater River in Xinhua Commandery were covered with rice paddies. Bamboo Island had once relied mainly on corn as its staple crop, with soybeans as another crop, though soybeans could not be used as a meal. However, ever since the Han Tribe had set foot on this land, the varieties of crops grown here had multiplied.
The Han Tribe had taken corn and soybeans from here, while in return sending rice, peanuts, barley, wheat, and other food crops. The exchanges between the two sides had clearly enriched both their respective selections of food crops.
However, beginning in the second year after the Han Tribe occupied Bamboo Island and turned it into Qiongzhou Island, rice cultivation had begun to spread here.
Compared with corn, rice produced higher yields and was better suited to Qiongzhou Island's island climate. Rice was also more nutritious and counted as refined grain, suitable for both young and old. Corn was nowhere near comparable.
Thus, once rice was introduced, it quickly received an enthusiastic welcome from the local commoners. It had now become a crop they planted twice every year without fail. Across the whole of Qiongzhou