A Plan to Pacify the Marshes

"Only two generations?"

The others were all stunned when they heard this. Upon careful thought, a chill rose in their hearts; they found it terrifying beyond measure.

In the end, Zhang Kaiyong suppressed the unease in his heart and asked, "Why is that?" From Qiu Yan's earlier words, he had guessed that the seeds of these crops had likely been cultivated by Qiu Yan himself, hence the question.

In Zhang Kaiyong's heart, he was amazed by the breadth of Qiu Yan's knowledge, but what made his heart pound even more was the scheming represented by this limit of three generations. It made him fear Qiu Yan.

Qiu Yan saw what everyone was thinking from their expressions, yet did not take it to heart. Smiling, he said, "Do not misunderstand, gentlemen. The main reason these seeds have ended up this way is that they were not naturally formed. They were grafted and crossbred, so their natural reproduction was inevitably impeded. Added to that are the harsh soil and environment of the marshlands. The land is barren and lacks the nutrients needed for crops to grow, so during seed cultivation, one must borrow soil from other places and blend the nutrients into them beforehand."

None of those present knew how earth-shattering these seemingly simple words of Qiu Yan's would be if placed before the Agricultural School.

Zhang Kaiyong seemed to be pondering something as he pressed on, "So you mean that the soil of Five Marshes alone is insufficient to support the growth of these crops?"

"That is a simple way to understand it," Qiu Yan nodded. "When these crops are planted for the first time, they can yield a bountiful harvest. If the seeds derived from them are used to plant a second generation, the harvest will be only thirty percent