The Grain Seed Agreement

Upon hearing Yin Yunze's question, Liu Zhengyuan finally realized what was happening and quickly returned the greeting, saying, "No, Your Majesty, it's just that the weather is a bit hot, and I couldn't sleep inside, so I came out for a stroll. As I walked, I arrived at Your Majesty's temple—"

As he spoke, Liu Zhengyuan looked at Yin Yunze with curiosity.

However, Liu Zhengyuan's gaze only held a hint of curiosity and doubt, without any other element of disrespect.

After all, he's a decrepit old man in his fifties; he's long past the stage of being driven by his lower body.

Of course, I know that while beautiful women are desirable, some are simply unthinkable.

The nine tails swaying uncontrollably behind Yin Yunze served as the best warning to Liu Zhengyuan.

Yin Yunze didn't seem to care about Liu Zhengyuan's gaze.

After all, if Yin Yunze saw a second Nine-Tailed Fox, he would probably also take a curious look at it.

Hearing Liu Zhengyuan say this, Yin Yunze was slightly taken aback.

Upon reflection, Yin Yunze realized that this was indeed her oversight.

Although it's already September in this world, the weather is still hot.

Yin Yunze is the God of Frost and Snow, possessing innate cooling abilities, yet he failed to notice this.

Even Sun Qin, whom Yin Yunze could directly interact with, did not have a constitution that was immune to heat and cold.

Therefore, for a moment, Yin Yunze overlooked this point.

It's quite normal that Liu Zhengyuan couldn't sleep after suddenly being put in a different bed and in the hot weather.

As for coming out for a stroll and then visiting the Qingnü Temple, a landmark building in Clear Creek Village, that's perfectly normal.

On the contrary, Yin Yunze was somewhat concerned, and as a result, he misjudged the situation.

Thinking about it this way, it's easier to understand why Liu Zhengyuan's self-confidence carried a hint of doubt.

I just couldn't sleep and came out for a stroll. Why did you suddenly appear, Primordial Lady of the Azure Heavens?

Perhaps in Liu Zhengyuan's eyes, it was clearly Yin Yunze who approached him.

However, since he had already shown himself, Yin Yunze decided to go with the flow.

Yin Yunze thought for a moment, then raised his hand and sent a chill down Liu Zhengyuan's spine and the little follower behind him.

Given Yin Yunze's current control over Authority over Frost and Snow, creating a single-person air conditioner for Liu Zhengyuan and his lackey would be an easy task.

If Yin Yunze wanted, he could keep this single-person air conditioner running for several months without any problem.

Seeing Yin Yunze's actions and feeling the sudden drop in temperature...

Feeling a refreshing coolness all over his body Liu Zhengyuan let out a sigh of relief, cupped his hands in thanks, and said, "Thank you, Goddess Yuanjun, for bestowing this coolness upon me."

"Thank you, Goddess Yuanjun, for bestowing upon me coolness!"

The servant behind Liu Zhengyuan also quickly followed up by thanking Yin Yunze.

However, the servant's sudden remark startled Liu Zhengyuan.

He turned to look at the servant and saw that Yin Yunze had also brought him a cool breeze.

Liu Zhengyuan turned around, looked at Yin Yunze, and sighed softly, "The Goddess Yuanjun is indeed a compassionate goddess—among all the deities I have ever seen, she is undoubtedly the most benevolent—"

"It was just a small favor—"

Upon hearing Liu Zhengyuan's words, Yin Yunze was momentarily unsure whether Liu Zhengyuan was flattering him.

"For Her Majesty, this is nothing more than a small favor—" His gaze swept over Yin Yunze, then he looked up at the moon Liu Zhengyuan said softly, "But for us, this is divine grace. How many deities wouldn't even grant such a small favor—"

"----" Instead of responding to that question, Yin Yunze asked with some curiosity, "Lord Liu, have you perhaps seen many deities?"

"If we're talking about clay or wooden statues of gods, I've certainly seen plenty. But, the real one that came before me—"

Looking intently at Yin Yunze, Liu Zhengyuan said solemnly, "Actually, it's only you Primordial Lady of the Azure Heavens!"

Upon hearing this, Yin Yunze was speechless.

Liu Zhengyuan had never seen any other deities, so naturally any term could be applied to Yin Yunze.

There's nothing wrong with the most masculine of gods!

Seemingly guessing Yin Yunze's thoughts, Liu Zhengyuan shook his head and sighed, "Your Majesty, please don't think I'm flattering you—just ask yourself, those gods refuse to appear before mortals—doesn't that prove their aloofness? How can a group of aloof gods be compassionate and benevolent?"

Although Liu Zhengyuan's words were somewhat biased, they also contained some truth.

Most importantly, since there was no comparison before, no one felt that there was anything wrong with those indigenous gods.

However, now there has been an outsider named Yin Yunze who doesn't follow the unspoken rules.

That's how things are most of the time; it's not that the things or people are bad.

What I fear most is comparing goods and people.

On one side are clay and wooden figures who are too lazy to even speak, and whose success or failure is of no concern to anyone.

On one side is the true form of a deity who is willing to communicate with you on an equal footing and can directly provide you with many tangible benefits.

Which one is better? It's almost a no-brainer.

Of course, Yin Yunze knew that the reason for this difference was ultimately because Yin Yunze still considered himself a human being.

Becoming a god was meant to make life more comfortable, but in doing so, one becomes bound by the identity of a god.

Restricting everything, prohibiting this and that, isn't that putting the cart before the horse?

The reason Yin Yunze doesn't interact with ordinary people isn't because he wants to put on airs like a god, but simply because they can't connect with each other and it makes them nervous.

When he encounters someone he can chat with, like Liu Zhengyuan, Yin Yunze is naturally willing to communicate on an equal footing.

However, this behavior, which was considered heretical among the gods, gave Liu Zhengyuan a different feeling.

"Sir, please don't say that. Saying it again would be like praising me to death."

However, Yin Yunze shook his head and interrupted Liu Zhengyuan's sincere praise.

"Perhaps it's just a difference in style! Many gods fulfill their believers' requests quietly and subtly—as the saying goes, 'Great sound is silent, great form is formless, and nourishing things silently'—while I need to provide tangible things, I'm actually falling Lower Vehicle."

Although Yin Yunze was already considered a prominent figure in Anqing Prefecture.

But within the entire Great Wei, Yin Yunze was at best a small shrimp who had grown into a small fish.

If these words got out and some petty-minded big shots heard them...

This is what it means to have trouble come from your mouth!

Just like in the beginning, when the Qingling County City God summoned Yin Yunze and gave him a good scolding, one of the reasons was that he was unhappy with Yin Yunze's actions! He felt that Yin Yunze's method of using Fox Rice to win people's hearts would make the people look down on him as the City God.

Fortunately, no one in Anqing Prefecture is paying attention to this now, and Yin Yunze doesn't want to attract attention from outsiders because of these few words!

"I misspoke—" Realizing that Yin Yunze genuinely disliked it, Liu Zhengyuan quickly shook his head and said, "Perhaps the wine tonight was a bit too strong, and my mind wasn't quite right—I misspoke, Your Majesty, please don't take offense!"

"I didn't notice."

After responding, Yin Yunze thought for a moment and asked, "Sir, as the prefect of Anqing Prefecture, what is your opinion of Anqing Prefecture?"

Anqing Prefecture?

In response to Yin Yunze's question, Liu Zhengyuan pondered for a moment before carefully replying, "Anqing Prefecture is located in a remote area, yet it's not on the border—although it's not as prosperous as Jiangnan, it also lacks many powerful and influential Aristocratic Clan —at least most of the people still own land, so it should be considered not bad—"

At this point, Liu Zhengyuan paused, slightly embarrassed, and said, "Moreover, it's not that I'm bragging. But most of the people who were appointed to positions in Anqing Prefecture, whether it's myself or those county officials, are honest people who are not well-liked—"

Therefore, the overall governance is quite good—to the best of my knowledge, if it weren't for this drought, the people living in Anqing Prefecture would be considered among the best in the Great Wei.

Those who can become prefects may not care much about the lives of ordinary people, but they generally have some understanding of the situation under their jurisdiction.

After listening to Liu Zhengyuan's account, Yin Yunze fell silent.

Yin Yunze truly hadn't expected that Anqing Prefecture, such a desolate place, would actually be doing relatively well for its people, because it wasn't the best of the best but not the worst either.

It can only be said that, due to the affluence of modern society, Yin Yunze still lacks sufficient understanding of the poverty of the lower classes in ancient society.

While Yin Yunze was deep in thought, he saw Liu Zhengyuan cup his hands in greeting to him again.

"I must thank the Goddess Yuanjun this time. Otherwise, countless people would have been displaced!"

If it weren't for Yin Yunze's widespread distribution of Fox Rice and his occasional miraculous acts of bringing snow and rain to alleviate the drought in these eight counties, and the eight little witches traveling around to provide medical treatment and assistance to stabilize the people's hearts, the situation would have been much better.

This half-prefecture, if not completely in chaos, is at least in a state of widespread suffering.

At least, it would never be like it is now, where most people can stay safely in their original locations.

That's why Liu Zhengyuan's initial courteous treatment of Yin Yunze was somewhat obsequious.

Of course, this half-prefecture is not entirely without change.

At least many wealthy people in Anqing Prefecture chose to leave to avoid the disaster.

The people who made this choice were not just from the eight disaster-stricken counties.

In addition, some wealthy people in the other half of the prefecture also chose to leave, fearing the drought would spread.

After all, when ordinary people really can't survive, these rich people might become the targets.

Furthermore, because these wealthy individuals who were preparing to leave sold off their property and land, Anqing Prefecture had an opportunity to reshuffle and consolidate its land holdings.

However, as long as the drought continues, these lands will remain barren, and nothing can be changed in the short term.

Hearing Liu Zhengyuan's sincere gratitude, Yin Yunze felt that although he didn't feel unworthy of it, he also felt that he hadn't done enough.

Now, Anqing Prefecture is under Yin Yunze's protection.

After thinking for a moment, Yin Yunze looked at Liu Zhengyuan and said, "Sir, are you willing to believe me?"

"I believe you!" Upon hearing Yin Yunze's words, Liu Zhengyuan knew that Yin Yunze had something to say, and quickly replied, "Your Majesty, please speak! I am all ears!"

"I can obtain some high-yield grain seeds for the people, but the promotion of these seeds—"

The only way to improve people's quality of life is to increase productivity.

However, it is unrealistic to expect such an ancient society to industrialize overnight.

After all, this isn't something that Yin Yunze can achieve simply by bringing in some machinery.

If we truly want to industrialize, it requires Yin Yunze to undertake a massive project, building an industrial system on a ten-year basis.

This kind of thing—it's best to just think about it.

As an ordinary person, Yin Yunze admitted that he couldn't do it; it would be too tiring.

Moreover, bringing in the industrial system from the real world presents an even bigger problem.

That is, what will happen to Yin Yunze if he attracts the attention of the world's bigwigs?

Yin Yunze's ability to conjure food can be attributed to the powerful figure behind her.

Yin Yunze's ability to conjure up high-yield grain seeds can also be attributed to the powerful figure behind her.

The problem is, you're bringing in an industrial system that none of the world's bigwigs have ever heard of.

The expert said they had never seen this thing before.

Therefore, regardless of the actual situation or the potential risks of identity exposure.

Yin Yunze's only thought was to help alleviate poverty.

Poverty alleviation is not simply a matter of giving money.

Humans are inherently lazy; when money is handed to them, most people will simply spend it all instead of thinking about investing in the future.

Therefore, Yin Yunze didn't have many options.

Bringing selected grains from the real world into this world is already the most feasible and effective method.

Given the sheer number of agricultural crops in the modern world, selecting crops based on the environment of Anqing Prefecture would be far too simplistic.

As far as Yin Yunze knew, potatoes and corn were high-yielding crops that weren't particularly picky about their environment.

However, Yin Yunze still needs to go back to the real world to find out which crop to choose.

As for Yin Yunze's suggestion, if it were someone else, Liu Zhengyuan might have hesitated and dared not try it easily.

But the question is, who is it that is making this suggestion to Liu Zhengyuan?

This is Primordial Lady of the Azure Heavens, who single-handedly supported half of Anqing Prefecture!

They are now acting out of kindness, wanting to give mortals and immortals food seeds.

If Liu Zhengyuan can't believe this, he might as well just kill himself.

Putting everything else aside, the fact that this Hundred Fruit Orchard is filled with fruit trees bearing fruits that even Liu Zhengyuan had never heard of proves Yin Yunze's abilities in this area.

Since Yin Yunze was able to build such a Hundred Fruit Orchard, it's not surprising that he would also have a lot of grain seeds.

"Then, on behalf of the people under my jurisdiction, I thank Your Majesty for your mercy!"

In response, Liu Zhengyuan bowed formally to Yin Yunze.

"You're too kind, sir."

Yin Yunze gave Liu Zhengyuan a perfunctory reply and said softly, "However, I need some time to select the grains. The place where I collect the seeds takes longer than here. So, it may take a few days. You don't need to wait, sir. Once I'm ready, I will naturally send someone to deliver them to you!"

Upon hearing Yin Yunze mention the concept of the flow of time, Liu Zhengyuan was first taken aback, then shocked.

Immediately, Liu Zhengyuan thought of the folk saying that a day in heaven is a year on earth.

Immediately, Liu Zhengyuan's gaze towards Yin Yunze became even more respectful.

No wonder, Liu Zhengyuan said, he didn't know where Qingqiu Kingdom was.

It seems that the Qingqiu Kingdom is in the heavens!

No wonder, this Primordial Lady of the Azure Heavens is so powerful and influential that he can easily support half the population of the prefecture.

Furthermore, if that powerful Divine Ability Law Treasure was Nine-Tailed Immortal Fox descended from heaven, then everything could be explained.

"Your Majesty, you may decide for yourself. The planting season has passed this year, so if you wish to promote the change of planting, you will have to wait until next year. There is no rush."

In response, Liu Zhengyuan's tone became even more humble. "I will definitely send people to prepare when I return. Just give the order, and I will do my best to cooperate!"

"Yes, then I'll have to trouble you again in the future."

In any case, these things really do need to be done slowly. After reaching a preliminary agreement on cooperation, Yin Yunze brought up another matter.

"By the way, Lord Liu, when the imperial decree is conferred tomorrow, please tell the people for me that I am the god who governs abundance and peace."