My Pen Pal Zhu Yuanzhang

Chapter 165 Everyone Can Afford Sugar

"Commander Mao, monks do not tell lies, but I also know that the highest yield per mu of grain is only 300 to 400 kilograms. It is unheard of to have a yield of several thousand kilograms per mu. It is really unbelievable!"

Seeing Daoyan's disbelief, Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said:
"Master, Commander Mao is right. After careful cultivation and observation by the Ministry of Revenue, the sweet potato can indeed achieve such a high yield. If you still don't believe it, you can go and ask yourself. Sweet potatoes are no longer a rarity in Yingtian Prefecture, and almost all the people know about it."

Daoyan came to the vendor who was selling roasted sweet potatoes with doubt. When the vendor saw the customer, he immediately greeted him with a smile:
"Master, these are all local sweet potatoes grown by me. They are very sweet, cheap and delicious. Would you like some?"

"Donor, you just said that these sweet potatoes are all grown by yourself?"

"Yes, Master, they are all grown at home. They are guaranteed to be sweet and delicious."

"How many kilograms of sweet potatoes can be produced per acre? Please tell me, benefactor." Daoyan asked sincerely.

The vendor thought for a moment and said, "We just started planting this spring, and we are new to it, so we only harvested over 3,000 kilograms. But now we have some experience, and by the time we harvest in the fall, we should be able to harvest around 5,000 kilograms."

The more Daoyan listened, the more surprised he was. This vendor didn't look like he was lying.

In other words, what Your Majesty and Mao Xiang said is true?

He then asked other vendors and the answers he got were all similar.

Now Daoyan had to believe it. Such a high output was truly astonishing!
"Your Majesty, the sweet potato can really produce several thousand kilograms per mu. I am really ashamed of my ignorance. With this, I think the people of the Ming Dynasty will never have to go hungry again!"

Mao Xiang said: "Not only that, we in the Ming Dynasty also have something called potatoes, which are similar to sweet potatoes. They can be used for cooking and snacks on weekdays. At critical moments, they can also be used as food to save lives."

Daoyan was silent. Sweet potatoes and potatoes, these high-yield crops, brought more than just filling the Ming Dynasty's stomach.

Your Majesty has done a great deed by promoting these things throughout the country.

Zhu Yuanzhang's next words were like a sharp sword, piercing the deepest part of his soul.

"Food is the most important thing for the people. If the Ming Dynasty wants peace and prosperity, and the people want to live a good life, the least we can do is to make sure they have enough food, right?"

This ordinary sentence made him feel like he was struck by lightning, and he stood there in a daze. When he heard similar words in the past, he would not make too many associations. This was a truth that everyone understood, and it was so obvious that there was no need to delve into the meaning behind it.

Hearing it now made him think of more...

Just at this moment, two children passed by, both of them holding roasted sweet potatoes. They were eating something with the roasted sweet potatoes as they walked.

Daoyan took a closer look and saw that what the child had dipped the sweet potato in was something crystal clear like sand. He was suddenly inspired and thought, isn’t that frosting sugar?

Since when can frosting be eaten so casually?

You know, his family has been practicing medicine for generations. Although they are not rich, they are quite wealthy. If the children in the family want to eat candy, they just buy some rice sugar or malt sugar.

However, since his family was a doctor, they would sometimes bring in some honey as a medicine, and Daoyan had often stolen honey from home when he was a child. But he had never seen frosted sugar before, even before he was arrested and imprisoned.

But now, those two children are eating sweet potatoes with icing sugar. What kind of family situation is this?

And look at those two children, they are wearing ordinary clothes made of cotton and linen. They seem to be children from ordinary families. Could it be that in just one short year, the Ming Dynasty has become so powerful that it can eat frosted sugar at will?

He quickly asked, "Your Majesty, Commander Mao, how much is this frosted candy selling for now?"

Zhu Yuanzhang was not aware of this, but Mao Xiang knew it very well. His wife and children at home often used frosting sugar to make snacks, and he bought a lot of it.

"Master, do you want to eat some candy? As for this frosted candy, thanks to your majesty's construction of the sugar factory, the price of frosted candy has dropped a lot since the scale has increased. Although it is still not too cheap, ordinary people can still afford it if they want to eat it. Let me calculate it."

Mao Xiang counted on his fingers and said, "About ten to fifteen coins per ounce. It would cost more than a hundred coins to buy a pound. If we sell it overseas, it would cost five hundred to a string of silver coins per pound. But after the sugar factory is expanded, the price will be cheaper."

Daoyan was stunned. Was it that Mao Xiang didn't know what expensive meant, or was it that he himself didn't understand what cheap meant?

In his impression, frosted sugar would cost several strings of coins per ounce. But now it only costs over a hundred coins per pound. Isn't that cheap?

And from what Mao Xiang said, the price will be even cheaper!
The Ming Dynasty has truly become prosperous and powerful!
Suddenly, an inexplicable emotion surged in his heart, and he realized that his previous thoughts were terribly childish.

Change the world and achieve world peace?
What virtue or ability do I have? I am just a monk who has only studied for a few years. How can I achieve world peace?
Nowadays, people can have enough food to eat, no longer go hungry, and can even eat frosted sugar. Isn’t the realization of world peace starting from the people living a good life?
The lives of the people of the Ming Dynasty are getting better day by day. I am afraid that all this is due to Your Majesty. With such a wise ruler, what else can I expect?
Your Majesty, you are the practitioner of universal peace!
Compared with His Majesty, my previous obsession was nothing but delusion, so childish as to be ridiculous!
Thinking of this, he stood up straight and bowed deeply to Zhu Yuanzhang.

Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned and quickly helped him up, "Master, why is this happening?"

Daoyan said sincerely: "For Your Majesty, the people of the Ming Dynasty can all afford to eat frosted sugar!"

"Hahahaha!"

Zhu Yuanzhang laughed loudly. "Master, you are too kind. As the ruler of a country, it is my duty to ensure that the people of Ming Dynasty can afford candy."

Daoyan said sternly: "Your Majesty, I am just a glimpse of the whole picture, seeing the big picture from the small.

People of the Ming Dynasty, if everyone can afford to eat frosted sugar, then it will be a piece of cake for everyone to fill their stomachs!

Once, when I saw some people living in luxury while others were poorly clothed and hungry, I naively thought that this was caused by the injustice of the world and I delusionally thought that I could change all this by changing the world.

Now it seems that I was just daydreaming. Compared with your majesty's greatness, my little obsession is like a firefly competing with the bright moon. I am really overestimating my own capabilities.

It is Your Majesty who made me repent and turn back. Although I cannot say that I have achieved great enlightenment, I do understand one thing: nothing can be achieved overnight and requires long-term efforts.

Your Majesty's strategy for governing the country is the right way to make the country strong and the people happy. If you continue in this way, there is no need to worry about not being able to achieve universal justice and universal peace!"

(End of this chapter)