Diqin Designer

Chapter 15 Can this thing be grown in our Great Qin?
Ever since he discovered that the solar charging speed of this crappy power bank was extremely slow, Li Nian has never used this function again. He said uncertainly, "According to the merchant who sold this thing to me, it can be recharged under sunlight, but I haven't tried it, so I don't know how long it will take to be fully recharged."

Meng Yi looked at the power bank in his hand in disbelief. Can this thing absorb the essence of the sun?

After learning from Li Nian that the power bank can be charged by sunlight, Ying Zheng said: "If one day doesn't work, then three days. If three days doesn't work, then one month. As long as I can replenish the electricity in my Great Qin, it will be fine!"

Okay, you are the king, you have the final say!
Since Ying Zheng had no objection, Li Nian naturally had no objection either. He took the mobile phone and power bank from Meng Yi, disconnected the data cable, turned off the mobile phone, and then tactfully handed them back to Meng Yi.

After traveling to this time and space, the mobile phone and power bank no longer belong to him.

Seeing Li Nian's actions, Ying Zheng was very satisfied. This descendant from the future was very sensible and not a fool!

After dealing with the phone, Li Nian looked at the potatoes being guarded by several guards and said, "Your Majesty, this thing is called 'potato' in later generations, also known as 'yang yams' and 'potatoes'. It is an edible crop!"

It was obvious that this was a crop, but Li Nian's next words shocked everyone in the hall.

"This plant can produce 2,000 to 3,000 kilograms per mu in the future. According to the Daqin calculation, it can produce 12,000 to 18,000 kilograms per mu! This plant can be used as a staple food or as a dish. It is easy to cook and store, tastes good, and is not difficult to grow."

What, how many pounds?
Hearing Li Nian say, "According to the Qin calculation, the yield per mu is 12,000 to 18,000 jin!", Ying Zheng's expression suddenly changed, and his eyes instantly fell on the two potatoes. How could these two fist-sized things produce tens of thousands of jin per mu?

After glancing at the potatoes, Ying Zheng turned to look at Li Nian and asked in disbelief, "What's the yield per mu?"

Li Nian said: "Between 12,000 and 18,000 kilograms, but later generations have fertilizers and pesticides, while the Qin Dynasty did not, so the yield per mu should not be that high."

"Even if it's not that high, 50% is still a big deal, far exceeding the crops of the seven countries. It seems that the important thing this guy is talking about is that he is afraid that I will destroy these potatoes."

Ying Zheng secretly said, and he found Li Nian more and more pleasing to the eye, 'The country in the future can afford to support 140 million people, probably because of these potatoes.'

Originally, Ying Zheng was still wondering how future countries could afford to support so many people. Now he understands that it is because of crops like potatoes.

If Li Nian knew what Ying Zheng was thinking at the moment, he would definitely tell him that he was wrong. The future generations could support so many people thanks to a deceased old man!

Ying Zheng asked anxiously, "Can this be grown in my Great Qin? Do you know how to grow it?"

If the potatoes were really as this person said, then wouldn't the population of his Great Qin skyrocket? It would reach an unprecedented prosperity.

An important factor that prevented the population from growing rapidly in ancient times was food. Without enough food, so many people could not be fed. During the Qing Dynasty, crops such as sweet potatoes, potatoes, and corn were introduced, which created the so-called "Kangxi and Qianlong Prosperity."

Kangxi, Kangxi, ate bran and drank porridge, but in some dynasties, there was not even bran to eat, so the population naturally could not grow.

So when Ying Zheng heard Li Nian talk about the potato yield, he became anxious and lost his composure!
Ying Zheng felt relieved. Fortunately, he had people take good care of these things because they were so strange and were not destroyed. Otherwise, he would regret it today. These were treasures that could build a country.

Li Nian replied: "Your Majesty, potatoes can be grown in China in the future, so they can naturally be grown in Qin. Common people know how to grow potatoes, but they have never grown them themselves."

Ying Zheng was surprised and asked, "You have never planted potatoes in the future? Then where did these potatoes come from? Are you a merchant or a scholar?"

Li Nian shook his head: "It has nothing to do with these. The era where the common people came from had much more resources than the Qin Dynasty. Many people did not need to farm and could still get enough food. This is exactly what the common people did."

I roughly understand that in later generations, there are abundant products and no shortage of food, so many people can have food to eat without farming. But what do these people do if they don't farm?

Should I become an official in the court, a craftsman, a soldier in the army, or a businessman?
With so many people not farming but doing other things instead, wouldn’t future kings worry that it would cause unrest in the country and be detrimental to governance?
I almost forgot, there seems to be no kings in later generations!
Ying Zheng said: "In this case, I will return these potatoes to you. I hope you can grow them in Daqin. If you grow them well, I will reward you handsomely!"

Ying Zheng did not say what would happen if the crops were not planted well, because Li Nian said that he knew how to plant but had never planted it before. Now it was the first time for Li Nian to plant it.

Since it is the first time, there is a possibility of failure. He, Ying Zheng, is not an unreasonable person. He wants people to try, but he does not allow them to fail.

Li Nian said: "Common people will do their best to live up to the king's trust!"

Ying Zheng glanced at him and said: "No need to call me 'commoner' anymore. From today on, you are my subject, but I will not grant you an official position for the time being."

Does this mean he becomes an official of the Qin Dynasty?

It’s just that this position of official is a bit strange, with neither official rank nor official position!
Li Nian said: "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

After talking about potatoes, Ying Zheng pointed at several other things and asked, "What are these?"

This is because they are afraid of missing out on something as useful to Daqin as potatoes!

Li Nian understood Ying Zheng's thoughts and introduced them one by one: "These are my clothes, short-sleeved shirts, long pants, and underwear. The materials used to make them are difficult to make in the Qin Dynasty now, but the styles can be used as a reference and replaced with other materials. This is my key!"

It was a key, not money or some kind of accessory? What about the money of later times?

"This is my tissue bag. Paper is very useful. It can be used to write and record text. It is far better than bamboo slips. The text that can be recorded on this bag of paper would weigh dozens of kilograms on bamboo slips."

With this example, Ying Zheng and Meng Yi immediately understood the value of this so-called "paper" and its advantages over bamboo slips.

"Of course, this pack of tissues is not for writing, but for cleaning, that is, to wipe your mouth after eating and clean up after going to the toilet. In the future, paper is one of the necessities of daily life!"

Ying Zheng glared at Li Nian in dissatisfaction. Such a useful thing was actually used in later generations...

In this era, ordinary people used wood chips and leaves as toilets. The ones used in the palace were of course more advanced, but not much better.

After more than half a month in Daqin, Li Nian already felt that his butt could no longer bear it and he was eager to change the quality of his toileting.

Now there is a contradiction between Daqin’s backward toilet conditions and the toilet experience that Li Nian is eager to improve.

Seeing that Li Nian had introduced so much about "paper", Ying Zheng came to his senses and asked, "Can our Great Qin make this thing?"

　The output in this chapter is calculated based on the fact that one mu of Daqin is equivalent to 0.633 mu today, and one catty is equivalent to 256.23g today.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)