Armed with a machete and a gun, armed with a system, they fled the famine.

Dou Qingran had originally planned to visit Dou Xingyan at the farm before the New Year, but now she dared not leave the capital.

The road was covered in snow, and he was afraid that if the snow got heavier, he wouldn't be able to get back.

Therefore, he had no choice but to send a letter to the farm, saying that he couldn't go to the farm before the New Year, and that he would go to visit after the snow stopped, and that Dou Xingyan should take good care of herself and the child.

Dou Xingyan felt a little disappointed after reading the letter, but she was quickly cheered up by the cute appearance of her youngest son.

Just as Zhao Yan said, the little one changes every day, becoming fairer and more beautiful as she grows up.

That year, the entire family of three stayed at the farm.

Because it had been snowing since before the Lunar New Year, Zhao Yan and the others did not go out and stayed at the farm to celebrate the New Year.

It wasn't until after spring that Dou Qingran secretly brought Empress Lu Min to the farm to visit Dou Xingyan and the others.

Lu Min was immediately attracted by the fresh and pleasant environment of the farm upon arrival.

Seeing Dou Xingyan's son so well-fed and chubby, she looked on with envy and couldn't help but exclaim, "The environment here is really good. No wonder Xingyan didn't want to go back after she came here."

"Hey, if it weren't for the special status of your brother and me, I would have liked to stay here."

Upon hearing this, Dou Qingran's face twitched violently, and she immediately called out, "Minmin..."

There's really no need for that.

He finally managed to marry her, so he couldn't just not go back to the capital with her just because the farm was a peaceful place.

Hearing the man's aggrieved voice, Lu Min glanced at him reproachfully, her eyes conveying a sense of reassurance.

She liked the environment at the farm, but she wasn't unreasonable.

As the empress, her primary responsibility was to share the emperor's burdens and not to act arbitrarily.

Besides, she had just married Dou Qingran, and there were many things they still needed to work out together. Moreover, she didn't want to leave Dou Qingran, so it was impossible for her to stay at the farm forever.

Farm life is beautiful, but it's not suitable for her.

Dou Qingran saw the look in her empress's eyes and her tense mood gradually calmed down.

so far so good.

Fortunately, his daughter Minmin didn't intend to stay.

Seeing her brother and sister-in-law looking at each other, Dou Xingyan and Zhao Yan exchanged a glance, covered their mouths, and chuckled to themselves.

Dou Xingyan: Hehehe, her brother and sister-in-law have such a good relationship, so she can stay at the farm with peace of mind.

Zhao Yan: Sure, it seems Brother Dou truly loves his wife. I hope their relationship lasts a long time.

Dou Qingran and Lu Min only stayed at the farm for one day before hurriedly returning home.

There was no way around it; as the emperor of the Great Ruan Dynasty, Dou Qingran, while not exactly busy with countless affairs of state, was at least working late into the night drafting documents every day.

There were still a lot of things to deal with at the court, so he could only visit his sister and nephew before rushing back.

This time, Zhao Yan carried two large sacks of potatoes into his carriage when he returned.

She took the initiative to introduce to Dou Qingran, "Brother Dou, this is a potato. It's the best-selling and most popular dish at Brother Shen's restaurant. Brother Dou, you can ask the chef to make it and try it. I've written the recipe in the booklet."

Dou Qingran casually flipped through the booklet Zhao Yan had given him and was slightly taken aback when he saw that it indeed described various ways to cook potatoes in detail.

Could it be that potatoes, a food we eat, were also grown by my younger brother and sister-in-law?

Could it be that she wants to...?

Seeing that Dou Qingran had realized what was going on, Zhao Yan stopped hiding it and told Dou Qingran her plan.

"Brother Dou, you guessed right, I figured out the potato myself through experimentation. The reason I didn't tell you beforehand is because it's a bit different from a sweet potato."

Dou Qingran calmly asked, "What's the difference between them?"

He wasn't angry; he was just simply curious.

He figured his sister-in-law must have her reasons for not telling him.

Seeing that Dou Qingran's expression was relatively calm, Zhao Yan knew that he was definitely not angry because she hadn't informed him in advance. Therefore, she spoke without restraint and told Dou Qingran the whole story.

"Brother Dou, potatoes and sweet potatoes are different. If sweet potatoes go bad if left out for too long, just cut off the bad parts and throw them away; the rest can still be eaten."

"But potatoes are different. Once potatoes sprout, they produce a toxin. If people eat this toxin, they may experience numbness and vomiting in mild cases, or even death in severe cases."

"That's why I've never dared to reveal the secret of potatoes. Unlike sweet potatoes, they don't store well and they easily sprout when the temperature is high. Once they sprout, the whole thing has to be thrown away, otherwise people will get poisoned if they accidentally eat it."

Upon hearing this, Dou Qingran's brows furrowed slightly.

After a long silence, he looked at Zhao Yan and asked, "Sister-in-law, what do you mean...?"

Zhao Yan blinked and waved her hand dismissively, saying, "I didn't mean anything by it. Brother Dou has already popularized sweet potatoes among ordinary people. With sweet potatoes, people certainly won't go hungry anymore. As for potatoes, that depends on what Brother Dou thinks."

She was only responsible for providing the potato planting methods. As for whether Dou Qingran wanted to popularize potatoes in the same way he popularized sweet potatoes, that was up to him.

However, she still needed to make things clear.

"Also, eating too many sweet potatoes can cause bloating, and eating too many potatoes can also be cloying. Brother Dou, when you go back, please convey these drawbacks to the people in the form of an official announcement."

Dou Qingran nodded knowingly to Zhao Yan, "Yes, I understand what you're saying, sister-in-law. I'll think about it again when I get back."

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Dou Qingran and Lu Min took their leave and departed from the farm.

……

After the start of spring, Zhao Yan began preparing for the seedling cultivation of sweet potatoes and potatoes.

Before the New Year, Yang Sanlang discovered a large plot of sandy soil on the back mountain, suitable for planting sweet potatoes and potatoes.

Therefore, the planting area has expanded considerably this year, and Yang Sanlang and his team certainly cannot finish planting it all by themselves, so Zhao Yan decided to spend money to hire people to help.

Two days before planting, she found Zhou Hu and explained her intentions to him.

"Uncle Zhou, could you ask around for me if anyone is willing to help plant sweet potatoes? I'll pay them fifty coins a day."

Including the new land that Yang Sanlang discovered last year, they will be cultivating more than 20 mu of land this year.

Half of the land was used to grow sweet potatoes, and the remaining half was used to grow potatoes.

Upon hearing that Zhao Yan wanted people, Zhou Hu immediately said no problem.

"Leave this to me, I'll give you an answer tomorrow."

Zhao Yan: "Okay, thank you, Uncle Zhou."

Zhou Hu acted quickly, summoning all the villagers to his home that same day and explaining that Zhao Yan had asked for help.

Upon hearing this, Qiu Zhen was the first to raise her hand and sign up.

"Brother, my family can provide five people."

She has four sons and an old man, so that makes five people in her family.