Chapter 70: Great Harvest, Toys
Royal palace, main hall, court meeting.
“Diao Province has 6.3 billion jins of grains, 400 million jins of beans, and 1.6 billion jins of potatoes, totaling 8.3 billion jins, 30% longer!”
"Xueling Province...a total of 2.9 billion catties, 20% longer!"
"Fasno Province...a total of 11 billion jins, 30% longer!"
"The northern province... totals 1.4 billion catties and grows 20%!"
"The province of Edfu... totals 4.2 billion kilograms and grows by 30%!"
On the golden throne, Emperor Xueye was stroking his beard, his face rosy.
Although he had already listened to the minister's report once, even hearing it for the second time still made his heart surge.
Food is the foundation of a country, and the increase in food production is an intuitive manifestation of the growth of national strength. This year, the grain output of the five major provinces of the Tiandou Empire has increased by an average of 20%, which is an unimaginable increase.
There was a commotion in the court hall, but they were all voices of joy and congratulations.
As the Tiandou Empire grew stronger, the status and power of their ministers naturally increased.
"Your Majesty, the great harvest of grain in the country is all thanks to the prince's finding of a good recipe."
A minister who supported Xue Qinghe stood up and said loudly.
The princelings all boasted about Xue Qinghe's achievements.
The news that "the prince has found a good way to increase grain production across the country" has already spread throughout the court and even throughout the country under the arrangement of thoughtful people. Reasonable and convincing. Even the forces hostile to the prince, such as Prince Snow Star, couldn't find anything to argue with.
After all, this is the truth.
Xue Ye nodded.
"Qinghe did a great job this time."
Xue Qinghe said humbly: "It's all my son's responsibility."
"What do you want?"
Xue Qinghe bowed his hands and said, "I have nothing to ask for, I just hope to do something practical for the people of the world. Therefore, I boldly ask my father to order a 10% reduction in food taxes for the people of the country on the current basis."
After Xue Qinghe finished speaking, there was a sudden silence in the court hall.
Xue Ye frowned, and the joy of the harvest was extinguished.
He said coldly: "This is not something you should consider."
Prince Xuexing walked out and said with a faint smile: "Your Majesty, please calm down. Your Highness the Crown Prince just made a slip of the tongue. Taxation is a major matter of the country. How can you change it at will?"
Xue Qinghe insisted: "Father, I promise that this increase in national production is not a temporary blessing. The empire will definitely be more fertile. I sincerely ask my father to think about the people of the world!"
"Are you saying I'm a tyrant!"
"My son, I have absolutely no intention of doing this!"
"No need to say more, just retreat from the court."
After saying that, Xue Ye left the court directly.
The courtiers left one after another, and Xue Qinghe stood there.
"Oh!"
Snow Star walked past him and sneered.
The court meeting ended hastily, Xue Qinghe returned to the mansion early, and saw no one at noon.
The housekeeper of the Prince's Mansion was well-informed and considerate. He somehow managed to reach Chi Ping's ears about the court meeting.
"well!"
In front of the experimental table, Chi Ping sighed deeply.
How could Xue Qinghe be such an impulsive person?
In this feudal era, even if he is the prince, he cannot talk about tax issues without authorization, especially since he has made Xue Ye unable to come to the stage.
"Tax reduction is a good thing that benefits the people."
…
In the evening, after Chi Ping asked the housekeeper, he walked into Xue Qinghe's bedroom with a gift.
As soon as he entered the door, he saw Xue Qinghe drinking alone. Chi Ping shrugged his nose and looked helpless. After thinking about it, he removed the disguise he had maintained for half a year after the slave incident at the auction house and revealed his true appearance.
He stepped forward, placed the gift on the table, and took the wine glass and wine bottle from Xue Qinghe's hand.
"Brother Chi, give me back..." Xue Qinghe said drunkenly, reaching out to snatch the wine back from Chi Ping's hand.
Chi Ping pushed him away, "Stop pretending. I've never eaten pork and I've never seen a pig run away. Is this how you drink alcohol? There's no smell of alcohol on you at all, and your face isn't red at all."
After being exposed by Chi Ping, Xue Qinghe stopped pretending and his eyes instantly became clear.
He patted his face and asked, "Are my acting skills bad?"
"Very bad."
"Looks like I need to practice more."
Chi Ping rolled his eyes, "It's just like that no matter how hard you practice."
He pushed the gift in front of Xue Qinghe, "This is a toy made for you to relieve your boredom. If you piss off the emperor, it won't be easy even if you are the prince. You will probably stay in the house for the next two days. Use it to relieve your boredom."
"Actually, I'm almost thirty, and I'm past the age of playing with toys." Xue Qinghe's tone was nonchalant, but his expression couldn't suppress the joy, and he grabbed the gift without letting go.
"It's really strange. This is the first time I have received such a gift. How is this doll used?"
The gift Chi Ping brought was two one-foot-tall stick figure-style dolls. The main body was made of wood, with jade ball joints and five distinct fingers. Except for the lack of faces, everything else was perfect.
Chi Ping took out two modern-style game controllers, and the mycelium in his hands was woven into threads to connect the controllers to the puppet limbs.
"Watch it."
In the name of the developer, Chi Ping input his soul power and controlled the doll to walk, run, punch, flip... and finally performed a set of silky little combos.
"puppet?"
"Well... you can understand it that way, but it's not that high-end."
Chi Ping threw the other handle to Xue Qinghe.
"Try?"
"Teach me the basic operations first."
So Chi Ping taught Xue Qinghe key by key.
An hour later, the two controlled the puppets to have a passionate battle.
"Spinning kick! Two dragons go out to sea! Green dragon spreads its claws!"
Chi Ping controlled the puppet to perform unexplained combos and said unexplained words. He looks like a foodie addicted to food.
"This can't be won by just talking."
Xue Qinghe smiled contemptuously, and seizing the opportunity, the puppet turned around and knocked down Chi Ping's puppet with a punch.
"Tsk! Lost again." Chi Ping said unwillingly.
"Where did you learn these fighting skills?" Chi Ping put down the controller and wondered.
Xue Qinghe's cultivation level is only that of a soul king, but his combat skills and soul power control are surprisingly high! He doesn't look like a young man who doesn't stand in danger at all.
After the initial adaptation period, without turning on his intuition, Chi Ping could only control the puppet at a 50-50 level with Xue Qinghe.
"The emperor cannot be helpless. I have several boxing and kicking teachers." Xue Qinghe replied casually, and then asked: "By the way, how much does this doll cost?"
"Ten gold soul coins. I don't pursue combat effectiveness. The materials I use are not very good, they are all inferior materials." Chi Ping put the doll on the table. It was getting late and he should go back to his room.
"Can an ordinary first-level soul engineer do it?"
Chi Ping raised his eyes, "You want to sell this thing?"
Xue Qinghe nodded, "This way of playing feels very novel and interesting. It may create a trend among the nobles. I want to take over this business, and I think Tiandou Academy may also be interested in it."
"I'll sort it out and give you the design book tomorrow."
Chi Ping resumed his disguise and left his bedroom under the watchful eyes of Xue Qinghe.
When he reached the door of the small courtyard, he looked back at the lights that were extinguished in the room and smiled with relief.
(End of chapter)