FIMA Ch49.1: Family Division

Xie Changyue looked at the rugged branches and leaves. If he hadn’t planted it himself, he would have doubted whether it really grew from that golden seed.

Gu Er and Mu Xia were by his side.

Mu Xia patted his shoulder and comforted him, saying it was alright.

Gu Er compared the stalks and laughed, “It grows really fast. It doesn’t seem like a flower, more like a tree…”

At this point, he stopped himself. Trees can grow tall, but not this fast.

Who knows what it is?

They don’t know where it came from overseas, but they heard that the people there look different from those in the Great Zhou. So it’s possible that the flowers look different too…

Xie Changyue was very disappointed, feeling that his husband might have been deceived by that traveling merchant from overseas.

Actually, two months ago, when the plant sprouted, he had some doubts. However, he diligently weeded and caught bugs in the field, hoping there might be some changes.

Until now, it seemed completely hopeless.

After placing the book basket in the room, Gu Siyuan came out and asked Gu Qingqing, who told him that the three of them were in the backyard, so he went to find them.

Xie Changyue seemed to have a radar for Gu Siyuan. Before the man even entered the yard, he looked towards the entrance as if sensing his presence.

The next moment, the familiar tall and stern figure indeed appeared.

“Husband,” Xie Changyue’s eyes shone like stars. In an instant, all his gloominess vanished, and he cheerfully rushed over.

Gu Siyuan caught the little cannonball that collided with him.

Hand in hand, they walked to the cornfield like conjoined twins.

Gu Er and Mu Xia exchanged a glance, no longer surprised. Their son and son-in-law were always this close.

Gu Siyuan reached out and picked a corn cob, peeling off the outer leaves and silk to reveal the plump golden kernels inside. He nodded, “Not bad, it’s fully mature.”

Xie Changyue widened his eyes at the familiar golden color in his husband’s hand, “This… this is the seed?”

Gu Siyuan replied, “Yes, it’s also a grain.”

Xie Changyue frowned, “Ah, isn’t this a flower?”

Gu Siyuan lied with a straight face, “No, I met that traveling merchant again. He said he made a mistake. This isn’t a flower; it’s a grain that people overseas eat, called corn, similar to our rice and wheat.”

Xie Changyue pouted in amazement, “The grain from overseas really looks so beautiful. But… corn, this name is quite fitting. Each kernel looks like it’s made of gold and jade.”

Mu Xia gestured to his son, somewhat skeptical, “Can this really be eaten? I’ve never seen grain that looks so good. What if we made a mistake and ate something poisonous? That’s no joke…”

Gu Siyuan said seriously, “It can’t be wrong. That traveling merchant roasted and ate it in front of me. According to him, not only can it be roasted, but also steamed, stir-fried, ground into flour, and made into sugar…”

Gu Er was surprised, “It can even be made into sugar?”

Sugar in these times is really a precious thing.

Mu Xia, hearing this, started to believe it and nodded, “That does indeed sound like grain. Like wheat, it can be ground into flour and made into sugar.”

Xie Changyue tugged on Gu Siyuan’s sleeve, eager, “Since it’s grain, let’s harvest it all and roast it tonight!”

Gu Siyuan nodded.

About ten minutes later, the family of four gathered in the backyard, staring in amazement at the two large bags of corn cobs they had harvested.

Gu Er scratched his head in disbelief, “I remember mother initially allocating just about one fen ( 61.44 m2) of land (one mu of land equals ten fen), right? From just one fen of land, we harvested this much? I just weighed it, and it’s almost over a hundred jin (500 grams). Even if we remove the inedible core, there are still eighty to ninety jin left.”

According to government and public records, in the Jiangnan Taihu area, there was a super fertile field that produced nearly 600 jin of rice from one mu of land in two seasons. This has already amazed them.

In the northern region, due to cold weather and water scarcity, rice could only be planted once a year, mostly wheat was planted, and wheat yields were far less than rice, totaling only about three hundred jin in two seasons, half of Jiangnan’s yield.

Now looking at these yellow cobs, one fen of land yielded nearly eighty to ninety jin, so one mu of land could produce eight to nine hundred jin in just three months.

My God, this is incredible.

Gu Siyuan looked at everyone’s shocked faces and thought to himself: this is just a high-quality variety from multiple generations of breeding, so the yield per mu is around 400 kilograms.

Modern hybrid corn can yield up to 900~1000 kilograms per mu, but hybrid varieties can’t be used for seed preservation and need to be continually bred by seed companies, which ancient technology can’t achieve, so this is the best we can do.

Mu Xia looked at his son-in-law again and gestured, “A-Yue, I see you didn’t really tend to it, and it still grew this tall?”

Xie Changyue nodded, “This thing changes daily, growing very fast. I just routinely weeded and caught insects.”

Gu Er marveled, “So easy to cultivate, with such high yield, it’s unbelievable!”

Xie Changyue rested his delicate hand on his chin and said, “Since this thing matures in three months and is very heat-resistant, maybe we can try planting another season next February or March, and push the second season to July. However, the second season’s yield might be a bit lower.”

Gu Siyuan glanced at him and said calmly, “My clever husband, the traveling merchant said that overseas, seven months of the year are summer, and this corn is grown in two seasons.”

Hearing this, Gu Er was overjoyed, “Even if the second season yields less, as long as we get around three or four hundred jin, one mu of land could still produce thirteen hundred jin a year…”

As he spoke, Gu Er unconsciously lowered his voice and held his head with both hands.

Heavens, a thousand jin of grain per mu per year, he couldn’t even imagine it.

Wait, no, there’s another three hundred jin on top of that, that’s already the annual yield of their wheat.

This way, their northern region’s grain production would surpass the best rice fields of Jiangnan, doubling it.

No, wait… Jiangnan’s climate is warmer, and this thing loves heat, so if they plant it there, it might grow even better.

Tsk…

After the initial surprise, Gu Er quickly and carefully gathered the corn, planning to hide it in his room.

Gu Siyuan looked at his father and Pa and reminded them, “Don’t spread the word about this crop’s yield. I have a use for it.”

Gu Er and Mu Xia nodded seriously. A grain that yields over a thousand jin per mu is astounding and must have great use, possibly related to their son’s future prospects.

They wouldn’t even tell their parents.

Back in the room, Xie Changyue looked at his husband and hesitated, “What are you planning to do with this corn? I… I can go back to the Marquis of Suining’s manor…”

Although he returned to Huangyang Village himself, he had spent nearly sixteen years at the Marquis of Suining’s manor. Not to mention Mr. and Mrs. Shen, the old lady Shen had been very fond of him. When he insisted on returning to Huangyang Village, the old lady had held his hand and scolded him for being ungrateful.

Gu Siyuan’s mouth curled up slightly as he looked at his little husband.

He could see through his thoughts at a glance. After all, he was a major villain in the original story. His usual silly and dazed appearance in front of him was just a facade.

Thinking of this, Gu Siyuan’s heart softened, and he pulled the person into his arms to sit.

Xie Changyue obediently hugged his husband’s neck.

Gu Siyuan stroked his slender waist and whispered in his ear, “No need, I have a plan, but we need to wait a bit longer.”

Xie Changyue hugged him, “Do we have to wait until after the spring Tongsheng exam next year?”

Gu Siyuan nodded, “You understand me, Changyue.”

All pursuits are inferior; only studying is superior. With academic merit, one’s words naturally carry more weight.

Hearing this, Xie Changyue couldn’t help but blush.

Although his husband liked to hug and hold him, he was usually a cold person and had never expressed his feelings so straightforwardly before.

Feeling happy, Xie Changyue’s mind became clearer, and he continued, “Although I think this crop can be planted in two seasons, we should wait until next spring to try again to be sure. We should also increase the planting quantity to see if there are any pest problems, so we can take preventive measures early. If we present it and then problems arise, it could anger the emperor and turn good intentions into bad deeds.”

Gu Siyuan hugged the person in his arms even tighter. What a clever little thing.

He nodded, “Yes, we need at least a few mu of land to be convincing. When the officials come to verify, they’ll definitely inspect each plant carefully. You might have to play the role of a little teacher and explain everything.”

Xie Changyue curled his lips.

A crop yielding over a thousand jin per mu is too astonishing. The authorities won’t just take your word for it; they’ll need to see the actual harvest themselves and probably run their own tests.

However, Xie Changyue puffed his cheeks in frustration, “We don’t even have one mu of land now. Even if we persuade Grandpa and Grandma, that annoying Aunt will definitely jump in and cause trouble.”

Gu Siyuan squinted his eyes.

It seems it’s about time to split the family. Preferably before the New Year.

Not to mention that some things are difficult to do when you’re constrained, but his eldest cousin is the lapdog of the main character, Shen Changhuan, which naturally puts them at odds.

In the evening, as the sun was setting.

Gu Siyuan finished writing today’s essay and copying a section of “The Complete Collection of Classics” then walked out of his room and waved to Xie Changyue, who was squatting next to Mu Xia watching him weave.

“Come on…”

When Xie Changyue saw him, he couldn’t care about anything else and immediately ran up and hugged his arm without a word.

Mu Xia shook his head and smiled, already used to his son-in-law abandoning him for his son.

They walked out of the yard and almost reached the village outskirts before Xie Changyue remembered to ask, “Husband, where are we going?”

Gu Siyuan shook the wooden bucket in his hand and said calmly, “Didn’t you say you wanted to roast corn tonight? Only eating corn would be monotonous. I’m taking you to the river to catch some fish, so we can roast them together.”

Xie Changyue’s eyes widened with excitement, “Husband, you’re the best.”

On the road from Huangyang Village to Hexi Town, there was a small creek branching off from the Yongding River. The creek water was crystal clear and flows year-round, full of fish and shrimp.

However, the villagers have a hard time, so anything edible has been eaten.

This creek was no exception. The fish were as clever as monkeys, and the not-so-clever ones have long ended up in the villagers’ stomachs.

Gu Siyuan put down the wooden bucket, took off his shoes and socks, lifted his long robe and tied it around his waist, then stepped into the creek. The autumn creek water was a bit cool, diluting the dryness in the air, feeling very comfortable.

He reached out to Xie Changyue, who was standing on the shore, “There are pebbles underneath, very slippery. Come down and hold onto me.”

“Okay, husband, I’m coming.”

Xie Changyue shouted and then almost jumped into the river, causing a splash bigger than a fish bomb.

Gu Siyuan wiped the water off his drenched face and body, silently thinking: in the wilderness, maybe this is a good place for murder and disposal.

However, the mischievous and scheming little ger Xie Changyue quickly got his comeuppance.

Ignoring his husband’s advice, he immediately suffered. The pebbles, smoothed by the water, were incredibly slippery. As soon as he jumped on them, he started wobbling uncontrollably.

Xie Changyue stretched out his hand, crying and laughing, “Husband, help…”

Gu Siyuan calmly wrung out the water from his clothes, pretending not to see.

Finally, just before he fell into the water, he quickly caught him and pulled him into his arms.

Xie Changyue grabbed Gu Siyuan’s clothes, both angry and thrilled.

He lifted his pale, slender foot and lightly stepped on Gu Siyuan’s broad instep, wiggling his toes, “Hmph, you bullied me. Now I want to stand on you.”

“Who bullied whom?” Gu Siyuan chuckled, pinching his round cheeks. What a turn of events.

“You bullied me. You didn’t pull me up right away.” Xie Changyue argued confidently.

Gu Siyuan looked at him, “Who told you to be naughty? Now I’m all wet.”

“Hmph!” Xie Changyue huffed angrily.

Gu Siyuan was about to tease him.

But the next moment, the little ger suddenly hugged his waist tightly, pressing his small face against his wet chest, whispering, “Husband, on our wedding night, you also held me up like this, letting me step on your feet. Husband, I really like you.”

“…” Gu Siyuan.

He lowered his head and gently kissed his little husband’s damp hair.

Forget it, he’ll take the blame.

After a while, a creek breeze blew by.

Gu Siyuan let him go, “Go sit on the stone by the creek. It’s autumn, and your clothes are all wet. Don’t catch a cold.”

Xie Changyue puffed his cheeks unwillingly.

But thinking about how he couldn’t stand steadily, he gave up. He didn’t want to delay his husband’s fishing and end up with nothing to eat at night…

Holding onto Gu Siyuan’s hand, he slowly walked to a large stone and sat down, stretching his slender white legs into the creek, playfully splashing the water with his feet.

Gu Siyuan had grown up in a mountain village in his previous life, with a similar creek nearby, so he had some experience catching fish.

Especially without the little troublemaker around, he soon caught a fish weighing about two jin.

Xie Changyue cheered excitedly, lifting the wooden bucket beside him, “Husband, put it here, put it here!”

In the end, Gu Siyuan caught four big fish and two small fish, returning with a full load.