The weather turned out just as Yiren had thought—the rain never came, and the State of Zhao was struck by famine.
Zhao Xuwan had experienced this several times before. Without sufficient crops or manpower, natural disasters piled up, leading inevitably to famine.
She had lived through a few such crises since childhood, roaming the hills with her younger siblings in search of wild fruits, snakes, or rats—though such finds were rare.
Later, they turned to tree bark and grass roots. Like locusts, they ate anything edible, all just to survive.
If someone had told Zhao Xuwan years ago that she would one day go without decent meals or clean water, she would have thought them insane. But after crossing over into this world, she realized things could be even worse than imagined.
"Will the King of Zhao provide disaster relief?" Zhao Xuwan whispered to Yiren.
Yiren, who had been reading, raised an eyebrow at her question. "What do you think? You’ve lived here longer."
Zhao Xuwan quietly shrank back. As if he would! This year might not even be the worst; during more severe famines in the past, the King of Zhao had never stepped in to help.
"Ah, I’m just overthinking. It’s the Shuren who suffer the most," Zhao Xuwan murmured, picking at her fingers. Her back had been aching lately, forcing her to rest in bed, and Yiren, with little else to do, had been keeping her company.
"Don’t dwell on it," Yiren said, sitting by the bed and taking her hand. "That’s just the way the world is. Besides, it’s the King of Zhao who should be worrying about it."
The implication was clear: since she wasn’t the King of Zhao, she needn’t trouble herself.
For some reason, Zhao Xuwan suddenly recalled what 001 had said last time about altering the course of history. She had retorted, "What, do you want me to become the King of Zhao?"
"Pfft—" Zhao Xuwan couldn’t help but laugh. Yiren, thinking she was cheered by his words, smiled along.
Though she didn’t need to worry about the King of Zhao’s relief efforts, Zhao Xuwan still had to think of her Mother, Father, and younger siblings.
Fortunately, Yiren and Lü Shang had been regularly sending supplies to her family. Even though the crops were gone, at least they had enough to eat.
In times like these, no one cared much about what they ate. Having food at all, and not starving, was the greatest blessing.
The hot weather often stole her appetite, and Zhao Xuwan didn’t feel like eating anything heavy—just something cool.
She decided to make cold noodles, directing the Mute servant to boil water and cook the noodles. Once done, the noodles were dipped into pre-cooled boiled water to make them chewy and springy.
Zhao Xuwan also had the Binu prepare some wild vegetables and prickly ash for a cold salad. The prickly ash was stir-fried in lard, releasing its fragrant, spicy aroma.
Zhao Xuwan mixed two bowls and ate them both. Yiren, however, wasn’t used to spicy food. He drank plenty of water and managed only half a bowl.
"Too spicy," Yiren said, his nose and eyes tinged red. He truly wasn’t one for spicy flavors.
"Have some shepherd’s purse," Zhao Xuwan said, placing a bite on his plate. "Tomorrow we’ll have dumplings, your favorite."
Dumplings, also called "flat food," had become Yiren’s obsession ever since they last made them. He’d even stopped pining for sweet potatoes and now craved only dumplings.
Zhao Xuwan had prepared the filling herself, spending half the day trying to make it flavorful. In these times, when everything was scarce, even the cleverest housewife couldn’t cook without ingredients.
She had once considered trying to make soy sauce, but after seeing the state of the soybeans and Wheat available, she gave up. She decided to wait until she could buy better soybeans before attempting it again.
The potatoes bore fruit during the hottest season. Having planted just a small amount, they dug up dozens of times more potatoes than they had sown. Yiren was stunned by the yield per mu and, disregarding everything else, joined the servants in digging them up.
"Where did you find these?" Yiren asked, ignoring the mud on his hands as he grabbed Zhao Xuwan's wrist.
Zhao Xuwan stood watching them dig, her belly slightly protruding. She was delighted to see so many potatoes unearthed. Hearing his question, she offered the excuse she had prepared long ago: "Just from that hill we visited before. I stumbled upon them by chance. I don’t know if there are any more left, but we have so many here now—they can all be used as seed potatoes."
"If they can grow even in such hot weather, what if everyone planted them?" Zhao Xuwan thought with anticipation.
Yiren gave her a complicated look but said nothing, then went to the kitchen to wash his hands.
Zhao Xuwan waited until all the potatoes were dug up before returning to the house.
They would have potatoes for dinner again tonight.
Yun and Yu were also overjoyed. Their lady was simply amazing—she always managed to find delicious things, and these delicious things grew exceptionally well. A tiny piece could yield so much; it was nothing short of a miracle.
That evening, they steamed potatoes, boiled potatoes, and cooked chicken with potatoes. Everyone ate without pause, their mouths never still. Zhao Xuwan also instructed someone to send several bags to her parents so they could taste them.
Only Yiren’s spirits remained somewhat low.
When there was no one around in the evening, Zhao Xuwan asked Yiren what was wrong.
"Are you planning to present the potatoes to the King of Zhao?" Yiren asked, looking at her.
Last time, the paper Zhao Xuwan discovered was taken by Yiren and given to Lu Buwei. With this paper, Lu Buwei moved effortlessly among the Imperial Clan and nobility of the State of Zhao.
Even a fool could see the benefits of the improved paper, especially with the introduction of toilet paper—an essential item for daily life. Lu Buwei had made an untold fortune from it.
Yiren paid no mind to such matters. He was simply happy to see the foolish pigs of the Zhao royal family being deceived by cheap paper.
"Does my husband mean we should not tell anyone?" Zhao Xuwan countered.
She did have such an intention, but not to tell the King of Zhao. Instead, she wanted to inform the Shuren (commoners) around them, letting them know they could plant potatoes. Potatoes were easy to grow, could be cultivated even during famine years, and were edible.
Zhao Xuwan looked up and met Yiren’s gaze. "I dislike the King of Zhao. I dislike any ruler who looks down on the Shuren and treats their lives as worthless. Because I am a Shuren, I don’t want them to die."
Zhao Xuwan despised the King of Zhao for his arrogance, conceit, and disregard for others. In his eyes, the lives of the Shuren were worth less than the flowers on his table. He was extravagant and imposed heavier taxes and levies than anyone else, leaving the Shuren hungry and poorly clothed.
Yet, looking at all the states, there was no ruler who was not like this. So, Zhao Xuwan disliked them all equally.
She couldn’t quite decipher the strange look in Yiren’s eyes—perhaps it was disbelief that a Shuren like her could harbor such rebellious thoughts. But she understood the helplessness in his gaze.
"Go ahead and tell them," Yiren said. "Actually, what I wanted to say is that even if you told the King of Zhao, he might not take it seriously. But telling the Shuren—that’s a good thing."
Yiren could confidently say the King of Zhao wouldn’t care because after Lu Buwei presented the paper to the King through connections, the King disdainfully remarked that it wasn’t as beautiful or soft as Sibo (silk fabric) and threw it away.
However, some nobles with foresight paid Lu Buwei to purchase the paper, with the condition that it not be sold to the Shuren.
Lu Buwei never intended to make money from the commoners in the first place, so both parties hit it off immediately. Lu Buwei began supplying paper in large quantities to the nobility of the State of Zhao.
As for whether any nobles wanted to manufacture it themselves, of course there were, but they could never produce paper as smooth and yellowish as Lu Buwei's. What they made was always an unsightly grayish-black.
Zhao Xuwan had her Mother and Father promote the benefits of potatoes to their neighbors and gave them some potatoes. Word spread from one to ten, and from ten to a hundred. With Lu Buwei's covert assistance in promotion, most people in Handan became aware of the advantages of potatoes and wanted them.
Unfortunately, this batch of potatoes couldn't be given to everyone. They could only wait for those who took the potatoes to plant them and then distribute some more after they grew.
In this weather and this year, as long as it wasn't poisonous, people would accept any kind of food.
The nobility, of course, also learned about it, but they weren't short of grain. As for that newly emerged potato—who knew what it was like? It was something lowly, said to be plantable even during famine years. They couldn't be bothered to even look at it.
One night, thunder and lightning suddenly struck, and the loosely closed windows rattled loudly in the wind.
Zhao Xuwan woke from her dream, first taking a deep breath, then slowly exhaling.
This scorching weather had finally passed. With the rain, things would get better. The weather would gradually cool down, the crops wouldn't die, and the commoners wouldn't perish either.
"Cooler now?" Yiren asked from behind.
"Mhm."
The temperature dropped abruptly, and the wind was no longer hot but carried a refreshing coolness with the scent of rain.
Yiren still closed the windows. "Better to avoid getting sick. Taking medicine is such a hassle."
Autumn arrived, and the sweet potatoes grew. Yiren had been waiting since early morning to pull them up.
Zhao Xuwan was over seven months pregnant. Her belly wasn't particularly large, but it wasn't small either. She took a chair and sat by the door, watching everyone dig up sweet potatoes from the vegetable patch in the yard.
The sweet potatoes were pulled out covered in mud, then washed clean, revealing their natural color.
"Truly worthy of being called sweet potatoes," Yiren laughed. "Their color is indeed red."
As usual, Zhao Xuwan instructed someone to deliver three bags to her parents and took the opportunity to promote sweet potatoes in Handan again—sweet and filling.
These four words alone made countless people eagerly go to Father and Mother Zhao's house to ask for sweet potatoes.
Whether exchanging goods or buying with money, they were determined to find out what sweet potatoes were.
Ever since their daughter's rise to prominence, Father and Mother Zhao had followed her instructions. After keeping enough for the family to eat, they took out all the extra potatoes and sweet potatoes. Whether bartering or selling for currency was fine, as long as it helped spread the word about sweet potatoes.
At noon, the Mute servant cooked a large batch of sweet potatoes. Every servant could eat some, and everyone in the yard was overjoyed. Something sweet that could fill you up after just one—such a delicacy couldn't be found in anyone else's home.
Yiren was also happy. He had been craving this since he last ate it, but due to digestion issues and the need to save the rest for planting, he hadn't had any since.
Zhao Xuwan didn't eat much. Now in her third trimester, she was especially cautious about her belly's growth and didn't dare eat too much, fearing the baby would grow too large and make delivery difficult.
Fortunately, everything went more or less as she expected. Her belly had been well-controlled, not excessively large, so it seemed giving birth wouldn't be too strenuous.
The day after the sweet potatoes ripened, someone knocked on the door. A servant opened it and found it was the woman the mistress had saved earlier.
Zhao Ying bowed with a smile and asked, "Is Sister Xuwan at home?"
Zhao Xuwan was sitting on a chair by the door, embroidering something. Hearing the commotion, she stood up and saw it was Zhao Ying.
"Zhao Ying?"
"Yes, it's me!" Zhao Ying's leg had healed, and the first thing she did was come to find Zhao Xuwan. She felt a strong connection with Zhao Xuwan and decided to visit her.
To her surprise, the first thing she noticed was Zhao Xuwan's large belly.
"Sister Xuwan, you're…" Zhao Ying was startled. Last time they met, it wasn't like this. How had her belly suddenly grown so big? It looked like she was about to give birth.
"It was already almost four months along when I last saw you," Zhao Xuwan said with a laugh.
Zhao Ying's eyes widened. "Last time? Sister Xuwan, you're amazing! You could still go up the mountain while pregnant."
She darted over like a cat, wanting to reach out and touch it but feeling it might be too forward.
"Go ahead," Zhao Xuwan said, smiling as she straightened her belly. "It's quite sturdy. It won't break."
"Pfft," Zhao Ying chuckled. She could tell Zhao Xuwan was as informal as she was, so she boldly reached out and touched Zhao Xuwan's belly.
It was firm and round, with occasional slight tremors.
"The baby is kicking," Zhao Xuwan said, yawning. Lately, she was always drowsy, as if she couldn't get enough sleep. She motioned for Zhao Ying to come inside, and Zhao Ying gave her Binu a look, signaling them to bring in the things.
"Why did you bring things again?" Zhao Xuwan, who was about to sit down, stood up in surprise.
"What's this?" Zhao Ying said matter-of-factly. "If it weren't for you, I might have died with no one to save me. Besides, last time didn't count—I didn't come in person."
As she spoke, she looked at the oddly shaped table and chairs and asked, "Sister Xuwan, what are these in your house? They're quite interesting. You can actually sit on them!"
"These are tables and chairs. Tables are for eating, and chairs are for sitting. They're more comfortable than kneeling," Zhao Xuwan explained as she sat down.
Yun Heyu had already heard the commotion and was now bringing over water to offer Zhao Ying.
Zhao Ying smiled and thanked her, then lowered her voice. "Sister Xuwan, let's speak plainly. Those potatoes and sweet potatoes—they spread from here, didn't they?"
Zhao Xuwan looked at her in surprise. Zhao Ying said with an air of maturity, "When you helped me up last time, I saw what was in the bamboo basket behind you."
It looked just like the potatoes that had become popular recently. Connecting it with the sweet potatoes, Zhao Ying had a good idea of who was behind it.
"Sister Xuwan, I didn't come for any other reason this time. I just wanted to ask if you could give us some potatoes and sweet potatoes?"
Author's Note: