Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 531 Demonic Grain Seeds
Ambich Kenny, the newly appointed Minister of Agriculture, was urgently recalled to Spark City by Harvey from the South Slope Base.

Only some senior officials from the municipal headquarters attended this sudden meeting, while the rest of the participants were grassroots staff from the agricultural department.

The meeting was not held in Harvey's castle, but for the first time, it was held next to the greenhouse experimental field of the Ministry of Agriculture. The participants who arrived early had to stand next to the greenhouse with their necks hunched, talking in low voices while waiting for the arrival of His Majesty who would preside over the meeting.

Fortunately, the heavy snow did not hinder Harvey's travel. In less than a quarter of an hour, he arrived in an alchemical vehicle and led everyone into the greenhouse without saying a word.

After raising his hand to signal for silence, Harvey cleared his throat and said, "Today's impromptu meeting is of great significance, but let's be brief... First, let Egno from the Botanical Research Institute introduce you to our recently developed magical grain."

Egno quickly stepped forward and, with the help of the researchers and apprentices, lifted the optical tarp covering the experimental nursery. "Look, everyone! These are the first batch of seedlings catalyzed by the new grain. The greenhouse's temperature and humidity were simulated to that of late winter and early spring. The seeds sprouted in less than a week after being planted."

Ambiqi was stunned for a moment, then exclaimed, "The temperature in late winter and early spring? The snow on the wasteland hasn't even completely melted yet, and these new grains are actually able to sprout and grow?"

The spring plowing time in the north has always been nearly a month later than that south of the Divine Ridge Mountains. The main reason is that even if there are agricultural alchemy beasts that can plow the frozen soil, the sown grain crop seeds cannot germinate in such temperatures. The situation is slightly better in the eastern basin surrounded by mountains and with a warm climate... The spring plowing time can basically start at the same time as the southern border.

Egno nodded and continued, "Besides that, this new batch of grain varieties has the advantages of a shorter growth cycle and higher yield per plant. After repeated growth promotion tests, the unit yield of these experimental fields can reach more than double that of previous enchanted grain varieties. They also inherit the ability to withstand cold and drought."

In the past, enchanted grain seeds were completely improved by hybrid elves such as Egno through the "manual" improvement of nature magic. Not only was the supply of seeds small, but the enchanting effect would gradually fade over time. They could only basically meet the planting needs of Xinghuo City and the Dongtuo Base, and could not be expanded to cover the wider southern territory at all.

A group of Ministry of Agriculture officials gasped in shock. The agricultural official from Grizzly Bear Territory asked tremblingly, "In the past, we've already adopted a two-crop-a-year model. If... if the growth cycle of the new grain can be shortened, then... wouldn't that mean..."

"That's right. The warmer the climate, the faster the growing cycle. With proper management... the southern region can basically achieve three harvests a year."

Among all the agricultural officials present who had rushed back from various places to report on their work, only the local agricultural officials in Xinghuo City had the most profound understanding of enchanted grain seeds. The Xinghuo City State Farm and the Dongtuo Base alone could produce nearly 100,000 bushels of grain, which was more abundant than the grain output of any major country in the southern border. It was because of the high yield of enchanted grain seeds that Xinghuo City, an isolated pioneer city in the northern border, could actually support nearly 100,000 urban residents.

Looking at the excited crowd, Harvey quickly stepped forward to pour cold water on them. "This new grain seed, named Harvest No. 1, isn't completely flawless. Don't get too excited, everyone. Let Egno explain it in detail." Egno had his apprentice bring a bag of grain seeds. Then he leaned over and uprooted a young seedling, patiently explaining to everyone, "Unlike the enchanted grain seeds of the past, the magic power contained in Harvest No. 1 seeds won't fade. From the moment they sprout to the moment they wither and decay, the magic power must go through an entire cycle before it completely dissipates. Therefore, the characteristics of this grain seed can't be inherited. It can only be planted once, and harvested quickly when mature. If the time limit is exceeded, there's a risk of nothing."

The officials immediately fell silent... This meant that every harvest had to be rushed against the clock. Without the use of large-scale agricultural alchemy beasts, it would be impossible to achieve this with manpower alone. Moreover, enchanted grain seeds were a one-time product, and new grain seeds had to be obtained from the superior agricultural department of the Municipal Hall every year. If the grain seed reserves were tight... remote administrative areas would most likely not be able to obtain grain seeds for sowing.

Harvey looked around and noticed that most of the officials from other provinces looked a little nervous and anxious. He chuckled and added, "Don't worry about the supply of grain seeds. Every year when the spring plowing work is issued, the Ministry of Agriculture will definitely allocate grain seeds to you in an amount equal to the task target."

The so-called disadvantage of not being able to save seeds for replanting is actually a reasonable means of control for Spark City. Once this high-yield and fast-yielding grain variety is popularized throughout Saint Valen, all the ordinary wheat crops that were previously cultivated in a crude manner will be quickly eliminated. Municipal management agencies across the country will be able to monopolize grain sales by controlling grain varieties. For Harvey, this is equivalent to directly controlling the entire country's population resources and labor flow.

The agricultural official from Fengyuan City raised his hand cautiously. "Your Majesty... Your Majesty, can wheat grown from seeds catalyzed by magic really be sustainable for long-term consumption?"

This is actually the issue that most officials in the Southern Territory are most concerned about. After all, they have not been under Harvey's command for too long, and are essentially still unfamiliar with and panic about the highly mature application of magic technology in Spark City. When the magic gun is pointed at their foreheads, they naturally dare not disobey. But now that they are on the same ship, there are some officials with a strong sense of responsibility who will gradually become aware of the "food safety" issue.

Harvey was actually very satisfied with their doubts and concerns. This just proved that the new-era officials selected by him personally were completely different from the old aristocrats of the past.

"Don't worry. All enchanted grains, whether the most common wheat and barley, or the soybeans, corn, and sweet potatoes that will need to be forcibly promoted later, are essentially the same as ordinary crops," Harvey explained patiently. "Magic power only serves as a catalyst for growth. The matured products themselves contain no magic. The bread, pancakes, and oatmeal porridge consumed daily by nearly 100,000 people in Spark City, and the processed foods shipped to various parts of the southern border...are actually all products of enchanted grains."

In this ignorant and strange world where nearly half of the people still don't have enough to eat, we have no right to consider the pros and cons of natural foods and genetically modified foods. The most important and meaningful thing is to enable people struggling on the hunger and poverty line to survive.

Moreover, these officials of ordinary origin had no idea about the so-called transformation of magic power and the catalytic effect of natural elements on plant growth, let alone explaining to them in detail how the Stone of Life could continuously enchant grains and solidify their magic power through "magical programming."

So he simply simplified the explanation of the problem, and roughly explained it by saying, "They look no different from ordinary food, and they taste no different, which means they are no different," and "One hundred thousand people in Xinghuo City are eating them, and nothing happened to them. I also ate them, and nothing happened to me." The vast number of real cases in front of him were the best proof.

(End of this chapter)