Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!-Chapter 1713 - 1222: Tasting Novel Delicacies, Planting Novel Delicacies

Early to bed when darkness falls, rising at dawn to tend to the waste; farming is truly exhausting, and it brings tears to my eyes to talk about it. Just as the daybreak begins, Chiwaco, a lifelong farmer, opens his eyes, climbing out of a bed made from hay. As soon as he gets up, he furrows his brow, grimaces, and cannot help but clutch one side of his mouth, tears streaming from the pain.

"Chief Divine, my tooth! It's truly a punishment! I should never have indulged in that bite of Old Woody's rabbit meat… oh, the pain!..."

Chiwaco, with a pained expression, rinses his mouth with water and then pulls out two pieces of cold bread from a clay pot. But just as he takes a bite, the pain makes him cry out.

"Oh! My father!..."

"Oh dear? Old Chiwaco, what did you just call me?..."

Cedar Shaman chuckles heartily, carrying that pine stick, and strolls into the cabin from outside. As he walks, he's chewing something, clearly up for a while already.

"...I called you grandson!... Ow! It hurts!..."

Chiwaco, with a pained expression, grumbles. This dry bread is too hard, his face hurts so badly that he simply can't chew it. Left with no choice, he grabs a firestone and lights a small pile of old wood, tossing the bread into the pot to boil, while clutching his mouth in pain.

"Ah! So it's a toothache? I wondered why you had such a painful look like an old monkey... does it really hurt badly? Ha ha ha! Don't curse or you'll have to open your mouth, which will hurt even more!..."

Cedar Shaman glances up for a while, catching on, and jokingly teases. Then, with a laugh, he pulls out a small leather pouch from his pocket, rummaging for some time before pulling out a piece of bark, some dried flowers, and a few leaves.

"Old Corn, here! Chew on this!"

"What?... What is this?!... Ow!"

"Good stuff. For toothache relief!"

"...Really?... Ow!"

"Why would I lie to you? If you don't want it, I'll take it back..."

"...I want!... Ow!"

Chiwaco, glaring and clutching his tooth, takes the herbal remedy of bark, dried flowers, and leaves, tossing them into his mouth to chew. And sure enough, after chewing for just a while, his expression softens, and the toothache eases.

"Chief Divine! It really seems to work, it's amazing... what did you give me to eat?..."

"The bark is willow bark, the dried flower is coptis flower, and the leaves are guava leaves, all remedies for pain and bleeding! Hmm... does it still hurt? Let me think, we might need something stronger..."

Cedar Shaman laughs heartily again, rummaging through the magical leather pouch, pulling out a small handful of fresh grass leaves, then tossing them into the broth with the dry bread.

"Dry bread isn't tasty enough! Let me add some kick to it!..."

"Uh! What's this now?..."

As the fresh grass leaves hit the pot, a faint herbal aroma fills the cabin quickly. Chiwaco sniffs it slightly, eyebrows relaxing, yet showing vigilance.

"Old Woody, you haven't concocted some odd Priestly herbs, have you?..."

"Ha! No. This is sage, used by the Northern Tribes Shamans. It's also good for relieving pain and blood cleansing, removing internal impurities. According to the shamans' usage, it's burned in a small hut to communicate with the great spirit... These sage leaves were gathered by the Great Lake side, nice and fresh! But here in the south, the sage is clearly stronger than up north, just a little is enough, too much will make you drowsy and sometimes see Ancestor Spirits..."

"Used by Shamans?... Doesn't sound like a proper thing..."

"If you're not afraid of toothache, then don't eat it..."

"..."

As the sun rises, the two finish their soup bread. Chiwaco's tooth finally stops hurting, leaving him in a good mood. This herbal remedy is similar to Yunnan mushrooms, with a strong analgesic and calming effect, a must-have for North America priests and shamans.

After a simple tidy-up, the old militia extinguishes the fire, picks up a bamboo basket, packs a few tools for farming, and heads outside.

"Old Corn, where are you going? To the shipyard?..."

"No, I'm going farming! Old Jin can't come so early today; his wife is quite formidable!..."

"Farming? What can you plant this season?..."

"It's something novel! Some new crops brought by the Bright Tribes and Sun Tribes..."

"Huh? New crops from the west? I'll go have a look too!..."

The two walk one after another, both barefoot, swiftly traipsing through the grass. As they reach the edge of the grass, the wooden cabins of the shipyard shrink into small dots, revealing hills, a small river, and fields by the riverside.

Two Kingdom's Warriors squatted under the tree on a hill, carrying bows, arrows, axe and spear with them. They vigilantly raised their bows and nocked arrows, but relaxed their expressions when they saw Old Militia Chiwaco approaching, kindly greeting him.

"Praise the Chief Divine! Captain Chi, you're here so early! Who's this?..."

"Praise the Chief Divine! I'm here to check the fields, heard they're about to be planted. He's Cedar Shaman, a Priest from the Capital City's Divine Power University..."

"Ah! Greetings! Respected Lord Priest!..."

"Praise the Chief Divine! May the Chief Divine bless us!..."

Upon hearing the identity of the Cedar Priest, the two Warriors guarding the place bowed their heads in unison, respectfully saluting the Priest from the Capital City. Cedar Shaman blinked his eyes and smiled while praying in return. Despite his strange accent, his actions and demeanor fully embodied the image of a Chief Divine Priest.

"The Chief Divine bless! Captain Chi, those Tribes from the west have already planted by the riverside yesterday. They mentioned something about seedling fields, waiting for sprouts to transplant... We're not quite sure, but there are two Priest Apprentices overseeing it, just over there! We have orders to guard this spot, can't leave without permission. You and the Lord Priest can go on your own..."

"Alright! We'll head over there, may the Chief Divine bless!"

Cedar Shaman stroked his chin, glanced at the duty-bound Warriors and followed Chiwaco further inside. The discipline of the Kingdom's Warriors was notably rigorous, obviously more strict than the loose Warriors of the North American Tribes. After walking for another quarter of an hour, they spotted three Korean sailors planting rice, three Wa Country Warriors planting millet, and two Priest Apprentices observing and recording.

"Praise the Chief Divine!..."

Chiwaco cheerfully greeted everyone. The unparalleled swimming expert Murakami Kitamichi bent over for the first time encountering another top-tier swimming expert, Cedar Shaman from the Northern Continent. The two masters exchanged glances from afar, recognizing the sea's aura flowing within each other... Well, actually, they saw nothing.

"Chief Divine! Greetings! Respected Lord Priest!..."

"Chief Divine bless! You keep busy, I'm just here to look..."

"Hey! Sir!..."

Having treaded twenty thousand li, Murakami Kitamichi's edges were smoothed out. He almost bowed at a sixty-degree angle, saluting the priestly garbed Old Shaman. Only when the Old Shaman waved him off did Kitamichi continue bowing his head and busying himself with the spring sowing in the fields.

Indeed, it was spring sowing. The two large fields by the river: closest to the river were seedling fields for rice, surrounded by enclosed rice paddies for transplanting; further out were millet dry fields.

The latitude of Zicao County, between 18 and 19 degrees north, corresponds to Rong City in northern Vietnam in East Asia, during Le Thánh Tông's later era of the Later Lê dynasty in Vietnam. With such tropical latitude, if soil nutrients suffice, spring, summer, and autumn rice can be cultivated. The first spring-sown rice season runs from February to May. As for millet, it can usually be farmed in two seasons: spring from February to June, and autumn from June to October.

In reality, Central and South America have synchronized rain and heat seasons, especially the coastal Seaside Lands, ideal for rice cultivation. As labor-intensive agriculture, rice planting yields significantly more food per acre, particularly in terms of starch energy, than the Alliance's main crop, corn; second only to the starch king, Cassava.

Compared to cornfields, rice paddies produce more starch, and compared to cassava fields, rice is more resistant to storage and much easier to cook.

Thus, for the Alliance, rice's greatest value lies in significantly boosting food production in the Lake Region to sustain more population. Due to its high energy surpassing corn bread, easier storage, and less transport loss, rice serves as an important ration for the Warrior Corps during expeditions!

Regarding millet grown in dry fields, its yields and adaptability pale compared to sweet potatoes and potatoes in the same terrain. Its greatest advantage lies in its extremely long storage period, highly resistant to spoilage. For the Alliance, this crop's principal benefit is as a reserve military food during long and arduous expeditions, especially when processed into roasted millet.

Of course, within the current Alliance, only Xiulote far in the Land Amidst the Clouds, alongside a select few Nautical Priests including Scholar Mikki, truly grasp the value of these new crops. Among those keenly sensing the characteristics of these new crops through firsthand interactions with every captive, only Old Militia Chiwaco stands out. He even personally engaged in the field with enclosed paddies.

"Chief Divine bless! Seeds fall, grow swiftly!"

Chiwaco carried a bamboo basket and first joined several tribes from the Shine in sowing high-quality Vietnamese rice in seedling fields. Then, he went to the Sun tribe's location, gingerly planting millet amid a few short Wa Warriors shoulder-to-shoulder. After finishing these tasks, he proceeded to the outer dry land, inspecting two newly built bamboo sheds, underneath which were scattered soybeans and peas. He scrutinized the two new beans for a while before turning to Murakami Kitamichi from the Sun tribe, whom only surpassed by Monk Soldier Watanabe in foreign languages proficiency.

"Murakami! What are you doing?... "

"Ah! Captain Chi... We're sun-drying beans!..."

Murakami Kitamichi wiped sweat from his brow, pulling his shoulder-length hair back. At this moment, he had shed all symbols of a Warrior, completely transforming into a farmer on the field.

"Sun-drying beans?..."

"Yes! Chief Divine bless, three days of sun-drying! Once the beans are properly dried, they'll yield more sprouts... Building this shed protects from rain and ensures the strong mid-day sunlight doesn't hit the beans directly, preventing skin damage..."

"Oh! That's how it is! These two yellowish beans resemble black beans but are sun-dried longer... Just wonder about their taste and yields?"

"Ah! Taste of soybeans?..."

At this, Murakami Kitamichi couldn't help licking his lips, swallowing with a slurp before respectfully replying.

"Captain Chi, back in my hometown, soybeans take half a year to harvest. But with the warmth and ample rain here, I'd estimate five months... When the beans are harvested, I'll make soft, delicious tofu for you! And Watanabe knows how to make the Temple's tasty natto! Oh, and deep-fried aged tofu that smells as good as meat!"

"Uh? Soft and delicious, Temple's delicacy? Smells as good as meat?..."

Chiwaco tilted his ear, carefully listening to Murakami's excited yet stammering description, slowly showing anticipation on his face. And the Cedar Shaman beside also blinked, imagining such peculiar and unheard-of delicacies. Gradually, all three smiled with the simple delight typical of farmers, filled with hope and longing for the future.

Under the spring sun, the beans quietly lay beneath bamboo sheds, lazily soaking the sunshine. They silently slumbered in the sunlight, grinning half-openedly, dreaming of growing big and mature, spawning many descendants, filling vast fields, then transforming into delicious tofu beans~