Free Web NovelChapter 2093: Chapter 1530: Wife Planting Potatoes in Kamchatka
June, North Atlantic, latitude 53 degrees north, Kamchatka Peninsula, Divine Twins Smoke Harbor.
June on the Kamchatka Peninsula marks the start of the most splendid season of the year. Three months ago, it was still a world of ice and snow here, with extreme cold of minus twenty or even thirty degrees, where even peeing required a stick. Yet merely three months later, winter has ended and spring has arrived, with summer joining the mix, and it’s already a comfortable ten degrees or so. The thick snow has turned into abundant river water, flowing from the mountains to the sea. Verdant long grass, yellow-white short flowers, and tender new branches all sprouted from mountain tops and plains, growing in a race against time. After all, the combined duration of spring, summer, and autumn here only lasts until October!
"Chief Divine bless! The sun is truly bright! Staying bright from morning through the entire day, it feels as if a whole day has passed, and yet the sun remains hanging up there!"
"Praise to the Chief Divine! This is the great power of the Sun Chief Divine; pray to the Chief Divine who governs light! His bright gaze watches over us and protects us, ensuring a smooth arrival at the Divine Twins Smoke Harbor!..."
Two ocean shielding ships slowly docked, anchoring at the natural lake bay of Divine Twins Smoke Harbor. Loshanda knelt at the bow of the deck, leading the Kingdom’s Warriors and Japanese craftsmen on the ship in prayers towards the bright sun. Both the Samurai and Japanese were filled with awe, feeling a mysterious divine power during this continuous sixteen-hour-long period of daylight.
However, as the High Priest, Loshanda understood this as the "polar day" brought about by the Sun God. The Sun God moved from south to north, causing the Earth Mother Goddess to create the rotation of day and night, making it difficult to escape the radiance of the divine. This occurs in an annual cycle, for when winter arrives, the Sun God moves from north to south, allowing the Earth Mother Goddess to regain her freedom. At that time, the polar night descends here, with equally long nights of seventeen hours or so. If one travels further north, one would see the truly perennial "eternal daylight" and "eternal night," which are the ongoing games between the "Sun God" and the "Earth Mother Goddess."
This "Divine Revelation," is known not only to him but also to all the priests who graduated from Divine Power University. This includes truths such as "the world is a round giant sphere," "the Earth Mother Goddess rotates day and night," "the world is attracted by the gravity of the Earth Mother Goddess," and "the Far North land experiences polar day and polar night," all of which have been written in the ever-updating Divine Revelation Scripture by the all-knowing Xiulote, for priests of all levels to read and remember!
"Chief Divine bless! Let everyone disembark and rest at the port for five days. Especially the cattle, horses, chickens, ducks, and geese on board should be well attended to by the Japanese farmers!... In five days, we will set sail from the Divine Twins Smoke Harbor, embarking on the most challenging eastward journey across the Divine Initiation Archipelago!"
"Yes! High Priest Sir!..."
Following Loshanda’s order, everyone began to disembark. First, the more than twenty Kingdom’s Warriors and sailors, followed by a dozen Japanese craftsmen and a Korean medical woman.
Doctor Caisan carefully jumped off the ship with her medical kit. Over the past half a year, she had shed her former timid and fearful demeanor, now dressed warmly, wearing attractive fox-fur and deerskin boots, looking less like a lowly Korean "medical woman" and more like a noble lady from the Shandan Tribe. She was accompanied by a Kingdom’s Warrior who helped carry her backpack filled with herbs. Clearly, she had received considerable preferential treatment within the "Shandan Tribe." At this moment, her curious eyes scanned her surroundings, topped with a pointed roe deer hat, resembling a roe deer herself.
"Ah! Have we arrived at the legendary Kingdom of the Lake within the Gummy People East Sea?"
"Not yet! We still need to head east, cross the Divine Initiation Archipelago, and reach the Divine Great Whale Port. Then we head south, passing through Whale Harbor. Next, south again past West Mountain Port. Then further south, past the Guano Rock Islands... and further south, we’ll reach the Kingdom of the Lake!"
"Cough, cough! Is it still this far? I wonder if my old bones can endure..."
The one-armed old blacksmith Tietian Zongyi climbed down the rope ladder from the ship. He was wrapped in thick hides, and although his voice was slightly coughing, he looked very rosy. More than a year of good meals, ample fish and venison, coupled with his status, a return of his Mountain City School’s Ironsmith demeanor had taken place. At this moment, he gazed upon the never-seen desolate sea and sky of the far north, the flowers and plants in spring and summer, and the vast peninsula mountains in the distance, and after a long stare, he sang an ancient Japanese song from the Man’yōshū.
"Spring has passed, and summer seems to be here; white robes are dried on the heavenly Mount Kagu~~"
The old blacksmith’s song was long and leisurely, calm and harmonious. Behind him were the blacksmith Tietian Tiechui, paper craftsman Chu Bai Yongyi, lacquer craftsman Qishang Chunshu, potter Xin Lang, woodworker Kizukuri Kichiro, carriage craftsman Chemu Zhenji, builder Yakushijiro, wood carving master, engraver woodcarving expert, hemp worker Masheng Huitian, and weaver Dyeing Skillful, all disembarked in succession. These eleven Japanese craftsmen came from various industries: metals, paper, lacquer, pottery, wood, carriages, construction, carving, hemp, and weaving. They were selected as the first batch of ’outstanding craftsmen’ to be transported to the Kingdom of the Lake.
Of course, transporting only these eleven master craftsmen contrasts with the hundreds of craftsmen and apprentices gathered at Divine Kutadai Port, so in numbers, it is indeed not many. However, the current shipping capacity of the kingdom in Northeast Asia is still limited, with only these two ocean shielding ships capable of crossing the Divine Initiation Archipelago. As for oar-sailed longships and customs ships, they are not only slow to row but also fraught with risks.
By calculation, the fifth batch of five ocean shielding ships supporting the kingdom should have departed last year. It is unknown where this fleet is now, and whether it will be encountered on the return voyage.
"Moo! Moo!"
"Neigh! Neigh!"
"Ow! Ow!"
"Oh! Oh!"
Once a group of Samurai and Craftsmen disembarked from the ship, two Jurchen tribespeople, three Japanese farmers, finally led two horses, a pair of cattle, two pairs of slender dogs, and six pairs of chickens, ducks, and geese off the ship. "Dogs, chickens, ducks, geese" are fairly manageable, but "cattle and horses" are truly precious rarities and must be carefully tended to during transportation, otherwise they might truly perish.
The reason the fleet had to rest for five days was mainly to let the "cattle and horses" come ashore to graze on fresh grass, adjust their "mood," and regain their strength. After all, humans can endure the waves at sea, but cattle and horses cannot endure for long. This time, the two warhorses being transported back are tall Jurchen horses that are taller than a person’s shoulder. One is completely snow-white, named "Guleng," meaning "Da Bai." The other is gradually reddish-brown, named "Minke," meaning "Da Li."
"Be careful, scatter a bit farther! Don’t startle the horses!" freeweɓnovel.cѳm
"Yes, High Priest Sir!"
Regarding these two tall, divine "four-legged riding beasts," Loshanda is extremely protective. They are specifically being transported to the Kingdom of the Lake, as offerings to "Your Majesty"! As for why two horses? Because Your Majesty is by the side of the Divine King, he should also bring another horse as an offering to the Divine King.
"Alright! High Priest Sir, the horses have stabilized!..."
"Hmm! Unload the salt from the ship now! Half of these hundreds of pounds of salt will be left at the port, and the other half will be given to the grandmother of the Mountain Part. As for the matter of a thousand Mountain Part tribespeople heading south to join, let them wait another half month, until Captain Tamica arrives with ten customs ships loaded with rice and salt to be transported back in batches..."
At this point, Loshanda thought a little, then waved his hand.
"Forget it! Pack the salt well so it doesn’t get wet. For the arrangements with the Mountain Part later, I’ll personally go find Purple Sable..."
The Ocean Shielding Ship docked, and the simple port was bustling with activity. Not far away in the Shandan-style tent camp, dozens of tribespeople herding deer hurried over.
Divine Twins Smoke Harbor is close to the core of the Mountain Part. According to the previous alliance between the Mountain Part and the Kingdom’s "Sea Tribe," it has remained small. The Kingdom’s main strength in Kamchatka is concentrated in the southernmost "Shinnan Mountain Port." When Zuwaro moved south, they also drew a significant number of strong men from the Kamchatka Peninsula. Currently, this port camp holds about two hundred people, mainly composed of old, weak, and female folks, most of whom hail from the Mountain Part.
In actuality, the continuation of this Kingdom port has always been under the care of the "grandmother." The grandmother’s influence here is probably no less than the "Great Chief" Zuwaro, the "Second Chief" Loshanda. And Zuwaro and Loshanda are called "Great Chief" and "Second Chief" because they both married the grandmother’s granddaughters. In simple terms, this port belongs half to the Mountain Part, half to the Kingdom, serving as a "window" for integration and communication between the Mountain Part and the Kingdom.
"Ah! Second Chief, you’ve returned?..."
"Where is Purple Sable? Where’s she now?..."
"Purple Sable Noble Lady took skilled hands to work in the newly opened potato field. That field is quite far, at the foot of the mountain over a dozen miles away. The Noble Lady said that area is warmer than the coast, adjacent to a river, and the soil isn’t salty, making it more suitable for potato planting than the coast. If this year’s harvest is good, they’ll simply divide into two camps, build tents at the foot of the mountain, and focus on farming..."
"Oh? Newly opened potato field? How was last year’s potato harvest here?"
"Praise the Great Divine Spirit! Very good! A person planting just one acre can eat for a whole month!"
Upon hearing this response, Loshanda pondered for a while, secretly shaking his head. One acre of potatoes can only feed a person for one month, which means it takes ten acres to fill one person? Even though the Mountain Part tribespeople have hearty appetites, this yield is estimated to be only one-fifth of the average yield per acre in the Kingdom of the Lake. As Your Majesty’s Divine Revelation Scripture mentioned, insufficient yield could be due to "soil lacking fertility," "insufficient irrigation water source," or "too cold climate, unsuitable crops." In this far north Ice and Snow Island, the water source is adequate, the soil is decent, but the climate is just too cold!
"Alright! Get busy! I will go find Purple Sable myself."
Loshanda smiled and nodded, waved his hand, bidding farewell to the respectful, bowing Mountain Part tribespeople. Then, he took two confidantes with him and headed towards the foothills. After walking a few steps, he turned back, took a Japanese-style package with unknown gifts inside, and cheerfully carried it away.
