Chapter 49: MC Crops Don't Play by the Rules

"Potatoes? Carrots?"

Bronya was completely bewildered. It wasn't that Jarilo-VI lacked the crops Fu Zhu mentioned; rather, they were already cultivating them.

However, these crops could only be grown in limited areas on Jarilo-VI. They even required specially constructed greenhouses; otherwise, the severe cold, dozens of degrees below zero, would freeze any crop solid.

The Eternal Freeze was also one of the reasons for Belobog's underdeveloped livestock industry.

Nevertheless, although Bronya was puzzled as to why Fu Zhu wanted these things, she chose to trust him. Without asking too many questions, she turned and left the office. However, just as she stepped out, she poked her head back in, staring intently at Cocolia.

"Mother, don't you dare try anything funny! I'll be right back!"

The corner of Cocolia's mouth twitched helplessly. She couldn't believe that in just one short day, her precious daughter had become so distrustful of her. She also wondered what kind of magic Fu Zhu possessed to make her daughter trust him so wholeheartedly.

Based on Fu Zhu's request for potatoes, Cocolia couldn't fathom how he planned to save Jarilo-VI.

Could he be planning to rewrite the genetic code of those crops? Make them resistant to the severe cold?

That wasn't something achievable in a single day. Was she ultimately holding onto false hope?

In just a short while, Bronya returned with the potato, carrot, and wheat seeds Fu Zhu had requested. However, she had brought two or three extra people with her.

Xing glanced at the people Bronya had brought – they were all elderly, two men and one woman, all unfamiliar faces. This puzzled her.

"Bronya, why did you bring people back with you?"

Fu Zhu also looked over immediately, the shield and sword still firmly in his grasp. He didn't lower his guard just because the people Bronya brought back were elderly.

Worried that Fu Zhu and Xing might misunderstand, Bronya quickly explained, "These three are renowned agricultural experts in Belobog. I thought they might be able to offer some help, so I brought them along."

Of course, that was only part of the reason. Bronya had another consideration for bringing them: preventing Cocolia from suddenly going back on her word.

Having outsiders present would force Cocolia to restrain herself somewhat, or at least maintain appearances.

However, the moment these three entered and saw their Great Guardian being held hostage with something against her head, they were startled. If Bronya hadn't briefed them beforehand, they would have already called for help.

Only after confirming that the three posed no threat did Fu Zhu put away his Godfall Sword, though he kept his shield raised.

"Where are the items?"

Bronya walked over and handed all three types of seeds to Fu Zhu.

"They're all here. What do you plan to do?"

"Just watch."

[Carrot]

[Currently Convertible: Carrot]

[Potato]

...

Fu Zhu gave them a quick glance. All three items could only be converted into their MC equivalents. The possibility of carrots converting into golden carrots didn't occur, which was slightly disappointing but expected.

After converting all three items into their MC counterparts, Fu Zhu first placed three blocks of dirt in front of him, then walked a short distance away and placed another three blocks of dirt.

Next, beside one set of three dirt blocks, he dug a one-block hole and poured water into it. To prevent the water from freezing in Jarilo-VI's extreme cold, Fu Zhu specifically planted a torch right next to it.

Preventing water from freezing in MC is simple: placing a block above the water or ensuring sufficient light levels nearby will do the trick.

And water allows nearby crops to grow quickly.

What Fu Zhu did next was straightforward: he used a wooden hoe to till all six dirt blocks into farmland, then planted all the seeds Bronya had given him.

[Achievement Unlocked: Cultivating Wasteland!]

[Achievement Points Awarded: 1]

"Alright, just wait."

After finishing, Fu Zhu dusted off the non-existent dirt from his hands, casually placed a block nearby to serve as a chair, and sat down.

"Huh?"

Bronya and the others were utterly confused. They looked at the crops Fu Zhu had planted, not quite understanding. They didn't seem special in any way.

The only two relatively magical things in Fu Zhu's series of actions were him casually pulling out several cubic meters of blocks and water, and the speed at which he planted the crops.

But none of that could save Jarilo-VI!

'Hahaha, Cocolia, I told you long ago they couldn't give Jarilo-VI a future, yet you still believed them! If this man could casually solve the planet's centuries-old disaster, why would you and generations of Great Guardians have struggled until now?'

Hearing the voice in her head, Cocolia's expression turned terrifyingly grim. She too began to regret her decision, her gaze turning ice-cold as she looked at Fu Zhu.

"Are you perhaps trying to tri—"

Before Cocolia could finish her sentence, there was a sudden thump. She felt a sharp pain in the back of her head, instinctively reaching up to clutch it as she half-crouched, grimacing.

Everyone's attention was drawn by the unexpected sound. They all turned their heads in unison.

Behind Cocolia, who was clutching her head and half-crouched on the ground, stood Xing, holding her baseball bat and scratching the back of her own head sheepishly.

"Sorry, I hit her subconsciously. She suddenly moved... I couldn't help myself..."

Compared to the serious reactions of Bronya and the three officials, Fu Zhu merely commented lightly.

"Be careful, don't knock her out. I still want her to witness the miracle."

After reminding Xing, Fu Zhu turned back to Bronya and the three agricultural professors she had brought. "You should know the growth time and yield of a single crop plant, right?"

The four pairs of eyes returned to Fu Zhu. Although puzzled why he would ask such a simple question, they all nodded.

Fu Zhu was satisfied with their reaction and continued leisurely, "What if I told you that these six plants I've sown can mature once every 8 minutes and 40 minutes respectively, and yield an average of 1-4 fruits each time?"

The moment Fu Zhu finished speaking, the three agricultural professors immediately retorted loudly.

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

"Sir, are you treating us like three-year-olds?"

Fu Zhu didn't argue with the three, merely pointing at the crops. "Eight minutes isn't long. Just keep an eye on them yourselves."

The three merely scoffed, thinking Fu Zhu was joking. However, out of deference to Bronya, they still directed their gazes towards the crops Fu Zhu had planted.

Once eight minutes pass, we'll expose this man's lies!

However, only three minutes had passed when one of the agricultural professors suddenly slapped his thigh, jumped up, and shrieked.

"Holy crap! It grew!"

In that instant, the seedlings in three of the farmland blocks had suddenly shot up a stage, as if three months had passed, not just three minutes!

Seeing this, Fu Zhu couldn't help but smile. As expected, crops converted by him only followed his rules.

Extreme cold? Soil nutrient content? To hell with all that!

MC crops weren't delicate, pampered bonsai trees. As long as there was a block of dirt, even if surrounded by lava with not a drop of water nearby, they could mature in at most forty minutes!

Fu Zhu had once idly compared MC crops with real-world crops.

Take potatoes, for example. Planting one mu (approx. 667 sq meters) of potatoes yields an average of 3000~5000 kilograms per year.

An MC potato requires one square meter of land per plant, has a growth cycle of 840 minutes, and yields 14 potatoes per harvest. Based on these figures, under ideal conditions, a single potato plant could yield 24,260 kilograms in one year!

(Assuming each potato weighs 100 grams. All data sourced online; calculations are approximate, please forgive inaccuracies.)

Even under less than ideal conditions, the yield is incomparable to normal crops. Furthermore, this is the output from just one square meter. Remember, the maximum yield for normal potatoes per mu is only 5000 kilograms, and one mu is about 666.67 square meters.

The more Fu Zhu thought about it, the more he looked forward to the expressions on the faces of these agricultural professors in a few minutes.

Time to give Jarilo-VI a little MC shock!

PS: Stating again, all data comes from MC wikis and encyclopedias. Please forgive any inaccuracies in the data!