The First Vampire

A simple wooden fence encloses a vast tract of land, which is mostly comprised of farmland and pastures rather than luxury buildings.

Upon entering the manor, Harrison and Judy immediately wished to horseback ride. Scholar Sunny allowed his son Hans to accompany them to the racetrack. Meanwhile, Colin and Vera, guided by Scholar Sunny, came to a field.

“Scholar Sunny, are those farmers growing sweet potatoes?” Colin asked in astonishment.

Despite not being an expert in agriculture, Colin knew that the staple food in this world is barley and wheat, with some rice. Although people knew that sweet potatoes were edible, they weren’t considered a mainstream food source.

“Indeed, Viscount Colin. Sweet potatoes are the primary crops cultivated in my farm,” replied Scholar Sunny patiently.

“You may not realize, but there are many advantages to this crop. Planting one hundred pounds of sweet potatoes in one acre will yield six thousand pounds next year! The output ratio is sixty-to-one, whereas for barley, it’s only twenty-to-one. That’s a threefold difference in yield per acre!

Moreover, sweet potatoes grow underground, so they are not susceptible to being eaten by birds. For normal wheat fields, however, no matter how closely the farmer guards, one or two-tenths of the wheat crops would still be spoiled by birds every year.

These sweet potatoes require no such protection. All farmers need to do is water and fertilize them regularly.”

“The yield of sweet potatoes is that high!” Vera exclaimed in surprise, her eyes wide.

Now that she had become the Northern Duke, Vera naturally started to worry about North Territory. The biggest crisis they’re currently facing is the food supply.

Hearing such a high yield of sweet potatoes, Vera was immediately concerned.

Although she knew that the taste of sweet potatoes couldn’t compare to bread, for the commoners in a famine, as long as they could fill their stomachs, they wouldn’t fuss about the taste.

However, Colin wasn’t so excited. Of course, he had heard that the yield of sweet potatoes was higher than wheat, but even on Earth, sweet potatoes hadn’t replaced rice and wheat as the staple food. Therefore, he suspected that there must be a problem at some point in the process.

“Scholar Sunny, are there no drawbacks to sweet potatoes?” Colin asked calmly.

“Of course there are,” Scholar Sunny nodded and explained honestly, “Sweet potatoes have a mild toxicity and are not suitable for humans to eat for a long time as it can easily cause diarrhea. Moreover, sweet potatoes cause significant damage to the soil, so sufficient fertilizer is needed.

However, compared to the advantages of high yield and labor-saving, these disadvantages of sweet potatoes seem insignificant.

Most importantly, considering the current situation in the North Territory, promoting the cultivation of sweet potatoes would unquestionably control the famine in the shortest time possible!”

Vera’s pretty face filled with excitement, as it seemed that promoting sweet potatoes in the North Territory seemed like a very feasible measure.

However, when she saw Colin with a frown on his face, she gradually calmed down and realized there might be some issues she hadn’t noticed.

Seeing this, Scholar Sunny did not continue explaining, but instead said, “Duke Colin, Viscount Vera, allow me to show you something.”

Vera and Colin followed Scholar Sunny forward, and after a short walk arrived in front of a large shed.

Even before they got close, Colin could hear the grunting of wild boars from the shed.

“Please forgive me, my distinguished guests; the smell might be a little strong,” Scholar Sunny warned carefully.

As expected, an unspeakable stench hit them, nearly making Vera and Colin pass out.

Fortunately, they weren’t coddled individuals and managed to bear the smell and approach the side of the shed.

“Are you farming wild boars?” Colin was even more surprised.

In this world, the primary sources of meat were cattle and sheep. Due to its unpleasant smell and unhygienic habits, pork was eaten only by commoners. Nobles did not consider these dirty animals at all.

However, Colin, who came from Huaxia Country, was already accustomed to pork. After arriving in this world, he regretted that he would never taste delicacies like braised pork again.

Without specifically studying it, Colin knew that this world didn’t even have a dedicated process of domesticating wild boars. After all, nobles didn’t eat it, and commoners didn’t have surplus food to feed pigs. At most, they would hunt some wild boars in the wilderness when they wanted to eat meat to vary their diet.

But now, this former Minister of Agriculture of the Empire was consciously farming wild boars, which made Colin look at him in a new light.

“Yes, Viscount Colin,” said Scholar Sunny, “Wild boars aren’t as valuable as cattle and sheep, but they are extremely easy to raise as they eat almost everything.

For instance, the leaves of the sweet potato plants that you saw earlier can be used to feed pigs.

A wild boar can yield about five hundred pounds of meat in a year, a sheep at most provides a hundred pounds of mutton, and as for a cow, even though it takes three years to rear for slaughter, it only provides about a thousand pounds of meat.

Tell me, isn’t pig farming worthwhile?”

Before Colin could respond, Vera was already shaking her head, “But, nobles won’t eat such lowly animals. Do you intend to sell the pork to the commoners?

Master Sunny, forgive my bold words, even the commoners may not buy your pork. There are wild boars everywhere after all, so they would rather hunt or buy from hunters at a lower price.

Plus, although cows and sheep don’t yield much meat, cowhide, tendons, sheepskin, and wool are all very valuable and have many uses. Cows and sheep also produce milk. As for wild boars, their only advantage seems to be that they yield more meat, but the taste of pork is dry and has a gamey flavor. Even the commoners are not willing to eat it for a long time.”

“Who said that nobles can’t accept pork?” Master Sunny argued. “If you’re willing, please allow me to prepare a lunch for you with pork as the main ingredient. I believe you’ll be surprised to find that you may have missed a delicacy!”

Vera was about to say that she had tasted wild boar and the taste was not good, but Colin directly agreed to Sunny’s suggestion: “Okay, I’m looking forward to it!”

Master Sunny immediately invited them enthusiastically, “Please come with me, esteemed guests!”

It was still a little early for lunch, but Master Sunny personally went to the kitchen to supervise the chefs to prepare a pork feast in order to advocate his Agrarian-Pastoral System to Vera and Colin.

Before long, the attendants brought the lunch to the table.

Vera sniffed a few times and found that there wasn’t the anticipated gamey smell; instead, there was an enticing aroma.

“Duke, Count, please have a look! This is Lemon Fried Pork Chops, charcoal-grilled pork knuckles, smoked loin, accompanied by mashed potatoes and red wine. Please enjoy.”

Vera was a little hesitant, but Colin had already started eating a pork chop.

The outside was crispy, the inside tender, and it was fragrant and delicious. There was none of the anticipated dryness and gamey smell. Colin’s eyes lit up as though he understood something, asking, “Master Sunny, are the wild boars you breed castrated?”

Master Sunny was slightly taken aback but immediately laughed, “Count, your knowledge humbles me! Yes, the wild boars are indeed castrated.”

Vera also tasted the pork feast in front of her and immediately noticed that it was entirely different from the wild boar meat she had eaten a long time ago.

“Does castrated wild boar meat taste better?” she asked curiously.

“Yes, Duke!” Master Sunny explained, “After castration, not only does the taste of the pork improve, but the temperament of the wild boar also becomes docile, which is more conducive to breeding.”

Colin nodded again and again, aware that after castration, the wild boars would evolve closer to the domestic pigs of his previous incarnation. He reckoned that after a few generations, he would be able to see the white, plump domestic pigs that obeyed commands in this world.

Master Sunny opened his mouth to explain again, “Duke, the sweet potato cultivation and wild boar farming I advocate is actually a new Agrarian-Pastoral System that is interdependent and mutually beneficial!

Sweet potato leaves can be used to feed the wild boars, and the boar’s feces are excellent fertilizers, solving the problem of land exhaustion caused by sweet potatoes. The two are mutually dependent.

The output of this new Agricultural-Pastoral System will certainly surprise you. It could even completely change the dietary structure of the commoner class in the entire empire, or even change their health status!

You might not think highly of these wild boars, but don’t forget how extravagant meat is for the commoners. If they could incorporate pork into their routine diet, I assure you that the subjects under your rule would certainly be the strongest in the whole empire!

Your army would also have the best source of recruits!”

The more Master Sunny talked, the more excited he became. It was the kind of glory and fanaticism that came from transforming the world in one’s own way.

Vera, after tasting Master Sunny’s pork feast, also began to realize that with time, even the nobility would gradually accept this new type of pork. Even if it could not replace beef and mutton on the noble banquet table, it would still be a great supplement.

For the commoners, this pork was almost a godsend!

As beef and mutton yield little meat and are high in price, very few commoners could afford it in their daily meals. But pork was different. If they really promoted Sunny’s new Agriculture-Pastoral System, it might truly make the commoners’ meals more plentiful.

Thinking about this, Vera couldn’t help but feel an overwhelming surge of enthusiasm. She subconsciously looked at Colin and saw that her husband’s brows were furrowed.

Colin put down his fork and knife, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and looked at Master Sunny seriously, asking in a deep voice,

“Master Sunny, tell us the truth now. If your new Agrarian-Pastoral System is really as flawless as you claim, why was it strongly opposed in Dragon City back then?”