50: Chapter 50 A grasshopper the size of a rabbit? Elder Qingrou's eyes lit up: It should smell delicious with some cumin!

"Th-this..." Elder Yang's hands trembled as he took off his glasses to wipe them, then put them back on, doubting if his old eyes were failing him.

But this was not an illusion.

The growth was still continuing.

Half an hour later.

The plane had already returned, but the commotion in the fields had not stopped.

The originally empty test field had now turned into a lush virgin forest.

Yes, a forest.

Every stalk of rice had grown over three meters tall, the stems as thick as a bowl, and the leaves as broad as banana-leaf fans.

When people walked in, they were instantly submerged in a green ocean, with even the sunlight being blocked out.

Even more terrifying were the rice ears.

Those heavy, hanging clusters of rice ears—each grain was as big as an infant's fist!

They were crystal clear and emitted a refreshing fragrance that made one feel invigorated just by smelling it.

"Enjoying the shade under the rice... it really is possible to enjoy the shade now..."

Elder Yang stumbled into the rice field, hugging a thick rice stalk, tears streaming down his old face.

He stroked those massive grains of rice as if he were petting a rare treasure.

"This is a miracle of life... This is a sign of prosperity for the nation!"

The surrounding scientists had also gone mad.

Some took out rulers to measure, some took out cameras to film, and some simply broke off a raw grain of rice and shoved it into their mouths to chew.

"It's sweet! It's sweet!"

A doctoral student, chewing with his mouth full of white paste, shouted excitedly, "The starch content is extremely high! And it contains an unprecedented active substance! I feel full of energy after just one bite!"

Elder Qing Rou stood on the ridge of the field, watching this group of unsophisticated mortals, and curled her lip.

"This makes you excited?" she muttered softly, "If I wasn't afraid of draining the earth's veins, I could have made them grow ten meters tall and produce spirit rice directly. As it is now, it's just... a defective product."

Jiang Chen stood beside her and heard every word clearly.

Looking at this "rice forest" that was worthy of being recorded in history, he had only one thought in his mind: This isn't farming.

This is clearly planting a money tree!

That night.

The top-secret line of the Xinhuo Bureau was connected once again.

Jiang Chen sat in front of a mountain-like pile of giant rice, holding a mutant pumpkin (also planted by Elder Qing Rou on a whim) that was as big as a honeydew melon, and was video calling Ji Linglong.

"Wife! We've struck it rich!"

Jiang Chen grinned from ear to ear, holding the giant rice grain up to the camera, "Look! This is the rice we grew! The yield per mu is thirty thousand jin! Thirty thousand jin! If the four major grain merchants saw this, they would probably hang themselves on the spot!"

On the other side of the screen, Ji Linglong was sitting at the dining table in the Imperial Kitchen, with exquisite delicacies served on jade plates in front of her.

She leaned in to look at the giant rice grain, and her initially expectant gaze instantly turned somewhat disdainful.

"Just this?" Ji Linglong wrinkled her nose, "The color is drab, and there is no spiritual aura at all. Plus, there are so many impurities inside; it's all mundane starch. Husband, in our Taichu Realm, this stuff is feed for newly admitted grunt-beasts (a type of domestic pig)."

Jiang Chen: "..." Although I know you're humble-bragging, why does this sound so painful?

"Wife, you know the environment on our side."

Jiang Chen smiled bitterly, "It's already a miracle that it could grow like this. This is life-saving grain that can feed over a billion people."

"Fine, fine."

Ji Linglong looked at Jiang Chen's "unsophisticated" appearance, her heart softened, and that sense of responsibility for "poverty alleviation" kicked in again.

"Husband, you should eat less of this pig feed; there are too many impurities, and it's easy to block your meridians."

She turned around and picked up a steaming purple-gold food box.

"I had the chef in the Imperial Kitchen make you a bento with dragon liver and phoenix marrow. This is the liver of a real dragon, the one that was blind to reality—the Black Water Poisonous Dragon from last time. Eating it can strengthen your body, and it is said to have virility... ahem, kidney-tonifying effects."

Ji Linglong blushed slightly and quickly placed the food box on the teleportation array.

"Here, eat it while it's hot. Don't spend all day holding those roots and bark like they're treasures; it's heartbreaking to watch."

"Ding-dong!"

With a flash of light, a food box emitting an alluring, exotic fragrance appeared in front of Jiang Chen.

Opening it, he saw crystal-clear slices of dragon liver, paired with phoenix marrow congee made from spirit rice. That aroma instantly turned the scent of the pile of giant rice next to him into absolute trash.

Jiang Chen was so moved that tears were about to fall.

Eating this soft rice (being kept by his wife). It was so tough! It was so delicious!

The next day.

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs held a routine press conference.

Facing the aggressive questioning from Western reporters about the "food crisis," the spokesperson smiled slightly, and the big screen behind them suddenly lit up.

It was an aerial photo.

Ten thousand mu of "rice forest" shimmered with golden light under the sun.

The rice stalks, as thick as trees, and the clusters of grain, as large as basketballs, instantly plunged the entire room into a deathly silence.

"In view of the major breakthroughs our country has achieved in agricultural technology."

The spokesperson's voice was steady and powerful; every word was like a slap, fiercely striking the faces of those grain merchants who were hoarding goods for speculation.

"China has decided that, effective immediately, we will supply 'Super Rice' to the global market in unlimited quantities. The price... will be set at cabbage prices."

"In addition, we also welcome other countries to purchase seeds. Of course, if it is for certain countries that previously imposed an embargo on us..."

The spokesperson adjusted their glasses and revealed a 'nuclear-friendly' (threatening) smile.

"That will cost extra."

That afternoon.

In the international futures market, the prices of soybean, corn, and wheat futures instantly hit the circuit breaker, plummeting by 30%.

The stock prices of the four major grain merchants plummeted even further, hitting the limit down.

Countless Wall Street speculators lost everything down to their underwear on this day.

China once again proved with its strength: Want to choke us? Be careful about breaking your fingers!

And in that test field full of miracles, Elder Qing Rou was squatting on the ground, lost in thought as she looked at a creature that had also mutated due to absorbing spiritual energy.

It was a grasshopper.

But this grasshopper had grown a bit excessively.

It was as big as a rabbit, emerald green all over, with hind legs as strong as spring steel, and it was staring at Elder Qing Rou with its two compound eyes.

"Chi-chi!"

The big grasshopper let out a threatening chirp and actually attempted to attack this seemingly delicate human.

"Oh my, what a fierce little thing."

Elder Qing Rou extended two fingers, precisely pinched the back of the grasshopper's neck, and lifted it up.

Looking at this plump creature full of protein, her mind suddenly recalled the dish called "deep-fried cicada" that Jiang Chen had ordered when he took her out for barbecue last night.

"The son-in-law said that everything can be deep-fried."

Elder Qing Rou licked her lips, a glint unique to a foodie flashing in her eyes.

"With so much meat on this thing, it should be delicious when deep-fried, right?"

"Sprinkle some cumin? Or chili powder?"

Carrying the grasshopper, she walked briskly in the direction of the cafeteria.

And behind her, in that dense "rice forest," it seemed there were even more mutated "ingredients" shivering in fear.