When Chang Jianyi began producing food daily, her prestige reached a new height. At this time, she could produce tens of thousands of mu of grain every day. Especially during this special period when the world was facing a severe food crisis, Chang Jianyi's existence had alleviated the food crisis in the Yuzhou region, earning her numerous titles.
Some people called Chang Jianyi "Mi Shen" (Rice God) for a simple reason: rice was abundant in the south, and Chang Jianyi could rapidly ripen crops, thus earning her this title. However, this appellation did not gain much recognition.
Since Chang Jianyi was Shen Feng's wife and a gentle woman, using a term like "God" seemed too masculine.
In China, there are many ways to address someone respectfully. The most common are "XX Gong" or "XX Lao." Even when facing a bandit with only a few dozen subordinates, it was best to call him "Great King" or "Hero." Supreme titles are rare, like Sage or Immortal, and special appellations such as Supreme or Living Buddha.
Therefore, for a noble woman, it was best to use the word "Xian" (Immortal), as it conveyed an ethereal and graceful feeling.
Among those who used "Xian" as a suffix was Xu Xing, whose title "Xing Xian" (Apricot Immortal) was also pleasant. After all, the Apricot Immortal in Journey to the West was a beauty, so Xu Xing had no objections to such a title.
Now, everyone wanted to give Chang Jianyi a suitable title, one that was both resounding and conveyed beauty.
After several days, someone finally proposed an excellent title. Once it appeared, it was quickly publicized, and others unanimously agreed. This title was "Qing Xian" (Green Immortal).
This title held significant meaning. In China, there were many deities, but people generally paid little attention to those who were not practical. They often worshipped deities who could be of use, such as the God of Wealth and the Guanyin who grants children, or even famous deities who, despite having no specific profession, received worship due to their high renown.
In Chinese mythology, there was a deity often overlooked: the Green Emperor!
The Green Emperor was not very famous in mythological stories, and by modern times, hardly anyone knew what the Green Emperor did.
The Green Emperor was a deity who governed the growth of plants. This deity was often favored by women, as ancient people believed that the blooming of flowers was determined by the Green Emperor. Women were often compared to flowers, thus the Green Emperor was popular among many women.
In ancient times, people wrote various poems, including references to the Green Emperor. The most famous was Huang Chao's saying: "If I were the Green Emperor in the future, I would order the peach blossoms to bloom together!"
Therefore, in the late Tang Dynasty, people still believed that the Green Emperor could control plant growth.
At this moment, Chang Jianyi possessed such an ability. Even in cold climates, she could accelerate plant growth. In such circumstances, people naturally associated her with such a deity.
Using a divine title to refer to a person was a supreme honor, rarely bestowed upon anyone. However, Chang Jianyi was absolutely qualified to have such a title now. With the onset of the great ice age, humanity truly faced extinction without the ability to produce food. The title bestowed upon her was an expression of their admiration and was not meant to be offensive in any way.
Chang Jianyi herself had no particular thoughts about this title, but people could discern from her expression that she was very pleased with it. She wore a constant smile, clearly in good spirits.
The construction of this food production base was not easy, especially in the era of the approaching great ice age. People built it with their bare hands and hoes. Construction began while the earth was still frozen, taking three months to complete.
It can be said that the entire population of Yuzhou worked together to complete this base. Meanwhile, many wind power generation projects that started at the same time had only just begun.
However, this hard work ultimately proved worthwhile. After the base was completed, the famine in the Chuan Yu region was alleviated. Although most people still couldn't eat their fill, they saw hope.
For the Chinese people, as long as they could have enough to eat, they would never choose to rebel. Therefore, the most important thing was to feed the people under their charge or give them hope. With hope, there would be a future. Clearly, Chang Jianyi had achieved this.
While the food crisis had been eased, many subsequent problems emerged. The most pressing was that the food was still far from sufficient. Although this food production base covered tens of thousands of mu and could produce food daily, this was contingent upon a continuous supply of fertilizer and soil. Every day, countless people worked in this production base, transporting infertile, sandy soil elsewhere and bringing in new soil to spread and fertilize, thereby maintaining the nutrients required for crop growth.
It could be said that simply eating one's fill was already very difficult. More than half of the city's population needed to work at the production base, continuously supplying soil and fertilizer, and sometimes water.
"Life now is incomparable to the past. Back then, just working could at least support oneself. But now, even working oneself to death only allows for subsistence, and it's too difficult to support a family," someone complained under these circumstances. They didn't ask for the return of peaceful times, but merely for things to be as they were a year ago. However, even this thought was a mere extravagance.
Many people worked diligently every day, risking their lives for enough food to support themselves and their families. Yet, they ultimately discovered that their efforts yielded too little reward. The amount of food each person received was meager, just enough to prevent starvation, but not enough for further development.
"Be content. I've heard that many places can't even grow crops, and they can't even drink a bowl of thin porridge. The wild vegetables in the wilderness have long been dug up. Not to mention finding wild vegetables, even grass roots and bark have been eaten clean. Many people have already resorted to cannibalism. We should be grateful that we can still see food here," someone rebuked, feeling that they shouldn't question their current life, as the past life was irretrievable. Compared to other places, their situation was still fortunate.
Thus, upon hearing this, many found solace, considering themselves relatively lucky to live in a place that could produce some food.
In fact, many places kept their people calm. As long as these people lived stably without becoming restless, society would remain stable. How to keep these people calm and prevent them from wandering around? It was quite simple. One method was to tell them about the ferocity of the outside world.
How does a sense of happiness arise? It's quite simple. Happiness arises from comparing one's own life with that of others. By realizing they possess something others lack, a sense of superiority emerges, and with this superiority, a sense of happiness naturally follows.
Consequently, many news media outlets enjoyed publicizing how cruel the outside world was, urging people to stay put in their own small plots of land, remaining in their villages or cities, and not moving around arbitrarily, as if this were the best choice.
This approach was very effective. Many people preferred to believe that the outside world was brutal rather than accept that their own lives were harsh. Everyone adopted this ostrich mentality, living day by day.
There are never fools in this world. If one person can think of a way, another person can certainly think of it too. Therefore, as Yuzhou began building greenhouse production bases, other regions also commenced construction. Even people in Siberia were attempting to cultivate crops in greenhouses to obtain sufficient food.
However, these cities ultimately all failed. While building one or two vegetable greenhouses was simple, requiring only four or five people to complete in a day, establishing extensive production bases covering tens of thousands of mu was not something that could be accomplished in a short time. Even if such projects were completed, they would require a constant supply of electricity for the greenhouses to operate normally. Relying on solar power was no longer feasible, as the sunlight reaching the ground had significantly decreased, and it refracted upon reaching the surface. Unless in high-altitude areas, it was impossible to generate energy through solar power in other locations.
Moreover, even if these large-scale projects managed to produce food, it would take a year to harvest, as crop growth cycles were fixed, and it was difficult for ordinary people to ripen crops prematurely. Consequently, people could only watch as crops sprouted but had to wait months for harvest.
Under these circumstances, Jinling proactively contacted Yuzhou, not through official channels, but through private communication, directly approaching Shen Feng. They proposed a matter and hoped Shen Feng would agree: a marriage alliance.
The lord of Jinling was Zhou Yayun, who had a very young daughter and wished for her to marry into Yuzhou. He guaranteed that his daughter was a well-behaved and educated girl, and her educational background and living history were provided in her file, which was sent directly from Jinling. The messenger was an acquaintance of Shen Feng, Mr. and Mrs. Ke Yiming.
Gu Yanxiao had lived in Yuzhou before, so he was very familiar with the city. Upon returning to this important town on the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, he saw many people working diligently, but also noticed the gaunt faces of many, and he shook his head helplessly.
"Although the people here are starving, they at least have some capacity to produce food, so they won't rebel. But where I am, it's impossible to obtain food," Gu Yanxiao said, not expressing dissatisfaction with life here, but rather envy.
Jinling had been without grain for a long time. Although they had abundant reserves in the past, controlling the plains of the middle and lower Yangtze River, these lands were fertile and could produce large amounts of grain. However, the unfortunate reality was that with the onset of the great ice age, their grain reserves were constantly consumed, and by now, there were no reserves left.
In their desperation, everyone suddenly recalled a joke made during a previous meeting. At that time, everyone had treated it as a jest, but now it suddenly came to mind, and they immediately put it into practice.
This matter was to form a marriage alliance with Yuzhou, having their lord's daughter marry into Yuzhou, while also engaging in trade with Yuzhou to exchange for grain.