The crowd had not yet recovered from their joy.
Suddenly, they saw the Divine Lady’s sleeves flutter lightly, and the garments around her rippled like water.
A faint layer of golden light overflowed from her body, like the breaking dawn, gentle yet impossible to look at directly.
As the light gradually faded.
Everyone fixed their eyes on her and gasped in unison.
The Divine Lady had already changed into a different set of magnificent robes.
It was a pale gold robe with wide sleeves, its train trailing more than three feet behind her. As the hem spread across the dust-filled ground, it seemed as if she were walking on clouds, remaining unstained by even a speck of dust.
The fabric was layered, inner and outer, each layer as thin as a cicada's wing, floating gently with the breeze.
Everyone could not help but marvel in their hearts.
To change one’s appearance so effortlessly—as expected of the Divine Lady, her divine powers were truly vast.
The Divine Lady flicked her wrist, and an object appeared out of thin air in her hand.
It was a stalk of Nine-Ear Grain made of gold and jade.
Its stem was of pure gold, its leaves were of green jade, and the heavy clusters were adorned with rubies like coral beads, the entire branch overflowing with radiant light.
The people had seen the Nine-Ear Grain before; it was the very artifact the Divine Lady had used last time to grant Xindu City a bountiful harvest.
But the stalk of Nine-Ear Grain in the Divine Lady’s hand now appeared even more magnificent than the last one.
Furthermore, the robes on the Divine Lady’s body were also different; the accessories and embroidery on the skirt were more intricate and exquisite than before.
It was so beautiful it left people speechless, unsure of how to describe it.
As the saying goes, you get what you pay for.
The Goddess of Harvest Set, now upgraded to Level 3, not only looked better but also had a significantly larger skill range, estimated to cover two Xindu Cities. Similarly, the ability to accelerate crop growth had increased from four months to eight months.
Basically, most crops could be directly ripened with the set's skill as soon as the seeds were buried in the soil.
It was incredibly practical; aside from the long skill cooldown, it had no other drawbacks.
Yun Shu watched the Shock Value begin to rise again, feeling exceptionally satisfied. Although the increase wasn't massive, even a mosquito's leg is meat, and small amounts add up.
Besides, she was about to put on a big show, which would surely allow her to fleece some more Shock Value from the people of Xindu.
Thinking of this.
She gripped the Nine-Ear Grain and gave a light wave toward the empty plot of land where she and the system had secretly scattered cotton seeds.
Everyone felt a blur before their eyes.
Then, a crack suddenly split open in a nearby patch of weed-choked wasteland.
A sprout of tender green poked through.
Immediately after.
A second stalk, a tenth, a hundredth...
Under the stunned gazes of the crowd, the green seedlings shot up at a speed visible to the naked eye.
The stems grew tall, and the leaves unfurled.
In the blink of an eye, they had grown to waist height.
Pale yellow flowers bloomed among the branches and leaves, then quickly withered away, leaving behind green capsules.
The capsules gradually swelled, turning from green to dark brown, and finally, with a pop under the sunlight, they split open to reveal a snowy white, soft, fibrous substance inside.
Everyone was dumbfounded.
Once they regained their senses, the crowd erupted.
“Are those clouds from the sky? What does the Divine Lady mean by gifting these to us?”
“I don’t know, don’t talk nonsense. How could clouds from the sky grow in the ground? I guess it must be a crop like the sweet potato, meant to keep us from worrying about hunger.”
“If it’s food, that would be wonderful. Last time, Little Miss Cui taught me how to plant sweet potatoes, and they were so fragrant.”
“But it doesn’t look like something you can eat to me...”
The people whispered and discussed among themselves, filled with marvel, doubt, and speculation. Each one craned their neck, gazing at the field of white with eyes full of curiosity.
“Follow me.”
The Divine Lady led the crowd toward the cotton field, her pale gold robes and the snowy white cotton bolls reflecting each other’s radiance.
She reached out and plucked a cotton boll, cradling it in her palm.
The cotton was fluffy and soft, looking like a tiny cloud in her jade-white palm.
“This substance is called cotton.”
“Once its fruit is ripe, one only needs to strip this cotton from the seeds, and it can be used to spin thread and weave cloth.”
Zhang Qiaoniang listened intently and blurted out, “Divine Lady, can this cotton really be woven into cloth?”
Hearing this, Yun Shu looked back at her. “Cloth woven from cotton is called cotton cloth. It is softer than hemp, no less fine than silk, yet more durable and stronger than silk.”
“In winter, stuffing cotton into the middle of layered garments can make a cotton-padded jacket to ward off the cold.”
“And this cotton can be grown by anyone.”
As soon as these words were spoken.
The breathing of the crowd grew heavy.
Yun Shu continued, “Cotton is not picky about the land; it can grow even in lean or poor soil. Plant the seeds in spring and harvest in autumn. One mu of cotton field yields far more cloth than the silk from one mu of mulberry field, and the effort required is less than half of that needed for raising silkworms and reeling silk.”
These were pieces of knowledge she had gained while reading Luo Daoqing’s memories; his mind was indeed a treasure trove.
Unfortunately.
The enhancement level of the Mirror of Retrospection Set was too low; otherwise, she could have read several more years of his memories.
【Shen Yu Shock Value +100】
【Lu Sui Shock Value +100】
【Zhang Qiaoniang Shock Value +100】
【Pei Wanning Shock Value +100】
【...】
【Current Shock Value: 365,700】
Shen Yu looked at the cotton field before him, his expression agitated, and even his fingers began to tremble uncontrollably.
He had read agricultural books for a time and naturally knew the hardships of growing mulberry and hemp, as well as the suffering of the common people who lacked food and clothing.
Silk was too expensive for ordinary families to afford.
Hemp and kudzu cloth were too coarse and could not ward off the cold in winter.
Animal skins were warm but rare and heavy.
Therefore, in this world, not only did many people die of hunger, but when winter arrived, even more froze to death in the snow.
Now, however, the Divine Lady said.
This cotton was not picky about the land, and anyone could grow it.
Most importantly.
One mu of cotton field was far superior to one mu of mulberry field, and the process of making cotton clothes was much simpler than raising silkworms and reeling silk.
How was this mere cotton?
This was clearly life itself!
It was the hope of survival for millions upon millions of people!
A woman with graying hair at her temples covered her mouth with her hand, her tears falling in torrents.
Seeing the cotton, she remembered last winter.
Her village had been struck by the calamities of war, and she could only flee with her one-year-old child. The child had frozen to death in the night.
At that time, she had curled up in the snow, clutching the child’s small, cold body, weeping until she fainted.
If only she could have met the Divine Lady sooner; unfortunately, her poor child did not have such good fortune!
She finally could not hold back and sobbed aloud.
This crying was like opening a floodgate for everyone, and the air was instantly filled with a heavy mixture of sorrow and joy.
“The Divine Lady is merciful! We thank the Divine Lady!”
“Sob... thank you, Divine Lady...”
The Divine Lady’s eyelashes fluttered slightly, her gaze slowly sweeping over the tops of their heads. Her tone was neither sad nor joyful. “There is no need to thank me. This cotton is the wager the Weaver Girl lost to me. Strictly speaking, it is something you earned through your own hard work.”
At this point.
Her gaze fell upon Pei Wanning, and she added, “Mortals overcoming the heavens with wisdom is indeed worth anticipating.”
“I give you three days. Within these three days, if you can persuade me to remain in the mortal realm, I shall enter the world and enlighten all living beings.”
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