Martial Artists could eat the same amount as ordinary people, but this was under the circumstance that they were not pursuing strength.
But how could the Martial Artists in the village not pursue strength, so their consumption was very high.
It could only be said that, thankfully, the food supply in the village was still sufficient, but this was not a sustainable solution.
Hence, the village chief had been eagerly awaiting the maturity of the Spirit Rice.
Apart from the one mu used as a control at Wang Sheng’s suggestion, the other four mu of Spirit Rice, under the effect of Bone Powder, were about to mature.
The height of the Spirit Rice plants was beyond imagination, about one meter forty-five in height, and the grains were very large, three to four times the size of regular rice.
The village chief had people erect a straw shed there, and had several Martial Artists from the village take turns to guard it every day, sleeping there at night.
The Martial Artists had no objections; after all, they were getting credits and merits for this.
It’s no wonder the village chief was so cautious, because indeed, wild beasts had entered the rice fields intending to steal the ripening Spirit Rice.
The lure of Spirit Rice for ordinary animals and even spirit beasts and Demon Beasts was extraordinary.
Even the threat of a powerful spirit beast in the village could not stop them.
Seeking fortune amidst danger applied not only to humans but also to those ordinary wild beasts.
They didn’t know what benefits eating this Spirit Rice would bring, but instinct drove them to want to eat it.
After the Spirit Rice neared maturity, three wild boars, two deer, and even a spirit beast-level leopard had come this way.
The wild boars and deer became food for the villagers, while the spirit beast-level leopard, being incredibly fast, and the Martial Artist on guard that day being a First Grade Martial Artist, couldn’t catch up, so it got away, snatching away some of the Spirit Rice plants.
It was after that day that the village chief built a shed near the rice fields.
However, as the Spirit Rice grew even more mature, various birds began to appear.
Each day countless birds lingered near the Spirit Rice fields, hoping to stealthily eat some of the grains.
The solution to this problem was simple; Wang Sheng directly sent Yun Xiao over there.
After all, Yun Xiao spent everyday eating and sleeping, having grown quite plump, so it was a good chance for it to get some exercise.
Once Yun Xiao arrived, as soon as it started mocking, the group of birds trying to steal the rice began chasing it, and it deliberately slowed down, keeping the birds at bay—seeming as if they might catch it, but they never quite could.
Now Yun Xiao’s daily pleasure was to walk the birds, and it seemed quite happy with this game.
This state of affairs continued for about a month until the Spirit Rice, with plenty of Bone Powder scattered, finally matured.
The village chief couldn’t wait to have people start harvesting the Spirit Rice.
Apart from the one mu where Bone Powder was not used, a total of four mu yielded over 1000 kilograms of hulled Spirit Rice.
Not having previous experience with planting Spirit Rice, even Wang Sheng didn’t know if this amount was a lot or a little.
However, compared to the average yield of food crops of that era, it was quite a decent haul.
One could tell from the village chief’s smiling face.
Spirit Rice was still rice, after a period of air-drying and dehusking, the eatable Spirit Rice came into being.
The village chief didn’t have all of it dehusked but did about three hundred pounds, and then cooked some.
From there on, the daily meals prepared for Wang Sheng in the village became Spirit Rice meals.
The first time it was brought over by the village chief.
“This Spirit Rice is great, the Martial Artists only need to eat half a bowl to cover their daily consumption, and about ten pounds of Spirit Rice a day, combined with some meat, is enough to feed the over twenty Martial Artists in the village.”
Spirit Rice, a type of Spiritual Medicine, contained strong energy, which could fully satisfy the daily consumption of a Martial Artist.
“Now we can’t use it as a cultivation resource, but the Martial Artists’ food problem is solved, and the village has decided to expand those rice fields. In the future, half of the fields will cultivate Spirit Rice and the other half normal rice. When the reserves of regular rice are sufficient, we plan to use all the rice fields to plant Spirit Rice.”
The village chief had to consider not only the Martial Artists but also the many ordinary people.
After comparison, the village chief also roughly estimated how much time it would take to grow Spirit Rice without Bone Powder.
It was even longer than Wang Sheng had initially predicted, at least over two years.
But as Bone Powder wasn’t something that could be constantly available, most future planting of Spirit Rice would likely require the full amount of time.
Introducing Spirit Rice entirely would create at least a two-year gap when the village’s food supply wouldn’t last.
So the plan was to build up some food reserves first, enough to last two years, and then to start planting Spirit Rice.
Wang Sheng could see that the village chief wanted the entire village to consume Spirit Rice.
Although it would only be harvested every two years, the benefits of Spirit Rice for Martial Artists were naturally even greater for ordinary people.
Even with a biennial harvest, it could be sufficiently supplied.
But preparations were necessary.
And it also needed the agreement of the people in the village.
After all, this wasn’t a one-person matter, but given the village chief’s demeanor, it seemed these issues had probably already been addressed.
Wang Sheng naturally had no objections, Martial Artists might need to limit the amount of Spirit Rice for the time being due to insufficient supply, but he did not.
The village chief wanted to know how much he could eat at once so that he could be provided accordingly.
“Just one bowl each time will suffice; no need for too much.”
For him now, eating was mainly about satisfying the desire for taste; cultivation was still best left to the Ten-Complete Great Replenishing Pills.