"Well, that's a bit hard to explain right now. Once the machine is assembled, you'll understand," Edward scratched his head.
"Hehehe, our goods are getting more and more popular in France. The French nobles now flaunt our silk, porcelain, and tea as status symbols. There's simply not enough supply to meet the demand. Your Majesty, I've followed your instructions and ordered ten more cargo ships from the French shipyards. Next time we reach France, we can bring back even more ships, transport more goods, and earn even more silver!" Edward boasted.
"Fantastic! Brilliant work! Our fleet is growing stronger, and business is booming!" Lily Evans beamed. "Edward, you never fail to surprise me!"
"What's this?"
"Now, this—this is the real showstopper," Lily Evans said, a sly smile playing at her lips.
Everyone perked up at Lily Evans's words, curiosity practically sparkling in their eyes. What could possibly be so important—the grand finale?
After opening more than a dozen boxes, Edward wiped his brow and said to Su Li, "Your Majesty the Queen, the electric Grand Textile Loom you requested is right here. It's been disassembled into parts and packed in these boxes. Once it's assembled and we have the steam generator running, it can be used. Here, this is the manual—but it's written in French."
"Wonderful! The manual isn't a problem—I'll send it to the academy right away and have the children translate it. Then we'll get the craftsmen to assemble it!" Su Li was overjoyed.
Everyone was fascinated by the steam generator and the Grand Textile Loom, but since everything was still in parts and packed away, it was hard to tell what was what.
There was still a huge pile of boxes left unopened.
Edward led everyone to open another pile of boxes, and this time, they were all filled with gleaming silver ingots!
"These are things that will quickly strengthen the Kingdom of Qin," Lily Evans said, patting the sacks with a joyful expression. "This box contains improved seeds. Over there are various fertilizers. And in these plastic bottles, you'll find pesticides and herbicides."
As Lily Evans introduced each item, everyone—except Edward—looked utterly bewildered.
Seeing their puzzled faces, Lily Evans continued, "These seeds are imported rice and wheat varieties—they yield more and taste better than our local ones. Fertilizer will boost our harvests like never before. Pesticides? They'll wipe out pests—no more locust plagues! And herbicide, well, that's exactly what it sounds like: a potion for banishing weeds from our fields..."
"These are the main event," Su Li said, pressing her lips together.
Everyone grew even more curious after hearing Su Li—what could be so important as the grand finale?
Edward began opening the boxes.
Everyone expected to see something novel, but to their surprise, the boxes were filled with burlap sacks!
The sacks were stacked neatly, marked with foreign writing, and gave off a rather strange smell.
There were all sorts of odd burlap sacks, and in some boxes, there were bottles made of a strange material—apparently called plastic bottles.
"What's inside these sacks?" Belle couldn't help asking.
"These are things that will quickly strengthen the Kingdom of Qin," Su Li said, patting the sacks with a joyful expression. "This box contains improved seeds. Over there are various fertilizers. And in these plastic bottles, you'll find pesticides and herbicides."
Su Li introduced each item one by one. Except for Edward, everyone else was completely baffled.
Seeing everyone's confusion, Su Li continued to explain: "These seeds are imported varieties of rice and wheat, which have higher yields and better taste than our local seeds. Fertilizer can significantly increase the yield per acre. As for pesticides, they kill all kinds of pests—once we have them, we won't have to fear locust plagues. And herbicide, as the name suggests, is a solution that gets rid of weeds in the fields..."