He immediately asked with concern, "What is the current size of the spice farm in the territory? How much spice can it produce?"

Vandar calmly replied, "At present, we mainly grow vanilla. The primary part of this spice is its pods, which can be widely used in cooking, baking, desserts, and beverages."

"Currently, the nuns of the Dawn Church in the territory can already make vanilla pods. When making beverages, fruit tea, and milk tea, they split the pods in half and scrape out the seeds inside, which is the main source of the fragrance. These seeds are then scraped into freshly brewed hot black tea."

"The shell of the vanilla pod also has fragrance and can be soaked in hot black tea to enhance the aroma. After about 5 minutes, it is removed. The pod shell can be reused 2-3 times until the fragrance completely disappears."

"As I said, everyone can also feel how expensive this natural spice really is. The price of a pound of vanilla seeds can be as high as 1,000 Golden Crowns."

"Even if the vanilla pods with shells are sold to Marle Castle, I think a pound could fetch 50-60 Golden Crowns."

"Currently, the artificially cultivated vanilla in our territory is still immature, only the natural vanilla from one acre in Hot Spring Village is mature, with a yield of just over two pounds per acre."

Hearing Vandar's report, Su Li immediately took a deep breath.

Only two pounds of vanilla per acre? This is still the result of the territory's various bonuses.

Wouldn't the yield be just over a pound per acre for natural cultivation?

No wonder they say this thing is equivalent to gold. A pound of vanilla pods can really be traded for a pound of gold.

This means that the cup of fruit tea he drank in the morning might be nearly 1 Gold Coin in price.

He immediately somewhat understood why they all say that the lifestyle of the nobility is extravagant and indulgent.

The price of the fruit, milk, hot tea, vanilla, and spices in his cup of tea equals a farmer's annual income!

The hard-earned results of a year's work by farmers were just gulped down by him in one go.

Which farmer wouldn't be envious seeing this?

However, the guilt was quickly cast aside by Su Li.

It's just a cup of vanilla fruit tea; who hasn't drunk this stuff on Earth?

What Su Li wants is for the territory to prosper and develop together, not for everyone to be equally impoverished!

All the current conflicts are simply because the level of development is not high enough.

When the territory achieves great development, and spices become available to every household, what he drank would just be an ordinary drink.

Problems encountered in development can only be solved through development!

This is also the significance of his focus on agriculture.

So Su Li immediately asked with concern, "Can the scale of vanilla cultivation be increased? Has your Dawn Church expanded the cultivation area of this vanilla?"

Vandar quickly replied, "Lord, our Dawn Church has already researched this. Unlike spirit medicine and Purple Crystal Grapes, which require special care from the nuns of the Dawn Church, vanilla can grow as long as it is watered with the hot springs water from the Green Leaf Hills. This highly valuable spice doesn't need to be endowed with any special value to sell well both inside and outside the Empire. Therefore, the people can fully plant this spice near Hot Spring Village and establish a Spice Garden."

"We have already planted an area of 3 acres, mainly because the vanilla seeds have run out, and we are working hard to acquire more. We aim to expand this area to 10 acres next year and 50 acres the following year."

Su Li decisively said, "Select a group of clever and loyal slaves to go over. I want to expand the area of vanilla as soon as possible."

"In addition, I will allocate 300 Golden Crowns to you for the purchase of vanilla seeds. I hope you can expand the planting area to 50 acres as quickly as possible."

This is different from brandy, which requires Su Li to build its reputation. As long as vanilla pods are produced, there will never be a worry about the market, as all the Empire's trade caravans and nobles are willing to pay a tempting price for them.

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