Chapter 107: The Painting

Chapter 107: The Painting

Barnabe never imagined that, as the royal chef for the Crown Prince of France, he would one day find himself cooking for the sans-culottes on the streets of Paris.

But this was the Prince's order, and he wasn't the only one—14 other royal chefs shared his fate.

Barnabe skewered a peeled potato on a specially designed fork, and with a dazzling display of knife skills, he sliced it up.

He then spread the potato out evenly on a skewer, turning it into a spiral shape.

The "spiral" was then placed into a pot of oil to fry for a while. After removing it, Barnabe sprinkled it with various seasonings and set it on a nearby wooden board with holes.

His assistant immediately raised his head and called out loudly to the passersby, "The latest royal delicacy—Spiral Potato Tower! The kind-hearted Crown Prince invites everyone to try it for free!"

People crowded around the cooking tent, sniffing the aroma of the "Spiral Potato Tower," but no one dared to take one.

After all, these were "the devil's food," known to cause lung disease or leprosy!

After what seemed like an eternity, a dirty little boy with matted hair cautiously approached, staring at the potato skewers and swallowing hard.

Finally, driven by hunger, he grabbed a skewer and took a big bite.

Delicious!

The little street urchin's eyes widened. This was even better than the bread with gravy that a kind lady had given him at Christmas.

Ignoring the sympathetic looks from the crowd, he devoured three skewers in a row before reluctantly turning to leave, worried he might get scolded.

Before long, a few more dirty children arrived and quickly polished off the remaining Spiral Potato Towers.

The onlookers shook their heads and sighed, as if expecting the children to drop dead at any moment.

"Read all about it!" At a nearby street corner, a newsboy waved the latest edition of Le Parisien, shouting, "Get your paper! Just 2 sous! Latest novel—an adventurer sails the Caribbean, winning fortune and fame!"

Someone bought a newspaper, read the latest chapter of Battle Through the Heavens, then turned to page three, where they were immediately drawn in by a new story.

It was about an adventurer nicknamed "Popeye," who sailed a ship called the Black Pearl on daring expeditions across the Caribbean.

The most captivating part was that this "Popeye" had a unique trait—whenever he ate a potato, he would instantly gain incredible strength, allowing him to overcome any obstacle...

At Versailles.

With Brienne's supervision, the potato promotion plan was completed in less than three days.

Early in the morning, Joseph and Brienne took the plan to the Petit Trianon.

In the garden outside the Queen's chamber, Queen Marie gave her son a warm hug, looking extremely happy. "My dear Joseph, I was just about to send for you in Paris."

She turned to Count de Berninac, "Please ask Madame Le Brun to come here and bring the painting with her. Tell her the Crown Prince is here too."

Joseph had heard of Madame Le Brun, a famous court painter who had painted many portraits of the King and Queen.

He looked at his mother curiously, "Mother, why do you want Madame Le Brun to come?"

The Queen smiled, "Madame Le Brun has created a wonderful painting of you, titled The Blessed Child. Oh, I'm sure you'll love it when you see it."

"Oh, alright..." Joseph suddenly had a bad feeling but quickly shifted to the main topic, "By the way, Mother, Archbishop Brienne and I have something important to discuss with you."

"Oh? What is it?"

Brienne handed the plan to the Queen, "Your Majesty, according to the analysis of Count Lamarck and several other scholars, there will be a drought this year, likely more severe than before."

Queen Marie immediately looked worried, "Do you have any solutions?"

Brienne quickly said, "It was the Crown Prince's idea. We can promote the cultivation of potatoes across the country, using this high-yield crop to reduce the likelihood of famine."

After hearing the detailed plan, the Queen nodded, "In Austria, we use potatoes to combat famine. Joseph must have studied the systems of many countries, wisely applying the beneficial parts to France."

She took a pen from a nearby maid, signed the document, and smiled, "Just as Madame Le Brun's painting shows, my Joseph is exceptionally gifted and surely blessed by the Lord."

Joseph hadn't expected things to go so smoothly. If he had known, he would have come to the Queen for her signature three days ago, without waiting for the detailed plan to be completed.

Now, with just over a month left before the wheat planting season, if the farmers planted their wheat, they certainly wouldn't dig it up to plant potatoes instead.

Transporting potatoes from northeastern France to the southern provinces would take about a month, so time was extremely tight.

The Queen handed the document back to Brienne just as a graceful middle-aged woman approached. She greeted the Queen, Joseph, and Brienne in turn.

Queen Marie smiled and instructed, "Madame Le Brun, please show the Crown Prince your painting. I can hardly wait."

"Of course," Madame Le Brun signaled to her assistants, who carefully brought out a nearly person-sized painting and removed the dust cover.

Joseph froze the moment he saw the painting. At the top was God floating in the sky, holding a lamb in one hand and an unknown book in the other, with a radiant glow behind Him.

Beneath God was a richly dressed boy, hands clasped in prayer, gazing up devoutly, listening to the divine words.

And that boy's face... was his own.

Joseph felt his toes curl in embarrassment. How could Madame Le Brun have created such an awkward piece of art?!

But Queen Marie beamed, "Joseph, this painting is my gift to you. You can hang it in your reception room."

No! Joseph's heart clenched at the thought of seeing this every day—it would be unbearably awkward!

Madame Le Brun said, "Your Majesty, it will take a few more days. Technically, the painting isn't finished. I still need to refine some details."

Joseph breathed a slight sigh of relief and quickly added, "Please take your time, no need to rush."

Brienne, examining the painting, nodded in appreciation, "Madame Le Brun, your technique is truly superb! I can feel the holy aura of the Blessed Child emanating from this painting. The Blessed Child will surely be revered by all!"

Holy aura? Joseph suddenly had an idea. Of course! People of this era loved using oil paintings to promote religion, and to them, the content of an oil painting was almost like a depiction of real events.

That's why the Queen was so invested and appreciative of this painting.

Perhaps this could be the key to dispelling the French people's superstitions about potatoes!

An image nearly formed instantly in his mind.

Joseph instinctively made the sign of the cross—he had done it so often since arriving in this era that it had become second nature—and thought to himself, "God, it seems I'll need to trouble You to endorse this."

(End of Chapter)

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