The mature grains of Carmine rice were plump, round, and a deep yellow color, about a third shorter than hybrid rice. At the tail end of the grain lay two forked, swallowtail-like fine hairs. When the husk was removed with a hulling machine, the elliptical rice was a purplish-red color, similar to carmine, with dark red streaks along the grains.
The quality of Carmine rice was exceptional, but its growth environment was also extremely demanding, requiring an altitude of about 800 meters in the mountains, with an ample supply of winter warmth and cool summer mountain springs. As such, the yield of Carmine rice was low, possibly not more than a hundred or so kilograms per year.
Of course, these hundred kilograms of Carmine rice were reserved for the eight great families and some top political figures. For families with hundred-billion-dollar assets in the Magic Capital, or for tycoons like Zhang Dahua, this was an unattainable luxury.
