You will be given a definition of a task first, then some input of the task.
In this task, you're given passages that contain mentions of a time duration related quesry and we are supposed to write answer to a question that involves event "frequency", which refers to how often an event is likely to be repeated. For example, "taking showers" typically occurs ~5 times a week, "going to saturday market" usually happens every few weeks/months, etc.
Note that a lot of the questions could have more than one correct answers. We only need a single most-likely answer. Please try to keep your "answer" as simple as possible. Concise and simple "answer" is preferred over those complex and verbose ones.

Sentence: But early in the 16th century, a brilliant new red appeared in Europe. When the Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes and his soldiers conquered the Aztec Empire in 1519-1521, they discovered slowly that the Aztecs had another treasure beside silver and gold; they had the tiny cochineal, a parasitic scale insect which lived on cactus plants, which, when dried and crushed, made a magnificent red. The cochineal in Mexico was closely related to the Kermes varieties of Europe, but unlike European Kermes, it could be harvested several times a year, and it was ten times stronger than the Kermes of Poland. It worked particularly well on silk, satin and other luxury textiles. In 1523 Cortes sent the first shipment to Spain. Soon cochineal began to arrive in European ports aboard convoys of Spanish galleons.
Question: How often could the Mexican cochineal be harvested?
Output:
several times a year