northernbook Chapter 154 Potatoes Ripen
Chapter 154 Potatoes Ripen
Li Huaiyuan ordered that ten manual threshing machines be chained to trees to prevent them from being stolen.
These ten threshing machines are left in the suburbs, and anyone who needs them can come and use them.
Tian Tian instructed the thirty households that grew rice to immediately till the land after the harvest, and plant the second crop in a few days.
The people expressed their gratitude profusely, and Tian Tian waved goodbye to them.
Li Huaiyuan also prepared to return home.
Tian Tian then called on Ling Yao and Qian Fulai, as today was also potato digging day.
"Where are you going?" Li Huaiyuan had already stepped onto the carriage, but then pulled his foot back.
“Cousin, let’s go to the Qian family’s estate to dig potatoes,” Ling Yao told him.
Potato...
Although Li Huaiyuan had never personally seen the potatoes, he had heard about them many times from Ling Yao.
Especially regarding the claim of a potato yield of 3,500 jin per mu...
"I will also go and take a look."
*
Most of the stems and leaves of the hundred acres of potatoes have turned from green to yellow.
At this point... the underground tubers stop swelling, they have reached maturity and are ready for harvest.
"First, tear off the withered leaves on top," Tian Tian ordered.
A dozen or so farmers from the village rushed into the fields, and the yamen runners also rushed down to help.
Everyone took pickaxes and shovels... to watch Tian Tian demonstrate.
“Around here…” Tian Tian pointed to the potato roots…
Start digging a little away from the potato roots to avoid directly damaging the tubers below.
"The technique should be gentle, slowly scooping it out..."
The sun was shining brightly, the soil was loose, and the shovel dug through the soil...
In an instant, a few pale yellow shadows appeared from the turned soil.
"We've dug it out!" Everyone's faces were full of anticipation.
Tian Tian carefully wiped away the loose soil on the surface with both hands, and slowly pulled at the roots...
As the roots were slowly pulled out, everyone's eyes lit up—the potato roots were covered with round, plump fruits, hanging densely on the fibrous roots.
"My God!" a farmer exclaimed, and couldn't help but squat down and lift the potatoes with his hands, afraid that they would fall.
Tian Tian put the potatoes on the ground, and the farmer next to her couldn't help but raise his fist and gesture.
These potatoes were even bigger than his fist.
The farmer's eyes widened, and he exclaimed incredulously, "This...this potato is bigger than my fist..."
He picked up a potato and gently wiped the dirt off it with his rough palms.
The potato's smooth, yellow skin is showing...
He remembered that Miss Tian had said that this could be eaten as a meal.
It's so big... one should be enough to fill you up.
"Look, these potatoes are all quite big!" The others looked at the potatoes still hanging on the roots. Although they varied in size, they were all larger than an adult's fist.
The fruits are layered on top of each other, like strings of round, plump jewels, hanging heavily on the stem.
"No wonder Miss Tian said that this potato field can yield 3,500 jin per mu."
"If all the potatoes in this area are like this plant, then there must be 3,500 jin (1,250 kg) of potatoes."
"These potatoes are amazing!"
"Look at them, each one bigger than the last, they're practically gold ingots dug out of the ground!"
The farmers gathered together, discussing the matter animatedly.
Qian Fulai and Ling Yao also joined in.
The two men weighed the potato in their hands, their faces showing surprise.
"Miss Tian, how do you eat this potato?" the farmers asked curiously.
Tian Tian dug up a few more potato plants, collected them, and had them sent to the farmhouse kitchen, "to be washed clean and then steamed or boiled."
The farmers and the yamen runners, imitating Tian Tian, began harvesting potatoes...
Everyone gathered in one mu of land, preparing to calculate the yield per mu.
Some people dug, some people picked, and baskets of potatoes were carried to the edge of the field to be weighed.
More than forty people dug up an acre of potatoes in half an hour.
Meanwhile, the potatoes that had been sent to the kitchen were steamed and returned.
After steaming, the unique aroma of the potatoes wafts in the wind, warm and sweet.
Tian Tian took one, and the others followed suit and took one in their hands.
Potatoes have very thin skins, so you don't need to peel them at all if you wash them clean.
She took a bite right away...
Steamed potatoes have a soft, almost melt-in-your-mouth texture, a slightly sweet taste, and a lingering, delightful flavor.
She looked at the farmers and the yamen runners; they were all ordinary people, and their feedback was more authentic.
A farmer carefully held a steaming hot potato, and before even bringing it to his mouth, he couldn't help but swallow hard before taking a small bite.
Instantly, his face lit up with delight, "It smells so good!"
The food around him was described as "soft, sweet, and filling, even better than pancakes."
"These potatoes are more filling than the grains we usually grow! If we planted them in all our fields, even those with little land could survive famine years!"
"That's right. These potatoes grow fast and yield a lot. The whole family can survive on them."
The constable took a big bite of potato, nodding as he chewed, "It's filling and keeps us hungry. If we go out on official business, we can take a bag of these potatoes with us and never have to worry about not having anything to eat on the road again!"
"It's delicate on the palate and has a sweet aftertaste; it's quite a unique flavor!" Li Huaiyuan exclaimed...
Li Yi, holding a large potato, mumbled, "Mom, this potato is so delicious! It's so sweet!"
As he spoke, he swallowed a large mouthful, his face covered in potato bits.
Ling Yao took the constable's words to heart...
Whenever the soldiers on the border went into battle, they carried hard flatbread with them.
If you replace it with potatoes...
These potatoes are so delicious and so productive.
How many people could be saved with this kind of food?
After the farmers and government officials finished eating the potatoes, they worked even harder.
Soon, all the potatoes in the acre were dug up.
Dozens of bamboo baskets were weighed one by one, and then added together...
"Yield per mu..."
"Three thousand eight hundred and sixty catties."
Everyone was stunned!
Three thousand eight hundred and sixty catties, uh, let's not count the sixty catties, three thousand eight hundred catties...
It's 300 jin more than the 3,500 jin Tian Tian mentioned before.
Everyone looked at each other, unsure of what to say.
Ling Yao looked at Li Huaiyuan, and Li Huaiyuan also looked at Ling Yao...
Qian Fulai then... burped.
Three thousand eight hundred and sixty catties...
One hundred mu of land is... 386,000 jin...
Now he's wondering if his Fulai Restaurant can sell all these potatoes.
"Sweetie..." Qian Fulai came to Tian Tian's side, "What kind of dish can we make with these potatoes?"
Tian Tian smiled and turned to Li Huaiyuan and Ling Yao, "Lord Li, Young Master Ling, would you be willing to try the dishes at Fulai Restaurant?"
Li Huaiyuan and Ling Yao were naturally willing.
Tian Tian had five baskets of potatoes loaded onto a horse-drawn cart, while the rest were moved to the potato workshop that Qian Fulai had helped build.
"You guys go to Fulai Restaurant first, I'll go around to another field to pick some other vegetables."
Potatoes are the main dish, but many side dishes are also needed.