Chapter 88 Potato Harvest
Shen Zhi squatted down and pulled up a potato seedling. There were more than a dozen potatoes of different sizes on it. Shen Zhi dug a few out of the soil.
The village head was shocked this time. "Is this lump edible?"
Shen Zhi nodded.
The village head was pleasantly surprised and quickly dug up one himself. It had the same number of lumps. What a huge yield.
"Grandpa Lizheng, when we bought these from a foreign merchant, he said the yield was very high, about 5,000 to 6,000 kilograms per mu, and in some places with good soil, it can even reach 8,000 kilograms. We can plant more next year, and we won't have to worry about going hungry in the future."
"Five thousand kilograms? So much?" The head of the village was excited. You know, the general grain yield is about one or two hundred kilograms per mu, and the potato yield is so high.
"Yes, Grandpa Lizheng, I came here today to ask for your help. I want to buy the wasteland near my home and plant potatoes and sweet potatoes next year. By the way, Grandpa Lizheng, you should also plant some sweet potatoes next year. The yield per mu of sweet potatoes is about the same as that of potatoes. They can be used as a staple food and can fill you up. The most important thing is that they taste good."
"Okay, I'll go to the government office to get the land deed for you later. In the afternoon, I'll ask the elders to come over to discuss it. Let everyone in the village plant potatoes next year. By the way, are the seeds easy to buy?" The head of the village was now worried that the villagers would not have to go hungry. He was so excited that his heart was in his throat.
Shen Zhi smiled, "Don't worry about that. When the time comes, we will register how much land each family has planted, and I can sell the seeds at a low price. Also, Grandpa Lizheng, you must be careful when storing potatoes. Don't let them sprout. Potatoes with sprouts are poisonous and cannot be eaten. But potatoes with sprouts can be kept for seeds. You harvested a lot of potatoes, and you can't eat them all in a short time. You can dry some of them into potato jerky. My family will also harvest potatoes in a few days, and then make potato flour. Potato flour can be stored for a long time after drying, and it tastes good. I will also teach you how to make potato flour, and you don't have to worry about the problem of potatoes not being able to be stored."
The village head had no worries in his mind. He smiled and said, "Okay, I'll go to the county government office now. You wait for my good news." After the village head finished speaking, he hurriedly drove his own ox cart out. He brought the yamen runners to measure the land. There were 20 mu, and they were all sold at the price of two taels of silver per mu. Shen Zhi gave him 50 taels of silver in advance. The village head asked the yamen runners to measure the land next to that piece of land. There was also 10 mu and 7 mu of land. The yamen runners calculated it as 10 mu, and the village head paid for the 10 mu next to it. After the measurement, the village head went to the government office with the yamen runners to pay the money and get the red deed. The land truly belonged to them. Because it was wasteland, no tax was required for the first three years of reclamation. For the first time, the village head felt that this decision must be the most correct decision in his life.
Shen Zhi did not leave the village head's house. She happened to meet Zhou who was taking little Bean for a walk and came back. Zhou pulled her aside and told her some gossip about the Qin family.
"Xiaohong from the Qin family ran away with the child. Your grandfather was cursing at the door, saying that Xiaohong went out on the pretext of washing clothes by the river, and she hasn't come back yet. Your grandfather and Qin Lian are still waiting for her to come back to cook, but they ran into a child who was chopping wood and said that he saw Xiaohong walking towards the town with the child, carrying a bag in her hand. Your grandfather scolded her that she must have prepared the bag a long time ago. Oh, this is the first time I see a grown man cursing on the street. Xiaohong is also a poor person. She worked while pregnant, and she was still working when she was in confinement. Look how thin she has become. The Qin family is really a piece of shit."
"Yes, I heard that the child had no milk to drink. Xiaohong asked my grandfather for a handful of broken rice to make rice soup for the child, but she was refused. The child was so hungry that he couldn't even cry."
Zhou frowned, "There is such a thing? Your grandfather's behavior is not decent."
"Let them do whatever they want. They've ruined a good family," Shen Zhi narrowed his eyes, feeling very glad that his family had left the Qin family.
"Qin Lian is the only one left in the Qin family, and that girl is not a quiet one. I've seen her flirting with the peddler several times. She was just trying to get the peddler to give her a fashionable hairband. She's so shortsighted that she doesn't even care about a girl's reputation." Zhou was furious, hating her for not fighting for it and bringing discredit to the Qin family.
The two chatted for a long time, and the village head came back with the red deed. He gave Shen Zhi's share and returned the extra money to her.
The head of the village was followed by several respected elders of the clan. With a beaming face, he took the elders to the back of the house, pulled up some potato seedlings on the spot and showed them the results.
Several elders were stunned, and after a while they became very excited.
"Boy, let's all plant potatoes next year. We'll go to the ancestral hall to gather the villagers and see who's willing to plant potatoes. I remember there's a large piece of wasteland in the south of our village. You just said that potatoes are not picky about the land. Let's see who's willing to buy the wasteland to plant potatoes. At least we won't have to worry about going hungry next year."
Shen Zhi also went to the ancestral hall with the elders to attend the meeting. They brought a bag of potato seedlings to show to the villagers. This rich harvest shocked the farmers who had been digging for food in the fields all year round.
Shen Zhi explained to everyone how to eat and store potatoes, and that potatoes with sprouts must not be eaten, and explained the yield per mu. If you don't believe it, you are welcome to watch them harvest potatoes in a few days and weigh them on the spot.
When everyone heard that the yield per mu was 5,000 to 6,000 kilograms, the crowd was excited. Some people could not wait to plant next year and ordered seeds for three mu of land from Shen Zhi.
After one person started, many others also expressed their desire to plant potatoes. They didn't need to plant them in paddy fields, dry land would do. There were many open spaces in front of or behind houses, and they didn't have to pay taxes to plant potatoes there. Some people who were farsighted immediately told the head of the village that they wanted to buy a few acres of wasteland to plant potatoes.
Of course, there are also many people who are on the sidelines, worried that if they plant this kind of crops, they will get nothing.
During this period, Goudan's mother and Wang Guafu both had conflicts with Shen Zhi. They did not believe that Shen Zhi would be so kind as to teach them how to grow high-yield crops and provide them with seeds at a low price.
Goudan's mother said sarcastically, "Don't be fooled by this girl. What does a little girl know about farming? She is just trying to trick you fools into buying her seeds. Be careful, these fake seeds will make you lose everything."
Widow Wang also echoed, "Yes. There are so many old farmers in our village, and they still need a little girl to teach them. If it gets out, it will only make people laugh."
Shen Zhi was not annoyed, and said frankly that it was all voluntary, and whoever wanted to plant could plant it. If you don't believe it, you can plant a few trees in front of or behind your house to try it out. It doesn't matter if you don't want to, don't complain about it.
Aunt Zhang stepped forward and said, "I am willing to believe Erya. She could have planted it secretly, but she chose to call on everyone to plant it together. She was a person who had been hungry before, and she sincerely hopes that everyone can fill their stomachs. The yield per mu is 5,000 kilograms, and everyone can plant a few ridges in front of or behind their houses without going hungry. She is so righteous, but some people still question her intentions. Think about it, she taught us how to make ice jelly for free before, and the money from the sales was used to repair the clan school. Now our children can go to school in the village. Anyway, I have no choice but to believe in Shen Zhiya."
"I believe too."
"I believe too."
Everyone agreed.