Chapter 240: Chapter 240: Harvest (Part 2)
The field manor planted two thousand acres of sweet potatoes.
Today, hundreds of people bent over and worked hard all day, digging up the sweet potatoes from the two thousand acres of fields. The harvested sweet potatoes were piled up in several places, resembling mountain ranges.
A single acre yielded at least fourteen or fifteen bushels, with the highest reaching over twenty-three or four bushels. Calculating from ten acres, the average yield was about twenty bushels.
Such an abundant harvest is simply exhilarating.
The Commandery Princess ordered a banquet to celebrate, and no one felt it was inappropriate.
Only County Magistrate Cai, with courage, offered advice: "Commandery Princess, we can taste a bit of the sweet potatoes to appreciate their flavor. If hundreds of people eat freely, an acre of sweet potatoes will be consumed. It’s better to keep them as seed stock! In a year or two, when they’re grown everywhere in Nanyang County, people can eat as they wish, even daily if they like."
Jiang Shaohua, always polite and courteous to the diligent County Magistrate Cai, responded with a smile, "What County Magistrate Cai says makes sense too. Someone, take a basket of sweet potatoes to the kitchen, and tonight everyone can have a taste."
County Magistrate Cai felt relieved that the Commandery Princess accepted his suggestion and hurriedly cupped his hands to express gratitude.
Jiang Shaohua warmly smiled and said, "Since there are no outsiders, there’s no need for so many formalities. Everyone has been busy all day and must be very tired. Go rest, and after changing into clean clothes, have dinner."
County Magistrate Cai replied with a smile, "Strangely, after a whole day in the fields, I don’t feel tired at all."
The sixty-year-old Chief Clerk Wen cheerfully chimed in, "Indeed? Even my old bones don’t feel tired."
Everyone laughed.
Isn’t it true? Such a bountiful harvest is so invigorating, who would feel tired?
The sweet potato feast that night also opened everyone’s eyes.
Under the guidance of Cui Du, the kitchen steamed, boiled, fried, and roasted to create many sweet potato delicacies.
Chief Historian Chen, eating the soft and sweet-glutinous sweet potatoes, continuously praised, "Good! Good! Very good! These sweet potatoes are so soft when steamed that even elderly people can eat them without any trouble."
Chief Historian Feng also couldn’t stop praising, "What’s more impressive is that these sweet potatoes are sweet. Commoners rarely get to eat sweets, and these sweet potatoes are filling and delicious."
Compared to corn, the flavor of sweet potatoes was clearly more favored by everyone.
However, corn has advantages that sweet potatoes lack.
"Corn is easy to store," Cui Du said with a smile, "Dried and stored in grain stores, it won’t spoil for a year or two. Sweet potatoes won’t last that long, at most one or two months. By storing them in cellars, they can be kept a bit longer. For long-term storage, processing is required."
Jiang Shaohua listened intently, "How to process? Is it complicated to operate?"
"The method isn’t difficult, once you learn it, you’ll know how to do it," Cui Du, without holding back, spoke articulately, "The simplest method is to wash them, cut them into slices, and dry them, similar to drying vegetables. You can also grind sweet potatoes into powder, which can be stored for a long time and mixed with flour to make buns. Sweet potato powder can also be made into noodles, which can be used in dishes or as a staple food."
Everyone at the table listened with interest.
County Magistrate Cai directly took out a notebook and wrote down the methods.
Chief Historian Chen, observing this, felt quite gratified. Thinking back to the day when the Commandery Princess unusually promoted a steward to County Magistrate, no one dared to say much on the surface, but there was plenty of private gossip. Some were not very pleasant, saying the young Commandery Princess was clueless in appointing people and would regret it sooner or later.
Now, look how accurate and keen the Commandery Princess’s judgment was.
This County Magistrate Cai, originally a steward, is so diligent and earnest in his work that it puts all other county magistrates to shame.
...
In the following two days, the field manor remained busy. The sweet potatoes needed to be weighed and counted into the grain store. The sweet potato vines in the fields also needed to be tidied and disposed of.
These trivial matters were instructed by Cui Du and had people to handle them. What he needed to do was to teach the people from the Fourteen Counties to plant the new crops.
How to select seeds, cultivate seedlings, plow, fertilize, weed, and control pests are all areas of learning.
Jiang Shaohua, with nothing else to do, also came every day to listen to Cui Du’s lessons.
Cui Du, busy in the fields every day, found it neither convenient nor suitable to wear any embroidered robes or long shirts, and was dressed in coarse gray cloth. His originally fair face was tanned another shade. He didn’t look the least bit distinguished, yet he certainly didn’t resemble a farm boy either.
Just standing there casually, he seemed to shine.
Of course, it might be due to the halo brought by the great corn and sweet potato harvests. In any case, Jiang Shaohua found everything about Cui Du perfectly pleasing, no matter how she looked.
Chen Jinyu accompanied the Commandery Princess to study together. Knowing almost nothing about farming, she listened more than she understood, couldn’t help but turn her head, and quietly asked, "Commandery Princess, do you understand?"
Jiang Shaohua quietly replied, "Truthfully, not really."
Chen Jinyu chuckled secretly.
There’s a specialization in every profession, and farming has its profound knowledge. The ones sent by the Fourteen Counties were experienced farmers who had worked the fields for many years. Cui Du explained in detail, and they could understand. However, for the Commandery Princess and her, who grew up amidst opulence, it was naturally all a muddle.
Nevertheless, the Commandery Princess was willing to listen, treating it as a way to pass the time.
Cui Du lectured for half the day, then instructed everyone to start selecting seeds and cultivating seedlings.
Jiang Shaohua also followed along for a while. Her hands, adept with swords and sticks, suddenly felt clumsy for some reason.
Cui Du, holding back a laugh, personally came over to guide her, "Selecting seeds is actually not difficult; just choose those that are large and plump. Don’t pick the withered or small ones."
Jiang Shaohua nodded, patiently selecting seeds under Cui Du’s guidance.
Chen Jinyu watched the naturally intimate behavior between the Commandery Princess and Cui Du, wanting to say something, but silently held it back.
"Commandery Princess," Qin Hu quietly came to report, "County Magistrate Cai is going back to Li County and has come to bid farewell to the Commandery Princess."
Jiang Shaohua nodded slightly, put down her work, and went out.
County Magistrate Cai awaited respectfully outside, and upon seeing the Commandery Princess, immediately stepped forward and saluted, "The county government sent a message that they can’t do without someone regarding the medicinal field, so I must return first."
Jiang Shaohua warmly replied, "You’re dedicated to your duties, but don’t overwork yourself to exhaustion. Li County can’t do without you, and I can’t do without you."
County Magistrate Cai, deeply moved, cupped his hands and responded, "The trust and emphasis the Commandery Princess places on me, I am fully aware of. I will certainly perform well as the County Magistrate of Li County, ensuring the people live without worry for food and clothing. So everyone will know the Commandery Princess didn’t err in her judgment that day."
This heartfelt speech was incredibly sincere.
Jiang Shaohua’s heart also felt warm.
That day she promoted County Magistrate Cai exceptionally, actually with little intention to buy a reputation and also to caution the officials of the Prince Mansion.
Unexpectedly, an unintended action resulted in the present situation. County Magistrate Cai’s actions far exceeded her expectations. It is no exaggeration to say that County Magistrate Cai is the best county magistrate in Nanyang County.
"You can return to Li County with peace of mind," Jiang Shaohua smiled, "Once the people learn how to plant the new crops, let them take the seeds back."
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