Chapter 294: Chapter 294 Harvesting White Potatoes
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
“White potatoes grow underground, and sandy soil means loose ground. The ventilation is good, so it’s easy for water to circulate.
“There is also a large temperature difference in sandy soil, so many pests would not survive.” Zhou Ying replied.
“I really didn’t know you were this knowledgeable at farming.”
“I’ve heard about it from the old farmers. You can liken white sweet potatoes to peanuts. Peanuts are also suitable to plant in sandy soil.”
“I see.” Zhou Huaiming nodded thoughtfully.
After chatting for a while, Zhou Ying and her husband went home.
Because the second courtyard was full of men, Zhou Ying was really uncomfortable living there alone.
At night, Gu Chengrui butchered a sheep in the inters.p.a.ce. After splitting it up, he sent out the gifts to each family the following day.
In the blink of an eye, another month had pa.s.sed. As the weather gradually turned colder and the water consumption decreased, the water level in the wells finally stabilized.
Meanwhile, the people started to harvest their sweet potatoes.
Zhou Ying’s family was the first to harvest sweet potatoes. While harvesting them, she also called a strong laborer from each family to come over and learn. After all, harvesting sweet potatoes was a technical job. If they weren’t careful, they would damage them.
The people were learning from the side and naturally felt embarra.s.sed just watching, so they began working, and most potatoes were collected in less than an hour.
Zhou Ying looked at the small mountain of white potatoes and smiled with satisfaction. With these white potatoes as a cover, their future life wouldn’t be difficult.
After that, she said to everyone, “Everyone, do you understand now? If you do, then hurry up and go back to harvest your potatoes. Remember to pick out the broken pieces, wash them, cut them into pieces, or dry them. Otherwise, they won’t be able to preserve it for a long time.”
“Thank you. This isn’t a difficult task. Everyone, go back and harvest the sweet potatoes.” The patriarch said.
“Wait, if anyone doesn’t want the sweet potato vines, you can sell them to me. One acre of sweet potato vines for one tael of silver.” Zhou Ying said.
The crowd murmured in surprise, but no one affirmed her. After all, it was an unknown year ahead. They were thinking of drying it and grinding it into gra.s.s noodles to eat with the white potatoes.
Seeing this, the patriarch felt a little embarra.s.sed. He quickly opened his mouth and said, “Alright, go and do your work. Remember, if you don’t want the white potato vines at home, you can sell them to Zhou Ying.”
After the crowd left, Second Uncle Gu, who stayed behind, walked to Zhou Ying and said, “Zhou Ying, are you crazy? You don’t need that much food. Why are you still buying the white potato vines at such a high price?”
“There’s no other way. There’s still a herd of cattle and sheep waiting to be eaten in the village.
“However, from the looks of it, even at such a high price, I’m afraid we won’t be able to buy a lot.”
Second Uncle Gu was stunned for a moment. He knew that he had misunderstood her and was a little embarra.s.sed.
When he thought about everyone’s reaction, he didn’t know what to say. He hesitated momentarily and said, “We have a total of fifteen acres of sweet potatoes. I’ll give you ten acres of sweet potato vines for free.”
Zhou Ying looked at him in surprise and said, “Thank you, Second Uncle, but you should go back and discuss it.”
Second Uncle Gu was just about to say that he could make the decision, but when he thought of Mrs. Liu and his wife’s character, he swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue.
But when he thought of the help the couple had given the old mansion, he finally patted his chest and said, “Don’t worry, leave this matter to me.”
“Alright, thank you. But don’t make things difficult for yourself. It’s fine if you don’t have any.”
“We’re family; no need to be so polite.” Second Uncle Gu turned around and left after he finished speaking.
As soon as he left, an ordinary carriage stopped at the door. Zhou Ying was surprised and walked over. Before she could speak, she saw Zhou Huaiming walking in with half a sheep’s worth of meat.
Manager Liu then turned around and walked to the front of the carriage. After that, he respectfully drew the curtain and waited in place..