vstars Chapter 242 Too Late to Regret: From Poor Border Village to Rich Village.
Chapter 242 Too Late to Regret: From Poor Border Village to Rich Village.
The village chief was still greeting the adults when he noticed that the large pot at the village entrance had been set up, but the villagers hadn't made any moves. So he hurried over to question them.
"What's going on? It's almost dark! Why are you all still standing here! Get up and cook! Don't let the adults go hungry!" The village chief glared at them fiercely.
One of the farmers couldn't help but stand up and say, feeling wronged, "It's not that we don't want to cook, it's just that we've never cooked potatoes before! We have to figure it out, otherwise, will the dish even be edible?!"
“Yes, village chief! How about this? We won’t cook potatoes, let’s cook something else?” At this moment, another farmer stood up and said to the village chief in a consultative tone.
"No way! The adults said we're having a potato feast today, so you have to make it even if you don't know how."
The village chief refused sternly, and the farmers who were cooking sighed.
Their commotion quickly attracted the attention of Ye Yuwu and the others.
Ye Yuwu walked over and asked with concern, "What happened?"
The village chief smiled apologetically and said nothing had happened.
However, one of the farmers standing nearby stepped forward and explained the whole story.
The village chief's face darkened, and he gave the farmer who had spoken a meaningful look, but the farmer seemed not to notice and continued talking to Ye Yuwu about their problems.
Ye Yuwu realized at this point that not only did the farmers not know how to cook potatoes, but the farmers in these villages probably didn't know either.
So she stood up and began to teach them how to cook potato dishes.
When they first heard that Lady Ye was going to teach them how to cook, they were so apprehensive that they refused to let her get near the stove. Ye Yuwu couldn't persuade them otherwise, so she could only stand far away and teach them how to cook potatoes from a distance.
Only then did these people realize that once the potato is peeled, it can be used in various ways, such as frying, boiling, or cooking.
The potatoes are a bit hard; they'll be ready to eat after cooking them a little longer.
Soon, without Ye Yuwu's guidance, they were able to make one potato dish after another.
Ye Yuwu had only been teaching for a short while when the farmers who were cooking invited her back to her seat.
Seeing that they really didn't have any problems that required her help, she stopped standing by and directing them in cooking.
After all, even though she was standing far away, these people were still very apprehensive.
Ye Yuwu returned to her seat, and Su Wangyan's gaze fell upon her.
"I never expected that Lord Ye could cook."
Ye Yuwu smiled and remained silent.
She couldn't very well admit that she didn't know how to cook, and that she taught them cooking entirely by searching for recipes in her head using her mental search system.
Su Wangyan interpreted Ye Yuwu's silence as an admission that she could cook.
Soon, one potato dish after another was served.
The moment these dishes were served, the whole village erupted in excitement.
"This potato smells so good!" They couldn't believe that such a small potato could be made into so many different dishes, and it smelled so delicious that it made their mouths water.
A child sitting at one of the tables at the village entrance couldn't resist reaching for food with his chopsticks, but an adult next to him noticed and quickly slapped his hand.
"The master hasn't touched his chopsticks yet!"
The child could only reluctantly pull his hand back.
At this moment, Ye Yuwu, Huaping, Su Wangyan, the Minister of Agriculture, and some generals and officials were sitting at the same table.
Of course, Su Wangyan held the highest official position, and no one dared to touch his chopsticks unless he did.
However, he was stunned as he looked at the dishes being served one by one.
He simply couldn't believe that the dish made from those dirty-looking potatoes was so delicious.
Even the variety of patterns they create is astounding.
He suddenly remembered what Ye Yuwu had told him before: this potato not only has a high yield, but it can also adapt to various soils and climates, and the taste of the cooked potato is also extremely good.
He couldn't help but smile; it seemed what someone said was true!
Noticing his surprise, Ye Yuwu chuckled to herself. The generals beside her were already starving, but since the general didn't move, they didn't dare to move either. They stood ramrod straight, like statues, which was quite intimidating.
Anyway, the village chief was frightened. He walked over shakily with his wine glass in hand, said some words of thanks, and then forced himself to sit back down in his seat.
Su Wangyan was not particular about such things, so he reached out to pick up a potato.
Seeing that he had started eating, everyone began to eat as well.
"I never imagined that potatoes that look so strange would taste so good." The farmers and the general were in complete agreement.
"These potatoes have such a high yield and taste so good, it seems that our soldiers and civilians will be able to have enough to eat this winter!"
Everyone was very satisfied with the meal.
Everyone knows that potatoes have so many benefits, so naturally everyone will grow potatoes with care!
After the farmers had finished harvesting the potatoes, the government came and took away the originally planned 150 shi (a unit of dry measure) of potatoes.
The rest is enough for the family to eat for a season.
However, these people did not intend to eat them; instead, they planned to keep some to try and use the rest as seed for planting the following year.
Most families share this sentiment, since there is no corvée labor this year, and besides potatoes, they have also grown other grains, enough for their families to eat.
News of potato cultivation in the southern villages quickly spread throughout the border region.
The villages along the border were abuzz with discussion.
Those who had previously been making a fuss about planting potatoes in these villages now booed.
When the government proposed that all farmland be taken over by the imperial court and then distributed according to the number of people in each household, the farmers were naturally happy. However, when they heard that they were to grow something they had never heard of before, they strongly opposed it.
This even caused a huge disturbance at the government office.
Therefore, Ye Yuwu and others only allowed the new policy to be implemented in a few villages in the south. Little did they know that these villages in the south, which were originally even more backward and poor than them, with infertile and barren land, had a great harvest after planting potatoes. The potatoes they planted were enough to eat for a whole season!
Besides potatoes, they also grew a lot of grains. Some of these grains were kept for their own consumption, while the rest were sold for a good price.
Moreover, I've heard that this potato has a huge yield and tastes excellent.
There are several villages where the daughters' maternal homes are located in these villages.
They said that when they went back to their parents' home, they ate potatoes there, and the potatoes tasted amazing.
This made other farmers even more envious.
In a short time, the village, which was originally poor and backward and could not even get enough to eat, became the richest village on the border.
Upon hearing this news, these people were filled with remorse.
They then called on the village chief, asking him to go to the government office and plead with the officials to ensure that they could also grow potatoes.
The gate of the government office was completely blocked by these people.
The registrar then stepped forward and assured the villagers that they would all be able to grow and eat potatoes.
This put the farmers at ease.
Sure enough, not long after, the government posted a notice that whichever village finished harvesting the grain in the fields first would be the first to implement the new policy.
This caused a complete uproar at the border, with every household rushing to harvest their own grain and no one slacking off.
Some people even went to the school to ask for leave for their children so they could go back to collect grain. For a time, there were very few students in the school, and the teacher had no choice but to close the school.