Chapter 313
Chapter 313
“Which Young Master Ji?”
The man reeked of alcohol, and his words were extraordinarily arrogant.
“This place is remote and bitterly cold. Forget buying a horse – even if I stole it, what could they do to me?”
Liu Hu dared speak so boldly because his family was powerful and influential. Even the emperor treated them with exceptional courtesy in the Capital City.
That was because his family was Princess Huiling’s consort’s family.
And the present emperor obeyed Princess Huiling in almost everything.
If he wanted a horse, how could he possibly fail to get one in a backwater like this?
“Young Master, it’s… it’s the Ji Family. The family of the former Duke Who Guards the Nation.”
Liu Hu sobered up somewhat at once.
“Ji Yan’an?”
When the man nodded, he frowned. “He’s not dead yet? I heard he was poisoned and wouldn’t last much longer.”
“Besides, the Ji Family is history. Ji Yan’an is nothing but a homeless cur now.”
The petty official beside him broke out in a cold sweat.
“It isn’t that simple, Young Master. Young Master Ji still carries a great deal of weight here in Mobei. Several of the generals treat him with the utmost respect.”
“So what?”
Liu Hu did not care in the least. “Would they kill me, Liu Hu, for Ji Yan’an? They’re merely a few of His Majesty’s dogs. What, do they intend to rebel?”
At that, the petty official no longer dared speak.
Inside, he cursed the fool viciously. If you want to get yourself killed, don’t drag me down with you!
How could he still act so arrogantly on someone else’s territory? Mobei was so far from the Capital City that they could use the slightest trick to make him die without a sound.
Liu Hu had set his sights on Jiang Yunsui’s horse. He sent men to watch the Ji Mansion and wait for Ji Yan’an and the others to return, intending to force them to sell it.
Of course, Jiang Yunsui and the others knew nothing about that yet.
“I’ll dig! Let me swing the hoe first!”
Holding a child-sized hoe, Jiang Yunsui ran into the potato field.
Then, under everyone’s watchful eyes, she stuck her little bottom in the air and began digging, huffing and puffing with the effort.
“It’s out!”
Before long, a large, fresh potato turned up from the soil.
She picked it up, set it aside, and kept digging.
Then came the second, the third…
She unearthed nine large potatoes in a row, each one bigger than a grown man’s fist.
There were also several smaller ones.
“A single plant produced this many?”
“It may not compare with sweet potatoes, but the yield certainly won’t be low!”
Everyone grinned from ear to ear at the sight.
The farmers were especially delighted.
Ordinary farmers spent their entire lives tending crops. After a year of hard work, nothing mattered more to them than seeing the fields produce a little more grain.
They did not yet know how potatoes tasted, but the yield alone was enough to delight them.
They were just as happy as they had been when sweet potatoes were first planted.
In fact, when they had first begun growing sweet potatoes, they had not understood the proper method or season, so the yield had been less than half what these potatoes produced now.
Only after slowly learning through experience and cultivating the best seed stock had they achieved the later yields.
“These are a lot like sweet potatoes. They both grow underground. Can you eat them raw?”
Jiang Yunsui said, “No. You have to cook these first.”
Ji Yan’an and the others all tried digging after that. Because they were unskilled and did not know where the potatoes lay, they damaged more than half of what they dug up.
But the yield and size were about the same.
They left the rest to the farmers on the estate.
Digging the things up was quite tiring.
Jiang Yunsui gathered everything they had dug into a basket, then asked Nanmo and the others to carry it back to the manor.
“You can cut these into thin strips and stir-fry them, cut them into chunks and stew them with meat, or roast them. Fry the little ones in oil, toss them in the wok, and add a little salt…”
Tiny Jiang Yunsui stood in the kitchen, keeping the cooks bustling under her direction.
She also placed several intact potatoes in the stove and baked them the same way they roasted sweet potatoes.
All done. Now they only had to wait and eat.
Almost every dish that day featured potatoes.
When the food was served, everyone stared in astonishment.
“Potatoes can be made into this many dishes?”
Jiang Yunsui was peeling a roasted potato.
As she stripped away the blackened skin, a rich aroma immediately escaped.
Roasted potatoes lacked the sweetness and soft, sticky texture of roasted sweet potatoes.
But their fluffy, floury texture was delicious in its own way.
Some people preferred sweet potatoes, while others favored the taste of potatoes.
“These shredded potatoes are excellent – crisp and refreshing.”
“The potatoes stewed with pork have soaked up the meat’s flavor. They’re so tender that children and the elderly would love them.”
“And this mashed potato…”
By the end of the meal, everyone was thoroughly satisfied.
“How marvelous. They’re all the same thing. Boiled or roasted potatoes taste rather plain, but that’s precisely why they absorb flavors so easily. Mix them with different ingredients and they take on entirely different tastes.”
“They’re filling too. I was full after only one bowl of rice today.”
The smile in Ji Yan’an’s eyes deepened.
Potatoes were filling and could be cooked in countless ways. Their value was every bit the equal of sweet potatoes!
After the meal, the Ji women went outside to admire the scenery and ride horses.
Ji Yan’an found Jiang Yunsui and stroked her head.
She looked up at him. “What is it?”
Ji Yan’an stared into the distance, apparently lost in thought.
“Potatoes are very good.”
With that, he clasped his hands behind his back and walked away.
Jiang Yunsui: ???
Why was he acting so strange?
In truth, Ji Yan’an felt rather helpless too.
Potatoes were wonderful. They would bring him far too many benefits.
And it was not just potatoes. There were all the other things as well.
It left him feeling a little guilty. Compared with all she had given him, he had far too little to offer Jiang Yunsui.
Still, useful things had to be put to use.
Had someone specially sent this little one to help him?
As expected, destiny favored him!
Ji Yan’an indulged in that bit of vanity for a moment, then went back to supervise the potato harvest.
They had planted only one mu, and with so many people working, the digging went quickly.
Once the whole mu had been harvested, they put the potatoes on the scales.
The total came to a little over eight shi – nearly a thousand jin.
At the sight of that yield, everyone on the estate dropped excitedly to their knees.
“Heaven has finally shown us mercy! We have another high-yield crop. We won’t have to fear going hungry anymore!”
Ji Yan’an stood with his hands behind his back and watched them dance with joy.
It was not Heaven that had shown mercy, he thought. All of this was because of that Little Mushroom.
Of course, no one forgot Jiang Yunsui either.
So while she was playing with her animals, a crowd came rushing over and knelt before her.
Jiang Yunsui: !!!
She was so startled that her mushroom cap almost exploded.
Only after listening to their excited babble for quite a while did she understand. It was because of the potatoes!
“All right, all right. You’ve bowed, so hurry along now.”
After sending them away, Little Mushroom beamed brilliantly.
Ji Yan’an asked, “That happy?”
Jiang Yunsui answered as if it were obvious, “Of course I’m happy when I do something good and people thank me for it!”
“Aren’t you happy?”
Ji Yan’an nodded. His voice was soft but clear. “Yes. I am.”