AWB Chapter 70 Potato Harvest
Chapter 70 Potato Harvest
next day
When Xiao Siyue and her group arrived at the field, many people were already waiting there.
At this time of year, there's not much to do in the village, so when they heard that the Xiao family was going to harvest the potatoes they had planted, they all came to watch the excitement.
Of course, some people are different, like the village chief, who genuinely cares.
Actually, many people are not very optimistic about it, after all, they have never seen such seeds before.
"What do you think of the potato yield?" The speaker was someone who had just been settled in Xiaojia Village and was not very familiar with the village yet.
"I don't know, but I don't think it's a good thing."
"I think the Xiao family is just wasting their land. They should have planted wheat instead."
"Not necessarily. I heard that the seeds were brought back by the third son of the Xiao family. He's a county magistrate now, so maybe they really are high-yield seeds."
"Alright, that's enough. The Xiao family is here; you'll find out soon enough."
The chattering crowd immediately stopped.
"Village chief, you've arrived so early." Old Master Xiao greeted the village chief.
"Yes, we'll help you dig," the village chief said with a smile, eager to dig it out as soon as possible to see the yield.
"Okay, thank you, folks." Old Master Xiao thanked everyone.
"However, village chief, you must be careful when digging, and don't ruin the potatoes." Grandpa Xiao gave a special instruction, mainly because these potatoes are all to be kept as seeds for next year, and if they are ruined, it would be a loss.
"Did you all hear that? Be careful," the village chief said to the crowd.
"We heard you, so don't worry," the others replied.
"Alright, let's start digging then." At the village chief's command, everyone got to work. They picked up their tools and carefully dug up the potatoes.
Some people are afraid of digging up potatoes, so they dig them up with their hands.
"My God, is this a potato? How come it's so big? I thought potatoes were the size of beans," one person said, showing the others the potato he had dug up.
"Yes, this one potato is enough for me to eat by myself," one person exclaimed, looking at the potato which weighed over a pound.
"Look, we actually dug up six from this nest."
"What's that compared to what I dug up? I dug up eight of them in one nest."
“What you guys have is nothing compared to what I’ve dug up here: 11.”
Everyone became more enthusiastic, and the competition was to see who could dig up the most.
With so many people coming, all the potatoes were dug out in just fifteen minutes.
Seeing the pile of potatoes that looked like a small mountain, the village chief hurriedly said, "Quick, weigh it and see how many pounds it is."
After all the potatoes were weighed, one of them happily said, "Village chief, there are a total of 2462 jin (1288 catties)."
Xiao Siyue was very satisfied with the number, which was even higher than she had estimated. It was a great achievement, and she felt relieved.
“More than two thousand catties, more than two thousand catties from half a mu of land, that’s twenty-two shi,” the village chief’s voice trembled.
Grandpa Xiao was also very excited. Although he already knew yesterday that the output would be high, he still couldn't help but get excited after learning the exact number.
"Dayong, you really did a good deed." The village chief said, patting Grandpa Xiao on the shoulder with tears in his eyes.
Everyone was looking at the Xiao family. They all knew what these potatoes meant: with potatoes, a high-yield, improved variety, it meant that no one would starve to death anymore.
"Village Chief, this is a blessing for our Xiao Family Village, and also a blessing for the Great Zhou Dynasty." Old Master Xiao said to the village chief. The two respected each other and were both working for the benefit of the people.
After the excitement subsides.
Grandpa Xiao said to the village chief, "Village chief, it's like this, we only have a little over two thousand jin of potatoes left. I originally planned to give them to the village, but after dividing them up, each household only gets about twenty jin."
Xiaojia Village originally had more than 70 households, but later some people were resettled, so now there are 120 households. If the weight is divided equally, each household will only receive 20 jin (10 kg).
"Dayong, your family is so kind." The village chief had originally been thinking of buying some seeds, but he never expected that Old Master Xiao would give them away for free.
“Village chief, look, why don’t we keep all these seeds and distribute them to others after next year’s harvest? Otherwise, planting so few is too much trouble,” said Grandpa Xiao.
“That won’t do. How can we let you plant them yourselves? These will take up more than ten acres of land, and you still need to plant wheat.” The village chief felt that this was not right. The old man of the Xiao family was generous and wanted to give the potatoes to the village without accepting any payment. He was already very kind. How could he let them take up his land to cultivate seeds for them?
"It's alright, we plan to buy some more land." Old Master Xiao had wanted to come here before, but their family still didn't have enough land. Now that they have money, they can buy more.
"This..." The village chief still felt that the Xiao family was being taken advantage of.
"Village chief, how about this: next year when we plant and harvest potatoes, let the villagers help us out," Old Master Xiao suggested.
"Alright," the village chief said, moved. The Xiao family had already helped the village a lot, and they remembered that kindness. It was just that they were powerless to help the Xiao family in any way.
The village chief told the villagers about this, and everyone was very grateful.
"Don't worry, sir, I'll be the first to come and help next year."
"Yes, yes, I'll help too."
Everyone chattered and said they would also go and help.
Afterwards, with everyone's help, all the potatoes were put into the newly dug cellar of the Xiao family.
After everyone left, Xiao Siyue finally let out a long sigh. These villagers were too enthusiastic; she simply couldn't handle it.
However, she could understand that in this day and age nothing is more important than being able to eat one's fill.
"Grandpa, I want to write a letter to Father about the potato yield," Xiao Siyue said to Grandpa Xiao.
Xiao Siyue knew how much her father, Xiao Qinian, cared about potato yields. After all, he was now in charge of the county government, and as a county magistrate who cared about the people, the availability of good seeds that could solve the problem of food and clothing for the people was naturally his biggest concern.
In the letter Xiao Qinian had sent back earlier, he had mentioned the situation with the potatoes, and Xiao Siyue had replied to each of them.
There was another matter: she wanted Xiao Qinian to write a letter to Shen Junru so they could communicate in advance.
Although potatoes are currently only being grown in Xiaojia Village and have not yet been discovered by outsiders, preventative measures should still be taken.
After all, if the news were leaked and found out by people with ill intentions, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Therefore, it is necessary to communicate with Shen Junru in a timely manner and seek his help and support. Only in this way can we ensure that the secret of the potato is not leaked and protect this valuable resource.
If someone with malicious intent were to sabotage it, they wouldn't be able to protect it.
"Yes, Yue'er is right. You should indeed write to your father and tell him," said Grandpa Xiao.