Firewood doesn't cost money, sugar can be skipped, and oil can be consumed in moderation, but salt is essential. Without it, one lacks strength, but buying salt requires money.

If clothes and farm tools are damaged, it is necessary to buy new ones, which also requires money;

All of this has to come from the harvest of these twenty-odd acres of land; the little left over is not enough.

Corn could be sold for nine coins a pound, but the only way to buy corn was to exchange it for dark flour, which cost four coins a pound. Even so, people were often still hungry.

This year's New Year was the best one the children have ever had in their lives; it's all thanks to you all.

As Aunt Zhang spoke, she couldn't help but pull up her sleeves to wipe away her tears.

Shui Qing took a deep breath. She knew it was bitter, but she didn't expect it to be this bitter.

At the same time, I was calculating in my mind: the yield of potatoes per mu is about two thousand jin, but given that the fertility of the wasteland is not enough, one or two thousand jin should be possible.

Aunt Zhang's family cultivates a small portion of seven mu of land, and their harvest is over eight thousand jin, sometimes even more than ten thousand jin!

Yes, she never imagined that Aunt Zhang's land was entirely planted with potatoes.

Aunt Zhang's family isn't very resilient to risks. In other words, if there's no potato harvest, her family will be fine. With the shopping mall, a box full of gold leaves as a safety net, and the money earned from selling calligraphy brushes and rice wine, her family can still live a worry-free life.

But if Aunt Zhang's family has no harvest, how will they survive?

Planting seven acres of land, whether it yields eight thousand catties or ten thousand catties, will be more than enough for her family to have enough to eat.

By September of the second half of the year, the floodwaters would have receded, and even if Aunt Zhang planted potatoes on all the land, there would be enough to grow, provided there was enough food.

Just as Shui Qing was about to speak, she heard a figure rushing in from outside.

"Water clear, water clear! I just told my father-in-law about the things you planted, and he said we should plant some too. He asked me to come and ask how you plan to plant them?" Wang Guifen called out from afar as the courtyard gate was open.

I was afraid that if I was even a step too late, it would be gone.

Aunt Zhang quickly reminded her, "It's a potato! A bean from the ground, but I heard Da Jiang and the other kids call it 'ground egg,' which is a more fitting name."

After all, beans are smaller, while eggs are larger.

These potatoes are about the size of a fist, roughly the size of a goose egg.

Wang Guifen, panting heavily, laughed and said, "Hey, you know what, 'ground egg' is indeed more fitting! From now on, let's call it 'ground egg'."

Shui Qing wasn't too surprised to see that the old village chief's family also planned to plant potatoes.

Although the old village chief lived in the village, he was always wise, knew how to be prepared for danger in times of peace, and was willing to try new things.

She relayed Aunt Zhang's earlier suggestion to exchange work for potatoes.

When Wang Guifen heard that she could earn money by doing manual labor, her face immediately lit up with joy.

Aunt Zhang's family is building a house, but her family doesn't need any help. Besides, it's currently the Spring Festival, so even if she went to the city, she wouldn't be able to find any workers.

Their family has many fertile fields and paddy fields, but rice is not planted until March or April, so now is the most leisurely time for the family!

She asked first, "How many more people do you need? My family can have everyone except the elderly and children!"

After cleaning up the water, the old villager had three sons and three daughters-in-law, all in their prime and skilled at farming.

With six people joining at once, even the oxen and donkeys couldn't keep up with the plowing.

However, having more people means they can reclaim more wasteland, since potatoes are cheap, only a few yuan per pound, so they'll buy them!

Also, Fan Jin can be replaced – with so many potatoes, someone has to dig them up, right?

To outsiders, Fan Jin was simply the man who went to dig potatoes in the woods.