Chapter 20: Eating to death is none of our business
After laughing, they started talking about the cassava in Old Man Ye’s house.
Ye Lizheng's eyes gleamed slightly: "Brother, is what you just said true? Can Caiping remove the toxicity of the poisonous root?"
As he spoke, he looked at Old Lady Ye, Ye Caiping and the others, and saw that they all looked serious and did not seem to be joking.
My brother is not the kind of person who likes to make trouble. Even if he wanted to, my sister-in-law and others would not follow him and make such a big fuss.
That only means that they really have a way to remove the toxicity of the poisonous roots?
Old Man Ye nodded: "It's true, we ate it yesterday."
"They actually ate it?" the villagers exclaimed.
Looking at Old Man Ye's eyes, there was surprise, confusion, and disbelief.
This situation is different from when Ye Caiping first wanted to tell her family. Now that the Ye family has made such a big fuss, it is highly credible, so the villagers soon began to believe it.
Uncle Ye's eyes lit up: "How did you remove the toxicity of the poison root?"
Ye Lizheng was also excited: "Brother, tell me more."
The villagers also became interested: "This year, every family is tightening their belts to make ends meet. Uncle Youtian, you can teach us so that we can have more food."
"Yes, teach us too. My family only eats one meal a day, and the kids are all crying with hunger."
Old Man Ye glanced at Ye Caiping, and when Ye Caiping nodded, he said, "We can tell everyone how to deal with it."
"But everyone knows that the whole plant of the poisonous root is poisonous. If it is not handled properly, it will kill people. We can teach you how to do it, but if you don't handle it properly and get poisoned, you can't blame us."
As soon as these words were spoken, the buzzing sounds around stopped, and everyone looked at Old Man Ye with different expressions.
"This... isn't there a way to deal with it? How can someone still eat it to death..." An old woman came forward with a pout. She was Zhao Pozi, the wife of Zhao Facai next door.
Zhao Facai glared at her and said, "Okay, didn't you hear that they didn't handle it well? Fish still have bones, and if you don't eat it properly, it can kill people."
Ye Lizheng stepped forward and said, "Brother, let's go inside and talk."
Then he turned around and said to the villagers, "Go back, don't gather here. Once I find out, I will tell everyone."
The villagers were eager to try, but when they heard this, they were very dissatisfied: "Village head, don't be like this. They said they would teach us, why don't you let us listen?"
"It's not that I don't want you to listen, I'm just afraid that you won't understand and will eat to death. Go back! Go back! Otherwise, don't blame me for being rude!"
Ye Lizheng's face turned stern, and the villagers reluctantly shut up.
Mrs. Zhao said anxiously, "When will you ask clearly? You have to give it some time."
"Let's have a meeting tomorrow morning at the old banyan tree. Also, don't touch the poisonous roots on the mountain. If you get poisoned, don't blame me for not warning you."
After saying that, Ye Lizheng went into the house with Ye Caiping and others.
Uncle Ye and two older men also followed behind.
Some impatient villagers also wanted to follow into the house, but Ye Daquan brothers and Ye Yong and others quickly pushed them out of the yard and slammed the door shut.
The villagers left reluctantly while talking about it.
Some were reluctant to leave and stretched their necks to look inside. Unfortunately, the bamboo fence of the Ye family was as tall as a person, and they had to stand on tiptoe to see the door.
Mrs. Zhao was over fifty years old, but she actually climbed up a big tree next to the wall. Before she could see anything, she slipped and almost fell down.
Zhao Facai yelled at her, and the little old lady slid down the tree with a whoosh, twisted her body and ran back home.
…
The main hall of the Ye family was now full of people.
All members of the Ye family were present, including Ye Lizheng, Ye Ershu, Zhao Futou and Liu Laoshan.
Zhao Futou and Liu Laoshan are the patriarchs of the Zhao and Liu families respectively.
The surnames in Qinghe Village are quite diverse, with the largest clan being the Ye clan, followed by the Zhao clan and the Liu clan. There are other surnames besides these, but they are less common.
Ye Caiping sat aside and drank a sip of tea.
She had anticipated this situation a long time ago.
There was so much cassava on the mountain that the family couldn't eat it all.
No matter how careful they are, they will be discovered.
This year is a bad year, and if people know that they can detoxify cassava but don't share their method, they will be ostracized from the village.
If the villagers can't get enough food, their rice bowls will be overturned.
During dinner yesterday, Ye Caiping told Old Man Ye and the others about this situation, so today's cassava digging was carried out in a big way, in order to dig up as much as possible.
"Can you really remove the toxicity of the poisonous roots?" Ye Lizheng asked uncertainly.
Old Man Ye said, "We've eaten it all."
Old Lady Ye also brought a bowl of cassava from the kitchen: "Look, village chief, this is what's left over from lunch. This is what the poisonous root looks like after it's cooked."
Ye Lizheng, Zhao Futou and others scrambled to grab the bowl.
They saw the cassava in the bowl cut into slices, which looked sticky and had a faint fragrance that filled their nostrils, causing Ye Lizheng and the other three to swallow their saliva.
Ye Lizheng wanted to eat it, but he was a little afraid.
"Brother, how did you deal with it?" Uncle Ye said.
Old Man Ye said: "This method was taught to us by Caiping. Let Caiping tell us about it."
Ye Lizheng and the other three looked at Ye Caiping with anxious eyes.
Ye Caiping then explained the method carefully, and added: "As long as you strictly follow this method, you can remove the toxins."
Ye Lizheng and the other three's eyes lit up when they heard this. Ye Lizheng said, "So it takes so many steps. No wonder it can remove toxins."
Ye Caiping: "But there will always be carelessness or laziness. If they don't handle it properly, they will still get poisoned."
Ye Lizheng looked excited: "As long as it can be used as food, I believe everyone will be careful and cautious. If any lazy person skips a step and gets poisoned, it's their own fault."
Zhao Futou and Liu Laoshan nodded quickly.
Ye Caiping said: "In fact, I have another method, which is to dry it in the sun. This method is safer than eating it fresh. But it takes longer."
Ye Lizheng became even more excited.
Then, Ye Caiping explained the detailed steps one by one. She also put forward suggestions on how to dig and distribute tomorrow.
The people in the room nodded as they listened, and they discussed for another hour before it ended.
Before leaving, Ye Lizheng took the bowl of cassava, ate three slices, and when he was about to eat more, Zhao Futou and Liu Laoshan rushed to grab it and each took two slices.
The expressions of several people brightened while eating. This poisonous root was actually so delicious.
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