Chapter 217 Ning Yuanze personally went to Chenjia Village. Such high-yield crops must be promoted.
Seeing Chen Jie still standing there, he hurriedly said, "Come here, please take a seat and serve tea to Chen Lizheng."
"Thank you, sir."
Chen Jie secretly breathed a sigh of relief, finally he didn't have to stand anymore.
After he sat down and was served tea, Ning Yuanze asked again.
"Tell me more about potatoes. What do they taste like? What dishes can they be used to make? Can they be used as a staple food?"
Chen Jie then told him everything he knew, and finally said, "If you don't believe me, you can cook for me at noon."
Ning Yuanze looked at the potatoes in the basket, which probably weighed more than ten pounds, and was very tempted.
But on second thought, he gave up temporarily and came up with a better idea.
"Despite the severe drought this year, Chenjia Village has had a good harvest. I'm planning to go and share in the good fortune and sample some of the delicious potatoes. I wonder if Village Chief Chen would welcome me?"
He mainly wanted to personally confirm the potato yield. As the saying goes, seeing is believing, hearing is not, and things that were to be reported to the court had to be made clear.
Chen Jie's eyes lit up and he quickly stood up to invite her.
"Of course you're welcome. It's an honor for Chenjia Village that the County Magistrate is willing to go there! When will you leave?"
Ning Yuanze glanced at the sky. It was about three quarters past nine, still early for lunch.
So he said, "Why don't we set off right away? Maybe we can even come to your house for lunch."
Chen Jie smiled even more happily. The fact that the county magistrate was willing to come to his house for dinner was definitely a blessing from his ancestors.
"It is truly an honor for me that you, sir, are willing to visit my humble abode. Please come this way, sir!"
Ning Yuanze nodded slightly, but did not set off immediately. Instead, he went to the backyard to change into casual clothes, and told his wife not to prepare lunch for him at noon. Then he took a carriage and went with Chen Jie.
When we arrived at Chenjia Village, we saw smoke rising from the kitchen and the aroma of food wafting from everywhere.
Looking at such a scene full of fireworks, although it is very ordinary, Ning Yuanze was moved. This must be what his father often said about peace and prosperity in the country.
"Sir, please come this way." Chen Jie invited respectfully.
Even though he had been very low-key along the way, he still attracted the attention of many villagers. Soon the whole village knew that the county magistrate had arrived!
People from every household who had free time came to watch, and some were smart enough to bring a few potatoes with them. Soon, Chen Jie's house was surrounded by a crowd of people.
The villagers' hospitality made Ning Yuanze feel guilty. He seemed to have done nothing for the villagers after being in office for so long.
"What are you all doing here in the middle of the day? Why don't you go back and eat?"
Chen Jie deliberately put on a stern face and scolded them, fearing that these people would anger the adults.
"If you really have nothing to do, go back and move the potatoes out. The county magistrate has come here specifically to inspect the potatoes, so don't make false reports later!"
The villagers suddenly realized that the county magistrate came to check the potatoes. It seemed that he really attached great importance to this thing.
Everyone was suddenly very excited. Every household had harvested potatoes. Would the adults also visit their homes soon?
"I'll go back and get the potatoes out. My Lord, please come and see them later."
"Your Excellency, my family also planted potatoes. We only planted 20 kilograms on less than two mu of land, but this time we harvested over 700 kilograms!"
"Your Excellency, my family is making potato pancakes. I'll bring them over to you to try shortly."
"Your Excellency, my family also..."
“…”
The villagers became more and more excited and rushed to report, making Chen Jie's house even more lively.
Ning Yuanze became interested upon hearing this and immediately said, "Are potatoes really so productive? Then I'll go and take a look."
He didn't even have lunch and went to check on the villagers' homes first.
The villagers were even happier, but Chen Jie looked helpless and had to accompany him to look at the potatoes from house to house.
The first place we looked at was Chen Jie's own home. He originally bought 50 kilograms, planted it on about three mu of land, and harvested nearly 2,000 kilograms.
Looking at the potatoes piled up like a mountain in the room, Ning Yuanze took a deep breath and his eyes became moist for a moment.
Many times, ordinary people may not be able to harvest such a large amount even if they plant ten acres of land, but the potatoes in front of us are only the yield of three acres of land.
Such a high-yield thing will surely shock the entire Moon Country!
As for Chen Jie's deception, this is unlikely. First, it would be easy to be exposed. Second, there were yellow rice fields everywhere along the way, which meant that he did not use the rice fields to grow potatoes.
He forced himself to suppress his inner joy, and then went to the homes of other villagers to further confirm it.
The more families he visited, the more convinced he became, until he came to Zhao Daqing's home.
Zhao Daqing's family harvested nearly 15,000 kilograms of grain from their two mu of land, and the grain was piled into two mountains in the yard.
One big mountain was to be handed over to Xiao Ying, and the small one was to be kept for himself, only 10% of it.
Even so, it is still nearly 1,500 kilograms.
Looking at the two hills of potatoes, Ning Yuanze's palms were sweating with excitement.
Apart from the county granary, he had never seen so much grain anywhere else!
At this point, he no longer doubted the output of this thing, so the only thing left was the taste.
After leaving Zhao Daqing's house, Ning Yuanze no longer needed further confirmation.
"Where does Madam Xiao live?"
His curiosity about Xiao Ying reached its peak. Where did she find such a good thing?
Chen Jie smiled and pointed the way: "Mrs. Xiao's new house is over there. She should be home now. Please come this way, sir."
Ning Yuanze glanced at the spacious and beautiful courtyard not far away and said, "Let's have lunch first so as not to disturb them."
"Your Excellency is very considerate."
Chen Jie naturally would not refuse, and even secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
If the lord goes to Madam Xiao's place, he will definitely stay there for lunch, and then his family's preparations will be in vain.
Ning Yuanze naturally thought of this. They had agreed to have lunch at Chen Jie's house before, so he couldn't change his mind at the last minute and break his promise.
Because Ning Yuanze and several yamen runners arrived, Chen Jie's family added a few more dishes, and they were all made with potatoes.
Unexpectedly, the villagers also sent dishes, such as shredded potatoes, potato pancakes, boiled potatoes, potato chips, and Tiancan potatoes... There was really everything.
Xiao Ying also sent someone to deliver a dish, which was braised pork and potatoes, and it immediately became the best.
The dazzling array of dishes made Ning Yuanze in a good mood. He tried a little of everything. Although they were all made of potatoes, they tasted really different.
By the end of the meal, I didn’t even have time to eat rice. This thing is really filling.
"It's really wonderful!"
He praised without hesitation and had already made up his mind to report the matter to the court after returning!
There are some things that the common people may not know yet, but he is an insider.
It turns out that this year several states in the United States have suffered from severe drought, and in the worst-hit areas, no crops have been harvested.
Although the imperial court had ordered the granaries to be opened and grain released, due to disasters in some areas in the previous two years, the grain reserves were not sufficient.
I heard that a small group of disaster victims have already fled the famine in the north. If we can't stabilize them in time, I'm afraid the consequences will be unimaginable.
Potatoes gave him hope. If such a high-yield crop could be promoted, there would be no more disaster victims in Yue Country!
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