"Many families around here grow these; they're enough to fill their stomachs. If you want some, sister-in-law, we have some at home. I'll go get them for you!" Their family's income has increased recently; it's just a matter of a few pounds of sweet potatoes!
I realized that yam is also called yam, so this is probably the name used in the north!
A few days ago, her niece got married, and as her aunt, she was obliged to attend. Remembering the cotton cloth that Aunt Qin had given her, she reluctantly cut off a piece of fine cotton cloth and took one hundred coins as a dowry! This was considered a very generous gift in the village!
This delighted her family! Even her eldest sister-in-law, who had previously been at odds with her, was all smiles. How could she not be happy to bring honor to her daughter's family? As for her even more arrogant second sister-in-law, she eagerly came over, her words barely concealing her true feelings about whether the Cheng family had struck it rich!
It's no wonder that the second sister-in-law thought that way. Before, the Cheng family was in dire straits. Let alone 100 coins, even 20 coins would take a long time to come up with!
Wang Guixiang wasn't trying to put on a show; it's just that the family's income had been quite substantial these past few days! Her family was still her support, and she wanted to use this opportunity to mend their relationship. After all, things hadn't gone well between the two sides before, but her mother had always been there for them. For her mother's sake, she had to humble herself when necessary! Besides, humbling herself wasn't that difficult!
Her mother knew about her family's situation, and later that evening she took her to the inner room to inquire. Only then did she learn that they had met a benefactor, and that her son-in-law's shop was beginning to do well!
Before leaving, her mother, under the watchful eyes of her two daughters-in-law, took out the gifts she had brought: a piece of meat and a bag of rice! So she gathered a basket of yams as a return gift!
Although the basket of yams made the women very uncomfortable, to the point that they felt like they were going to get styes in their eyes, seeing what was on the table and looking at that basket of thin, slender yams, they realized that they would have to eat several steamed, and they wouldn't taste good stir-fried either!
After some mental calculation, he concluded that their family was the better deal! So, with a beaming smile, he told her to visit home more often! And if she found a way to make money, not to forget her brother, etc...
Wang Guixiang naturally agreed to all their requests. Although she knew they didn't have any good intentions, she enjoyed the feeling of being flattered.
Wang Guixiang took a basket of yams from the cellar and handed it to Qin Sanniang. "Sister-in-law, pick a few! These are all grown by my family! They're just not very big, and they don't taste very good!" Wang Guixiang sighed. Life is hard these days; even the yams look malnourished!
In her opinion, yams were only good for steaming. Although they could fill a meal, given the size of Qin San Niang's family and their economic situation, yams were definitely not meant for a main meal; they were probably meant for cooking! Yams could be chopped and stir-fried, but stir-frying wasted oil. Almost every household in Shili Gou stewed dishes; which family had the means to waste oil?
The yam is similar to today's iron rod yam, and it looks quite plump! It's perfect for making yam cakes!
Hearing that the other party was satisfied, Wang Guixiang scooped out half a basket and gave it to her. This was quite a lot, at least twenty jin! Although it was still a bit less than the candy that the other party had given Niu Niu earlier! But her own family couldn't offer anything decent. Tomorrow, when Qin San Niang's family is building a house, she'll have her husband do more work!
Since the other party was so sincere, Qin San Niang did not refuse. After all, it's a give-and-take relationship, and it helps to strengthen feelings!
When Qin San Niang arrived home carrying half a basket of yams, Wu Chunhua and Liao Hongying had already finished their work and were washing the pig offal!
Liu was also helping out, and the group was marveling at how convenient it was to have a well!
"It's convenient, but digging a well is too expensive!" Wu Chunhua rubbed the pig intestines in her hands vigorously. If she didn't know they tasted good, she really wouldn't like the taste!
“That’s right! My father’s family used to dig a well, which cost a full ten taels of silver!” Liao Hongying also thought it was expensive, and she had the right to speak on the matter.
Upon hearing this number, Liu and Wu Chunhua both gasped in shock!
"My goodness! This is enough to build a mud-brick house!" Liu knew that digging a well was expensive, but she didn't expect it to be this expensive! None of the households in their Liu Family Village had their own wells, except for one public well in the village, which was dug by a well-digger from the older generation, and everyone chipped in to make it!
"Then forget it! Fatty and I can fetch water from the stream!" Their house is close to the stream, so if there is no well water, they can drink the stream water. For people who have experienced drought before, this is not a problem!
Digging a well actually costs so much money? To be honest, even Qin San Niang herself didn't expect it! Is this still an era where a single coin can buy a steamed bun? Ten taels of silver is indeed a considerable sum of money; no wonder so many families don't have wells!
"We don't even know where to find a well-drilling craftsman yet. Besides, let's finish building the house first!" Liao Hongying comforted everyone.
Only then did they see Qin San Niang, who had just entered the courtyard.
"Auntie, what's this? Is it a yam? The ones we dug up before were bigger than this!" Fatty asked in surprise when she saw the basket of things that looked like tree roots!
The little tiger in my arms also peeked out. The two of them, one big and one small, one fat and one thin, actually looked quite comical!
"Little Tiger, do you know him too? Haha!" Aunt Qin San Niang, this strange aunt, loves to tease little kids.
Seeing such an adorable little baby, I couldn't resist going over and giving him a good rub! Since his nutrition improved, Xiao Hu has changed every day. He's completely different from his previous skinny, dark-skinned look; now he's a chubby, adorable little boy!
Hearing Qin San Niang laugh, Xiao Hu looked up and stared at her blankly for a while, then grinned! This made Qin San Niang laugh even harder.
Liu and the others also peered over to take a look and discovered that this thing really did look very similar to a yam, but it seemed a little different. The yams they had dug up on the road before were much thicker than this one, about as thick as Xiao Hu's arm. This one was a bit too thin and didn't look very good!
Qin San Niang promptly explained, "Mother, don't underestimate this thing. This yam is easy to steam or boil and is excellent for making cakes!"
In her past life, this type of yam was much more expensive than the thicker kind. The Huai yam was considered the best in terms of color and medicinal properties, but based on her observation, this one was quite good too!
Hearing her say that, everyone was quite surprised. They hadn't expected that such a dark-colored thing could be made into a dessert. That was something to look forward to.
"Third Sister, how about we plant some yams on our wasteland? The yams we dug up in the mountains before had a very good yield, and they tasted great! They were also very filling!" Ever since buying the land, Wu Chunhua's mind was full of ideas on how to make the most of it.
However, if Qin San Niang had to choose between yam and sweet potato, she would still choose the latter.
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