Hearing this, Qin Qing was overjoyed and immediately made a decision.
"Then let's go to your village! But... can the villagers accept five copper coins for a potato?"
Seeing that she seemed conflicted, the young soldier quickly came out.
"Aunt Qin, please don't say such things. Last time you bought rice for the military camp, we all received quite a bit of silver after it was distributed. These round lumps that don't taste very good aren't worth five coins each! If you're willing to pay for them, the villagers will be overjoyed!"
Hearing him say that, Qin Qing felt relieved!
"Alright! Let's set off now!"
Not long after, more than a hundred soldiers went to the outskirts of the capital. Anyone who didn't know the situation would think something had happened!
Upon entering the village, Qin Qing couldn't help but show surprise! The village in front of him was extremely dilapidated, with almost no intact houses. Most of the houses were thatched huts with only mud walls, which were dilapidated and clearly dangerous!
At first glance, the entire village was almost the same. Perhaps the large number of them frightened the children playing in the mud by the roadside. The children didn't even care about the mud figures they had made, and hurriedly ran home in fear...
Qin Qing couldn't help but frown upon seeing this. It was a village located on the outskirts of the capital, yet it was so dilapidated that it was heartbreaking!
Although it's called a village, it's actually smaller than the house of a prefectural magistrate! The entire village is nestled against green mountains, clearly a place where people rely on the mountains and rivers for their livelihood. This year's harvest is not good, so you can imagine what their lives will be like!
One hundred people quickly split up and went door-to-door to buy potatoes.
At that time, the people were unaware of the value of potatoes. Most of them would simply dig them up from the mountains and boil them directly. This method of processing made the potatoes taste bland and unappealing.
Therefore, this kind of thing can only be found in some poorer families; rich people wouldn't even give it a second glance.
Is anyone home?
Qin Qing followed two soldiers and knocked on the door of a farmhouse. In no time, an old man dressed in tattered clothes with a sallow and thin face pushed open the door and was stunned when he saw the soldiers in cloth armor.
"Sir... what brings you here?"
Upon seeing the newcomer, the old man was clearly flustered, and Qin Qing quickly went up to him.
"Grandpa...do you have any of these? Don't worry, we're here to buy them. Five coins each, eight coins if they're big!"
The old man looked down at the object in her hand, his face showing surprise, and blurted out.
"A round lump?"
Qin Qing heard this title from the young soldier and immediately realized that the old man must have seen him before, so he quickly said so.
"Don't worry, sir, we'll settle the bill on the spot and we absolutely won't extend credit."
The old man hesitated for a moment upon hearing this, but still opened the door!
Qin Qing finally saw the old man's house in its entirety. It was more of a thatched hut than a proper house. At first glance, it consisted of only one room, with a dilapidated little courtyard outside. In the middle of the courtyard was a stone bench and a stone table, and next to it was a small, dark storage room...
"Grandpa, do you live alone? Where are your children?"
As soon as she finished asking the question, the old man paused for a moment, then smiled helplessly, and his hoarse voice rang out again.
"The harvests have been getting worse and worse in recent years, so my son has to go out to work, just to barely keep him from starving..."
Qin Qing fell silent for a moment upon hearing this. Last year's war resulted in a poor harvest this year. And this was still near the capital. Wouldn't it be even worse in places further away?
Seeing that she didn't speak, the old man asked as he walked away.
"But what do you want this round lump for?"
Qin Qing came to her senses and could only smile.
"Don't worry about that, just sell it to us!"
The old man had only asked casually, and when she didn't answer, he didn't press her. He simply led them into a small, dark room, where they could vaguely see bags with large holes.
Qin Qing saw clearly what was peeking out of the bag and exclaimed in surprise.
"That's the one!"
Upon hearing this, two soldiers walked over and picked up the bag...
A moment later, Qin Qing took out the potatoes one by one. Perhaps because it was potato harvesting season, these potatoes didn't seem to have been stored for long and were still quite fresh, with only a few sprouting.
"Sir, I'll take all these potatoes! There are thirty-seven small ones and six large ones, totaling two hundred and thirty-three coins! Here's two hundred and thirty-five coins for you! Please take it!"
After saying that, she handed a string of copper coins to the old man. She couldn't help but feel glad that she had the foresight to exchange the silver for copper coins in advance. Although they were heavy, she used the box as a cover so that no one would suspect anything.
The old man stood there, holding the heavy bag of money, looking incredulous. Was it really that simple? That worthless round lump had been exchanged for so much money.
Even after Qin Qing and the others left the old man's thatched hut, he remained in a daze for a long time.
Qin Qing and his group arrived at the village entrance, found a table and chairs, and began to wait for others!
Before long, a soldier led an elderly person and a child over, carrying large and small bags, clearly having also made some purchases.
A moment later, Qin Qing finished counting the potatoes, paid over a hundred coins, settled the account on the spot, and then had two soldiers put the potatoes back on the cart.
The old man and the child received the money, and their expressions were exactly the same as the old man's before, both extremely grateful. Qin Qing didn't say anything; it was simply a matter of each getting what they needed.
Perhaps because of this precedent, more and more villagers came to exchange their money. Eventually, the soldiers didn't even need to go door-to-door to notify or buy the goods; the villagers spontaneously formed long queues...
This was exactly what Qin Qing wanted to see. She then had Chen Chu sit down to record the transactions and settle the accounts with copper coins.
The long queue instantly shrank by half...
Before they knew it, the sky gradually darkened, and Qin Qing finally dealt with the last person. The box of copper coins, totaling more than a hundred taels, was quickly emptied!
She stood up and stretched.
"Thank you all for your hard work. It's almost time to go back."
After saying that, she was about to leave when a voice called out from behind her.
"Madam... wait!"
The person who came was the same old man she had just visited. He walked over with his back hunched and a kind smile on his face.
"I'd like to ask if you still need these round lumps in the future? If so, our village can dig up more, and the price is negotiable."
Qin Qing listened carefully, and a production line instantly appeared in her mind! It coincided with the old man's idea!
Potatoes aren't just for cooking; they can also be made into dried potatoes, potato chips, and other delicious treats! If she could make good use of this, it would be like hiring the villagers to become the birthplace of potatoes…
The more she thought about it, the more surprised she became. But after all, she was a novice and didn't know much about the production process. So she could only suppress her excitement and look at the old man.
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