What can you exchange sweet potatoes for?
Jiang Zhi looked at the sweet potatoes scattered on the ground and fell into deep thought.
I can't possibly eat all the sweet potatoes from these twenty-odd acres, so I should switch to something more cost-effective.
I have too many things I want, and I can't think of anything that's most suitable right now, so I'll just put them all in the warehouse for now.
"Gensheng's wife, what do you want?"
Upon hearing what he wanted, Mr. Pi immediately replied, "I want a big house, I want money, I want good food and clothes, that's all!"
She longed for a good life and felt she lacked everything. But when she actually spoke up, she realized that all she knew was food and clothing, and that was all she wanted—to eat, wear, and live a comfortable life.
But she dared not say it aloud, because she would be scolded.
On the other side, Xu Genyou held the ox nose rope in his hand, with a thick rope around his shoulder, bent over and pulled the plow, leading the calves through the endless furrows.
The calves were still struggling against their fate, raising their heads and staring wide-eyed, trying their best to shake off the heavy wooden yokes on their shoulders.
But whenever they stand still, the nose rings made of bamboo sections pull their noses tightly, and a whip lashes from behind, the pain and restraint forcing them to keep moving forward.
Training calves is just as tiring for Tian Gui, who holds the plow. He shouts monosyllabic words that ordinary people can't understand and communicates with the calves through a nose rope.
Meanwhile, Xu Genyou, who was leading the oxen, tacitly guided them to adapt to this signal, telling them when to pull hard, when to stop, and when to turn.
They were teaching not only the two calves, but also Errui and Xiaoman, who were following behind picking up sweet potatoes.
How to control oxen and how to control the plow—these two farm boys, who lacked the experience passed down from their fathers, are now learning little by little.
After harvesting the sweet potatoes, the villagers cleaned up the sweet potato cellars that each household used to have, and stored their own sweet potatoes there. Apart from the owners, nothing had changed.
Jiang Zhi also filled her own cellar, and piled the rest in the warehouse.
With less human activity, nature gets a rare chance to rest and recuperate.
The land, rich in fertilizer and water and rested for a year, produced large and plentiful sweet potatoes, bringing smiles to the faces of the entire village.
This year, no taxes will be paid, and all this food will be kept for our own consumption, completely eliminating the threat of hunger and making everyone feel at ease.
Soon, Xiang Dejin arrived again with a minor official from the county granary. He skillfully produced a receipt from the county government bearing the official seal of the county magistrate and loaded all the sweet potatoes into the cart.
Some villagers followed Jiang Zhi's example and sold their surplus sweet potatoes to the county government to buy things.
Sweet potatoes are not as easy to store as corn or rice. They rot easily when stored in a cellar and can only be kept for a maximum of six months.
Some families are even planning to catch a piglet as soon as possible. The pigs that were previously raised in the village have all grown quite a bit, and if they are raised again until the following spring, they will weigh over 100 jin (50 kg).
Jiang Zhi exchanged the grain from the foot of the mountain for money and goods, and put it all to circulation. The cotton, wheat, soybeans, rice and sweet potatoes produced on the mountain were the real assets of the two families.
After selling the sweet potatoes, Jiang Zhi took Xiao Man with her to the city in the grain cart.
Upon arriving in the city, Xiaoman happily followed Xiang Dejin to handle the handover of grain from the granary. Later, she reunited with Wu Hongmao and his fellow yamen runners. Jiang Zhi, on the other hand, went to help the scholar's wife sell round fans.
The two round fans took three months to make. After selling them, the scholar's wife also needed to exchange the money to hire someone to repair the house in the winter.
When they returned to Qiaozhenfang, the thriving female owner almost forgot about Jiang Zhi.
Jiang Zhi took out two red plum blossom round fans: "Last time you said the embroidered handkerchiefs were lacking in fabric, this time they should be fine!"
Upon seeing the exquisite embroidery, the female shopkeeper immediately remembered and said, "Oh my, the embroidery is indeed excellent. I told you last time it would cost three taels of silver per fan, so I'll take it now."
Jiang Zhi replied, "That's what you said before, but I didn't agree. This time I took the embroidery sample and asked the embroiderer. She said that embroidering fan surfaces is not easy, and she won't sell them for less than four taels of silver."
The female shopkeeper was unwilling to pay four taels, and after some bargaining, they finally settled on three taels. However, she requested that two fan ribs, white silk cloth, and various colored silk threads be given as a gift.
Jiang Zhi was also satisfied with this result; the scholar's wife had these things and could embroider them.
As soon as Jiang Zhi left, the female shopkeeper couldn't wait to put the red plum blossom fan on the display shelf.
In Pingchuan County, there are few people with such embroidery skills, and these fan paintings will fetch a good price.
The Du family's daughter loved beauty the most. Although the second wife was in charge of the household affairs, she was the most pampered by the first wife.
I heard that Du Jinying is already engaged and has come back this time specifically to get married from the old house. Her second aunt is preparing her dowry, and this fan painting will surely catch her eye.
After leaving Qiaozhenfang, Jiang Zhi hurriedly went to the Huo family to discuss the planting of Ophiopogon japonicus.
As she walked through the streets that were gradually returning to their bustling state, this simple peasant woman was unremarkable. But as she passed by, a small sedan chair, which was completely covered, lifted a crack in the roof, and a pair of surprised and puzzled eyes looked at her until they disappeared from each other's sight.
The sedan curtain fell gently, and Du's second wife inside closed her eyes slightly, then murmured to herself, "That woman seems to be Jiang the shrew. Could it be that they didn't escape? No, I must leave Pingchuan after Jin Ying's wedding. I can't stay here."
Thinking about how hard-won her current life of being fawned over by servants and adorned with gold and silver was, and how she couldn't let anyone ruin it, the second wife felt a tightness in her heart and kept urging the sedan bearers to hurry back.
Surrounded by bustling city streets, Jiang Zhi was unaware of the prying gazes she was being watched. She hurriedly entered the Huo Family Pharmacy, as she had many, many things to do.
With the sowing of rapeseed and winter wheat, lilyturf was also planted in the pre-selected plots, and soon it was early winter.
The weather is getting colder, and everyone is wearing a light jacket.
Tao'er's mother, who had already finished her postpartum confinement and gained weight, was still wearing a headscarf as she sat in the shed breastfeeding her youngest son.
Tian Tao skipped back from the field, carrying several tender radishes, the mist outside dampening her hair.
"Mom, let's cook some porridge with these radishes! Xiaoquan and Xiaoxi are craving meat!"
Although Tian Tao'er was only twelve years old, Tian Gui was busy with all the work. Apart from a few aunts and sisters-in-law occasionally coming to visit, she basically took care of her mother during her postpartum period on her own, and had become the head of the family.
Tao'er's mother looked at the radish in her daughter's hand and nodded, saying, "Cut half of the meat from home, and there are two eggs. You can cook them and share them with Xiaoquan and Xiaoxi!"
She knew that her postpartum period was tough on her daughter. Not only did she have to cook and wash dishes, but she also had to wash diapers. She even had to soothe the baby when she cried in the middle of the night so as not to wake her father who was exhausted after a long day.
Tian Tao'er took out a palm-sized piece of cured meat, held the knife up and down on it for a long time, but in the end she couldn't bear to part with it and only cut off a strip of fat about two fingers wide.
Wash the fatty meat, cut it into cubes, and fry it in a pot to render the oil. Finally, add some fermented bean paste and stir-fry until fragrant. Then add water, rice, and vegetables to make porridge.
The aroma of cured meat wafted through the air. Qin Shi sniffed it from next door, then turned to Lianhua, who was frowning and trying to suppress her sour taste, and said, "If you want some, ask your man. Don't give me that look."
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