Gu Xin stood to the side and explained, "Uncle Ye, we planted a little over one mu (approximately 0.16 acres), and used a total of 284 jin (approximately 142 catties) of seeds. We planted a total of 1,975 seedbeds. We dug up 40 seedbeds before, which yielded a total of 45 jin (approximately 22.75 kg). If we divide that equally, each seedbed yields a little over one jin (approximately 0.5 kg), so we can harvest about 2,000 jin (approximately 1,000 kg). This is because the seedbeds were not very big when we dug them up; my sister said they could grow a bit more."
The emperor's eyes lit up, firstly because he was amazed by Gu Xin's calculations, and secondly because he was astonished by the yield per acre of potatoes.
Gu Shouxin patted the emperor on the shoulder, feigning ignorance, and asked, "Brother Ye, what's wrong?"
The emperor said solemnly, "Brother Gu, is it really as my niece said?"
Gu Shouxin nodded: "Yes, when we were digging, we dug in different places, not side by side. There were basically no empty nests. The fewest we had were only five, and the most had twelve in one nest, a long string of them!"
The emperor then turned to Gu Nian: "Can it really keep growing? Bigger than the one I ate this morning?"
Gu Nian nodded: "That's natural. The seeds Zhou Yuan brought are all quite large, about the size of my fist."
The emperor nodded, pondered for a moment, and asked, "Brother Gu, may I dig up a nest?"
Gu Xin picked up her small hoe and said, "Uncle Ye, let me do it! People who haven't dug these before will damage the potatoes. If they're damaged, they won't keep well. Master Zhou has been storing them for a long time."
The emperor was surprised once again: "It's been stored for a long time? This can be stored?"
Gu Xin: "Of course! Brother Yuanyuan said these are seeds we got last year, and he gave us a bag. Their bag hasn't rotted yet!"
After saying that, Gu Xin dug out a nest: "Wow, there are nine in this nest! Dad, Mom, Sister, I want to dig a few more nests so we can make the salt and pepper potatoes that Sister mentioned for lunch!"
The emperor quickly stopped her: "My little niece, these are seeds! Don't be so greedy! Let's plant them in the spring and eat them after we harvest them this year, okay?"
Gu Shouxin patted the emperor on the shoulder: "It's alright, Brother Ye. We get along well, so let's make it for lunch! You only ate shredded potatoes and boiled potatoes last night and this morning. Today at noon, I'll have Niannian make you some pickled pepper potato slices, and also a kind of salt and pepper mini potato that none of us have ever tried before."
The emperor pursed his lips: I want to eat it, but these are seeds.
Cai Xiaolian laughed and said, "Brother Ye, digging a few holes won't hurt. That kid A Yuan said they plan to plant two crops and send them to the capital to present to the Emperor next year. He also gave us a lot of seeds. We'll start planting next month, and we'll have to clear the land in a few days!"
Emperor: "Sister-in-law, no, this won't do. What if Zhou Yuan wants to..."
Gu Shouxin put his arm around the emperor's shoulder and said, "Brother Ye, come on, come on, I'll take you back to see the other two kinds of seeds that Zhou Yuan gave us, the ones that are the same as potatoes. We'll just dig a few holes in this field, the three of them can manage."
The emperor reluctantly left with Gu Shouxin, glancing back several times absentmindedly.
The emperor's eyes lit up when he saw the sack of corn seeds and the sack of sweet potato seeds.
"You mean, these two things have been sitting in your house for months?" the emperor asked in surprise.
"Yes! Since we weren't sure if they would survive, we just randomly picked one, and it actually worked. We then used both of them for experiments. Brother Ye, I'm only telling you this, but the yield of these two is definitely not low," Gu Shouxin said mysteriously.
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