Chapter 279 Future Vision
"Brother, sister-in-law, are you telling the truth? If so, can we raise chickens in large quantities in the spring? I think we can also raise pigs. Pigs are not picky eaters and grow fast."
The three of them stood at the door of the chicken coop, looking at the chickens and three geese inside and thinking about the future.
Especially Liu, she originally thought that she was the most useless, but now she suddenly felt that she could make a fortune with this advantage.
Liu had already started planning to use all the family savings to buy chickens and pigs at the beginning of the new year, and also to build a pigpen.
Wan Laoer was thinking, but his mind was still clear. He turned his head to look at the big wooden barrel at the door of the kitchen, and said to the two women, "As for whether our plan can be successful, it depends on whether this thing can be successful tomorrow. If it is successful, we will also test how many potatoes the land here can produce."
Wan Laoer had hope in his heart, but at the same time he was mentally prepared for failure. Farmers rely on the weather for their livelihood. If God gives them food, they can live a good life. If God does not give them food, they can only work hard to survive and not think about anything else.
However, Wan Laoer glanced in the direction of the upper room. With his daughter there, he felt like there was a stabilizing force in his heart. He knew that the days to come would surely be peaceful and prosperous.
Their daughter has brought them blessings and provided them with convenience, but some things still depend on themselves. How to make good use of the year to grow more high-yield crops is a problem they have to think about themselves, and their daughter can't help them.
He had already done the math in his mind. This year's wheat yield per acre is an average of 280 kilograms. Two and a half kilograms of wheat can produce one kilogram of flour, so one acre of land can produce 110 kilograms of flour. However, when potatoes were planted inside the Great Wall, he remembered that one acre of land could produce 1,500 kilograms of potatoes. Even if the land outside the Great Wall is barren and dry, and the yield is reduced, he is confident that it will not be less than 1,000 kilograms.
If we can really produce one pound of flour for every six pounds as the recipe says, then one thousand pounds can produce one hundred and sixty-six pounds of flour. More importantly, the remaining residue can be used as feed for livestock, which is also a considerable income. Moreover, if we feed more livestock, we will have fertilizer and the land will be more productive. It's a cycle.
The more Wan Laoer thought about it, the more excited he became. At this moment, his mood was completely different when he looked at the wooden barrel.
They washed it several more times, looking at the water becoming gradually clear and the light layer of white powder at the bottom of the bucket. Everyone's breathing became tense. Now they just had to see if the powder weighed one kilogram.
After the last wash, it was almost midnight. Seeing that Xiao Fubao was so sleepy that he could hardly open his eyes, Wan Ersao said to Wan Laoer, "Master, let's do this last sedimentation tomorrow morning. Even if we wait to get it out now, we have to dry it in the sun, and it's impossible to dry it in the middle of the night. It's better to do it tomorrow morning. The child is sleepy."
"Okay, take your daughter to bed first, I'll wait for a while."
Seeing that Wan Laoer was going crazy, Wan Ersao sighed helplessly and left.
During the exciting and long wait, Wan Laoer didn't sleep for half the night. When it was almost dawn, he just dozed off, and when the rooster crowed for the first time, he woke up.
He didn't even take off his clothes when he went to bed last night. When he woke up, he threw off the quilt, got off the bed, and ran out in his shoes.
It was still dark outside and only vague shadows could be seen. He groped his way to the kitchen, lit the oil lamp, and moved the wooden barrel at the kitchen door into the kitchen.
With the help of the light from the oil lamp, he poured out the water in the wooden barrel and saw a layer of white, like flour, at the bottom of the barrel. Wan Laoer's hands were shaking with excitement. It really worked!
Wan Laoer quickly found a basin, covered it with a layer of clean white cloth, and scooped out the starch bit by bit. He was very careful and meticulous, afraid of missing any starch. He did not scoop out the thin layer of powder at the bottom of the barrel until all of it was in the basin. Only then did he let go of the wooden barrel and placed the basin on a wooden table in the middle of the kitchen.
It was already getting light in the sky, and he just sat there looking at the wooden basin, as if he was afraid that it would be stolen. He waited until daybreak, looking at the red clouds in the east. He knew that today was going to be another sunny day, and he would definitely be able to dry the starch.
But according to the recipe, this thing needs to be exposed to the sun for a few more days. Just like wheat, it must be completely dry in order to be preserved longer.
Wan Laoer quickly placed the ladder from the firewood shed next to the kitchen. He held the wooden basin in one arm and held the ladder with the other hand, and climbed towards the roof.
When he was almost at the roof, he carefully placed the tub on the roof so that it could receive sunlight throughout the day.
He believed that the starch should be able to dry in two or three days.
After Wan Laoer came down from the ladder, Wan Er's wife just came out of the bedroom. She was shocked to see Wan Laoer climbing so high.
"Dad, why are you so high up?"
Wan Ersao hurried over while combing her hair.
"It's okay. I'll put the starch that I settled last night on it to dry. It should dry faster this way."
Seeing that nothing else happened, Wan Ersao was relieved. Thinking of the result of yesterday, she asked happily, "How was it? Did it work?"
Wan Lao Er smiled as if he had eaten a happy nut, and said, "It's done. I was just too excited and forgot to show you. But it's the same as our flour, snow-white. I just don't know what it's used for. I don't know if it can be used to make noodles like flour. The recipe only writes the production process, but nothing else."
Wan Laoer started to worry again.
Wan Ersao turned around and went into the kitchen to prepare breakfast, but the sound came out of the kitchen.
"The flour is already made, are you still worried about not knowing how to use it? As long as it's edible, there's nothing you can't make. Don't worry about it. Since it's successful, there are still more than 90 kilograms. While the sun is good these two days, let's just make it all today, and dry the residue and store it."
Wan Laoer felt that his wife was right, so he stopped arguing about it. He put away the wooden ladder, washed his hands, and moved all the potatoes left over from yesterday into the yard.
I started cooking after I finished breakfast.
Wan Ersao thought of Yu Shi, and said to Wan Lao Er, "Dad, since we have done it, shouldn't we tell Sister Yu? That way she won't worry."
Wan Laoer nodded, "Indeed, after breakfast, go next door and tell her about it so that she can be at ease. We will decide in a couple of days whether to plant potatoes on a large scale next year. I want to see if the flour yield is that high."
"Okay, I got it. I will only tell her the results of our experiment later. I won't say anything else." Wan Ersao said with a smile while she was busy.
After dinner, Wan Ersao brought Xiao Fubao to visit Yu next door.
After these days of rest, Mrs. Yu has felt much better. Although her leg was injured, she is still young and has recovered quickly. Now she can move slowly on the ground with the help of her son. However, she still cannot move her leg and has to rely on the other leg to move.
"Sister Yu, you look good. Have you recovered well recently?"
Wan Ersao stepped forward and held Yu's hand. Yu wanted to get up and was pressed down on the kang by her.
"It's much better, thanks to Er Gouzi's good care. This child hasn't been very talkative since the last time the young general left. It's all because of me and his sister that he's been dragged down. Alas!"
Yu found that Ergouzi seemed to have grown up overnight since the last time, and he looked more like the head of the family. He managed everything in the house in an orderly manner, which made Yu feel relieved but also a little scared.
She didn't know how to communicate with her son. There had always been a delicate and tense relationship between mother and son. However, Ergouzi's actions made Yu speechless. After all, Ergouzi took good care of Yu and this family.
"Sister Yu, Er Gou has grown up and has his own thoughts. Sometimes we need to listen to children's thoughts. If you talk to him more, maybe he will figure it out. But I came here today because I have something good to tell you."
Seeing that the atmosphere was a bit dull, Wan Ersao quickly changed the subject.
"Happy event? What happy event?" Yu was a little confused. After all, she hadn't heard of happy events for many years.
"It's your recipe. We succeeded and actually made starch."
Wan Ersao said to Yu with excitement.
Yu became even more excited after hearing this. After all, this prescription was the only chance for her family of three to turn things around. She was also gambling, but she didn't expect that she would win the bet. Yu's eyes turned red with excitement.
"Sister, is it really done? You didn't lie to me?" Yu asked uncertainly.
"It's done, it's really done, but it still needs to be dried in the sun for a few days. I'll show it to you when it's dry. I didn't expect that the yellow stuff could be made into a snow-white powder like flour. It's amazing."
Wan Ersao still finds it hard to believe how this thing came about.
"What is this thing used for? Have you tried it?" This is what Yu was concerned about. Even if the thing is made, if it is useless, it would be a waste of effort.
"I don't know yet, but since it looks like flour, I think it should be edible, right? I'll try making noodles then."
Yu quickly took out the prescription and handed it to Wan Ersao.
"Sister, take another look. Does the prescription say how to use this powder? I can't read either. I heard that you can read. Please take a closer look." Yu was a little anxious.
Although Wan Ersao knew a few words, they were all related to medicinal herbs. She was not much better than in other things.
"If you're at ease, I'll take it back and show it to my husband. I'm not much better than you, Sister Yu," Wan Ersao said self-deprecatingly.
"Why are you worried? Take it back and show it to Brother Jinzhu. Maybe he didn't look carefully last time and missed it."
Mrs. Wan Er picked up the prescription and stood up and said, "Okay, I'll take it over to him and let him have a look. I'll send it back to you after he's done looking at it."
"Oh, thank you for your hard work." Yu watched Wan Ersao and Xiao Fubao prepare to leave.
Xiao Fubao had just played with Xiaolan for a while and was reluctant to leave. He insisted on taking Xiaolan to his home to play.
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