"This matter... I'll think about it some more." The village chief stroked his chin, dodging the question.
"Village chief, please don't even think about it!" Xu Kuo saw through the village chief's concerns and spoke frankly.
"I won't lie to you, I just like tinkering with new things. You can help me process these sweet potatoes, I don't want anything else, I just want that big puddle behind my house!"
"A puddle?" The village chief exclaimed in surprise, his eyes widening. "What do you need that for? That place is useless except for drowning a few chickens!"
"Hehe, you don't need to worry about that." Xu Kuo smiled mysteriously. "Just tell me, do you agree to this or not?"
The village chief frowned, caught in a dilemma.
If I agree, I'm afraid Xu Kuo might really cause some trouble with that puddle, and then it will be too late to regret it.
If we don't agree, these sweet potatoes in front of us represent real profits!
With just a few resale of these sweet potatoes, I could make a fortune, enough to feed my whole family for months.
Xu Kuo gave too much.
After much deliberation, the village chief finally gritted his teeth and nodded: "Alright! We'll do it your way! I'll take care of the sweet potatoes, and the puddle is yours!"
"Village chief, you're such a straightforward person!" Xu Kuo was overjoyed and quickly gave a thumbs up.
"However, let me make this clear from the start: if you don't manage to make a name for yourself in that puddle, don't blame me for not warning you!" The village chief was still a little worried and couldn't help but add a word of caution.
"Just you wait and see!" Xu Kuo said confidently.
After agreeing on the terms, Xu Kuo only picked out some of the larger sweet potatoes, filling a whole basket, and left the rest to the village chief to handle.
"Oh my, where did you get so many sweet potatoes?" Jiang Xiuying heard the commotion outside. When she got to the door, Xu Kuo happened to be carrying a large basket of sweet potatoes in, which really startled her.
"Wife, guess what?" Xu Kuo put down his basket, looking smug. "Our wasteland has yielded a bumper harvest of sweet potatoes!"
"What?" Jiang Xiuying's eyes widened in disbelief. "They really grew? And...and so many of them?"
She walked to the basket on her back, reached out and picked up a sweet potato. She weighed it in her hand; it was heavy and much larger than any sweet potato she had ever seen. "This...is this still a sweet potato?" Jiang Xiuying exclaimed, this completely overturned her understanding of sweet potatoes.
"Haha, isn't that amazing?" Xu Kuo grinned from ear to ear. "I've left the rest to the village chief to handle. Our family can't eat that much anyway."
"Oh? They were all given to the village chief?" Jiang Xiuying felt a pang of heartache upon hearing this. "That...that's such a waste!"
"It's alright, honey." Xu Kuo put his arm around Jiang Xiuya's shoulder and comforted her softly. "What we have left is enough to last us for a while. Besides, I've already talked to the village chief about exchanging those sweet potatoes for that big puddle not far behind our house!"
"A puddle?" Jiang Xiuying was even more confused. "What do you need that for?"
"Hehe, you'll find out later." Xu Kuo kept everyone in suspense, a mysterious smile on his face. "Anyway, your man here will definitely not disappoint you!"
Jiang Xiuying looked at Xu Kuo's confident demeanor. Although she still had some doubts, she chose to believe him.
She nodded gently, a tender smile playing on her lips: "Yes, I believe you."
The sunset painted the sky red, and an enticing sweet fragrance wafted from the Xu family's courtyard.
Inside the kitchen, Jiang Xiuying was busy pulling golden-brown roasted sweet potatoes out of the stove. They were steaming hot and made one's mouth water.
"It smells so good!" Liu Yuan squatted down to the side, gazing longingly, and couldn't help but swallow.
Ever since she moved into the Xu family home, she had been going there every few days, and this was the first time she had ever seen such a rare thing.
"Be careful, it's hot!" Jiang Xiuying scolded, using tongs to pick out a sweet potato, gently blowing on it, and handing it to Liu Yuan, "Try it and see if it's good."
Liu Yuan eagerly took it, not caring that it was hot, and carefully peeled off the charred outer skin to reveal the golden flesh, a rich and sweet aroma wafting out.
She took a small bite; it was soft, sweet, and melted in her mouth, even sweeter than honey.
"Delicious! So delicious!" Liu Yuan's eyes lit up. He swallowed one in a few bites and then looked longingly at the stove.
"Eat slowly, don't choke!" Jiang Xiuying smiled and gave one to Xu Kuo and his mother each. "Try it, these are grown by our own family!"
The family sat around the table, each person eating, enjoying their meal immensely.
These sweet potatoes were incredibly large, and their taste was exceptionally good, completely overturning their previous understanding of sweet potatoes.
The group ate so much sweet potato that they were completely stuffed and skipped dinner.
Xu Kuo was secretly delighted; this system's product was indeed extraordinary!
If sweet potatoes are like this, then fish food must be just as good.
Now that we've acquired the fishpond, it's time to put this grand fish-raising plan on the agenda.
As dusk fell, Xu Kuo estimated that it was about time, quietly got up, and redeemed the high-grade fish food from the system.
A heavy bag of fish food, emitting a faint fishy aroma, looks so appealing that it fills one with anticipation.
"Can this fish food really raise big fish?" Xu Kuo wondered to himself, feeling both excited and apprehensive.
After all, raising fish was a completely new experience for him.
However, with the successful experience of growing sweet potatoes, his confidence increased, and he felt that raising fish might be even simpler than growing sweet potatoes.
The next morning, Xu Kuo got up very early and went straight to the market.
He needs to buy some fish fry before he can start his fish farming business.
At the market, there were many stalls selling fish fry. Xu Kuo picked and chose a few stalls with good quality fish fry and bought several hundred small fish fry.
These fish fry are lively and energetic, a delightful sight to behold.
Back in the village, Xu Kuo carefully poured the fish fry into the ditch behind his yard.
This puddle, which had been abandoned in the village for many years, was overgrown with weeds and reeked of a foul stench. Now, thanks to Xu Kuo's efforts, it has been given a new lease on life.
Xu Kuo scattered the fish food evenly into the water, and he was overjoyed to see the little fish fry scrambling to eat it.
"What is Xu Kuo up to now?"
"Who knows? I heard he's going to raise fish in that puddle!"
"Raising fish? Is he crazy? Fish can grow in that puddle?"
"That's right, there are plenty of fish in the ditches outside, who would pay to buy the ones he raises?"
The villagers gathered in twos and threes by the water pit, pointing and talking amongst themselves.
Most of them didn't think highly of Xu Kuo, feeling that he was just wasting his time and energy.
After all, these days, who doesn't raise fish in rivers? Who raises them in puddles?
Xu Kuo ignored these idle gossips. He knew in his heart that this high-grade fish food was no joke.
He estimated that it wouldn't be long before these little fish fry would grow into big, fat fish, and then there would be plenty of people who would be envious!
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