Chapter 77: A Confident Response
When Shen Zhiyi brought Zhao Daya back to Jigong Mountain, the big yellow dog guarding the courtyard gate was barking pitifully, with something under its paws that looked like a piece of paper for writing, and some writing could be vaguely seen on it.
"Zhiyi, there are more over there," Zhao Daya reminded her, and following her gaze, she saw several pieces of paper covered in dust.
Shen Zhiyi picked up the half-piece of paper from under the yellow dog's paw and pieced it together with the shredded paper Zhao Daya handed her. Ignoring the fact that the hole in the paper matched the yellow dog's teeth, she could still barely make out what was written on it.
She never expected that someone would come so soon after she left Jigong Mountain. After waiting for two days without seeing anyone and with the prefect urging her, Lu Jingbai took Xuan Yan back to prepare to go to the prefectural city.
Now we'll have to wait three months for him to come back...
A trip out of the house delayed the wedding.
"What does it say?" Zhao Daya asked, only vaguely recognizing a few words, but unable to make sense of them.
"They will not be back for three months, so let's not worry," Shen Zhiyi succinctly summarized.
"Didn't they leave me any food?" Zhao Daya said unwillingly. "Whenever Brother Xuan left before, he would always bring me lots of good food..."
Seeing his aggrieved look, Shen Zhiyi couldn't bring herself to say, "It's not that I forgot to bring it, it's that I missed it." She could only change the subject and say, "Didn't you want to try grinding these beans into powder? Let's try it now."
Although Shen Zhiyi knew a lot about the rough ways of making bean products, she was happy to let Zhao Daya try it out since she was willing to share the burden.
Because of her encouraging approach, Aunt Zhao has found a way to use the fur shed by rabbits, which she has washed and then used as cotton, thus developing the soft and cute main characteristics of the plush toys and showing a tendency to open up a separate "doll" market.
Of course, Ge Ermazi's initial investment was indispensable, which made Aunt Zhao more and more enthusiastic about researching dolls.
Tang Huaya has been busy raising rabbits lately, from just a few to twenty now, so you can imagine she's becoming a "rabbit expert."
Nowadays, Xiaba Village is known for its various pickled vegetables in addition to chili peppers. Initially, it was just a collaboration between various shops in Pixian County, but later, with Zheng San's efforts, the pickling skills were sold to several neighboring counties.
Shen Zhiyi doesn't need to do many things herself. Her most important task now is to make the potato sprout successfully. She is already skilled at cultivating seedlings for tomatoes, peanuts, peppercorns, fennel, etc.
It was also Jigongshan that was first manipulated. When Shen Zhiyi was trying to save the soil acidity, he divided the soil into multiple "experimental plots" to meet the growth conditions of various plants at the same time. If all else failed, they could even use kang beds for indoor cultivation.
Every time she sees these seeds grow, she is happy all day long. Surprises happen all the time. For example, one day when she went to check on the potatoes as usual, she saw that the potatoes covered with wood ash showed signs of sprouting!
According to the records, this is the thirteenth day. I haven't taken care of it much since I covered it with wood ash, and I didn't expect it to sprout so suddenly!
Shen Zhiyi was overjoyed!
I diligently recorded the potato sprouts for several days in a row, and initially deduced that this should be an early-maturing variety of potato. The rapid maturation means that the yield will not be high, but if I apply fertilizer quickly, the size of the potatoes can still be changed.
Even early-maturing varieties were still the preferred choice in an era of food shortages.
Upon hearing this good news, Shen Zhiyi instinctively thought that the county government should promote it, just like with the sweet potatoes before. After Lu Jingbai planted them according to the manual, a batch had already been harvested and saved for seed. As for what their plans were, Shen Zhiyi didn't know. She only knew that the county government was moving too slowly.
At this time, she only had one potato, which could only satisfy her own cultivation for the time being. If she wanted to promote it on a large scale, it would take another six months. Therefore, she had to make a name for herself with the first batch and could not grow it slowly like sweet potatoes.
Shen Zhiyi carefully cut the potatoes into chunks along the bud skin, then coated them with a layer of wood ash before burying them in the soil.
During this period, several villagers from Shunshui Village knocked on the door and successfully signed several documents, resulting in the loss of more than half of the tomato seedlings in the seedling nursery.
"Zhiyi, come quick!" Zhao Daya's excited voice rang out.
Shen Zhiyi quickly ran to the kitchen and saw the tofu curds forming on the iron pot. Zhao Daya held the spoon, somewhat at a loss.
"Da Ya, you did it!" Shen Zhiyi praised. Before she succeeded, who would have thought that Zhao Daya could calm down and do such tedious things as picking beans, soaking beans, and grinding beans?
"Really?" Zhao Daya asked in disbelief. She regained the strength to hold the spoon and gently scooped a spoonful of tofu pudding from the edge. It slid into her mouth with a slurp. "It doesn't taste like much, but it's so smooth. Old people should like it."
"It only tastes good with sauce!" Shen Zhiyi said, taking out the bottles and jars that had been neatly arranged in the cabinet.
"What kind of incense did Third Brother want last time? Let's eat it secretly, but don't let Third Brother find out." Zhao Daya's voice grew softer and softer.
Shen Zhiyi laughed as she listened, explaining, "I gave some to Third Brother last time, but I don't know what he did with it. He keeps asking me for more."
"What else can Third Brother do? He must be doing business, right?" Zhao Daya said matter-of-factly. "Now, besides Sister-in-law Huanghua, all Third Brother does is run a business."
During their casual conversation, Shen Zhiyi and Zhao Daya tasted the pot of tofu pudding, adding a new type to the research and development of soy products.
Changes in sunlight, humidity, and temperature all tell the story of when seeds are planted. They form their own system and have their own operating rules. The land, however, is the most honest entity. The hard work put in will be remembered and the harvest will be multiplied.
The leaves began to wither and turn yellow, and Shen Zhiyi took a hoe and a basket to dig up the harvest from the ground.
Seventy-three days after the sprouts were planted, the potatoes were ripe. Shen Zhiyi carefully dug them out. What started as a tiny sprout had grown into nearly twenty potatoes of varying sizes. With the addition of the sprouts she had created as much as possible, she harvested nearly ninety-three potatoes this time!
It can be described as high-yield, but it did not reach the high-yield threshold that Shen Zhiyi considered.
The initial strength of each bud also affects the fruit production rate. After inspection, only one-third of the buds are suitable for seed saving. Otherwise, weak seedlings will only produce weak fruits, and in the end, there may be no fruit at all.
In order not to tarnish the reputation of "potato", Shen Zhiyi could only tearfully promote Xiaoguo as a rare dish according to the previous plan, and make a name for it first.
Because the sample size was small, Shen Zhiyi tried to make as many different kinds of samples as possible, such as French fries, potato pancakes, stir-fried shredded potatoes, dry-pot potatoes, and stewed chicken with potatoes.
French fries and potato pancakes can be kept for a while and can also be taken out for tasting, so more were made. The remaining three dishes, however, could only be tasted on the spot. Shen Zhiyi stingily used only five potatoes, but invited Zheng San, San Tou, Huang Hua's sister-in-law, Zhao Daya, and herself, making a total of five people.
"Girl, that's not very generous of you!" Zheng San clicked his tongue.
"Make way!" Zhao Daya called out, carrying in a large basin of freshly made tofu pudding.
Seeing the white, lumpy shapes, Zheng San's curiosity was piqued, and he asked, "What is this?"
“Beans,” Zhao Daya said with a smile.
"Girl, you're kidding me. Beans don't grow like that." Zheng San hurriedly said, if it weren't for his current status, he would have reached out and scooped them up directly.
"Third Brother, try this." Shen Zhiyi handed over the bamboo cup, and at the same time began to hand over the bowl and chopsticks.
"What's this whitish stuff? Is it porridge?" Zheng San asked, taking a sip, then exclaimed in surprise, "It's beans? Why doesn't it have that fishy smell?"
“Soy milk that has been boiled and cooled has no fishy smell,” Shen Zhiyi said calmly, then handed bamboo cups to Sister Huanghua and Santou as well.
Zheng San gulped down the drink and exclaimed excitedly, "Girl, this stuff...it's profitable!"
These words startled Huang Hua, who was standing nearby. She quietly pinched Zheng San's lower back, which calmed him down a bit.
"The reason I invited Third Brother over this time is, of course, to do something profitable," Shen Zhiyi said with a smile, introducing the dishes one by one.
Zheng San couldn't wait to start eating, while San Tou and the others ate slowly, savoring each bite.
"This chicken and potato stew is delicious; the potatoes are soft, tender, and flavorful! The shredded potatoes would be even better with some chili peppers," Zheng San commented earnestly. "But these fries... they must be deep-fried, right? They're so expensive! They'll definitely fetch a good price."
"I actually prefer shredded potatoes," Huang Hua said, expressing her opinion.
"French fries with chili powder taste good," San Tou said earnestly.
Several people at the table had different opinions, so this potato dish has a wide appeal.
After the meal, there was hardly any food left on the table. Zheng San, though seemingly careless, did a quick calculation and reminisced, "Girl, I discovered that those potatoes were really filling! Especially the potato pancakes, one of them was equivalent to half a bowl of rice! And they tasted pretty good too. Being able to eat something while traveling saves a lot of trouble!"
"How much is it this time?" Zheng San asked in a low voice.
"Not many, there are still forty left," Shen Zhiyi said.
"Wow, that's really little, but if you leave it to me, Third Brother, I can sell it all in half a day!" Zheng San said confidently.
"Third Brother, actually I was thinking of selling the potatoes to Xiangyunlou and having them host a tasting event..." Shen Zhiyi explained her idea, which was a simple tasting event, promoted from top to bottom at the restaurant's standard, and then releasing information about the vegetable variety.
The wealthy gentlemen are thinking about how to get potatoes, while the farmers are thinking about how to buy the seeds. This relationship of mutual benefit firmly binds the two together.
"Why don't we wait for the magistrate to return before holding this tasting banquet? With him around, this stuff will only be more sought after," Zheng San suggested.
Shen Zhiyi had long considered the benefits of celebrity endorsement.
However, ever since she established a romantic relationship with Lu Jingbai, she seems to have developed a biased view of him and is somewhat reluctant to trouble him.
She still needs to adjust her mindset regarding this idea.
When Zheng San spoke up, Shen Zhiyi secretly breathed a sigh of relief and said, "We can give it a try."
"In just a few days, our potatoes will definitely become famous throughout the entire county! When the time comes to grow potatoes, we'll make a fortune!" Zheng San thought confidently, no longer the timid person he had been before.
"The sound will resound throughout the county!" the three heads shouted in unison.
Seeing the changes in the people around her, Shen Zhiyi was genuinely happy and said, "It will resonate throughout the county!"
"It will resound throughout the county!" Zhao Daya shouted, her voice mingling with Huang Hua's weaker tone.
As long as we work together, we can overcome any difficulties we face!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
