Chapter 304 Sweet Potato
After saying that, the leader strode away.
The remaining two people hurriedly followed. ——It was another two days of busyness. In the dog days, the wind blew rarely.
Moreover, this wind did not have the usual hot and suffocating feeling. Instead, it was slightly cool, making people feel very comfortable.
So much so that Zhuang Qingning, who was riding in the carriage at this time, did not feel the heat at all.
Ding Gaochang was also very satisfied with the coolness today. After all, if the weather was hot and humid and he would sweat all the time, it would be a bit embarrassing to ride in the same carriage with Zhuang Qingning.
Fortunately, the weather is cool, which is a good day for traveling.
This is probably what is called the right time and the right place.
Ding Gaochang was in a good mood because of this matter, and his voice was slightly raised when he spoke to Zhuang Qingning.
"Since Miss Zhuang mentioned the idea of adapting to local conditions last time, I went back to the county government and asked people to check what kind of food is produced in the surrounding towns and villages, and what the villagers are good at."
"Our county is a small one, and the vendors who often walk the streets know everything about what's produced and what's done in different places, so they quickly figured it out. This Miao Village is all sandy soil, and other things can't grow well, but sweet potatoes grow very well. However, these sweet potatoes are black, and eating too much will easily cause acid reflux. Moreover, sweet potatoes are not rare, and they can't be sold, and they can't be exchanged for food, so if you farm here, it's the least profitable way to make a living."
"Because of this, most people in this village try their best to find work outside to earn some money to supplement their family income. The people left in the village are the elderly, the weak, women and children. They are too busy to work on the fields, so they can only leave them uncultivated. But if they don't plant them, these good fields will be abandoned, which is really a pity. Now the current emperor pays attention to agriculture and sericulture, and the fields are the foundation of the country. If this continues for a long time, the fields will be abandoned and everyone will go into business, which is a big problem."
"There is also Zhangqiao Village. Many people here make a living by growing cotton. Previously, the cotton was collected by a weaving workshop in the nearby village. The weaving workshop was doing well, but later the weaving workshop closed due to poor business. The cotton business in Zhangqiao Village has cooled down. Even though cotton is not difficult to sell now, the price is 30% lower and can no longer be sold at a high price."
"Nowadays, many families no longer grow cotton, which is a troublesome crop, and have started growing corn. However, the corn yield is not good either. In the past two years, many people have been secretly complaining and grumbling."
"There is also Lijia Village, where most people grow watermelons. In Songjia Village, many people make a living from the bamboo forest next to it..."
"Anyway, I thought that if I just told her, Miss Zhuang might not have an idea, so I specially brought Miss Zhuang to take a look at the quality of these things and see what they can be used for."
Zhuang Qingning listened to what Ding Gaochang said and nodded slightly.
It must be said that although Ding Gaochang was the county magistrate, in charge of public security and criminal matters, he was very concerned about the people's peaceful and prosperous lives. Moreover, he had investigated these matters so clearly during this period of time and spoke freely about them, which showed that he had obviously done a careful investigation.
The county is truly blessed to have an official like Ding Gaochang.
"Uncle Ding's description is very detailed. I have taken some notes in my mind. As Uncle Ding said, I will go take a look at the quality of these things first. Then I will think about what kind of workshop is suitable for opening, or whether I can help the villagers find other ways out."
Zhuang Qingning lifted the curtain and looked at the willow trees outside. "Where should we go first?"
"Let's go to Miao Village first. Miao Village is close and we will arrive there in a short distance." Ding Gaochang replied.
"Yeah." Zhuang Qingning replied, lifted the curtain and continued to watch the receding scenery outside.
The further we went, the more cultivated fields we saw on both sides of the road. Just as Ding Gaochang had said, the fields were covered with short sweet potato vines. The sweet potato leaves were lush and vying for the leaves. Occasionally, we could see people working in the fields, weeding and turning over vines, or picking some tender sweet potato leaves from the sweet potato fields to go back and cook them.
This Miao Village is not small, but probably because many people were out working, there were not many people around. Ding Gaochang, Zhuang Qingning and others went straight to the village headman's house.
The head of the village was called Miao Hongjin. When he learned that the county magistrate Ding Gaochang had arrived, he hurriedly ordered his family to kill chickens and buy meat and prepare a good lunch to entertain him.
"Didn't I say before that I came here just to inquire about the situation in the village these days? Everything is normal. No need to be so polite." Ding Gaochang hurriedly stopped Miao Hongjin, "Just pour a cup of tea, chat and talk."
"If you really want to entertain us, you can also take out the sweet potatoes to see their quality. We can also think of ways to help the people in the village and exchange these sweet potatoes for silver."
"Okay, okay." Miao Hongjin agreed, with tears in his eyes.
This is the county magistrate. He must be very busy all day long, with many big and small things to deal with, but he is still thinking about the sweet potato business in their small Miao Village. I really don't know what to say to him.
All they can say is that God has opened their eyes and allowed them to have such a kind official. It must be the blessing they earned in their previous life.
Miao Hongjin asked his wife to make tea, and he went to the kitchen, tidied up a bit, and brought out a basket of things.
Cut into slices and dried in the sun, the sweet potatoes can be used for cooking or ground into sweet potato flour at any time. There are also sweet potato flour that has been ground into powder, and fresh sweet potatoes that were planted in the spring and harvested now.
However, because they are planted in spring, they are not as good as those planted in summer, and the sweet potatoes are a little small.
"The sweet potatoes here are made of red soil and are sweet even when steamed. If you are used to eating white flour and white rice, you can eat a piece of this from time to time, or cook it in white rice porridge. It tastes good. But if you eat this every day, it won't work."
"Although these sweet potatoes taste better than those grown in other places, they are still sweet potatoes. They can't be turned into delicious fish or meat. They are not rare. Every household grows them, but they can't be sold."
"If you're lucky, you can sell one or two baskets of sweet potatoes in the county town, but these sweet potatoes are worthless. A large basket only costs two or three cents. You have to transport them to the town, and the round trip is not enough to pay for the hard work. As time goes by, no one will bother with this anymore."
(End of this chapter)
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