Chapter 419: Sweet Potato Feast
After the silence, there were bursts of cheers.
"Great! One acre yields 4,000 kilograms, which is almost enough for the whole family to eat!"
Even if this acre has a large harvest, we would be satisfied with more than 3,000 kilograms of the others. You should know that the yield of rice and wheat per acre is 300 to 400 kilograms, and the yield of corn and millet is high, but it is only more than 600 kilograms. How many times more is sweet potato than them?
Planting one acre of sweet potatoes is equivalent to planting six or seven acres of corn and millet, and nearly ten acres of rice and wheat!
"But the sweet potatoes are weighed when they are fresh. We can eat them fresh during the winter. I'm afraid they won't be kept after winter is over. We have to find a way to store them." Grandma Qin reminded.
Li E nodded in agreement. "I wonder if we can dry them like acorns and chestnuts and grind them into powder? After drying and removing the moisture, the weight will be lighter, but I don't know how much lighter it will be."
"The sweet potatoes aren't noticeably lighter after being baked, so I suspect the weight difference won't be that big after being dried. Sweet potatoes aren't like wild vegetables like purslane, which are incredibly light after being dried.
Besides, all sweet potatoes are edible. Corn not only needs to be dried but also has cobs, so there are definitely more sweet potatoes than corn. "Hong Ming analyzed based on his experience.
The others thought the same thing and agreed that sweet potatoes are indeed not very watery.
Moreover, from the time of harvest until the weather turns warmer, we can eat it fresh for half a year, and the rest can be dried and stored. Compared with other grains, it is simply better than heaven!
The yield per mu is 4,000 kilograms. I wouldn’t even dare to make a wish in front of Buddha with this number!
If sweet potatoes were grown in other places, wouldn't everyone be able to fill their stomachs?
Boss Zhao said cheerfully to the women, "We've planted a lot this year, and we have other grains and cereals. We can't eat them all. Let's figure out how to dry and store the rest."
Even if Ling Yi exchanged with them, how could he get so much? He had to pick up the rest while they were fresh. Otherwise, the longer they were kept, the drier they would become, and even if he dried them later, the taste would be bad.
Jiang Dabo excitedly agreed, "Yes, yes, should we dry them directly in the sun, or should we blanch them in water like cowpeas and then dry them in the sun?
Also, should it be dried and ground into powder directly, or should it be beaten like bracken, to extract the juice and let it settle before making the powder?
Besides these two methods, are there any other ways to preserve it?"
Shen Qing: .....Both are fine. The former is just sweet potato flour. Adding a little flour to increase the viscosity can be used to make sweet potato dumplings or sweet potato paste. The advantage is that there is no loss and the sweet potato weight can be retained to the greatest extent.
The disadvantage is that the taste is not very smooth, a bit rough;
The latter is sweet potato starch, which is prepared in the same way as lotus root powder and kudzu root powder. The advantage is that it tastes delicate and the sweet potato residue can be fed to pigs and chickens. The disadvantage is that the loss is relatively large. One pound of sweet potato can produce about one to two taels of sweet potato starch.
As for other preservation methods, there are also many, such as sweet potato vermicelli, rice noodles, and dried sweet potatoes, but there is no rush. People in all dynasties have been very smart when it comes to preserving food, and there may be more methods than modern China. Forced by the situation and environment, in order to survive and better keep the whole family alive, they have to try various methods to preserve food.
She looked at Ling Yi, who was looking down at something in his mind, and thought that although there was a bumper harvest of sweet potatoes this year, there might not be many left, and perhaps there would be no need for preservation methods.
Mr. Jiang also looked at Ling Yi and calmly reminded him, "I didn't expect the sweet potato production to be so large. How many kilograms do you need to exchange? I only heard Shen Qing mention that you wanted to exchange beef and mutton for sweet potatoes, but you didn't say how to exchange them or whether they were fresh or dried.
You've been busy today, so take a good rest. Once you've rested, think about how to change it. We can discuss it carefully before deciding."
Ling Yi looked up in surprise. Fresh ones have more water content and weigh more, so fresh ones are naturally more cost-effective for them. But the village chief didn't force him to change to fresh ones, but let him choose. It turned out that being able to be the head of a village requires the strength to convince others.
In this village, not only the aunt is good, but everyone else also has their own strengths.
*
I cooked several large pots of freshly harvested sweet potatoes in the afternoon, and also cooked two pots of sweet potato leaf egg drop soup. The fresh tender leaves of the sweet potatoes were blanched and chopped, then poured with egg liquid. A bowl of egg drop soup with a few sweet potatoes filled my stomach.
Sweet potatoes are naturally not as delicious as rice and white flour, but even during busy farming seasons, it is impossible to eat fine grains every meal. Since there is no need to do farm work at night, dinner is usually coarse grains. Compared with coarse grains, freshly harvested sweet potatoes are sweet and smooth.
It is very filling, especially when paired with egg drop soup, and everyone feels particularly satisfied.
Ling Yi is another kind of satisfaction.
He watched as the sweet potatoes were harvested in baskets and carried into the storeroom at home;
Watching the sweet potato vines gather into clumps and pile up in the hay shed;
While eating sweet potatoes and drinking sweet potato leaf soup, I was thinking that if sweet potatoes were planted in Heishui City or even the entire Jing Dynasty, would the number of people who starved to death be greatly reduced?
Can the same amount of land support several times more people?
Sweet potatoes in particular do not require fertile land. Sandy land cannot retain water, so rice and wheat cannot be grown, nor can other water-intensive crops be grown. However, it is particularly suitable for growing sweet potatoes.
In this way, it is not the same land, but much more land that can be cultivated!
Sweet potatoes can be used as food, and the leaves can be used for cooking and feeding livestock. If I report this to my father, my aunt will definitely be rewarded, and even being made a consort is not impossible...
After dinner, Shen Qing led Ling Yi and his group back home.
After they arrived, they first discussed matters with the village elders under the ancient tree in the center of the village, ate lunch in the school, and then harvested sweet potatoes, spending the entire afternoon in the fields.
They had dinner at the school, and not only were the villagers busy all the time, but they were also busy with various things and had no time to go to her house.
Shen Qing pointed to the west wing and said, "The west wing is empty and has been cleaned out. Can you take a look?"
I didn't do this when I built the house, but later I found that it was inconvenient everywhere. Since there are so many people in my family, I still need guest rooms.
At the beginning of the year, when we asked craftsmen to build a new house and put in the stove and kang, we also took the opportunity to build the west wing. Fortunately, we did it, otherwise we would have nowhere to live for Ling Yi and the other seven people.
Ling Yi and the other seven naturally had no objection, as they didn't come here for enjoyment.
He looked at Shen Qing, and after a moment of caution, he chose to ask, "Aunt, I have something to tell you, are you free?"
He wanted to discuss with his aunt how to exchange for food before deciding.
He also wanted to report the sweet potatoes to his father and ask his aunt for her opinion.
This is a great achievement and what his aunt deserves. However, before that, he needs to find out what his aunt thinks and what kind of reward she wants. He can ask his father in advance.
"Yes, go sit in the main hall and talk." Every day she just patrolled around and listened to people's reports, gave opinions, and the people below carried out the opinions accordingly.
Although busy, I am not tired.
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