Chapter 421: Feeding the Poor
Both sides spoke from the heart, without any calculation or intrigue. Shen Qing felt that this was normal. If others were sincere to her, it was only natural for her to be sincere to others.
But for Ling Yi, it was an experience he had never had before.
He never dared to speak his true feelings to others, for fear that he would be killed if he was not careful!
And even if he is sincere to others, others may not be sincere to him, and it is very likely that they will stab him in the back and sell him out.
In the past, whether it was a palace banquet or a private gathering with brothers, every move and every word had to be carefully considered, because he didn't know what pit was waiting for him to fall into.
No wonder he likes talking to his aunt. Who wouldn't like that relaxed atmosphere where there's no calculation and only consideration for the other party?
His aunt was thinking about him, so he couldn't make things difficult for her.
"The best parts of cattle and sheep are only thirty-seven or thirty-eight coins per pound in Heishui City. Sweet potatoes are a new food, and if we carry them to the city and sell them, we can get a higher price than coarse grains.
I know the villagers are wealthy, but I can't take advantage of them. Auntie, I'm thinking of exchanging one pound of meat for five pounds of sweet potatoes. Is that okay?"
Shen Qing thought that he was indeed rich after receiving the reward, but this exchange method was better. As Ling Yi said, it was the first year after all, and it was still a new food. If it was sold in the city, the price would definitely be higher than that of coarse grains.
Moreover, Ling Yi took the sweet potatoes back this time to plant them. By this time next year, the number of sweet potatoes in the village will not be enough compared to that in Blackwater City, and the year after that they will no longer be rare and valuable.
After all, the production of sweet potatoes is so high that the price can be brought down very easily.
But this is exactly what she wanted to see!
She didn't expect the villagers to make money from sweet potatoes. She wanted to promote them across the country so that thousands of poor people could fill their stomachs - she didn't care whether the food was good or not, as long as they were full.
"Okay, you decide. I'll go with you to see the village chief tomorrow. Let's rest early today."
"good."
I have to communicate well with the villagers tomorrow.
His aunt had agreed to let him carry the seeds back for breeding, but if the villagers were unwilling, wouldn't it be difficult for his aunt to gain status in the village?
Although it was my aunt who discovered the sweet potatoes, the planting method was discussed by the villagers together, so I always had to ask for their opinions to avoid embarrassing my aunt...
*
The next day, we continued to harvest sweet potatoes, and every household had a happy and excited look on their faces.
The yield of sweet potatoes is so high that it is beyond all cognition.
It is not tiring to harvest sweet potatoes. Just cut the vines and put them in baskets; dig out the sweet potatoes and put them in baskets; carry them back or put them on a cart and have a donkey pull them home.
It is definitely laborious, but compared to the procedures of harvesting wheat and rice, such as shelling and drying them, it is very simple and easy.
Besides, in the past, the most tiring part of harvesting grain was carrying it back home. Now, firstly, it is closer, and secondly, there are donkeys pulling carts, so most of the heavy work is done, and no one complains of being tired!
Under the ancient tree in the center of the village, Mr. Jiang sat on a big rock and said to a few old friends: "The annual ration for each of us is about 600 to 700 kilograms. Even those with a big appetite can only get a little over 1,000 kilograms.
Sweet potatoes have a high yield, so we can plant a few acres less land in the future, and we can also plant less beans, corn, millet, etc. The freed-up land can be used to grow medicinal herbs."
Boss Zhao agreed with the village chief: "The medicinal herbs are good. I remember Shen Qing said that the herbs in the field are two-year-old and can be harvested next year.
By then, if we carefully collect the seeds, we should be able to plant a few more acres of land. We can save the seeds for food next year and use as much land as possible to grow medicinal herbs."
Zhao Laoer shouted, "Village Chief, Big Brother, these sweet potatoes are delicious and have a high yield. Why don't you grow more and continue to trade them with Ling Yi for beef and mutton? We can keep the rations for ourselves and trade the rest for meat. We don't have to spend the time and effort of raising cattle and sheep. Isn't that better for both sides?"
The prices of beef and mutton are there, and the production of sweet potatoes is high, but at least they can be exchanged according to the price of corn and millet, right?
Ten kilograms for one kilogram is a good deal. One acre of land can produce four thousand kilograms, which is equivalent to four hundred kilograms of beef and mutton. These are the best parts. They don't care about the quality and can eat anything from mutton offal. That means one acre of land can be exchanged for five or six hundred kilograms without any problem.
One acre of good land planted with wheat and rice can barely yield five or six hundred kilograms of grain, let alone five or six hundred kilograms of meat!
This deal is such a good deal no matter how you look at it, why don’t you plant more sweet potatoes?
"Are you stupid or is Ling Yi stupid? Doesn't he know to go back and farm it himself? Blackwater City is more than ten days away from us. It will take a lot of time to go back and forth. Why doesn't he farm it himself?" Boss Zhao said angrily.
What they can grow here, Blackwater City can naturally grow as well. I heard that the soil in Blackwater City is black and more fertile than here. The land is vast and the population is sparse, so growing sweet potatoes is a natural choice.
Zhao Laoer chuckled and scratched his head.
Indeed, their sweet potatoes were all given to them by Shen Qingbai. Ling Yi rented the shop to Shen Qingbai and also made good friends with the men in the village. He couldn't just keep the sweet potatoes and not let others grow them, making them go back and forth to exchange them year after year.
And after they grow their own crops, not only do they need to replace them, they can’t even finish eating them all!
Mr. Jiang was silent for a while, looked around, and said calmly: "I thought about this problem last night. Sweet potatoes are a good thing. We can't hold on to them. How many people don't have enough to eat? We have also been through hard times and know the importance of food.
My idea is that if Ling Yi wants to plant, we should not only give him the sweet potatoes, but also teach him how to plant them. In addition, we can send some sweet potatoes to Fugui Village and Fangyang Village, especially Fangyang Village, for planting. If we teach them, they won't have to worry about food all day next year.
Of course, this is just my personal opinion, please feel free to share your thoughts.”
Thinking of the hard days in the past, when I was so hungry that I felt anxious, since I fled here from famine, I not only have enough to eat, but also have refined rice, white flour, various meats, and even milk to drink. The hard days in my memory seem to have passed a long time ago.
Now that I think about it, I realize that it hasn’t been that long. Whenever I think about it, the pain in my stomach that felt like it was burning from hunger becomes particularly clear!
"Of course it's good. We don't lack food now. And even if we can make money selling sweet potatoes, how can we make money growing medicinal herbs? This land is of course used to grow medicinal herbs!"
"I have no objection. Sweet potatoes are harvested once a year and need to be planted and harvested. Medicinal herbs take at least two years to grow. Sweet potatoes are only sold at the same price as coarse grains, right? But medicinal herbs cost over a hundred coins per pound!"
He is not good at arithmetic, but the difference is so big that he knows which one is more cost-effective without any calculation!
"It's very cost-effective to exchange cattle and sheep with Ling Yi. If we sell them as food, they will definitely not be as cost-effective as growing medicinal herbs. But even if they are more cost-effective than medicinal herbs, we can't keep them in our hands!
There are so many ways to make money in this world. Why would we want to steal food from others when we can already eat our fill? "
As a human being, you should also accumulate virtue.
"But it's useless for us to say anything. This matter depends mainly on Shen Qing's opinion!"
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