The Family Had Split, Why Should I Care if They Go Broke? - Chapter 32

Xu Zhichun opened a large hemp sack as she spoke, pulled out a sweet potato, and handed it to Aunt Zhu’er. “Here, Aunt Zhu’er—wash it and see how it tastes.”

Truth be told, although she only showed twelve sacks on the surface, she could quietly bring out plenty more later. So letting people eat a few didn’t pain her heart in the least.

Tonight, she’d start with a plate of spicy-sour shredded potatoes.

Tomorrow morning, she would peel and chop sweet potatoes, stir-fry them briefly, then add water to make sweet potato soup. Right before serving, she’d sprinkle in salt and a handful of chopped scallions—that was what you called aromatic.

Aunt Zhu’er quickly washed one and took a bite. Her eyes lit up. “Crisp and sweet—so delicious! Luckily, you bought them; otherwise, what a pity it would’ve been to miss out.”

Xu Zhichun said proudly, “I think I was lucky, too. Other people probably thought this stuff looked ordinary and weren’t willing to try it. Otherwise, once they tasted it, they’d definitely buy it—and then it wouldn’t have been my turn.”

Aunt Zhu’er thought it over and agreed, laughing. “That makes sense. Heaven must have destined it for you.”

Xu Zhichun already knew how to cook, so being interested in trying new ingredients was natural. Aunt Zhu’er didn’t doubt her in the slightest.

Xu Zhichun added, “Those two merchants said that both potatoes and sweet potatoes yield a lot more than peanuts or beans. The tubers can be eaten or replanted as seeds. I’m planning to plant several acres of each. Then I’ll experiment and see what tasty dishes I can make. Who knows, maybe we’ll even have new products to sell later.”

Delighted, Aunt Zhu’er said, “I was just thinking of buying some sweet potatoes to take home. In that case, we’ll grow some too. Zhichun, sell me some of each—sell me some! By the way, how do you plant potatoes and sweet potatoes?”

Of course, this didn’t stump Xu Zhichun. She smiled confidently. “I asked those two. Potatoes, you just bury straight into the soil, same with sweet potatoes. But potatoes are like taro—once you plant them, that’s it. Sweet potatoes are different: once they sprout long vines, you can break off those vine-like shoots and plant them too. They’ll quickly grow into another patch.”

Aunt Zhu’er was amazed. “You mean there are crops that can grow like that? Then sweet potatoes really are a treasure!”

Potatoes were even better, though.

But Xu Zhichun didn’t pit potatoes and sweet potatoes against each other. She simply nodded along. “Exactly. I found it fresh and surprising too. If it really works like that, then it’s wonderful.”

She was getting into her act and even sighed theatrically. “Still, who knows if those two were telling the truth or just fooling me—sigh.”

Aunt Zhu’er hurried to reassure her. “You’ll know once you plant them. Even if they were lying, it doesn’t matter—sweet potatoes planted as seeds will still produce tubers. Since they’re so tasty, you won’t lose out.”

“Yes, that’s what I think too,” Xu Zhichun said.

Not long after, Zeng Xiaoyan and her husband, Liang Mingliang, also returned.

The moment Zeng Xiaoyan stepped into the yard, she couldn’t hold back, “Sister-in-law Zhichun! Sister-in-law Zhichun! What’s the deal with those sweet potatoes and potatoes?”

At the market, there had been too many people around and too much noise, and she was busy selling goods, so she didn’t say much. Zeng Xiaoyan had been holding back her curiosity for quite a while.

Her husband had told her that all those so-called potatoes and sweet potatoes were packed into huge sacks, piled high on the rented ox cart—easily several hundred, if not over a thousand jin in weight.

It had to be something valuable, otherwise Sister-in-law Zhichun wouldn’t have bought so much of it!

Xu Zhichun smiled and repeated what she had earlier told Aunt Zhu’er, always starting with, “That’s what those two merchants said. I don’t know if it’s true, but it should be about right.”

Zeng Xiaoyan and her husband were stunned as well.

“This—can the yield really be that high? Sounds like a scam! Sister-in-law Zhichun, how much silver did you lose to them? Was it expensive?”

Liang Mingliang was more worried about the money, while Zeng Xiaoyan cared more about the taste. “Sister-in-law Zhichun, how do they taste? If they’re delicious, then it’s not bad.”

As for the yield—that was another matter.

Xu Zhichun had already prepared her story, so she smiled and said, “Altogether, I only spent a little over one tael of silver.”

Conveniently, she had just come back from delivering goods to the Lotus Restaurant with only about a tael of silver on her. The numbers matched, so her story wouldn’t give her away.

“Oh, right, the sweet potatoes can be eaten raw. Give them a try.”

“Alright.”

Zeng Xiaoyan and her husband opened one of the sacks and casually pulled out a sweet potato.

They washed it clean, snapped it in half, and bit right into it.

“So sweet! Crisp and juicy, too.”

“And it looks beautiful too—see how the flesh is almost translucent.”

Translucent?

Aunt Zhu’er hurried over to look and exclaimed in surprise, “It really is translucent, and so pretty! But why is it different from the one I tasted? Mine wasn’t like this at all!”

So Zeng Xiaoyan went to the kitchen, cut off two pieces, and generously shared them with Aunt Zhu’er and Xu Zhichun.

Aunt Zhu’er took one bite, and her eyes widened. “It’s sweeter, crisper, and juicier than the other one. But both are delicious.”

Xu Zhichun played along, showing surprise, “Yes, exactly! They may look the same, but they taste completely different. Those merchants did say sweet potatoes come in many varieties—it seems like they were telling the truth.”

Of course, it was sweeter, crisper, and juicier—this one was actually a yacon1.

Aunt Zhu’er chuckled, “Seems those merchants were quite reliable. Maybe everything they said was true, and they didn’t cheat Zhichun after all.”

Zeng Xiaoyan and her husband were half-convinced, too. She asked curiously, “Since those merchants said there are many varieties, there must be more than just these two. Sister-in-law Zhichun, if you find other kinds later, let us try them too.”

Xu Zhichun readily agreed.

If they were truly reliable, and if Xu Zhichun planted them, then their families would certainly plant them as well.

But there was no rush—they could wait until everything was sorted out first.

After the novelty wore off, it was time to divide the earnings, dig up konjac, and make konjac tofu.

The daily ritual of counting and dividing money was always the most exciting part. Liang Mingliang tactfully stayed out of it, while the three women’s eyes sparkled as their cheerful laughter and chatter filled the air with joy.

That day, they earned more than 3,400 copper coins in total. After deducting the ox cart rental and Liang Mingliang’s wages, Xu Zhichun got 2,070 coins. From that, she claimed to have paid 1,400 coins to the merchants, and another 44 coins treating everyone to meat-sauce noodles, leaving her with a little over 600 coins.

In truth, those so-called merchants didn’t exist. She had actually earned over two taels of silver that day and successfully introduced nearly 1,500 jin of potatoes and sweet potatoes to the market—not to mention the delicious yacon.

When planting season came, she could bring out more from the harbor warehouse to keep up the illusion. In short: there would be plenty.

Aunt Zhu’er and Zeng Xiaoyan each got about 700 coins, their hearts bursting with joy as they tucked away their heavy money pouches.

After everyone pocketed their shares, Zeng Xiaoyan grinned. “Now that we don’t need to pick lantern fruit anymore, and konjac is easy to dig—we can handle it. Sister-in-law Zhichun, why don’t you stay home and sort through the potatoes and sweet potatoes instead?”

Aunt Zhu’er agreed. “Xiaoyan’s right. Every night you have to change the water for the konjac tofu, and every morning you wake up early to make ice jelly—it’s really tiring. You stay and don’t go dig today.”

Xu Zhichun thought it over and agreed. “Alright, I’ll wait for you at home.”

The sweet potatoes and potatoes really did need to be sorted out.

Potatoes were straightforward, but for sweet potatoes, she had prepared five varieties, including the yacon, red-fleshed, yellow-fleshed, white-fleshed, and purple-fleshed ones. All were hardy, easy to grow, and high-yielding.

Whether sweet potatoes or potatoes, they could be stir-fried, deep-fried, boiled, steamed, braised, or roasted—and from those came countless ways to pair them with other foods, plus endless derivative products. Too many to even list.

The dining tables of the Great Ming Dynasty’s common folk would suddenly become far richer and more colorful. And knowing it was all thanks to her, Xu Zhichun felt even more delighted.

Yes—merit. She couldn’t let all her efforts go to waste. She had to find a way to claim credit for it.