Li Yao regarded a yield of 3,500 jin of sweet potatoes per mu as basically satisfactory.
After all, there was no chemical fertilizer, and even the amount of organic fertilizer was not substantial.
Having a slightly lower yield was acceptable. Increasing grain production is not something that can be achieved overnight.
As the sweet potato production increases in the future, more pigs and cattle can be raised by the villagers, resulting in more fertilizer production and the cultivation of more grains... This year-after-year positive cycle is the best approach.
"Mother," Da Zhuang began to worry and asked, "With so much land in our family, I'm afraid we won't finish digging until the Lunar New Year. Will the sweet potatoes in the ground spoil?"
"They won't spoil, but they won't last that long."
After showing the yield to Liu Yun and the others, Li Yao couldn't possibly have everyone dig by hand. Instead, she had Da Zhuang bring the oxen, and after cutting off the sweet potato vines, they plowed the field directly along the ridges. Then they just needed to pick the sweet potatoes.
However, although the speed was increased by more than ten times, many sweet potatoes were damaged by plowing.
But it was fine even if they were damaged. They were directly used to feed the pigs and feed the chickens and ducks. The larger ones were sliced using the slicer made by Xia Xian, and then they were sun-dried to make dried sweet potato slices.
Li Yao also had Wang Xiao Si select some, carefully cut them into small strips after washing, steamed them in a steamer, and dried them for a few days, turning them into a delicious snack.
A basket of orange-red dried sweet potatoes was carried to the side by He Xiaoya, emitting a tempting, sweet fragrance. Just by looking at them, it was hard to resist salivating.
"Everyone, come and try. If you think it's delicious, you can make it yourself when you go back. You can eat it yourself or even sell it for money."
When the villagers heard that it could be sold for money, they came over one after another, each taking a piece to try.
"Mmm, it's so sweet," Liu Auntie said first, "It's chewy and fragrant. I'm sure it can fetch a good price!"
The processing of sweet potatoes naturally included making noodles.
However, if they made noodles now, it would be a bit wasteful, so Li Yao only made some for herself and didn't teach everyone the method.
When sweet potatoes were abundant everywhere in a couple of years, more than they could consume, she would teach everyone how to make them.
After seeing the dried sweet potatoes, Liu Yun immediately found Li Yao and proposed to purchase half of her sweet potatoes and turn them into dried sweet potatoes.
He also wanted to purchase half of the sweet potatoes planted by the villagers in He Wan village and surrounding villages to make this type of dried sweet potatoes.
"This is not a small task."
Just Li Yao's family alone planted 3,600 mu of sweet potatoes, with a minimum of over five million jin.
When added with the other households, there were at least ten million jin of sweet potatoes.
How long would it take to process them all?
"I can hire people to do it!" Liu Yun said, "As long as we can make dried sweet potatoes, we can send them to the northern border. This kind of food that can be eaten as soon as it's taken out can save a lot of trouble."
"Since you care so much about the soldiers in the northern border, then I'll let people do it."
"But... the money for buying the sweet potatoes..."
"Let's put it on credit," Li Yao understood Liu Yun's financial constraints, "But we must pay the villagers for the processing fees."
"That's for sure."
Under the initiative of Li Yao, the elderly, women, and even young children in He Wan village joined the team to steam dried sweet potato.
On the empty space next to the blacksmith workshop, a dense array of fifty large pots was set up, with each pot holding at least ten layers of steaming baskets.
The elderly and women were responsible for peeling, slicing, and cleaning, then putting them into the steaming baskets. The children took care of the fire, each managing several makeshift stoves.
For a while, the entire He Wan village was filled with the sweet aroma of steamed sweet potatoes.
After steaming, the sweet potatoes needed to be air-dried, which was the most troublesome part. All the drying mats in the village were used up, but it was still far from enough.
Later, it was Village Head Wang Jiafu who mobilized the village's skilled bamboo weavers overnight to make bamboo baskets.
When there was no place left to dry, they dried them on the rooftops and on the roads, with children guarding them to prevent birds from stealing.
After a busy day, fifty thousand catties of fresh sweet potatoes were steamed into soft strips.
However, the efficiency was still too low, with the bottleneck being the peeling and slicing process.
These two steps were exhausting, and by the end of the day, both hands were covered in blisters.
Based on the experience of the first day, Liu Yun knew how many more people to hire. He recruited five hundred more people from other villages and increased the number of large pots by fifty. They made more bamboo baskets, aiming to steam at least three hundred thousand catties of fresh sweet potatoes every day, striving to finish the tens of millions of catties of sweet potatoes within a month.
Some of these grains would be sent to the northern regions depending on the situation, while others could be transported elsewhere for sale.
Li Yao could tell that Liu Yun was anxious and didn't look good every day, with a hint of worry in his eyes.
After dinner, Li Yao found Liu Yun.
After inquiring, she learned that yesterday he received news of the intense situation in the northern regions.
Although it was still early autumn in Yi Prefecture, the temperature in the northern regions had already dropped significantly, and the winds had started to blow.
"What is most worrying is that the barbarians have been acting unusually this year," Liu Yun said. "They started launching attacks in the spring and haven't shown signs of fatigue. On the contrary, they are becoming bolder. They excel in hit-and-run tactics, often having small groups of horsemen bypass our stationed areas to harass our provisions. So far, they have intercepted and burned a considerable amount of provisions. The food supply for our frontline soldiers is becoming a problem."
Originally, Li Yao thought that the situation in the northern regions was not so urgent.
Because half a month ago, Wang San had entrusted someone to send back a letter, saying that everything was fine, asking Li Yao not to worry.
But now it seemed that this kid only reported the good news and kept the worries to himself, to the point where they couldn't even have a decent meal.
"So, I want to make dried sweet potatoes as quickly as possible and combine them with this year's good harvest of other grains to gather a large amount of provisions," Liu Yun said. "If we can deliver these provisions to the northern regions before the snowfall, we won't have to worry about the barbarians' attacks this winter."
"An army marches on its stomach" is an eternal truth. Liu Yun, as the ruler of Yi Prefecture, was considerate of the soldiers in the northern regions.
But Li Yao's worry was not about the situation in the northern regions, but about Wang San.
Wang San was only thirteen years old. Even though children in this world matured early and he appeared to have the physique of a seventeen or eighteen-year-old, he was still a little young.
"The provisions should be ready," Li Yao said, "but have you considered how we can transport them over a thousand miles to the Northern Frontier? And once they arrive, how can we ensure the safety of the provisions?"
"Well... I haven't really thought about it yet, and I don't know how to," Liu Yun replied. "We'll have to take it step by step. Let's prepare the provisions first. However, I have already sent a letter to my father, asking him to send troops to receive and transport the provisions. If that's not possible, we'll have to draw manpower from the local army."
Li Yao could only hope for the best.
Since it was for the soldiers in the Northern Frontier, Li Yao spared no effort and mobilized the villagers to come up with every possible solution, even steaming dried sweet potatoes overnight.
While everyone was busy, she locked herself in a small room and started arranging some utensils.
No one knew what she was doing, but nobody asked because they all knew that when Lady Li devoted herself to something, it was definitely a remarkable undertaking.
Ten days later, the first batch of dried sweet potatoes had been sun-dried. They filled up around two hundred carts, which was roughly a tenth of the total quantity, about four hundred thousand catties.
These dried sweet potatoes alone would be enough to serve as the main grain supply for fifty thousand soldiers in the border region for ten days.
Liu Yun returned to Yi Prefecture and instructed all the counties to consolidate the tax revenues they had received this year, waiting for the imperial court to send someone to collect and transport them to the Northern Frontier.
"Mother, we can go, you can rest at home," Da Zhuang said when he saw that Li Yao also intended to accompany the cart convoy to Yi Prefecture. "The journey is too tiring."
"I need to go. There are some things that need to be taught," Li Yao said. "You stay at home and follow my instructions, teach everyone how to make dried sweet potato vines into feed, and store the remaining sweet potatoes for planting. Remember, make sure no one eats too much, and don't sell the good sweet potatoes. Keep the rest for planting so that Yi Prefecture can yield more next year."
"I understand, Mother. I will take care of it."
"Actually, I'll only be gone for a few days," Li Yao smiled. "After delivering the provisions in Yi Prefecture, I'll come back."
In addition to the carts carrying the dried sweet potatoes, Li Yao also prepared a separate cart with its contents tightly wrapped in black cloth. Only she knew what was inside.
The supply convoy arrived quickly in Yi Prefecture. Liu Yun had made adequate preparations on his side as well. The first batch consisted of two thousand carts of premium rice and one thousand carts of hay, to be used as horse feed.
However, when Li Yao saw Liu Yun, there was no trace of happiness on his face. Instead, it was filled with deep concern.
"The Emperor said that it's temporarily impossible to mobilize manpower to transport the provisions," Liu Yun said. "Even if we get people, it will take over a month."