The next morning, Li Yao ate some rations and then went to check the flat lands in the valley.
This piece of flat land was at least a thousand acres, of which about 800 acres were planted with sweet potatoes. Although far less dense than artificial plantations, and the tubers were very small, she estimated that even at one-tenth the yield of artificial plantations, each acre could produce about 300 jin.
800 acres would yield 240,000 jin.
With over 1,000 villagers in He Wan village, each person could get about 160 jin on average.
Although not enough for every villager to last until next year's wheat harvest, with careful rationing, it would definitely be enough to get through the new year.
Of course, how to distribute these sweet potatoes - who gets them, how much each gets - needed careful consideration.
Compared to the sweet potatoes, the potatoes were far less, probably just over ten acres, estimated to yield about 5,000 jin.
Given the small amount, she decided not to distribute the potatoes to villagers, keeping them for her own family. The leftovers could be kept for seed potatoes, to plant on the barren mountains along with sweet potatoes next year.
Once there was a surplus, they could slowly promote wider planting.
After making a rough plan, Li Yao dug up some sweet potatoes and potatoes, then started gathering spices on her way back.
This place was at least 30 li from the village, deep in a valley, so even with several hundred able laborers in the village, transporting so many sweet potatoes back would not be easy.
They would need to build a road first, then use ox carts for transportation, in order to complete this task in the shortest time.
Otherwise if it dragged on too long, the sweet potatoes would spoil. And if other villages got word of this, they might want a share too.
After a whole day gathering spices, Li Yao arrived home before dark.
"Mother, weren't you going to be gone for a few days?"
"Something came up, so I came back early."
She looked in the kitchen, where He Xiaoya had already steamed some buns, but didn't seem to have started on any dishes yet. So she asked, "What are we eating for dinner tonight?"
"Um... I wasn't planning to make any dishes," He Xiaoya said. "I was thinking of just dipping the buns in some broth, and blanching some cabbage. That's enough."
Li Yao twitched her mouth.
She knew He Xiaoya wasn't being lazy, but frugal.
After all, they had been living off wild vegetables before earning money at home. Suddenly being able to eat their fill every day, even meat, was probably still an adjustment for her.
"Let's save the buns for tomorrow. Cook some rice instead, and I'll make a few dishes."
From her backpack, she took out two plump wild chickens and had Da Zhuang clean and prep them. Li Yao also peeled some sweet potatoes and potatoes.
"Mother, what are these?"
"I don't know, I dug them up in the mountains," Li Yao said casually. "But I tried them, you can eat them, and they taste pretty good."
Hearing they were edible, He Xiaoya's eyes lit up. Wang San'er and Wang Xiao Si also crowded around eagerly.
These days, nothing attracted people more than food.
Once the rice was drained from the pot, Li Yao cut the sweet potatoes into chunks and added them to the pot, then poured the cooked rice grains over them. She added a few scoops of clear water.
"High heat at first, then simmer over low heat."
"Got it."
Meanwhile, Da Zhuang had cleaned and chopped the chickens into bite-sized pieces.
In another pot, he heated oil, stir-fried the chicken chunks until the surface was golden, then added garlic, bean paste, salt, Sichuan pepper, and stir-fried until fragrant before adding the potato chunks.
He poured in thick rice broth just enough to cover the ingredients, covered the pot, and turned up the heat.
Soon, the aroma of chicken, potatoes, and sweet potatoes began to fill the simple kitchen.
Especially the sweet fragrance of the sweet potatoes - although not as pronounced as when roasted, for the children who were extremely deprived of sugar, even a hint of sweetness was enough to make their mouths water.
Once the rice had finished steaming, the chicken and potato stir-fry was also ready.
"Time to eat."
Several large plates of slowly braised chicken and potatoes, and a bowl of rice cooked with sweet potatoes for each person, were soon set on the table.
"Mother," looking at the orange potato chunks, Wang Xiao Si didn't dare pick up his chopsticks. "What does this taste like?"
"You'll know when you eat it."
In the end, it was Wang San'er who went first, popping a piece directly in his mouth, then frowning.
"San Ge, is it not tasty?"
"Hmm...it's a little bitter, not very good," Wang San'er said. "You should just eat the meat."
But Wang Xiao Si noticed that although San Ge said it wasn't tasty, he immediately picked up another piece.
"I knew you were lying to me!"
Wang Xiao Si also quickly grabbed a piece to try. After just one bite, he piled two more chunks into his bowl.
"Mother, this stuff is too delicious!"
He Xiaoya also gave her expert opinion: "Cut into smaller pieces and dip into more sauce makes it tastier."
As they eagerly snatched pieces, the potatoes were soon all gone, leaving only the chicken behind.
Li Yao didn't know whether to laugh or cry. They had only started eating meat a few days ago, and were already disdaining it?
"Mother, the red ones are tasty too," with no more potatoes left, Wang Xiao Si turned to the sweet potatoes in his bowl. "It's soft and sweet, like eating candy!"
The sweet potatoes were indeed sweet. Li Yao considered drying some into sweet potato snacks after harvesting them.
"Mother, why don't you give them names?" He Xiaoya suggested.
"Sure," Li Yao pretended to think, then picked up a piece of sweet potato and said, "This one is orangey red, a bit like taro, so let's call it sweet potato. As for this one...it looks like a big bean grown in the soil, so let's call it potato."
The children twitched their mouths. How did it look anything like a bean?
But since Mother had named it potato, they would have to call it potato.
"Mother," after dinner, Da Zhuang couldn't help asking, "Where did you find these? Should we go dig up some more tomorrow?"
"I was just about to discuss this," Li Yao said. "Tomorrow, you, San'er and Xiao Si will come with me into the mountains. I found a place with huge amounts of sweet potatoes, enough to feed the whole village for half a year."
The children all gasped.
"That much?"
"Then will no one in our village go hungry anymore?"
"Or have to flee famine anymore?"
"What do you think?" Li Yao asked. "Should we tell everyone, and let them go dig together? Or keep it to ourselves, and sell them to make a lot of money?"
The children looked at each other, unsure how to answer.
"Da Zhuang, you go first."
"I think...we should tell everyone," Da Zhuang said. "We aren't lacking money now, but most villagers have no food left, surviving on wild veggies.
Li Yao nodded approvingly, then asked Wang Er's opinion.
"Of course tell everyone," Wang Er said. "But as the ancients said, 'Benevolence begets enmity'. So we can't just let everyone go dig. We should inform the village chief first, and think of a prudent approach."
Li Yao nodded approvingly again.
As expected of the educated one, thinking further than the eldest.
Finally she looked to San'er and Xiao Si.
Wang San'er: "I think Eldest Brother makes sense."
Wang Xiao Si: "I'll listen to Mother, Mother is always right."
Li Yao: ....little bootlicker.
"Then we'll do as Eldest Brother suggested," Li Yao said. "But there are very few potatoes compared to the sweet potatoes, so we'll keep the potatoes to ourselves. Save them to eat."
"Sounds good!"