ebookland Chapter 182 Methodical
Chapter 182 Methodical
About half an hour later, several servants were seen carrying three large wooden basins full of potatoes and sweet potatoes and slowly walked to the edge of the field.
Upon seeing this, Chen Ruotong immediately called out loudly, signaling everyone who were working hard to temporarily put down their work and come over to taste the freshly unearthed sweet potatoes and potatoes.
Chen Ruotong picked out two large sweet potatoes with smooth skin from the basin, handed them to Magistrate Zhang, and said exaggeratedly, "Uncle Zhang, please try this sweet potato! It tastes completely different from potatoes! This sweet potato is not only sweet and delicious, but also soft and delicate. It is simply a delicacy on earth!"
After hearing this, Magistrate Zhang was overjoyed. He took the two sweet potatoes without hesitation. Without even peeling the skin, he opened his mouth impatiently and took a big bite.
In an instant, a rich sweetness spread out, and the inside of the sweet potato was so soft and dense that it seemed to melt in the mouth.
After chewing it for a few times, he couldn't help but utter a sound of praise: "Hmm...it's really delicious!"
However, because he ate too hastily, after a while, Magistrate Zhang felt his throat become dry and astringent, as if he was choked by food.
Chen Ruotong quickly turned around and ran back into the house, fetching several glasses of iced, refreshing cold drinks.
She handed one of the cups to Magistrate Zhang and said with concern, "Uncle Zhang, drink some water first to smooth your throat. Don't choke."
Magistrate Zhang then picked up the cup and drank it all. He immediately felt a cool and refreshing feeling spread throughout his body, and the original discomfort disappeared.
At this time, Magistrate Zhang was in an extremely happy mood. He patted his belly and laughed, "Hahaha... I didn't expect these little sweet potatoes and potatoes to be so magical! Not only do they taste delicious and unique, but they can also make people feel full!
It seems that we ordinary people are blessed! We must wait until next spring to plant it on a large scale! Such a good thing must be reported to the emperor as soon as possible!"
Chen Ruotong smiled and nodded, responding: "Uncle Zhang is right! My nephew made a special trip back to his hometown this time, mainly to witness the prosperous scene of this year's autumn harvest with his own eyes.
After the autumn harvest is over, your nephew will escort Grandpa to live in the capital. By then, we will naturally bring these fruitful results to the capital to present to the emperor. "
Several people looked at the tenant farmers in the fields and weighed the per-acre yield of sweet potatoes. In the end, they concluded that each acre of land could produce more than 4,000 kilograms, which is truly a high-yield crop!
With potatoes and sweet potatoes, two high-yield crops, the people of the Daliang Dynasty basically had enough food and clothing!
Prefect Zhang asked Chen Ruotong for another 3,000 kilograms of sweet potato seeds, but Chen Ruotong gave him 5,000 kilograms. She hoped that potatoes and sweet potatoes could be planted on a large scale so that more people could benefit.
Chen Ruotong once again went to a large watermelon field with Old Man Chen and Magistrate Zhang to check the watermelon harvest.
The sight of entering the watermelon field is astonishing. This year's watermelons seem to be bigger and better than last year's, like emerald green gems inlaid on the land.
Looking around, the ground is covered with round, plump watermelons. They lie quietly on the ground, exuding an enticing fragrance. Just one look at them is enough to make people salivate.
Old man Chen walked to a watermelon with great interest, tapped it gently a few times, nodded with satisfaction and said, "Xiao Si, we have already sold a batch of these watermelons, but this second batch is growing just as well! I've been waiting for you to come back so that you can witness the joy of the harvest with your own eyes..."
Chen Ruotong asked curiously, "Grandpa, how much can we sell our watermelons for per pound?"
Old man Chen laughed heartily and replied, "Haha, your second brother said that most of the watermelons last year were eaten by the family or given away, and none were sold. This year the watermelon production is high, so we have to set a high price, five taels of silver each!"
Hearing this number, Chen Ruotong couldn't help but cover her mouth and chuckle: "Second brother is really greedy, but then again, five taels of silver is not expensive.
If these watermelons were transported to the capital, people would probably rush to buy them even if they were sold for ten taels of silver!
Grandpa, in my opinion, we should not rush to sell these watermelons in the field. I want to transport them to Beijing and sell them in winter. The price will definitely be higher then!" Her eyes flashed with a shrewd light, as if she had already seen the lucrative profits.
When Magistrate Zhang saw the grandfather and grandson talking animatedly about business, he couldn't help but exclaim in amazement.
The Chen family was really born to be good at business! Every word they said was about how to run a business and how much money they could earn.
Thinking of his daughter's good fortune to marry into the Chen family, Magistrate Zhang smiled with happiness and satisfaction, and secretly sighed: "My daughter is so lucky!"
Chen Ruotong looked at the pepper and tomato fields again, and saw that they were all ripe and had been picked several times.
However, because he was away from home, the fruits he had picked before were difficult to preserve for long, so almost all of them were sold at high prices.
What is left in the fields now is more than enough to make hot and sour sauce and hot pot base. If there are more, I'm afraid it will be too busy to handle the workload.
The chili sauce workshop started operating early. The experienced workers from last year are still in charge of production and processing, and they are also very strict in controlling hygiene, which fully meets the standard requirements.
Everything was progressing in an orderly manner and Chen Ruotong didn't need to worry about it at all.
As the person in charge of the canning industry, Chen Erming conscientiously controls the entire production and sales process. The peaches on the peach trees in the village have now been carefully made into delicious canned food.
Just like last year, he sent people out to purchase hawthorns, pears and other fresh fruits in order to start a new round of fruit canning.
These workshops are bustling with activity. One side is processing products at full speed, while the other side is delivering the finished products to shops in the city for sale.
Since production and sales had just started, output was limited and even the demand in Pingyang Prefecture could not be met, let alone the capital city, where such a business had not even existed!
This year, some savvy businessmen have gradually come to understand the ins and outs of canning and are trying to get involved in the processing themselves.
Unfortunately, they overlooked a crucial link - sanitary conditions. As a result, their products had a short shelf life and tasted worse than those of Pinguoxian. This directly led to negligible sales and made it difficult for them to gain a foothold in the competition.
Faced with this situation, Chen Erming was calm and composed, without any worry. After all, his canned food was first-rate in both quality and reputation, so how could those followers easily shake the foundation of the Chen family's business?
The Chen family's work attitude and business acumen made Chen Ruotong feel more at ease. She handed over these industries to them to manage, and she would run Huicui Building and Zhenpin Pavilion in Beijing, and then just sit back and relax!