Chapter 84: Hot and Sour Shredded Potatoes

County Magistrate Lin looked at Lu Wanshun with a firm gaze.

"Lord Lu, please don't dismiss it yet. Since you've already come all this way, why not try it before deciding?"

Lu Wanshun, holding the mindset of giving it a try, said to him, "Then go ahead and try."

Lu Wanshun did not hold any expectations.

The yield of these seeds was still unknown, and if he asked the commoners to plant them, they certainly wouldn't be happy; they were just waiting to scrape by on their grain.

County Magistrate Lin began to work.

He washed the Potato and cut it into shreds, setting it aside for later use, then placed the Sweet Potato and Corn directly into a pot to steam, and subsequently used another pot to start making Hot and Sour Shredded Potatoes.

Lu Wanshun had originally just been going through the motions, but who would have thought that a fragrance would drift out from inside, seemingly carrying a hint of sweetness.

He immediately went over to take a look at what County Magistrate Lin was cooking.

Lu Wanshun was somewhat surprised, pointing at the plate in County Magistrate Lin's hands; he could not tell what this actually was.

County Magistrate Lin explained, "This is a Potato, and this dish is called Hot and Sour Shredded Potatoes. I have been learning it for a long time; would Lord Lu like to taste it?"

County Magistrate Lin felt a bit of a sting in his heart as he added one of his few remaining chili peppers.

As Lu Wanshun ate, his eyes lit up.

This Potato was truly delicious.

County Magistrate Lin said, "If this Potato is tended to well, the yield per mu can reach three thousand catties."

Lu Wanshun was stunned, "Is it really that much?"

County Magistrate Lin continued, "I randomly surveyed the yield per mu of several households' Potatoes; some exceeded three thousand catties, though of course, there were also those with lower yields, around one thousand catties or so—that household was lazy and didn't use Fertilizer."

Lu Wanshun widened his eyes.

Wait, even without proper care, it could still yield one thousand catties?

A yield of three hundred catties of Rice per mu is already considered good; this is a tenfold increase all at once?!

Seeing Lu Prefect's expression, County Magistrate Lin was very satisfied.

He set the plate down and lifted the pot lid; the Corn and Sweet Potato were already steamed, and they smelled sweet and fresh.

Lu Prefect didn't even care about the heat, picking up the Corn and taking a bite, and his eyes lit up immediately.

County Magistrate Lin said with a smile, "The yield of this Corn is a bit lower, but it is still over six hundred catties."

Lu Wanshun looked at the other red thing in the pot.

County Magistrate Lin broke it open; once peeled, the inside was orange-yellow, and one bite was soft, waxy, and sweet.

Lu Wanshun held the Sweet Potato in one hand and the Corn in the other.

"This taste is truly excellent."

County Magistrate Lin said with a smile, "Indeed, the yield of this Sweet Potato can reach six thousand catties per mu."

What?

Six thousand catties?

Lu Wanshun was so shocked that the Sweet Potato and Corn cob in his hands dropped; he immediately picked them up, not wanting to waste a single bite.

County Magistrate Lin said, "Most of them are indeed six thousand catties. But one must use Fertilizer."

Lu Wanshun: "Fertilizer isn't easy to make, is it? There is so much land."

"What of it? We teach them how to compost Fertilizer. Even if the Fertilizer isn't great, isn't the harvest still better than Rice?"

Lu Wanshun felt that this logic held up.

Thus, for the next two days, Lu Wanshun took County Magistrate Lin along to visit various townships.

The first village they went to was Wutong Village.

The commoners here were considered slightly wealthier and had more land on hand, so they could spare one or two mu to plant Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes, and Corn.

Sure enough, it was very difficult for Lu Prefect to communicate with them; they wouldn't listen to anything he said.

"Lord Lu, you don't understand. The land we have for planting Rice is already almost gone; we really can't afford to take any risks."

"Lord Lu, my land looks like a lot, but I have many mouths to feed in my family; I'm afraid we won't be able to survive next year."

Some even knelt down to beg Lu Prefect.

Lu Prefect was extremely annoyed.

The two mounted their horses, preparing to go to the next village.

Lu Prefect sighed and looked at County Magistrate Lin, "Was it this difficult for you before?"

County Magistrate Lin opened his mouth, hesitated for a long time, and decided to tell him the truth: "Not really; the villagers found out very quickly."

County Magistrate Lin gave out the Seed directly, and everyone accepted it completely because he often came down to inspect, and these people trusted County Magistrate Lin.

Plus, the dozen or so nearby villages all knew that the Seed here with Yan Ning was good and the yield was high; word spread from one to ten, and ten to a hundred.

At that time, it was they who begged Yan Ning for the Seed.

That was why it had been so smooth back then.

In order to keep Lu Prefect from being too embarrassed, County Magistrate Lin said, "It went smoothly for me because there were villagers helping Yan Ning plant these things, and the nearby villages are all related by blood or marriage, so it spread quickly."

Lu Prefect left Wutong Village, and the next village was Xinghua Village.

Xinghua Village was not as wealthy as Wutong Village, but Lu Wanshun changed his usual gentle attitude and entered the village with a stern face.

Lu Wanshun kept a straight face, took out several bags of Seed, and said to them, "You all plant these seeds first; every household must set aside at least one mu of land to plant these."

Each household was distributed two dried Corn cobs, as well as a few pieces of Sweet Potato and Potato.

This left the villagers in the village not knowing what to do.

They didn't even have enough Rice to eat, and having to set aside one mu of land to plant these things was truly a difficult request.

But Lu Prefect's attitude was firm; the people could not fight the officials, so they could only plant them.

County Magistrate Lin asked, "Do any of you know how to read?"

Village Chief Ma Dazhu stepped forward, "My lord, I am literate."

County Magistrate Lin gave him a piece of paper, on which the planting methods for three types of crops were written.

Afterwards, he dictated once more: "Shell the dried corn kernels from the corn cobs before planting, and also cut the potatoes and sweet potatoes into pieces..."

Besides planting, he also instructed the villagers to remember to fertilize, and County Magistrate Lin gave another paper with the method for composting fertilizer.

Lu Wanshun said to Ma Dazhu, "The village chief must urge the villagers to plant; every household must plant at least one mu, and I will come to inspect in three months."

The villagers of Xinghua Village complained incessantly.

Next, in the several villages they went to, they all used Lu Wanshun's forceful methods to make everyone plant one mu of sweet potatoes.

The two of them spent two days delivering before they had covered all the nearby villages.

When they returned to Haicheng, Lu Wanshun was so angry he blew his beard and stared, "I was clearly doing this for their own good, but in the end, they all blame me."

Whenever he thought of the villagers' wary and troubled expressions, he felt a wave of irritation.

Lu Wanshun finally sighed, "Forget it, forget it, as long as they are willing to plant."

Once the Seed matures in a few months, it won't be easy to buy the seeds for these things then.

The matter was finished, and County Magistrate Lin also had to return to Shawan County.

However, before leaving, Lu Wanshun asked, "How about you teach me the recipe for Hot and Sour Shredded Potatoes? That taste is truly not bad."

County Magistrate Lin wrote it down immediately.

Lu Wanshun frowned as he looked at it: "A little bit of chili... what is a chili? Was it also traded from His Highness and the Huoshang?"

County Magistrate Lin nodded, "Currently, only their village has chilies; I heard they can sell the Seed."

It was Lu Wanshun's first time tasting spice, and he just felt that this flavor was truly not bad.

And as for that Hot and Sour Shredded Potatoes, he wanted to eat it every day.

Lu Wanshun asked, "How about we go to Chaoyang Village together and see if they are willing to let us plant the chilies?"

County Magistrate Lin was still somewhat hesitant.

As a result, Lu Wanshun dragged him away directly, not even giving him a chance to say "no."

Lu Wanshun: "Going to their place isn't like climbing a mountain of blades or descending into a sea of flames."

County Magistrate Lin: "..."

Then why don't you go yourself?