Another three days passed in the blink of an eye. The spring plowing in Anyi County has officially entered a busy stage, and many aristocratic families in the city have participated in it.
South of Anyi County, within a radius of a hundred miles close to the Yellow River, there is a lot of fertile land, which is also the foundation of Hedong County's agriculture.
No Wei family owns all the land resources, which will only exhaust themselves to death. At present, Wei Cheng and several elders of the family have discussed to fully implement the first five-year plan, focusing on industry.
Then, the agricultural aspect must be let go and handed over to a family that can be trusted. After internal discussions within the family, it was finally decided to select ten aristocratic families from the more than twenty aristocratic families attached to the Wei family to be responsible for farming.
Cai and Xie are among them. On this day, Wei Cheng personally brought Cai Yan's second uncle Cai Ying, Xie Jin of the Xie family, and several other heads of aristocratic families to a vast plain.
"This place is mainly responsible for potato cultivation, and I plan to hand it over to three aristocratic families." Wei Cheng took a cooked potato from Xu Chu's hand.
If you don't bring potatoes here, they must have been bought in modern time and space. As for the source, Wei Cheng has already thought of the excuse.
"This is a tree root I accidentally discovered in the mountains. You can eat it and see if it suits your taste." There were more than a dozen boiled potatoes, and each person got one. Xu Chu took care of the rest by himself. , to be honest, simply steamed potatoes have no taste when eaten alone, but in this era, they are a delicious and filling staple food.
"It tastes good, at least better than millet, and you will feel full after eating one." Cai Ying ate the skin and meat together, and gave a fair evaluation after finishing the meal.
People from several other aristocratic families also agreed. Xie Jin, on the other hand, directly asked for another potato from Xu Chu. He kept nodding and saying it was delicious. It seemed that he had the closest relationship with Wei Cheng, which made everyone envious.
Wei Cheng said with a smile: "I have asked people to prepare a table of potato feast in the restaurant. After the investigation here is completed, we can have a feast. These potatoes can not only be used as a staple food, but also a good way to cook." Food ingredients." Everyone smiled and greeted, Cai Ying asked curiously: "I wonder what your Majesty has planned for our family, are we going to grow potatoes together, or?" In front of outsiders, it is naturally difficult to directly address Aunt Wei Cheng, and say 'Her Majesty' Although Jun' is a bit official, he can avoid suspicion.
Naturally, the others were also calling Wei Cheng, Bingzhou Mu, Wei Shijun, Wei Shijun. Although Wei Cheng didn't like this title, there was nothing he could do about it.
"Second Uncle, I can answer this question for you right now." Wei Cheng waved to the stewards of several satellite cities not far behind him, gesturing for them to come forward and obey.
These stewards were all temporarily promoted. They were all powerful farmers in Wei's village, specializing in farming.
"The maturity period of potatoes is generally sixty to one hundred days, which is about two to three months. They are farmers specially selected by me. They are mainly responsible for planting and caring for potatoes. They have certain theoretical experience and even worked in greenhouses before. Potatoes have been successfully grown here." Wei Cheng was talking about the vegetable greenhouse outside the city, to which everyone nodded slightly and looked at the stewards with eager eyes.
In matters like farming, experienced and inexperienced people are completely different things. If you find someone who has no experience and gives blind orders, the consequences can be imagined, unless the blind cat encounters a dead mouse.
Wei Cheng was very satisfied with the changes in everyone's expressions and said with a smile: "I won't tell you who has the most experience. Now I will give you a chance. Each of you will take one person away. He will tell you where the land that each family is responsible for farming is. and expected potato gains.”
"This..." Cai Ying and others frowned. Wei Cheng said with a smile: "I'm not afraid to tell you that the land area you each get is basically the same, about 30,000 acres. However, the potatoes produced by the same land may be very different. It depends on you. It's my luck." There are ten aristocratic families here, and if each family has 30,000 acres, that's 300,000 acres.
In later generations, the normal potato output per acre of land was between 2,000 and 5,000. If calculated based on the minimum of 2,000, the annual output would have reached an astonishing 600 million kilograms, enough to feed everyone in the Han Dynasty for half a year.
Of course, potatoes are also the most important source of income in Wei Cheng's plan. A mere 600 million kilograms is probably not enough... This is a story for another day.
"Now you draw lots and decide, be fair." Wei Cheng pulled ten weeds directly from the ground.
"Choose the tallest one first." Cai Ying and others looked at each other, but Xie Jin casually pulled out a weed. Although it was not the longest, it was still the second.
The longest weed was picked by Chen's people. He hurriedly ran to the stewards and used his own way to judge which person had more experience. As you can imagine, they were all half-matched.
But Xie Jin had a good idea and directly found the youngest one. Young people are not easily bound by fixed thinking. As a fresh crop, the planting method of potatoes is definitely very different from other crops. Therefore, young people can play an unexpected role.
Of course, to tell the truth... Xie Jin once met this young man in Wei Cheng's courtyard. At that time, Wei Cheng was praising the potatoes he grew for being delicious. He had tried growing them in the greenhouse, but the yield was average, and he had already finished them.
Wei Cheng smiled and said nothing. It seemed that Xie was going to get an advantage this time. He originally wanted to hint Cai Ying to choose the young man, but Cai Ying got the shortest weed and could only choose the last one.
Fortunately, Cai Ying was lucky, and he ended up with equally rich management experience, so his output would not be too low.
"Okay, everyone has chosen the right person. Potato seedlings will be delivered to you one after another in the next few days. At that time, it will depend on your ability. Whether you can produce a hundred stones per mu or lag behind. People, it all depends on how much you pay." Back to the county seat.
Wei Cheng did not break his promise and took them to Haoke Lai Restaurant for a potato feast.
"Ah, what a coincidence!" Unexpectedly, I met my aunt Wei Min and my aunt Wei Ning at the door of the restaurant. Of course, there was also a woman wearing a gold fringed veil, and a quirky little maid.
"Auntie, auntie, are you... eating out?" Wei Cheng bowed his hands to the two aunts, casually glanced at the 'new neighbor', and bowed his hands in passing.
This was the first time Liu He saw Wei Cheng up close. After bowing, he quietly stood beside Wei Ning and looked at Wei Cheng.
Today, Wei Cheng wears a relatively loose warrior uniform in order to travel together. The double-fronted brocade robe is unique in this era. Wei Cheng loves white, and his clothes are mainly white. It looks clean and energetic.
Coupled with Wei Cheng's already handsome facial features and fairer skin than women of this era, not only Liu He couldn't take his eyes away, but the little palace maid Xi'er also stared at the pretty girl in front of her without blinking. Young Master.
"Yes, Cheng'er is eating out too?" Wei Min responded. Wei Cheng nodded and pointed to Cai Ying and Xie Jin behind him. Only then did Wei Min and the other four realize that Wei Cheng was carrying a group of people behind him. They thought they were pedestrians before. After all, the streets of Anyi were really lively. People come and go.
When the two parties met, they naturally had to greet each other. Liu He did not reveal his identity, but Cai Ying, Xie Jin and others guessed it almost immediately... Only Wei Cheng didn't know about the beaded veil on Liu He's face. , is the standard equipment of the royal family.
"Now that we have met, let's have a meal together. Today I asked Aunt Niu to specially prepare a banquet. The two aunts... and, well, these two girls are very lucky." Wei Cheng saw that they all knew each other. Yes, I simply invited them together, and with two aunts here, I don’t have to deal with Cai Ying and others here, and I can enjoy the delicious food.
Wei Min and Wei Ning looked at each other, smiled knowingly at the same time, nodded and said, "In that case, it's better to obey orders than to be respectful." Liu He glanced at Wei Cheng and found that Wei Cheng was also looking at her, and their gazes paused. After a moment, they all moved away.
I don't know if they have a tacit understanding, but they both think that Wei Min and Wei Ning are up to something, but unfortunately there is no evidence.
The group of people went directly to the lounge on the second floor. Wei Cheng is coming to have a meal today, and the second floor is not open to the public. All the screens that were used as partitions have been removed today, leaving a large private room with an area of more than 500 square meters.
The shopkeeper personally led the way. After the group went upstairs, they took their seats in order. What Wei Cheng didn't expect was that the 'new neighbor' actually sat in the lower left position of him.
The ancients respected the left, just like when an emperor comes to court, the first minister standing on the left must be the most powerful.
Wei Cheng glanced at Liu He curiously. He really couldn't figure out which other prince in the Han Dynasty could be so awesome that his daughter could win the support of so many people.
Not long after, Aunt Niu came up with several maids to deliver the meal.
"This is the first dish, you must try it. It is my personal favorite snack." Wei Cheng said, picking up a piece of pan-fried potato pancake. It has a crispy texture and a little spice. The spicy taste is not only appetizing, but also satisfies the appetite. It is oily but not greasy, crispy but not burnt. Aunt Niu's craftsmanship has improved again.
When the others saw Wei Cheng starting to eat, they were not polite and picked up the potato shredded cakes one after another. Wei Cheng looked at the 'new neighbor' out of nowhere, and curled his lips in disappointment. While he was eating, he was served by a maid, and his mouth was covered by his sleeves, so he couldn't see his real face at all.
Click! ~After Liu He took a bite of the potato shredded pancake, her eyes lit up with the crispy texture. Especially the combination of spices made the originally tasteless potatoes become layered. First they were burnt, then salty, and then stimulated by rich spices. Just one bite gave her the urge to eat a lot.
Contrary to Liu He's reserve, except for Wei Min and Wei Ning, who are women, the others here are all men. Men have so many scruples. Being able to eat is a sign of strength, so they all started to take action.
For a time, the entire second floor was filled with the sound of chewing. When Wei Cheng saw this, he smiled without saying a word. The effect had already been half achieved. If potatoes were to become a staple food on the Han people's table, the promotion of the family was crucial.
"The next dish is called charcoal-grilled mashed potatoes. It tastes dense and delicious, with a light smoky flavor. The ingredients can be sweet or salty, it all depends on personal preference. Come on, you guys can try it again." Wei After Qing finished speaking, she didn't bother to introduce anything. She was already hungry after running around all morning. She scooped up a mashed potato with a silver spoon and stuffed it into her mouth with a 'ooh' sound. He likes sweets, and they can be used as desserts. , can also be used as a staple food.
Others tried both flavors, and in the end half chose the salty mashed potatoes, while the other half chose the sweet... It turns out that the debate between salty and sweet has existed since ancient times.
What surprised Wei Cheng was that the 'new neighbor' turned out to be from the Xiankou Party... No wonder he caused trouble for me when he arrived. It seemed to be a congenital incompatibility.
"Your Majesty, these potatoes can indeed be preserved. I am already full after eating two dishes, hahaha." The person in charge of the Chen family said with a smile.
When Wei Cheng heard this, he looked at the plate on his table. The pan-fried potato pancakes are empty; the sweet charcoal-grilled mashed potatoes are empty; the savory ones are also empty.
Good guy, you can really eat it. I just let you have a taste, but you just finished it. There are still more than a dozen dishes left, what will you do?
Wei Cheng looked at him funny and said, "Mr. Chen, you can't eat like this. I'm going to let you guys have a taste of it and see if these potatoes can become the main thing to replace grains. You'd better just eat until you're full."
"Uh, are there any more dishes?" Mr. Chen looked at the others awkwardly. Wei Cheng nodded,
"There are more than a dozen dishes left. There are so many different dishes made from potatoes. Just two dishes are not enough to show its value." After hearing this, everyone started looking forward to it.
Even Liu He, who originally planned to eat another mashed potato, hurriedly put down the spoon in his hand after hearing this.
Needless to say, even though it was her first time eating potatoes, she couldn't stop eating this kind of food with a dense texture.
Suddenly I remembered that on the first day I came to Anyi, the cook herself cooked. She also ate ingredients that were more delicious than potatoes. She didn't ask about it at the time. Thinking about it now, it was probably all new ingredients discovered by Wei Cheng. Bar.
Liu He especially likes a kind of red food, which is stir-fried with chicken. It is sour and sweet, and goes very well with rice.
It's just that she grew up in fine clothes and ate a lot of rare delicacies in the world. She had no impression of the red fruit at all, let alone called it by name. I heard from Aning that the fruit can be eaten directly and is especially fresh and tender. So juicy.
Thinking of this, Liu He couldn't help but look at Wei Cheng who was looking up. Unlike other people who wolfed down food, Wei Cheng's eating movements were gentle and graceful, and he kept his lips tightly closed when chewing. He always had a faint smile on his face, and always looked calm and calm, which was very pleasing to the eye.
Liu He suddenly remembered his interview with Wei Hao, the head of the Wei family. The light in his eyes gradually disappeared, and boundless sadness arose in his heart.
She originally wanted to ask Wei Hao for help, but Wei Hao spoke directly. Nowadays, the Wei family listens to the second son Wei Cheng, and he does not want to interfere too much.
Remembering that Luo Du's family was still in dire straits and that his two younger brothers were in danger of dying at any time, Liu He immediately lost interest in tasting delicious food and sat there in a daze, always facing Wei Cheng.
Others didn't know and thought she was stunned by Wei Cheng. Wei Cheng was also upset... You just eat when you eat, why are you staring at me like this?
