CHAPTER 43: CHAPTER 43: DIGGING SWEET POTATOES

The people of Lin Family Manor curiously observed from the sidelines, not daring to approach, because they had already recognized Xiao Chong’s identity.

Anyone who had seen someone as talented and handsome as Xiao Chong would never forget him, and the Lin Family Manor was no exception.

Some who hadn’t had the chance to see Xiao Mingfu last time they went out to sea asked others about Xiao Mingfu’s situation.

Others told him, "Xiao Mingfu is the best-looking man in Great Tang. If you see the most handsome one, you’ll recognize him."

The concept of "best-looking" is a bit broad! But when they saw Xiao Chong in person, they truly understood what "most" meant, without needing to add "one of the," indeed, he was quite recognizable.

Inside the courtyard, Lin Wanwan comforted little Qingyu for a while before little Qingyu finally stopped crying, clinging tightly to her neck, fearful that she would leave again, and babbling, "Mother, don’t go again."

This little pitiful appearance really hurt Lin Wanwan’s heart.

Once little Qingyu’s emotions stabilized, Lin Wanwan remembered to entertain Xiao Chong and gave him an apologetic smile, saying, "Cousin, sorry for the embarrassment. Please have a cup of water first."

Xiao Chong humbly said, "It’s my fault. If it weren’t for my business, my little niece wouldn’t have had to stay alone at the manor, feeling scared."

After saying that, he reached out to Shuqi, who immediately handed over a small jade box. Xiao Chong directly gave the jade box to little Qingyu with a smile, saying, "Little Yu, I’m your uncle. Here, take this to play with; there are candies inside."

Little Qingyu turned her head away, ignoring him, feeling quite proud.

Having been admired for his looks since childhood, this was the first time Xiao Chong was snubbed twice by the same young lady, and he couldn’t help but smile wryly.

Lin Wanwan looked at the jadeite jade box and couldn’t help but say, "What a big piece of jadeite, the color is so beautiful. How could such a priceless jadeite be hollowed out to make a box? It’s too wasteful!"

Xiao Chong casually said, "Although hollowing it reduces the value, it’s both useful and beautiful; let it be a meeting gift for little Yu. You call it jadeite? Its color indeed resembles that of a kingfisher, which is quite descriptive."

Lin Wanwan thought to herself that perhaps in the Great Tang, it wasn’t called jadeite. She let it go, took it casually, and said with a smile, "Then I’ll thank Uncle on behalf of little Yu."

The Gate Valve families are indeed wealthy; such high-quality jadeite as a casual meeting gift, Xiao Chong must be playing at being a County Magistrate! How much salary does a Great Tang County Magistrate get, anyway?

Cough, no, no, regardless of the money, the power is also great; grasping both financial and power pursuits might be the aim of the Gate Valve.

However, these Gate Valve families that have been passed down from ancient times can’t stay prosperous for much longer. When Li Shimin’s daughter-in-law comes to power, they will be used to worship the imperial power of Great Tang.

After a short chat, a few people went to the field.

Harvesting sweet potatoes is actually a technical task; if done poorly, the sweet potatoes get damaged.

Lin Wanwan, aiming to showcase her skills today, watched many sweet potato harvesting videos in modern times, and now she was about to practice.

She placed little Qingyu to the side and instructed her to play from a distance.

Little Qingyu, having been held by Lin Wanwan for so long, had her emotions soothed completely, and now she reverted to the state of a sweet little girl, obediently watching her mother.

Lin Wanwan was surrounded by people, including Kun Lun, Xiao Chong, and members of the Lin Clan.

She said, "When digging sweet potatoes, first move the sweet potato vines to the side, then dig the topsoil gently, being careful not to damage the sweet potatoes. Ouch!"

Just as she was speaking, Lin Wanwan broke a sweet potato under the watchful eyes of everyone.

Lin Wanwan was embarrassed, especially after seeing the rippling amusement in Xiao Chong’s eyes, making her feel even more awkward. The boast hadn’t been finished!

She stopped explaining and focused on digging the soil instead, breaking a few more before finally digging out an entire sweet potato plant.

Several large oval-shaped reddish-purple fruits hung on the plant; they probably weighed three or four pounds each (a pound in Great Tang is 16 taels)! There were so many on one plant, what about this entire field?!

Everyone was excited; another high-yield treasure!

Lin, the Clan Leader, knelt on the ground and wailed, "Heaven bless our Lin Clan! Ancestors, look, this is another treasure our Miss Wan brought to the clan! It can save our lives!"

The members of Lin Clan went insane, squeezing Lin Wanwan to the side and directly digging themselves, not daring to let Miss Wan from the wealthy countryside touch the treasures anymore. Look at her digging, breaking all the sweet potatoes in half.

Xiao Chong watched from the side, amused and somewhat moved, quietly saying, "Livelihoods are still too difficult."

Lin Wanwan shrugged and said, "Indeed."

In the evening, Lin Wanwan cooked a big pot of sweet potatoes and distributed them house to house for people to taste, Xiao Chong naturally receiving one too.

"Hmm, so sweet, these sweet potatoes have a high sugar content. Pity they can’t be a staple food," Xiao Chong commented after taking a bite.

Lin Wanwan said, "Being a side dish is good too. It’s better than starving. Even if we planted just an acre this year, counting my cousin Mengbo’s family, it’s only two acres, mainly for seed purposes. Next year, when there’s more, I’ll teach everyone how to make sweet potato noodles. Let me tell you, they’re delicious! Way better than rice noodles!"

Xiao Chong swallowed his food and said, "You and your mentor have done quite a bit of research on food."

Lin Wanwan smiled, "Isn’t eating one of life’s most important things? Of course, it should be researched well! Cousin, you’re just recovering from illness, not suitable for heavy meals. After some days, come as my guest, and I’ll cook you a table of delicacies you’ve never tasted!"

Xiao Chong stretched with a yawn and said, "It’s settled then, waiting for your delicacies."

To Xiao Chong and Lin Wanwan, sweet potatoes are too sweet and can’t be a staple, but to the Lin Clan members who rarely taste sugar all year, sweet potatoes taste so good they’re swallowing their tongues!

What about being too sweet and eating too much being bad, where do they have the opportunity to eat much sugar anyway!

These two are shared among the whole family, not enough for even a mouthful.

Lin Mengjin and others recalled when Lin Wanwan shouted for everyone to plant sweet potatoes, they only treated it as a joke, with only Lin Mengbo’s family listening.

Now it seems, it turns out Lin Mengbo is the smartest, with all the clan people jealous.

This year, Lin Mengbo’s family, relying solely on sweet potatoes, can live well, as Xiao Mingfu plans to buy from their family to promote throughout the county!

But there are many Zhuge Liangs after the event in this world, yet few know beforehand or have regret medicine.

No matter how much envy, they can only watch.

That night, Xiao Chong stayed overnight at the front courtyard schoolyard; the next day he would take rice seeds and sweet potatoes to the County Government. Carrying grain overnight is still relatively risky.

The next day, after loading the rice seeds (Lin Wanwan secretly replaced them all with modern newly bought rice seeds) and sweet potatoes onto the cart, there were three cars in total: two for cargo and one small carriage for passengers.

After seeing Xiao Chong off, Lin Wanwan didn’t immediately resume school but coaxed little Qingyu into a nap again (the little one had poor sleep due to Lin Wanwan not returning home at night recently, needing rest), then she embraced her ancient zither and returned to modern times.