sovbooks Chapter 28 If we had sweet potatoes back then, we definitely wouldn't have rebelled!
Chapter 28 If we had sweet potatoes back then, we definitely wouldn't have rebelled!
"More importantly, its yield is extremely high, with an average yield of over a thousand catties per mu, which is several times higher than the yield of rice and wheat that we are currently growing. If it can be promoted nationwide, the people will no longer have to worry about famine, and the imperial court will be able to completely solve the problem of food shortage."
"At that time, whether it's a year of famine or a year of plenty, the people will have enough to eat, the number of refugees will decrease, rebellions will be quelled, and the Ming Dynasty's rule will be more stable. This will be a tremendous blessing for both the court and the people!"
Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang almost dropped the sweet potato in his hand. The shock on his face gradually faded, replaced by overwhelming joy and eagerness. He suddenly realized that this sweet potato was the treasure he had been searching for, the one that could feed all the people in the world!
He gripped the sweet potato tightly in his hand, his eyes resolute, and said urgently, "Good! Good! Excellent! We must get this sweet potato!"
"No matter what it takes, we must get Yao'er to hand over the sweet potato seeds and planting methods. We need to promote their cultivation nationwide so that people all over the country can eat sweet potatoes and never suffer from hunger again!"
Zhu Yuanzhang grew increasingly impatient and could no longer contain his curiosity. He picked up the sweet potato in his hand, brought it to his mouth, and took a big bite.
But after chewing a couple of times, he frowned, a hint of disappointment on his face.
The sweet potatoes were hard and had a slightly unripe texture, far from the delicious taste described by Liu Bowen.
"This thing... why is it so hard? And the texture isn't good either. It's not as sweet as you described." Zhu Yuanzhang spat out the sweet potato bits in his mouth and looked at Liu Bowen with a puzzled expression.
Seeing this, Liu Bowen also picked up a sweet potato and tried to take a small bite. However, he was old and his teeth were not good. The raw sweet potato was hard and astringent, and he could not bite off much after a long time. He could only spit it out helplessly and shook his head: "It is indeed a bit hard. This old minister's teeth really cannot bite it."
The two exchanged a glance, both looking somewhat embarrassed. Just as Zhu Yuanzhang was about to ask a question, Liu Bowen suddenly remembered something and quickly said, "Oh, right, Master, Young Master Zhu told me before that the best way to eat sweet potatoes is not raw, but roasted. After roasting, they become soft, sweet, and have an excellent texture."
"Roast them?" Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes lit up, his interest instantly piqued. "Great! Let's roast a couple and see just how delicious these roasted sweet potatoes are!"
After saying that, the two squatted down, dug up two plump sweet potatoes from the ground, and then found some dry grass and twigs on the edge of the field, piled them together, and prepared to start a fire to roast the sweet potatoes.
Zhu Yuanzhang rolled up his sleeves and tried to light the fire himself. However, having lived in the palace for so long and been pampered, he had never done such rough work as starting a fire before. He struck several tinderboxes and struggled for a long time, but not only did he fail to light the fire, he was also choked by the thick smoke from the dry grass and coughed repeatedly.
Liu Bowen also stepped forward to help, but he was also a scholar and had never done farm work before. The two of them were flustered and made things worse. Thick smoke billowed, blackening their faces and even covering their eyebrows and beards with a layer of black ash, making them look very disheveled.
After struggling for a long time, Zhu Yuanzhang still couldn't light a fire. He stopped what he was doing, wiped the soot off his face, and said awkwardly, "Cough...cough cough, it's been a long time since I've lit a fire, my skills have become rusty. I didn't expect that I couldn't even light a fire."
Liu Bowen coughed as well, waved his hand, and smiled as he tried to smooth things over: "Sir, you are joking. This dry grass is difficult to light because it is damp. It is not that you are not skilled enough."
Just as the two were feeling incredibly awkward and at a loss for what to do, footsteps approached. Zhu Su walked in, holding a steaming sweet potato in his hand, munching on it as he went. His mouth was full of sweet potato bits, and his face was full of satisfaction. He kept praising, "So delicious! It's so good! This roasted sweet potato is simply the most delicious thing in the world!"
Zhu Yuanzhang and Liu Bowen turned around upon hearing the sound. When they saw the roasted sweet potato in Zhu Su's hand and the way he was wolfing it down, they were instantly dumbfounded. The two looked at each other, their faces full of shock and confusion.
Zhu Yuanzhang was the first to react. He quickly stepped forward, grabbed Zhu Su, and asked urgently, "Su'er! Where did you get these sweet potatoes? How come you have roasted sweet potatoes?"
Zhu Su was startled when Zhu Yuanzhang pulled him. He stopped chewing, wiped the sweet potato bits from the corner of his mouth, and said innocently, "This was given to me by my elder brother. He said these roasted sweet potatoes are delicious, so he let me take one to try first."
He paused, took another bite of sweet potato, and added indistinctly, "My older brother is roasting sweet potatoes in the yard right now. He roasted a whole oven of them, and they smell so good! Father, Mr. Liu, would you like to go and try some?"
Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang and Liu Bowen's embarrassment instantly turned into helplessness. While they were frantically trying to start a fire in the field, Zhu Yao had already been roasting one in the yard and had even specially sent one to Zhu Su.
Zhu Yuanzhang, disregarding his embarrassment, snatched the roasted sweet potato from Zhu Su's hand, blew on it to cool it down, and eagerly took a big bite.
The moment it entered his mouth, the soft, sweet and glutinous texture melted instantly, and the warmth spread from his throat to his whole body. The sweet taste was refreshing and delightful, without any of the astringency or hardness of raw sweet potatoes. It was more delicious than any delicacy he had ever tasted.
"It smells so good! It smells so good!" Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes lit up, his face full of satisfaction. He chewed with gusto, praising it repeatedly, but his eyes gradually reddened.
He clutched the roasted sweet potato tightly in his hand, his mind involuntarily recalling the tragic experiences of his youth. His voice choked with emotion: "Back then... if we had these sweet potatoes, our parents wouldn't have starved to death, we wouldn't have had to beg on the streets and suffer all kinds of bullying, and the people of the world wouldn't have been displaced and forced to eat their own children due to famine!"
Liu Bowen stood aside, watching Zhu Yuanzhang's moved expression, and couldn't help but sigh, his eyes filled with emotion. He knew that Zhu Yuanzhang's feelings at this moment were from the bottom of his heart; these sweet potatoes were indeed a treasure that could save the people from famine.
Zhu Su stopped chewing when he saw his father's reddened eyes. He looked a little confused, wondering why his father was suddenly so sad. He just said softly, "Father, my eldest brother roasted a lot. Let's go back and eat together. My second and fourth brothers are also waiting in the courtyard."
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded, wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes, gripped the roasted sweet potato in his hand, and said firmly, "Good! Go back and eat! After you finish eating, I must tell Yao'er that the seeds and planting methods of this sweet potato must be promoted throughout the country as soon as possible. We must never let the people of the world suffer from hunger again!"
With red eyes, Zhu Yuanzhang clutched the unfinished roasted sweet potato and hurriedly followed Zhu Su back to the Liu family compound. The tear stains on his face had not completely faded, and the black ash on his face was still clearly visible. He looked both disheveled and moved.
As soon as I entered the courtyard, I saw Zhu Yao sitting at a stone table with a specially made oven in front of him. The fire was blazing, and several sweet potatoes were roasting on the oven wall, filling the entire courtyard with their aroma. Zhu Yao was adding charcoal to the fire while leisurely fanning himself, looking quite content.
Zhu Yao looked up and saw Zhu Yuanzhang, a look of confusion on his face. He put down his fan, stood up and walked over: "Father, what's wrong? Why is your face so dark? And why are you crying? Did you suffer some injustice in the fields?"