Chapter 34: Chapter 34: The Objects of the Outer Domain
Translator: 549690339
Xiao Xi’s board and lodging fees were paid, and Su Wenyue took out the books, paper, and ink she had brought back for Baofu, the beaded flowers for the eldest girl and second girl, and some snacks, distributing them accordingly.
Mrs. Liu, still upset about her husband’s scolding, immediately brightened when she saw her daughters receiving nice things, “Thank you, Fourth younger sibling, for spending on these two little girls. The hair ornaments are really pretty, must have cost a good amount of silver, I assume?”
“It didn’t cost much silver; it’s just that the designs are quite rare. They are the current fashion in Chang’an City and you can’t find them in Xinye County. I saw them at my mother’s family and specifically brought a few back for the nieces to play dress-up—girls at this age love to do that.”
With the monthly wage of one tael of silver, Xiao Xi confidently settled into the Han Family home. After all, one tael of silver was no small sum; she was the top servant girl in the Su Family, receiving only one tael of silver per month as well. She couldn’t let the Miss’s money go to waste.
Last time, Su Wenyue struggled to manage her dowry alone, but this time, with Xiao Xi’s help, the task was much easier. Master and servant stored the more important items in a large box and locked it.
“Eh, what’s this?” Su Wenyue asked curiously as she noticed a half-filled sack of something, which seemed out of place among the items her mother had prepared—it was somewhat dirty, with patches of earth still on it.
Upon seeing it, Xiao Xi knew right away and explained with a smile, “Miss, this is the gift Second Young Master brought back for you.”
“A gift, this? You must be joking, Xiao Xi,” said Su Wenyue, her expression indicating she felt her tastes were being underestimated. Second Brother couldn’t be so unreliable. Could this really be considered a gift?
“Miss, you mustn’t take Second Young Master’s thoughtfulness lightly. He knows you’ve always loved these. During his business with the merchants from foreign countries, he heard that sweet potatoes are delicious when roasted, so he bought them especially for you. This crop isn’t common here, and the merchants were only carrying them for personal consumption, not for sale. Second Young Master went to great lengths to acquire these half sack of sweet potatoes, planning to roast them for you himself. However, you were drunk at the time, so we had to bring them to the Han Family instead.”
“Sweet potatoes?!” Su Wenyue’s eyes lit up at the mention of sweet potatoes, and she wondered if she had heard wrong. But hearing Xiao Xi mention that these were purchased from people of foreign countries confirmed her suspicion. She excitedly reached for the sack and indeed saw the yellowish lumps inside.
“It’s really sweet potatoes! I’m relieved Second Brother didn’t roast them. Otherwise, it would break my heart.” Su Wenyue felt fortunate to have been drunk, otherwise the sweet potatoes would have been eaten and she wouldn’t have anything to plant.
“Miss, what are you saying? You’re not speaking nonsense out of excitement, are you? Sweet potatoes are meant to be roasted and eaten, why would it break your heart?” Xiao Xi couldn’t comprehend why her Miss was so excited yet giggling foolishly over it.
“Xiao Xi, you don’t understand; this is something truly valuable. We will rely on this to become wealthy. Sweet potatoes can be grown in our region as well, and they yield high quantities. Although we only have half a sack, it’s not too little. If we plant them well and take good care, we might harvest several hundred or even thousands of pounds by next year. We will have enough seeds for the future. Everyone knows what food means to us commoners—Xiao Xi, does this not mean we’re about to strike it rich?”
How could Su Wenyue, a young lady not knowledgeable about crops, recognize these things? Her experience on the Zhuangzi had taught her a fair amount. Although not many were familiar with sweet potatoes at this time, in her previous life, they were famously discovered by Emperor Wu’s favored consort, Consort Li, and presented to the Imperial Court. It was common knowledge and quite renowned.
Everyone knew that not only could sweet potatoes fill the stomach with their high productivity, but Consort Li also gained the title of Imperial Consort for this contribution. At the time, Su Wenyue found sweet potatoes indeed delicious and prepared them in various ways, but eventually grew tired of them. However, commoners, in their quest to satiate hunger, didn’t have the luxury to grow weary of food.
Now, encountering these crops by chance, while Su Wenyue didn’t intend to use them for fame, if she could successfully grow them and increase the yield, it might help Han Yu in the future. Consort Li was highly commended for this contribution, rising to the rank of Imperial Consort. What about Han Yu then? There didn’t seem to be any higher office than Prime Minister. Su Wenyue, not very familiar with the intricacies of Imperial Court positions, searched her mind and couldn’t think of any. However, in these times of war and severe food shortages, nobody would complain about having too much to eat.
Thinking this, Su Wenyue had Xiao Xi bring paper and pen and sketched, based on her memory, another high-yielding crop that Consort Li had presented along with the sweet potatoes. She planned to send the sketch to the Su Family later and ask her father and Second Brother to look for this crop called corn. If Consort Li could find it, surely Second Brother could, though it was said to derive from outer domains, and would require looking toward foreign countries.
“Miss, is this yellow lump of earth really that miraculous? I’ve never heard of a crop with such high productivity,” Xiao Xi curiously examined a sweet potato, unable to comprehend its significance. It seemed that only growing it would reveal its true potential.
“When have I ever deceived you, Xiao Xi? But we must keep this matter secret for now. It’s enough that you are aware—don’t go spreading it around. Take this half sack of sweet potatoes to the Zhuangzi right away. We should still be able to catch this planting season. Assign someone to carefully tend to them, and if they grow well, your Miss will reward you handsomely.”
“Alright, Miss. I’ll go take care of it right away. It’s getting late for this season, and we certainly can’t delay planting, ” Xiao Xi had been with Su Wenyue from a young age. Although she had never done farm work, her family’s poor circumstances had led to her being sold, so she understood these agricultural matters, having been old enough at six to remember them.
“Wait a moment!” Su Wenyue suddenly remembered something and jotted down the planting methods she recalled hearing about. At that time, she hadn’t paid much attention to things that didn’t concern her, so while she had heard some details, she couldn’t remember everything. But she recorded what she could on paper and went over it with Xiao Xi. The rest would be up to the experienced farmers on the Zhuangzi, since she herself wouldn’t understand.
“Xiao Xi, first return to the Su Family and deliver that sketch to my father and Second Brother. Then you can head to the Zhuangzi, but aside from Uncle, this matter must not be disclosed to anyone else for the time being.” Su Wenyue looked outside, noticing Mrs. Wang hadn’t gone to the field for some reason, continuously peering her way, probably harboring ill intentions. It was better to remain cautious..
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