Transmigrating with a Five Million Dollar Retirement Life

Chapter 52 Harvesting Sweet Potatoes in Large Quantities

Song Jiaojiao looked at the sweet potato starch she had made yesterday, poured off the water, replaced it with clean well water, and emphasized to Xu Fang that sweet potato pulp that couldn't be sun-dried needed to have the water changed every day.

As evening approached, the drizzling rain finally stopped. Looking at the cloudless sky, I thought the sun would probably come out tomorrow.

Once the sun comes out, we can set up the drying room, and then we won't have to worry about it raining for ten or eight days in a row.

Thinking that she would need a lot of winnowing baskets to dry sweet potato starch in the future, Song Jiaojiao asked Wang Hefan to collect the baskets from the villagers' homes. Wang Hefan took the money and went out. Song Jiaojiao asked Xu Sen to go with her, in case there was too much to carry back.

When the villagers weren't on a farming slack, they would weave baskets, winnowing trays, and other similar items to earn some money at the town market. So Song Jiaojiao asked Wang Hefan to go to the village to buy some.

It was almost dinnertime, and it was already dark, but Wang Hefan and Xu Sen still hadn't returned. Song Jiaojiao was about to go out with Xu Da to check when they heard a noise at the door.

At the courtyard gate, Wang Hefan and Xu Sen were carrying about a dozen winnowing baskets, hurrying home. After Xu Da took them, Song Jiaojiao handed each of them a bowl of water before asking, "Why did you take so long?"

After finishing his water, Wang Hefan, without even catching his breath, said, "The uncles and grandpas in the village kept holding onto us, not letting us leave. If they hadn't seen that we really had something to do, they probably wouldn't have let us leave yet. Every time we went to a house, they would ask if we were really buying sweet potatoes and whether the workshop was hiring. It wasted a lot of time."

"So what did you say?" Song Jiaojiao asked, thinking that in ancient times, men were the masters, and no one had asked her.

"To be honest, we've been buying sweet potatoes all along. As for whether the workshop is hiring, I'll have them ask you. After all, I don't know either," Wang Hefan said, scratching his head. He didn't want to say anything that would upset his mother, like those old fogies would say about how a real man shouldn't let a woman make decisions.

Seeing Wang Hefan's somewhat guilty look, she thought that some people in the village had probably said something bad, and that the child was old enough to distinguish right from wrong.

The next morning, as the sun began to rise, Song Jiaojiao and Xu Fang took out the settled sweet potato starch to dry. Because the village chief was going to start building a drying room, the place to dry the sweet potatoes was moved to the new house. Fortunately, Song Jiaojiao liked the big yard, so she left the yard very spacious.

The workers started working, and the village aunties also came to cook. Seeing the workers Song Jiaojiao had hired working with sweet potatoes, Song Jiaojiao wasn't worried about the secret recipe getting out. After all, they didn't know what it was for. The aunties who knew how to use sweet potato flour were on good terms with Song Jiaojiao, and they wouldn't easily tell anyone without Song Jiaojiao's approval.

When Song Jiaojiao arrived, Aunt Li had already started steaming the rice and was washing vegetables by the well.

"Auntie, come here." Song Jiaojiao called Aunt Li aside.

"What's wrong, Jiaojiao?"

“Auntie, I’ve noticed that not many people have been bringing sweet potatoes these past few days. I guess there aren’t many left in the village. I’m thinking of having the villagers notify their relatives to bring sweet potatoes over. It’ll be the same price, but we have to make it clear beforehand that they have to follow our instructions. If anyone doesn’t follow our instructions, I won’t buy sweet potatoes from that village anymore.”

Looking at the dwindling sweet potatoes, Song Jiaojiao thought that she still had to keep the workshop running, so she came up with this idea. If all else failed, she would have Wang Hefan and Xu Da go to a village a little further away to collect them.

"Don't worry, Jiaojiao, as long as you keep talking about it, a lot of people will come. No one will miss out on such a good thing." Aunt Li patted her chest and assured her. What a great thing! Although sweet potatoes have a high yield, they can't be used to offset taxes. Every household grows some sweet potatoes just to mix into their meals so they can last until the next autumn harvest.

"If possible, I hope everyone can plant more sweet potatoes next year. I'm a long-term buyer here." Song Jiaojiao thought that not many people in the village were planting sweet potatoes this year; most of them were using the money to grow wheat and rice, which could pay taxes.

"Even if we don't talk about it, most families will plant more next year. It costs three coins for two catties, and one mu of land can produce seven or eight hundred catties. That's more than one tael of silver."

I even saw some people clearing land today. Although the cleared land isn't taxed for the first three years, it doesn't have fertilizer. However, it's okay for growing sweet potatoes, even if the yield isn't as good as regular land; every little bit helps.

That makes sense. The villagers don't usually have any other income, so it's a rare opportunity for them to earn something, and no family would let it slip by.

"Auntie, there's something else. Do you know any families that have piglets? I have so much leftover sweet potato scraps every day, which my chickens and horses can't finish. I'm thinking of buying pigs so we can feed them and produce a lot of manure."

"Piglets are scarce this season. I'll go and inquire about them and let you know if I find out." Aunt Li thought that there were very few piglets this season, and the piglets wouldn't survive well in the cold weather; the chances of them getting sick were too high.

"Okay, thank you for your help, Auntie. Once the workshop gets bigger, you can come and help me manage it. At this rate, it might be quite large by next year," Song Jiaojiao said with a smile.

No one in the village had more influence than Aunt Li, and with the title of village chief's wife, most people would still give her some face. No one knew if they would need the village chief's help again in the future.

"Then I'll wait and see. Just imagine, at my age, I could become an official." Aunt Li echoed Song Jiaojiao's words, clearly not taking Song Jiaojiao's words to heart.

Having explained things clearly, Song Jiaojiao didn't say anything more to Aunt Li. Judging from the progress of the village chief and the others, they estimated that the drying room would be completed in about three days. After all, it didn't need to be built like a house, where it just needed to provide shelter from the wind and rain.

After finishing the drying room, Song Jiaojiao thought she should get the greenhouse ready first. The translucent tarpaulin she ordered yesterday would probably be ready when she went to town next time. Once the sweet potatoes were harvested, she could stop growing the green peppers. It wasn't that she didn't care about the money, it was just too much trouble and didn't go against the weather patterns.

It seems that Song Jiaojiao's plan to enjoy the scenery and flowers from the mountaintop will be delayed again and again.

......

Three days passed quickly, and the drying room was completed. Although a few minor problems were encountered along the way, they were resolved perfectly.

After drying in the drying room, the village chief was the first to check the temperature inside. He found that even in late autumn, one could wear summer clothes inside without feeling cold. He thought that if every household built one, they would no longer be afraid of sudden drops in temperature in winter.

Before the village chief could think too much, he heard Song Jiaojiao bring up the idea of ​​building a giant roc at the foot of the mountain, saying that it would allow them to eat vegetables in the winter.

How can you possibly eat vegetables that only grow between spring and summer in winter?

However, after hearing Song Jiaojiao's method, and considering the temperature of the drying room, it might actually be possible for Song Jiaojiao to grow vegetables in winter.

Without further ado, the village chief led a group of villagers to join in the construction of the roc. Building the roc was a bit slower, even though it was just a matter of setting up the frame and laying down the tarpaulin, because it was so wide.