It was the second watch of the night when powder pink was sought.
***......*****
Lian Manman thought for a mont, then nodded her head. Then she and Xiao Qi went to find Lian Shouxin.
"Want to dig sweet potatoes to eat? Can we eat sweet potatoes now?" Lian Shouxin asked.
"We can eat them, my sister said so," Xiao Qi quickly said.
Lian Manman smiled and tousled Xiao Qi’s hair.
"Dad, I counted the days, and the sweet potatoes must be ready to eat now," Lian Manman said.
Wang Youheng had once promised to write and ask the person who sent him the sweet potatoes for detailed information on their cultivation and planting. Later, indeed, a reply was received, and according to the letter, the sweet potatoes could be harvested three to four months after planting. Lian Shouxin had also inquired about this with Lin Ahshui, the man from the Prefecture of Fuzhou who helped them nurture the sweet potato seedlings, and the answer was the sa.
Lian Manman vaguely rembered that the growth period for sweet potatoes was shorter than that of crops like corn and sorghum; it had been over three months since they were planted, and although it was not quite four months yet, there definitely must be sweet potatoes to eat by now.
"Alright, then let’s go dig sweet potatoes," Lian Shouxin agreed.
Lian Shouxin hitched up the small ox cart, Lian Manman and Xiao Qi took the iron hoe, and they placed the baskets on the cart. The siblings then climbed onto the cart and sat down, and Lian Shouxin drove the cart towards the fields with the three of them.
Thanks to the plaque erected by the County Magistrate, the crops around the cornfield had also benefited; even without soone to watch over them, they had not suffered any harm. Lian Manman’s family had planted the sweet potatoes next to the cornfield, where they were flourishing beautifully.
When they arrived at the field, everyone got off the cart. Lian Manman and Xiao Qi followed behind Lian Shouxin with their baskets and walked into the sweet potato field. As for the small ox cart, it was left at the edge of the field, allowing Little Yellow Ox to freely graze on the grass there.
Lian Shouxin picked a ridge and squatted down. First, he brushed aside the sweet potato vines to reveal the ridge, then gently tossed aside the topsoil until he saw the sweet potatoes buried in the ground. Estimating their location, he started to dig with the iron hoe.
After digging up two large sweet potatoes, Lian Shouxin set the iron hoe aside and squatted down again, weighing the sweet potatoes in his hands. One of them was even larger than his palm.
"This really is a good thing. This one, I reckon it weighs almost two pounds, not much less," a joyful smile appeared on Lian Shouxin’s face.
What could make a farr happier than a high-yielding crop? High yields ant that the sa plot of land could produce more food; a family could eat better, have more surplus grain to sell, and live a more prosperous life.
Lian Manman took the large sweet potato from Lian Shouxin’s hands. The sweet potato was plump, and at one spot where Lian Shouxin accidentally nicked the skin, the inside was revealed, snow-white like the flesh of a pear and oozing with a hint of sticky juice. Held in her arms, it was heavy and weighed down her hands.
Xiao Qi also squatted beside Lian Manman, his two small hands cradling a big sweet potato, smiling so broadly that his eyes disappeared behind his cheeks.
After a silly laugh, Lian Manman and Xiao Qi put the two sweet potatoes into the basket, then stepped back to give Lian Shouxin room to continue digging. One sweet potato plant generally has several large sweet potatoes underneath, after which the roots continue to spread sideways and downwards, and the subsequent sweet potatoes beco smaller. Like this sweet potato plant, there were only three large ones. The next three or four dug up were smaller, but each still weighed around one pound on average, with the smallest, Lian Shouxin estimated, weighing more than half a pound. Digging deeper, they found small sweet potatoes attached in clusters to the roots, the smallest of which was only as thick as a carrot.
After digging three sweet potato plants, the two baskets Lian Manman and Xiao Qi were carrying were full. Lian Shouxin then stopped digging and gathered the iron hoe.
"Let’s just dig these for now. I think it’s better to let the sweet potatoes grow a bit longer; the little ones can still grow bigger," Lian Shouxin said.
The two baskets of sweet potatoes were enough for them to have a feast for a al or two, treating it as a preliminary indulgence. The sweet potatoes had grown well, but after digging them up, they weren’t good for storage. Their family was not lacking in food at the mont, so letting the sweet potatoes grow for a longer duration would lead to a better harvest; that was certain.
They loaded the two baskets of sweet potatoes onto the cart and also took the plucked sweet potato vines. Humans eat sweet potatoes, while the vines could be fed to pigs. Lian Shouxin told Lian Manman and Xiao Qi to play around the field for a while. He went to check on the cornfield for a bit, then cut a bundle of grass from the nearby adow.
User Comments
0 comments from readers