The next day, after breakfast, Lian Manman watched over the shop for a while before heading to the backyard to select the larger sweet potatoes left from yesterday and washed them clean by the well. Then, she went to the vegetable garden, picked a couple of tender ears of corn, and gathered so fresh vegetables, all packed into a basket, planning to visit Wang Youheng in town.
Wu Lang and Xiao Qi had the day off and said they would go with her.
They didn’t take a cart and, carrying the basket, walked into town. Upon entering Jisheng Hall, Shopkeeper Wang hurried over to greet them and, knowing they were there to see Wang Youheng, led them straight to the backyard.
"Young Owner is reading in the study," Shopkeeper Wang inford Lian Manman and the others.
It was still the hot season, and Jisheng Hall’s backyard was lush with plants. Below the study window was a small flowerbed bordered with decorative tiles, where a bloom of canna flowers was in full display. The windowsill held pots of pink, red, and white roses and jasmine.
Shopkeeper Wang led them into the study. Wang Youheng was engrossed in reading a scroll but put it down and stood up to greet them and invite them to sit by his side.
"Bring so pastries and so chilled sour plum drink over," Wang Youheng instructed Shopkeeper Wang.
Wang Youheng was wearing a light purple silk tunic that day and his hair was simply tied at the top of his head and secured loosely with a white jade hairpin. He was wearing double-layered cotton shoes with an embroidered top—the handiwork of Lady Zhang, Manman recognized.
Wang Youheng smiled when he saw the basket of vegetables Wu Lang was carrying.
"Why have you brought vegetables again?"
Wang Youheng lived in town, and though they had fields nearby, they did not have a vegetable garden. However, with Scholar Wang from Thirty Mile Camp, Wang Youheng was never short of vegetables to eat. Even so, every few days, Manman or Wu Lang and Xiao Qi would bring a basket full of fresh vegetables or chicken and duck eggs over. Whenever there were fresh vegetables in her garden, Wang Youheng was always the first to taste them.
Take the tender corn, for example. Though it was now so valuable, they never stopped bringing so for Wang Youheng.
"Brother Youheng, I’ve brought sothing good this ti." Manman spoke as she first took out the corn.
"Manman, I’ve told you several tis to sell the corn and keep the money instead of always bringing it to ," Wang Youheng said.
"Brother Youheng, if you say that again, I’ll be angry," Manman stopped and pretended to be cross with Wang Youheng.
"Alright, my bad. I won’t say it again," Wang Youheng said, changing his tone as he saw Manman’s reaction.
Only then did Manman smile again, taking out a few more fresh vegetables from the basket, finally revealing several sweet potatoes at the bottom.
"Brother Youheng, guess what these are?" Manman asked with a smile, encouraging Wang Youheng to take a look.
"Sweet potatoes?!" Wang Youheng reached into the basket, pulling out a sweet potato to examine it closely. "They really grew."
Influenced by Manman, Wang Youheng also referred to sweet potatoes as ground potatoes.
"After all the trouble of sending them from so far away, combined with your letters and asking people, we made sure they grew," said Manman.
"That’s right, it’s like they say... ’Where there’s a will, there’s a way,’" Youheng remarked.
"Your knowledge has grown, Brother Youheng," Manman said, mimicking Mr. Loo’s emphasis.
"You little teaser, making fun of again," Wang Youheng put down the sweet potato and playfully pinched Manman’s nose.
Dodging with a small shriek, Manman laughed.
Wang Youheng, Wu Lang, and Xiao Qi all laughed along. They often joked like this and found it very amusing.
By then, Shopkeeper Wang had brought in pastries and sour plum drink with the help of his assistants, and Wang Youheng told him to put away all the things Manman had brought.
Once Shopkeeper Wang and his helpers had left, everyone sat down around the table again.
Manman discussed with Wang Youheng about expanding the cultivation of sweet potatoes after discovering their high yield.
"This is good news; I support it," Wang Youheng nodded and said.
"Brother Youheng, if we want to introduce sweet potatoes across our county, or even the entire prefecture, what we can do on our own is limited... What do you think is the best way to handle this?" Manman inquired.
"Well, this matter..." Wang Youheng lowered his head, pondering for a while.
Promoting a high-yield crop is a good deed benefiting many people. He was absolutely supportive of this endeavor. As Manman said, if they were to promote it privately, the process would be slow. To benefit more people, it would take much longer. However, if it was promoted from the top down, things would be different.
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