In the middle of the night, soone asked for the pink powder.
***...***
At one tael of silver per jin, both Lian Shouxin and Lady Zhang thought it was too expensive and unreasonable. However, the promotion of sweet potatoes was still in its infancy, and those who ca to buy them usually intended to keep them for seeds. Lian Manman could foresee that once sweet potatoes were widely cultivated, their price would plumt. But at this very mont, their value couldn’t be underestimated.
"How about fifty wen money per jin?" Lian Manman suggested. Fifty wen money was equivalent to five hundred wen money.
"That’s still too expensive," Lian Shouxin declared.
"Oh," mused Lian Manman. Sweet potatoes were indeed not the sa as corn, which had already been grown and consud in the Prefecture of Fuzhou. Corn could serve as a staple throughout all four seasons, whereas sweet potatoes were slightly less valuable in this regard. There was also a difference in price between selling raw sweet potatoes and those that had been processed.
"Dad, how about we do this?" Lian Manman pondered before sharing her thoughts, "Of the over a thousand jin of sweet potatoes, let’s keep so for ourselves. Let’s keep half. With that half, we eat so and select the good ones to save for next spring when we can sell the sweet potato sprouts for money. How’s that?"
Tenant farrs, even if they spent a lot of money to buy sweet potatoes now, would find it difficult to store them until next spring and cultivate their own sprouts with just the strength of one single household. But Lian Manman’s family was different. They had ample space to build dedicated storage cellars for sweet potatoes. Moreover, Lian Shouxin already had experience with cultivating sweet potato sprouts, so doing it again next year would be straightforward for him.
Besides, selling sweet potato sprouts was bound to be more profitable than selling raw sweet potatoes directly, and even if they set a higher price, people would be more willing to accept it.
This plan served both others and themselves well.
"That’s a good idea," Lian Shouxin agreed imdiately after hearing Lian Manman’s suggestion.
Lian Manman smiled to herself, thinking she had now fully integrated into this family, even their ideas were in harmony. Essentially, the Lian family were honest and simple farrs. Although they ran a store and engaged in trade, they still preserved the farr’s nature. Their innocence, honesty, and restraint were intertwined with their closively linked to the land, imparting them with virtues equitable to the earth itself.
However, as businesspeople, they clearly weren’t ruthless enough.
This was sothing Lian Manman had realized when they sold Golden Corn, and now she felt it even more keenly.
But this was just as well. They were ant to live on this land generation after generation. Excessive exploitation without giving back and unwillingness to part with were not sustainable practices for accumulating blessings and wealth.
"If we keep half for ourselves, how do we sell the other half?" Wu Lang asked.
"First, we have to set aside one hundred jin for Brother Youheng’s family; the rest we can sell. As for the price..." Lian Manman thought it over carefully. Currently, high-quality white rice cost ten wen money per jin, and sweet potatoes were a novelty. Those wanting to try this novelty would surely be well-off families. Besides, one couldn’t eat too many sweet potatoes at once. "Let’s set it at fifty wen money per jin. How does that sound?"
"We’ll say we’re selling it at the price of seeds," Lian Manman added, "No matter who cos to buy, we’ll have a limit and not sell too much. That way, more families can get their hands on sweet potatoes."
After much discussion, the family reached a consensus.
Just as they had settled on a plan, crowds began to arrive. So they recognized and others they didn’t, but everyone had the sa goal. They had either seen for themselves or heard from others about the high yield of sweet potatoes. They, too, wanted to buy sweet potatoes to plant for the next year.
Old Master Lian also made his way over, having been implored to liaise with Lian Shouxin by others.
"Grandfather, uncles, please quiet down and listen to my father speak," Lian Manman called out with a smile while bringing tea into the house, seeing Lian Shouxin surrounded and bombarded with questions from everyone.
The sweet potatoes belonged to her family; regardless of what everyone else said, the final decision-makers were them, were Lian Shouxin. Everyone, indeed, fell silent and turned to look at Lian Shouxin.
Lian Manman went over to refill Lian Shouxin’s teacup.
"Dad, just go ahead and say it, stick to what we’ve agreed on," Lian Manman whispered.
"Alright, I’ll speak," Lian Shouxin took a sip of water, cleared his throat, and began, "We are all fellow villagers here, and I’m just a simple farr. What do us farrs toil all year for if not to ensure our families have enough food to eat, warm clothes to wear, and a little extra comfort in life? With the high yield of sweet potatoes, we won’t have to worry about going hungry. Everyone wants to plant them, and I, Lian Shouxin, won’t say no. I’ll definitely sell the sweet potatoes to everyone."
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