A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Starting from the Village Chief

Chapter 58 Potatoes More Valuable Than Gold Nuggets
"Good morning,"

"Meow!"

When he woke up early in the morning and opened his eyes, he greeted the little tabby cat Zhaocai, but Zhaocai picked up a big rat and put it in front of him.

It has small ears, a big head, round eyes, is yellow and chubby, and can stand upright and bow.

This thing is a common yellow rat in the wheat fields on the plateau. People call it the big-eyed thief. It is not much bigger than a mouse, with a sandy yellow head and back, and a light white neck and belly.
This big-eyed thief was still alive. When he was picked up, he screamed and his voice was quite clear and pleasant, but his movements were a bit funny.

Li Yi felt that this yellow rat was not ugly at all, and was even a little cute.

However, although this thing is a bit cute, it is a complete pest. It is very harmful to crops and is good at digging holes. It will give birth to only one litter in its lifetime.

The trophy that Lihua caught was extremely large. It was probably caught by someone who stole food from the plateau behind. It must have weighed more than two kilograms.

This thing is more like a weasel than a mouse.

"We can add another dish today."

Yellow rats have long been a delicacy enjoyed by commoners, as well as royalty and nobles. It's said that in the past, imperial chefs fed yellow rats with goat's milk, resulting in a rich, plump meat called "pili" (biri), which was exclusively served to the imperial court. Even ministers struggled to get a taste of it.

The Turkic people on the grasslands are also said to like to eat yellow rats. They have a unique way of eating them. After removing the internal organs, they fill them with hot stones and use the hot stones to cook the meat before eating. They also say that this way of eating can help resist hunger.

It's generally accepted that yellow squirrel meat is a delicacy. Its fat tastes like wax, and its whitefish is as tender as silk. Although we can't eat yellow squirrel raised in goat's milk, ordinary yellow squirrel is also very popular.

There is also a kind of hunter among the people who specializes in catching yellow rats. They train squirrels to catch yellow rats. These tamed squirrels are called night monkeys. They can crawl into the holes of yellow rats by smelling their scent and catch them.

This thing is a hot commodity in the upper class. It is said that the emperor once rewarded his meritorious officials with a thousand yellow rats, which made people very envious.

A treasure on the dining table.

The little fox meowed, and the big yellow rat could only howl helplessly under its claws.

"You want to exchange it for dried shrimp?"

"Meow."

"The dried shrimps are all gone. All that's left are the dried small fish and shrimps that Shitou and I caught." Li Yi grabbed a handful of dried small fish and shrimps.
But Lihua is now picky about food. He is used to eating dried shrimps and won’t eat this kind of food.

"I'll find out what else is there for you at home."

Consciousness enters space,

The house was dark, and outside the window it was still foggy and silent.

Li Yi was reluctant to come in as it would easily bring back memories of his wife and children.

Open the refrigerator.

The dried prawns were all eaten, leaving only dried cuttlefish, dried squid, and dried shrimp.
There are also frozen goods that have not been moved. The chicken, duck, fish, sausage, bacon and other items frozen in the freezer are still frozen hard and have not thawed or spoiled due to the lack of power.

He recently discovered that the things in this dimension seemed to have stood still in time, and would not change. Even the things he brought in from outside were the same. Even if he put in fish and shrimp fresh from the river, they would still be the same as when he brought them in after a few days.

The frozen goods in the freezer section of the refrigerator are still frozen, the vegetables, fruits and eggs in the fresh-keeping section are still fresh, and even the tomatoes, potatoes, sweet potatoes, yams, pumpkins, and taro on the vegetable rack next to it that are not put in the refrigerator have not changed at all after so long.

The green plants at home, the flowers on the balcony, and the small vegetable garden planted by my wife on the terrace,
There is no change at all,
Li Yi went to look through the kitchen cabinets, and found most of the dry goods inside, including vermicelli, dried noodles, dried kelp, vacuum-packed wakame, bean curd sheets, bean curd sheets, black fungus, shiitake mushrooms, dried chili peppers, and meat cooking seasoning packets.
Whole grains, flour, yeast, red dates, longan, honey, wolfberry, rock sugar, brown sugar, white sugar, white fungus, seaweed, sesame...

I even found some vegetable seeds that were not planted after being opened, such as coriander, spinach, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, lettuce, zucchini, beans, etc.

I didn't find anything edible to attract wealth.

He found that there were a lot of things in the kitchen at home. These were all stored by his wife and were all well stored in bottles and jars.

She also brewed bayberry wine, made vinegar ginger slices, pickled sauerkraut and pickled peppers.

Actually, if you think about it, she is a woman who can handle life very well. She can both work at home and do housework. It's just that the heavy family burden in the past has worn away her passion.

Li Yi tidied up the kitchen cabinets,

The house still has the smell of the past, as if they will come back at any time.

Sit down at the table.

I was stunned for a while.

Li Yi actually knew that this was a huge treasure house. The most valuable things in this room were not aluminum pots, stainless steel cups, or glass cups.

The most valuable crops should be corn, potatoes, sweet potatoes, etc. grown on the terrace.

Peppers, tomatoes, peanuts, sunflower seeds, broad beans, etc. can only enrich the table, but corn and potatoes are really good things that can feed countless people.

In theory,
These things also exist in this world, and they are in America, but they are separated by the Pacific Ocean. Even if Li Yi pointed out the direction, it would be impossible for the people of the Tang Dynasty to sail to America and bring back those crops.

Plant onions in July, garlic in August, radishes in the first ten days, and cabbages in the second ten days.

At this time of year, many vegetables can still be planted, but it is too late for sweet potatoes and potatoes, and it is also too late for autumn corn.

Generally, spring corn is planted around April in the Gregorian calendar and can be harvested in September, while autumn corn is planted in June or July in summer and harvested around November.

It's almost the 15th day of the seventh lunar month.
In Guanzhong, potatoes are usually planted in February or March in spring and in August or September in autumn. This is usually during the hottest months of the year, when the temperature drops. It cannot be too hot.

Calculating the time, the dog days of summer should be over in about ten days.

He might consider trying to grow some potatoes in a few days. He occasionally helps his wife with the terrace vegetable garden, turning the soil, adding fertilizer and watering. This kind of potato is relatively simple to grow. Just don't plant it with Solanaceae vegetables. The land where tomatoes, eggplants and peppers have been planted is not suitable for growing autumn potatoes.

Choose smooth-skinned, disease-free potatoes with shallow eyes. Soak them in diluted salt water to disinfect them, then air-dry for a day or two. Cut the potatoes into cubes and mix them with wood ash to prevent rot and increase germination. This is about as easy to grow as sweet potatoes; both are easy to plant and manage. As long as you keep up with the fertilizer, you'll have a high yield.

Li Yi picked two smooth potatoes from the vegetable rack.
Back to the bedroom,

Lihua Zhaocai was still holding the big yellow rat, looking at Li Yi in confusion as he sat there with his eyes closed in meditation, not moving for a long time.

Suddenly, Li Yi opened his eyes and found two potatoes in his hand.

When Lihua saw that it was not dried shrimp, he protested, "Meow, meow, meow!"

Li Yi laughed heartily. "The dried shrimps are gone. They will all be gone in the future. I'll ask Brother Shitou and the others to go to the He River and catch some fresh fish for you."

He called Xiuzhi and handed her two potatoes. "Take these two and hang them out to dry. Remember to keep an eye on them. Don't let mice or birds steal them, and don't let anyone take them away by mistake. These are two treasures, more valuable than gold nuggets."

Xiuzhi was shocked. She didn't expect these two lumps to be so valuable. She was a little hesitant to take them.

"Just let it air dry, don't expose it to direct sunlight. Also, there are buds in this nest, don't remove them."

Change clothes and wash up.

We went to Qiaotou to eat some tofu pudding. Sanniang and a few village women were busy. In the summer, the sun was scorching, so people who went out would get up early.

The villagers passing by all came up to greet him politely.

Some called him village chief, some called him Lord, some called him Dalang, and some called him by his real courtesy name. No one called him by his real name anymore, and no one called him by his courtesy name either.

After finally finishing her busy schedule, Sanniang wiped her sweat and said, "I'm going to change my clothes and wash my face and leave."

"Well, I'll go get the mule."

After waiting for a while, Sanniang came over in a clean dress.
Li Yi rode a horse and Sanniang rode a mule, heading straight for Chang'an.

After forty miles, we arrived at Chang'an City. The person on duty at the South Gate was still Qiu Shenyan, who had been there yesterday. He came over to greet us with a smile, thinking that the person on the mule was his wife.

"This is a neighbor from the same village. His two brothers have been away serving in the army for two months and haven't returned. Their families are worried, so they asked me to bring them to the county government office to ask about it."

"There is still a war in Jingzhou," said Qiu Shenyan.

After a few words of farewell, Qiu Shenyan didn't even check the two people's official passports and let them go.

After entering the city, he went straight to the Wannian County Government Office in Xuanyangfang. The officer at the gate recognized this man as Muramasa, who even County Magistrate Xin was very polite to, and immediately went to report it.

Li Yi saw Xin Chujian again. He found it a little unbelievable that Xin Chujian was still drinking in broad daylight. How could such an important position of Jing County Magistrate be filled by a drunkard?

After explaining his purpose, County Magistrate Xin was quite polite and called a clerk to help Li Yi check.

After a long time, the secretary reported back that the able-bodied men in Luojiabao, Yusu Township, had completed their service, but had not returned yet due to the war on the front line.

He might be trapped in Jingzhou, and it's unknown when he can come back. It's possible that the war has to end, or at least Xue Ju has to lift the siege of Jingzhou.

Although this result is not the best, it is not the worst either.

At least there is no news of the death of Sanniang and her brothers, they are just trapped in Jingzhou.

Li Yi also asked the scribe to help check the situation of the four strong men behind Luojiabao.

"They must have been in Changwu City, Bin Prefecture, for only forty days, and their term of service had not yet expired."

Sanniang was a little disappointed, but she was still worried about her brothers who were surrounded.

"They are just able-bodied men, not soldiers, so there shouldn't be any danger for them." Li Yi comforted her, said goodbye to Xin County Magistrate's attempt to keep him, and rushed to the Ministry of Personnel first.

This time, I used the certificate of being the founding baron of Shallow Water County.

The last time I filed a lawsuit, I spent twenty pieces of silk, and even after I resigned, the silk was not returned.

He came again today to get the certificate, which was made of even more luxurious materials and was even inlaid with silver, but the price was also higher, costing him forty pieces of silk.

He also knew that the last official complaint only required ten pieces of silk, and the additional ten pieces were an unspoken rule for the officials of the Ministry of Personnel.

It must be the same this time. Li Yi surrendered it happily and then received the baron certificate and the imperial edict.

After leaving the Ministry of Personnel, he went directly to the Ministry of Household to receive his official robes. He also received the gold jars, silver bottles, and silk given to him by the emperor here.

Everything went smoothly.

After receiving it, he went to the Imperial Household Department to collect the two horses awarded by the emperor.

After a busy day, I finally finished it.

Li Yi was about to go to Daningfang to visit Sun Fujia when a green-robed official came over to stop him.

"But Lord Li, the male from Shallow Water County?"

"That's me, who are you?"

"I am Cui Fu, the Left Guard of the Eastern Palace. I am here by order of the Crown Prince to invite this man to the Eastern Palace to meet the Crown Prince."

Li Yi was surprised.
How did Li Jiancheng know that he had come to Chang'an, and what was he looking for? He wanted to refuse, but since they had already sent someone to invite him, he couldn't avoid it.

"Guard Cui, please lead the way."

(End of this chapter)