Sword of Light: Humanoid Self-Propelled Artillery

Chapter 154 Master Brewer
Seeing Ding Wei's unpleasant expression, Wang Gensheng understood that Ding Wei had lost out in this round.

So Wang Gensheng immediately smiled and said:
"Alright, I won't take advantage of you for nothing. After you exchange twenty light machine guns for one hundred warhorses, I'll give you an extra twenty warhorses. In addition, I have fourteen Type 92 heavy machine guns here, which I'll also give you in exchange for ten light machine guns. That way, you won't be at a disadvantage!"

Upon hearing this, Ding Wei's unpleasant smile vanished, and he immediately laughed:

"It seems Commander Wang is quite good at business! It's getting late, let's have lunch here and try our New First Regiment's homemade wine, which is brewed using my family's secret brewing recipe."

Perhaps because he thought Wang Gensheng was quite generous, Ding Wei prepared a special meal for him at noon, including braised pork and roast chicken as appetizers.

It must be said that after drinking Ding Wei's homemade wine, Wang Gensheng found that the wine tasted really good, even though it was also made from sweet potatoes.

However, it was noticeably different from the sweet potato liquor that Wang Gensheng drank at Li Yunlong's place. The sweet potato liquor at Li Yunlong's place had a slightly bitter taste.

However, Ding Wei's homemade sweet potato liquor is different; it not only lacks bitterness but also has a slightly sweet taste.

Of course, Ding Wei only dares to use sweet potatoes to brew wine now. There's no other way; normal grains, such as wheat, are different from sweet potatoes.

Grains like wheat can be stored for five to six years after being dried and can still be eaten, but sweet potatoes are different.

Although sweet potatoes have a high yield and are easy to grow, they don't even need much care to grow well.

However, this product also has a fatal flaw: it doesn't keep well. Even if it's stored perfectly, it can only last for eight or nine months, and even then, you need to dig a special cellar to store sweet potatoes.

Of course, the styles of sweet potato cellars vary widely. Some are dug straight down into the ground, while others are dug horizontally into the ground. They are generally more than four meters deep! Inside, they are divided into several compartments, just like small rooms.

Moreover, there are specific rules for arranging sweet potatoes. They must be stacked neatly, in two or three layers, with some dry soil sprinkled on each layer.

Not only that, but any sweet potatoes that are damaged or have pests or diseases absolutely cannot be put in; they must be picked out, and only the good sweet potatoes can be kept.

This is the first priority in preserving sweet potatoes; preserving sweet potatoes properly is extremely important! Because sweet potatoes contain a lot of moisture, they "breathe" just like people, producing moisture. Although this moisture may seem insignificant, if it's trapped in a sealed box and can't escape, the sweet potato's skin will become damp and it will rot in no time.

Therefore, before storing sweet potatoes, you must carefully pick out the bad ones and only keep the intact ones so that they can be stored for a long time.

The next key point is to keep them dry, and there are two tips for this. The first tip is that the sweet potatoes themselves must be dry; they cannot be put into the warehouse while they are still damp.

Before storing sweet potatoes in the cellar, first place them in a ventilated place to air them out for a while, like letting them air out and cool down, or simply put them in the sun to dry off the surface moisture, and then put them in the cellar.

If you store sweet potatoes while they're still moist, they'll spoil terribly in just a few days. Besides that, never let sweet potatoes come into direct contact with the ground, whether in a cellar or indoors, as the ground is a major source of moisture.

If sweet potatoes are laid directly on the ground, the area in contact with the ground will become damp and start to rot. Moreover, like an infectious disease, once one rots, it will affect the surrounding areas, and eventually the whole pile of sweet potatoes will suffer.

Finally, the place where you store sweet potatoes must be well-ventilated! Sweet potatoes breathe and produce moisture, and if there's no ventilation, this moisture won't escape. Therefore, even if sweet potatoes are stored in a cellar, the cellar won't be sealed off; instead, several ventilation openings will be left to allow air to flow freely.

There are also specific guidelines for putting sweet potatoes into the cellar. First, the cellar must be thoroughly cleaned beforehand to provide the sweet potatoes with a brand new environment.

Then, lay a thick layer of dry sand or hay at the bottom, which is equivalent to laying a warm carpet for the sweet potatoes. Next, put the carefully selected sweet potatoes into the cellar, arranging them in the same way as before, stacking them in two or three layers, sprinkling some dry soil on each layer.

The cellar entrance should not be completely sealed off; it should be covered with a wooden board or straw mat, leaving a gap for air to enter and exit freely, creating a small window for the cellar.

In winter, special attention must be paid to the temperature inside the cellar to prevent it from getting too low. If the local winters are particularly cold, the temperature needs to be monitored constantly. If the temperature gets too low, an insulation layer should be added to the cellar, such as by covering the cellar entrance with more dry grass or old cotton quilts.

When stacking sweet potatoes, leave aisles for ventilation and inspection. Regularly check the sweet potatoes and deal with any problems immediately; otherwise, a small issue could lead to a major disaster, ruining the entire pile.

Because sweet potatoes are much harder to preserve than grains, despite their large yield—four or five times that of ordinary grains—they still cannot replace grains.

Therefore, even if Ding Wei used sweet potatoes to brew wine, he would not be held accountable by his superiors.

"How is it? It tastes pretty good, right? Better than the sweet potato liquor we had at the Independent Regiment last time! If you like it, take some back for your cavalry brothers to try! We won't ask for more than fifty catties of sweet potato liquor in exchange for a horse. Is that a reasonable price?"

When Wang Gensheng heard Kong Jie's words, his hand holding the wine bowl trembled slightly. He was joking. Fifty catties of sweet potato liquor to exchange for a warhorse? He was dreaming!

So Wang Gensheng immediately put the wine bowl on the table and said:

"Commander Ding, don't even think about it. I don't want the cavalry to be drunk and riding their horses into the ditch!"

Upon hearing Wang Gensheng's words, Ding Wei stopped mentioning the matter. Fearing that Ding Wei might make any further unreasonable demands, Wang Gensheng left the New First Regiment without even tasting the food Ding Wei had prepared.

However, this time Wang Gensheng also obtained fifty light machine guns from Ding Wei, which, together with those he obtained from Li Yunlong and Kong Jie, brought his total to one hundred and thirty light machine guns.

This immediately brought Wang Gensheng's cavalry regiment's light machine gun inventory to nearly seven hundred.

Such praise for firepower is unprecedented, not even among the Japanese army, let alone the later American army.

Wang Gensheng had a headache just thinking about the Korean War. After all, even with his current strength and incredible tactics, it wouldn't be easy to deal with the US army.

There was no way around it; during the Korean War, this side had almost no air superiority whatsoever, especially in the early stages.

(End of this chapter)