Let's go back to 2008, starting with a recreational fishing park.

Over the next period of time, Li Dafu and Jiang Xia ordered all the souvenirs needed for the competition.

Because of Li Dafu's connection, these items are generally priced at a few dollars each.

This made Jiang Xia sigh, realizing that in this small county town, having the right connections really makes getting things done quick and convenient.

After finishing the business, Jiang Xia originally intended to treat Li Dafu to a meal outside, but the other party said that it would be fine to eat at the fishing spot, as Su Qing's cooking was better than any other restaurant.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Xia quickly took out his phone and called Su Qing, asking her to stew a large fish.

On the way, Li Dafu also went home to pick up his wife and daughter.

Li Dafu's wife is named Liu Jia. Apart from the day the fishing pond opened, she often went fishing with Li Dafu whenever she had free time. Jiang Xia is quite familiar with her as well.

As soon as he got in the car, Jiang Xia greeted the other person, "Hello, sister-in-law."

Before Liu Jia could speak, the other party's daughter called out in a clear voice, "Hello, Uncle Jiang!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Xia reached out from the passenger seat and patted the other's head: "Xiao Xue'er, how are you?"

The little guy chuckled and said, "Uncle Jiang, you've become even more handsome."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Xia deliberately feigned surprise: "Really! Then how has Uncle become more handsome?"

The little guy touched his chin, stared at Jiang Xia's face, and said cutely, "His nose, eyes, and chin have all become more handsome~"

These words made Li Dafu, who was driving, burst into laughter: "Xue'er, the way you're saying it makes it sound like your Uncle Jiang got plastic surgery!"

Upon hearing this, the little guy looked at Li Dafu with a puzzled expression:

"Daddy, what is plastic surgery?"

"Cosmetic surgery is..." Li Dafu thought for a moment, but he really couldn't describe what cosmetic surgery was to the little guy.

As a woman, Liu Jia was more experienced in explaining these abstract concepts to children. She smiled, gently ruffled her daughter's hair, and said softly:

"Cosmetic surgery is when some people feel they don't like their nose or eyes, so they go to the hospital and have a doctor change their appearance. But Xue'er doesn't need that, our Xue'er is naturally this cute."

Upon hearing this, the little one nodded vigorously: "Mmm~ Xue'er is the prettiest! Xue'er would never get plastic surgery!"

Upon seeing this scene, Jiang Xia's desire for a daughter suddenly reached its peak.

But then I thought, let alone a daughter, I don't even have a girlfriend yet!

However, the thought of the word "girlfriend" inexplicably conjured up the image of Su Qing cooking in Jiang Xia's mind.

…………

The county town wasn't far from the fishing spot, and within a few tens of minutes, Jiangxia and his group returned to Qingshan Village.

It was a little after 4 PM, the peak time for tourists to leave the fishing spot. There was even some traffic congestion at the entrance.

Seeing this, Jiang Xia quickly got out of the car and ran to help Jiang Xiaobo and the others.

When he was almost done with his work, he called Jiang Xiaobo aside.

"Xiao Bo, call your grandpa later, and we'll take the boat to that small body of water I've fenced off with a net and catch a 20-pound fish."

"Okay, bro, I'll go right now." Jiang Xiaobo replied and headed towards the fishing area, where Jiang Jianguo was.

Then, Jiang Xia walked into the kitchen with his hands behind his back.

At this moment, several pots in the kitchen were bubbling and steaming.

"Is the food almost ready?"

Jiang Xia asked Su Qing, who was sitting on a stool playing Snake.

Su Qing looked up, got up, and opened a pot lid to take a look.

"We'll have to wait a bit. Why don't you go fishing with them first?"

Jiang Xia nodded, but didn't leave immediately. Instead, she asked, "There are children here today. Do you know how to make candied sweet potatoes?"

Su Qing nodded first, then frowned and said:

"I can, but we don't have sweet potatoes here!"

"Huh? No sweet potatoes?" Jiang Xia was puzzled. Aren't sweet potatoes a very common food? How come there aren't any?

"Yeah, right." Su Qing rolled her eyes. "Where are you going to find sweet potatoes in the middle of summer?"

"Can't we just go buy it?" Jiang Xia asked blankly, still not understanding.

Upon hearing this, Su Qing stared straight at Jiang Xia, unsure how to explain it to her.

After a long pause, she said with a hint of helplessness:

"Boss Jiang, it's not a matter of whether to buy or not, it's that we simply don't have any sweet potatoes here in the summer."

After saying that, she eagerly explained, "Sweet potatoes are a food for autumn and winter, autumn and winter! Do you understand? It's summer now!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Xia scratched the back of his head blankly, still feeling somewhat confused.

Why are there no autumn and winter foods available in summer...?

Seeing Su Qing's speechless expression, Jiang Xia shrank back and didn't ask the question that was on his mind.

"Pfft~"

Seeing Jiang Xia's dazed expression, Su Qing couldn't help but laugh.

Then, seeing that Jiang Xia was still staring blankly at her, she smiled and said, "Alright, Boss Jiang, we definitely don't have sweet potatoes, but I can make candied yams. It's a dish that's perfect for kids, and I personally think it tastes even better than candied sweet potatoes. Don't worry, I'll go buy some yams in a bit!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Xia nodded, put his hands behind his back, and walked out of the kitchen as if nothing had happened.

But as soon as he stepped out of the kitchen, he couldn't help but jog over to Wang Guifen, who was resting by the office door, and whispered:

"Mom, why aren't there sweet potatoes in the summer?"

Hearing her son suddenly ask her this, Wang Guifen was a little surprised, but still asked with a puzzled look:

"Won't sweet potatoes spoil in the summer?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Xia went into the office, poured Wang Guifen a glass of water, and handed it to her.

"Mom, please tell me about it!"

With Wang Guifen's explanation, Jiang Xia finally understood why Su Qing was so speechless.

It turns out that sweet potatoes, despite appearing to be a food that doesn't spoil easily, are actually very difficult to preserve.

Especially in this day and age, very few businesses would store sweet potatoes in cold storage.

After sweet potatoes are ripe and dug up from the ground, people usually let them dry for a few days. This step is called "sweating".

Wang Guifen didn't know exactly why sweating was necessary; she only knew that it had always been the custom, and if the food wasn't sweated, it might spoil quickly if placed in the cellar.

After the sweating process is complete, the intact sweet potatoes can be placed directly into the cellar.

In the Linjiang area, the older generation calls the cellars for storing sweet potatoes "yinzi". It is actually a dry vertical shaft that is four or five meters deep, with several side holes dug at the bottom for storing sweet potatoes.

In this way, sweet potatoes that ripen in autumn can be eaten throughout the winter. If stored properly, they can even be preserved until March or April of the following year.

However, because the longer this stuff is stored, the worse its taste and texture become, most people will cut it into pieces and dry it in the sun or use it to feed livestock when spring arrives.

Of course, this is under the condition of proper storage, and it is a minority.

If not stored properly, most of the sweet potatoes in the cellar will spoil before winter is even over.

Not to mention, it's been stored up until now, in the middle of summer.