The Farm Life Of a "Fool"

Chapter 163

The fifth of May of the lunar year was Dragon Boat Festival in current occasions, yet there was no such show here. After Xu Ran had time-traveled to this world, he had never commended this celebration. Since he was occupied, Xu Ran lacked the capacity to deal with festivity. On this day, he went to King Yan's Residence with the potatoes.

King Yan did not go out this day. When seeing what Xu Ran had taken out, he stared at him in confusion. "What are these? Why do they look so weird?"

Xu Ran looked at the potatoes over and over but didn't find them strange. He shook the potatoes in his hand and said to King Yan, "These are called potatoes, but how come they are weird to you?"

"They are neither long or short. They have pot-holed surface. How come they are not weird? But you told me that they were called 'earth beans' (potatoes), and now I see what you mean," King Yan said.

Xu Ran didn't know why King Yan thought the name "earth beans" fits well with potatoes, but since he thought so, he didn't ask any more questions.

Xu Ran handed the potatoes to King Yan and explained to him, "Your Highness, they are productive crop, and can be consumed as food. They can be eaten with rice, or alone, and can also be cooked as a dish. They are tasty."

Upon hearing that potatoes are edible, King Yan immediately became interested in these ugly things. He held them in his hands and looked at them over and over again. "They look ugly. Can they really be eaten?"

Xu Ran explained, "We have to peel them first. After peeling, the inside is white. Cut them into cubes and boil them with rice to eat. Because they grow underground, they are called potatoes."

After explaining, Xu Ran asked someone to get him a knife, and chopped the potato in King Yan's hand into cubes.

Xu Ran picked up one of the cubes and explained patiently, "There is a pit in each cube with a sprout inside. As long as it sprouts, it will grow. You can harvest a lot of potatoes in autumn, no matter how big or small. They are delicious. At first, I made a fortune by planting potatoes in Xu Village. Otherwise, I can't live such a good life. You can ask Gao Quan. Everyone knows my origins, I'm not lying to you."

King Yan shook his head. "I didn't mean that way. I don't think you are fooling me. I just want to know how to grow this thing. The temperature of the south is different from that of Yanzhou. Can they survive here?"

Xu Ran answered, "I've done some research when I first arrived. I also consulted people. In the south, we started planting them in January. Here, now is the best time. In addition, it rains during this time, so we can harvest potatoes in autumn. Whether they can survive or not, we have to try anyway. In addition, if you want to preserve the seeds, we must also plant them. If we fail this year, we can improve the method next year. After all, if these seeds are not planted, they cannot be kept until next year."

King Yan agreed and said to Xu Ran, "What should I do with this thing? Tell me how to deal with them, and I'll have people do it. Now we have to be discreet, and I won't have the people of Yanzhou grow them until we succeed."

Xu Ran thought the same and nodded. "Well then, I'll write down the steps later. We need the land first, and then I'll bring the seeds over here. In addition, there is another crop called corn. Now that I've got the corn seedlings, the land is all we need. You might ask Lu Qi about it. I've told him about this. He knows everything."

King Yan didn't ask why Lu Qi, instead of him, was the first one Xu Ran disclosed this information to. He only nodded and asked Yan Chuan to go for Lu Qi.

King Yan and Xu Ran had a further discussion about growing potatoes and corn. When he reconfirmed that these two things were easy to grow, productive, as well as edible, King Yan managed a weak smile.