"Is this what you call a new crop?" Liu E was led by Li Zhang to the front of the potatoes, but her face showed a look of annoyance, because there were only a few rows of potatoes in front of her, and each with leaves drooping, looking half-dead. What's worse, Liu E couldn't see where this thing could be eaten?

"Yes, don't look good now. In fact, it's mainly because it's too cold these two days, so the leaves droop, but in fact they were very energetic a few days ago!" Li Zhang also hurriedly explained. He also knew that potatoes are not good now, but the real good thing is underground.

"Cousin, you have too few people. People plant crops at least in terms of acres, but you're better. These are only a few dozen of them in total, right?" Zhao Zhen said with some disappointment. He was also very curious about planting crops. He thought he would see many crops, but he didn't expect that there were only a few dozen of them, which was really different from what he imagined.

"There is nothing to do with this. There are not many seeds of potatoes, and this year they are all these. However, I plan to keep most of these potatoes, and I can buy a piece of field to plant them next year!" Li Zhang explained helplessly at this time.

"Potato? Where are there half a beans?" Liu E asked again at this time.

"Of course potatoes grow in the soil, and the yield of this thing is extremely large. You will know after the grandma!" Li Zhang didn't want to talk any more at this time, so he picked up a hoe from the side and hoeed it down with a potato. As a result, after a few hoes, he quickly brought out a series of potatoes. There were seven or eight potatoes as big as fists, and there were many smaller ones. Li Zhang shook off the soil on it and weighed four or five pounds.

"What a big figure! Can this thing be eaten?" Liu E was also amazed when she saw the potatoes raised by Li Zhang, and then said with some suspicion that she had seen things in the soil, such as taro, but some taros are poisonous, so she was also a little suspicious of the potatoes.

"Of course I can eat it. Grandma, please wait for a while!" Li Zhang said as he brought the firewood that had been prepared long ago, then set a fire in the yard, and then threw a few potatoes in it. In fact, the potatoes are the most fragrant when simmered in the ashes, but there was no time at this time, Li Zhang could only throw them into the fire and roast them. Anyway, they could all be eaten.

After a while, Li Zhang took out the potatoes from the fire, and did not care about the hotness. He took off the charred skin outside for a few strokes, revealing the white and tender meat inside. Li Zhang tasted it himself and found that the taste was good and the inside was roasted, so he invited Liu E and Zhao Zhen to taste it.

Liu E was born in a poor person and was not very repulsive of this primitive way of eating. Instead, she reminded her of the hard days back then. So she also picked up one and tasted it. Although it was the first time she was a little uncomfortable to eat potatoes, she could at least eat it. As for Zhao Zhen, she couldn't stand it anymore. After he tasted it, he immediately grinned and said, "The taste was a bit weird, and it was not very delicious?"

"That's because the method is too simple. I will use potatoes to make a few dishes later. You will definitely like it. However, whether this potato is delicious or not is second. The key is that it is large and full. If you can plant potatoes in part of the land of the Song Dynasty, you will not have to worry about food shortage in the future!" Li Zhang finally began to get to the point.

"Oh? What do you mean is that this kind of potato has a large yield and can be promoted to various places?" Liu E also heard what Li Zhang said at this time, and she couldn't help but turn her head and stare at him and ask.

"The Grandmaster said it is right. This kind of potato is not very picky about the land. We can grow it in the north and south of the Song Dynasty, especially in the north, which is more suitable for potato cultivation. Moreover, the yield of this thing is extremely large, and a yield of at least one acre must be more than a thousand kilograms. This is much better than wheat and rice!" Li Zhang explained excitedly immediately.

"That's true!" Liu E stood up with a "scarlet" when she heard Li Zhang's words, with an incredible look on her face. She just regarded potatoes as a novel food and did not think about this. But now when she heard Li Zhang's words, she suddenly woke up, especially when she heard that the yield of potatoes was more than a thousand pounds, she was so excited that she almost lost her composure.

"Of course it's true. You saw it just now. A potato has a yield of four or five kilograms. It's definitely okay to plant thousands of pieces per acre. Of course, too many plantings cannot be taken care of as carefully as I do. The yield of a single piece will definitely decrease, but even if one piece is only one kilogram, it's still a few thousand kilograms. So my yield of a thousand kilograms per acre is quite conservative!" Li Zhang explained again, and he had probably calculated this amount, and as far as he knew, there were potatoes in later generations that could reach tens of thousands of kilograms per acre. Of course, this is the highest yield. It is normal for potatoes to be able to be several thousand kilograms per acre.

Hearing Li Zhang's calculations, Liu E was also excited and her hands were trembling. Farming is the foundation of a country. Whether a country is stable depends on whether food can support the people of her own country. It can be said that the turmoil in all dynasties can almost be related to food. If the food problem can be solved, there will be almost no turmoil in this country and the rule of the court will be very stable.

"No, this potato is so big, how can I dry it? If it cannot be dried, how can I save it?" After all, Liu E is not a woman who doesn't have any grains. Suddenly, she thought of a key question. If the potatoes cannot be preserved, no matter how large the yield is, it will be useless.

"The eldest lady is really amazing. She can see the key at a glance. This potato does not need to be dried. Just put it in a cool and light place. It is usually not a problem to store it for three to five months. Potatoes are usually harvested in autumn, so they will be eaten for one winter. By the spring next year, you can plant the sprouted potatoes and harvest them in half a year or a year!"

When he said this, Li Zhang paused for a while and then said, "If you want to keep it longer, you need to worry a little bit. For example, you can cook the potatoes and slice them and dry them in the sun. As long as you keep them moisture-proof, it will be fine for a few years. It is also simple to eat. You can eat them with boiling water. Moreover, potatoes can be used as vegetables and rice, and it is no problem to be a staple food in the army!"

"Hiss~" Liu E couldn't help but gasp after hearing Li Zhang's introduction. This potato is simply priceless for the Song Dynasty. If it could be promoted, the Song Dynasty would no longer have any worries about food shortages and its national strength would also increase greatly. Not to mention anything else, there would definitely be no pressure to expand the army at that time. If there are too many troops, even if the combat power is not strong, it is a deterrent.

"But potatoes are very difficult to eat?" Zhao Zhen still didn't understand the meaning of potatoes to the Song Dynasty. At this time, he was still entangled in the taste of potatoes, which made Li Zhang a little amused. Of course, he was a little uncomfortable with eating potatoes for the first time. Moreover, no matter how unpleasant the potatoes were, it was better than hungry. Of course, for someone like Zhao Zhen who had never been hungry, he could not even feel this feeling.

"That's great! So good! Quickly! Dig out all the potatoes!" Liu E was so excited that she was a little incoherent at this time. Finally, she suddenly thought of something and immediately called the guards around her to dig out potatoes. Naturally, she could not put such an important thing in Li Zhang, but she had to take it into her own hands.

"The Grandmaster has a few more times. I will make fried potatoes and vinegar shredded potatoes for you and the prince later!" Li Zhang saw the guards rushing forward, and in the blink of an eye, he dug out all the potatoes in the field. He immediately said hurriedly, in fact, he mainly wanted to keep a few for himself to try.

"What to eat? Nothing like this is missing. You actually roasted several of them just now, and they are all the seeds of next year!" Liu E couldn't help but show a heartache expression when she said the last thing, because she thought that one potato could only grow one, and now she has only harvested one or two hundred potatoes in total. I don't know when I want to promote it on a large scale?

"The aunt doesn't have to worry. This potato can produce a lot of buds, and then cut it off and a potato can grow. So don't you see that there are not many potatoes, but you can plant several acres next year. As long as the court is willing to promote it, potatoes can be planted in Tokyo in at most three or four years!" Li Zhang also saw what Liu E was thinking and explained with a smile.

"That's great, but these potatoes are really important. They will be stored in the palace later. In addition, from today to the beginning of next spring, you will go to the palace to check these potatoes every day. If these potatoes are stored in a missed manner, I'll ask you!" Liu E said excitedly again at this time.

Potato can not only solve the problem of food, but also a great political achievement for Liu E. Now that her heroine is in the court, it has aroused dissatisfaction among many people. But if she can promote Potato, with this political achievement, no one in the court will dare to question her ability, and the government will be completely in her hands.

"Ah? But...but I still want to study?" Li Zhang heard Liu E asking him to go to the palace to guard the potato every day, and shouted with dissatisfaction. Although he didn't like studying very much, it was even more boring to guard the potato every day. It would be better to recite the Analects of Confucius.

"What kind of book can you just rely on reading to make people have enough food?" Liu E immediately said furiously, as if she was angry that Li Zhang did not distinguish between importance and importance. Of course, compared with Tudou, reading is indeed nothing.
Chapter completed!