Chapter 1126 The food issue is the country's plan!
Chapter 1126 The food issue is a major national plan!
"Plant?" Hang Baiqiu was a little surprised and asked, "Is it possible that you want to open a vegetable patch in the house to grow these potatoes?"
"No, no, no..." Chai Yan stood up, shook a finger and said, "I want to give these potatoes to His Highness the Prince and ask him to promote their planting on a large scale across the country!"
Hang Baiqiu couldn't help being stunned. He pointed at the basket and said, "What? You actually want to promote the planting of such ugly potatoes across the country. I... did I hear you right?"
Chai Yan immediately said: "Don't underestimate potatoes. Although they look a little ugly, if you knew the yield of potatoes, you wouldn't think so!"
Hang Baiqiu was immediately curious and asked with interest: "From what you said, the yield of potatoes is very high?"
"Yes, very high!" Chai Yan smiled and nodded.
"How high?" Hang Baiqiu asked.
Chai Yan said: "Well... how about you guess how many kilograms of potatoes can be produced from one acre of land?"
Hang Baiqiu walked to the potato, hesitated and said: "Since you said that the yield of potatoes is higher, then it must not be better than rice... If I had to guess, the yield per mu is about six or seven hundred kilograms!
"
The rice yield per mu in the Sheng Dynasty was approximately between 500 and 600 jins, and Hang Baiqiu increased it a little based on this figure.
"No! Let you guess again!" Chai Yan shook his head.
"Oh?" Hang Baiqiu was surprised, thinking that it was more than six or seven hundred kilograms!
After thinking about it, Hang Baiqiu said: "Is there a yield of nine hundred to one thousand kilograms per mu?"
"Still wrong! Now, I'll let you guess again for the last time! Just a reminder, if you guess higher, don't be too timid!" Chai Yan said with a smile.
Hang Baiqiu was shocked and said, "No, isn't it? Isn't nine hundred to one thousand catties less?"
Chai Yan nodded, always maintaining a calm smile.
"One thousand...one thousand eight hundred catties!" After some hesitation, Hang Baiqiu doubled the number.
Chai Yan said: "Well, this number is somewhat close..."
"What? Is it still low?" Hang Baiqiu exclaimed.
Chai Yan said seriously: "Yes, it's still low! Let me tell you, the yield of potatoes per mu is about two to three thousand kilograms, which is four or five times or even more than the current yield of rice per mu!"
Hang Baiqiu's eyes widened in shock, and he shook his head involuntarily: "Impossible, you are lying!"
"Why are you lying to me? Do you think I have nothing to do?" Chai Yan curled his lips and turned around to check the potatoes again.
Hang Baiqiu couldn't help but pick up a potato, looked at it over and over again, shook his head and said in surprise: "If it's really like what you said, then...then this is really amazing!"
Chai Yan said: "Sir Hang, do you know why there are rogue bandits in Yaozhou Prefecture?"
Hang Baiqiu said: "I know, natural disasters have made the harvest very bad. At the same time, the government's relief grain cannot keep up, and the people are in dire straits, which is why bandits broke out."
Chai Yan nodded in agreement and said: "If potatoes with such a high yield had been available a few years ago and had been planted and harvested across the country, do you think famine and bandits would have broken out in Yaozhou Prefecture?"
Hang Baiqiu frowned and considered for a moment, then shook his head decisively and said: "Probably not! If food like potatoes had existed, even if the people of Yaozhou could not avoid natural disasters, the harvests of other states and counties should be abundant, so the imperial court would send relief
Food will no longer be as scarce as it is now!"
"You are absolutely right, the food problem is a major plan for the country!" Chai Yan nodded heavily and said: "That's why I want to recommend potatoes as a crop to His Highness the Prince, and ask him to promote it throughout the country, so that we can feed the people.
More people!”
Hang Baiqiu suddenly became excited and said happily: "If it succeeds, it will be a great good thing for the country and the people!"
Chai Yan smiled and nodded, and continued to check the potatoes.
After a while, Hang Baiqiu suddenly said: "Wait a minute, can you grow potatoes? What if the method is wrong and the planting doesn't work?"
Chai Yan was not worried and said relaxedly: "Don't worry, potatoes are very vital and easy to grow..."
"So, you know how to plant?" Hang Baiqiu asked hurriedly.
Chai Yan said: "Yes! If you want to learn, I can teach you..."
While he was talking, Chai Yan had already picked out a lot of sprouted potatoes from the basket.
"Then tell me, how to plant it?" Hang Baiqiu was dubious.
Chai Yan took a potato that had sprouted in his left hand, and a potato that had not sprouted in his right hand.
Then, he stood up and shined the potatoes that had not sprouted at Hang Baiqiu, and said unhurriedly: "First, pick some potatoes that can grow sprouts... Well, like this...
....Put them in a warm and bright place for germination, so that after a while, small and tender sprouts will sprout out of the nooks and crannies of the potatoes..."
Speaking of this place, Chai Yan flashed the sprouted potatoes at Hang Baiqiu and said, "Here, this is it!"
Hang Baiqiu reached out and took the sprouted potato and observed it carefully.
Chai Yan continued: "After they sprout, we have to protect them well, because these are the little potatoes of the future..."
Hang Baiqiu nodded and asked: "If it becomes like this, can it be planted?"
"Not yet..." Chai Yan shook his head and said seriously: "Before planting, we have to cut the sprouted potatoes into pieces. It's okay to cut larger potatoes into more pieces. But, on each piece,
They all need to have two or three bud eyes..."
After a pause, Chai Yan added: "Then, spread the plant ash evenly on the wounds of the potatoes cut into pieces, and finally put them into the soil. Remember, they cannot be too dense and there must be space between them.
Of course, there is no need to separate them too wide, a palm-width is enough."
Seeing that Chai Yan had nothing to say, Hang Baiqiu asked, "Is this enough?"
"That's enough. I said it is easy to grow..." Chai Yan smiled and said, "And the potato harvest is also fast. It only takes three or four months to harvest."
"So fast?" Hang Baiqiu was surprised again.
Chai Yan said: "In short, potatoes are a valuable thing that benefits the country and the people. I believe that after hearing what I have to say, His Highness the Prince will definitely agree to vigorously promote it with both hands and feet raised!"
"Don't be ridiculous, His Royal Highness will be the emperor soon." Hang Baiqiu reminded him immediately.
Chai Yan grinned and said, "I know, I know..."
Hang Baiqiu looked at the sprouted potatoes in his hand, and suddenly said with some expectation: "I really want to eat one now to see what it tastes like..."
"You can eat it, but you have to remember that you cannot eat sprouted potatoes because they contain toxins!"
As he spoke, Chai Yan took away the potatoes from Hang Baiqiu's hand and gave her the ungerminated potato.
"Yes, I remember it." Hang Baiqiu agreed.
In the following time, Chai Yan, with the help of Hang Baiqiu, picked out all the sprouted potatoes and put them again in a basket.
After finishing his work, Chai Yan stood up and moved his waist while asking Hang Baiqiu: "Are you hungry? Do you want to eat French fries or potato chips?"
"Fries? Potato chips?" Hang Baiqiu had no idea what kind of food it was.
"Come on, follow me to the kitchen cabin and try my unique craftsmanship!"
After saying that, Chai Yan picked out a few potatoes from the pile of unsprouted potatoes, hugged them to his chest and went to the kitchen cabin with a smile.
------------------------------------------
PS: Please reward, collect and subscribe. Thank you all book lovers for your support!