Chapter 697: Chapter 470: Third Uncle, Little Aunt, Little Bun
The first year of potato harvest was over ten thousand catties, and the news spread quickly like the wind through the surrounding towns.
The reason being, the potatoes from the Jiang family were discovered by the Princely Heir accidentally on the mountain.
Although they missed the first year, the second year saw the Jiang family’s ten thousand catties of potatoes all sprouted again, bringing nearby villagers to visit in awe, and sure enough, they discovered many potatoes on surrounding mountains.
Returning to Anning Village the first year, they planted all ten thousand catties without leaving any behind, and with the Spiritual Spring water and plenty of green manure, they harvested nearly a hundred thousand catties of potatoes!
From those hundred thousand catties, they kept ten thousand catties, took ten thousand to the Capital City to show that this was for sowing, not eating, sent another ten thousand to Cheng County, and sold the rest.
But there was a condition: it could only be sold to farmers, teaching them how to plant, and each household could buy at most five hundred catties, enough to plant one to two acres.
The second year, they planted nine thousand catties of potatoes and again reaped a bountiful harvest. But this time, they weren’t in a rush, as nearby farmers also had big harvests and sold to farther places.
The Capital City and Cheng County’s Xiangmu Village also had big harvests, with tens of thousands of catties of potatoes, enough to spread to more places.
And next came all the different ways to eat potatoes.
Lishi City opened a potato restaurant, selling all sorts of delicious potato dishes.
Spicy and tangy shredded potatoes, potato stew with bacon, creamy mashed potatoes, dry pot potato slices, potato chips and fries, and most important, potato noodles.
The Jiang family had seventy to eighty thousand catties of potatoes, kept twenty thousand at home, ten thousand for the following year’s seeds, and ten thousand for everyday consumption.
After all, the Jiang family wasn’t just a few people; they had five hundred Forbidden Troops and over a hundred hired workers.
The remaining potatoes were all sold to Liu Ze.
They could spread the potatoes out, letting more people know more ways of eating them and also make money to support the family.
Anyway, besides Liu Ze, no one else in the family was interested in doing this.
In just a little over a year, the fast-food restaurant in Lishi City became known throughout the border area, deliberately adding the word "potato" for clarity.
As for tackiness, it wasn’t important.
Moreover, the shop not only offered various cooked and fried foods, but also improved versions of hamburgers and sandwiches, with slices of bread packed with various ingredients, ready to eat.
But they changed the name to "stuffed bun," a variety of ingredients stuffed inside a bun, some purely vegan, some mixed with meat, prepared ahead for customers to choose.
This was remarkably convenient in a city with many merchants coming and going at the border.
Most importantly, the pricing for most dishes wasn’t high. Potatoes had a high yield, and Liu Ze initially aimed at mid-to-low-end consumption.
Of course, when potatoes became more widespread everywhere, he could start selling pricier items later.
The shop bustled right after opening; if it weren’t for Liu Ze calculating the daily potato consumption to avoid running out, the shop might not stay open year-round.
After all, Liu Ze only purchased several thousand catties of potatoes from the Jiang family.
But having a shop like this was more than enough for Liu Ze to support his family, especially since he also had a merchant fleet.
At the time of marriage, Aunt Qian gifted the couple many shops which didn’t need managing and brought them money at the end of each year.
Xiaoxue still worked on embroidery when she was free, and maybe her skills grew due to a more settled mood over the years, raising the prices of her works significantly, not any less than Liu Ze’s fast-food shop income.
And Xiaoxue’s dowry was quite substantial too, including fields and lands, as well as shops and a manor in the Capital City, though details weren’t necessary since they hadn’t seen the things in the Capital City anyway.
Besides, Liu Ze would never touch Xiaoxue’s dowry.
Overall, Liu Ze and Xiaoxue lived a happy life, and every year they sent red envelopes to these brothers and sisters.
Wei Ziang, distracted, quickly found himself in front of the fast-food restaurant.
"Aunt Zhang, give me two..."
"Third Uncle..."
A little dumpling suddenly rushed out, hugging his leg tightly, followed by a beautiful young girl.
"Little Bun, grabbing one doesn’t mean it’s your Third Uncle, grabbing and calling Third Uncle every time, be careful... Ah, it’s truly little brother."
Wei Ziang was stunned for a moment, then smiled, bending down to pick up Little Bun hugging his leg.
"Xiaomi, when did you get here? Don’t tell me you brought Little Bun out secretly again."
The young girl was Xiaomi, and Little Bun was indeed the daughter of Second Sister and Brother Ze, formally named Liu Sisi, nicknamed Little Bun, already a year and a half old.
It’s said nephews resemble their uncles; Little Bun really looked identical to Xiaomi.
From the time she could barely walk, she always wanted to run around, fortunate to have two maids dedicated to holding her, and Wei Ziang made a small pushcart for her.
Every day he pushed her around the village to look at everything, and once, when her parents went to town to check accounts, they brought her along, sparking her desire to visit the city frequently.
But Second Sister and Brother Ze couldn’t ride horses, and taking a carriage was too much trouble. Little Bun happened to be small, so Xiaomi often secretly packed Little Bun into the space and galloped on horseback to the city.
Little Bun, though not yet speaking, knew well that following her aunt meant exploring everywhere with plenty of baby snacks.
Gradually, Little Bun preferred running around with her aunt, and Xiaomi seemed to find new joy, pretending to mess with the craft ship, and whenever possible, she took Little Bun to roam Lishi City.
This wasn’t the first time; Wei Ziang had long been accustomed. Sometimes after a day of work, the big and little ones had already been waiting at the mansion to have dinner with him.
Initially, leaving only a note at home before running off had scared Little Bun’s parents into chasing after them.
Though what Xiaomi fed the child remained unknown, from five or six months, she was taken by her aunt for a day or two and didn’t go hungry.
Over time, it became less of a concern, naturally, emboldening Xiaomi.
But now that Little Bun was older, they didn’t let her enter the space freely.
Regardless, holding Little Bun in her arms and galloping on horseback, she was even more thrilled, always merrily shouting.
Little Bun, clinging to Third Uncle’s neck, pointed outside: "Play, Third Uncle, play."
Besides her parents, Little Bun loved Third Uncle and her aunt the most since they always took her everywhere.
Especially Third Uncle, strong and tall, put her on his shoulders, allowing her to roam the streets all day without tiring.
Her favorite was sitting on Third Uncle’s shoulders, watching the diverse crowd from above, seeing everyone’s heads, much more enjoyable than watching legs walk around.
"Play later, Third Uncle hasn’t eaten yet. Let’s have lunch first, Little Bun, and then we’ll play."
Xiaomi had already pulled Wei Ziang toward the neighboring restaurant; they had plenty of potatoes at home, so they wouldn’t compete with others for the limited daily portions.