Chapter 699: Chapter 472: Cassava Starch
The river transport of the Xu Yu Dynasty is still very developed, indicating that shipbuilding technology is fully mature.
What Xiao Mi needs to do is to build on the current foundation and make the ships larger, so they can not only navigate rivers but also sail the seas and be equipped with weapons!
But making a ship larger requires more than just scaling up. Many aspects need to be changed as well.
Xiao Mi researched for several years, and with Ling’er helping her, they indeed made some progress.
"Yes, Aunt Qian said the new ship has already undergone trial voyages. It can not only carry more goods and accommodate more people, but it’s also particularly stable. Even those who tend to get seasick are saying it’s much better."
Speaking of this, Xiao Mi was quite proud.
But she’s even more grateful to Aunt Qian for being willing to spend the money to try. Building this ship cost tens of thousands of taels of silver front and back.
If it were someone else, they probably wouldn’t be willing to make such a heavy investment.
Moreover, they failed twice during the process. Fortunately, they succeeded this time. In just a few months, the cost can almost be recovered.
Most importantly, the shipbuilding technology is in place. In the future, there will be more and larger ships! Not only can they handle river transport themselves, but big ships can also be sold!
"That’s great. Now, whether going to Nanyang Prefecture or the Capital City, it will save a lot of time."
Xiao Mi nodded vigorously, "Exactly, it used to take us over a month by carriage to reach Nanyang Prefecture, but now it only takes half a month."
This was one of the reasons they weren’t in a hurry.
There’s no large river near Nanyang Prefecture, but there is a dock less than ten miles from it.
Because of the treacherous terrain and abundant mountains and forests over there, it hasn’t developed into a metropolis, but cargo offloaded at the dock is already very close to Nanyang Prefecture.
This is one of the main reasons for Nanyang Prefecture’s prosperity.
As they left the city, the sun was already high. Wei Ziang put Little Bun down from his shoulders, held him with one hand, and then mounted his horse.
Xiao Mi came closer and put a small sun hat on Little Bun to shield him from the sun’s rays, so it wouldn’t hurt his eyes or damage his delicate facial skin.
This sun hat wasn’t something Xiao Mi had before; it was just an ordinary straw hat. She cut off the back part, and her second sister wrapped the cut-off part with strips of cotton cloth.
With the little hat on, Little Bun could avoid the sunlight from the front, and it was more convenient for adults holding him, without the back being pressed uncomfortably against the chest.
After preparing Little Bun, the two of them hurried on their way back.
Even though Little Bun wasn’t crying or fussing, he hadn’t seen his parents all day. If it took much longer, he would likely start to become downcast.
The two rode their horses at full speed, and Little Bun was already used to it. Not only was he not distressed by the jolting, but he was also particularly happy, waving his arms and shouting with excitement.
As they approached Anning Village’s back mountain, two guards from the imperial army emerged from the shade of a big tree by the roadside. They greeted them, then returned to their posts.
Though many years had passed, no one had relaxed regarding security.
Especially in the last couple of years, someone always seemed to want to infiltrate Xu Yu Dynasty.
Although General Song caught most of them, there might still be some who slipped through, so everyone remained vigilant.
Especially after the discovery of potatoes, when the young Princely Heir found cassava.
With this discovery, the need to protect the Marquis family became even more critical.
Cassava could be found everywhere originally and was very common, but no one ever thought of eating the poisonous variety of it.
But the young Princely Heir was brilliant and discovered that the toxin on cassava could be removed by peeling it and soaking it in water.
Moreover, cassava is not eaten directly. It needs to be made into starch, which can then be used to make various treats.
Cassava is widely available, easy to cultivate, highly productive, and provides abundant starch.
Even though it can’t be eaten as a staple food like potatoes, it can be made into various snacks, which can fill stomachs and save a lot of grain.
Even if they don’t eat it themselves, farmers can plant some casually, make starch later, and not worry about selling it. The price is reasonably high, too.
Last year, they dug up a lot of cassava from the nearby mountains, and this year they planted twenty acres specifically.
The method for planting cassava is exceptionally unique; unlike other grains that have seeds, cassava is instead planted using cassava stalks.
The cassava stalks are cut into segments about half a foot long and laid flat inside, much like planting sugar cane.
Therefore, all the cassava harvested can be used to make starch without saving any for seeds.
Jiang Hu has already promised everyone that after this year’s cassava harvest, all will be made into starch, and each of the thousand imperial guards who have helped them over the years will receive twenty pounds of starch.
The rest will be left for Liu Ze to open snack stalls, and some for themselves, while the rest will be sold.
Don’t underestimate the value of twenty pounds of cassava starch; if made into snacks, it yields quite a lot.
For now, the cassava starch is only known within the village, and Jiang Hu wrote a report to the Capital City last year to inform them.
Of course, some cassava starch was sent to the Capital City, sourced from cassava found in the surrounding mountains last year.
Not much was sent, about a couple of hundred pounds, and it was clearly stated what it was originally, that it had a slight toxin, but now it’s non-toxic after processing and can be eaten freely, etc.
A few snack recipes were included as well, but whether they eat it or not, that’s not Jiang Hu’s business.
If they do eat it, with so many chefs in the palace, there will certainly be more delicious dishes made from cassava starch.
The cassava dug up last year produced much more than a hundred pounds of starch; several hundred pounds were kept at home, occasionally used to make sweet soups for everyone to taste, which they all enjoyed.
But to promote it so that everyone knows about it, they’ll have to wait for their own harvest, and then let Liu Ze open a few more snack stalls.
After Liu Ze opened the fast-food restaurant last year, business was booming, and potatoes were almost in short supply.
Later, they had to limit the quantity, but the profits were still high. After Liu Ze discussed it with Xiao Xue, they signed a contract with Xiao Mi, stating that the fast-food restaurant belongs to Xiao Mi for the technology, while Liu Ze manages everything else.
After all, all the technology indeed came from Xiao Mi.
Initially, Liu Ze thought a 50/50 split was fair, considering he was benefiting significantly from it, but Xiao Mi didn’t agree.
The main reason was that besides Liu Ze, no one else in their family was interested in handling all this. They also discussed it with Wei Ziang for a long time before entrusting the task with Liu Ze.
Yes, promoting all the different ways to eat ’discovered’ foods was Liu Ze’s task.
Nobody else besides Liu Ze was suitable.
Therefore, Xiao Mi never thought of sharing the profits.
However, with one party insisting on a 50/50 split and the other refusing, a compromise was reached at a 30/70 split. 𝖿𝖗ⅇℴ𝑚
After all, in the future, more snack stalls might open, and if he didn’t share some, he’d feel uneasy holding onto everything.