Chapter 674: Chapter 446: The Search
While Commander Yang didn’t know what this thing was, just by the taste, he could tell it definitely wasn’t poisonous.
Things that are poisonous always have an indescribable strange taste, but this one didn’t.
It had a normal fragrance, soft texture, and after eating it, it didn’t cause any weird feelings.
Before he realized it, he had eaten the whole thing.
"How is it, Commander Yang, not bad, right?"
Commander Yang regained his senses and quickly nodded: "It’s quite nice, Young Princely Heir, what is this? I’ve never seen it before."
Jiang Wei: "I don’t know either, but I found quite a few in the mountains; they grow only under this kind of stem."
Jiang Wei said, pointing to the potato stems nearby.
"I came to find you because I wanted a few brothers to help out, to see if we can find more in the nearby mountains. This seems to yield quite a bit. If it’s safe to eat, I want to see if we can grow them."
Commander Yang, upon hearing this, immediately perked up: "No wonder you are the Young Princely Heir from the farming household; your thinking is different from ours. No problem, I’ll get people right away."
At least when he ate this thing, he didn’t think about growing it himself.
Saying that, Commander Yang directly took the potato stem back, and Jiang Wei followed.
Commander Yang immediately called over a hundred people, who were happier to get a task than to rest.
After all, with sparsely populated surroundings, resting only meant idling around the village; having things to do was much better than mere training.
Jiang Wei took out two raw potatoes from his sleeve pouch, explaining the details of discovering the potatoes, especially telling them to make sure to bring back any they find, big or small.
There weren’t many potato stems, just a dozen or so. Teams of about five or six, carrying backpacks, holding small hoes, and bringing a potato stem for reference, eagerly headed up the surrounding mountains.
Some even said they had seen similar stems while hunting near the mountains.
With a sense of direction, they were even more energetic, not needing Commander Yang’s urging to quickly set off, promising to fill the backpacks before returning!
Whether they really have that skill or they are boasting doesn’t matter, as long as there’s a harvest.
After everyone left, Jiang Wei said to Commander Yang: "Commander Yang, I still want to ask a few people for help."
Commander Yang hurriedly said: "Young Princely Heir, just say it, no need to be so formal."
Jiang Wei: "It’s like this, I haven’t found seeds on this stem, nor do I know exactly how to plant this; it seems somewhat similar to sweet potatoes, but can’t be sure."
"Although the weather is cooler now, I want to spread some soil next to the kitchen, with a wall blocking the wind, making a shed with hay and surround it with oilcloth to keep it from being too cold. I’ll try planting one."
The kitchen fire burns daily for cooking, making the temperature slightly higher than elsewhere. With a hay shed and oilcloth blocking the wind, it may not be ideal, but should be fine for sprouting and growing.
Commander Yang immediately nodded: "No problem, I’ll call a few people to help."
Let alone building a grass shed, everyone helped when building houses before; they were experienced.
Then he really called a few people, took hoes, and went to help.
By the time Jiang Hu and the Second Lady returned from the fields, the shed was almost done.
Upon asking about the matter, they learned that Jiang Wei might have discovered a new crop, greatly surprised, yet mostly happy.
According to the youngest son, this thing has a high yield; as genuine farmers, they know how important yield is for the people!
Especially Jiang Hu, who immediately found a small stove, washed some small potatoes, choosing the smallest ones, just finger-sized, washed them clean, and boiled them.
No doubt, the taste of boiled ones was different from roasted ones, and Commander Yang could attest to that.
The potato skins weren’t very tasty, but once boiled, the small potatoes’ skins would crack open by themselves, a gentle peel would remove them.
The Second Lady sprinkled some five-spice powder and coarse salt on top, and Jiang Hu and Commander Yang enjoyed a small plate of boiled small potatoes with a drink.
Indeed, they confirmed it, this thing really can be eaten, and it’s delicious!
After finishing, Commander Yang smacked his lips: "This boiled taste and texture resemble boiled yellow soybeans somewhat."
Jiang Hu nodded: "But it grows in the soil; anyway, we don’t know what it is, so let’s call it potato then. It’s a bit big but still quite bean-like."
"That’s a good name." Commander Yang immediately laughed and agreed: "A bean growing in the soil, simple, memorable, and easy to understand."
Thus, the name was simply and easily decided.
Xiaomi was originally watching everyone build the shed, but later saw her father excitedly boiling small potatoes, and casually with Commander Yang having a drink, deciding on the name.
And they just called it potato!
She had absolutely no role, didn’t she?
She had previously discussed with her brother all plans and strategies, besides taking Jiang Wei to the mountains for a wild picnic, they hadn’t been used!
"What’s up? What are you thinking?"
Jiang Yu didn’t know when he came over, suddenly speaking, startling Xiaomi.
She patted her chest to calm down: "Brother, how come your footsteps don’t make any sound?"
Jiang Yu sat beside her: "It’s you zoning out; I called your name several times with no response."
"You seem to be zoning out a lot today, what’s going on?"
Xiaomi felt a bit exposed: "Hehe, it’s nothing, it’s just Xiao Wei getting stronger. I’m feeling happy for him."
"Really?" Jiang Yu leaned slightly back, eyes half-closed, looking at a few busy people in the yard: "In my opinion, Xiao Wei should thank Xiaomi."
Xiaomi broke into a cold sweat, awkwardly chuckling, "Brother, what do you mean?"
Jiang Yu turned his head to look at her.
Xiaomi kept awkwardly chuckling, barely maintaining composure.
Then, Jiang Yu chuckled, ruffled Xiaomi’s head.
"Of course, thank you for taking her out for a wild picnic; if it weren’t for your spontaneous idea to picnic on the mountain today, Xiao Wei wouldn’t have made such a discovery."
Xiaomi was surprised, so that’s what he meant.
Who knew Jiang Yu would change his tone: "However, Xiaomi, your intuition is usually very accurate, what do you think about this thing, is it good, will it be poisonous? After all, it’s newly discovered, no one knows."
Xiaomi thought for a while: "Didn’t Xiao Wei mention before, he felt eating it raw or half-cooked wasn’t nice, but it was delicious when cooked. I think Xiao Wei was right."
Jiang Yu slightly nodded, smiling: "Since Xiaomi says so, I’m relieved. I’ll tell others to make sure to cook it before eating."
Only after her brother left, did Xiaomi slowly realize.
Did her brother figure it out?
Was he probing her to confirm if it’s edible??