Chapter 143: Acquiring a Substantial Quantity of Potato Seeds

Chu Yun, accompanied by sixty guards and two guides, made a party of sixty-three people in total, which was by no means a small number.

Moreover, the sixty guards were well-trained and exceptionally efficient in their movements.

This enabled them to scour a vast area in just a single double-hour, yielding a substantial harvest.

Upon Chu Yun's instructions, a count was taken, revealing at least five hundred catties of potatoes.

Inspecting the potatoes in the sacks, he noticed that almost none of them were completely yellow; every single potato exhibited a tinge of green or purple to varying degrees.

This made him understand all the more why potatoes, such a high-yielding crop, had never been widely cultivated and propagated in this world.

Potatoes that turned green or purple were highly toxic.

Coupled with the fact that sprouted potatoes possessed even greater toxicity, and that both the potato vines and leaves were poisonous,

it was truly difficult for the people here to cultivate them as an edible food source.

Furthermore, they had no idea that potatoes could yield extremely abundant harvests when planted properly.

"It seems, just as Uncle Liang said, the people here might have discovered potatoes long ago, but refrained from growing them simply because they are toxic."

Chu Yun could not help a silent sigh in his heart.

Seeing that the sun had already set and night would fall swiftly even in the height of midsummer—bringing great danger with it—

and noting that they had practically exhausted the potatoes in the immediate vicinity,

he spoke up: "Alright, let's stop digging for today. In the future, we will search further afield and see if we can find more potatoes."

Hearing this, the guards immediately halted, packed the five hundred catties of potatoes into ten sacks, and hoisted them onto the horses.

Led by Chu Yun, the party then rode back to Chu Family Town.

By this time, the residents of Chu Family Town had already prepared dinner.

Yet no one had started eating; everyone was waiting for the return of Chu Yun and the sixty guards.

Aside from their deep respect for Chu Yun, more importantly, word had spread that Chu Yun had taken sixty guards out to search for a food crop called the potato. This crop not only yielded immensely but was also exceptionally well-suited to the climate of Chu Family Town for cultivation. If it could truly be found, they would never have to worry about food shortages again.

Therefore, they harbored high hopes that Chu Yun and the guards would return laden with potatoes.

Meanwhile, the senior administrators from Nanhuai Town and Qintan Town had not yet departed.

Having heard about the potatoes, they were consumed with intense curiosity.

They all longed to see what manner of thing this potato was—how it could serve as a staple food, boast such high yields, and yet not conflict with the rice-planting season.

Thus, after finishing their dinner, they stood guard on both sides of the town gates, awaiting Chu Yun's return.

Seeing Chu Yun and the sixty guards approaching, they hurried forward and eagerly bombarded them with questions: "How did it go? Did you find the potatoes? Did you find them?"

"Found them! We found the potatoes, and we've dug up several hundred catties!" the guards replied joyfully one after another.

With a loud laugh, Chu Yun declared, "Ha! We found the potatoes, and there are plenty of them! We've already dug up several hundred catties, and if we search further later on, we might unearth even more. Perhaps we can plant them on a large scale this very year. By the time rice-transplanting season arrives next year, we'll have our harvest, and we won't have to worry about running out of food during the lean months."

Upon hearing that the potatoes had been found, Ye Liang smiled happily. "Splendid! They found the potatoes. I was worried they wouldn't be able to locate that place. It seems the route map I drew was quite good!"

Then, nearly the entire town of Chu Family Town burst into joyous cheers.

"Wonderful, truly wonderful! Starting next year, during the lean season between harvests, we won't have to worry about not having enough to eat. We can maintain three meals a day without interruption!"

"We'll never have to go hungry again! This is wonderful, truly wonderful!"

"Thanks be to Lord Earl for bringing us such immense blessings!"

"Indeed! If not for Lord Earl, how would any of us know that this thing called a potato could be eaten as food and yield such bountiful harvests?"

In truth, some of them had already recognized the potatoes of which Chu Yun spoke as the local "poison eggs" they were familiar with. They simply hadn't known that while they were poisonous when eaten raw, they could be safely consumed when boiled, nor did they realize that toxicity remained even after boiling only in the sprouted and green portions.

Some people were overwhelmed with curiosity and wanted to boil a few potatoes to taste what they were like, but Chu Yun issued a strict ban.

He repeatedly emphasized that the quantity of potatoes obtained so far was limited. To ensure they no longer had to fret over food shortages during the lean season starting next year, they needed to cultivate them on a large scale this very year, which required a massive volume of seed potatoes. Every single one of them was precious right now.

However, Chu Yun also noted that they could only cook and eat them if they managed to find even more potatoes—enough to satisfy planting requirements with a surplus left over.

Fearful of the potato's toxicity, everyone reined in their impulses, and no one dared to secretly boil and eat the potatoes.

Yet, knowing that potatoes were indeed the "poison eggs," the townspeople shouldered their back-baskets starting the very next day and set out in all directions to search for them.

As a result, within a mere ten days, the people of Chu Family Town unearthed over ten thousand catties of potatoes locally.

Meanwhile, recognizing the immense importance of the potato, the senior administrators of Nanhuai Town and Qintan Town returned and dispatched people to investigate the specifics of the irrigation canals while simultaneously sending out search parties for the poison eggs.

Consequently, Nanhuai Town dug up over five thousand catties of potatoes.

Qintan Town achieved an even greater haul, unearthing more than ten thousand catties.

This was primarily because the area of Qintan Town bordering Chu Family Town possessed an environment exceptionally well-suited to the growth of potatoes; the residents of Qintan Town had stumbled upon a vast expanse of them on a hillside.

Before his transmigration, Chu Yun had grown up in a rural village and had farmed potatoes, so he knew very well that even if the potatoes were cut into smaller pieces, at least two hundred catties were required per mu of land.

With over twenty-five thousand catties of potatoes now in hand, it seemed like a large amount, but it was only enough to plant one hundred and twenty-five mu.

Across three large towns with so much fertile farmland, one hundred and twenty-five mu was merely a drop in the ocean.

Yet everyone was desperately eager to taste the potato and immensely curious as to whether boiled potatoes were truly non-toxic. Already, some people who had dug up potatoes had secretly boiled and eaten them.

This had sparked certain conflicts, making relations among the townspeople somewhat less harmonious.

Consequently, Chu Yun simply instructed the three towns to sort out the potatoes with minimal sprouts, smooth surfaces, and unsuitability for seed stock, and had them boiled for consumption.

However, they were merely boiled in plain water without any elaborate culinary preparation, so the taste was quite ordinary and hardly delicious. Still, they genuinely filled the stomach and could serve as a staple food.

After that, no one tampered with the seed potatoes again, though they continued actively searching for wild potatoes.

After all, no matter how unpalatable they were, they were still infinitely better than gnawing on tree roots and bark, or even eating mud, when there was no food left to eat!