Locked: God is the matchmaker, neither you nor I can escape

Yuan Bin did not ask Ren Huaimin to make a choice immediately. He patted him on the shoulder, said a few words, and then left Ren's house with his wife and children.

That night, Yuan Bin immediately sent his confidant to Dashan Village to inquire about the news.

After two days of consideration, Ren Huaimin asked Yuan Bin to go to visit Mu Jiasong, the Minister of Agriculture, who was resting at home.

Mu Jiasong is a mature and elegant man who looks similar to Yuan Bin. In fact, he is six years older than Ren Huaimin. It must be said that as a man of noble birth, he is very good in etiquette and physical care. He is a person that even a lowly official like Ren Huaimin is intimidated by.

The two were invited to the study. Yuan Bin had been working under Mu Jiasong and understood what kind of person he was. So when there were only three of them left in the study, he immediately stood up and told Mu Jiasong everything that had happened.

At the same time, he presented memorials, letters and the last dozen or so sweet potatoes.

Mu Jiasong was more interested in the sweet potatoes than the content of the letter, and immediately asked Ren Huaimin: "Sir Ren, do you know how to eat these sweet potatoes? Can we eat them directly?"

Ren Huaimin's heart skipped a beat when he was addressed as "Master Ren". He quickly stood up and tried to control his voice so that it wouldn't tremble: "Your Excellency, I know something. These sweet potatoes can be eaten raw. You just need to wash them and peel them."

He swallowed and said, "Other cooking methods are all written in the letter, but I only know how to steam the sweet potatoes."

Mu Jiasong unceremoniously ordered Yuan Bin to peel a sweet potato for him to taste. Ren Huaimin wanted to accept it but was politely declined by Yuan Bin. There were no outsiders here, so how could he trouble Brother Ren to do it?

It's just peeling, he shouldn't be unable to do even that.

When Ren Huaimin saw him peeling a large piece of sweet potato, his eyelids twitched, and he rushed over without thinking and snatched the sweet potato and the knife from his hands. The way he protected the sweet potato was exactly the same as Chen Yong's, as if the sweet potato was a precious treasure in their eyes and they would not allow them to waste it like this.

When Yuan Bin saw Ren Huaimin gently peeling off a thin piece of skin, he finally understood why he was so excited. Mu Jiasong saw this scene and admired Ren Huaimin very much.

Mu Jiasong's gaze fell back on the letter, and he saw the sweet potato dishes mentioned in his mind. The letter especially described the taste of each dish vividly, so that people could imagine the taste just by looking at the words, and couldn't help but want to try it.

Chen Yong, your writing is good, but why didn’t you include the recipe?

Mu Jiasong remembered the magistrate of Guyang County, Chen Yong.

Yuan Bin had never eaten sweet potato raw before, so he took a small one, washed it, peeled it carefully, and started to eat it.

It’s crispy and sweet, and tastes different from cooked food. At this moment, Yuan Bin also wants to try the other flavors mentioned in the letter.

Suddenly, Yuan Bin had an idea: "Oh, right, we can try the sweet potato soup. How about the cook making a bowl of it the same way as usual?"

Mu Jiasong nodded: "Not bad, you can try it, butler!"

The butler came in upon hearing this, and Mu Jiasong gave him careful instructions, asking him to instruct the cook to prepare the food according to the instructions written in the letter.

All of a sudden, there were only 6 sweet potatoes left.

After tasting the three flavors of sweet potatoes, Mu Jiasong wanted to try all the sweet potato dishes mentioned in the letter!

But there are too few sweet potatoes, and I don’t know the recipe, oh…

"Yuan Bin, when you sent someone to investigate, did you ask him to bring back some sweet potatoes?" Mu Jiasong touched his round belly. He didn't need to eat lunch because he was indeed full.

Yuan Bin froze for a moment, then said truthfully, "No, I have ordered my subordinates to conduct a secret investigation. If necessary, go see County Magistrate Chen Yong and ask him to cooperate."

Mu Jiasong looked at Ren Huaimin and asked, "Your classmate, County Magistrate Chen, should not be a conservative person, right?" What he meant was that he was the kind of person who understood the ways of the world and would give something in return, preferably a big bag of sweet potatoes.

Ren Huaimin swallowed his saliva when he was suddenly called out, and answered honestly: "Chen Yong is not a conservative person, but... according to his personality, he must treasure these sweet potatoes very much. The letter also mentioned that sweet potatoes are seeds."

They all knew how rare sweet potato seeds were. If they were in their place, they wouldn't be willing to let people eat as much as they wanted, at least until they had enough seeds.

Mu Jiasong smacked his lips and said, "Even if there is a recipe, it didn't come from a farmer's hand. I haven't tasted the original flavor, so how do I know the taste of the chef's recipe is right?

Therefore, I have decided to go to Dashan Village in person next year."

Yuan Bin immediately stood up and agreed: "Sir, I'll go too!"

"No, Sinong Temple cannot do without you. Sir Ren, please go with me when the time comes. I'm sure you must miss your old friend a lot after not seeing him for many years." Mu Jiasong looked at Ren Huaimin and smiled slightly.

Having said that, Yuan Bin and Ren Huaimin both understood the other meaning behind his words: when old friends meet, they must be treated warmly, and all the delicious food and fun things will be taken out to entertain them.

Ren Huaimin just felt a burst of laughter in his heart, and his originally nervous mood calmed down because of the superior in front of him who looked younger than himself.

It turns out that the Minister of Agriculture, who looks serious and unapproachable, is actually so easy-going and a foodie.

After leaving the Mu Mansion, Ren Huaimin breathed a long sigh of relief. The matter that had been bothering him for so many days was finally completed successfully. Now it all depended on Brother Yuan's investigation and Lord Mu's actions.

Alas, I don’t know when I will be able to eat sweet potatoes again.

The next day, Mu Jiasong took the remaining six sweet potatoes into his pocket and took them to court. After finally waiting for the court to end, he immediately followed the emperor to the imperial study.

"It's really rare. Is there anything I can do for you, cousin?" The young emperor, who was sitting in front of the imperial desk, had a smile on his face. His tone was full of friendly teasing, and it was obvious that he had a good relationship with Mu Jiasong.

Mu Jiasong smiled, and immediately took out six sweet potatoes from his sleeve pocket and his arms and placed them on the imperial table, grinning: "Your Majesty, I just got some good stuff and brought it here for you to taste."

The emperor looked at the sweet potato, then raised his eyes to Mu Jiasong and asked, "What is this?"

"This is called sweet potato. It can be eaten raw or cooked. There are many ways to cook it, but I know two. One is to steam it directly, and the other is to cook it in sugar water."

The sweet potatoes had been cleaned. Mu Jiasong took one and handed it to Eunuch Fu, the chief steward who served the emperor. "Please help me peel it, Eunuch Fu. Just peel the outer layer gently, just like peeling fruit."

Eunuch Fu took it and said, "Yes."

"For the remaining five sweet potatoes, steam three and boil two in sugar water." Mu Jiasong instructed Eunuch Fu without any hesitation.

Eunuch Fu looked at the emperor, who nodded in agreement. He peeled the sweet potatoes, cut them into pieces and placed them in front of the emperor before taking the other sweet potatoes to the imperial kitchen to give instructions.