Transmigrated into a female county magistrate during a famine, leading her country to prosperity

Sweet potatoes of good quality are very fragrant even when eaten raw.

Shen Zheng squinted her eyes as she gnawed. In just a few moments, she had finished eating the sweet potato, which was half the size of her fist.

When he looked up, he saw that Ji Benchang and his friends had only eaten less than half of it.

It’s not that it doesn’t taste good, it’s that they can’t bear to swallow it whole and want to savor it carefully.

Several pairs of eyes fell on Shen Zheng at the same time. Shen Zheng read some hints of "protecting food" and stood up and said with a smile: "Your subordinate will go wash your hands."

The few of them then let down their guard and began to savor the flavor with their tongues swirling.

After washing her hands, Shen Zheng stood in the lobby for a while.

She looked at the warning stone in the courtyard, and the officials from the Ministry of Revenue passing by were also looking at her and whispering.

Shen Zheng pretended not to hear and was thinking in her mind how to start the conversation so as to spread the sweet potato cultivation method without causing any disturbance.

Cutting planting......

After thinking for a moment, she had some ideas in mind and walked back to the main hall.

Ji Benchang and a few others were gathered together, discussing the taste of sweet potatoes.

As he was talking, Ji Benchang asked Shen Zheng: "Little Master Shen, you ate the most before, can you tell us more about it?"

Shen Zheng heard sourness in these words, but she still gave a brief explanation. After that, she didn't give them a chance to think and spoke again.

"Master Ji, it is already May, and this crop needs to be planted earlier. Since we have never seen it before, let's discuss how to plant this crop."

Ji Benchang looked at the three agricultural engineers.

The old farmer spoke first, "I see that this crop has eyes, but they are not obvious. We should cultivate them in the field before planting them."

Shen Zheng's eyes lit up slightly.

She was still worrying about how to introduce the topic, but unexpectedly she got a reliable teammate.

"But this crop has buds." The tanned middle-aged agricultural teacher said, "Taro is planted in pieces, and this crop has many similarities with taro. It should also be planted in pieces, avoiding the buds and cutting them open, and then planting them in the soil. After the buds sprout, vines will grow."

He said according to what he already knew: "When the vines grow out, the seed patch should shrink and then grow new roots, which will be able to produce the crop again."

Ji Benchang nodded slightly, he thought so too.

This kind of underground block crops are mostly cut into pieces for germination.

Shen Zheng quickly shook his head when he saw this. "I don't think it's right. When I dug out the crop, there were many withered vines on the ground, growing intertwined on the ground, like a big vine net."

She had the most knowledge about this new crop, so the others listened to her very seriously.

"So I guess that the vines of this crop should have a very strong ability to reproduce and regenerate. Combined with what this senior said, the seed eyes of this crop are not obvious. I think that this crop should be planted in the field first, and then the roots should absorb nutrients and grow vines before cuttings are taken for planting."

The dark-skinned middle-aged agricultural teacher was a little hesitant when he heard this. "It can be planted by cuttings, mostly used on fruit trees..."

"You are wrong." The old farmer looked at the sweet potato and said, "Leeks, mustard greens, and amaranth can all be propagated by cuttings. Cuttings are the best way to preserve the characteristics of the original plant."

This old agricultural teacher should be the chief of the agricultural teachers.

After he spoke, the dark middle-aged agricultural teacher fell into deep thought.

With a team, Shen Zheng was even more motivated: "Planting by cuttings can save a lot of original seeds and can also harvest earlier. It's already May now. Even if we want to plant in pieces, it's not too late considering the season. So I brought the portion from the county as well. After raising the seedlings, I'll take some back to plant."

For crops, the planting time is of paramount importance. Otherwise, there would not be the "Twenty-Four Solar Terms" to guide agricultural production.

When the hammer of the solar term came down, Ji Benchang's heart secretly leaned towards "cutting".

A few people discussed it for a while until the steaming sweet potatoes were brought in on a plate.

The fragrance instantly invaded everyone's nose.

The old farmer was intoxicated and took a deep breath and said, "It smells sweet and mellow, with a hint of the freshness of plants and trees."

Ji Benchang swallowed his saliva and said, "Let's try it first."

The skin of the steamed sweet potato was slightly wrinkled, but the color became a little darker than before. The mellow and sweet smell penetrated into the nostrils of several people, and everyone swallowed their saliva at the same time.

It's rare to find a crop that can emit such a sweet aroma just by steaming...

The whole plump sweet potato fell into Shen Zheng's hands.

Ji Benchang and others looked at her eagerly, urging her to cut the sweet potatoes.

Shen Zheng thought for a moment, "It's not easy to cut after it's steamed, so I'll just break it into six pieces."

The sweet potatoes were very hot just out of the pot. She used both hands to break the sweet potatoes into two halves through the towel.

In an instant, the fragrance in the hall became stronger.

The dense potato flesh was as orange-red as the sunset glow, evenly colored and lustrous. The rich caramel aroma was wrapped in the white mist and blew towards them. Ji Benchang and his companions moved closer, inhaling the white mist into their nostrils almost greedily.

"Gulu——"

I don't know who started it first, but what followed was the sound of swallowing saliva one after another.

The eyes of Ji Benchang and others turned into rulers, measuring the position of Shen Zheng's finger.

Shen Zheng paused for a moment.

It’s not easy to be a canteen auntie.

Only after five portions of steamed sweet potatoes of different shapes were distributed did Shen Zheng slowly breathe a sigh of relief and pick up her own portion.

Ji Benchang stared at the sweet potato in Chen Xingshen's hand, which was steaming white, and frowned, "Why do I feel that the one in your hand is bigger?"

Chen Xingshen secretly rolled his eyes and handed over his share, "Exchange with you."

Ji Benchang happily exchanged with Chen Xingshen, and then held the sweet potato in front of him almost reverently, "I want to eat it."

"......" Shen Zheng was speechless and choked up, taking a bite.

Um--

Smells sweet!

Soft and sticky texture!

The fragrance of the sweet potato that I put into my mouth goes directly into my nasal cavity.

"Hmm..." Ji Benchang and Chen Xingshen exclaimed at the same time, "This fragrance is incomparable to steamed taro! Just eating a piece of this, I'm afraid I won't want to eat candy for a month!"

Ji Benchang said this from the perspective of the common people.

Sugar is very precious and most people cannot afford it, but they just want to have it. As a result, the highest standard of entertaining guests at ordinary people’s homes is not to give them tea, but sugar water.

The old farmer ate all the sweet potato skins.

He closed his eyes and sighed, "First, its shape is unique, like a rough jade hiding its clumsiness; second, its fragrance is wonderful, bewitching and soul-stirring; third, its taste is unique, warming and compassionate. Wonderful, wonderful, this crop is really wonderful! If it can produce 200 kilograms per mu, I'm afraid every household will rush to plant it!"

Turning around, he asked Shen Zheng anxiously, "Master Shen, when you discovered this crop, what was the yield per mu?"

Shen Zheng looked at Ji Benchang and said, "Quite a lot."

"Hmm?" The old farmer asked, looking like he was going to get to the bottom of it, "Master Shen, how much is a lot?"