I trade in both worlds

As soon as the clan leader entered the room, he saw Xu Jizong's serious expression. He thought that today's incident must be of great importance. Turning around, he saw Xu Xu also stayed, and wondered in his heart whether today's incident had anything to do with her.

It’s better to ask directly than to think too much: “Ji Zong, is there anything you want me to come over for?”

Xu Jizong looked at Xu Xu and said, "Xu Xu, you go ahead and talk."

The clan leader and Xu Qinglin turned to look at her. Xu Xu picked up two potatoes and handed them to the clan leader and Xu Qinglin. The clan leader looked at the yellow lump in his hand from 360 degrees but couldn't see anything.

Xu Qinglin simply asked: "What is this?"

Xu Xu said, "Second Grandfather, Uncle Qinglin, this is called potato. It comes from overseas. It can be used as food or vegetables. We can grow it twice a year, in spring and after the summer harvest."

"New breed?" The clan leader looked at Xu Xu sharply.

As expected of the clan leader, he highlighted the key points right away and thought of the value of the grain even before knowing the grain output.

Xu Xu nodded and continued, "It is said that its yield per mu can reach 25 dan."

The clan leader straightened his back, looked at Xu Xu and asked, "Is it true?"

"The person who gave me the improved seeds said that the average yield per mu over there is at least 25 shi and the highest can reach 35 shi. But this is something from overseas and I don't know if it can adapt to our environment here."

"So high?" Xu Qinglin looked at the potato in Xu Xu's hand with suspicion.

The patriarch stood up and walked back and forth in the main room. No one dared to say a word and just looked at him quietly.

After a cup of tea, the tribe leader asked, "Xu Xu, can you bring the person who gave you the good seed to me?"

Xu Xu looked embarrassed, and after a long pause, he said, "Second Grandfather, maybe not. She didn't let me mention her to anyone. She only suggested that we say that we got it by accident or picked it up."

The clan leader frowned, bent down and took the two largest potatoes from the basket, weighed them, and pondered for a while. He looked at Xu Xu with sharp eyes and asked, "Xu Xu, if we plant more, it would be unreasonable to have such a large number of good varieties. How can we explain it to the court after we plant them?"

Xu Xu's palms were sweating from being stared at. He forced himself to suppress his throbbing heart and said with a smile, "Don't worry, Second Grandpa. One acre of potato field needs about 8 jin of seeds. If we calculate it as 10 jin, 10 acres of land would be 100 jin, which is not a large amount."

The chieftain asked in surprise, "So few? What are the seeds like?"

He found a potato with buds and gestured with his fingers, saying: "Look at this bud. Cut the buds into a piece this big. One potato can have 4-6 buds. Dip the cut surface in wood ash. This will speed up the healing of the potato wound. Finally, put the potato in a slightly humid place and the potato will sprout quickly. The whole process takes about 7-10 days. Once the buds sprout, you can plant them. You can also dip them in wood ash and plant them directly."

The clan leader glanced at Xu Xu, thought for a moment and said, "Since the quantity is not large, let's just do it this way. We can tell others that we happened to meet a foreign merchant from the Western Regions and bought it from him."

Xu Xu nodded: "Okay, let's say this from now on."

"How are you going to plant now?" asked the patriarch.

"Nowadays, there are three varieties of potatoes: early-maturing, mid-maturing and late-maturing. Early-maturing potatoes take about 60 to 70 days from germination to harvest, mid-maturing potatoes take 85 to 120 days, and late-maturing potatoes take more than 120 days. I want to try planting them all and see which varieties have the highest yield here." Xu Xu replied.

"The cycle is so short?" The clan leader was a little skeptical. This thing has a high yield and a short growth cycle. Could Xu Xu have been cheated?

Xu Qinglin didn't quite believe it either, so he asked directly: "Xu Xu, that person wouldn't be lying to you, right?"

"That won't happen." Xu Xu said affirmatively: "Besides, we have no power or influence, and he won't get any benefit from cheating us."

Aunt Xu at the side said directly: "I'm trying to cheat you out of your money."

Xu Xu looked at her helplessly: "Although I spent money to buy seeds, I ate this yesterday and it can really be eaten as food. Even if the final yield is not high, we have one more vegetable to eat, right?"

The clan leader thought about it and agreed. This was indeed an opportunity. If they tried, whether successful or not, the Xu clan would have the possibility of making further progress. If they gave up, then there would be nothing. They had to try to know if it would work. The worst that could happen was just having an extra dish on the table as Xu Xu had said.

After figuring it out, the patriarch asked, "So what do you want me to do?"

Xu Xu glanced at Xu Jizong and said, "I want to give the potatoes to the people in the clan to plant in the test field. After the success, the imperial court will definitely ask the clan members to do the promotion. This is an opportunity. My family does not have the resources, but Second Grandpa does. It is most appropriate for you to arrange it."

The patriarch nodded and continued, "What are your requests?"

Xu Xu lowered his eyelids and said, "If it works, can you leave one of the promotion personnel quotas in the court for my elder brother?"

"Xuxu, I..." Xu Youliang was so shocked that he didn't know what to say.

Xu Jizong and Aunt Xu also looked at Xu Xu and opened their mouths, wanting to say something but not knowing what to say.

The patriarch said: "That's as it should be. Where are the good seeds?"

"Not yet. We need to confirm how much to plant, and then someone will arrange to deliver it directly. It would be best if we could confirm the quantity tomorrow, after all, it takes time to transport the high-quality seeds."

"That person has a lot? Did she give them only to you or did she give them to others?" the patriarch continued to ask.

"She said she would only give it to me. She didn't tell us how many improved varieties there were. She only said that she would try her best to deal with as many as we wanted," said Xu Xu.

The patriarch hesitated for a moment and asked, "Can that man be trusted?"

"It's credible." Xu Xu replied affirmatively.

"Okay, since you say it's trustworthy, I'll believe you. I'll go to the county later, and we'll talk about the rest when I come back." He stood up and was about to walk out.

Xu Xu hurriedly stopped him and said, "Second Grandpa, wait a moment. I'll pick up some potatoes and bring them to you. I've also written down some potato recipes for you. If it's convenient, you can ask someone to follow the recipes and try it out."

"Okay, go and write it down." The patriarch turned around and continued to sit down.

Xu Youliang turned around and went into the room to get some rough paper and a pen and ink and handed them to Xu Xu.

Xu Xu took the paper and said to Second Aunt Xu, "Second Aunt, please find a basket and pick up half of the potatoes for Second Grandpa to take away."

Aunt Xu nodded and went to the kitchen to get a basket to pick up potatoes.

After Xu Xu finished writing the recipes for potato pancakes, hot and sour potato shreds, and potatoes stewed with braised pork, he handed them to the clan leader and said, "Second Grandfather, you can also steam the potatoes whole, peel them and dip them in salt to eat. There is also a baked potato, which is to put the potatoes in the stove and cover them with ashes when cooking, then peel them and dip them in salt to eat."