The journey of the only child of a peasant family to take the imperial examination

Just do it.

Next, Zhang Ping'an organized people to make dried sweet potatoes, sweet potato flour, sweet potato candy and sweet potato wine.

Especially sugar and wine, which are rarely available at ordinary times. During the Chinese New Year, they can be used as New Year benefits and some of them can be distributed to the soldiers and the people to sweeten their stomachs.

May everyone have good luck in the new year.

Now, apart from some vegetables and radishes planted in the fields, which require people to take care of them from time to time, there is no heavy work to be done.

The workshop is also well staffed.

Five days later, the first batch of dried sweet potatoes and sweet potato flour were ready.

Lao Tu and Liu Sanlang tasted it and agreed that "this is a good thing to store for famine prevention!"

After chewing, Zhang Pingan wiped his mouth and said, "We were in a hurry for this first batch. If we can steam and dry it a second time, the sweetness and toughness will be better."

Because sweet potato flour is purely handmade and relies on weather drying, and there is no bleaching technology, the finished product is yellowish.

But the taste is very good.

It is high in starch and can easily fill you up.

More popular than dried sweet potatoes.

The production process of sweet potato candy and sweet potato wine is more complicated and takes longer.

Fifteen days later, the first batch of sweet potato wine and sweet potato candy was ready.

There are two types of sweet potato wine. The first type is fermented wine, which is also called turbid wine and has a lower alcohol content.

The second type is distilled liquor, also known as shochu, which has a higher alcohol content and is a high-proof liquor.

Soldiers in the military camp prefer shochu, while ordinary people prefer turbid wine.

Sweet potato candy is brown after it is made and is slightly less sweet than sucrose, but it is also very good.

Overall, these things were very successful.

With the successful experience of the first time, you just need to follow the same method in the future.

In less than two months, half of the sweet potatoes in the warehouse were consumed.

Instead, there are ready-made products that are easy to store.

Old Baldy expressed his gratitude countless times that Lord Zhou had sent him a good partner.

This will save you so much worry!

Zhang Pingan was courteous and generous with his praise: "If you hadn't taken people out hunting from time to time and almost cleared out the bandits within a hundred miles, the county wouldn't be so peaceful. We are called each having our own strengths and doing our own jobs, which is great!"

The old bald man was praised as very handsome.

He patted his head and chuckled a few times: "Hehe, that's right!"

"Laba Festival is just a dozen days away. There is enough food this year, so we can finally have a good New Year. I should cook Laba porridge then, right?" Ruan San was eagerly looking forward to it.

"It has to be cooked!" Zhang Pingan replied, "Tell the chef to put more sugar in it when the time comes!"

"Your Excellency is wise!" Ruan San was happy after hearing this.

The other people in the yamen couldn't help but smile, and the atmosphere was very good for a while.

"Don't worry, everyone will have a good New Year this year. Not only here, but most other parts of the country have also had a bumper harvest of sweet potatoes. In addition to Annan rice and some other high-yield beans, the food problem has been greatly alleviated. If this continues, everyone will have enough food and clothing," Zhang Pingan laughed loudly.

"If only it could always be like this," someone sighed.

Zhang Pingan and Lao Tu did not spoil the fun and let everyone talk about it.

After everyone left, the old bald man said, "This year, the imperial court gave us a year of tax exemption in the north. Who knows if it will be the same next year!"

"Let's all be happy. People will be happy and their lives will be interesting only when they have something to look forward to," Zhang Ping'an said with a warm smile.

"Who says it isn't? Who knows, some of these people might go to the battlefield next year. It's better to be happy for a while. Why don't we slaughter a few more pigs for the New Year this year?!" said the bald old man.

"Okay, that's what I thought. Except for the piglets, lambs and ewes, all the others will be slaughtered!" Zhang Ping'an nodded in response.

The meat and dishes for the New Year were decided, and the old bald man turned to talking about the official gazette: "I saw in the official gazette that many places across the country are now making sweet potato chips, sweet potato flour, sweet potato candy, and sweet potato wine. The people's lives have suddenly become much better. If it weren't for Lord Zhou's generous promotion of these products throughout the country, how could this situation have come about? Lord Zhou always puts justice first. I really hope that the court will have more talents like him. Working under such people will make us fight more vigorously."

"In fact, there are many talented people in the court, but many of them cannot do things as they wish," Zhang Pingan said pertinently.

"These are things you and I can't control for now. I just don't know how long I'll have to stay in this northern land. The poor food and accommodation are not a big deal, but I miss my family."

"It's all the same, you just have to get used to it. Man, you have to learn to keep your thoughts in your heart," the bald old man has long been accustomed to it.

He hasn't been home in nearly five years.

Every time his life was on the line, he secretly reminded himself that only by keeping his life would he have the possibility of going back and seeing his relatives again.

No matter what, he at least became a sixth-rank military officer. If he could survive, he would be able to provide protection for his grandchildren in the future.

If you die, you will lose everything.

It is with this belief and a bit of luck that he has been able to survive until now!

Zhang Ping'an understood it too, but he just couldn't suppress the longing in his heart.

Thinking of the letter he received from his sixth brother-in-law a few days ago, Zhang Pingan said, "I estimate that the situation of the war may be greatly reversed in the future, and there will not be such a large number of casualties as before."

"Oh? What do you say?"

"In the past, wars were always fought with cold weapons, but things will be different in the future. We'll have to wait and see next year to find out the details."

When it comes to strategic deployment, Zhang Ping'an only revealed a few words and didn't say much.

According to the letter from my sixth brother-in-law, large artillery has been invented. It is about eight feet long and weighs hundreds of pounds. The maximum range is 1.5 to 2 kilometers. It can fire hundreds of bullets at a time. It is so powerful that it can even penetrate city walls.

The fire egg gun is also constantly being improved and made more and more sophisticated.

It may become one of the equipments of all cavalry in the future.

As a time traveler, Zhang Ping'an knew very well what the advent of this epoch-making firearm would bring.

Especially with Mr. Zhou, a fellow countryman who is both civil and military, controlling the situation, his power is even more immeasurable.

Now we have basically all the right places and people, only the right timing is missing.

Just as the ancients said, after decades of cultivation, Jiaolong will "become a dragon in one day, and fly away with the help of Pengfeng."

The bald old man was not stupid, and he seemed to be thinking about it after hearing it.

Knowing that Zhang Pingan must have heard some rumors, he just smiled and said, "Of course!"

More than ten days passed in a flash, and it was Laba Day in the blink of an eye.

Although we couldn’t get all eight kinds of beans, the porridge was thick and sweet with sweet potato candy, so everyone was still very satisfied with it.

It was also one of the few times when Liu Sanlang could eat to his heart's content.

The cook wanted to please Zhang Ping'an for his sake. Knowing that Liu Sanlang had a big appetite, he specially left the porridge at the bottom of several buckets for Liu Sanlang.

The porridge at the bottom of the barrel is generally sweeter and thicker.

The feeling of being full was so good. After finishing his porridge, Liu Sanlang sat on the chair, hoping that he could stay awake for a little longer.