Armed with a machete and a gun, armed with a system, they fled the famine.

Chapter 438 Another Winter Solstice

Zhang Liang and Yu Hao nimbly mounted their horses and led the large sweet potato transport team northward toward the capital.

They came with light travel, but returned with nearly 100,000 jin of sweet potatoes, which naturally slowed down their journey.

Even at their slowest pace, they made it back to the capital by noon on the fifth day.

When Dou Qingran saw the truckloads of sacks piled high, he was overjoyed.

"That's great! We can expand the planting area even further next year."

If this expansion continues at this rate, within two years, all the people of the Great Nguyen Dynasty will be able to grow sweet potatoes.

Sweet potatoes are so productive that a family can easily feed themselves by planting just a few.

Only when people are well-fed can they have the energy to do other things.

Dou Qingran was extremely excited and gave Zhang Liang and Yu Hao a generous reward.

There was no shortage of gold and silver jewelry, and he also gave each person two sweet potatoes as an extra reward, telling them to go back and cook porridge for themselves.

Although Zhang Liang and Yu Hao only received two precious sweet potatoes, they did not complain or show any disdain. Instead, they thanked Dou Qingran repeatedly with gratitude.

Sweet potatoes are now a treasure of the Great Nguyen Dynasty. It's already quite generous of the Emperor to bestow them upon the two of them; they are very content.

……

The imperial court's purchase of sweet potatoes brought a huge profit to the entire Huaihua Village.

The one who earned the most was Muramasa Zhouhu.

His family planted a total of ten mu of land in the second half of the year, and harvested more than 18,000 jin of sweet potatoes. In addition to the sweet potatoes harvested from three mu of land in the first half of the season, his family originally had a total of 23,000 to 24,000 jin of sweet potatoes.

Apart from the sweet potatoes he plans to breed next year and the ones he keeps for his own consumption, he sold all the remaining 20,000 jin of sweet potatoes.

They earned a full four hundred taels of silver.

Next is Qiu Zhen's family.

While Qiu Zhen may not have been as daring as Zhou Hu, she was still quite bold.

This time, her family earned 320 taels of silver from selling silver.

After selling the sweet potatoes, she divided the money she received into five portions, with each of her four sons receiving more than sixty taels of silver.

The daughters-in-law are all thrifty and know that their mother-in-law will not mistreat them financially. Therefore, the sisters-in-law get along quite well.

As for the other villagers, some sold for more than two hundred taels of silver, some for more than one hundred taels, and even the least sold for seventy or eighty taels of silver.

With money in hand, everyone wanted to build their houses before winter, and then install heated kang beds in the bedrooms. It would be so comfortable to stay in the house with the kang burning in the winter.

As a result, the villagers almost broke down Zhou Renyu's door.

He had already arranged the houses in order and was building them one by one.

However, some villagers said they had elderly family members and hoped he could make an exception and build the houses ahead of schedule.

Now things have gotten complicated. The people ahead of him in line are unhappy, and the two families immediately started arguing.

Zhou Renyu was also helpless.

He only has two hands and two legs. Even if he works day and night, it's impossible for him to build a house overnight.

Finally, the village head spoke up, prioritizing those with elderly members, and only then did the villagers quiet down.

While it's bustling and lively here, the farm across the street remains as quiet as ever.

Zhao Xiaomi and Yuan Tianbao continued to go to the school every day to learn from Wu Da and another teacher.

Zhao Yunqi would still go to Yuan Yutang's place after school to continue learning medical skills.

Before the sweet potato planting season in the second half of the year, Wu Da quickly bought three acres of land and some sweet potato seedlings from Zhao Yan, and planted the sweet potatoes at the last minute.

This time, his family harvested about 5,000 jin of sweet potatoes from their three mu of land.

He kept 800 jin of potatoes as seed potatoes for next year and for his own consumption, and sold the rest.

This time, his family made almost a hundred taels of silver.

After breakfast that day, Zhao Yan took Xiao Fu Bao and Xiao Fu Niu to Tian Xiu E's house to play with her little brother.

As soon as she stepped outside, she bumped into Wu Da. Zhao Yan asked in surprise, "Brother Wu, are you here to see Sanlang?"

Wu Da shook his head, and without saying a word, stepped forward and stuffed the things in his hand into Xiao Fu Niu's hands.

"Sister-in-law, these are little things I bought for the children. They can play with them. I have to go now."

After saying that, he waved to Zhao Yan, turned around and slipped away, as if afraid that Zhao Yan would chase after him.

What is Brother Wu doing?

Zhao Yan blinked a few times, then silently squatted down and took the things from Xiao Fu Niu's hands to look through them.

This sight surprised her greatly.

What Wu Da gave was no small gift; he gave three pairs of gleaming gold bracelets.

A pair of bracelets would weigh at least half a pound, and three pairs of bracelets would weigh one and a half pounds.

Aside from the value of the gold itself, these are bracelets, so they would cost at least a lot of silver.

After thinking for a moment, Zhao Yan understood why Wu Da had given Xiao Fu Niu and the others these gifts.

He must be coming to thank her for reminding him to buy a few acres of land and for lending him sweet potato seedlings.

Since the items had already been purchased, Zhao Yan had no reason not to accept them.

So she immediately put the gold bracelets on Xiao Fu Niu and Xiao Fu Bao, and asked Xiao Fu Niu with a smile, "How is it? Is it good?"

Little Fu Niu immediately grinned and nodded vigorously.

"Mmm, Mom, this looks good."

"Mother...it looks beautiful."

Little Fu Bao was also babbling in Zhao Yan's arms.

"Let's go find the little brother to play with."

Zhao Yan put the remaining bracelets into her bosom and led the two of them toward Tian Xiu'e's house.

This was just a minor incident, and Zhao Yan quickly forgot about it.

The weather is getting colder day by day.

Zhao Yan had Yuan Yutang and the others light the kang (heated brick bed) early on, and she also lit her own kang.

Two days later, Tian Xiue's family also lit a kang (heated brick bed).

Either they are old or they have children at home, so they have to use a heated kang (a traditional Chinese bed-stove) early on.

Zhao Yan spent her days at home playing with the children, and before she knew it, the winter solstice had arrived.

Early in the morning, there was a knock on Zhao Yan's door.

"Brother Yang, are you home?"

Upon hearing the sound, Zhao Yan quickly kicked Yang Sanlang, who was sleeping on the outermost side.

"Sanlang, someone is calling your name outside. Go and see who it is."

"I'll go right away."

Yang Sanlang rolled over in bed, quickly put on his clothes and shoes, and strode outside.

He returned shortly afterward.

Through the window, he said to Zhao Yan, "Yan'er, Brother Shen and Xingyan are here. Help Xiaomi and the others get dressed first. I'll take them to the study."

Is Xingyan here?

Zhao Yan jumped out of bed with a start and said quickly to the outside, "Okay, I understand."

She originally wanted to wake Xiaomi and the others up first, but seeing that the three siblings were sleeping soundly, she had no choice but to give up and quietly get out of bed to get dressed.

After tidying herself up, she tucked the blankets around Xiaomi and the other two children, then spread three thick, wide blankets on the floor and around the bed before turning around and leaving.