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

As for her family's land, she has several daughters-in-law, so she's not worried about not being able to finish farming it all.

Seeing this, the others also raised their hands and said, "Muramasa, and my family too! My family can also produce two adults."

"Me too, me too..."

The villagers were very enthusiastic, with almost every household sending one or two people.

Seeing everyone's reaction, Zhou Hu then relayed Zhao Yan's message to them.

"Little Zhao said that if you can't spare any manpower, don't force yourself. They're not planting much this year, so they don't need that many people. If any of you really can't spare any manpower, don't force yourself. Just take care of your own land first."

Some villagers were indeed short-handed, and seeing that Zhou Hu had said so, they really didn't insist anymore and obediently put their hands down.

Finally, Zhou Hu only chose a few families with a large number of young and middle-aged people, including the family of Young Master Shen and Qiu Zhen.

The next morning, Zhou Hu told Zhao Yan about the people who had helped him.

After hearing this, Zhao Yan expressed her gratitude to Zhou Hu again.

After considering it for a moment, she said to Zhou Hu before he left, "Uncle Zhou, besides growing sweet potatoes, I'm also planning to grow another kind of food. I wonder if you would like to grow some too?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Hu nodded without hesitation and said, "Then we must plant it. Little Zhao, tell me what good stuff you've found this time?"

Zhao Yan smiled and said frankly, "Actually, it's not anything special. It just adds another dish to everyone's table."

"Uncle Zhou, you've tried this before. What I'm talking about is potatoes. We ate them at Brother Shen's restaurant."

"Oh, you mean potatoes?"

Zhou Hu's eyes suddenly lit up. As if realizing something, he exclaimed in surprise, "Hey, Xiao Zhao, you don't mean you discovered potatoes as a food, do you?"

Oh my god.

How much good fortune must Huaihua Village have accumulated in their past lives?

In recent years, following Xiao Zhao, their village has not only become richer, but their lives have become increasingly prosperous. Life couldn't be better.

Zhou Hu looked at Zhao Yan with the eagerness of a cat seeing a fish. He vowed in his heart that he would absolutely keep up with Zhao Yan from now on and never fall behind.

And he, as the village head, also had to keep a close eye on the other villagers.

Zhao Yan's eyes flickered slightly, and she nodded with a smile, "I discovered it by chance in the mountains, and it was only successfully planted last year."

"But potatoes have one bad thing about them: they sprout easily when the weather gets warm. When I saw that they had sprouted, I took them to Uncle Yuan to take a look. Uncle Yuan said that sprouted potatoes are poisonous and cannot be eaten."

"Uncle Zhou, if you want to plant them, I can spare some potato seeds for you."

Upon hearing that sprouted potatoes could cause poisoning, Zhou Hu's excited mood immediately cooled down.

If that's the case, he really can't just plant them like he would sweet potatoes.

After a moment's consideration, he said to Zhao Yan, "Xiao Zhao, my family will definitely plant some potatoes, but not too many. Just reserve one acre for me. As for the others in the village, I'll ask them what they think when I get back, and then I'll tell you."

After hearing this, Zhao Yan nodded immediately, "Okay, I'll wait for your news."

Plant some if you want, it's okay if you don't.

That was her idea.

Zhou Hu hurriedly returned to the village and once again gathered all the villagers in his courtyard.

He raised his voice and said to the crowd, "Listen up, everyone! Xiao Zhao said she has another way of growing this food, and she asked me to ask if any of you would like to try it?"

Upon hearing this, the villagers all chimed in, expressing their desire to plant it.

"Plant it! Why not plant it? What Madam Zhao said must be good stuff."

"That means if you follow Zhao Niangzi, you'll get to eat meat."

Zhou Hu raised his hand and pressed it down, then said to everyone with a serious expression, "Everyone, please be quiet. Now you must listen carefully to what I'm about to say."

"This food is called potatoes. Little Zhao found it in the mountains. It's..."

Before he could finish speaking, someone exclaimed in surprise, "Muramasa, didn't we eat that potato dish at Young Master Shen's restaurant? What was it called again? Oh, right, it was called potato ribs, or braised pork with potatoes, wasn't it?"

After his reminder, the other villagers immediately remembered.

Someone couldn't help but smack their lips, suppressing their excitement as they said, "That's exactly what it's called. So it was Zhao Niangzi who discovered potatoes! Oh dear, I can't think about it, or my mouth will start watering."

Then, more and more villagers began to unconsciously swallow their saliva.

The main reason is that braised pork with potatoes and pork ribs with potatoes taste so delicious that it's hard for them not to drool.

Zhou Hu looked at the villagers in front of him speechlessly, and continued in a serious tone: "Look at you all, so useless. Although meat dishes made from potatoes are delicious, Xiao Zhao specifically told me that potatoes are not easy to store. They are prone to sprouting when the temperature is warm, and sprouted potatoes can cause poisoning if eaten."

"So, you should all think it through before deciding whether or not to try planting it."

"What? Eating sprouted potatoes can cause poisoning?"

Upon hearing this, the villagers' excitement immediately cooled down.

If that's the case, they really need to think it over carefully before making a decision.

Not all villagers have more than ten acres of farmland like Zhou Hu and Qiu Zhen.

Some families with few members may only have five or six mu of land. They usually use three or four mu to grow wheat and corn, and the rest to grow sweet potatoes.

But if we still want to grow potatoes, then we can only grow less of other grains.

After discussing it with her husband, Qiu Zhen immediately said, "Brother, let's try planting one mu first."

Her family has a total of thirteen mu of land. Ten mu are used to grow wheat and corn, two mu are used to grow sweet potatoes, and the remaining mu will be used to try growing potatoes.

Anyway, she has a large family and a lot of land, so even if the potato trial doesn't succeed, she'll have high-yield sweet potatoes to fall back on, so she's not worried.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Hu nodded to her.

His family also had the same idea; they wanted to try planting one acre first.

Seeing that Qiu Zhen's family only planted one mu of potatoes, the other villagers thought about it and also expressed their intention to try planting a smaller amount.

Some people inquired about the potato's growing environment, which also determined how many plots to plant.

Anyway, just make sure you don't miss out on anything.

Those families with relatively little land even decided to cultivate a vegetable garden around their homes specifically to try growing potatoes.

After some deliberation, Zhou Hu came up with a rough estimate.

Upon learning of this, Zhao Yan calmly nodded, indicating her understanding.

"Okay, when I start planting potatoes here the day after tomorrow, the villagers can come and learn how to plant them."

Growing potatoes is different from growing sweet potatoes, but they are actually quite similar. There's not much technical skill involved; as long as you're willing to put in the effort, there's nothing you can't grow.

Zhou Hu naturally expressed his gratitude to Zhao Yan.