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

After breakfast that day, Zhao Yan entrusted the three little ones in the care of Yuan Yutang and Su Yanzhi, and then drove the carriage with Yang Sanlang to the back mountain.

The entire village of Huaihua followed behind the carriage in a grand procession.

Except for those who were unable to walk, almost all the villagers went with them.

Upon arrival, Zhao Yan demonstrated to the villagers of Huaihua Village how to plant potatoes, just as she had done when teaching them how to plant sweet potatoes.

After everyone had finished looking at it, Zhao Yan asked them to take turns going up to help with the trial planting.

Finally, after everyone learned how to plant potatoes, Zhao Yan distributed some potatoes to each family and then sent them down the mountain to tend to their own land.

Qiu Zhen left her old man and four sons with Zhao Yan, and she and her three daughters-in-law took the potatoes they had been allocated and planted them in their own fields.

Qi Caixia's youngest daughter is still small, so she was left at home to look after the child and also to look after the children of the other three families.

Zhao Yan's land was only about twenty acres, but Yang Sanlang and the others planted sweet potatoes and potatoes on all of it in less than five days.

After finishing with the work on the back mountain, Zhao Yan found Qiu Zhen and wanted to settle her wages for the past few days.

Qiu Zhen waved her hand and said, "Xiao Zhao, why are you being so polite with me? You've helped us so much, it's nothing for my sons to help you out a little. Alright, alright, don't be so polite with me, or I'll get angry."

Seeing that she seemed to be ready to turn on her if she was given money, Zhao Yan smiled and stopped insisting.

"Okay, thank you very much, Aunt Zhou."

Qiu Zhen quickly waved her hand, "I already told you not to be so polite with me."

When it was Zhou Hu's turn, he had the same attitude.

Zhao Yan then discovered that the other villagers were adamant about not accepting her wages.

Having no other option, Zhao Yan had to turn back.

More than three months later, it was time to harvest sweet potatoes and potatoes again.

Zhao Yan and the others planted twenty acres of sweet potatoes and potatoes. If it were all up to Yang Sanlang and Chen An, they would work themselves to death and still not finish.

Therefore, Zhao Yan thought of paying someone to help her.

However, when she brought up this matter with Zhou Hu and Qiu Zhen this time, she repeatedly emphasized: "Uncle Zhou, if you don't accept the money, then I will have to find someone outside to help me. I know everyone means well, but you earned your wages by doing physical labor, so you should accept the money."

“We agreed beforehand that if you were to do this job, you would have to accept the payment.”

After discussing it, Zhou Hu and Qiu Zhen simply nodded in agreement.

Zhou Hu said, "Okay, we'll take the money."

At this time, every household is busy harvesting sweet potatoes and potatoes, so it's estimated that not many people will be able to come.

If that doesn't work, he'll go to town and invite a few people over.

Qiu Zhen patted her chest and assured him, "Don't worry, Xiao Zhao, we'll take the money, and we'll definitely do a great job for you."

Her family didn't plant too many this year.

Two mu of land were planted with sweet potatoes and one mu with potatoes; the work will be finished soon.

She and her daughters-in-law could manage to make do with the rest of the staple food.

There are four sons in the family, so let them go and help Xiao Zhao harvest sweet potatoes and potatoes.

However, Zhao Yan said to her, "Aunt Zhou, you have a lot of land and need a lot of manpower. You should focus on your land first. I'm not in a hurry here. We can take our time."

She then said to Zhou Hu, "And Uncle Zhou, your family has a lot of people and land, so you should focus on harvesting your own land first. Don't worry about me, Yun Chen and the others can help with the work."

Upon hearing this, Qiu Zhen immediately said no.

“Oh dear, that won’t do. Yuan Chen and the others are still children. Even if they work hard, they can’t do much in a day, right? Don’t worry about my family. Ren Bin and his three older brothers are all strong adults. If they get to work, they can help you finish harvesting the sweet potatoes and potatoes in the field in a few days.”

Zhao Yan thought for a moment and stopped Qiu Zhen from speaking.

"How about this, for families with many members, only one person from each family can come to help. The others should focus on their own land first."

Zhou Hu thought that this would work, so he nodded and said, "Okay, let's do it your way."

So, after Zhou Hu spread the word throughout the village, ten villagers from Huaihua Village expressed their willingness to help Zhao Yan and her group dig sweet potatoes and potatoes that very day.

The person who came from Qiu Zhen's house was naturally Zhou Renbin.

A group of more than ten people followed Yang Sanlang and Zhao Yan to the back mountain early in the morning. When Zhao Yan pulled a potato out of the sandy soil with her bare hands, everyone was amazed by the round, golden potato underneath.

Zhou Renbin raised his hand to close his chin and asked in surprise, "Sister Zhao, Brother Yang, is this a potato? It's huge, almost as big as a sweet potato."

Zhao Yan's eyes flickered slightly as she smiled and said, "Yes, these are the potatoes that have grown. If grown well, the yield per acre of potatoes can indeed rival that of sweet potatoes. However, potatoes are not easy to store, so I personally suggest that you plant less each season. But if you're looking to make money by growing potatoes, then disregard what I said."

Potatoes are now considered a type of vegetable, and it's true that they can be sold for money through large-scale cultivation.

Upon hearing her words, Zhou Renbin's mind immediately stirred.

Ever since he got married, he has been thinking about what kind of business to make in the future.

Making money by growing sweet potatoes is no longer possible.

Thanks to Dou Qingran's promotion, people all over the country have now learned how to grow sweet potatoes, and the yield of sweet potatoes will only increase in the future.

With abundant supply and low prices, sweet potatoes will not fetch a good price for the time being.

But potatoes are different. They're just starting out, and they're actually eaten as a vegetable. If he grows potatoes on a large scale, he could sell them to restaurants and eateries all over the country. That would be a viable business opportunity.

Other villagers who came to help shared the same idea as him.

Zhao Yan knew what they were thinking at a glance, so she said to Zhou Renbin and the others, "I suppose Muramasa has already told you about the differences between potatoes and sweet potatoes. Now I'll tell you again: potatoes are not easy to store, they sprout easily at high temperatures, and sprouted potatoes are poisonous and cannot be eaten."

"If you want to grow potatoes in the future, you should take these things into consideration in advance."

Food safety is always of utmost importance.

Zhou Renbin blinked and immediately indicated that he understood.

He asked in a low voice, "Sister Zhao, are you really not bothered?"

After all, whether it's potatoes or sweet potatoes, these are the ones she first discovered and tried to grow.

Zhao Yan waved her hand dismissively and said, "I don't mind. You can do whatever you want."

She has no worries about food and drink, so she doesn't care about these things at all.

Zhou Renbin and the others exchanged glances, and each had a general idea in mind for the time being.

The group put aside their thoughts for the time being and began helping Zhao Yan and the others harvest sweet potatoes and potatoes.

After working for several days, they finally finished the work on twenty acres of land.