0p0 Chapter 372 Potato Yield
Chapter 372 Potato Yield
The shovel found the right place and dug into the ground. Zheng Sisi stepped hard on the shovel with her foot, then lifted the shovel, lifting up a large piece of soil in front of it. The potatoes in the ground and the potato stalks on them were lifted out together. In an instant, five or six potatoes broke away from the roots and fell out. They had gray skins and were of different sizes. The big ones were as big as an adult's fist, and the small ones were about the size of eggs.
Zheng Sisi bent down and lifted up the potato stalks. There were four or five potatoes hanging at the bottom. Zheng Sisi picked up all the potatoes and counted them. There were eleven or twelve potatoes in one stalk, weighing more than four pounds. This was a good yield.
Everyone was stunned by Zheng Sisi's actions and no one spoke for a long time.
Oh my god! More than four pounds of potatoes were dug out from one seedling. How many potatoes can be dug out from such a piece of land? In this poor era, some people in remote mountainous areas can only eat two meals of porridge a day. If there are potatoes, everyone will no longer be hungry, and there will be no more people starving to death every year.
Everyone was excited and came over to take a closer look at why the potato yield was so high.
Emperor Yongshun took two potatoes with shaking hands and examined them carefully. He said in a trembling voice, "These are potatoes. One potato can yield more than four pounds. Will Dai Viet no longer be short of food in the future? The poor people will be saved."
All the ministers nodded excitedly, and some who had experienced the famine years were so excited that they shed tears.
Zheng Sisi could understand everyone's excitement. Although she had not experienced an era of food shortage, she had read novels and watched TV. The descriptions in the novels and TV programs really made people cry and feel sad.
Sheng Zhen walked up and took the shovel from Zheng Sisi's hand, saying, "Just teach us, and we'll do the rest."
The Emperor Yongshun came to his senses and said, "Yes, Sisi, let them dig. Come to your uncle and watch them dig potatoes."
Zheng Sisi had no choice but to give up the right to use the shovel and watched Sheng Zhen lead people to dig potatoes. Uncle Li led a few farmers and servants to dig much faster. Zheng Sisi directed from the side: "Clean the mud off the potatoes and put them in the basket. When it is full, it can be weighed. Collect the potato stalks and dry them for firewood. The tender leaves can be used to feed the horses."
The servants followed the instructions and did their work. Zheng Sisi, who was wearing a short coat, helped out from time to time. Emperor Yongshun and the ministers also wanted to help, but Zheng Sisi stopped them: "Your Majesty, you and the others should not do it. It would be a big loss if you damage the dragon robe and official uniforms."
Everyone looked at their own clothes and gave up, standing aside and watching. Emperor Yongshun also complained about why he came out without changing his clothes. It was really boring to be so restrained.
Butler Chen took a piece of paper and a pen and said to the guards who were weighing the potatoes, "Be gentle, be gentle, don't smash the potatoes." He recorded the weight while looking at the scale.
Emperor Yongshun saw a basket being weighed out and asked quickly, "How many pounds is this basket?"
Butler Chen bowed and said respectfully, "Your Majesty, this basket is only 68 kilograms because it is not full."
Emperor Yongshun nodded with satisfaction: "Not bad! Not bad!"
The best rice farmland can produce a maximum of 400 kilograms per acre. Here in just one corner, we can produce more than 60 kilograms, which is much higher than the yield of rice.
A ridge of land was dug up, covering an area of about two mu. The potatoes dug out filled nine baskets. After weighing them all, there were 583 kilograms, and that was the net weight after deducting the baskets.
When Butler Chen reported this number, everyone felt like they were dreaming and thought that the number was wrong: "Butler Chen, did you calculate it wrong? How could it be more than 580 kilograms? Do you want to weigh it again?"
Everyone else nodded in agreement, forgiving them for their lack of knowledge, but the potato yield from these two acres of land was higher than that from an acre of the best rice field, which everyone found unbelievable.
Manager Chen calculated this number several times before he said it out. He was very sure that it was correct because the data and the basket matched. Now everyone was questioning him, and he was speechless. He could only look at Zheng Sisi and ask his master for help.
Zheng Sisi didn't expect that the potato yield would be so high on this barren land. Of course, it couldn't be compared with the 5,000 kilograms per mu yield of modern technological cultivation, but it also exceeded expectations.
Everyone didn't believe her and understood, so they could only say to Butler Chen: "Butler Chen, weigh it again."
"Yes, weigh it again, let's see the scale." Several ministers shouted.