Chapter 508 [Wild Night Talk]

  The people live a monotonous life, and they have always been very interested in things like joining in the fun.

  Many times, in order to join in the fun, everyone is not even afraid to take risks, or ignore the immediate dangers. The world that Fang Chang has come into contact with is much wider than that of ordinary people. In the stories he heard, there are many such situations, which often lead to tragedies.

   Now that it is past the busy time of farming, the people who have harvested the crops early have become leisurely.

   "Looks really good."

   "Hmm, I just don't know how it tastes."

   "I seem to have heard from my relatives that this is a good way to prepare for the famine. I usually plant a few acres of land. If there is a disaster year, the momentum is not right. If you replant it quickly, you can have a year's harvest."

   "Hey! That one is big."

   Surrounding these few working officials, the surrounding people chatted with each other in a hurry.

  Fang Chang leaned forward and looked inside. It turned out that several small officials were collecting sweet potatoes. They turned a deaf ear to the discussions of the people next to them, and were only busy with the work in front of them, not even interested in chatting.

   This is normal, anyone who is surrounded by people like this will feel uncomfortable.

   After the field was opened and a large pile of sweet potatoes was piled on the ground, a small official finally said, "Come and help me with two people, carry the scale beam, let's weigh how much the field has harvested!"

  Hearing this, the idle villagers who were watching around suddenly became interested and started yelling.

  Anyway, there is nothing to do now, and we are full after the harvest, so everyone doesn't care about spending some energy. Immediately, seven or eight of them stepped forward and lifted the large steelyard brought by the petty officials with a crossbar, and the others put the baskets of sweet potatoes on it.

  Rough arithmetic is a necessary skill for production, and several people know it. After adding up the weighing results, a number is obtained that makes the villagers dumbfounded.

   "Two thousand three hundred and four catties! Two thousand three hundred and four catties!"

  Everyone shouted in surprise, looking at the potato seedlings in the field that had been left aside, their eyes became hot.

  The more mature and prudent one said with a very understanding tone:

   "This is a fresh product with plenty of moisture, but even if it is half dried, it still weighs more than a thousand catties, which is much better than the millet we grow."

   "I just don't know how it tastes, but I'm sure I don't have the habit of eating millet rice and wheat cakes, and storage is also a problem."

  Fang Chang secretly thought at the side, this person is right.

  The sweet potato he discovered in the depths of Yunzhong Mountain is something between potatoes and sweet potatoes. Naturally, it has advantages and disadvantages of both, but the yield is still very high, and it does not choose the land.

   After the officials wiped off their sweat, the leader said:

   "This is a new variety that the yamen is going to promote! When the spring starts to encourage farmers, someone will distribute it, and it's not for everyone to use it as staple food. What the yamen means is to let you take out some places and plant some."

"Sweet potatoes have high yields and grow fast. You don't need to choose the land, and you can grow them even on barren hillsides without much care. Sweet potatoes can be used as food or vegetables, but they need to be sliced ​​and dried for long-term storage. , it takes more effort."

   "The most important thing is that this potato can be used to prepare for a famine. In times of famine, plant it in an emergency so that the harvest will not fail. After planting it, you can eat seedlings in a short time, and it can also be fed to livestock in normal times."

   "Our climate here is usually dominated by newly popularized wheat, mixed with beans and millet, and some sweet potatoes are planted in the poor land and corners. As long as you are not afraid of working hard, you will be able to live well."

  After hearing his last words, the people around immediately laughed:

"That's natural. The field is not deceiving. No amount of effort can yield as much harvest. Since several adults have said that this sweet potato is so good, we have said it again, so next year we will try to plant a small piece of rotten land. .”

Seeing the success of the lecture, the officials were very happy. They took some sweet potatoes and distributed them to the onlookers one by one. leave in

  ...

  The night is already very cool, the mist is rising, the dew on the tip of the grass is gradually condensing, and the stars in the sky are somewhat faint.

  Fang Chang slept in a sheltered place with two carriages.

  Actually, this is not the kind of place that travelers must visit, and it was Fang Chang who found this place first. He found some firewood and started a fire.

Now he has new tools for making a fire. The fire pocket and fire knife have been eliminated, and the convex lens is not suitable for the evening when there is no sunlight. He took out the lighter from his arms, and Fang Chang rubbed it vigorously for a few times, and then a flame came out, and the dry grass was ignited. , and then ignite the branches.

   This is a gadget he made himself, and it is really convenient if you don't use spells. In fact, the structure is not complicated. The lighter is a copper shell, which is filled with alcohol and drawn out by a wick. There is a small steel wheel on the outside, and there is a replaceable flint, which can produce sparks when it is rotated and rubbed. A spring-loaded cover is made on the outside, and it can be opened or closed with a "click" by gently flipping.

  Fang Chang didn’t engrave any words on it. To him, it was just a small tool, made only for convenience and fun.

  In fact, the spirits in it can barely be used, but Fang Chang still distilled the head of the wine several times, and then added some quicklime to remove the water, so as to make anhydrous alcohol. The idea of ​​refining yellow phosphorus to make matches is only halfway done. Fang Chang used a new woodworking machine to make a large number of matchsticks, so he stopped trying in this regard.

  The two carriages next to them were passing by, and in the evening, they found that there was no way to go to the village or back to the shop, and they saw the light of the bonfire in front of Fang Chang, so they came over and begged to rub the fire.

  Although Fang Chang was carrying a sword, he was not a bad person in any way, and the more people staying in the wild the better, that's why they made this request.

  They were very particular about their actions, and after getting Fang Chang's permission, they went to collect firewood, and took out food to share with Fang Chang.

  After nightfall, everyone was not in a hurry to rest, but gathered around the fire, drinking tea and chatting. The campfire was very lively, and the small pot on it was gurgling, and there were large pieces of tea floating in it, which were carried by the passengers of one of the carriages. There is a wooden spoon next to it, and whenever someone runs out of tea in the container, they get up and scoop it up by themselves.

  As soon as there are more people, the content of the chat will be out of control, and the change between the north and the south is very fast, but at this time, no one has named this phenomenon "crooked building" or anything else.

"...Health preservation has its own way. Some people rely on food, some rely on tonic, and some rely on heat and cold. But the longest-lived one I have ever seen told me his secret, which I admire very much. In fact, it’s not difficult to say, but it’s hard to do, especially persevere, and it’s just two words—deaf-mute.”

  (end of this chapter)