Chapter 318: Chapter 305: Found it

Translator: 549690339 I

“There’s not enough food grown here in our fields, so most of our labor force has to find work in the county town. Not everyone can find work, though. Some have had to leave for distant places to earn money and haven’t returned for three or five years. Their families worry about them constantly. Some have left and we haven’t heard a word from them. We don’t even know whether they are dead or alive.”

The number of people in our village is decreasing, and many of our fields lie fallow. Life is becoming harder…”

As Miao Hongjin spoke, he himself let out a sigh.

In these never-ending days, where the end is nowhere in sight, and hope is absent, the situation can become excruciating for people. To the point of driving them to despair.

No wonder those workers we passed earlier looked so sullen and dazed.”

“We must always consider alternatives and not be too quick to lose hope,” Ding Gaochang comforted.

Meanwhile, Zhuang Qingning was eyeing the dried sweet potatoes, sweet potato flour, and fresh sweet potatoes. She even tasted a piece of sweet potato that Miao Hongjin had peeled.

Its crisp texture and subtly sweet juice were indeed delicious.

Especially the sweet potatoes with the red flesh. They have a certain chestnut flavor that is perfectly suited for making dried sweet potatoes or sweet potato strips.

And then there’s the sweet potato flour.

Sweet potatoes are high in starch, and many things can be made from the extracted starch.

Zhuang Qingning couldn’t help but perk up a little.

“Miss Zhuang, do you have a plan in mind?” Ding Gaochang asked quietly, seeing a hint of happiness in her eyes.

“Perhaps I do,” Zhuang Qingning nodded, “The red-fleshed sweet potatoes are high in sugar content, perfect for making dried sweet potatoes and sweet potato strips as snacks. As for the white-fleshed sweet potatoes, they have a high starch content, which can be used to make glass noodles, jelly noodles, and such.”

“Jelly noodles are delicious, and glass noodles are often eaten. Moreover, dried glass noodles can be preserved for a long time and are suitable for all seasons. They can even be sold in distant places, possibly for a good price.”

“That’s an excellent idea.” Ding Gaochang approved and nodded.

However, Miao Hongjin, frowned, and hesitantly explained, “If I may speak honestly to Master Ding and Miss Zhuang, there were indeed others who came back from outside and suggested that we make things from sweet potatoes to sell. But these products didn’t sell well, and many people even lost money on their sweet potato ventures. It ended up being a futile effort.”

“Well…” Zhuang Qingning giggled, “How about I take a few sweet potatoes back with me? In a few days, when I’ve made the products, I’ll let Village Chief Miao taste them.”

There’s no point in talking too much. No matter how well you express yourself, others may not believe you and may even think you’re bragging. Practical action is better. Once the products are available, everything will be clear.

Let him try for himself?

Could it be that this young lady could make really tasty glass noodles and jelly noodles?

But no matter how well she makes them, they are still made from sweet potatoes. How tasty could they possibly be?

Miao Hongjin found it hard to believe.

But considering Ding Gaochang had brought Miss Zhuang here, there must be

a reason.

And seeing the confidence on this young woman’s face, like she was sure of her success, Miao Hongjin felt that there might indeed be some hope for the village.

Even if the outcome was not as good as expected, the village had been in this condition for so many years already. A little more of the same wouldn’t make much difference.

So Miao Hongjin nodded his agreement.

After all, it was just a few pieces of sweet potato that she was taking. There might even be good news. They had more sweet potatoes than they could eat anyway. Whether she took some, or a whole carriage, it wouldn’t really account for much money.

After that, Zhuang Qingning asked Miao Hongjin to show her around the village to see how large it was, how many households were there, how much surrounding land can be used to plant sweet potatoes, and she even checked the quality of the local water supply and wells.

She also calculated the potential yield, estimated the available labor force, and assessed the quality of the local water. This gave her a better understanding of Miao Village’s situation, aided her in evaluating the feasibility and potential size of a future workshop.

By the time they had finished, the sun was already tilting towards the west. Seeing that it was already getting late and they had a general understanding of the situation, Ding Gaochang and Zhuang Qingning were ready to take their leave.

Miao Hongjin escorted Ding Gaochang and Zhuang Qingning to their carriage at the entrance of the village.

“Chief Miao, stay here.” Ding Gaochang asked him to stop.

“Safe travels Master Ding.” Miao Hongjin made an arching gesture with his hands to see them off. He hesitated for a moment, then smiled and said, “Master Ding and Miss Zhuang, please visit again when you have time.”

As long as these two individuals visited again, there was still hope for the village.

“Rest assured, we certainly will.” Ding Gaochang repeatedly promised.

They let down the canopy of the carriage and slowly drove away. It wasn’t until the carriage had disappeared from sight that Miao Hongjin turned around and walked home.

“Village Chief, Village Chief.” A young man named Miao Shuisheng jogged up to Miao Hongjin, stopped to catch his breath, and said, “We’ve found the Su’s third daughter.”

“Found her?” Miao Hongjin was overjoyed. “That’s good, it’s good that she has not run into trouble. That would have been a big problem.”

“Yes, that girl. Thinking about the chicken noodle soup her uncle made yesterday, she wanted to go beg for some meat to eat. Afraid of getting scolded by her parents, she sneaked out and went to her uncle’s home by herself. She played there most of the day and only just returned.”

“I saw her as soon as she entered the village,” Miao Shuisheng said, wiping sweat from his forehead. “I hurried here to tell you as soon as I heard.”

“Hmm, you are attentive. You have a keen eye.” Miao Hongjin nodded in approval. “But we have to remind our villagers again. The outside world is chaotic, and we need to keep a close eye on our girls to prevent kidnappers from taking them away.”

“I heard yesterday that our county is peaceful, but the neighboring Zeng County has lost a few children. The county magistrate of Zeng County is in distress. Nowadays, villagers are patrolling around the village in fear of strangers causing trouble.”

“Although we haven’t had any incidents in our county this year, we still need to be on guard to prevent any mishaps. Once something happens, there will be no room for regret.”

“Don’t worry, uncle. We’ve all been reminded many times. The villagers have remembered it. Tomorrow, you can mention it to everyone again. If that’s not enough, we can arrange for two people to patrol the village each day.”

“Hmm, that sounds reasonable.” Miao Hongjin thoughtfully nodded, patted Miao Shuisheng on the shoulder, and walked home.

Miao Shuisheng scratched his head and hurriedly followed behind him..