HLnovel Chapter 151 Planting Cassava
Chapter 151 Planting Cassava
As she walked along, many villagers greeted Song Jiaojiao. By the time she reached the village chief's field, Song Jiaojiao's face was stiff with smiles.
"Uncle Wang, how's the harvest?" Song Jiaojiao greeted the village chief from afar.
“Jiaojiao is here. This field egg is really good. Look, we’ve only harvested a third of it, and there are already so many.”
The village chief pointed to the distance where earthworms were placed in baskets. There were many baskets piled up in the cleared ground, and each basket was full.
"So much, looks like a good harvest." Song Jiaojiao said with a smile. Although it couldn't compare to the previous life, in this era with little fertility, this harvest was quite good.
"Yes, I didn't expect it either. Jiaojiao, what brings you here?" the village chief said with a wide smile.
“I plan to plant the fruit trees in the greenhouse on the hillside of Qingshui Mountain, but I only have Wangshui and Mengqi at home right now. I want to finish it as soon as possible and find some long-term workers to help me plant these seedlings.”
Song Jiaojiao revealed her purpose.
The village chief said with a troubled expression, "Jiaojiao, it's really hard to find someone at this time. After all, everyone is busy harvesting wild pebbles. After harvesting the wild pebbles, they have to plant the spring wheat. So, how long will it take you to finish?"
“It’s not much. If there are many people, it can be finished in a day at most. This time I will pay 30 coins a day. See who is willing to come. If it’s really not possible, we can find people from other villages. It’s just that I’m not familiar with people from other villages. I’ll have to trouble you, Uncle Wang, with this matter.”
"Okay, I'll go ask right away and bring her to you tomorrow." The village chief thought that many people in the village had received favors from Song Jiaojiao, so he could still spare a day.
"Okay, I'll leave this to you."
After Song Jiaojiao finished speaking, the village chief nodded and left. At this time, most people were in the fields.
The village chief went directly to the fields to find the people. When everyone heard that it was Song Jiaojiao who needed them, they all said they had time.
After that, Song Jiaojiao stopped paying attention and went to the barren mountain. Looking at the large flock of chickens and ducks in front of her, she asked Ma Tao.
"Ma Tao, how many chickens, ducks, and rabbits are there on the barren mountain now?"
"The number of chickens is close to 300, the number of ducks is around 100, and the number of rabbits will soon exceed 400."
Song Jiaojiao was shocked when she heard the number. She hadn't expected that the number of rabbits had grown from just two to almost 400. This speed was truly remarkable.
Last year I had planned to make some rabbit feed, but I was too busy and forgot about it.
"Okay, later you catch two rabbits and two chickens, and give them to Xu Fang so she can kill them for me." Song Jiaojiao was thinking about trying fried chicken.
"Yes, Madam, I'll go right away." After saying that, Ma Tao went to work.
Song Jiaojiao looked at the duck and thought that duck tastes best when roasted. Unfortunately, she didn't have a kiln at home. She had been saying she would make one, but hadn't taken any action yet. There weren't many people in the family right now, so she would wait a while before making a decision.
As she walked and pondered, she unknowingly arrived at the place where sugarcane was planted last year. More was planted this year. In January, Song Jiaojiao had her servants plant it, and it had just sprouted, with its small leaves looking quite adorable.
After watching for a while, Song Jiaojiao went downstairs.
Just then, Xu Fang had already killed the chicken; only the rabbit remained, which she had asked Meng Qi to kill.
Meng Qi used to be a hunter, so he knew how to skin these small animals. He would tan the skin directly, and then use it to make gloves in the winter.
Song Jiaojiao divided the slaughtered chicken into sections such as chicken legs, chicken breast, and chicken wings.
She sliced the chicken breast into thin slices and marinated it with spices.
Wash the chicken legs and wings several times and marinate them first.
After doing all that, Song Jiaojiao took out the flour she would need later and mixed it with starch in a 3:1 ratio.
First, mix eggs and flour to make an egg mixture, then prepare the flour according to the specified ratio.
First, coat the marinated chicken legs in egg wash, then coat them thoroughly in flour. Repeat this process twice to ensure the flour adheres firmly to the chicken legs.
When the oil temperature reaches 50% heat, add the chicken legs and fry slowly over medium-low heat. If the heat is too high, the skin will burn before the chicken inside is cooked through.
Fry until golden brown, then remove and set aside. Use chopsticks to poke it to check for any remaining blood. If no blood comes out, it's done. Just fry it again at high temperature when you want to eat it.
It tastes great whether you eat it plain or sprinkle it with barbecue seasoning.
Song Jiaojiao only gave a demonstration; the rest was left to Xu Fang.
She was about to take the rabbit out, but it was getting late and the sky outside was starting to darken. She thought she would cut the rabbit into small pieces and soak it overnight to remove the blood.
Song Jiaojiao is soaking the chicken feet and necks of the two chickens, as well as the rabbit's head, planning to use them together tomorrow to make braised dishes.
The next morning, the village chief led about twenty people to Song Jiaojiao's house.
"Jiaojiao, what do you think we need to do?" the village chief said, looking at Song Jiaojiao who was still eating breakfast.
"Uncle Wang, have you eaten yet? If not, please eat first before you go!" Song Jiaojiao hadn't expected everyone to be so enthusiastic.
"We've eaten, we've eaten. People are eating earlier these days."
Upon hearing the village chief's words, Song Jiaojiao quickened her pace and finished her breakfast in no time.
"Let's go, let's go to the greenhouse and dig out the fruit seedlings, as well as the ones on the barren mountain."
Song Jiaojiao put down her bowl and, as she walked into the storeroom,
Let everyone carry the baskets filled with cassava sticks.
Upon arriving at the greenhouse, Song Jiaojiao assigned half of the people to Wang Shui, asking him to teach the villagers how to operate it.
Song Jiaojiao led the remaining people up Qingshui Mountain first.
"This is cassava, which is also a kind of food. However, raw cassava is poisonous and must be cooked before eating," Song Jiaojiao said, taking out a cassava stick.
"Cassava cultivation does not require the fruit; this is a cassava stalk. You just need to insert the stalk with the bud into the ground, and it will take root and sprout. Cassava cultivation takes a relatively long time; if you plant it now, you will harvest it at the same time as you harvest sweet potatoes."
Song Jiaojiao demonstrated how to plant the plants while speaking.
"Jiaojiao, what's the use of this cassava?" The village chief asked, looking at the four baskets of cassava stalks in front of him.
"The simplest way to cook cassava is to cut it into chunks and boil it with sugar to make cassava syrup. It's soft, chewy, and filling. Most importantly, it doesn't need any fertilizer. It can grow in large patches wherever it's planted, as long as it's not waterlogged."
Song Jiaojiao explained with a smile, "If I explain it to everyone now, maybe someone will be willing to plant it next year, so we won't lack taro balls during our free time later on."
When the villagers heard that this plant was so easy to raise and didn't take up any land, they all started to speak up.