The potatoes were sown at the end of February. Under suitable temperatures, the tubers expanded and sprouted, and after a growth cycle of roughly one hundred days, they matured.
For ordinary potatoes, twenty days after the flowers bloomed and fell, once the plants withered, the potatoes could be dug up and harvested.
“Where is the prefect? Why can’t I find him again?”
The Assistant Prefect came out of the administrative hall, carrying some documents for Du Heng to review. He had come several times but had not encountered him.
Although it was not an urgent matter that absolutely required seeing Du Heng, after coming over several times without seeing the prefect, as his immediate superior, he still needed to know his whereabouts.
Seeing a colleague whose work station was closer to the prefect’s administrative hall, he could not help asking.
“His Excellency took some people out of the city early this morning.”
The Assistant Prefect raised his brows. “He went out of the city again?”
“Yes. His Excellency said that the Western goods planted in the land outside the city can be harvested.”
“The prefect is truly diligent. He personally handles even such a small matter. We should indeed learn from him more.”
“Indeed.”
The Assistant Prefect exchanged a few polite words with his colleague. Only after returning to his own office did the amiable smile disappear from his face.
“A dignified prefect doesn’t sit properly in the main hall all day, but instead goes out every day to guard that tiny patch of land like a peasant. Isn’t he afraid people will laugh if word gets out?”
“Does Your Excellency still not know that our prefect was originally a peasant? Although his official robes have become more splendid now, he still can’t give up his old means of making a living.”
The Assistant Prefect laughed.
“I wonder how much money those Western lumps can actually be worth. It would be terrible if he ended up drawing water with a bamboo basket and accomplishing nothing. A few days ago, I passed by the newly planted Western-lump field outside the city and took a look. Even the plants had already withered and rotted. The entire field looked like it was dying. What kind of harvest could it possibly have? What a pity that he spent so much effort tending to it.”
“Exactly. Even the farmers wouldn’t cultivate that sandy, stony land. It has no fertility. How could it possibly be good for growing crops?”
Knowing that the prefect had gone out of the city to harvest the Western goods, the two men stretched out their legs and idly chatted away the time, waiting for the end of the workday so they could leave.
Near noon, the Assistant Prefect put down his teacup. He figured that the prefect probably would not be coming back and stood up, preparing to leave his office and go home for lunch.
Just as he reached the entrance of the prefectural government office, he saw runners driving two ox carts back!
The Assistant Prefect hurriedly stopped in his tracks and stepped back to hide himself. Only after the noisy sounds of things being unloaded began outside did he pretend to have just heard the commotion and walk out.
“Your Excellency, you’re back?”
He called out loudly and hurriedly went forward, pretending to be confused as he asked, “What is this?”
Du Heng had spent the entire morning digging potatoes with his people. Although Xijiang Prefecture had a mild climate, working enthusiastically in the fields for an entire morning during the autumn harvest season was still enough to leave a person drenched in sweat.
He wiped the sweat from his forehead and lifted the hemp cloth covering the baskets unloaded from the cart. A basketful of yellowish potatoes immediately appeared before their eyes.
Some potatoes were as large as fists, while the small ones were as round as marbles. Du Heng had separated them according to size, arranging them very neatly.
He was tired, but looking at how the two baskets of potatoes he had planted at the beginning of the year had multiplied several times in just a few months, his satisfaction outweighed his fatigue.
“The potatoes planted at the beginning of the year have finally matured after more than three months. Today I harvested one mu of land. The yield is quite good.”
Zhang, the Assistant Prefect, widened his old eyes.
Looking at the more than a dozen baskets of Western goods, there were at least three to five shi before his eyes alone—and this was only the yield from one mu of land.
He found it hard to believe that the seemingly withered potato field had actually hidden such a secret and produced so many Western lumps.
Previously, while chatting with a subordinate in one of the offices, he had heard that local taro also matured after the plants withered. Since this Western product was called Western taro, he figured it was similar to taro and that the fruit should be dug out of the soil.
He had little experience with farming. Now that he saw the Western lumps still covered in soil, it seemed the subordinate had been right.
But what mattered now was not how these Western lumps had been grown. What mattered was that one mu of land had produced so many lumps.
Even that barren land outside the city could produce such a yield. If the soil quality were better, wouldn’t the yield be astonishing?!
Previously, everyone had privately said that the prefect had been deceived by the foreign merchants, and that even if a few lumps of dirt were planted, how much could they possibly produce?
Now the actual results were laid out right before them, and it was truly astonishing.
Zhang, the Assistant Prefect, had previously been the loudest opponent. Seeing this situation, he said, “His Excellency the prefect truly has an eye for valuable things. These Western goods really can reproduce. What a delightful harvest. It certainly was not for nothing that His Excellency carefully tended them for several months.”
He offered several words of praise, but he was unwilling to sincerely flatter him. He immediately picked up a potato with a smile and looked at it from side to side.
“This minor official has limited vision and shallow knowledge. I simply do not know how this Western good should be cooked. Does its flavor resemble that of rice or beans? I hope Your Excellency will not hesitate to enlighten me.”
Du Heng had long known that this old fellow was a smiling tiger, the sort of person who acted one way to someone’s face and another behind their back.
Since everyone maintained superficial harmony, and one did not strike someone who wore a smiling face, he also smiled warmly.
“Assistant Prefect Zhang, don’t be impatient. The foreign merchants previously told this official how to cook these Western goods. Before the spring planting, I already tried one or two methods. Now that the harvest has come, I will certainly share it with all the colleagues of the prefectural government.”
Several days later, all the officials of the prefectural government received invitations from Du Heng, inviting their colleagues to a banquet at his residence.
After making a few inquiries, they discovered that he had also invited some local gentry and wealthy families who owned land in the prefectural city, as well as merchants who operated restaurants and eateries.
The officials of the prefectural government immediately became delighted.
Their prefect normally did not even like attending social banquets himself. Today, however, he had unexpectedly held one himself, and had invited so many guests. It was truly unusual.
The invitation clearly stated that everyone was being invited to taste and appraise the Western goods.
They had long heard that the prefect had opened up land at the beginning of the year to plant Western goods, and that every few days he personally went into the fields to tend them. A few days ago, he had even taken his family to dig them up himself. According to the prefectural laborers, more than thirty shi of lumps had been produced from more than three mu of land.
With such an impressive yield, the officials naturally developed some interest. Now that they heard the prefect was holding a banquet and inviting everyone to taste these Western goods, the discussion became even more enthusiastic.
On the twelfth day of the eighth month, amid the anticipation of all the invited guests, this Western banquet finally began.
“This shredded potato can be cut a little thinner. You must soak it in water first to remove the starch. Otherwise, when you stir-fry it, it will stick to the pan and burn. Keeping it fresh and crisp gives the best texture!”
“Mash the potato more thoroughly. The fried balls should have a golden-brown exterior. For the potatoes braised with ribs, cut them into rolling pieces…”
Qin Xiaoman stood with his hands on his hips, looking at the spacious kitchen filled with people.
There were more than a dozen cooks and female cooks, along with prep workers, fire girls, and others, making a total of twenty or thirty people.
Frying, deep-frying, boiling, and stir-frying—the iron pots and spatulas constantly clanged against each other. With the fragrance of the cooked dishes filling the air, the atmosphere became even more lively.
Du Heng was supervising and directing things in the back kitchen, running around without ever seeming to stop. When he came over again to watch the cooks prepare the dishes, Qin Xiaoman grabbed him.
“All right. You’ve trained them for seven or eight days already. These are experienced cooks. They’ve been learning the dishes you instructed them to make for this long. There’s no need for you to supervise and instruct them anymore. The guests outside have already arrived. As the host, you can’t stay buried in the back kitchen the whole time.”
After saying this, he took a handkerchief from his sleeve and wiped the sweat from Du Heng’s forehead.
“Hmm?”
Du Heng smiled and responded, “The dishes here are almost ready too. Perfect timing. I’ll go outside and greet the guests and have them take their seats.”
The garden of the official residence was already crowded with people.
Since he was hosting a banquet, Du Heng had still properly invited an opera troupe in advance, intending to give the guests something to pass the time while waiting for the banquet.
When he went out, the performance had just ended. He greeted the guests and invited them into the hall to take their seats.
All the guests were people of some standing in Xijiang Prefecture. They had seen plenty of things in the world. This time, however, they had heard that they would be eating Western goods, and that the prefect himself had personally supervised the cooking. This unexpectedly gave the guests a rare sense of anticipation toward a banquet.
After several tables of guests had gradually taken their seats, the steward called out the dishes in a loud voice. Before long, two pairs of servers carrying trays filled with dishes entered the hall.
The rules of serving dishes at this time emphasized salty flavors first and lighter flavors later, with the flavors going from strong to mild, and cold dishes coming before hot dishes.
For this reason, a banquet would begin with cold dishes, followed by stir-fried dishes, main dishes, soups, and finally small plates of salted and pickled vegetables.
“First dish, Six Crispy Delicacies!”
The Six Crispy Delicacies consisted of potatoes cut into wave-shaped strips, blanched in water, then served cold with six different flavors arranged on one plate.
They included salty-spicy, numbing-spicy, sour-spicy, sweet-spicy, original flavor, and braised-spice flavors.
The potatoes were not boiled until soft, but remained somewhat crisp, hence the name Six Crispy Delicacies.
Because they were a novelty, Du Heng had specially arranged for a dish announcer. Each time a dish was served, the announcer would call out its name and introduce its method of preparation.
The guests looked at the large platter on the table. Although they were already eager to try it, they maintained proper etiquette and waited quietly until the dish announcer had finished introducing it before picking up their chopsticks.
The first bite taken by the people at the several tables naturally tasted different depending on which flavor they picked.
However, everyone’s initial reaction contained a trace of surprise.
These Western goods were neither astringent nor bitter, and did not have any strange or fishy smell. The texture was not particularly astonishing to the palate, but it was quite pleasant and easy to eat. Most people could accept the flavor.
Before they had even finished tasting all six flavors of the first dish, another dish was served.
“Second dish, Golden Threads!”
As the name suggested, these were simply stir-fried shredded potatoes. Because potatoes were yellow, their shredded form resembled gold.
People of this era liked giving dishes elegant and respectable names, as though doing so made it easier to coax food into one’s stomach.
Within less than a quarter of an hour, potato pancakes, duck braised with potatoes, ribs braised with potatoes, fried mashed-potato balls, French fries, and potato-and-three-delicacy soup were served one after another…
In short, frying, deep-frying, boiling, braising, stewing, simmering, and stir-frying—all kinds of cooking methods were used.
Moreover, ordinary chicken, duck, fish, and pork dishes all had potatoes incorporated into them. It was as though these Western goods neither cared about the cooking method nor the ingredients they were paired with. No matter what, they could become a dish.
Even those who had tasted delicacies from all over the world had a rare experience here.
Something that had never been widely planted, appearing on the banquet table in such abundance—how could it not be novel?
The more they ate, the more they looked forward to the next dish. Yet when the banquet was only halfway through, the guests had not had their fill of the novelty, while their stomachs could no longer hold anything.
“Truly wonderful! Delicious and filling!”
Zhang, the Assistant Prefect, watched as everyone at the banquet—from officials and gentry to merchants and wealthy households—praised this unusually distinctive feast.
Some people were so moved that they even began composing poetry on the spot.
Zhang, the Assistant Prefect, pursed his lips.
The dishes were indeed good dishes. It was just that he felt particularly choked by them.
Du Heng’s banquet was a great success. He had treated the officials, gentry, and merchants of the prefectural city well, while also giving the previously disfavored Western goods a major publicity campaign.
For a time, the reputation of these Western goods soared.
Only two days after the banquet, before he had even said much himself, merchants came asking about them.
The local climate was suitable for two crops a year. Planting in the first or second month allowed a harvest in the fifth or sixth month. After the autumn harvest in the ninth month, they could be planted again, with another harvest in the twelfth month during winter.
This time, when Du Heng allowed people to plant them again, he no longer had to patiently persuade anyone.
The gentry who owned land wanted them. The village households and village heads wanted them.
Everyone wanted them.
Even the officials of the prefectural government wanted to ask the prefect for several jin to send back to their hometowns for their relatives to taste.
Du Heng knew that few people could resist the charm of potatoes. However, he did not let everyone’s enthusiasm cloud his judgment.
Although potatoes were a good thing—they were delicious, filling, high-yielding, and easy to grow—not everything could have only advantages.
Potatoes could also be harmful if handled improperly.
For example, their nutrients were relatively limited, so they could not be used as the sole staple food, as doing so could easily lead to malnutrition. Eating moldy or sprouted potatoes could also cause poisoning.
He was afraid that merchants, seeing the enormous profit potential of potatoes, would purchase them in large quantities and influence the common people’s choice of crops. If people abandoned their original rice fields and crops entirely and planted nothing but potatoes, that would be disastrous.
For now, potatoes could be cultivated as an economic crop. On one hand, this would reduce some dependence on rice. On the other, it could increase people’s income. This would be the best situation.
Therefore, before distributing the seeds, Du Heng had already written a detailed guide to potatoes, including planting methods, harvesting seasons, cooking methods, precautions for consumption, and so on…
The prefectural government would then control the quantity planted by each village and each merchant.
For example, if a household had five mu of land, it could only plant one mu of potatoes. Such requirements were put in place.
Furthermore, village heads, gentry, and wealthy households who came to claim potato seeds had to first read and memorize all the precautions regarding potatoes that the prefectural government had compiled, posted, and distributed.
They had to take an examination. Only after passing could they claim potato seeds.
After receiving the seeds, they then had to give another explanation and examination to their own hired farmhands or farmers.
Thus, the information was passed down layer by layer, with the prefectural government conducting a final examination.
When the prefect or other officials went into the countryside, they would randomly select people and question them.
If the person being questioned was growing potatoes but knew nothing about them despite being asked three questions, responsibility would be traced back to the village head and landowning proprietor, who would then be punished.
For a time, a wave of learning swept through Xijiang Prefecture.
In restaurants and teahouses, people drinking and chatting would entertain themselves by testing one another on knowledge related to potatoes.
It could be said that the entire population had entered into a period of learning, and it was even livelier than the imperial examinations.
Through Du Heng’s painstaking efforts, many potato eateries appeared throughout Xijiang Prefecture.
The prefectural city was used as the trial area. After the trial succeeded, the same method was used to promote potato planting in the county towns and local areas.
Over the course of several years, the purses of the people of Xijiang Prefecture gradually became fuller, while the price of rice and grain loosened slightly.
In the ninth year of Minghe, before the grain and provisions had moved, the soldiers had already advanced. The fighting at the border became increasingly urgent.
After several years of storing troops and training them, Dayun Dynasty was renowned for its elite and powerful military. However, the war came too quickly. Grain and provisions had not been adequately prepared before the soldiers advanced. The troops suffered from a lack of provisions on the battlefield and were defeated again and again.
The Emperor ordered every prefecture to urgently gather grain and provisions.
While every prefecture gritted its teeth and complained, Xiping Prefecture was the first to send a thousand shi of potatoes to the border to provide emergency relief.
In the tenth year of Minghe, our army achieved a great victory.
It also recovered all the territories that had been lost and ceded as compensation during the reign of the previous emperor.
The court and the common people celebrated, and for a time, everyone rejoiced.
That year was also Du Heng’s fifth year serving in Xiping Prefecture.
The Emperor rewarded the three armies and issued a general amnesty throughout the realm.
At the same time, bypassing the Ministry of Personnel, he personally issued an imperial decree transferring Du Heng, the prefect of Xiping Prefecture, to the capital—
to serve as a Third-Rank Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, the highest-ranking of the Six Ministries.
Author’s Note:
I also read some of everyone’s potato-related explanations in the comments yesterday. First of all, thank you very much for all the explanations.
But, as I said, this is an alternate-universe transmigration story, so it’s just meant to be fun. I deliberately put this in the extra chapters rather than the main story, so just take it casually and have fun reading it. There’s no need to take it so seriously~
The official-career extra chapters end here. Tomorrow, I’ll start writing about Magistrate Du taking Xiaoman back to his hometown for retirement and their leisurely retirement life!
The little ones will have their own separate extra chapters, so don’t worry!