Chapter Fourteen: Unexpected Joy

  For several days, Wang Kuang had nothing to do. The two brothers, apart from going out every day and sitting in front of the sheep stall at Ya Ge's place, were almost always staying in their own yard thinking about what to do next. As for Wang Xiang, since San Ya Tou only stayed for one day and was taken back home by her uncle on the second day, she seemed a bit lost. Wang Kuang saw it with his eyes and smiled in his heart.

  According to what others say, I'm only twelve years old now, and there are still four years until I become an adult at sixteen. I need to find a way to pass these four years. Reading books is not very possible for me; I don't have any literary advantages that people who cross over usually possess. Let's start from scratch! Compared to those children who started learning characters as soon as they learned to speak, I'm already behind at the starting line. From my conversations with Manager Sun these past few days, even his ten-year-old grandson has read a lot of books and can now recite poetry and write articles fairly well. Although he still hasn't produced any great works, compared to me, this "half-illiterate," he's far superior by at least 100,000 miles! Fortunately, ordinary people usually speak in vernacular; if everyone spoke in a refined manner, I'm afraid Wang Kuang would even have the heart to hang himself.

  From the current situation, I have some advantages. Firstly, I have experience in middle management for several years, and applying modern business concepts to ancient times is a tried-and-true method for those who travel through time. Secondly, I have an advantage in cooking skills. If I can make good use of these two points, at least the life of a rich man will not be able to escape me in the future. Thinking about his downfall in later life and his parents' guilty eyes because they couldn't help him buy a house, Wang thought that he should think of a way to pass on some treasures to his future self and parents if possible.

  It's Wang Xiao now, he is only five years old, if he starts reading books from now on, it won't be too late, just see if he has the interest and comprehension.

  After considering for a few days, Wang Xian had a rough plan in mind and was not opposed to studying. After asking Sun Mingqian, he learned that Sun Mingqian had hired a tutor for his two sons to study at home, although they were not the material for studying, but at least they couldn't just let the children play outside, right?

  Knowing that Wang Kuang wanted Wang Xian to study, it just so happened that in the past two days he had spent a large sum of money to buy several houses next to the inn at a high price. Sun Ming had previously decided to convert one of them into a family school and send his two sons to accompany Wang Xian, studying while learning from Wang Kuang's art.

  Rich people handle things quickly, in just a few days, the Fugui Inn expanded its scale and also improved its household registration. The household registrations of Wang Kuang and his brother Wang Xian were also easily handled, and the clerks at the yamen didn't ask about their background when they heard that they were distant nephews of Sun Ming wanting to register, with a stroke of the pen it was done, and even kindly helped Wang Kuang fabricate his family history.

  The current Fulaiguan Inn, according to Wang Kuang's suggestion, has separated the dining and lodging areas into two courtyards. The original hutong serves as the boundary, and another hutong was opened on the side closer to the street to connect the two courtyards. This way, guests staying at the inn can rest peacefully, unlike before when the creaky wooden floorboards made it impossible to isolate the noise from the dining area below and the guest rooms above. Whenever there were guests who arrived late at night and wanted a good night's sleep, Sun Zhuanggui and his staff would often be complained to death. Now, the original courtyard is for lodging guests, while the new courtyard is specifically for receiving diners. The two areas do not interfere with each other, and guests who want to eat can conveniently pass through a closed hutong from the lodging area to the dining area. As for Wang Kuang's three courtyards, the outermost one was demolished, with half of it converted into a hutong and the other half turned into a storage room. A separate gate was also built for the remaining two courtyards, making it impossible for unknowing guests to discover the existence of this courtyard.

  In recent days, the number of guests coming to Fuli Inn for food has gradually increased. They are almost all here for the catfish and braised flavor. The small Jian'an City spreads news quickly. However, to have a thriving business, they still need to wait for the merchant groups to spread the word about Fuli Inn's excellent cuisine. Only then will people from neighboring counties who come to Jian'an on business come to visit, and merchants from other places will also choose Fuli Inn.

  That day, Wang Kuang had just returned from chatting with Yang Ge at the sheep stall, and saw a familiar-looking fellow leading someone carrying a bundle into the door. After careful thought, he finally remembered that this was another kitchen helper in the store, called Niu Wazi. After Wang Kuang finished those three dishes, he was sent to Yanping (now Nanping) by Sun Zhanggui, it is said that there is a master who cooks well there, because of disagreement with the master, he resigned. It seems that Niu Wazi has invited him over.

  They didn't originally plan to come, but they heard that the young master's distant nephew had a novel way of cooking food. Coincidentally, he had obtained something from a merchant who came from Quanzhou, but he didn't know how to use it and wanted to see what was so special about the young master's distant nephew's cooking method, so they came.

  The cowherd was just about to introduce the man to Sun Zhanggui when he turned his head and saw Wang Kuang sauntering back, his wooden clogs clattering on the ground. He hastily beckoned him over and said to the man, "This is the Wang Dalang I mentioned to you."

  That man was not very old, about thirty years old. Perhaps due to his frequent eating habits, he had a rather plump build. His round face featured a bright red nose that was quite eye-catching. He wasn't very tall, probably around 1.6 meters or so. The wooden clogs on his feet were somewhat tattered, but his clothes were new. It's likely that he had bought them to wear out the door in a hurry, thinking no one would notice his feet. However, this couldn't escape the discerning eye of Wang Kuang. There's a saying that goes: when looking at a man's attire, just take a glance at his shoes and you'll know whether his circumstances are good or not. The reason is that most people with money will first buy clothes, then shoes and accessories like belts and ties. If the shoes are of good quality, it means they have a relatively comfortable financial situation.

  Wang Kuang stared at the wooden clogs, and the man's face turned slightly red with embarrassment. However, he quickly regained his composure. After hearing Niu Wa Zi's introduction, he put down the bundle on his back, untied it, and took out a cloth-wrapped object, handing it to Wang Kuang: "I heard that Xiaodong has extensive knowledge, so I brought this thing for you to take a look. Do you recognize such an item?"

  Another cooking enthusiast, Wang Kuang thought to himself. He had seen many such enthusiasts in his later years, for whom nothing was more important than cooking. That's why this person, as soon as they met, didn't even drink water or enter the house, but instead wanted to discuss cooking with Wang Kuang on the spot.

  He took the bundle and, without opening it, felt its shape and weight in his hands. Wang guessed what it was and couldn't help but feel a surge of joy. With this thing, many dishes could be made from now on.

  Before Wang saw the contents of the bundle, a look of joy had already appeared on his face. The other person's heart also relaxed: This young master probably knows the origin of this thing, and this trip will not be in vain.

  What did Wang Juan guess? After Wang Juan came to the Tang Dynasty, what he remembered in his heart was just a few things: chili peppers, sweet potatoes, cucumbers, and Chinese cabbage. Other things were not very important to Wang Juan. Chili peppers are indispensable seasonings in later generations. Sweet potatoes play a great role in cooking, and making them into starch is mountain flour, which is essential for dishes like braised meat and tender meat. Wang Juan loved to eat smashed cucumbers the most, and he was not used to not having cucumbers to eat. Chinese cabbage can be made into many things, such as sauerkraut, pickled vegetables, etc.

  Opening the cloth bag, it was indeed the sweet potatoes that Wang Kuang had guessed. This was truly an unexpected delight. Wang Kuang's intention of cooking with sweet potatoes was not to promote them as a substitute for grains. He didn't even think about it, as it was fundamentally impractical. Even if the yield of sweet potatoes was high, an adult would need to eat at least three kilograms of sweet potatoes to feel full, whereas they could be satisfied with half a kilogram of rice. Therefore, from a production perspective, it was not feasible. If sweet potatoes could replace grains, later generations would have already switched to cultivating them as the main crop.

  During the Tang Dynasty, grain yields were not high, with each mu (about 0.165 acres) producing only about 300 kilograms, which is roughly equivalent to 2,000 kilograms of sweet potatoes. Moreover, the sweet potato varieties that yielded over 10,000 kilograms per mu in later generations were the result of many years of selective breeding and meticulous cultivation. In the Tang Dynasty, a yield of over 2,000 kilograms per mu was already considered a blessing from heaven.

  Furthermore, sweet potatoes had strict requirements for soil quality and needed to be grown on yellow mud land to thrive. However, this difference in land use between sweet potatoes and grains also made them suitable as a supplement to grains, without occupying arable land. Instead, they could be cultivated on land that was previously unsuitable for grain production.

  He didn't expect to meet sweet potatoes here, and Wang Kuang was almost excited enough to jump up. Originally, he thought that in a few years, when he had the ability, he would send someone overseas to search for them. Now with sweet potatoes, many plans can be realized ahead of time, and without ten years, he can earn a big fortune.

  "What should I call you, uncle? Are you willing to sell this sweet potato to me? The price will definitely satisfy you."

  "I dare not, I dare not. My name is Kuang Zhong, and I'm the eldest in my family. The young master of the Xiao family calls me Big Brother Kuang. It turns out that this thing is called a sweet potato. I didn't know its name before, but I got it from a merchant from Quanzhou, who said it was brought from Lingnan. I only knew it could be eaten raw or cooked. Since the young master of the Xiao family can call out its name, he must know other ways to prepare it - would you please tell me? As for this sweet potato, if the young master of the Xiao family has a use for it, then take it. My family still has some left." This Big Brother Kuang seems to be literate and speaks quite eloquently, otherwise he wouldn't have paid attention to his appearance and changed into new clothes before going out.

  "The way to eat sweet potatoes is mainly the two ways you mentioned, and it can also be roasted or made into porridge. The method is not limited, and people can eat it however they like. Some people even stir-fry it after steaming. Later, Wang Kuang's mother occasionally steamed sweet potatoes and stir-fried them with chili peppers, which had a unique flavor. For now, Wang Kuang doesn't want to reveal his idea of making mountain noodles, the most important thing is to find a way to cultivate a large batch of sweet potatoes from this one, only when there is enough yield can he make mountain noodles."

  Sweet potato propagation is actually very simple, just put it in a cool place, at a suitable temperature, and it will sprout on its own after a while. At that time, apply yellow mud to the outside of the bud root, and roots will grow out from the base of the bud. Then you can separate the buds for planting.

  Horizontal line-------------------

  A newcomer's first book, your recommendation or even collection is an encouragement to me. Thank you!