"Of course, those seeds can be planted. Thanks a lot, Shopkeeper Li." But then she thought and added, "Shopkeeper Li, last time Brother An mentioned there were about three hundred jin, right? I wonder if your boss can get even more. I’ve calculated the time it takes to plant my broad beans, harvest them, and make the sauce. It’s quite long. If I could buy more broad beans, I could make a batch of sauce first and still make some money before the New Year."
"Haha, Miss Yang and our boss were thinking the same thing! We’ve already shipped three hundred jin of seeds for you. Then our boss specially sent someone to the Southwest to purchase more. I brought this letter for you, asking you to come to the town for this matter. There’s also this..." Shopkeeper Li said while taking out two more bags, "These were also brought from the Southwest, but I’m not sure what they are. I thought you or your family members who farm might recognize them."
Yang Chuxia glanced at the seeds, but she honestly didn’t recognize them.
"Uncle Dayong, have a look!" Yang Dayong took a look but was also unsure, as they didn’t seem to be something commonly seen in their area.
It was Ye Zi’an who recognized them and said, "These look like sweet potato seeds, according to what I’ve read in books."
"These are sweet potatoes?" Isn’t that just another term for yams? But she seemed to remember that modern sweet potatoes were mostly grown from cuttings, not seeds. Oh wait, they do have seeds, but people still mostly plant cuttings.
"Yes, the book mentioned that they’re also called sweet potatoes. Based on their appearance, I think they are."
"What do you mean by ’also called sweet potatoes’?" Yang Chuxia didn’t understand and asked. Weren’t all sweet potatoes the same?
Ye Zi’an shook his head, "These seeds look like white sweet potato seeds. I heard that they are mostly used for stir-frying, with a crispy and refreshing taste, different from the red-fleshed ones."
"I see." Yang Chuxia nodded, thinking that Zi’an was really a book lover, even reading agricultural books.
"It’s good that someone recognized them. Miss Yang, you can take these seeds back and plant them as well." Shopkeeper Li generously gave the seeds to Yang Chuxia. Since no one else recognized them, they probably wouldn’t sell well at the grain shops, and it would be a waste not to use them–after all, they were bought with money.
"Thank you, Shopkeeper Li. Although I don’t know how to plant them, if they do grow, we might add a new dish to your restaurant."
"Haha, that would be even better." Although Shopkeeper Li said so, he didn’t take it seriously. He thought that since she hadn’t recognized the seeds earlier, it was unlikely she’d actually be able to grow them, so better not to worry about it.
Yang Chuxia could naturally guess what he was thinking from his expression, but she just smiled and didn’t say anything, because her attention was completely drawn to something else.
"Do you recognize this?" Ye Zi’an asked when he saw her so focused.
"Yes! This is very delicious, sweet and refreshing, and you can make sugar from it."
Yang Chuxia’s eyes gleamed as she looked at the pile on the ground. It wasn’t anything else but sugarcane, and she peeled it to find that it was the red-skinned variety. For her, the white sweet potatoes weren’t as attractive as sugarcane.
"Shopkeeper Li, I want these seeds too. How much did your boss pay for them? I’ll pay him in silver."
Shopkeeper Li looked at her and asked, "Miss Yang, do you really recognize these seeds?"
"Of course! Do you think I would lie to you? To know is to know, and not to know is not to know."