"Yaelle, this tastes really special. It's soft and sticky. I've never eaten something with this texture before."
"Then it must be delicious. I personally directed how it was made," Yaelle said proudly. "Try the other dishes too. They're all good."
Michael turned his eyes to the spicy shredded potatoes. The red and green strips were mixed into the glossy golden strands, making it look beautiful at first glance. The sour and spicy smell made his mouth water.
He tried a bite with his chopsticks. The potato strips were all the same thickness and had a crispy texture. He took another bite.
The crisp and tender taste made it hard to stop eating. If paired with a bowl of rice, it would be perfect. The flavor was rich and satisfying, making it something you could never get tired of.
"This is good too. It's crispy and sour and spicy. Feels like a perfect match for rice," Michael couldn't help but praise it.
"There are also steamed potatoes. Nothing added. Just eat them with the dishes, and it's good," Yaelle suggested. She picked up a steamed potato and put it in his bowl.
Michael took a bite. It was soft and powdery. After savoring it, there was even a hint of sweetness.
Paired with the spicy shredded potatoes, it was also tasty. The salty marinated peanuts were flavorful too. Michael slowly peeled the tender peanuts inside and popped them into his mouth.
With just one bite, the juice came out. They were tender, crisp, and full of fragrance. Even his fingers smelled good.
He wanted to suck on them. The peanut and pork stew was soft, salty, and fragrant without being greasy. The peanuts were powdery and soft.
It was hard to describe how tasty it was. After the meal, Michael felt very satisfied. He had a new appreciation for potatoes.
Stir-fried ones were fresh and crisp. Stewed ones were soft and sweet. Even the steamed ones were powdery with a bit of sweetness.
He felt they could fully replace rice. Except for being a bit dry when eaten too much, there was no downside. The key was how productive they were.
Yaelle said one plant could yield three pounds. Calculated out, an acre would produce more than 5,000 pounds. If regular farmers planted a few acres, they could use it as both a dish and staple food.
The whole family wouldn't go hungry, even during famine. He also heard that peanuts could be pressed for oil, which was great. Higher yield than rice.
Yaelle also said they helped enrich the blood. What a good thing. As Michael ate, he was full of hope for the future.
By the time he finished eating, fifteen minutes had passed. Michael was very satisfied. Every dish suited his taste.
He was about to go back to his courtyard after the meal. Just as he was leaving, Yaelle pulled him into the kitchen. She dug out two dark round lumps from the stove.
Michael frowned. "Yaelle, what's this? It's all black. Be careful not to get your clothes dirty."
"This is good stuff. Roasted potatoes. They're super tasty. You can eat them plain, or dip them in chili powder and salt. Either way, they're delicious."
As she spoke, Yaelle brought out some pre-prepared seasoning, placed it in a small plate, and handed it to him. She signaled him to try it. Michael was hesitant, but he peeled off the black skin of the potato.
Inside was golden flesh, with white steam rising from it. It looked quite tempting. He picked up the potato and dipped it into the seasoning.
Then he took a bite. Unlike the soft steamed potatoes, roasted ones were drier and more fragrant. With the chili powder, it was spicy, numbing, and fresh.
He felt like his full stomach had room again. It was even better than expected. There were so many ways to eat potatoes.
This method was also convenient. When going out, no need to bring a pot. Just light a fire, throw them in, and you could cook while keeping warm.
Five days later, the peanuts had dried and their weight had been measured. The seeds were relatively sparse, and the total harvest from three mu of land was 280 jin. Maxim finally had a break and came to visit.
Michael sent someone to lead him to the study. He also asked the kitchen to prepare every dish they had tried making with the new ingredients during this time. Potatoes were rare, so they only made small portions of each dish.
There weren't enough to use freely because they feared they wouldn't have enough to plant next year. Peanuts and corn, on the other hand, could be used generously. Given the number of seeds, one manor wouldn't be enough to grow them next year.
They would need to buy two more manors. One would be for peanuts, one for corn, one for watermelon, and one for chili peppers. Sweet potatoes and potatoes were too few, so they could just find a random plot in any manor for those.
Same with the other crops. By the time Maxim arrived at the study, Yaelle was already there waiting. "Yaelle, Michael, what's the matter? You even sent me an invitation and made it so formal."
Maxim knew there had to be a reason. Otherwise, they wouldn't have sent an invitation to his house and insisted on talking face-to-face. It must be something important, or else a letter would've been enough.
"This is what happened. I once saved a merchant who owned a fleet. To repay me, he gave me some imported items, all of them foreign food seeds."
"I followed his planting methods, and they all grew with amazing yields. If these could be planted on a large scale, it would benefit both the country and the people. But the two of us can't protect them."
"Rather than letting others covet them, we might as well offer them to the country. What do you think, Brother Maxim?" "If these are really that good, then offering them is a great idea. Not only will it help future generations, it might earn you some benefits too, which is a form of protection."
"The court can promote these faster and more widely than we can." Maxim replied sincerely. "We want to offer them, but we don't know how. We don't have any backing."
"If someone tries to take them, we might even end up losing our lives." Michael looked down. He only blamed himself for not being strong enough. "So you want me to speak to my father and let him be the one to offer them?"
Maxim quickly understood their intention. "If that's possible, that would be great." "If this goes well, our family will still get credit for it."
"As long as the seeds are good, I think my father would be willing. Also, the current county magistrate will finish his term next month and will be reassigned. The court has already appointed my father to be the next one."
"If these quality seeds can be cultivated well in Qingyun City, they'll be considered part of his achievements. It would be a win-win. I don't think he'll say no."
"That's great news. Then let us congratulate Uncle Xiao in advance." Yaelle and Michael were also happy. After all, Uncle Xiao was a righteous man and a good official, and he had always looked after them.
"I asked them to make some dishes with the new ingredients. They'll bring them over soon, you should try them. It's good to get familiar with them too."
He then led Maxim to the dining room. At that time, the dishes had already been prepared. The meal was very generous.
This time the peanuts had been dried, so there was a new dish of crispy peanuts. Potato dishes included potato cakes, fried potato sticks, potato stew with ribs, shredded sour and spicy potatoes, crispy potato crust, mashed potatoes, and more.