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The news that Old Man Ye Youtian’s family could handle the poisonous root had spread throughout the entire village.
The next morning, the old banyan tree was already crowded with villagers, even the elderly and children had come, their chatter and children’s playful shouts mixing together.
“Why isn’t Lizheng here yet!”
“Uncle Youtian and the others too.”
“Hey, here they come, here they come!”
The crowd looked excitedly, and in the distance, Ye Lizheng and Ye Caiping’s family were seen approaching.
Ye Lizheng walked to the large stone under the tree, before he could open his mouth, Old Woman Zhao anxiously said:
“Lizheng, is that poisonous root really edible? Have you tested the poison?”
Ye Lizheng choked, staring coldly at her: “I’ve tried it, and I’m still alive.”
The villagers burst into laughter. Old Woman Zhao was really bold; did she think Lizheng was a rat testing poison?
“If you can’t speak, shut your mouth.” Zhao Facai glared at Old Woman Zhao.
Old Woman Zhao shrank her head and dared not speak.
Ye Lizheng coughed dryly: “The reason we’re gathered here today is obvious. This poisonous root is indeed edible. It’s actually called cassava, and as long as it’s processed properly, it can be used as food.”
The villagers, receiving this confirmation, buzzed with excitement and began to discuss.
“The whole mountain is full of it, we won’t have to starve this winter.”
“Let’s go, dig it up!”
Many villagers were so excited they turned to run, but Ye Lizheng sternly said: “Hold on, can you process it after you dig it up?”
The villagers then realized their mistake and looked at Ye Lizheng sheepishly: “Lizheng, tell us how to remove the poison.”
Some immediately looked towards Old Man Ye: “Uncle Youtian, how do you process it?”
“Quiet down, listen to me.” Ye Lizheng shouted, and the crowd immediately turned to him.
Ye Lizheng said: “Processing cassava involves multiple steps, for safety’s sake, we’ll dig it up together, process it together, then distribute it according to headcount, with children under twelve getting half. Each family will provide two laborers, one male and one female.”
The villagers were still unsure, but upon hearing this proposal, they were all delighted.
“The men will go up the mountain with us to dig up the cassava. The women will stay here and start processing it once the cassava is transported down.”
“Also, regarding how to dig up the cassava, Old Brother Youtian and Daquan have the most experience, so once you’re on the mountain, everyone listen to them. As for how to process the cassava, Caiping knows best. Everyone listen to her then.”
Ye Lizheng then had the laborers step forward and divided them into two groups, men and women.
The men took their hoes, sickles, and baskets up the mountain, while the women stayed in the village, waiting for the cassava to be transported down.
After the distribution, a large group of people headed up the mountain.
Because they needed to guide everyone on how to dig up the cassava, and for fear of insufficient manpower, all the men from Old Man Ye Youtian’s family went up together.
Along the way, many people asked Old Man Ye and Ye Daquan how to process the cassava, but Old Man Ye just smiled and said they would know later. He didn’t want to tell them now for fear that they would secretly try it.
Soon, they reached the cassava forest on the mountain. The villagers, looking at this lush expanse, were filled with excitement.
Ye Peng, sharp-eyed, pulled Old Man Ye aside and whispered: “Grandpa, look.”
Old Man Ye followed his finger, and saw several felled cassava branches not far away.
Those weren’t left by them from yesterday’s digging. They piled the branches to the side after digging yesterday.
Old Man Ye and Ye Daquan understood immediately.
After the news that cassava was edible broke yesterday, although the villagers didn’t know how to process it, some shrewd people had already gone up the mountain to dig.
If the news hadn’t broken in the afternoon, they probably would have dug up more than just these few plants.
“Alright. We can dig it, others can dig it too, don’t say anything more.” Old Man Ye said in a low voice.
Ye Peng nodded, and said no more.
Ye Lizheng walked over: “Brother, shall we start digging?”
“Alright, let’s dig!”
Old Ye led the villagers into the cassava forest and repeated the precautions that Ye Caiping had told them before starting the work.
As soon as a cassava plant was dug up, someone immediately used a sickle to cut off the root and placed it into the basket.
Some other people went to dig out those that had broken off in the mud.
Qinghe Village has 113 households, so there were 113 people going up the mountain, and in addition, some eager villagers joined in the work. Within less than an hour, they had already dug up more than twenty baskets.
Soon, some villagers began to carry the baskets down the mountain.
The entire cassava forest was bustling with activity, and everyone was busy and enthusiastic.
……
Under the old banyan tree, a group of aunts and young women were sitting on the ground, chattering away.
“Hey, they’re coming! They’re coming!”
One of the aunts suddenly shouted excitedly.
Everyone turned around to see a dozen men carrying baskets filled to the brim with cassava coming over.
As soon as the baskets hit the ground, the aunts immediately rushed forward to grab the cassava, pushing the strong workers who had carried the baskets down, almost making them stumble.
“This is mine!”
“Mine, mine!”
Ye Caiping watched from the side, twitching the corner of her mouth.
The Village Head’s wife, with a stern face, said, “What are you all grabbing for? Can you eat it? Old Woman Zhao, why are you taking three? Do you think you can take them home just because you grabbed them? Put them down! Put them down, or your family won’t get a single pound!”
Old Woman Zhao was so scared that the cassava in her hand fell to the ground with a thud.
The village women then sheepishly put down the cassava in their hands. “We’re just so excited.”
“Excited, excited, you’ll have plenty to be excited about later,” Village Head’s wife said impatiently. “Now, take the lunch to the men.”
The village women had already brought their meals and piled them up on one side.
Most of them had packed radish rice with salted vegetables in a coarse porcelain bowl, then covered it with another bowl and tied it with a cloth, putting it in a clean basket.
The men who had carried the cassava down picked up their lunch and empty baskets and left.
Next, Ye Caiping began teaching them how to process the cassava.
The Village Head’s wife, Madam Wei, and others all sat on the side watching, without a chance to try themselves, as there were only so many knives in the household.
The women sat on the ground, each with a chopping block for firewood in front of them, along with a sickle or cleaver.
The reason they didn’t use kitchen knives was because iron tools were precious in this era, and each family only had one kitchen knife. They were afraid that if it wasn’t cleaned properly after cutting the cassava, it would cause poisoning.
Ye Caiping picked up a cassava root. “Everyone, slice downwards at an angle, and you’ll easily be able to peel off the cassava skin.”
“Next, we cut the cassava into thick slices. Yes, about this thick.”
Ye Caiping cut a few slices of cassava and showed them to everyone.
The aunts and young women understood immediately. “This is easy, it’s just like cutting vegetables.”
Ye Caiping said, “Yes, it’s just ordinary slicing. We’ll cut the cassava and put it in bamboo baskets. Lay it about five inches deep, then separate it with a piece of bamboo sieve, then lay another layer, until it’s full.”
Because the amount of cassava was so large, Ye Caiping was worried that the cassava in the middle wouldn’t be washed properly by the water flow, so she came up with the idea of using bamboo sieves to separate the layers.
The old man had already arranged for a few skillful women to weave suitable reed strips for the bamboo baskets. These strips were specially made 1 inch thick and woven loosely to allow water to pass through.
Ye Caiping was chopping cassava with everyone else, her hands moving swiftly.
The village aunties watched her movements and couldn’t help but marvel.
Everyone in the village knew that Ye Caiping was delicate and pampered, with ten fingers that never touched water, and she was also prone to mischief.
Who would have thought that she would be so efficient when it came to work?
“Oh my, I didn’t know Caiping could work. Aren’t you greedy and lazy?” Old Woman Zhao said while chopping cassava.
Caiping’s mother Yan Fang face turned black, and she was about to retort, but Ye Caiping spoke calmly:
“Yes, I’m greedy and lazy, but what’s it to you? Did I eat your Family’s rice?”
Note:
Characters
Other Characters:
Heigou – Ate poisonous roots
Heigou’s mother
Doctor Zhao
Zhao Facai – Neighbor
Village Head Ye- Sometime Ye Lizheng (Lizheng is a title that refers to Village Head/Chief)
Ye Bajin – Village Head’s Son
Fubao – Village Head’s Grandson
Tie Niu and Zhuzi – two women who helped Caiping
Places:
Qinghe Village: FL’s Village
Li Family Village
Great Zhou Dynasty