When the mother and son pulled the ox cart full of potatoes home, it was almost dark.
However, many people were still busy in the fields, and they were all surprised when they saw the items on the ox cart.
Where on earth did Widow Xiao find them? There were so many.
Once they had time, they would definitely go into the mountains to take a look.
“So many potatoes! Mom, are we having potatoes tonight?”
After arriving home, Chen Xingyun and her sister were also extremely surprised. Chen Xingyue already knew that her mother could obtain things from somewhere, but she still found it unbelievable.
“Yes, tonight I’ll make Potato and Egg Pancake and Tiancan Potatoes for you to try. If you like them, we can go to town to sell them in a couple of days.”
Xiao Ying decided to try making them herself. She had never done it before and could only figure it out through trial and error.
“Mom, let me help you.”
Chen Xingyun’s eyes lit up as she volunteered.
“I’ll help you too.”
Chen Xingyue didn’t want to be left behind. She had never eaten this thing called potatoes before, but it sounded quite good.
“Alright.” Xiao Ying naturally wouldn’t refuse, as she wasn’t skilled at this to begin with.
“Xinghai, take these to your grandparents.”
As she spoke, she took another twenty catties and handed them to Chen Xinghai, asking him to deliver them to Chen Afu’s family.
“I’ll go right away.”
Chen Xinghai immediately took the basket and left the house.
When he arrived at Chen Afu’s home, he saw lights inside and called out.
“Xinghai, why are you here so late?”
The courtyard gate quickly opened, and it was Chen Jin who answered. He was surprised to see Chen Xinghai—had something happened at home?
Chen Xinghai smiled and handed over the basket in his hand, which was filled to the brim with potatoes.
“These are something my mother found in the mountains. They’re called potatoes. We’ve tried them, and they taste really good. Since we dug up so many today, Mom asked me to bring some for you to eat.”
Chen Jin was greatly surprised. He had naturally seen the fully loaded ox cart earlier but never expected Xiao Ying to share the potatoes with them.
He also recalled the pork leg from a couple of days ago—this sister-in-law had truly changed.
“This is too kind…”
“Da Jin, who is it?”
Chen Afu’s voice suddenly came from inside, followed by his figure stepping out.
“Dad, it’s Xinghai. He’s brought some food.”
Chen Jin said loudly, his tone somewhat excited.
“Oh?” Chen Afu was also very surprised and quickly strode over.
“Grandpa, Mom asked me to bring you potatoes. There are many ways to cook them—you can boil them directly, stew them with meat, or stir-fry them.”
Chen Xinghai took out a potato and handed it to him. Chen Afu examined it curiously. For one thing, it felt quite heavy in his hand.
“Can this thing really be eaten?”
“Grandpa, you’ll know once you try it tonight.”
“Good, very good. You and your mother are very thoughtful.”
Chen Afu was immediately very pleased. Now that his second daughter-in-law had turned over a new leaf, life had truly improved, and she even knew to show them respect and kindness.
“I’ll accept the potatoes. When you go back, thank your mother for me.”
Chen Jin quickly brought out a basket from the house to store them. As he filled it, he realized it was about twenty catties and felt moved once again.
In these times, everyone was short on food. After paying the grain tax each year, the harvest was never enough to eat.
Most commoners sold their rice and exchanged it for coarse rice or millet. In their spare time, almost every family would go into the mountains to dig for wild vegetables, while those with skills would catch rabbits or pheasants.
Some people went out to work and could earn ten to twenty coins a day.
Even so, they could barely make ends meet.
Now, Xiao Ying had given them twenty jin at once, enough to feed their family for several days. No wonder the father and son were so excited.
“I understand, Grandfather. I’ll head back now.”
Chen Xinghai smiled, pleased that his mother was mending the relationship with the old home. Limping slowly, he made his way back.
After he had gone some distance, Chen Afu sighed and said, “The second daughter-in-law’s family really has it tough. Dajin, tomorrow, help them level their field and scatter the rice seeds.”
“Understood, Father.”
Chen Jin agreed readily, as he had been thinking the same thing.
“By the way, Father, I heard from Xinghai that his mother took him to see a doctor. They said his foot can be treated.”
Chen Afu was delighted: “If it can really be treated, that’s wonderful. If they save up some money, he might even be able to marry a wife.”
“Yes.” Chen Jin also smiled.
…
At Xiao Ying’s home, the mother and her two daughters were trying to make Potato and Egg Pancakes.
The recipe wasn’t too complicated: wash and peel the potatoes, shred them, mix with various seasonings and flour, then fry in hot oil—that completed half the process.
Next, pour in the beaten egg mixture and pan-fry until both sides were golden brown, and it was fully done.
After taking it out, cut it into neat, square pieces, and it was ready to eat.
“Try it.”
Just as they finished making it, Chen Xinghai returned. Xiao Ying cut a piece for each of the three children and took one for herself to taste.
The three children were already salivating from the aroma and didn’t mind the heat, immediately taking a bite.
Once they started eating, they couldn’t stop until they had finished the entire piece, still feeling it wasn’t quite enough.
Chen Xingyun exclaimed in amazement, “It’s so delicious, Mother! I’ve never eaten anything this tasty!”
Chen Xingyue nodded in agreement. Although the snacks she had tasted at the town head’s house were also good, she still felt they couldn’t compare to this.
If they sold these, they would surely be very popular.
“Delicious.”
Chen Xinghai also praised it, noting that the taste was completely different from the stewed potatoes they had last time.
Xiao Ying was quite satisfied as well. She hadn’t expected her first attempt to be so successful.
One reason was the simplicity of the recipe, and the other was that the seasonings were complete—especially the salt, which, after processing, had lost its bitter taste, making it naturally delicious.
“Do you think we could sell these?”
“Definitely!”
The three answered in unison without hesitation.
Chen Xingyue, who was more familiar with the situation in town, said, “Stuffed pancakes in town cost three coins each. Mother’s Potato and Egg Pancake is much better than those.”
As she spoke, her face flushed slightly, and she cautiously glanced at Xiao Ying—it was the first time she had called her “Mother.”
“Oh? What makes it better?” Xiao Ying asked with a smile.
“Others don’t have potatoes—only Mother does.”
Chen Xingyue had hit the key point, which pleased Xiao Ying greatly.
Chen Xingyun added, “And it has eggs in it. Eggs aren’t cheap either.”
A larger egg cost two coins each, so many people couldn’t afford to eat them and instead sold them in town.
Chen Xingyue continued, “The main thing is that it’s delicious. There are quite a few wealthy people in town.”
“Then how much do you think we should sell it for?” Xiao Ying already had a price in mind but wanted to hear everyone’s opinions.
“I think we could sell it for at least five coins,” Chen Xingyue suggested.
“Is five coins a bit too high? What if people think it’s too expensive and don’t buy it?”
Chen Xingyun was somewhat worried. Although the family now had enough to eat and drink, she would definitely be reluctant to spend so much money on a Potato and Egg Pancake.
Chen Xinghai frowned, seemingly also feeling the price was a bit high.
“Eldest sister, five wen is not expensive at all. There are truly many wealthy people in the town,” Chen Xingyue insisted.
If she hadn’t worked as a maid in Zhao Yuanwai’s household, she might have also considered this price expensive, but now her perspective was completely different.
“There’s a treasure shop in town that specializes in selling pastries. Their pastries cost at least a hundred wen per box, with the expensive ones reaching four to five hundred wen. Each box only contains seven or eight pieces, yet many people buy them every day.”
“Our Potato and Egg Pancake is no worse than those pastries, and it’s even larger in size. I’d say five wen is too cheap—we could even sell it for ten wen.”
“Mother, what do you think?” After speaking, she looked at Xiao Ying, as the final decision ultimately rested with her.
Xiao Ying nodded in agreement: “We can start with a trial price of five wen.”
The Potato and Egg Pancake was good and quite novel, but its drawback was lacking established reputation.
If the initial price was set too high, it would deter many potential customers, resulting in more loss than gain.