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Translator: Silavin
“Let’s start planting the sweet potato slips,” Su Bai said, looking at the two people digging the soil, as he began to plant the sweet potato slips.
He dug into the soil and placed the sweet potato slips at an angle. He soon stepped on the soil with his foot to ensure there were no gaps between the slips and the soil. This would prevent the sweet potato slips from sprouting too slowly and rotting.
Half an hour later, about one-third of an acre of land had been loosened by the two girls, piled into two rows of small soil ridges, separated by square field banks.
“Alright, that’s enough digging.” Su Bai called out to stop them. It was sufficient for planting the sweet potato slips.
*Huuuu… huuu…* Yan Hua and Yu Ying panted. This was the first time the two girls realised how tiring digging could be.
“It won’t be as tiring once we have hoes,” Su Bai said, patting the dirt off his hands. The remaining unplanted land could be levelled and used to sow chilli seeds.
After catching her breath, Yan Hua asked, “Shaman, what should we do next?”
“Water them. Find some dry grass to cover the sweet potato slips. We’ll remove the dry grass in the evening,” Su Bai instructed.
The sunlight was a bit harsh right now, so they needed to use dry grass to shield the slips from the sun to prevent them from drying out. In fact, planting the sweet potato slips at dusk would have been the best time.
“I’ll go find some dry grass,” Yan Hua said in a clear voice.
“Then I’ll water them,” Yu Ying quickly raised her small hand.
“Go ahead. We should be able to eat sweet potatoes once you’re done,” Su Bai said with a light chuckle.
“We’ll be right back,” Yan Hua said as she ran off to fetch the dry grass.
Yu Ying remained silent as she quickened her pace.
The two girls were now very curious about sweet potatoes. After all, they had been busy all morning so they now had high expectations for the future grown sweet potatoes.
In about ten minutes, the cow horned girl and the fox eared girl had finished their tasks. They were staring at Su Bai expectantly, like little girls asking for candy.
Su Bai looked at the two dirt-covered faces and gently said, “Go wash your faces and hands first.”
“…” The two girls blushed and ran off.
Su Bai walked towards the Teepee. After eating bland roasted meat for several days, he was really looking forward to the sweet potatoes.
Just as he returned to the Teepee and crouched by the fire pit to rake the sweet potatoes, the fox eared girl and the cow horned girl came in. They surrounded him on both sides.
Su Bai glanced at the two girls on either side, then used a wooden stick to rake away the burnt ashes. He revealed three blackish-grey sweet potatoes with charred skins.
“Shaman, can we still eat these?” Yu Ying pursed her lips. A look of disappointment appeared on her pretty face.
Su Bai picked up a sweet potato and gently squeezed it. The inside was still soft. It was apparent they had roasted them for too long, with the outer skin slightly charred.
He realised this was due to the superior quality of this other world firewood. It had caused a slight error in his estimation. Fortunately, the charcoal covering the sweet potatoes had burned out completely. Otherwise, the entire sweet potato would have been turned into ash.
“Roasted like this, they can’t be eaten anymore,” Yan Hua said, her red eyes flashing with disappointment.
Su Bai looked at the two girls with disappointment on their faces and softly said, “Don’t worry. They’re definitely edible.”
“Shaman, eating these will give you a stomachache,” Yu Ying urged anxiously.
*Sniff Sniff* Su Bai gently broke the sweet potato in half with both hands. The charred skin split open, revealing the reddish-orange flesh inside. Instantly, the aroma of the sweet potato filled the air.
*Gulp!* Yan Hua’s throat moved as she swallowed saliva that had been unconsciously secreted. Her red eyes were fixed on the sweet potato flesh.
“It smells so good,” Yu Ying stared at the sweet potato, her fox tail swishing.
“Here,” Su Bai handed them over, one half to each girl.
“Shaman, you eat first,” Yu Ying quickly shook her head.
“Eat it. There are two more,” Su Bai forcefully placed it in the fox eared girl’s hands.
“Then, I’ll eat with her,” Yan Hua cupped the sweet potato in both hands.
“Go ahead. This is a specialty from my hometown,” Su Bai said with a small smile.
“En” Yan Hua and Yu Ying both nodded. They both tactfully refrained from asking where the sweet potatoes had come from.
*Chomp* Yu Ying peeled off the charred sweet potato skin and habitually took a huge bite out of the sweet potato flesh.
*Huuuu… huuuuuuuu…*
“It’s hot…” The fox eared girl’s tongue was immediately scalded. Her small hand fanned her open mouth, yet she was reluctant to spit it out.
“Seriously, it’s not like someone is going to steal it from you!” Yan Hua rolled her eyes.
Learning from the fox eared girl’s experience, she blew on the sweet potato to cool it down first, before she took a bite and chewed. She immediately found the sweet potato flesh to be fragrant and sweet. The texture was also excellent.
Yan Hua squinted her eyes and gave an unprecedented praise. “Sweet potatoes are so much better than roasted meat.”
For her to rate sweet potatoes above roasted meat was enough to demonstrate how delicious they were.
Su Bai picked up a sweet potato, peeled the skin, and took a bite. The familiar taste made him squint his eyes. It made him miss Earth’s delicacies even more.
When he opened his eyes, he found the fox eared girl and the cow horned girl staring expectantly at the sweet potato in his hand.
Su Bai’s black eyes rolled. Out of mischief, he moved the sweet potato in his hand left and right. He immediately saw the two girls’ eyes following his movement.
After several back-and-forth motions, Yan Hua finally reacted. She blushed as she turned her head to the side.
Seeing that the fox eared girl was still staring at the sweet potato, she felt very embarrassed. She lightly tugged on Yu Ying’s animal skin clothes.
“Hm?” Yu Ying turned her head and looked at her friend in bewilderment.
Su Bai stopped teasing the two and chuckled, “There’s one left, you can share it.”
“Can we really?” Yu Ying asked, pursing her lips.
“Eat up. There are three more uncooked ones over there,” Su Bai nodded towards the direction of the grass bed. There were still three palm-sized sweet potatoes still lying on the ground.
*Sniff* Yan Hua was not going to be polite. She took the initiative to grab the sweet potato and broke it in half, giving the larger piece to the fox eared girl.
“Shaman, how long will it take for the sweet potatoes we planted to grow?” Yu Ying asked, taking small bites of her sweet potato.
“Probably around sixty to seventy days,” Su Bai reported the growth time for sweet potatoes on Earth. He could not be certain of how fast they would grow in this other world.
“What should we do then? The rainy season will come and submerge the sweet potatoes,” Yu Ying said anxiously, remembering that the Tribe would be flooded soon.
“When it’s time to leave, we’ll dig them up. The smaller sweet potatoes can be replanted. The slips can be transplanted too,” Su Bai calmly said.
“Oh, so that’s how it works!” Yu Ying suddenly understood.
“You need to regularly keep an eye on the sweet potato slips. Don’t let anyone pull them out,” Su Bai cautioned, worried about the curious children.
“Who dares to pull them out!? I’ll break their hands!” Yan Hua fiercely declared.
After eating sweet potatoes, she could never forget their fragrant and sweet taste. She could not wait for the sweet potatoes to grow. If anyone dares to damage the sweet potato slips, she might really break their hands.
Yu Ying’s fox ears twitched as she excitedly said, “I’ll water them.”
“Then, I’ll leave the sweet potato field in your care,” Su Bai said with a smile.
“Yes!” Yu Ying nodded with great enthusiasm.
“Leave it to us,” Yan Hua patted her flat chest in assurance.
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