During the noon break, Song Gaoli and Song Qiming sat opposite each other in the pavilion. The ink stains on their cuffs had dried, leaving no marks on the white paper they rested upon.
To prepare for the provincial exams in August, and to prove himself without leaving any regrets, Song Gaoli studied constantly. He not only lost the five pounds he had gained during the New Year but also shed an additional fifteen pounds, making him look significantly thinner.
"In a few days, the academy will have a break. Hu Fengye mentioned there's an elegant gathering at the West Garden. Many students from academies and schools in Anyang Prefecture will be there to exchange essays and discuss poetry. Do you want to go together?"
After Wang Rui, Song Qiming, and Ji Youming passed into the Upper House, Hu Fengye was left in the Inner House. Song Gaoli often went to consult him, and over time, the two had become good friends.
Song Qiming looked up and asked, "Morning or afternoon?"
He had to go to Mu Hongyue's house in the morning and had no time for anything else.
Song Gaoli replied, "It's a full-day event. Exchanging essays in the morning, discussing and appreciating poetry in the afternoon, and we'll have lunch at the West Garden."
Song Qiming thought for a moment and agreed, "Then I'll head over in the afternoon. It's a good opportunity to interact with people from other academies and schools."
Although Anyang Academy was the best in Anyang Prefecture, there were also talented students from other academies and family schools who had renowned reputations. Song Qiming had been in Anyang Prefecture for less than a year in total. All his energy was spent on studying, and the little free time he had was squeezed out for martial arts.
He avoided elegant gatherings, poetry meets, and banquets whenever possible. His social network, aside from his classmates at the academy, consisted only of the elders Ye Liangyu had taken him to visit. With the provincial exams approaching, it was time to meet competitors outside his own academy to know what to expect.
Seeing that the potato plants were flourishing with lush leaves and had reached their maximum height, Song Jinzhao gently scraped away the topsoil with a small hoe. Upon seeing egg-sized potatoes hanging from the roots, she breathed a slight sigh of relief; it seemed the harvest would be good.
Digging them all out, she found that this single potato seedling had produced a total of ten potatoes. The largest was the size of a fist, while the smallest was only slightly bigger than a fingernail.
The tender potatoes had paper-thin skins and were full of moisture. Song Jinzhao directly had Qingshui boil them with their skins on in salted water.
In the evening, the four siblings gathered around the table. Faced with food they had never eaten before, a curious Song Qiming was the first to pick up a potato and pop it into his mouth.
He wondered how this miraculous crop, capable of yielding a thousand catties per acre, would taste.
The moment it entered his mouth, before he even bit down with his teeth, it melted as he pressed it between his tongue and the roof of his mouth. It was like eating an egg, smooth and tender. Besides a fragrant earthy scent, there was a crisp, faint sweetness. It was delicious.
Song Jinzhao ate two, one large and one small. The larger one was slightly starchier, while the smaller one was like a soft-boiled egg.
At this stage, the potatoes had less starch, making them suitable for boiling or stir-frying into shreds. To make mashed potatoes or potato noodles, they would have to wait until August when they matured into old potatoes, which would not only yield a higher harvest but also be more filling.
"Eldest Sister, it's delicious! I want more." Song Anhao reached out but couldn't grab the plate, anxiously tapping the table with her wooden spoon.
"Sister, can we make this again tomorrow?" Song Shixue's eyes sparkled, also finding it delicious.
Song Qiming thought of the vastly different-sized potatoes on the plate. "Digging them up now before they've fully grown, isn't it a bit of a pity?"
If they all grew to the size of a fist, digging up just one plant would provide enough food for several meals.
Song Jinzhao placed the remaining two small ones into Song Anhao's bowl. "It is a bit of a pity. We'll have one more meal of them tomorrow and then stop digging until they are fully mature."
Aside from the ones being sent to the palace, a large portion of this batch of potatoes would become seeds for next year's planting, so they couldn't eat them freely and could only have a little taste.
