"Your household servants are all at Xian Shan? Shall I send someone to invite them over?"
Since Xie Jiang mentioned that the sweet potato planting season was approaching, likely in early spring, Xu Hengyan couldn't help but feel a bit anxious.
Xie Jiang waved his hand upon hearing this, "Only Xian Yun is guarding Xian Shan; the others don't know where they've gone. I don't need anyone to follow me when I go out, nor do I restrict their freedom. Is Your Excellency Xu afraid of delaying the sweet potato planting? It's only just started to warm up, and by my calculations, it shouldn't be too late. I'll send a message to Xian Yun later, and he should be able to call everyone over soon."
Having obtained the divine artifact, Xu Hengyan was filled with excitement and willing to say a few more words, "Then I'll trouble you, Young Master Xie. I'm concerned that we'll need time for seedling cultivation before planting, and I fear it might be too late then."
Xie Jiang's eyes immediately lit up, and he looked at Xu Hengyan with admiration, "How does Your Excellency Xu know everything? As a magistrate, you handle numerous affairs, and you even personally manage farming?"
Xu Hengyan replied, "Ensuring the people have enough to eat is the most important matter."
"Speaking of seedling cultivation, it reminds me of something. I once saw some sweet potatoes in the kitchen; they had sprouted after being stored for a while," Xie Jiang said, poking the raw sweet potato on the table with his finger.
"Can we directly use sweet potatoes to grow seedlings?" Xu Hengyi picked up a sweet potato to examine it.
"Yes, and some people even grow sprouted sweet potatoes as potted plants," Xie Jiang said, dusting off the dirt on his fingers. Xu Hengyan was cautious and did not wash the sweet potatoes rashly.
Xu Hengyan did not wash the sweet potatoes. He even scraped off the soil and sand attached to them to study, basically confirming that they could be planted in sandy loam soil.
Listening to the conversation between Xie Jiang and Xu Hengyi, Xu Hengyan decided to try sprouting the sweet potatoes first. However, as Xie Jiang had mentioned earlier, casually tossing a vine on the ground could yield many, indicating that sweet potatoes could also be propagated by cuttings.
"You said you saw them in the kitchen; do you actually cook?" Although Xu Hengyi had tasted dried sweet potatoes, it was only as a snack. He found it hard to imagine the ostentatious Xie Jiang washing his hands to cook.
"As I have nothing else to do today, and Xian Yun sent the sweet potatoes along with the seasonings I needed yesterday, I'll show you my culinary skills."
Although the cook at Yi Yan Geng's house was competent, Xie Jiang found his own cooking more to his liking. Having not cooked for a long time, he was also a bit craving.
Xu Hengyi was pleasantly surprised by this unexpected treat, "That's wonderful! My second brother and I are in for a treat today."
Xie Jiang got up and walked to the doorway, pointing to a person, "Hurry to the west wing and bring me the basket from my room, the one Xian Yun delivered yesterday."
Yi Shan remembered the basket; he had carried it back yesterday. He responded and immediately ran off.
He was also looking forward to Young Master Xie cooking. He had never seen a noble young master who could cook; Young Master Xie was the first, but he wondered if his culinary skills were as good as he boasted.
Xie Jiang turned back and asked Xu Hengyan, "Do you have a small kitchen in your courtyard?"
Xu Hengyan followed him out, "Yes, shall we go now?"
"Of course."
Thus, the Xu brothers and Xie Jiang arrived at the small kitchen again.
The two cooks were a bit scared.
Yesterday, the young master and the third young master personally supervised them cooking sweet potatoes, and today they brought this young poison doctor to cook?!
The two cooks silently reflected while nervously following Xie Jiang, watching him select ingredients.
Xie Jiang chose an old duck and a piece of tofu, "Don't you have pork?"
Cook A replied, "There should be some in the main kitchen. If you need it, Young Master, you can get it from there."
Xie Jiang directly instructed, "Go pick a piece of streaky pork, the kind with a good balance of fat and lean."
Opening a jar in the corner, he discovered pickled vegetables and immediately had a recipe in mind, "And bring me a fish."