The Sweet Potato Farmers
Grey received a response from the sweet potato farmers.
Since they had no plans for today, they asked if they could visit around afternoon tea time.
And so, at the agreed-upon time…
In the reception room were Grandfather, Father, Grey, myself, and Mr. Abe. Representing the sweet potato farmers were two men and two women. The men looked like typical farmers—muscular and tanned from working under the sun.
The man with dark green hair and purple eyes was Mack, while the one with short navy blue hair and black-rimmed glasses was Danny. The two women were their wives: Mack’s wife, Samantha, and Danny’s wife, Jessica.
“My Lord, thank you for taking the time to meet with us today.”
Mack said, bowing his head.
“”“Thank you for having us.”””
The other three followed suit.
“I assume you’ve heard, but the reason I called you here today is to discuss the future production and sales of sweet potatoes. According to the petition you submitted before, the amount of sweet potatoes being left unsold and repurposed as animal feed has been increasing year by year. Is that correct?”
“Yes, that’s right. While we have had a series of good harvests, we’re still ending up with a surplus, and a large portion of it is being turned into feed. We sought the Lord’s advice because we’re struggling to find ways to sell the excess sweet potatoes.”
Mack explained.
“Since we can’t sell them at a high price as feed, we’re taking bigger and bigger losses. If this keeps up, we won’t be able to make a living…”
Danny added grimly.
As they spoke, their wives lowered their heads anxiously.
“I see… It’s really become a serious issue. After reading your petition, I’ve given it some thought—how about processing the sweet potatoes before selling them?”
“Processing…?”
“Yes. First, I want you to take a look at this. Abe, Joan.”
“Yes.”
I took some dried sweet potatoes out of my storage.
“What is this?”
Mack asked, inspecting them.
Father glanced at me and gave a small nod.
“These are dried sweet potatoes made by steaming sweet potatoes, slicing them, and then drying them. They serve as preserved food and offer health benefits such as preventing high blood pressure, slowing aging, relieving constipation, and even aiding in weight loss. Please, give them a try.”
Since claiming it as a treatment for high blood pressure might lead to complications later, I deliberately used the term “prevention” instead.
Munch…
“…Delicious. This is sweet potato…?”
Mack muttered.
“It has a gentle sweetness. Did you add any seasonings?”
Samantha asked.
“No, none. This is the natural sweetness of the sweet potato.”
“This is my first time eating something like this… It might actually sell.”
Danny said.
“But won’t drying take a long time? And in this season, won’t it be difficult to dry them properly? Is there another method?”
Jessica asked.
She had a point. If we sun-dried them, they might get wet from the snow, even if we put them under the eaves. Keeping them indoors with the windows open for air circulation wouldn’t be practical either…
“Does anyone among the sweet potato farmers have a skill that allows them to dry things?”
Mr. Abe asked the four of them.
“Oh, um… I have something called Dry. I only use it for drying laundry, though…”
Samantha answered.
““That’s it!!””
Mr. Abe and I exclaimed in unison, startling everyone in the room.
“Oh, sorry about that. Actually, I dried these using my skill. I explained it as sun-drying since that method allows for larger batches. But if you have Dry, then it should work even in this season. I can teach you how to do it later.”
“Oh, thank you very much, Young lady Joan.”
“But, my Lord… If it’s just dried sweet potatoes, I don’t think that will change our situation much?”
Mack pointed out.
“Of course. Just dried sweet potatoes wouldn’t be enough. But what if there were more ways to use sweet potatoes?”
Father glanced at me, signaling me to proceed. I took out the dishes we had for lunch from my storage.
“These are dishes prepared by my daughter, Joan, and our head chef, Abe, using sweet potatoes. We have a potage, croquettes, and butter sauté. And for sweets, we have sweet potato pastries and chips. Try them.”
At Father’s words, the four of them began sampling everything. Each time they tried a new dish, their expressions shifted from surprise to delight. They were amazed not only by the flavors but also by the fact that sweet potatoes could be used in so many different ways beyond simply roasting or steaming them.
After finishing the food, Mack spoke.
“My Lord… I… No, we are sweet potato farmers, yet we didn’t even know these ways to eat sweet potatoes. It’s embarrassing.”
“I had no idea sweet potatoes could taste this good…”
Danny murmured, looking down. Even their wives hung their heads in shame.
“Ah… um, it’s okay! If you don’t know something, you just have to learn it! When you learn from others who know, that knowledge becomes yours!”
Seeing them so downcast, I hurriedly tried to encourage them.
“Joan is right. If you don’t know something, then you simply learn.”
Grandfather added.
[… If you don’t know, you just learn…]The four of them repeated his words as they lifted their heads.
“Exactly. That’s why I had you taste these dishes. We plan to introduce them in restaurants and confectioneries. Now, if these dishes become popular and start selling well, what do you think will happen?”
[Ah!!]What do you think about this chapter?
