The potato fields, spanning twenty mu, took Grandma and everyone else three whole days to finish harvesting, though the multi-functional agricultural tractor made digging up the potatoes incredibly fast. Less than two hours were needed to unearth all the potatoes from the twenty mu. However, the seemingly easy task of bagging the potatoes turned out to be anything but.
Chen Lan wiped the sweat from her face with the back of her hand, straightened her aching back, and rubbed it with her fist. She looked at the others, still bent over, diligently picking potatoes into bags, and then at the rows upon rows of round, golden potatoes as big as an adult's fist, lying on the mounds. Chen Lan couldn't help but inwardly lament her past decision. Why had she been so stubborn and planted twenty mu of potatoes in one go? Now, with a harvest of five to six hundred thousand kilograms of potatoes, even proper storage posed a significant problem. It was a sweet dilemma indeed!
Sighing deeply, Chen Lan let out another heavy breath.
Grandma, who was picking potatoes next to Chen Lan, could no longer contain herself. She straightened up, wiped the sweat from her face with her sleeve, and asked, "Xiao Lan, what's wrong with you today? You've sighed three times now. Are you tired? If you are, just straighten up and rest for a while!"
Chen Lan, still bending over to pick potatoes, quickly explained, "Grandma, I'm fine! I can still manage."
Grandma straightened up, puzzled, and rubbed her sore lower back with her hand, looking at Chen Lan. "Then why are you sighing non-stop?"
Chen Lan straightened up, pounded her lower back with her fist, and smiled as she replied, "Grandma, I'm sighing because I planted too many potatoes this year. I should have only planted two or three mu for our own consumption!
But I was foolish and planted twenty mu, expecting a harvest of five to six hundred thousand kilograms from this season alone. I really didn't expect this variety of potato to have such a high yield!
Now I'm worrying about how to store so many potatoes this year. If they're not stored properly, they'll sprout and mold. What a shame that would be! And it would be a disservice to everyone who has been working so hard, bending and stooping under the hot sun these past few days!"
Grandma chuckled upon hearing Chen Lan's rambling, saying, "You silly girl! I thought you had encountered some serious trouble. Other families worry about how to store enough food to feed their families through the harsh winter, fretting about whether they'll have enough to last. But you, my dear, you're worried because you have too much food."
Chen Lan's ears perked up at Grandma's words, "Others worry about not having enough food for winter." An idea suddenly flashed in her mind. This matter would require a meeting with everyone to discuss and decide.
With that thought, she stopped worrying and sighing about the excess potatoes and refocused on her work, bending and stooping to quickly bag them.
After another day of work, the potato harvest was finally complete. Chen Lan then had Xiao Shan drive the multi-functional agricultural tractor to go over the twenty mu of potato fields again, also plowing them.
Chen Lan decided that next year, she wouldn't plant so many mu of potatoes, only two or three mu for their own consumption. The second pass did unearth quite a few more potatoes from the twenty mu, though they weren't as large.
After the potatoes were harvested and transported to the drying ground by tractor, they needed to be sorted and classified. Looking at the mountain of potatoes, Chen Lan sighed again. Sorting and classifying them was also a major undertaking!
First, they had to select potatoes for next year's seed. These would be large, smooth potatoes with shallow, evenly distributed sprouts, uniform in size, consistent in color, free of insect damage and blemishes.
After that, any rotten or insect-infested potatoes were picked out. Edible parts were trimmed and kept for immediate consumption. The unusable parts were buried or composted.
Finally, there was the storage of the potatoes, which was the most troublesome issue for Chen Lan.
The ideal storage temperature for potatoes intended for cooking was 3 to 5 degrees Celsius, with a relative humidity of 85% to 90%. Too high humidity would cause the potatoes to rot, while too low humidity would lead to dehydration, making them shriveled and dry. Furthermore, potatoes must be stored away from light, as sunlight would cause them to sprout. Sprouted potatoes produce toxins harmful to humans and become inedible.
Therefore, given the conditions in the valley, the only option was to store the potatoes in dug-out caves. However, each cave could only store 3,000 to 3,500 kilograms of potatoes, and they couldn't be overfilled. Roughly, three mu of potatoes would require two such caves for storage.
Now, they had to quickly ask Uncle De to arrange for more caves to be dug.
Chen Lan pondered further and felt something was amiss. If they continued digging caves, with the current potato yield, at least six more caves would be needed. They still had fifteen mu of peanuts and fifteen mu of soybeans to harvest, which would also require storage. That would necessitate at least two more caves for those crops.
If they were to cultivate tens of more mu next year and plant rice on the hundred and forty mu already prepared, storage space would be needed after the autumn harvest. Rice also required cave storage. If this continued, the entire mountain would be riddled with holes.
This was unacceptable. If they did this, the safety of everyone living in the valley would be severely compromised.
What if, by misfortune, there was a heavy rain and a flash flood? A mountain riddled with holes could easily collapse under a flood, forming a mudslide. In such a scenario, the villagers would be at extreme risk of being buried. The thought sent a cold sweat down Chen Lan's back. She immediately rejected the idea of digging more caves for storage. The novel was from Sudan Fiction Network.
The most critical issue now was that potatoes were susceptible to freezing. In Changbai Mountain, temperatures remained below zero for at least five months, with an average winter temperature of around minus twenty degrees Celsius. The coldest days could reach minus twenty-six or twenty-seven degrees Celsius.
Generally, potatoes are best stored at temperatures between 3 and 5 degrees Celsius. Their storage temperature requirements are very strict. If the temperature drops below 0 degrees Celsius, frost damage can occur.
Frozen potatoes turn black, and black potatoes are inedible. Not only do they develop a peculiar odor, but they also produce a harmful substance called solanine. Consumption can lead to symptoms such as numbness of the tongue and throat, diarrhea, gastroenteritis, a burning sensation in the stomach, dizziness, and vomiting, all indicative of poisoning.
It seemed urgent to convene a meeting with everyone to discuss and find a way to send the potatoes out to those who needed them. The selection of recipients would require careful consideration, ensuring that doing a good deed wouldn't inadvertently bring disaster upon the valley.
While Chen Lan was grappling with the potato storage problem, two people at the nearby border defense camp were discussing the abundant harvest from the valley.