Chapter 773 The Redemption of Sorghum
Franz looked at everything in front of him helplessly. The girl cut her hair just to survive, and the country was indeed hopeless.
However, it is too outrageous to cook unshelled sorghum directly as porridge. If you eat too much, you will die.
Franz walked into the yard and didn't pay attention to the surprised looks on the side. He directly picked up the sorghum ears on the ground.
"Bring me a wooden box, a bigger one." (Gaelic)
Franz's tone left no doubt, but at this time Scathach had already raised the fire shovel.
A fire shovel is a specialized tool for handling peat.
Ella on the side quickly grabbed her sister.
"He's the businessman."
Scathach's expression changed several times, and finally he asked respectfully.
"Look how much my hair can be sold for."
Franz said without looking back.
"Go get a wooden box, otherwise there will be no need to talk. And remember to dry your hair and be careful not to catch a cold."
Although this was a word of concern, in Scathach's eyes it was the petty thinking of a profiteer. He couldn't help but curse in his heart, "Isn't it just a little too watery? How stingy!"
After that, I went into the house quickly and rummaged through the boxes and cabinets.
After a while, she walked out with a large wooden box, and then Scathach discovered that his younger brother and sister had become involved with the profiteer and stingy man.
It's not really that big of a deal, a bag of candy will take care of all these guys.
Scathach coughed twice unhappily, "Cough, cough, the box you asked for is here."
Then she gave her younger brother and sister a hard look with her eyes, meaning that if the other person was a human trafficker, they would have already rounded you up.
It's just that there are too many orphans at this time, and the traffickers have better ways, so there is no need to waste costs in doing so.
Franz picked up the ears of sorghum and started beating the wooden box. Scathach didn't understand, but she knew it was her food and immediately stepped forward to stop it.
"what are you doing?"
"Help you get the sorghum seeds out. Sorghum hulls are a medicinal material that will make you sick if you eat too much."
Only then did Scathach realize that the sorghum seeds, which were extremely difficult to peel, were falling out of their shells.
However, there were still some residues. Just when she thought the young master in front of her would throw away the remaining sorghum ears, Franz dipped the sorghum ears into the pot.
After a few seconds, Franz pushed out the sorghum seeds with his hand, and the sorghum seeds were easily squeezed out. Soon a few bunches of sorghum were picked. At this time, Scathach turned his attention to the pot again, regretting his own pot of porridge.
"Take it and feed it to my horse."
Franz touched his body and found that the smallest thing in his hand was the British pound. Taking out the remaining gold coins would cause unnecessary trouble.
I had to quickly take out a pound and put it into the hand of the youngest child.
"Put it away. You can exchange this for a lot of candies for your parents. Don't show it to your sister."
The youngest girl immediately slipped it into her sleeve, and then looked at her sister warily, with drool dripping from her mouth.
Scathach curled her lips, but she just saw a flash of silver light, which was most likely a shilling.
Note: One shilling is twelve pence and twenty shillings are one pound.
Scathach is still trying to figure out how to sell his hair at a good price. In the past, the price charged in the village was usually fifteen shillings, but now that times are hard, those black-hearted ghosts try their best to lower the price, and usually they can only sell it for Ten shillings.
Ella, for example, only sold it for nine shillings before, but fortunately Scathach's hair is longer, so she should be able to sell it for eleven shillings.
After Franz finished processing the sorghum ears, he emptied the previous pot, then put in water for stewing. Soon the aroma came out from the cracks in the pot lid.
"It cooks much better than you." Mickey and Tommy complained in unison, and the two sisters on the side also agreed.
While waiting, Franz pulled apart the outer skin of the sorghum stalks and handed them to the surrounding "audiences" in sections.
Everyone didn't know why, so Franz could only demonstrate it himself.
The sorghum stalks are edible and have a slightly sweet taste, and the remaining dregs can be put together to make chewing wine.
Kuchizhu is something that seems dark to modern people, but it was considered an extremely high-quality tribute in Japan in the past.
However, Franz did not teach them how to make chewing wine. After all, this kind of behavior is difficult to accept in Europe.
The slightly sweet sorghum stalks quickly conquered everyone. After all, Irish people rarely eat sweet things.
Although Britain was the world's largest sugar importer at this time and had the highest per capita sugar consumption in the world, this had nothing to do with the Irish, who usually could only find sweetness in potatoes and flowers.
However, eating too much sorghum stalks is not good for the body, so Franz still has to teach them how to make wine.
"Teach you another good way to make money."
The spectators on the side were busy chewing sorghum stalks, so Franz could only emphasize his tone.
"Want to hear it?"
"think!"
It's just that the Eastern brewing process is a bit dark in the eyes of Westerners. Especially the wine koji that Franz brought out, the children including Scathach wanted to put it in their mouths and taste it.
But these guys are still skeptical about this brewing process and just regard it as a joke.
Franz didn't bother to explain, and would leave it to the archbishop later. Sometimes religion is more useful than science.
"What do you think of my hair?"
"Well, it's pretty good-looking."
Scathach Jennings was speechless for a moment, and Ella on the side was also very anxious. After all, it is not easy to find such a good businessman.
"I want to sell it, how much will you pay?"
Franz thought about it seriously, and found out that the price for such long hair in the city at this time was usually 20-30 florins, or 2-3 pounds.
"Two pounds." In order to maintain his businessmanlike reputation, Franz deliberately lowered the price by 20%.
"What?!" Scathach cried out in surprise, while the others were speechless.
When Franz saw this, he felt that he might not understand the market well. After all, prices in Britain were much higher than in Austria.
"Two pounds, a shilling?"
Scathach jumped up excitedly, then hugged Franz and kissed him, which made the latter a little confused, but he quickly understood the situation.
Because the former stretched his head over and handed over a pair of scissors.
Franz patted the other person's head, hoping that she would calm down.
"We can talk first. How did you get through this difficult time?"
Scathach Jannis was confused, but he still told Franz everything that had happened in the past few years, and said almost pleadingly.
"We really need money. My mother is pregnant again, but she still has to work on the landlord's farm. Many babies have died this year. Even if they don't die, mothers don't have milk, and milk can't be bought."
"Don't worry. Everything will be fine. You are still alive in such a difficult environment. You are really strong. You deserve a better future."
"What nonsense are you talking about?"
"Didn't I just teach you how to survive? Since potatoes can't survive, then you can plant sorghum, which will produce at least 4-5 times the yield of wheat.
Moreover, sorghum stalks can also be used to make wine, feed livestock, and even be used as firewood. But this can only guarantee you a minimum survival. If you want to live well, you still need to pay more. "