At a time when the young lady of the Aldridge family was about to marry Prince Andrew, the Earl of Williams suddenly forming a marriage alliance with the Aldridge made it hard not to suspect that he was choosing to side with the prince.
Although everyone had originally assumed the Earl of Williams was loyal to the king, there was still a difference between being loyal to the king and standing behind the prince.
The baron now believed that Duke Romanov's marriage alliance plan was likely dead in the water.
There had already been signs earlier. Back when the mistake in the letter happened, the baron was too flustered to consider this possibility. But after he left, he quickly realized that if Felix had been at all interested, he would have shown some reaction when the baron mentioned the potential bride was Caroline. Instead, Felix had immediately declined with the excuse that she was too young.
It was now clear that, regardless of whether there had been a mistake in the letter or not, Felix would never have accepted the duke's proposal. The only difference was that, due to the letter error, the duke was at fault and thus couldn't make a fuss when he was turned down.
What Felix had miscalculated, though, was that Duke Romanov had genuinely intended to ally through marriage. His goal had been to draw Sardinson to his side—after all, Felix was now widely recognized as the wealthiest nobleman, with some even calling him the richest man in the empire. For that kind of fortune, Duke Romanov had been more than willing to reach out.
Even though everyone knew Felix aligned with the king, as long as he hadn't thrown his support behind any particular prince, he was still considered up for grabs. Duke Romanov had always been extremely confident that he would inherit the throne. He never really saw the two princes as competition. In his arrogance, he believed that as long as he extended an olive branch, Felix would eventually come around.
The baron had once believed this too, but after seeing the current situation, he knew the duke's hopes were about to be dashed.
And when he returned, he'd probably be in for another round of scolding.
While he was brooding over this, everyone else was busy. The serfs had already gathered around the sweet potato fields, and at Felix's signal, they began the harvest.
Having gained experience from harvesting the potatoes earlier, their movements were now far more practiced.
From beneath a single sweet potato vine, they carefully unearthed several fat tubers. The serf lifted them, revealing purple-skinned sweet potatoes as thick as an arm and as long as a palm. Even the smallest of the five tubers weighed at least half a jin (around 250g).
Although everyone had already heard about the high yield of this crop, seeing it with their own eyes still drew gasps of amazement. Their eyes lit up as they looked out over the vast green fields.
If every vine yielded such a harvest, what kind of output would that mean?
And in fact, the sweet potatoes only got bigger and more plentiful as they continued digging.
Following instructions, the serfs separated the harvested sweet potatoes from the vines and took them to a nearby ditch to rinse off the dirt. Then they were washed again in barrels of clean water. After that, the tubers were chopped into small pieces and distributed to the onlookers.
"This is a type of food that can be eaten raw. Please feel free to try it," someone explained.
Raw sweet potatoes were a bit hard and astringent, but if chewed carefully, one could still taste the starchy sweetness. Still, for those accustomed to fine foods, it wasn't exactly delicious. Quite a few people, after trying it, felt that while the yield was impressive, the taste left something to be desired.
But their opinions changed very quickly.
Digging up sweet potatoes took time, especially with such a vast area planted. Even with many serfs helping, there was no way the harvest could be completed in a single day.
Watching people dig sweet potatoes wasn't exactly entertaining, so most had planned to stay just long enough to estimate the yield and then leave.
But because each plot had only a few people working, the wait stretched on.
Soon, however, boredom gave way to intrigue.
The surrounding wheat had already been harvested, leaving the area around the sweet potato fields temporarily fallow. At the gathering point, slaves brought in large bundles of firewood and lit several fires, placing large pots of water over the flames.
At first, no one knew what they were up to—until they saw the serfs tossing the freshly harvested sweet potatoes into the fires. Others peeled and chopped sweet potatoes, throwing them into the boiling pots.
Because the sweet potatoes had been cut into small pieces, they cooked quickly. Soon, a faint but appetizing aroma began wafting through the air.
Bowls of sweet potato soup were handed out to everyone.
The cooked sweet potatoes were soft and tender, with none of the astringency from before—nearly melt-in-your-mouth. Though no seasoning had been added, the soup carried a natural sweetness. After a few bites, one could even feel a pleasant fullness.
Earlier disappointment was quickly forgotten. The soup's flavor, though mild, was sweet enough to be memorable. For commoners with little access to sugar, this was a huge draw. And because it required no chewing, it was ideal for the elderly or those with dental issues.
As a staple food, it was undeniably excellent—far more appealing to the masses than beans or coarse bread.
Shrewd merchants picked up on this immediately. They also knew that with such a massive yield, while the seed price might initially be high—just like now—the cost of the sweet potatoes themselves would eventually plummet. It might even become cheaper than wheat or beans.
Which meant this crop was destined to become a staple among the common folk. Tasty, filling, and cheap—it had all the makings of a household favorite.
Some couldn't even wait to see the final yield—they were already eager to sign procurement contracts with Felix.
But the surprises weren't over yet.
Not long after, the sweet potatoes thrown into the fire began to release a rich, irresistible aroma.
The ones tossed into the flames were thinner, smaller sweet potatoes—easier to roast than the larger ones. The slaves pulled the nearly done sweet potatoes from the dying embers. Now blackened like charcoal, they were left to cool a bit in the open before being wrapped in large leaves, split in half, and handed out to the guests for tasting.
And this… was a whole different level of deliciousness.
Beneath the scorched black skin, the golden flesh seemed to glisten with oil. The scent rising from the steam made mouths water. Peeling off the charred outer layer and taking a cautious bite, the sweet, tender texture was so rich it felt like it melted right into one's heart.
Wei Wei hadn't eaten roasted sweet potatoes in a long time. Unlike the others, she was handed a whole one, carefully prepared. Half the skin had already been peeled back by a slave, the other half wrapped in thick leaves to keep it from burning her hands or dirtying her dress.
She was also given a wooden spoon—no need to bite into it like the men. She and Salina sat side by side, taking small spoonfuls, savoring each bite slowly.
"This is truly delightful," Salina said, her eyes lighting up after just one bite. Like most women, she had a weakness for sweets, and in an era when desserts were rare, even nobles usually got their sweet fix from expensive honey or sugar blocks. This was her first time tasting a naturally sweet food that was not just subtly sweet, but unmistakably rich in flavor. She was impressed.
And she wasn't the only one. One by one, others who tried the roasted sweet potato began changing their minds. A naturally sweet, staple crop—how could even nobles resist having it on their tables?
In their minds, many of them immediately doubled the sweet potato's price. Even if prices fell in the future, this year, as long as they could secure enough supply, they were confident they could sell it at the same price as sugar.
As the crowd enjoyed their roasted sweet potatoes, a few plots of land were finally fully harvested.
Huge piles of sweet potatoes were stacked beside the field. On the other side, the cut-off vines were gathered. While older vines weren't edible for humans, they made excellent feed for pigs, cattle, sheep, or rabbits. The vines were being collected and would later be processed into silage for winter use.
As soon as one plot's harvest was complete, the mounds of sweet potatoes immediately drew everyone's attention. Even without weighing them yet, it was obvious the yield per acre must be astonishing.
The serfs, having previously harvested potatoes, mentally compared the modest mounds from back then to the towering heaps before them now. Even with a rough estimate, they could already tell this was on a whole different scale. Though they said nothing, the gleam in their eyes said it all.
They had heard from Steward George that while most of this year's sweet potatoes would be sold to nobles and merchants, the countess had agreed to set aside a small batch for the common folk. Though the price wouldn't be discounted and the quantity was limited, as long as they could buy some, they could cultivate more in the coming years, and eventually, food would never be a worry again.
The long-awaited agricultural officer finally stepped forward to begin weighing the sweet potatoes. If not for Earl Felix wanting the guests to witness the results firsthand, they could have completed the tally much earlier—instead of still waiting now.
Still, despite the delay, no one felt it was wasted time. All eyes were locked on the baskets being weighed, and as the agricultural officer announced the numbers, everyone's expressions grew brighter.
Four thousand, five thousand, six thousand... ten thousand, twenty thousand, thirty thousand—
The numbers kept climbing until the yield from the first field finally settled at over forty thousand jin (roughly 20 metric tons).
At that moment, even though they'd been mentally prepared, everyone's hearts skipped a beat.
Forty thousand jin! That was more than double the yield of potatoes, and compared to wheat, which only yielded two thousand jin per acre, it was astronomical. Just one acre of sweet potatoes could feed several families.
Some of the serfs burst into tears on the spot. With a crop like this—so productive and tolerant of poor soil—they would never have to fear hunger again.