Chapter Seventy Corn

  Yesterday's rewards were given by many brothers, including Blood Silk Beast Emperor, Honest Man 888 and Zhou Xiaobao, thank you all!

  When leaving, Chu Jiaqiang caught a glimpse of several large baskets of corn stalks in the corner of the village chief's house, which were obviously harvested today.

  Corn, also known as maize, is a member of the grass family and is native to Central America. It is one of the most widely grown crops in the world, with the third largest planting area after wheat and rice. In China, corn is planted over a large area and is distributed extensively, serving as a staple food for people living in northern regions, southwestern mountainous areas, and other dry river valleys.

  Its maturation period varies by region. In the arid areas of Northwest China, it is harvested once a year. In the plains of North China and Northeast China, it is generally harvested twice a year, while in some southern regions, it is harvested three times a year, making it available all year round. In Northeast China, hard corn is widely planted, while in North China, dent corn suitable for grinding into flour is more common, with quality inferior to that of hard corn.

  The growth of corn is also very characteristic, its root system is a fibrous root system, except for the radicle, it also grows from the stem nodes: those that grow from underground nodes are called underground nodes, generally 4-7 layers; those that grow from above-ground stem nodes are also called supporting roots or aerial roots, generally 2-3 layers. The plant height is 1-4.5 meters, and the stalk is cylindrical in shape. There are usually 15-22 leaves on the whole plant, with a wide and long leaf blade, and the leaf margin often presents a wavy shape. The flowers are unisexual, with male and female flowers on the same plant. Male flowers grow at the top of the plant, forming a cylindrical flower spike; female flowers grow in the axils of leaves in the middle part of the plant, forming an ear-like flower spike. The male spikes usually bloom 3-5 days earlier than the female flowers.

  Corn is a healthy food in coarse grains, eating corn is very beneficial to human health.

  In Chu's village, everyone also planted on a large scale, and the varieties were also very complete. This is also a typical small farmer's idea, not daring to plant a single crop, but multiple ones, so there won't be big mistakes. If one variety has a poor harvest, at least there are others that have a good harvest, so it won't be a waste of several months' work due to the sudden decline of one variety.

  Some people may say that farmers cultivate the land year after year and can't tell which variety will have a good harvest. In fact, every variety of agricultural product is normally able to have a good harvest, but it's often affected by many factors such as weather and pests, resulting in reduced yields. So, the farmer's approach isn't unreasonable either. Although they may not make a lot of money, they can at least make a stable profit without losing money. What they fear most is focusing on just one thing and having bad luck, which would result in losses.

  Of course, although there are many varieties, there is also a distinction between primary and secondary ones. According to past experience, the high-yielding varieties are definitely more common. In Chu Jia Village, corn has three uses. First, it's for their own consumption, which usually includes white glutinous rice and yellow sweet corn. These two have the best taste but the lowest yield. Second is for grinding into flour, generally for livestock feed. Third is for sale, but very cheap, with dehulled grain costing only 40-50 cents per catty.

  "Village elder, this year's corn harvest is pretty good!" Chu Jiaqiang looked over and saw that they were all plump and full.

  The old village chief showed a hint of joy: "It's okay, this year's harvest is generally good. However, a good harvest often means low prices." The old village chief ended with a hint of worry.

  "What was the purchase price for these two years?" Chu Jiaqiang couldn't help but ask, he had been outside for a few years and didn't know much about the situation in the village. According to the prices of several years ago, it was indeed a bit too low. At that time, Chu Jiaqiang knew that the corn purchase price outside was two or three times that of his own village, and he was quite resentful, those people were simply taking advantage of farmers who didn't understand the market!

  "Last year's corn harvest was poor, it was 0.6 yuan per kilogram, usually it's around 0.3-0.4 yuan." The old village chief puffed on his cigarette twice.

  Chu Jiaqiang sighed and was indeed deceived again.

  Seeing Chu Jiaqiang shaking his head, Chu Shengyi couldn't help but ask: "What's wrong? Is there something inappropriate?"

  The old village chief also looked over and Chu Jiaqiang said: "From now on, let everyone stop selling it. Do you know how much corn is outside?"

  "How much?" The old village chief immediately stared at Chu Jiaqiang and asked.

  "Outside, it's generally sold for about one yuan per catty, and it's obvious that we've been cheated by half." Chu Jiaqiang said helplessly.

  Chu Shengyi and the old village chief were both breathing rapidly, their faces changing color. After a while, the old village chief's beard was blown upwards: "This scourge of heaven, he has made us suffer enough. I said so! Why didn't we let him pull us to other places, he was so kind-hearted year after year coming into the village to collect purchases. Next time I see him, watch me not peel his skin off!"

  No wonder the old village chief was so angry, every year almost every household in Chujia Village had thousands of kilograms of corn, with some having several thousand kilograms, which meant that they lost thousands of yuan in income each year.

  "Let bygones be bygones, Village Chief. You can't blame others for your own mistakes. The deal was made willingly back then, and you can only say that you were lacking in information. We've learned our lesson."

  After a long time, the old village chief and Chu Shengyi finally calmed down. Although their faces still looked unpleasant, they knew that what Chu Jiaqiang said was true. At that time, it was a willing transaction between them, without any coercion, so there was nothing to be done about it.

  "Hmm! Now that we know about this, of course, we won't be foolish again. From now on, the village's corn will not be sold to those guys. By the way, Jiaqiang, can you contact buyers from outside?" The old village chief asked.

  "This is not difficult, I'll take care of it. Everyone just needs to dry the harvested corn and I'll arrange for someone to come and collect it. If that doesn't work out, we can transport it ourselves, at most we'll just have to pay a bit more in transportation fees." This was an easy task, just a matter of making a phone call, so Chu Jiaqiang naturally wouldn't shirk the responsibility.

  "That's good, that's good!" The old village chief was still bleeding in his heart.

  "Right, your family grows sweet corn and glutinous corn, don't you?" Chu Jiaqiang suddenly wanted to gnaw on a few ears of corn, it had been a long time since he last tasted them. Outside, street vendors also sold them, five or two yuan per ear, quite expensive, and the taste wasn't as good as their homegrown ones.

  "Yes! The vegetables on the edge of the house are for ourselves to eat, do you want some? Xiao Yi, go pick some back." The old village chief immediately instructed his son to pick corn.

  "Haha! Thanks then! Let's go together!" Chu Jiaqiang also followed along.

  The old village chief waved his hand, it was just a few corn stalks. Even in normal times, he wouldn't be stingy, let alone when Chu's family had made such great contributions to the village, not to mention the 10,000 yuan they donated for road repairs and solving the corn being cheated issue.

  "Hey! Hey! Uncle Shengyi, stop it, that's enough! How can you eat so much?" Chu Jiaqiang looked at the half-snake skin bag and couldn't help but ask Chu Shengyi to spare his hands.

  "Haha! That's good, but not many, you've brought so many people." Chu Shengyi said with a smile.

  Carrying a large snake skin bag of corn sticks back home, Chu Jiaqiang rushed straight to the kitchen. This household was made up of people who slept relatively late, unlike their rural relatives, so now they could still gnaw on a few corn sticks while cooking them.

  "What's this?" Xu Xiu asked in confusion, and actually carried half a bag of things straight to the kitchen.

  Corn! Hehe!

  Many people on the scene cheered loudly, especially the little loli was particularly happy, and also helped with small hands and feet, participating in the whole process, staring at the pot with eager eyes, making people laugh and cry. Even Old Man Wan and several elderly people had some nostalgia for the scene of eating corn in the past.

  About half an hour later, a strong corn fragrance wafted out, instantly arousing everyone's appetite.

  "It's still the rural corn flavor, this taste is really pure and good!" Wan Guoliang also praised.

  In the end, everyone gnawed on two roots because they had eaten dinner before and were extremely full. Seeing little Loli's belly bulging out, she still wanted to go get some, but Old Lady Wan immediately pulled her back and comforted her that they could eat again tomorrow.