Chapter 685: Second Kingdom Exploration, Shocking! Cassava Yield of 500 Kg per Mu

Chapter 685 The second kingdom exploration, shocking! The yield per acre is 500 kilograms of cassava.

The Taino people's songs, ancient and cheerful, accompanied by the leather drums, echoed inside and outside the leader's hut. Chihuaco, the old militiaman, listened patiently with a peaceful smile on his face. Until the singing stopped, the ceremony of informing the gods and ancestors came to an end.

Silence returned to the hut. The old village chief of Yukamu reached into his arms, took out a Cohiba tobacco "spear" again, and handed it to Chihuaco. Soon, the two were puffing away, smoking the most primitive cigars, and having a candid conversation with Bowser's translation.

"Dear Yukamu Village Chief, our fleet needs food and water. I am willing to exchange the fleet's goods with you!"

Chihuaco, an old militiaman, looked sincere and confessed the purpose of his trip. Hearing this, the old village chief of Yukamu was startled and answered with a smile.

"Tribes in the lake, friends from afar! The gods and ancestors look at the village. You are our guests. You can directly share our food and supplement what you need."

"Well"

Hearing this, Chihuaco scratched his head. He thought for a while, then shook his head.

"Praise the gods and thank you for your generosity! However, our fleet has a large number of people and needs a lot of food. We cannot take your food in vain. We have enough goods to exchange for whatever you like. "

Having said this, Chihuaco waved and shouted to the mountain bird carrying the bamboo basket.

"Bird, bring the things up!"

Soon, in front of the old village chief of Yukamu, there was a small bag of cocoa, a palm of cotton, a small bag of lake gems, a small bag of gold and silver, and a few bright feathers. These are the most common trading items among the fleets along the way.

The old village chief of Yukamu pondered for a while, then pointed at the gold, silver and feathers and waved his hand. The Taíno tribes did not produce gold or silver, nor did they consider these inedible and impenetrable stones to be of any use.

As for feathers, Taino tribes need them as headgear or as decoration in the house. But Yukabe itself produces a lot of bird feathers. They will use domesticated birds to emit crisp chirps to trap brightly colored wild parrots. They also set traps and place bait to capture coastal seabirds.

Afterwards, the old village chief of Yukamu looked at Coco, a little confused, and seemed to remember something. He shook his head slightly, pointed at Coco, and waved his hand again.

Crops grown on the island of Cuba include cassava, tobacco, corn, beans, pumpkins, cotton, peppers, peanuts, pineapples, gourds (Cucurbita), as well as palm fruits, guava and zebra. The cocoa that the plateau and Mayan tribes admired was not in the daily food of the Taíno tribes. It was just that the Mayan caravans had brought such products many times, and the old village chief recognized it.

The seafaring priest Mecat sat not far away, watching this scene thoughtfully.

"Cocoa is a common sacrificial drink among the Nahua and Mayan religions. Since the Tainos do not drink cocoa, their polytheistic beliefs may have completely different origins from those on the plateau and in the rainforest!"

Then, the old village chief of Yukamu touched the soft cotton cloth, smiled on his face, and nodded. The Taíno tribes also grew cotton for weaving, but the quality of their cotton output and cloth weaving were much worse than those of the Nahuas and Mayans. In fact, throughout Central America, the centers of various civilizations are located in the Mexica Valley on the plateau and the Maya Basin in the lowland.

Finally, the village chief Yukamu opened the small bag of gems, and the bright light refracted into his eyes. He was obviously stunned for a while, then a bright smile suddenly appeared on his face, and he reached out to grab a white lake gem.

"This! This is good! You can tie it into a necklace, wear it around your neck, or offer it to your ancestors!"

Seeing the shining white beads in the village chief's hand, the Taino old men in the hut were surprised for a moment and then smiled. The necklaces around their necks are a medium for communication with gods and ancestors, and they are also a guarantee for the reincarnation of their souls after death. According to ancient legends, the whiter and more translucent the beads are, the more they can attract the attention of their ancestors, the God of Death, and guide their souls.

"Okay, the Lord God is witness! Dear Yukamu Village Chief, then we will use the gems and cotton cloth in the lake to trade your food!"

Chihuaco breathed a sigh of relief and a relaxed smile appeared on his face. There are many more gems on the ship, even more white ones.

"The tribes in the wilderness like green and blue, and the Mayan tribes like green and red. Unexpectedly, the Taino people like white and translucent. It's really strange that the gems in the lake created by His Majesty can be used all over the world!"

"Okay! This bead is good!"

The old village chief of Yukamu smiled honestly and nodded in agreement. He held a shining white bead in his hand and gave some instructions to the nearest villager. Soon, someone came with a basket of food and placed it in front of Chihuaco.

"This is cassava pancakes. It can be eaten on the road. It can be stored for four or five days. This is dried cassava cubes. It has been soaked, peeled and dried. Don't touch it with water. It can be stored for ten to twenty days. This is dried corn. It can be stored for a long time. A long time. This, cassava leaf powder, can be drunk in water or added to rice."

The old village chief of Yukamu picked up the food one after another and explained for a while. Chihuaco looked serious and nodded repeatedly.

The main food of the Taíno tribes is cassava, which has a high yield. Cassava can be grown in mountains or plains, and is most suitable for climates that are warm all year round and have average rainfall. However, this kind of crop is not picky about the soil and is drought-resistant and heat-resistant. Even if there is insufficient rainfall and high temperatures in summer, you can still have a good harvest. It is extremely resilient, able to handle weed competition and requires low field management requirements. The staple food of the African continent in later generations, and the raw material for pearls in pearl milk tea, were all cassava.

"Dear Captain Chihuaco, this is the Taino's cassava. It's more filling than pumpkin and about the same as corn!"

Seeing the food brought out by the village chief, Mayan businessman Tikalo raised his eyebrows and added with a smile.

"Of course, the taste of cassava is much worse than that of corn. Even cassava cakes are only slightly better than cassava cubes and can barely be swallowed. It is poisonous in itself and needs to be peeled and soaked in water for two or three days before cooking. Cooked and eaten. In the lowland Maya, there are also ordinary people who grow cassava in the mountains, but the nobles generally don’t eat the cassava leaves, as long as they are washed and washed, they are very good vegetables.”

"What? This cassava is the same as sweet potato and can be grown on the mountain?"

Hearing this, the old militiaman Chihuaco's eyes lit up and he asked carefully.

"How many fruits can this kind of cassava harvest from one acre of Alliance land?"

"Oh! When cassava grows, it looks like a low tree. The edible part is the tuber buried in the ground, not the fruit. As for the yield."

Tikalo stretched out his hand and touched his divine head. He thought about it, but never paid attention to the crop's yield. The old militiaman looked at the old village chief again and asked Kuba to translate.

"Cassava is the gift given to the ancestors by the white god Yukahu in the southern rainforest! Cassava nourishes the Taino people. Whether it is heavy rain or flood, it will bring us precious food! A cassava dwarf tree can bear fruit There are five or six tubers, each at least as big as a fist. Look, what grows on the mound in the nearby field is cassava, and what is buried in the mound is the root!"

"Huh? One cassava can produce five or six roots?"

Chihuaco stretched out his hand and weighed the cassava roots in the basket, which weighed about one or two kilograms. He looked outside the hut, estimated the density of the cassava mound, and the expression on his face turned into shock.

"You can plant a cassava in 2-3 steps, and 240 steps per acre of land. Each plant will produce 5-6 roots. Even if each root only weighs more than 1 kilogram, the yield of one acre of land will be just that."

"The yield per mu is at least 500 kilograms. If the skin is removed and the water is passed, some will be deducted. Moreover, the harvested cassava is easy to spoil, and the storage time is shorter than corn and pumpkin. But I remember that this crop can It grows in the ground for many years and can be harvested at any time and eaten at any time.”

Seeing the old militiaman's calculations on his fingers, Mayan businessman Tikalo secretly smiled and answered casually. Then, he touched his chin, looked at the old militiaman's wide-eyed and disbelieving expression, and asked doubtfully.

"Dear Captain Chihuaco, what's wrong with you? Is this output very high?"

"Ah, praise the Lord God! Damn it! That blind man finally did something right!"

Chihuaco gritted his teeth so hard that he almost bit his tongue. He replied with red eyes and gritted teeth.

"High, very high! This yield is higher than even the Lord God! It's even higher than sweet potatoes and pumpkins! We must bring these cassava back and bring them to the Alliance for farming!"

"If there is a bad year, these are as life-saving as pumpkins and sweet potatoes."

The old village chief of Yukamu looked curious. He didn't quite understand what these lake tribes were talking about when they pointed to the most common cassava. This common crop has been domesticated by the Ahuacan people in the southern Amazon jungle for thousands of years, the ancestors of the Taíno people. It is the most common food in the entire southern continent.

"Cassava is the white god Yucahu, a gift given to the ancestors in the southern rainforest, raising the Taino people!"

Thinking of this, the old village chief of Yukamu held the shining white bead again, looked at the wood carving of the divine pattern, and silently praised it for a while. Until Chihuaco looked solemn, saluted him solemnly, and asked again.

"Dear Yukamu Village Chief, thank you! I still have some requests. Our fleet, including three longships, is lost along this coast. I would like to ask you to send an envoy to inquire about the surrounding villages and villagers."

"In addition, we will drive the damaged longboat to the village and repair it nearby. If we can get the help of the villagers, it should be much faster. Of course, we will send white lake gems as gifts."

"The gods and ancestors bless you, bless us! No problem, my friends. We are willing to help you, just like helping our brothers and sisters. We also like your shining white beads, which are for the gods and ancestors, and finally What a gift!”

The old village chief of Yukamu smiled kindly. Without hesitation, he nodded in agreement.

"Come on, friends! Please come to our village and stay for a while. The women in the nearby villages welcome you. It has been a long time since we have injected new blood to maintain the vitality of the group. "

"Flowers welcome butterflies, and butterflies will make them fruitful. Cassava welcomes birds, and birds will spread the seeds. We welcome you to our village, take away the cassava of the white god, and leave behind the gems of the tribe in the lake to continue The blood of brothers!"