Lin He decided to dig up only this small patch of sweet potatoes for now; the rest they could bring home to make sweet potato chips. As for the remainder, she would wait a few more days for Father and Eldest Brother to dig a cellar at home, and then they could excavate the rest. That way, many winter provisions could be stored inside and wouldn't spoil.

The next day, Lin He gathered the family, intending to make sweet potato chips. Making chips was highly dependent on the weather, and fortunately, today was sunny and pleasantly warm.

Lin He first instructed someone to wash the sweet potatoes thoroughly in the river, making sure each one was perfectly clean. After washing, Lin He planned to prepare two types: one peeled and one unpeeled. She asked Mother Huang to take Chen'er and peel one basket of the sweet potatoes.

The other basket was placed in the pot to be boiled. She told Da Bao to stoke the fire until it burned brightly. Remembering that Xiao Bao wanted roasted sweet potatoes, she tossed a few directly into the stove fire. After a while, when the boiled sweet potatoes were nearly soft, Lin He dug out the ones from the stove. The aroma of roasted sweet potatoes immediately filled the air, making everyone’s mouths water. Lin He handed one to each person, and everyone ate with great relish.

After finishing, Lin He brought out the household’s white sugar. They hadn’t originally possessed any; Lin He had spent some money on sugar while purchasing supplies for building the house. White sugar at this time was quite expensive, and it wasn't as refined as the sugar from her previous life, but it was still usable.

Then, she picked out the peeled sweet potatoes one by one and placed them in a clean area. Using a kitchen knife or any other clean implement, she mashed each sweet potato thoroughly. She mixed in the white sugar, and then used a wooden stick to stir the sugar and sweet potato together until evenly combined. Finally, she used a pre-prepared wooden board as a mold; this way, the mixture was shaped into individual pieces on the board, ready to be sun-dried. This batch would become the unpeeled sweet potato chips.

The other type could be made into dried sweet potato strips. This process was slightly simpler: the sweet potatoes only needed to be peeled and boiled until soft. There was no need to mash them. Instead, they were sliced into small, uniform pieces, creating the dried sweet potato strips.

Both varieties tasted quite similar; only their appearance differed. Just as Da Bao and Lin He finished shaping the sweet potato chips, Mother Huang and Lin Chen had finished peeling the remaining sweet potatoes. Da Bao and Lin He then shaped those into dried strips and set them out to bake in the sun.

The finished sweet potato chips, drying under the sun, became translucent and lovely. Xiao Bao stared, drooling, and asked Lin He when they could eat them. Lin He explained that they needed several days of sun to dry completely. If sun-dried properly, they would keep for a very long time; if not dried thoroughly, the chips would mold.

If they were dried for two days until slightly firm, they could technically be eaten if a piece didn't fall apart when picked up, but they would lack chewiness. Lin He still preferred the taste of completely dried chips. However, the dried strips shouldn't be left in the sun too long, or they would become excessively hard and impossible to chew. The dried strips were best eaten when about eighty percent dry, offering a slight chewiness without being too hard.

Lin He placed all the prepared dried sweet potato items in the courtyard. She laid out several wooden boards, covered them with dry grass, and spread the sweet potato slices and strips on top of the grass, as this aided the drying process.

Seeing how much her family admired these sweet potato creations, Lin He found it slightly odd. Did people in this era truly not know how to make things like this? It seemed so simple, requiring no special ingredients. Lin He paused, realizing it was probably natural given the circumstances.

From a modern perspective, this was simple. But in ancient times, food was primarily for sustenance. In an era where many struggled to eat enough grain, who would dedicate precious grain-like resources to making mere snacks?

Furthermore, two baskets of sweet potatoes, if eaten as staple food, could last the family for several days. How much of these dried pieces would be needed to satisfy hunger? And how many people could afford to buy the sugar mixed in? If her family didn't dote on her, they certainly wouldn't allow her to fuss about like this.

Lin He wondered if these dried sweet potatoes would sell if she took them to the street market. It seemed like a good idea. Once these were dried, she would have Da Bao take some to test the waters. Snacks were relatively rare in this era; some people might be willing to buy them.

Lin He shared her idea with Mother Huang, who thought it might work. Since the sweet potatoes were home-grown and cost nothing, the only expense was the sugar. If they didn't sell, it wouldn't be a major loss. She agreed to let Lin He and Da Bao take some to market in a few days. While they might not earn significant wealth, they could earn some small money.

More importantly, Lin He wanted to gauge the public reaction to these novel snacks. If the response was positive, Lin He envisioned opening a food shop once she had money. In her previous life, Lin He loved researching cuisine, especially sweets. Opening such an establishment in the future could yield considerable profit, especially since the recipes resided solely in her mind, making exact replication difficult for others.

However, those were thoughts for later. For now, she needed to see how this initial venture fared. Besides, they still had that massive patch of sweet potatoes; eating them daily would soon make everyone sick of them. If these sold well, the money earned could be used to buy other grains. The more Lin He considered it, the more convinced she became that this was a viable plan.

While the sweet potatoes dried, Lin He planned to have Lin Er Niu and Da Bao dig the cellar. In this era without refrigerators, storing root vegetables outside meant they wouldn't keep long, and stacking them in the courtyard led to spoilage and waste. A cellar would solve this. During winter, sweet potatoes, cabbages, radishes, and other produce could be stored there for preservation.

When Lin He mentioned the cellar, Lin Er Niu found the concept fascinating. He asked Lin He detailed questions: how deep to dig, what size it should be, and the specific construction methods.

Lin He explained the process clearly to him. Lin Er Niu decided to forgo work in the fields for the next few days, focusing with Da Bao on digging the cellar at home. The principle of digging a cellar was quite straightforward. First, site selection: as long as the ground wasn't pure sand—and homes weren't typically built on sand—the earth was usually suitable for digging.

Lin He planned to build the cellar right in their yard. She marked a spot and used a tool similar to a shovel to gradually break up the soil downwards. The cellar opening should be about a meter wide, descending roughly four to five meters deep. Further down, they would use ordinary shovels to widen the space horizontally. Finally, square bricks or wooden pillars would be installed for support to prevent collapse. That would complete the basic structure.

Lin He described the theory to Da Bao and Er Niu. It took the two men four days to finish digging the cellar. Lin He lowered an oil lamp down first to inspect the interior; it looked satisfactory. Once everything was stored inside, they could seal the opening. This structure would be particularly useful for storage in the summer months.