Chapter 271: The Autumn Levy (Part 36)

However, she knew that the young master of the landlord family would not be interested in her. Her family was one of the poorest in the clan, with little land, relying on the sacrificial rice distributed from the ancestral hall to get by. Of course, there was no dowry to speak of… and she was taller than many of the young men… This 17th-century young woman naturally resigned herself to her fate. In any case, the Australians’ food, clothing, and lifestyle were better than those of the richest people in the county. Marrying Chief Xun seemed like a good option.

Their eyes met for a moment, then they both looked away. As usual, Xun Suji couldn’t find a new topic of conversation, so Liu Meilan had to leave dejectedly.

Xun Suji returned to his wicker chair by the side of the field to continue drinking his cool tea, watching the operation of the threshing machines and windmills on the threshing ground, and occasionally correcting improper usage. His secretary, Jin Xishan, held an umbrella to shade him, occasionally casting a tender glance at the “chief.”

While there was no progress with Liu Meilan, Xun Suji’s personal life had undergone a great change.

This subtle change occurred one night. After Xun Suji conquered an H-GALGAME and successfully won over the last heroine, he once again browsed through the CG album that recorded his glorious history. With a sense of satisfaction and a body full of hormones, he was about to go to bed when he heard a woman panting outside his window. It turned out that Jin Xishan was still outside, diligently pedaling the charger—he had forgotten to tell her to charge it the next day.

Pity, surprise, guilt, and hormones caused Xun Suji to break through his 2D aesthetic, and he was finally no longer a beast in human form.

From then on, Jin Xishan worked even harder, and her attentiveness to him reached an unparalleled level. She even followed him to the countryside to serve him when he was doing agricultural work.

Liu Meilan sat not far away, bored, looking at the basket on the ground containing a teapot and teacups. Although Liu Guangbiao constantly created opportunities for them to meet and spend time together, Xun Suji, true to his otaku nature, lacked practical experience in courting 3D women. Liu Meilan’s figure and appearance occasionally sparked his imagination, but he still hadn’t made a move.

At this moment, his gaze wandered between Liu Meilan and the threshing peasants. Liu Meilan was slightly fairer than the native women he usually saw, and she was tall—which suited his taste. Jin Xishan, although from a working-class background, had grown up in a wealthy family and naturally understood such things. She knew that the chief was very fond of “Miss Liu” and was also thinking about how to act as a matchmaker for him.

As the three of them were communicating with their eyes, each with their own thoughts, Liu Guangbiao came in a hurry to ask for Xun Suji.

Xun Suji already knew what Liu Youren wanted to ask—the Executive Committee had recently briefed all transmigrators on the issue of clearing up the land tax, instructing them on the unified rhetoric to use in their external contacts. And agricultural technicians like Xun Suji, who frequently visited the homes of the county’s large landowners, had received special guidance.

Liu Youren was frank, asking directly: what was the purpose of the Australians’ land cleanup?

Over the past few months, their cooperation had been quite pleasant: Liu Youren had intentionally tried to win him over, and Xun Suji had been dedicated in his work. A friendship had developed between them. Liu Youren’s frankness had the meaning of “treating you as one of our own.”

“…If you are short of money and grain, we landowners are all willing to increase our reasonable burden by a few percent. This matter of measuring the land and clearing up the tax is time-consuming and labor-intensive. What is your purpose in doing this?” Liu Youren said very sincerely.

Xun Suji thought, it’s just as Ah De said. But he wasn’t interested in this kind of thing, so he couldn’t quite remember the specific responses Ah De had mentioned during the guidance meeting. After thinking for a long time, he said:

“I’m just an agricultural technician. I’m not very clear about this matter.” Seeing the disappointment on Liu Youren’s face, he felt a little sorry—he had been treated so well with good food and lodging these days. So he added:

“Even if the land is cleared up, as long as you join the Heaven and Earth Society, you won’t lose out. Just think about how much more you’ve harvested from one mu of land!”

These words felt like a blow to the head. The Liu uncle and nephew exchanged a look. That’s right!

From this perspective, even if they reported all their land, as long as they could continue to receive the services of the Heaven and Earth Society and increase their yield per mu, they wouldn’t actually lose out.

Liu Youren was speechless for a moment, his mind racing.

Fu Bu’er’s wife finally shut up. Although this woman was sharp-tongued, stingy, and full of suspicion towards the Heaven and Earth Society, the rice in the fields had given her ample proof—that for a long time, she had fully deserved the beatings from Fu Bu’er; they were correct and reasonable.

The rice in the fields where the Heaven and Earth Society had provided seedlings for sparse planting not only had more ears, but the grains were also dense and full. Compared to the growth of the rice in the surrounding fields, the difference was obvious.

This bumper harvest had not come easily: from the time the rice began to fill with grain, Fu Bu’er’s heart was in his throat—he had never seen such a good late rice crop. But he was also terrified, afraid that the weather or pests would suddenly destroy his hopes of a good harvest.

But all the various disasters that were bound to be encountered when growing rice were resolved one by one by Wanli Hui. Fu Bu’er’s simple blind obedience had turned into genuine admiration. There was almost nothing that could stump him. When the moths came in the summer, in the past, they could only let them be. Wanli Hui went to the Heaven and Earth Society once, and the next day, many wooden barrels were delivered, filled with a foul-smelling emulsion—tung oil and urine.

Under Wanli Hui’s guidance, Fu’s long-term laborers mixed the emulsion with water at a ratio of 1 to 150 and then spread it in the fields, which had an excellent effect. After doing this several times, the rice stem borers, planthoppers, and leafhoppers that had been rampant in the rice fields were greatly reduced.

Wanli Hui explained that this magical thing was called “pesticide,” and it was specially made by the Australians to deal with rice pests and diseases—this year, the pesticide was free, but next year, there would be a fee for the materials.

“I’m willing, I’m willing! This is good stuff!” Fu Bu’er was so excited he could barely speak. “I’ll pay for some more right now!”

“There’s no need. Your fields aren’t infested with insects now. It’s useless to buy it—it will lose its effectiveness if you store it.”

Wanli Hui knew that the main components of this local pesticide were actually human urine and tung oil. Tung oil was easy to come by, but fresh human urine was not easy to collect and could not be stored for a long time. The pesticide factory produced as much as was needed, and the output was not high. Apart from their own use, it was allocated to the clients of the Heaven and Earth Society.

This reply changed Fu Bu’er’s mind: he would continue to participate in the Heaven and Earth Society next year. Although it was good to get the grain seeds after this year’s harvest, things like “pesticides” and “compound fertilizers,” which had played a great role in the planting process, were only available to the clients of the Heaven and Earth Society.

Standing by the just-harvested rice field, looking back at the ups and downs of the past few months, Fu Bu’er felt an irrepressible excitement—it was amazing! Although the late rice planting area had been reduced by half, the total output was still 10% more than last year. If he could plant all his land, wouldn’t he be rich? Not to mention that the broad beans planted on the fallow land had all been purchased by the Australians. The purchase price of the broad beans was not high, but it was still an income. And the circulation coupons could be used to pay for the various service fees of the Heaven and Earth Society, killing two birds with one stone.

Fu Bu’er’s family also bought a threshing machine and a windmill. His wife was now standing by the threshing machine, curiously watching this novel device threshing the grain at an extremely fast speed. The children of the family were also gathered around, fascinated by the first machine they had ever seen in their lives.

Recently, her attitude towards Wanli Hui had changed dramatically. There were no more suspicious and wary glances; she had become more like a normal woman. To express her simple gratitude, she had even made a few pairs of cloth shoes for Wanli Hui.

Fu Bu’er’s success caused a sensation in Meiyang Village. Those who had previously treated Fu Bu’er as a joke after dinner were now silent—it was now clear who the joke was. Those who had laughed at him before were now scrambling to say how they had always been optimistic about Fu Bu’er, to show their “foresight.”

The actions that Wanli Hui had taken during the busy farming season, which were considered crazy, were now being imitated by the villagers. A wave of fertilizer accumulation swept through the village. Meiyang Village suddenly became cleaner than ever before—no one threw garbage in the village anymore. Some people also learned from Wanli Hui’s methods, cutting grass in the wild and scooping up mud from the river to make compost. The small river outside the village was soon dug very clean, and the stench of sludge was gone.

Every time Wanli Hui came to the village to inspect, many people would come to ask various technical questions—how to compost, why to leave half the land fallow to plant beans… Wanli Hui welcomed all comers and explained things simply. He also took the opportunity to promote the benefits of joining the “Heaven and Earth Society”—but this kind of promotion was often rudely interrupted by Fu’s wife. Wanli Hui couldn’t figure out what this woman was thinking.

“What am I thinking? I’m thinking about not letting others join the Heaven and Earth Society,” Fu Xi said with a grin as she cleared his dishes, having heard his question.

“Is that so!”

“She, ah, wishes that every family in the village would sell their land to her family. If everyone joined the Heaven and Earth Society and learned the farming methods you teach, she wouldn’t have this opportunity…”

“That’s not necessarily true,” Wanli Hui said. “Common prosperity is the general direction—”

“Hehe, common prosperity. You guys are really strange!” Fu Xi said. “You insist on coming to this poor, remote place to teach your skills to others! When I was studying, I heard people say that any skill in the Great Ming can make you rich! Don’t you know that when you teach your apprentice, you starve the master?”

“If the master only knows this much, of course he will starve. But what we know is as vast as the sea!” Wanli Hui made a grand gesture.

“Whatever you say,” Fu Xi said. “When are you going back?”

“What, are you trying to get rid of me?” Wanli Hui looked at Fu Xi with a smile—he was already very familiar with this adopted daughter of the Fu family. They had developed a mutual affection and spoke much more casually.