The villagers gathered at Zhao Baoren's house all left.
Zhao Hai'e crawled out of the house:
"Dad, how did Brother Yun suddenly have money?" she couldn't figure it out.
Zhao Baoren had also been pondering this question these days.
He finally arrived at an answer.
"He doesn't have money, his wife does, right?"
Su Xiaoqi was the pampered daughter of Mianzhou City's wealthiest family.
"Hmph, what pampered daughter. She even steals people," Zhao Hai'e muttered.
Zhao Baoren slapped her on the head, putting on a stern face, "You silly girl, what are you saying.
Is this something you should be saying? Go back to your room and practice embroidery. If you don't get it right, how will you marry someone from the city?"
Zhao Hai'e, having been doted on by Zhao Baoren since she was young, was not afraid of her father. Upon hearing his words, she grumbled even more vigorously:
"Marry what? Marry some old man like Big Sister, and not even be able to have children."
This remark was excessive and directly hit Zhao Baoren's sore spot. Despite his doting, his face darkened.
He grabbed Zhao Hai'e and lectured her soundly.
Meanwhile, Su Xiaoqi was in high spirits.
Now it was good, they had fields and ponds.
Her space's grain and fish finally had a source.
When she returned, she would buy a few more chicks to raise, and the chickens raised in her space would also have a proper reason for being.
Su Xiaoqi's mood was incredibly good, and looking at Shen Yun walking beside her, she found him more pleasing to the eye with every glance.
She beckoned to him with a hook of her finger, suddenly stood on tiptoe, and kissed him on the chin.
Then, while Shen Yun looked bewildered, she covered her mouth and ran away quickly.
Shen Yun reacted, chased after her, grabbed her, pulled her into his arms, and kissed her with the ferocity of a storm.
"Mmm... no, I was wrong, I was wrong."
Shen Yun released her, and they laughed and romped together.
Their harmonious and free interaction was torture for Zhao Xiaohua, who had followed them all the way behind.
She tightly clutched the embroidered peony handkerchief in her hand, and a terrifying light glinted in her eyes, solidifying into something tangible.
The days that followed in Zhao Family Village were very busy.
Everyone was busy pulling seedlings and transplanting rice.
The current green, long seedlings meant they didn't have to ask wealthy landlords in the city for credit at high prices.
They didn't need to buy from grain stores, nor did they have to beg and borrow from everyone they knew.
Now, all they needed to do was to bend their heads and plant them in the fields.
Each family minded their own business and didn't consider why the seedlings in the Shen family's fields seemed inexhaustible.
They managed to have all forty-odd households in the village plant their fields.
Some people did notice the issue, but Su Xiaoqi told them that ever since she agreed to provide them with seedlings,
she had gone back to her maternal home to ask for some.
The Su family, being immensely wealthy with vast farmlands, was enough to convince them.
And with Zhao Ye's addition, the Shen family had no worries about transplanting, fertilizing, or watering; there was no work that required their concern.
He was diligent with his hands, and with one hand alone, he worked faster than others.
After finishing the fieldwork, Zhao Ye proactively went to check on the fish ponds.
Su Xiaoqi had followed Shen Yun to Fuyue Inn to deliver fish these past two days, and she had already released the fish fry.
She told Zhao Ye that she had put a thousand fry into the one-mu pond,
and two thousand two hundred into the two-mu pond.
She told him to just feed them.
Although she said this, Su Xiaoqi didn't really pay much attention to the fish in these two ponds.
If they survived, it was good; if they didn't, it didn't matter.
It was just a pretext.
To reassure Zhao Ye, she had given him grain in advance.
Zhao Ye, however, didn't think that way. Su Xiaoqi was the best employer he had encountered.
Upon receiving twenty jin of grain, he devoted himself wholeheartedly to looking after the fish ponds.
To prevent others from stealing fish, he specifically built a shed in the middle of the two ponds.
He would live there at night.
Seeing him so earnest, Su Xiaoqi felt a little ashamed.
Seeing him busy by himself and having to cook his own meals, she told Shen Xiaomei to cook his meals too.
Then, three meals a day would be delivered to him by Shen Erdan.
And the following month, his wages were changed from grain to three hundred wen.
These good conditions made the villagers envious.
"Tsk tsk. Zhao Ye this kid really hit the jackpot, hooking up with such good fortune."
"Exactly, exactly. I heard the Shen family eats very well, with white rice."
"Heh heh, don't you all be envious. Once this crop of grain is harvested, you'll have something to eat too."
"That's true. If we tend to these crops diligently and heaven grants us food, we'll have hope for the future."
Zhao Liushun's few words shifted everyone's topic.
Someone looked at the rice seedlings, which were rolling in layers of green waves blown by the spring breeze, and said again, "Speaking of which, our village is truly lucky.
Many people in my wife's village still haven't gotten any grain seeds. They've plowed the fields but don't know what to do."
"That's right. I heard that too. These past few days, several strangers have come asking about grain seeds."
"Alas, the court doesn't seem to care about us."
"Don't say, don't say. Commoners shouldn't discuss state affairs." Zhao Liushun blocked their words.
These past few days, Zhao Family Village had truly been lively.
Many villagers had relatives from neighboring villages visiting.
They came specifically for one reason – to inquire about the origin of the seedlings in Zhao Family Village and see if they could spare some for their villages.
As more and more people came to the village to ask, Su Xiaoqi keenly sensed a business opportunity.
Since her space had been upgraded to level ten, the daily grain production could reach five shi.
She had produced for six consecutive days and had now accumulated thirty shi.
Her inventory was starting to run low, and she hadn't sowed anything in her space today.
It was time to find a place to consume them.
However, she had told everyone in the village earlier that she had no more.
If she were to take out grain seeds now, the target would be too big, and it would be like slapping her own face, which was not appropriate.
Therefore, she thought of opening a grain store.
These past few days, while delivering fish to Fuyue Inn, she had browsed all the shops near the inn.
She had long set her sights on a steamed bun shop called Su Ji.
This was a shop that was on the verge of closing down.
Its location was not very good; it was three alleys away from the most prosperous Huixian Street.
In the past, relying on the patronage of the surrounding neighbors, it had made a small profit.
Now, with the unstable supply of grain, the soaring prices, and the neighbors' businesses doing poorly, their purchasing power had severely declined.
Slowly, it lost its business. Even with the doors open, it was not making enough to cover expenses.
Su Xiaoqi took advantage of Shen Yun going to the bookstore and quietly approached the owner herself to negotiate.
The owner of Chen Ji Steamed Bun Shop was a middle-aged woman, slender, with a sallow complexion, appearing malnourished.
As soon as Su Xiaoqi entered, she came forward, greeting her warmly:
"What can I get for you, young lady?"
Su Xiaoqi shook her head and said she wasn't buying anything.
The middle-aged woman's expression immediately turned sour, and she said in a cold voice:
"My small shop neither sells nor rents. Go back and tell your master to give up this idea as soon as possible."
Upon hearing this, Su Xiaoqi realized a misunderstanding had occurred and quickly waved her hands to explain:
"Auntie, you've misunderstood. I'm neither renting nor buying." She actually wanted to buy a shop.
But she had to be able to afford it.
"Then what does the young lady want?" Chen Jinniang became curious.
"I've come to partner with you in business," Su Xiaoqi explained her intentions in a few words.