Su Xiaoqi did not feel relieved after scaring the man away.
Instead, she frowned, feeling a little worried.
Old Madam Yu and Madam Zhao, sitting in the main hall, looked at her with fearful expressions.
They never expected such a fiery temper from this seemingly gentle and graceful young lady.
However, they knew it couldn't be blamed on her.
After all, in their household, Shen Yun had gone to the county school, Zhao Xiaozhu and Shen Xiaomei had gone out to work, and Shen Erdan had been sent to study with Zhao Liushun.
Only the two of them, the frail and sick, along with Su Xiaoqi, remained.
Considering Su Xiaoqi was a weak woman, if she wasn't fierce, the brute like Zhao Baoyi might have laid hands on her.
They had personally witnessed Zhao Baoyi saying many ill-intentioned words earlier.
He had even intended to reach out to Xiaoqi.
Seeing Zhao Baoyi flee in disarray, neither of them felt relaxed.
They were solely focused on finding someone to call Shen Yun back.
Just then, the courtyard gate was pushed open.
The two were startled again.
Even Su Xiaoqi straightened up abruptly, holding the kitchen knife upright, fearing that Zhao Baoyi had returned.
"It's me." Zhao Ye rushed in and made a gesture to Su Xiaoqi.
Seeing Su Xiaoqi's stance and thinking of the dishevelled Zhao Baoyi he had encountered at the gate, he suddenly understood something.
He made a move as if to rush outside.
That old scoundrel dared to bully Xiaoqi, he wanted to catch him and beat him up.
Su Xiaoqi quickly stopped him and shook her head.
"Xiaoqi, what should we do? We should quickly find Yun Ge'er." Madam Zhao was at a loss.
In the past, when the village lacked food and drink,
Zhao Baoyi often went to other people's homes to rob them.
Zhao Baoren, his elder brother, would not do anything to him even if he knew.
At most, he would reprimand him a couple of times.
Others could only consider themselves unlucky.
Madam Zhao was very scared.
Su Xiaoqi comforted her, "Don't be afraid, no matter how fierce he is, didn't he also get scared away just now?"
She had tested Zhao Baoyi earlier and found that he had no foundation in martial arts.
Relying solely on his elder brother's reputation and his strength, any ordinary farmer could defeat him.
Not to mention others, Zhao Ye alone could beat three like him.
So there was no fear of him resorting to force.
And after today's incident, he probably wouldn't dare to force his way in.
Su Xiaoqi said, "Zhao Ye, go guard the fish pond properly. He might target the fish in the pond."
Zhao Ye became anxious upon hearing this and ran off without thinking.
Su Xiaoqi pulled him back.
She took out a green porcelain bottle from her sleeve and handed it to him.
"He just said he was going to the city to buy arsenic. I don't think he was just saying it casually.
Find a way to switch the arsenic he buys with this."
Zhao Ye didn't understand, but he trusted Su Xiaoqi wholeheartedly. He took it and nodded before leaving.
But halfway, he turned back, wanting to ask Su Xiaoqi if she needed his help here.
Su Xiaoqi shook her head and said it was fine, she was at home, and Zhao Baoyi wouldn't dare to come again.
However, thinking about it, she felt as if she couldn't live in this village anymore.
The idea she had discussed with Shen Yun a few days ago resurfaced.
But it was clear that now was not the best time.
It was the season for harvesting rice.
Everyone was busy harvesting in the fields.
Su Xiaoqi thought for a moment, appeased the two elders,
and then went out to survey the fields.
Some families had already cut down their rice, and some had even threshed it.
Seeing her approach, they excitedly told her that their fields yielded three dan of grain per mu, and after drying, they might get nearly two dan of rice.
This yield was more than double the previous output.
Su Xiaoqi was also happy for them.
After visiting several more households, she found them all rejoicing in their harvest.
Especially the Zhao Huzhi family, who were always good at farming and diligent. They estimated that their rice yield per mu might reach over three dan.
This astonished everyone, and they looked at him in disbelief.
They had never harvested so much grain.
Even the most fertile regions in the Jiangnan area, known for their rice and fish, had a maximum yield of about two dan per mu.
And that was for good farmland.
For less fertile land, it was only a little over one dan.
Thinking of the bumper harvest, they would have a prosperous year.
Especially after experiencing a famine year like last year, everyone was exceptionally happy to be able to harvest so much grain this time.
Wherever they saw Su Xiaoqi, cheers of gratitude echoed from the fields.
Listening to their sincere words, Su Xiaoqi's earlier gloom lifted, and she became happy too.
"Madam Shen is truly a good person, providing us with rice seeds for free, and unexpectedly, they are so high-yielding."
At first, everyone thought her grain seeds wouldn't be very good.
But they had no other choice at the time and had to plant them,
It was better than leaving the fields barren. Who knew it would be such a pleasant surprise!
After this walk, Su Xiaoqi suddenly realized a problem.
Perhaps heaven sent her here precisely for this purpose.
Otherwise, why not someone else?
Precisely because she studied agriculture.
Why give her a planting space, if not to allow her to boost agricultural production here?
To ensure everyone had food to eat and clothes to wear.
Thinking of the Great Liang Dynasty described in books, which would face various disasters in the coming years.
The common people would be displaced, forced to leave their homes, and live miserable lives.
Su Xiaoqi’s desire to move away suddenly stopped.
She would leave here, but before she left, she wanted to research and develop seeds that were even higher-yielding and more suitable for their local land.
After a day of walking, seeing busy figures everywhere, Su Xiaoqi was filled with shock.
Finally, led by Shen Erdan, they arrived at their rice paddy.
Zhao Ye worked like three people.
He had already harvested half a mu of rice and was in the process of threshing it.
The wheat had not fully ripened and would be harvested later.
Cutting was easy, but threshing the rice with only a threshing barrel, "pattering" it against it, was the most time-consuming.
Su Xiaoqi’s mind stirred, and she thought of modern threshing machines.
Even without those powered by engines, the ones she used in her childhood with a central roller would be very suitable.
She thought about it and, without time to greet Zhao Ye, hurried back home.
By then, Shen Yun, along with Shen Xiaomei and Shen Erdan, had already returned.
After hearing about the earlier incident from Madam Zhao, Shen Yun's face darkened, his thin lips tightly pursed, and his eyes flashed with a hint of gloom.
Seeing Su Xiaoqi from afar, his expression softened slightly.
Su Xiaoqi ran, panting, large beads of sweat falling from her forehead, her clothes still stained with green grass from the paddy ridges.
Shen Yun knew at a glance where she had been and asked,
"Has Zhao Ye finished cutting?"
Su Xiaoqi nodded and said he was threshing the rice.
Upon hearing this, Shen Yun said he would go back to change his clothes and help.
After all, the rice was planted by their family.
Zhao Ye was the one helping.
It would be improper for the masters of the house not to go.
Su Xiaoqi followed him into the room but stopped him from changing his clothes.
Instead, she pushed him towards the Eight Immortals table and began to grind ink and prepare paper for him.
"I want you to draw this."
"This thing is a little like the current threshing barrel. Behind it is a square box, with a large roller in the middle made of cast iron. In front, it's connected to a wooden board for stepping.
When you step on it, the roller spins rapidly. Place the rice on it, and the high-speed rotating roller will automatically thresh the grain..."
Su Xiaoqi spoke as Shen Yun drew.
After many detailed descriptions, Shen Yun finally finished the drawing.
Su Xiaoqi’s eyes lit up as she looked at the lifelike threshing machine.
Shen Yun watched her, shining like the brightest star in the night sky.
He looked at the unfamiliar design and couldn't believe he had drawn it.
He had never seen such a thing before.
But under Xiaoqi's dictation, he had managed to draw it, which was simply incredible.