Shen Yun was somewhat surprised that Su Xiaoqi actually knew Zhao Haihua.
He was not fond of that woman who married an old man as a concubine at such a young age.
He reminded her, "She is not Zhao Hai'e."
The implication was that Zhao Haihua was far from foolish.
Su Xiaoqi chuckled at his words.
"Of course, I know. They say no one visits the Hall of Three Treasures without a reason. I had no prior acquaintance with her. Meeting her on the street that day was purely by chance. She came looking for me for no apparent reason, so I suspect she has something on her mind. Since that's the case, I naturally couldn't refuse. It wouldn't do to have her constantly dwelling on it."
Su Xiaoqi was never one to back down out of fear.
She would rather face challenges head-on.
Because she had known for a long time that avoidance wouldn't solve problems.
Zhao Haihua proactively seeking her out meant she had an agenda.
If she refused this time, she couldn't stop her from coming again.
It was better to resolve the issue in one go.
Clean and decisive, Shen Yun repeatedly nodded at Su Xiaoqi's words.
He had to admit, her thoughts aligned perfectly with his own.
No wonder he was growing to like her more and more.
He reached out and casually took her hand, and they returned home.
The moment Su Xiaoqi entered, she saw Madam Zhao sitting in the courtyard drying buckwheat.
She quickly went forward to take the winnowing basket and chided, "Mother-in-law, your eyes have only just started to recover; you shouldn't overexert yourself."
"Oh, Xiaoqi, I'm just bringing it out to sun when the weather is good. When the sun sets in the west, I'll bring it back in. How could that be tiring? Besides, my eyes can see now, so I have to do something."
Madam Zhao looked at her empty hands with helplessness.
She was born to a life of toil and couldn't stand idleness.
"Mother-in-law, you know your eyes can see now. You must protect them well. Eat what you should and don't eat what you shouldn't," Su Xiaoqi reminded her gently.
Madam Zhao readily agreed.
Those who have never been blind would never know how precious it is to be able to see normally.
During those days when her vision was blurred, her heart was filled with bitterness, and she felt useless.
Not only could she not help her children, but she was also a burden to them.
She had even considered death.
It was her good daughter-in-law, Xiaoqi, who helped her once again.
She now had complete faith in her, obeying her words without question.
There would be no dissent.
Shen Yun watched the extremely harmonious relationship between mother and daughter-in-law, his dark eyes involuntarily curving upwards.
After settling Madam Zhao, Su Xiaoqi went to check on the buckwheat being dried for medicinal purposes.
She kept only a hundred catties, drying them to store in her space for future use.
She also brought some home to steam as buckwheat rice.
She then took out a pile of corn from her space and specifically instructed Madam Zhao to eat more of these things.
Madam Zhao suffered from diabetes and had high blood sugar, so she should eat whole grains.
That night, the Shen family had the chance to taste a novel variety—corn.
"Oh, this, what do you call it? It's quite delicious," Old Madam Yu gnawed on the corn cob in her hand, her eyes squinting with delight, though she had forgotten its name.
Su Xiaoqi smiled and told her again that it was corn.
Sweet corn, just boil it in water and it's ready to eat.
It can also be stir-fried or stewed; there are many ways to eat it.
"I've never eaten it before, it's delicious," Madam Zhao also praised.
Shen Xiaomei asked, "Sister-in-law, where did… where did this corn come from?" We've never seen it before; it's truly exotic.
Su Xiaoqi had anticipated this question, and the answer was on the tip of her tongue.
As soon as she opened her mouth, it came out: "I bought it at the dock a few days ago while I was just wandering around. I heard that people from the south brought it back from overseas. They say it can be eaten as a staple food, and I thought it looked pretty good, so I bought some."
She told everyone that the tender ones she picked out were for boiling and eating. The older ones could be kept for seeds.
Old Madam Yu quickly reminded her to send some to the old family residence if she had extra.
Su Xiaoqi nodded in agreement, saying she was thinking of sending some to them after they tasted it and found it delicious.
"You've kept some for seeds; when can they be planted?" Old Madam Yu, true to her roots as someone who worked the land, immediately thought of the planting season.
Su Xiaoqi calculated in her mind and said, "Corn can be planted twice a year. One crop in the spring and one in the autumn. It's June now, so we'll plant it in July."
"That's good, that's good. By then, the rice in the fields will have been harvested, and we can plant this," Old Madam Yu assumed corn, like rice, was planted in paddy fields.
Su Xiaoqi corrected her with a smile, "It just needs to be planted in the fields."
The family discussed it and finalized the planting arrangements.
After hearing Su Xiaoqi say that corn had a high yield, Shen Yun suggested that if they could still buy more corn seeds, they should inform the village head.
Su Xiaoqi glanced at him.
She knew he wouldn't forget about it.
She said she had already thought of it; in this village, anyone who wanted to plant it would have enough seeds.
It would be like when they planted rice. They would lend them the seeds first, and when the harvest came, they would share some of the yield with her family.
With the matter settled, the next day, Shen Yun, taking advantage of his remaining day off, took Su Xiaoqi to the village head's house and explained their plan to plant corn.
Hearing that it wouldn't occupy the paddy fields and that they could plant sweet potatoes alongside corn, it was completely feasible.
And hearing about the high yield, they wouldn't have to worry about food shortages this winter.
Furthermore, the seeds were provided for free.
What else was there to say? They naturally agreed to plant it.
Soon, Zhao Baoren, the village head, gathered the villagers at the threshing ground outside the Zhao family ancestral hall and held a meeting.
He explained the benefits of planting corn.
"How good is it? Are you planting it at your place, Village Head?" someone shouted, asking Zhao Baoren.
This question stumped Zhao Baoren.
He had indeed been moved when he first heard Su Xiaoqi's proposal.
However, he also feared it might be a wasted effort.
Therefore, he wasn't planning to plant the first crop for now.
After all, other families lacked grain, but his family didn't.
Moreover, if they truly succeeded in planting it well, he could simply ask for some from each household later.
Why bother with all the hard work?
But since the question had been posed, and Su Xiaoqi was watching him closely, he responded gruffly and loudly, "Of course, we're planting it. Anyone who doesn't is a turtle's egg!"
With that declaration, everyone had no further objections.
After all, if someone like Zhao Baoren had spoken, then this crop was guaranteed to succeed.
Zhao Huzhi, having already made money with Su Xiaoqi twice, was the first to respond.
He said he wanted to borrow seeds for two mu of land.
Others looked at him in astonishment.
After all, Zhao Huzhi's family only had three mu of land, and he was planting two mu in one go—it was too exaggerated.
"I believe in the Scholar's wife. Look at the grain seeds they gave us; the rice ears that grew were so large. I estimate that the yield from the two mu I planted might be four shi."
"Oh, two mu for four shi? You're amazing!"
"My family estimates that one mu of land might yield about one and a half to two shi," someone chimed in to support Zhao Huzhi.
Hearing this, everyone immediately recalled the sight of the fields they had seen in the past two days.
Compared to the rice ears they planted in previous years, these were indeed much larger.
One by one, they decided to use at least half of their land to plant corn.
Su Xiaoqi, seeing their trust in her and their enthusiastic cooperation, beamed a brilliant smile.
It was more dazzling than the sun in the sky.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Su Xiaoqi also mentioned that anyone who had free time could plant buckwheat.
This didn't even require fields.
They could find wasteland on the mountainside of Yuanbao Mountain, clear it, and sow the seeds.
She also said she would buy it, and the price could be even higher.
Upon hearing that buckwheat was so easy to grow, most of the diligent villagers raised their hands high.
Su Xiaoqi wasted no time and directly told them to come in early July to collect the seeds for both crops.
She would then teach them specifically how to plant them.
Because they had already seen the results, Su Xiaoqi easily persuaded everyone to plant corn and buckwheat.
The next morning, Zhao Haihua sent a carriage to pick up Su Xiaoqi.
Looking at the carriage decorated with pink curtains, Su Xiaoqi pursed her lips and stepped onto it.
Then she saw two pairs of eyes with different expressions.
One pair belonged to Zhao Xiaohua, and the other to Zhao Hai'e.
Seeing them there, Su Xiaoqi was not surprised.
However, the trace of hatred in Zhao Hai'e's eyes was too obvious, almost spilling over the corners of her eyes.
Su Xiaoqi's heart skipped a beat, realizing that today's encounter was likely a "Hongmen Banquet."