TFS – Chapter 82 Harvesting Wheat

The tea tree branches that Elder He had requested were specially delivered. The Rong family’s business spanned across the entire Da Qing, and they even owned their own tea plantations. So, obtaining some tea tree branches suitable for cuttings from tea-producing regions was not a difficult task. After receiving the branches, Tang Chunming soaked them in spring water before planting them on the back mountain.

The previously grafted fruit trees had now successfully passed their adaptation period during this season of spring growth. The buds left on the grafted branches had started to turn green and sprout. Seeing this, Dashan and the others—who had personally grafted these trees—were beyond excited. Although they had followed Tang Chunming’s guidance out of trust in his skills, deep down, they had still been skeptical. After all, accepting new techniques always took time. But now, as they witnessed the fruit trees they had worked on sprouting fresh buds, all their previous doubts vanished.

The work being done on the mountain was no longer a secret in the village. Those who had helped plant the fruit trees were extremely curious about the branches wrapped in cloth strips on the trees. They wondered if this was another new technique that Li Feng and Ming Ge’er had come up with. However, this method was not something that could be easily copied by others—after all, not every family could afford to spend hundreds of taels of silver to buy an entire mountain just for experimentation. Still, from the families who had participated, word spread that this was a new method for cultivating fruit trees. In the future, the fruit these trees bore would no longer be the sour and astringent wild fruits they used to be.

Before seeing actual results, the villagers remained skeptical. The fact that no one had openly mocked Li Feng’s family for their “wild dreams” was already a testament to how Tang Chunming had repeatedly proven his remarkable abilities through one success after another.

Time flew by, and soon, the Dragon Boat Festival arrived. The customs here were quite similar to those on Earth—every household hung calamus and mugwort on their doors and took measures to ward off the “five poisons” (harmful insects and pests). Elder He had already prepared medicinal herbs in sachets and hung them for the family. With him around this year, there was no need to worry about mosquitoes and insects anymore.

During this festival, many families couldn’t stop smiling as they grabbed their sickles and headed to the fields. Those who had followed Tang Chunming’s lead and planted winter wheat last year were still a little anxious before harvesting. Some of them even went to ask Li Feng and Tang Chunming whether they would still honor their promise to purchase the wheat. The answer was, of course, a firm yes. Knowing that a large sum of silver was about to flow into their households, these families grinned from ear to ear all day long—even waking up laughing in their dreams.

Teng Yu arrived in Pingshan Village early, waiting for the harvest to begin. Even though Rong Yue couldn’t personally come this time, he sent people to oversee the process. Although this year’s wheat production wasn’t large in quantity, it was still sufficient to supply Prince Zhao.

As for those who had hesitated or been too timid last year, regret now filled their hearts. Fortunately, some of them had decided to follow suit this year. There was no point in voicing their regrets now—all they could do was stay diligent and continue working hard in the future.

So, many villagers took their own tools and joined in helping those families, as well as Li Feng’s household, harvest the wheat together. After all, they wanted to personally witness the miracle they had been hearing so much about.

Teng Yu took off his embroidered robe and changed into short working clothes before heading into the fields with the others. Though he wasn’t familiar with farm work, simply standing by the fields and feeling the lively and energetic atmosphere of the farmers at work was a unique experience. Turning to Manager Qi, who had accompanied him, he remarked, “I’ve been to many villages before, but I’ve never seen such motivated farmers. Look at Brother Feng’s land—so many people have come to help voluntarily, and in just half a day, they’ll have it all harvested.”

“That’s true,” Manager Qi agreed with a knowing smile. “But then again, no household has ever offered such a high price to buy crops before. Forget them—even I’m tempted. Young Master, do you think I should ask Tang Fulang if I can buy some seeds, plant them myself, and sell the harvest back to him later?”

Teng Yu turned his head, his expression dark. Grinding his teeth, he replied, “Old Qi, are you dissatisfied with the wages I pay you? Are you looking for a new employer?”

“Hahaha…” Manager Qi burst into hearty laughter. “So, the Young Master knows after all! But in the future, it won’t be the villagers envying city folk anymore—it’ll be the city folk envying these villagers’ good lives. Heh, I bet matchmakers will wear down the road to Pingshan Village, with all the young ge’er outside wanting to marry in, while the local ones refuse to marry out.”

“That’s true.” Teng Yu found the idea amusing as well.

On Dragon Boat Festival, the county’s school also closed for the holiday. The village head’s two sons returned home and joined the harvest. Tang Chunrong, finally on break, naturally headed home first. Though his brother was being well cared for by his brother-in-law, which he found hard to accept at times, he had to admit that no one could do a better job. Instead, he was more worried about leaving his mother home alone.

Li Feng originally planned to finish his own harvest and then ride over to help his mother-in-law. But when he arrived on horseback, he was surprised to find that his help wasn’t needed at all. Wang Ying, along with his two family members and two hired workers, had already harvested all the wheat in a single day. They were now just waiting for it to dry before packing it up and sending it to his stepson’s house. As for Tang Chunrong, who had rushed home to help, his mother simply pushed him back inside, saying someone had to stay home to cook and boil water.

Seeing all this, Li Feng immediately understood—Wang Ying had finally figured it out. He no longer insisted on carrying all the burdens alone. When he saw Li Feng arrive, he returned from the fields and told him, “You should go back. There must be a lot of things waiting for you to handle over there. I have enough help here. Once the wheat is dried, I’ll have Chunrong go with the delivery cart to your place. He can stay over for a night before heading back to the county.”

“Alright, Mother. Just don’t overwork yourself. Let the others handle the fieldwork.” Seeing that there was nothing left for him to do, Li Feng rode his horse back to the village.

Finally, the most exciting moment arrived. The families who had harvested their wheat brought the dried grains to Li Feng’s house. Their fields had yielded nearly 50% more than previous years! While it still wasn’t as abundant as Ming Ge’er’s harvest last autumn, it was still an unprecedented improvement. Every extra pound of grain meant more silver in their pockets.

The village head and several respected elders also came to Li Feng’s house to help. With only Li Feng and Tang Chunming, there was no way they could handle everything alone. One team was responsible for weighing the wheat and recording the amounts, while the farmers would then take their proof of weight and the original contract to Tang Chunming to receive their silver. Li Feng personally oversaw the weighing process, ensuring that the wheat delivered met the agreed-upon quality standards and that no one attempted to mix in inferior grain. Although no one in the village dared to try such tricks yet, maintaining strict quality control from the start was crucial.

“Li Dashan’s family, a total of 800 jin of wheat, payout: 36 taels of silver.”

Under the envious gazes of the surrounding villagers, Zhang Xiu stepped forward to receive his money, grinning from ear to ear. His family didn’t own much land, only about three mu planted with winter wheat. They had even kept some for their own consumption and to gift to relatives, yet they still earned 36 taels of silver. Though it didn’t compare to the profit-sharing from last year’s ice business, that money had felt uncertain—this, however, felt solid and real. He knew Ming Ge’er had no trouble selling the wheat at a good price.

Since the school was on break, Da Mao and Er Mao were also in the courtyard, and even the village schoolteacher had come to help with the bookkeeping. He had heard rumors about Pingshan Village’s newfound wealth but hadn’t expected it to be this prosperous. “Just a few mu of winter wheat, and families are earning dozens of taels of silver?!” A thought crossed his mind—should he consider transferring his household registration to Pingshan Village too?

“Zhang Changming’s family…”

“Uncle Zhao Liu’s family…”

Tang Chunming didn’t delay payments—silver was handed out on the spot. As soon as their names were called, the farmers rushed to take their hard-earned money home to hide it. Meanwhile, those who hadn’t planted wheat stared intently, almost as if they might pounce and snatch the silver away.

Hundreds of taels of silver were handed out, but the transactions weren’t over yet. Soon, another ox cart arrived—this time, escorted by Tang Chunrong. The villagers were now very familiar with him, and seeing him meant only one thing: his family had also planted winter wheat. But no one said anything—after all, that was Ming Ge’er’s maternal family. Even if Wang Ying was only Ming Ge’er’s stepmother, Tang Chunrong was his full-blooded younger brother.

“Brother.”

“You’re here. Have them take the wheat over to Ah Feng.” Tang Chunming looked up at his younger brother and waved him over. It hadn’t been long since they last saw each other, but Tang Chunrong had clearly matured after living independently. He had grown taller and carried himself with newfound steadiness. He greeted the village head, the clan elders, and the schoolteacher politely, making Tang Chunming feel emotional—kids in this era matured so quickly. Before long, families would probably start sending matchmakers to propose marriage for Ah Rong.

“That boy is going to do well,” one of the clan elders praised. His thoughts drifted to Tang Laoye—though he had only ever passed the xiucai exam and remained a mere tongsheng, scholars were still highly respected in this era. When Tang Laoye was alive, his reputation had been solid. Now, his son seemed poised to surpass him.

Glancing at Li Feng and Tang Chunming, the elders knew one thing for sure: The prosperity of the Li and Tang families was set in stone. And with them, Pingshan Village was bound to flourish too.

That day, the entrance to Li Feng’s house was bustling with people. Most of the villagers had gathered there, and laughter constantly echoed from the courtyard. Those who had received silver had faces flushed red with excitement, repeatedly thanking Tang Chunming and Li Feng. Many had now made up their minds—they would firmly follow their lead. As for those who had no silver to collect, they felt a pang of regret. However, they consoled themselves with the thought that at least they had planted rice and sorghum this year. When the autumn harvest came, they too would have a large sum of silver coming in. This made them feel slightly better—otherwise, they would have regretted it so much they’d want to bang their heads against the ground.

It wasn’t until sunset that the villagers gradually dispersed, leaving only Tang Chunrong, Teng Yu, and the people sent by the Rong family.

Tang Chunming pulled his younger brother inside the house, finally sitting down to enjoy a proper cup of tea. His mouth felt dry from talking all day, and his ears were still ringing from all the noise. As for the two parties outside, they could argue all they wanted over how to divide the harvested wheat.

If Rong Yue had come personally, Teng Yu wouldn’t have dared to say a word. But since it was only one of Rong Yue’s subordinates—albeit a trusted one—Teng Yu gathered his courage and attempted to negotiate for a larger share of the grain. He was willing to pay any price, even the highest, just to get more.

He didn’t even care about selling it—he simply wanted it for his own people to eat. After all, he knew exactly how valuable it was.

Last year, when he had bought a batch of grain from Tang Fulang, it had pained him to spend so much silver for only a small amount. But after tasting it, he found that other grains were no longer palatable.