Chapter 171: Isn’t It Time to Deal with the Barren Hill?
In truth, most of the villagers shared the village chief’s mindset—they were willing to take a gamble. Even though they all harbored doubts about whether this fertilizer could actually increase their crop yields, they had watched the Wen family’s dramatic transformation over the past year. What if it really worked? If it did, they wouldn’t have to worry about going hungry next year.
When the next morning rolled around, Old Madam Luo expected only a few people to show up. But the moment she opened the door, she found more than half the village already waiting outside.
“Old Madam Wen!” Everyone greeted her hurriedly upon seeing her step out.
Old Madam Luo glanced at the bags they had brought along but said nothing. She simply walked out and locked the old residence’s door behind her.
Surveying the crowd, she asked, “Have you all thought this through? Like I said before, we aren’t giving this away for free.”
The crowd chuckled good-naturedly. “Not for free, definitely not for free! That’s why we’re here to buy it.”
On the way to Wen Xiuyi’s house, someone couldn’t help but speak up.
“Old Madam Wen, is this fertilizer Scholar Wen brought back really effective for top-dressing? Can it actually increase our yields?”
Old Madam Luo glanced at the speaker. Seeing he was an honest, hardworking fellow whose question came from genuine worry, her expression softened. She simply replied, “My eldest son says it works, so it works. But you all have to follow his instructions exactly. If anyone messes up on their own and tries to blame it on my son, I won’t let them off easy.”
The crowd quickly chimed in. “Yes, yes, of course! We’ll definitely listen to Scholar Wen.”
Only then did Old Madam Luo drop the matter, leading them to the new house.
Wen Xiuyi had purposely stayed home today, waiting with Lu Feng. Wen Yao sat at a table nearby with a small abacus. While Wen Xiuyi, Old Madam Luo, and the others handled the weighing, she would manage the money and keep records.
Exactly how many catties each household bought had to be written down. That way, if any issues arose later, they would have a clear record to look back on.
“Your maternal aunt is coming by later with your oldest cousin to cart away their share. Did you set it aside?” Old Madam Luo asked. Seeing how many people had showed up, she was worried her sister’s family might miss out if they sold everything.
Wen Xiuyi pointed toward a locked room. “It’s all in there. Don’t you worry, Mother. Even if we run short for others, we’d never run short for my aunt.”
“Good. Let them line up and get started then. Old Lu, make sure the weights are precise,” Old Madam Luo said, turning to Lu Feng.
Lu Feng nodded respectfully. “Old Madam, rest assured. My hands won’t shake a single bit.”
Old Madam Luo gave a grunt of approval, went outside to get everyone in line, and had them come in one by one.
It had already been stated beforehand that the standard amount needed was fifty catties per mu of land, so everyone bought exactly what their fields required. Wen Xiuyi also made sure to emphasize that they shouldn’t overuse it. They shouldn’t assume that adding more would make things grow bigger. It was just like drinking water—a single cup quenched your thirst, and a whole kettle did the same, but chugging the kettle would only bloat your stomach for no good reason.
A few people had indeed harbored such thoughts, but they quickly abandoned the idea after hearing Wen Xiuyi’s explanation. Besides, since they all lived in the same village, everyone knew exactly how much land each household owned anyway.
Thus, Wen Xiuyi filled the bags, Old Lu weighed them, Wen Yao collected the money and recorded the accounts, while Old Madam Luo pulled up a stool to sit right next to Wen Yao, keeping a hawkish eye out to see if anyone dared to cause trouble.
It had to be said that Old Madam Luo’s intimidating presence was quite effective. At the very least, everyone patiently and peacefully purchased the exact amount they needed and went on their way.
The family busied themselves until late afternoon before they finally finished distributing all the fertilizer. There wasn’t much left in the storehouse.
Seeing this, those who had initially intended to hold out and wait for the family to compromise didn’t dare try their luck any longer. In the end, they all rushed over to buy their shares as well.
Ultimately, the entire two thousand five hundred catties Wen Yao had produced was completely sold out, leaving absolutely nothing for their own household.
Wen Xiuyi had no choice but to take Wen Yao out for another trip, bringing back a fresh supply.
When Qiu Rongrong got wind of this, she insisted that she couldn’t be left out of such a good thing. Left with no alternative, Wen Xiuyi and Wen Yao made another round trip just to bring back three thousand catties for her.
As for where it all came from, no one asked a single follow-up question after the two of them gave a vague excuse.
This made Wen Yao immensely grateful for the logic shortcuts typical of the original webnovel’s author.
Now, the fish were being raised, and the ducks would be ready to leave the pens for market in another month. Yet, the barren hill they had purchased along with the fields still sat there completely untouched. Aside from the mud that had been hauled up the slopes and dried into parched earth, nothing had changed except for a fresh blanket of wild weeds.
Old Man Wen only remembered that the hill belonged to them after being questioned by the second uncle and the others.
“If your second uncle hadn’t brought it up, I would’ve clean forgotten about that hill. Eldest, now that the fish and ducks are sorted out, what do you plan to do with that hill?” Old Man Wen really hadn’t wanted to ask, because he knew that asking would only unleash a mountain of future troubles.
But if he didn’t ask, looking at that hill sitting completely desolate made his heart ache, considering it had cost good money. They couldn’t just use it exclusively as a source for firewood; with a whole mountain full of wood, they wouldn’t even burn through it all in several years.
Wen Xiuyi was currently reviewing his youngest son’s recent studies. Hearing this, he replied without even raising his head, “Huh? Didn’t we say we’d plant fruit trees and raise chickens?”
Old Man Wen almost slipped off his shoe to hurl it right at his son’s face. Fearing he might ruin his young grandson’s books, he suppressed his anger, took a deep breath, and said, “Datou, go back to your room.”
Datou, who had been waiting for a compliment, glanced at his grandfather, then looked at the shoe that was already halfway off. Sensibly choosing discretion over valor, he snatched his books out of Wen Xiuyi’s hands and bolted.
Sure enough, a split second later, Wen Xiuyi’s wails echoed through the room.
“Father! Why are you hitting me again?!”
Seeing Wen Xiuyi like this, Datou and the other two hopefuls stood at the study door, clutching their stomachs as they roared with laughter.
With one bare foot, Old Man Wen snapped, “Raise chickens? Plant fruit trees? Won’t that require people to tend to them?” The crucial point was that no one in their family knew how to do it. Raising chickens was fine—the old lady and the women had experience. But fruit trees? They didn’t know the first thing about planting them. If the trees didn’t grow well and the fruit tasted terrible, they wouldn’t be able to sell anything, and all their investment would be flushed down the drain.
Wen Xiuyi didn’t actually feel any pain; he was just exaggerating his cries to amuse the old man. Seeing his father standing on one bare foot, he hurriedly helped him put his shoe back on and said, “Look at you, Father. Why have you been getting worked up so easily lately? Jun’er, make sure to brew some heat-clearing herbs for your grandfather later.”
Suppressing a smile, Wen Jun spoke up with utmost seriousness, “Grandfather, how about I check your pulse?”
Old Man Wen’s attention was instantly diverted.
“What? Oh my, our Jun’er already knows how to check pulses? Then hurry up and take a look for your grandfather. Lately, I’ve just been feeling like nothing in my body is quite right.” As he spoke, Old Man Wen extended his wrist.
Wen Jun had originally just wanted to tease the old man to cheer him up, but hearing him admit to feeling unwell recently made the boy instantly turn serious. Even Wen Xiuyi’s heart leaped into his throat as he watched Wen Jun take Old Man Wen’s pulse with an anxious gaze.
