"Old Shun will come to our house to check the grain later. We need to help him to sort the high quality stalks and tie them together." Zhou Anran explained.

They were really pleasantly surprised by the System’s explanation. Even just a quarter of the original pesticide effect could help with the farmers’ problem.

Their fields would be able to yield more harvest, better than the near failure result!

While they were discussing their plan, they also paid attention to the conversation between the little one and the System. Seeing her so excited, they suddenly also became happy.

There was so much good news today.

[Congratulations, Host. You have gained 200 points.]

Xiao Qingya read the notification aloud in her mind. [Where do these points come from, huh?]

She scrolled the previous notification, and was immediately surprised. [Tsk, useless System, you didn’t even remember there would have been another mission. Fortunately, it is completed now.]

Sighing, she went to check the mission details.

[Mission Triggered.]

[Objective: your mother and sister sell the grain at a price too low. Raise the price above 10 copper coins per jin.]

[Reward: 200 System points.]

Considering that they already improved the overall quality of the grain by using pesticide—which chased away the pests sucking on the nutrients during the most crucial time—this mission became an easy win task.

In total, Xiao Qingya now had around 460 points. The price of the pesticide was 350 points. She could have bought another bottle, but this time she prioritized the fertilizer first. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

She would strive to get more points to buy the same, if not, better pesticide to be used during the crucial time of the grain filling stage.

"In the first batch, Old Shun will need one hundred jin of the paddy rice first," Zhou Anran continued gently. Whenever she was happy, her expression would soften, even her manner of speaking.

They only needed to do their part, and they would receive twenty five copper coins per jin. Shun Zi had stayed beside Merchant Yang for so long, so he must have some experience.

Zhou Anran believed that the paddy rice’s quality would be attractive to other farmers. Even though they were unaware, it had pesticide from their family’s Little Ya.

"If Old Shun or any of his people ask you, just tell them it’s the rice variety that your father bought, which made it different," she warned her children with a serious and stern face.

The twins nodded solemnly and Xiao Fenghao blinked rapidly to show that he understood.

Xiao Qingya was taken aback. Is the rice really from the seed that their father had bought? However, that is also a good explanation for the fact that their fields could actually yield such high-quality rice.

Although she wasn’t worried her family would be suspicious, she still heaved a sigh of relief. After all, there might be some unexplainable things happening in the future once the System is upgraded.

She might be able to obtain better items or even skills. Her family might have been suspicious and began to suspect things.

Even the heavens were helping her!

Zhou Anran and others subconsciously heaved a sigh of relief when they heard Xiao Qingya’s thoughts.

Even though Xiao Qingya’s words will always be blocked when she tried to tell the plot to them, they also similarly didn’t want her to know they were aware of the plot or the fact they could hear her inner thoughts.

They never tried to tell her the truth, but... there was this unexplainable premonition it would bring them danger.

Perhaps, it was because Xiao Qingya was bound to the System, this foreign yet powerful existence, and they didn’t.

Upon receiving the admonishment from its Host, the System readily admitted its fault.

[It’s my fault, Host. Next time, I will remind you sooner.]

It had been distracted by a certain option in its backend, and hence, the mistake. To be able to realize that option, it would strive to help its host more diligently.

After it had such a thought, the System began to remind its host. [Little Ya, next week, you should ask your mother to go to the fields again. Use the fertilizer.]

Xiao Qingya nodded inwardly. [Is the effect from the fertilizer also stacked?]

She heard a rustling sound in her mind, as if the System was rummaging through something—information.

A few seconds later, it came back. [They are from the same brand. It should be the case.]

It wasn’t certain because they hadn’t bought the item yet. Once they did, it could extract more information.

Xiao Qingya had decided on the fertilizer that was a little bit more pricey compared to the pesticide. It should be a good thing.

[Okay, I will beg Mother to go next week.]

***

Old Shun really came to their house the next day, bringing a few people with him.

For a small servant like Old Shun, managing a shop for a merchant indeed could be considered as a promotion. Besides him, Merchant Yang also allowed him to recruit some more people.

Even though he only came for a hundred jin of paddy rice, he wanted the people under him to remember the path. They would be the one transporting the grain to the village market.

The group of men had followed the twins home, letting them show the path to their village. With Xiao Fenghao bedridden, they had no choice but to show up at the village market at the same time to sell scented sachets.

Once he accumulated enough, he would also request his Master to allow him to open another shop in the center of the county.

They greeted each other before Zhou Anran led Old Shun and his people to the grain room located at the back, which was still adjacent to the house. They went through the external entrance.

"This way, Old Shun." Zhou Anran opened the door and gestured for them to enter the room.

Shun Zi entered the door. A few men behind him followed. Inside the room, a few sheaves—stalks or rice tied together—were placed neatly on the raised platform.

Only after they entered did they realize the room was actually quite wide. Even two thousand jin of paddy rice only occupied less than half of it.

"Mrs. Zhou, are you waiting for more harvest?" Shun Zi guessed. The Xiao family only planned to sell half of their grain to him. With six people in the family, a thousand jin wasn’t actually a lot.

"That’s right." Zhou Anran didn’t hide it. She continued in a joking tone, "For the next batch or harvest, we might not be able to give you much or we will have nothing to eat."

"When will the next grain be ready for harvest?" Shun Zi’s eyes showed slight excitement.

Zhou Anran thought about it, and answered truthfully. "They should be ready in two months."

The rice plants were already quite tall.

Shun Zi nodded. Just as he was about to step forward to inspect the paddy rice, they suddenly heard a female voice from outside.

"Elder sister, are you inside?" Zhou Shuran’s voice resounded in their ears. Behind her, the twins’ expressions were somewhat tense.