Ruling the Historical Romance Novel as the Female Supporting Character-Chapter 308: Efficient Work
"Why don’t you start digging the foundation for the house? I’ll harvest the wheat and rice," Su Yijia suggested.
"No need, I can handle it. It won’t take much time. Just stay with me," Qin Kaize said, flicking her forehead and guiding her to the rocking chair.
Having decided that he would never again let Jiajia do anything physically taxing, he wasn’t about to let her take on this laborious task.
Su Yijia tried to protest, but Qin Kaize, with a sly look in his eyes, leaned closer.
"Feeling energetic? How about I help you expend some of that energy?" he said with a seductive tone.
Su Yijia quickly clutched her collar, shaking her head vigorously. "No, that’s fine. I’ll just read here. You go ahead and work."
Qin Kaize sighed in mock disappointment but didn’t press the matter. He took the modified sickle they had brought that afternoon and began harvesting the wheat and rice.
The sickle was large with a long handle, allowing him to stand and swing it without bending over. The blade was wide enough that with steady hands, the cut stalks fell neatly onto the blade, which he then swept onto a cloth laid out on the ground.
For others, this might take some getting used to, but with his Great Strength Pills and controlled strength, Qin Kaize found it effortless. What would normally take twenty minutes now only took five.
In less than fifteen minutes, the two fields were harvested.
"Let’s plant soybeans instead. We can make more oil," Su Yijia said as Qin Kaize was about to get the wheat seeds.
Rice and wheat were good, but they took months to yield returns. Su Yijia wanted to produce oil quickly, as having a large supply would make it easier to sell their products and generate more income.
"Alright," Qin Kaize said, grabbing the soybean seeds and starting to dig and plant.
Su Yijia, feeling a bit bored, went over to the small house and opened the chest storing her precious books. Thanks to 666’s assistance, she could now decipher the contents of these ancient texts.
There were a dozen or so books on cooking, a few on medicinal cuisine, some on the beauty secrets used by women of the imperial court, along with calligraphy and qi-cultivation manuals. But the most valuable ones were the medical texts.
Her gaze lingered on the beauty formulas and the ten-odd medical books for a while. In the end, she gritted her teeth and chose the medical books.
There would be always more money to make, but right now, finding effective prescriptions was essential, especially those that could be used to generate foreign income. That would secure her an unshakeable position and allow her to protect the people she cared about.
Engrossed, Su Yijia flipped through the medical texts, rapidly jotting down useful formulas in her notebook. The books were thin, written with ink brushes on double-layered paper to prevent bleeding through. Each prescription included details beyond the recipe itself--patient age, living environment, gender, symptoms, pulse, and diagnosis.
While Su Yijia absorbed herself in the ancient texts, Qin Kaize, who had gotten up a few times, glanced over at her. Noticing the serious notes in her notebook, he knew better than to interrupt.
After harvesting and sorting all the fruits into burlap bags, he started on the foundation for their planned building. The soil layer in the space required a five-meter foundation depth rather than the usual three, especially given the plan for a five-story structure. No matter how strong and quick he was, digging that deep would take more than an hour.
As Su Yijia finished another book, noting down three especially valuable formulas, she glanced at the clock, realizing it was almost ten. She couldn’t bear to let Qin Kaize continue working so hard all night.
"Kaize, stop digging. Let’s go to sleep," she called out, extending her hand to him from the edge of the pit.
Qin Kaize, seeing her delicate fingers, didn’t hesitate to grab her hand and effortlessly jumped out of the pit.
Su Yijia was startled by his swift and seemingly effortless movement, though she knew it was due to the enhanced abilities from the water-based restoration. Nonetheless, she felt a shiver run down her spine.
However, she soon forgot that eerie feeling when she was enveloped in his warm embrace. Despite the space’s consistent temperature of around twenty-six degrees, Qin Kaize was sweaty from the physical labor.
"Don’t hold me! You’re all sweaty and sticky," she complained, trying to push him away.
Qin Kaize, not wanting to upset her, eased his hold but still held her hand as they left the space. To avoid dirtying clean clothes, Su Yijia had prepared their change of clothes.
Seeing Qin Kaize’s close-fitting pants, Su Yijia couldn’t help but mentally admire his physique.
"What are you looking at? When we shower later, you can look at me," Qin Kaize said, bending down to whisper in her ear with a laugh.
The warm breath against her ear sent shivers down her spine, causing her body to tremble.
Noticing her reaction, Qin Kaize found her adorably cute. Unable to resist, he gave her a quick kiss.
"Qin Kaize!" Su Yijia shivered in surprise and glared at him, her eyes tinted with a hint of red, whether from anger or arousal.
Regardless of her feelings, Qin Kaize found her cute and charming. "Alright, I won’t tease you anymore. Let’s go take a shower," he said, leading her to the bathroom.
As they prepared the bathwater, Su Yijia, feeling a bit idle, poured the wine from the jars into a plastic barrel and replaced it with fresh fruit to brew new wine. The preservation wine didn’t change in efficacy over time, so she only kept a few barrels of Spirit Spring Water fruit wine for occasional use, replacing the rest every few days.
