Transmigrated as a Stepmother: Time to Bring the Family to Prosper!-Chapter 310 - 309: Liu Ji, Are You Crazy?

In late July, after the Ghost Festival, the scorching sun somewhat mellowed. Walking by the fields, one could occasionally feel a comfortable breeze, just like the heavy, golden rice stalks that brought joy to the heart.

This year, the fields in the village were carefully cultivated with seeds meticulously selected, fertilized several times, constantly monitored for pest damage, and nurtured with great care until maturity, finally welcoming the harvest season.

The fleet from the factory had already returned smoothly after delivering the first batch of goods. With Qin Yao’s shout of "It’s time," the entire village began the lively autumn harvest.

This time it was truly lively because most of the labor force was concentrated in the stationery factory. To ensure the autumn harvest was not delayed, Liu Family Village villagers invited the remaining refugees to help, at Qin Yao’s suggestion.

The wages were cheap, but it also gave these refugees an opportunity to earn money.

The sudden increase in population more than doubled the usual flow of people.

Looking around the village, workers from the factory, Huangque Town villagers repairing roads, refugees working as short-term laborers harvesting rice in the fields, ox carts and horse carts traveling back and forth, it felt just like a market day in a small town.

This bustle lasted for more than half a month until the short-term laborers hired for the autumn harvest dispersed, and peace finally returned.

During this time, Lord County Magistrate made the rounds to various towns and villages to inspect the autumn harvest situation.

Whether intentionally or unintentionally, he came to Liu Family Village and was pleasantly surprised to see the refugees on the fields and roads getting the chance to support themselves.

Earlier, he was worried about the placement of these refugees unwilling to return home. Now, seeing Liu Family Village, isn’t this a ready-made solution?

So, the first thing he did upon returning to the government office was issue a document encouraging major landlords in various towns to hire refugees as short-term workers and take care of these pitiful outsiders.

Moreover, he specifically praised Liu Family Village, encouraging everyone to learn from them, broaden their horizons, build roads, construct bridges, and houses—things that require manpower. Doing so, not only could they construct clan lands at a low cost, but they could also provide a lifeline for these refugees.

If this matter was truly implemented, not only would it ease the relations between residents of different areas and solve the refugees’ difficulties in living, but it would also add a beautiful score to the County Magistrate’s achievement records, truly a win-win.

However, ideals are rich and reality is harsh.

It’s feasible for other villages and towns to learn from Liu Family Village about hiring refugees as short-term workers, but as for building bridges, roads, and houses, forget it—they don’t have a stationery factory like Liu Family Village, and people struggle to fill their own stomachs.

Due to a lackluster spring harvest, everyone is burdened with grain debts now. Fortunately, the autumn harvest turned out well, allowing them to repay the debts, pay grain taxes, and still leave enough grain to get through the next year.

Unlike the miserable states of other villages, Liu Family Village had a bountiful harvest this year.

Although the carefully cultivated fields did not reach the five hundred pounds per acre Qin Yao’s family achieved last year, they still averaged about four hundred twenty pounds an acre, a full twenty to thirty percent increase compared to previous years.

Even Liu Facai, who always badmouthed Qin Yao’s family behind their backs, sincerely smiled with gratitude at Qin Yao when he saw his own harvest.

Liu Ji, with his face tightly wrapped in a cloth, snorted at him, turned his head, and whispered to Qin Yao sitting on the ox cart, "Don’t believe him, my dear. People like him are the most hypocritical. Turn your head, and he’ll curse you again."

Qin Yao glanced at him speechlessly, patted the empty spot beside her, and Liu Ji immediately smiled and sat on the yoke of the cart, driving the ox and carrying the harvested grain home.

In fact, bringing Ah Wang back proved to be the most sensible decision!

All the hard labor of cutting rice and beating grain was done by Ah Wang and the hired refugee laborers.

He only had to leisurely drive the family’s ox cart to the fields to load the threshed grain onto the cart and haul it back home.

However, the sun was still quite hot, so Liu Ji wrapped his face with a cloth and diligently picked up a straw hat to shade Qin Yao’s head, grinning at her.

Qin Yao twitchingly seized the straw hat and wore it herself, thinking to herself that Liu Laosan seemed to have been bewitched by someone.

Ever since he returned home, he had been like a fly buzzing around her incessantly, no matter how hard she tried to shoo him away, he wouldn’t leave, it was annoying!

In the past, when he was lazy or sneaky, she would straightforwardly hit him.

But now he was just circling around her, being quite diligent. Whatever she wanted, just a thought would barely form in her mind, and before she could even voice it, the needed item was already in front of her.

Seeing those earnest eyes when he wasn’t causing trouble, Qin Yao withheld her raised slap by force.

Upon reaching the doorstep, Liu Ji reined in the big green ox, first jumped off the yoke of the cart, walked around to the opposite side, and extended his hand in a gesture to help her off the cart.

"Liu Ji, are you insane?" Qin Yao slapped away the outstretched hand and warned, pointing at his nose, "You better stay far from me, lest I beat you to death!"

Liu Ji chuckled two sleazy laughs, leaned his face in closer, took her hand and invited it to his face, "My dear, hitting me means you like me, I am content with it..."

So a loud slap immediately landed on that obnoxiously handsome face.

Liu Ji was caught off guard, yelped in pain, staggered back a dozen steps, bumped hard into the door panel, shocked, "My dear, you actually hit me!"

Qin Yao: "If I say I hit you, I hit you. Do I need to pick a day for it? Now scram!"

"Alright!" Knowing how to adapt to the times, a clever man is a wise man, Liu Ji promptly rolled into the house.

On second thought, it seemed like he didn’t have to work anymore; were it not for the pain on his face, he might have burst into laughter immediately.

Qin Yao shook her hand and wiped it on her clothes, her brow furrowing in disdain, "What bad luck."

By herself, she unloaded the grain from the ox cart, spread it evenly on the drying mat with a wooden rake, clapped her hands, and continued driving the ox cart to the fields.

Before leaving, she shouted into the house: "Turn over the grain every half hour!"

A response came from inside, and only then did Qin Yao leave.

There was only one last cart of grain left. Upon reaching the fields, Qin Yao parked the cart by the roadside and loaded all the grain, then took out the money bag to pay the hired short-term laborers and saw them off.

Calling out to Ah Wang, who was finding joy in farm work, they returned home fully loaded.

This year, from eight acres of rice, a total of 3520 pounds of grain was harvested.

The village head said the grain tax this year was still one out of fifteen, deducting 235 pounds for grain tax, leaving 3285 pounds of grain.

Once the grain is sun-dried and hulled, the weight will decrease by another twenty percent, and thanks to Qin Yao’s large appetite, it’s just enough to feed a family of seven for a year.

But the rice husks can also be processed into feed for the two livestock at home, barely enough to feed the whole family.

On the ox cart, Ah Wang asked eagerly, "Madam, with so much bran at home, may I raise a few chickens and ducks?"

Qin Yao glanced at Ah Wang in surprise, "You’re doing so much farm work and still don’t feel tired?"

Ah Wang’s gaze was firm, "I’m not tired."

He just loved doing farm work!

Feeding cows and horses, planting melons and beans, working in the fields caring for crops, watching the livestock grow stronger, and the plants grow taller, it gave him a sense of peace inside.

Qin Yao was momentarily choked by Ah Wang’s pure and content eyes, realizing indeed that people can be very different.

She was thoroughly fed up with these tedious, never-ending farm tasks.

"Alright, raise them if you want, but I have one requirement: don’t let it smell, you must keep it clean." Qin Yao set her condition up front.

Ah Wang, as if receiving a grand reward, nodded immediately. Though he didn’t smile, his head bobbing around conveyed his happiness effortlessly.

Qin Yao shook her head in amusement, suddenly finding him somewhat endearing.

Excluding when he’s killing!