Unlimited estates for rural beauty-Chapter 16 Bringing the Silver Note

The next day, the sky was overcast, and a gentle spring rain fell, as soft and fine as silk threads, inaudible as it lightly drizzled. Carried by strands of the spring breeze, it blew away the remnants of the harsh winter.

"Little sister, where did all these silver notes come from? Although we don’t have much silver, every piece we’ve earned has been gained through honest hard work. Come on, Xuxu, we must return this to whoever it belongs to!" Feng Xi grabbed the silver notes with one hand and pulled Feng Xuxu’s arm with the other, heading outside without giving her a chance to explain.

"Big brother, listen to me!" Feng Xuxu pulled at her brother’s sleeve with her other hand, helplessly looking at him. While others might hide such a windfall, her brother, on the contrary, pushed it away.

"Speak," Feng Xi let go of Feng Xuxu and sat down on a chair in the hall, puffing with anger and giving her a look that said he would be upset if she did not explain the origin of the money.

Since her arrival in this era, Feng Xuxu had never seen her big brother so agitated. He was usually reticent, but exceptionally good to his little sister. "Does big brother remember, at dinner yesterday, when I talked to the Zuiyun Pavilion shopkeeper about purchasing the potted landscape?"

"I remember. Didn’t you say that the shopkeeper gave you the potted landscape as a gift?" Feng Xi recalled the events of the previous day.

"Yes, at first I wanted to buy it with silver, but the shopkeeper only wanted... In the end, I thought five thousand taels was too much and changed it to two thousand taels." Feng Xuxu briefly explained the origin of the silver.

Scratching his head, Feng Xi didn’t know how to feel about his sister’s action. It was as if roles had reversed, with the sister taking care of her brother. After a while, he gazed at his sister and said, "Xuxu, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have doubted you," Feng Xi choked out the words.

"Big brother~" Feng Xuxu looked at her brother, understanding the pain in his heart. As the pillar of the family, he surely felt a sting, seeing his sister’s achievements overshadow his own. "Big brother, I’ve only negotiated a partnership with Zuiyun Pavilion. I’ll need you to manage everything that follows. You can’t abandon me, big brother. If you dare to leave me behind, I’ll cry for you to see," Feng Xuxu teased, making a funny face at her brother. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Looking at his little sister, who was comforting him in return, Feng Xi felt even more determined to support her. He wasn’t capable of many things, but farming he could do. Clenching his fist, he assured her, "Don’t worry, Xuxu, no matter what you do, big brother will trust you. And I will support you," reaching out, he ruffled his sister’s dull yellow hair with a smile full of conviction.

"Really, big brother?" Feng Xuxu’s face lit up with hope.

"Silly girl, don’t you know me yet?" Feng Xi said as he playfully flicked Feng Xuxu’s cute nose.

"Hehe, I knew big brother would help me. But there’s one more thing I need you to agree to," Feng Xuxu said hesitantly.

"Oh, what is it?" he asked curiously, seeing her serious expression.

"Big brother, I want to change the way we cultivate rice in our family," Feng Xuxu said, watching her brother carefully.

"Change the cultivation of rice? Hasn’t rice always been grown this way since ancient times? How do you want to change it?" he asked, puzzled.

"Big brother, the way we’re farming now is the most ancient method—the yield is low, just over three hundred catties per mu in a year, four hundred at the most when the harvest is good. And there’s only one crop a year. I want to change the rice cultivation methods so that at a minimum, we can achieve a yield of a thousand catties per mu, and that’s a conservative estimate. Plus, there will be two crops a year," Feng Xuxu said nervously, observing her brother’s reaction.

"Really? With these new methods, the yield can be that high?"

"That’s certain, big brother," she assured.

"Alright, Xuxu, we’ll farm this year using your methods," Feng Xi said, his joy fading into contemplation, "Then, should we notify the old manor about changing the rice cultivation?"

"Okay, then I’ll accompany you to the old manor. When we return with the silver note, we can also stop by the village head’s to buy some wasteland, ready for hiring people to till. However, until the deal is done, I hope you won’t tell the old manor yet." If the old manor found out about the change in rice cultivation without a successful implementation, their grandparents might accuse them of being unfilial. The method would be shared with them, but whether to use it would no longer concern her. Moreover, Feng Xuxu was suspicious that the previous rumors about her being a jinx might have been someone’s interference, so it was best not to mention the partnership with the Zuiyun Pavilion for the time being.

"Okay, as you say," Feng Xi agreed, knowing his sister’s concerns, and nodded his head in agreement.