When the sun finally set on the western horizon, the workers stopped and returned home.

At this moment, Yao Zhi didn’t return with the Ling brothers. Instead, she waited until everyone left before going to the area where they had piled up the harvested sweet potatoes.

She stared at the massive piles on the land and, with a wave of her hand, stored them in her system’s storage. Only when the last gunny sack was stored did she walk back to her house.

As she walked back, she asked, "Lu Chi, can you help me weigh the total harvest today?"

A moment later, a mechanical voice echoed in her head. "The total harvest today is 1,428,572 kilograms."

Hearing this, Yao Zhi was surprised and asked again, "We managed to harvest so much in just 1 day?"

"According to the system’s calculation, the speed of harvesting is 3 times higher compared to the normal speed of harvest in this era."

"Did I do something that boosted the speed?" Yao Zhi muttered doubtfully.

"With the spiritual spring water as the comparison, the drinking water contains 0.1% of spiritual energy. Although the health benefits are minimal, it can increase strength, recover energy, and reduce fatigue."

When she heard this, Yao Zhi finally understood.

It was like drinking an energy drink and gaining a stamina and strength buff. With less fatigue, the time needed to take a break was shortened. Then, with increased strength, it was easier for them to pull out the tubers.

Now that she had no more doubts, she went to her room and locked the door. She entered the shared manor and took a hot bath. As for the Ling brothers, they took turns showering.

After they were done, they had dinner together before returning to their rooms to sleep.

Early the next morning, they continued harvesting the sweet potatoes.

Although everyone was curious when they found out that the sweet potatoes they had harvested the previous day had disappeared without a trace, no one bothered to ask. They assumed that the owner had transported them to the granary.

With more practice, everyone became more skilled at harvesting the sweet potatoes. This continued for a total of 9 days before they finally finished harvesting all the crops.

Looking at the sky tinged with orange and yellow hues, Yao Zhi turned to Yang Dalang and said, "Brother Dalang, after everyone finishes their work, you can go find Xi Yi to calculate the wages. Also, tell them to return tomorrow. We need to start planting buckwheat."

Yang Dalang wiped the sweat on his forehead and nodded. "Okay." 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

After everyone finished their work and went to collect their wages, Yao Zhi stored all the sweet potatoes in her system’s storage.

Then, she opened the system’s shop and bought a total of 14,000 kilograms of buckwheat seeds. Since she would use the scattering method, she needed to prepare more seeds in case of lower germination rates.

One bag of seeds cost her 80 points, with each bag weighing 2 kilograms. Just buying the seeds, she spent a total of 560,000 points.

When she was done, she took out the seeds and placed them in an empty area before returning home. It was already 7 o’clock in the evening when she finally locked her room and entered the shared manor.

The moment she appeared inside, she saw her husband sleeping on the couch. She walked over and squatted beside him. Noticing the faint bluish circles under his eyes, Yao Zhi felt heartache for him.

She didn’t want to disturb his rest, so she went to the room to take a shower. When she came out, her husband had already woken up.

Finally seeing his wife, Fu Chen’an reached out and hugged her. He took a deep breath and smelled the refreshing scent of her body soap.

"Wife, I miss you," he said in a low voice.

Yao Zhi didn’t feel angry even though he hugged her with his dirty clothes. She returned his hug and patted his back gently. "Did something happen in the barracks?"

Fu Chen’an hugged her for a while longer before letting her go. He led her to sit on the couch and nodded.

"The Emperor issued an Imperial edict ordering the White Tiger Army to reclaim the northeast city from the barbarians within 6 months. We will leave at dawn."

Hearing this, Yao Zhi frowned and said, "The kingdom was struck by natural disasters not long ago. We have not yet recovered, and the Emperor is already thinking about expanding the territory. What exactly is he thinking?"

Fu Chen’an let out a sigh and replied, "We can’t guess the Emperor’s thoughts."

After doing several business deals with Xue Ya’er, Yao Zhi roughly understood the situation in the imperial court. All these years, corruption had been rampant, and the imperial court had long stopped paying military salaries.

"The Emperor ordered the army to reclaim the city. Surely he has prepared weapons, armor, and military provisions, right?" she asked.

Fu Chen’an shook his head. "I don’t know. But from what I heard, the envoy only brought the imperial edict and a group of Imperial Guards."

"You mean the Emperor wants to expand the territory but is unwilling to spend a single coin?" Yao Zhi was dumbfounded.

Fu Chen’an didn’t reply, but his silence already confirmed her words.

Realizing how selfish, arrogant, and foolish the Emperor was, Yao Zhi became angry. Her anger was not only on behalf of her husband and the soldiers, but also for the common people who had suffered for years.

While the Emperor, the nobles, and civil officials enjoyed wealth and glory, people starved to death. Soldiers were sent to war without proper armor or weapons.

What was the difference between that and sending them to their deaths?

"The Emperor is basically sending the soldiers to die."

Fu Chen’an had the same thought, but he was calmer. Being born and raised in this era, his mindset was not as bold as his wife’s, who grew up in a peaceful era where everyone held equal status.