The Fantastic Little Farmer

Chapter 58: Chapter 58: Rice Harvesting Time

”What do you mean, ’very rich’?” Zhang Lifeng was baffled.

”Didn’t you ask me to prepare the ginseng? I charged you 200,000 less last time. Do you want to stock up on more while the price is low? Sure, I’ll give it to you for 800,000! This offer is only for Dean Zhang!”

Zhang Yun agreed with a beaming smile. Out of the ten ginseng plants he had originally planted, he still had six left after promising one to He Xiong. It was always more reassuring to have cold, hard cash in hand! If Zhang Lifeng paid up quickly, he wouldn’t mind selling it to him at a wholesale price of 800,000.

”Wait, did I miss something? When did I ask you to prepare ginseng?” Zhang Lifeng said in annoyance. ”I didn’t ask you to prepare ginseng! You promised Mr. Ouyang that you’d give him a centennial ginseng worth a million!”

”Huh?”

It seemed like that actually happened. That day, Ouyang Kunpeng had said he wanted to sponsor him with a million yuan as a token of gratitude, and Zhang Yun had said he would trade a centennial ginseng in a few days... Zhang Yun had completely forgotten about it!

Zhang Lifeng was momentarily speechless. He lowered his voice. ”The ginseng you promised Ouyang Kunpeng wouldn’t happen to be the one you sold to He Xiong, would it?”

Zhang Yun rolled his eyes. ”It’s the one I gave you!”

”What does that have to do with me! Ouyang Kunpeng’s people have already contacted me. Someone is coming to collect it today and pay you, so I’ll be serving as a witness.” Afraid that Zhang Yun would demand his ginseng back to fill the order, Zhang Lifeng quickly urged him, ”Don’t just sit there! Hurry up and dig up a ginseng. I’ll help stall for time. You don’t need to come to the county town; I’ll bring them to your house!”

”Around what time?” Zhang Yun could dig it out whenever he wanted, so he wasn’t anxious at all.

”Probably past twelve. Should I bring them to your place at one o’clock?” Since Zhang Yun had just sold two roots yesterday, Zhang Lifeng wasn’t sure if he could dig up another one in half a day.

Zhang Yun thought about it for a moment. ”Make it two o’clock.”

”Is one extra hour enough?”

”If you come to my house at one o’clock, wouldn’t I have to treat you to lunch? If it’s two o’clock, you can come over after you finish eating.”

Zhang Lifeng almost coughed up blood. ”You asked for an extra hour not because you were afraid you wouldn’t have enough time, but because you didn’t want to buy us a meal?”

”What else?”

”...”

Zhang Yun suddenly remembered something and smiled again. ”Old Zhang, Elder Zhang! Bring two bottles of Moutai with you, why don’t you?”

Zhang Lifeng huffed, ”Do you think I’m a distributor? Or do you think I have a huge stockpile of the stuff?”

”I’ll get you a wild softshell turtle twice as big as the last one,” Zhang Yun threw out the bait with a beaming smile.

Like an old dog that just saw a bone, Zhang Lifeng’s annoyance vanished in an instant. ”Are you serious? You can still get one? Are you sure it’s not farm-raised?”

Zhang Yun chuckled. ”I caught another one twice the size, and a boss in our village bought it for ten thousand yuan. He stewed it, ate it, and sang its praises! He told me to give him all the turtles I can catch, and that money isn’t an issue. Of course, I’ll still take care of you, Elder Zhang!”

”It’s a deal! I’ll figure out a way to get you the Moutai right now!” Zhang Lifeng decided immediately. ”And don’t forget the ginseng!”

Zhang Yun leisurely fed his fish, planning to dig up the ginseng when he went home at noon.

When he returned to the village, Zhang Long was waiting for him at the village entrance.

”Want a smoke?” Zhang Long greeted him, then glanced around. Since most people were having breakfast at this hour, no one was passing by the village entrance.

Zhang Yun walked up beside him. ”Couldn’t sleep because of what happened last night?”

Zhang Long remained silent. He lit a cigarette and took a deep drag. ”What happened after I left?”

Zhang Yun smiled. ”I helped him fix it and watched him head back. He probably won’t go out to sabotage things again!”

”What we did... does it count as extortion?” Zhang Long asked.

Zhang Yun patted him on the shoulder. ”Since Zhang Youcai did something like that, he would feel uneasy if we didn’t take his money. However...”

”However what?” Zhang Long could see he was hesitating.

Zhang Yun said softly, ”Keep an eye on Jin Lu. I’m afraid he might continue to demand money. If the two sides tug-of-war a few times, the situation might just blow up.”

”I’ll give him a warning.” Zhang Long had noticed it last night too. ”What are your thoughts on all this?”

”About what?” Zhang Yun was confused.

”Uncle Youcai tampering with the ancestral graves.”

Zhang Yun couldn’t help but laugh. ”That’s just a memorial. Back when we were poor, it was nothing more than a mound of dirt. Zhang Youcai took the lead to build it up after he got rich. Whether you strike it rich or run into bad luck, it won’t have any impact. In the end, everything still depends on yourself!”

Without waiting for Zhang Long’s response, he turned and walked away.

As soon as he got home, Zhang Fu asked about the girl he had added on WeChat last night, mentioning that Wang Fugui had also called to ask. It was inconvenient for Zhang Yun to tell them the truth, so he could only make an excuse, saying that he had added her but they hadn’t chatted in detail yet.

Originally, Zhang Yun planned to go to the town after eating to buy a few small softshell turtles to raise. Whether he sold them to Zhang Lifeng or Zhang Youcai later, it would be a very profitable deal.

As it turned out, he was caught by his dad first...

It was time to harvest the rice!

Ever since Zhang Yun obtained the Iron Ring and took possession of the Peach Blossom Spring Space, his days had been very fulfilling. He had been running around so much that he had forgotten about his actual job of farming. For the tasks that Zhang Fu could handle by himself, he hadn’t dragged Zhang Yun along to help.

”I already went and cut some of the rice this morning. Let’s go thresh the grain before noon.”

This was a mountain village, and the fields outside were too rugged and uneven for mechanization. Since the fertility of the land varied across different areas, both the fertile and barren fields had to be distributed equally among the families. As a result, each family’s land was divided into many small plots scattered across different locations.

Farming like this was quite troublesome. For example, plowing required an ox, the plow and rake had to be carried over on shoulder poles, and during the harvest, the threshing machine had to be hauled over manually.

Since there were no men in Xiuqin’s house, such heavy labor was a huge hassle. They had to pay to hire help for plowing. During the harvest, they either had to team up with neighbors who had adjacent fields, or spend money to hire workers. Grain couldn’t be sold for much money anyway, making farming not very cost-effective. Eventually, they gave up on it and used their land to grow vegetables instead. Thus, they also frequently went out to dig up medicinal herbs to supplement their family income.

When Zhang Yun and his dad carried the threshing machine out the door, he took the heavier side with the roller, while his dad lifted the lighter side with the empty hopper. As soon as they started moving, he found it incredibly effortless!

With his current physical stamina, he could absolutely carry it over all by himself! It was just that the threshing machine was too bulky, making it inconvenient for one person, and doing so would draw too much attention.

After carrying it to the field, Zhang Yun manned the foot pedal of the threshing machine alone, beating the rice ears to separate the grain, while Zhang Fu used a sickle to cut the stalks and gather them into small bundles.

Zhang Yun had been doing farm work since he was a child. When he was little and couldn’t handle heavy tasks, he could only help the adults by carrying the cut stalks over. This saved the adults from walking back and forth, allowing them to stay in one spot and focus on threshing.

Later, when he grew older and had to pedal the threshing machine himself, Zhang Yun finally understood how exhausting it was... The most tiring part was when the fields were flooded. From cutting the rice and carrying the stalks, to threshing and hauling the grain—every single step of the process was heavy and grueling!

Later on, some machines were equipped with electric motors to drive the rollers, eliminating the need for pedaling. It was like the difference between a bicycle and an electric bike. However, since their family wasn’t wealthy and their original threshing machine hadn’t broken down, they had never replaced it.

Now, Zhang Yun first piled the rice stalks next to the machine. Then, he pedaled rapidly, sending the roller spinning at top speed. The threshing efficiency was lightning-fast, and he didn’t feel tired at all!

After finishing a section, he pulled the threshing machine closer to the next spot. Without needing his dad’s help, he simply pushed it over by himself.

”Take it easy! Don’t exhaust yourself!” Zhang Fu realized that despite having a head start cutting the rice all morning, he couldn’t keep up with his son’s threshing speed! He felt a mix of gratification and melancholy; it was a sign that his son had grown strong, but also that he himself had grown weak!

They had originally expected to finish before twelve o’clock, but at this rate, they might be done before eleven. Zhang Yun was very satisfied with this progress. In the past, he had always felt that harvesting rice was heavy labor, but now he was doing it with great joy.

However, while they were busy around past ten o’clock, a teenager ran over. From a distance, he called out, ”Brother Zhang Yun! Hurry back home, you have a guest! It’s a gorgeous beauty!”

”...” Zhang Yun was completely baffled.

Although Zhang Fu was confused, upon hearing that a gorgeous beauty was looking for his son, he immediately gave the order: ”Hurry back! And remember to wash your face and hands clean!”