After being jilted, the entire neighboring village was filled with deep regret.

Chapter 182 The County Government Stops Accepting Grain
Shen Yi put down the basket and said, "Try it while it's hot. Also, we'll have to trouble you to keep an eye on our family's autumn harvest."

Huang Xinghua waved her hand and said loudly, "Don't worry, I would have kept a close eye on this matter even if you hadn't told me. There definitely won't be any problems."

"Thank you for your trouble, Auntie." Shen Yi thanked her again, exchanged a few more words with Shen Mu, and then left.

As soon as he left, Huang Xinghua and her family stared at the crabs on the table, wide-eyed.

Shen Xiang hurriedly ran back into the house to get the scissors. "Father, Mother, Sister Xiao Tai gave me this before, I know how to eat it."

The way everyone looked at Shen Xiang instantly changed to one of utter admiration.

Shen Xiang hurriedly disassembled the crab.

Shen Mu shook his head repeatedly, "This stuff is definitely not for us farmers to eat, it's too much trouble!"

"Hahaha," Huang Xinghua laughed so hard she almost fell over. "That's right! I was worried about Xiaotai's pickiness about everything, and this must have been her idea."

Shen Xiang fed the first crab to Huang Xinghua.

Huang Xinghua's eyes widened instantly. "Hey? You know what! These stone clams are actually pretty delicious!"

She looked savoring.

Shen Mu was also tempted and took a bite, then fell silent.

Without realizing it, they joined the ranks of those dismantling crabs.

Granny Chen also ate one, and sighed with admiration.

The children wanted more food even after they finished eating.

Seeing that the children liked it, Huang Xinghua remembered what Shen Yi had just said and thought to herself, "These mantis shrimp don't have much meat, so probably not many people eat them. I wonder if they're easy to catch? I'll ask Xiaotai after the autumn harvest. If they're easy to catch, I'll buy you a few more to satisfy your cravings."

A group of children immediately cheered loudly.

After the autumn harvest begins.

Shen Yi became even busier, spending almost all his time outside except when he was sleeping.

Su Tai couldn't help, so she could only stay home and take care of the children, and try her best to cook delicious food for Shen Yi so that he wouldn't get too much food and would get exhausted.

She also took care of the villagers who came to work for her, making sure to cook a big pot of brown sugar water and a pot of fish soup for everyone every day.

Although they are all soupy and watery and not very filling, at least they can replenish energy.

This little bit of food was nothing to her, but to the villagers during the autumn harvest, it was a rare treat.

After all, who can afford to drink fish soup and sweet soup every day during the autumn harvest? And this is prepared for the people who do the work; only Su Tai could afford such luxury.

Madam Xu also took the time to come over and say to Su Tai, "Xiao Tai, I know you're the kind of person who doesn't want to work hard, but if you do this, who knows how much gossip people will spread behind your back!"

Su Tai didn't care at all. "Second Aunt, let them say what they want. As long as they don't say it in front of me, I'll pretend I don't know. Look how strong the sun is! All the people who come to our house to work are women. If they collapse from exhaustion, I can't afford to compensate them!"

Besides, we're all women, why make things difficult for one another? Don't you think so?

Xu gave her a thumbs up, and the words Su Tai had said that day spread.

Huang Xinghua and the others felt that Su Tai was a good person, and they thought that they would have to compete to do any work for Shen Yi's family in the future.

The busy autumn harvest came to an end amidst the relentless sweat and toil that irrigated the soil. After paying the grain tax and storing the grain, the villagers could finally catch their breath and take a break.

At the same time, the government also issued an order that it would no longer purchase high-yield grain varieties starting next year.

This news is definitely not good news for ordinary people.

Shen Yi returned from outside, his face looking rather grim.

Before he could speak, Madam Xu rushed over in a panic, "It's so good that you two are home! Have you heard? The county government will stop collecting grain starting next year!"

Shen Yi nodded. "When I came back, I saw that everyone in the village was talking about this."

Madam Xu sighed, "Everyone's bound to say something. They thought that with the county government collecting grain every year, everyone's pockets would get fatter and fatter, but who knew that this would all be over after only two years? Who wouldn't be upset?"

Su Tai pondered for a moment and said, "These kinds of things are unavoidable. Fortunately, everyone has earned some money, so life is much better than before."

Madam Xu wholeheartedly agreed, “That’s the truth, but not everyone can see it. I’m here today to ask you what we should plant next year.”

Su Tai found it amusing and said, "Second Aunt, the autumn harvest has just ended, and I haven't figured it out yet! If I really can't think of anything, continuing to grow grain is always a good idea."

Although the county government won't accept it, the merchants will! That way, we can get more grain ourselves.

"Grain prices were good a couple of years ago, everyone was selling off their produce, so I bet your family doesn't have much grain left!"

Seeing that Su Tai had hit the nail on the head, Madam Xu admired her even more. "You're right, that's how it is. What? Is there going to be another natural disaster?"

Su Tai shook her head, "How would I know about this? I'm just reminding my second aunt that she can save up more grain during a bumper harvest when it's cheap and dig a cellar or something."

In case of any unforeseen circumstances, having grain in hand will keep us calm, right? Even if we don't hoard grain, we can still sell it to merchants, although the price will be half of what it is now, we can still make a profit.

If I come up with anything good again, I'll definitely tell my second aunt. I won't forget you.

Xu was completely relieved and praised Su Tai profusely before leaving.

Before leaving, she asked one more question: "The four who said they were too busy with family matters this year and couldn't come to work for you just came to my house. They implied that they wanted to continue working for you next year, but I turned them down."

Su Tai stood up and thanked her, "Thank you for taking all this trouble for me, Second Aunt. If you need to dig a cellar, you can tell Shen Yi. Shen Yi can get good materials and make a cellar that is moisture-proof and dry, so that the grain can be stored for longer."

"Yes, yes, yes! I definitely want it!" Xu said eagerly, even pulling Shen Yi to her home to discuss it.

When Shen Yi returned, the couple began to ponder where would be a suitable place to dig a cellar.

Looking around, it seemed like there wasn't a good spot in their house, but there was an unclaimed wasteland outside the backyard wall that they could buy and develop.

Without hesitation, Shen Yi took the silver and ran to find the village chief, Shen Ying.

Shen Ying couldn't understand Shen Yi's shady tactics, but since she could gain some benefits by selling him anyway, she readily agreed.

As a result, the Shen family gained two more acres of wasteland.

Shen Yi planned to dig a cellar there, so he first needed to build a sturdy courtyard. Fortunately, no one lived in the area behind their house, and beyond that was the foot of the mountain, surrounded by cliffs. Villagers wouldn't pass through this area when entering the mountains, so even if they used some unusual materials when building the house, no one would notice.

So Shen Yi boldly asked Su Tai to bring in bricks, cement, and sand, and they got to work!
While Shen Yi was busy building the cellar house, Su Tai was also busy.

The ten acres of water bamboo she planted in the Earth Dimension are ready for harvest. Once this batch of water bamboo is harvested, the total amount of crops harvested in the Earth Dimension will exceed 500,000 jin, marking another upgrade.

I wonder what good things will come with the next upgrade.