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

Chapter 39 It Finally Rained

"Okay! I want more."

She squatted down, used a twig to draw on the ground, and roughly explained the layout of the yard to Shen Yi before finally asking about the fields, "How was the autumn harvest in your village this year?"

Seeing her concern, Shen Yi carefully explained the situation to her: "I dug a well at the place you pointed out before. The water output was large, and the irrigation of the village's land was timely and not affected. Later, water suddenly started to seep out of the mud in the Daxun River, and the river water slowly rose, completely solving the village's water shortage problem."

Thanks to you, my crops also had a bumper harvest, but…

Shen Yi leaned close to Su Tai's ear and whispered, "My family's grain yield is 1,200 jin per mu, which is 200 jin more than yours. I dare not reveal this. I have hidden the extra grain and only told others that the yield is 1,000 jin per mu."

Su Tai was shocked. "What's going on?"

Shen Yi didn't hide anything from her. "I don't know for sure either. From childhood to adulthood, the crops I've worked on always grow better than others. I can also detect in the shortest amount of time where there are good things or dangers in the mountains. However, these things have caused me a lot of trouble in the past, so I've never told anyone about them."

Su Tai looked Shen Yi up and down again, but after a long time she couldn't see anything special about him. She stopped worrying about it and was secretly delighted. "In this way you can save up a lot of grain! By the way, I promised some people in the village that I would help them get grain seeds. I need your help again. Don't give yourself away."

"Okay!" Shen Yi readily agreed.

The two developed their own secret and grew even closer.

Xu and Han, who were in the distance, saw this and smiled at each other simultaneously.

Madam Xu sighed, "Originally, I brought Shen Yi here today to discuss the wedding date with your family, but it seems there's no rush now."

Han was taken aback, glanced guiltily at Su Chunlin, and said with an awkward smile, "We were just thinking of getting the house sorted out before winter. We were so sorry for not thinking things through!"

Madam Xu shook her head. "I was indeed a little unhappy just now, but I've come to terms with it now. Ayi's house is too old and really not suitable for getting married. Let's wait until next year!"

Han was deeply moved and, holding Xu's hand, promised, "I will definitely arrange for the two children to get married after next autumn's harvest!"

Hearing Han's words, Xu was completely at ease. So what if they had to wait another year? They could afford to wait!

Since Shen Yi also needs to build a house and hasn't made any preparations yet, they have to rush back and can't stay to help.

Before leaving, Su Tai reminded Shen Yi, "Buy more land, especially inferior and sandy fields, and plant soybeans and peanuts."

Shen Yi knew that Su Tai wouldn't harm him, so he nodded in agreement.

Su Chunlin also took the opportunity to bring up the matter of buying grain seeds, and Shen Yi readily agreed.

Time flies when you're busy, and before you know it, it's October. Just as Su Chunlin's family was busy building their house, an autumn rain came quietly.

The villagers, accustomed to drought, were not in a state of shock until the rain intensified and soaked them to the bone. Only then did they believe it was really raining, and the villagers who had been working rushed to the open space and laughed heartily.

"It's finally raining! It's finally raining! Thank God!"

Su Tai also breathed a sigh of relief; if it hadn't rained, she really wouldn't have been able to continue helping out.

The autumn rain lasted for three days.

The parched forests, after being cleansed, seemed to be reborn, especially the mushrooms, which sprouted one after another from the withered branches and decaying leaves. Unfortunately, no one dared to eat them, and no one touched them. After a few days of joy, everyone immediately sped up their work.

After an autumn rain, the temperature dropped sharply, and it was estimated that it would snow earlier than expected.

Fortunately, the wood for the roof beams was cut and dried in advance, so it won't delay the installation of the beams.

Thanks to the efforts of half the villagers, Su Tai's new courtyard was finally completed before the snowfall.

The entire farmhouse courtyard was almost entirely built of stones, with the gaps filled with yellow mud or dry grass clippings, making it much sturdier than the previous adobe houses and resistant to drought and weathering.

Although the roof was still thatched, it was lined with a row of wooden planks, making it very sturdy and more durable than a typical thatched roof. Even the floor of the room was covered with extra large stone slabs, making it look clean and tidy.

All the tables, chairs, cabinets, and beds were newly made by Su Chunlin for five taels of silver.

When Su Chunlin and Han installed the last wooden window, they were ready to move.

The first time Han took her three children to town to buy new quilts for the winter, a new set of clothes for each person in the family, and new pots and pans were also needed. All of this cost five taels of silver, which was not enough for the four of them to carry back. They had to rent an oxcart to help transport the things.

With everything ready, Su Chunlin thought of his elder brother Su Chunsen and hurriedly discussed it with the Han family.

“I want to go to the county town to tell my older brother and give him some things. If it weren’t for his help all these years, we wouldn’t have made it this far. We should be grateful.”

Madam Han readily agreed, "Do whatever you want. Call Xiaotai and have her come with you. As for what to bring, we only have grain left. How about we bring some wheat for your elder brother?"

Su Chunlin nodded and decided to take sixty jin of grain with him when he went out.

Su Tai secretly exchanged sixty catties of grain for wheat stored at the Time-Space Gate transfer station.

The father and daughter arrived at the back gate of the Bai residence.

Awang opened the door again. Perhaps Su Chunsen had instructed him, because this time Awang took them directly to a side room in the courtyard to rest.

After waiting for a while, the father and daughter did not see Su Chunsen, but instead a woman came.

Today, Madam Wan was in a bad mood because of some things in the Madam's Courtyard. She happened to run into Awang, who was looking for Su Chuan. When she asked him, she learned that someone from her hometown had come again.

Wan gets angry whenever she talks about her poor relatives back home. Her husband had sold himself into servitude to help his brothers in the village get married and build houses, and they had completely severed all ties. Yet, these relatives still come over to freeload every year.

She endured the drought for several years, but at the beginning of this year, people from her hometown came asking for so many grain seeds. Obviously, she wouldn't be so upset. Yet, she still came to ask for things. How shameless!
Wan stormed in, not even opening her mouth.

Su Chunlin stood up as if startled, and respectfully greeted, "Sister-in-law!"

Wan suddenly found it difficult to get angry at this attitude.

Su Tai kept her eyes down and her mind at ease, immediately following suit and obediently greeted her, "Auntie."

When Madam Wan looked over, she saw that Su Tai was pretty and had clear eyes. She looked very well-behaved, and her expression improved. However, her attitude was a little cold. "A-Chuan's father went out with the master and is not at home, so I came to check on him."

Su Chunlin hurriedly pulled out the grain and said with a simple smile, "Sister-in-law, we didn't come here today for anything. We just wanted to ask my brother to help us get some seeds in the spring. He didn't want any money, but we couldn't let him suffer a loss. So, we have some surplus grain at home this autumn harvest, and I thought I'd send some over to my brother. We'll make up for the rest after next autumn harvest."