They've all separated, so what does it matter to me if they get poorer and poorer?

Chapter 225 Hurry up, hurry up
After lunch, Magistrate Lu and his entourage set off for their return journey shortly afterward.

Before leaving, they took a basket of sweet potatoes and a basket of potatoes from Xu Zhichun.

With the magistrate and his entourage gone, the village, no longer restrained, became even more excited.

Relatives and friends flocked to each household, warmly exchanging pleasantries and trying to build rapport, hoping to gain favor.

Xu Zhichun stayed inside, but the knocking was so annoying that he simply went out through the back door to Liang Lizheng's house.

“Local official, I think we should remind everyone to bring these sweet potatoes and potatoes home as soon as possible. We'll feel more at ease once they're home, don't you think?”

Otherwise, what if someone sneaks into the fields under the cover of darkness and digs them up?

The things that grow in this field have no legs to run and don't make a sound, making them perfect for stealing.

If it gets stolen, you'll have nowhere to turn to for help.

Liang Li was just waking up from a dream. "Yes, yes, look at me, I was so happy today that I didn't even think of this."

This is an extremely important and top-priority matter.

"I'll go and bang the gong."

Liang Lizheng was very decisive.

Otherwise, who knows when their relatives and friends will finally leave.

Even if they are envious, it won't help.

The crisp sound of the gong startled everyone, and the villagers hurriedly came out of their homes and gathered under the big locust tree.

As Liang Lizheng stood on high ground, his shout caused everyone to react the same way he did. They no longer cared about showing off or playing games with their relatives and friends; they hurriedly rushed home to harvest.

Finally, things quieted down in the village, and the relatives and friends felt too embarrassed to stay any longer.

Harvesting is the priority. Many families didn't plant too many, so they plan to have the whole family work until dark, hoping to bring all the sweet potatoes and potatoes home in one go.

Xu Zhichun has also started harvesting. Actually, she is the one who is most worried, as her family grows the most.

Fortunately, most of them are on the slope behind the house, making them easy to store.

She decided to go to a more distant location to collect the goods first.

It's been a long time since I've taken on any heavy responsibilities, but I'm afraid I'll have to today.

Xu Zhichun never expected that the Spring Equinox would arrive.

"Sister-in-law Zhichun! I'll go with you to harvest sweet potatoes and potatoes."

Xu Zhichun was taken aback: "You're coming with me? Don't you need to collect the money?"

Chunfen smiled and said, "My mother said that she, my father, and my brother would be enough, and that I should come and find Sister-in-law Zhichun. I'm receiving the wages that Sister-in-law Zhichun gave me."

Xu Zhichun smiled and said, "That's fine too. I'll give you extra pay today."

Although she gave me wages for Chunfen, and because Chunfen's sister-in-law came to my door privately, she intentionally didn't raise Chunfen's wages but just recorded it in the ledger and would give it to her when the time was right, she wouldn't insist that Chunfen serve her if Chunfen had any family matters to attend to.

She remembers the kindness that comes with the Spring Equinox.

The land in the distance is about three acres. One acre was planted with soybeans and peanuts, which were harvested a few days ago. There are also two acres of sweet potatoes.

She hadn't watered this patch, but she had applied base fertilizer when planting it, so it was still growing very well, better than other plants nearby.

The output is naturally higher.

It's a good thing, but with so much to gain, the burden is also heavy.

It's quite tiring for two people to harvest one and a half acres of sweet potatoes in half a day.

Xu Zhichun tried, but he couldn't lift the load at all. It was nearly three thousand jin (approximately 1500 kg). During the Spring Equinox, he could only carry about three hundred jin (approximately 150 catties) at a time using a large basket, and it would take him ten trips. Xu Zhichun's head ached just thinking about it. He decided to give up and try again tomorrow.

Fortunately, Liang Mingliang and his brothers, Yang Ming and his son, as well as Liang Kuanling, the eldest grandson of Sixth Grandfather, came to help, and they managed to carry everything back in time.

Xu Zhichun thanked them repeatedly and said to them, "I need to harvest the sweet potatoes and potatoes behind my house tomorrow. If you uncles are free tomorrow, could you help me out? I'll pay you forty coins a day."

Yang Ming and the others were very happy to accept, saying that forty cash was too much.

Xu Zhichun smiled and said, "Yes, yes, it's hard work. We need to be careful not to break or injure anyone. Forty coins isn't much. Everyone can take their time and there's no need to rush."

Everyone thought about it and agreed. They had to be careful and meticulous, and not break or damage the work. They had to do a job that was worth the forty coins.

Everyone thanked them and then left.

Xu Zhichun escorted Chunfen home and asked if her family had harvested their sweet potatoes and potatoes. If they had, she asked Chunfen to come and help tomorrow.

Although not all the items at home had been stored away yet, anyone would be a fool not to earn forty coins a day, so Chunfen's mother hurriedly smiled and agreed that she would definitely go.

Let the son go, while the two of them continue to collect the household items.

Xu Zhichun gave Chunfen's mother another thirty coins, saying that Chunfen had worked hard today and this was her wages.

"Tomorrow is the Spring Equinox. I'll help out at your house, and I'll be paid forty cash a day, just like everyone else."

Spring Equinox Mother laughed so hard she almost felt bad, "Oh, this...this seems to be—"

When Chunfen's sister-in-law saw that she was about to refuse, she quickly smiled and said, "Okay, okay, Zhichun, don't worry, we will tell Chunfen to work hard and make sure she won't slack off!"

Xu Zhichun smiled and said, "The Spring Equinox is already very good."

Chunfen's sister-in-law: "Of course! Our Chunfen is very capable; one of us can do the work of two without hesitation!"

Chunfen's mother disliked what she said and quickly changed the subject.

Xu Zhichun didn't know whether Chunfen's sister-in-law meant that she felt she hadn't paid Chunfen enough, but she didn't respond, pretending not to know. She agreed with Chunfen's mother a few times and then went to ask other people for help.

As soon as Xu Zhichun left, Chunfen's mother couldn't help but subtly scold her daughter-in-law. After all, her daughter-in-law was pregnant, so she couldn't say anything harsh, but she also felt it would be inappropriate not to say anything.

Since becoming pregnant, Chunfen's sister-in-law has become more and more arrogant. She keenly sensed something was different; she seemed to be superior to everyone in the family, as if she were the one in charge. When her mother-in-law spoke to her, she was very unhappy and pouted, saying, "Why is Mother saying this to me? I'm not wrong. Isn't Chunfen capable of doing the work of two people? With her strength, saying she's as strong as two is an understatement. Zhichun hiring her is like hiring two people, and she only pays her forty coins. How can she be so shameless! The richer she is, the stingier she becomes! The more I think about it, the more I feel that it's too little for Chunfen to work for her for three hundred coins a month. Our family is being taken advantage of."

Chunfen's mother was stunned and hurriedly said, "Don't do anything reckless. You think three hundred coins a month is not enough? Chunfen eats lunch at her house, doesn't she? You know how much Chunfen eats. She can eat an ordinary family out of poverty if she eats properly by herself. Ever since she started eating at the Chunfen family, she has never complained of being hungry."

Chunfen's sister-in-law was clearly unconvinced and muttered under her breath, "How much is a meal worth? It's just a nice way of putting it."

Anyway, she still felt that her family had been taken advantage of.

Every household is harvesting sweet potatoes and potatoes with great fanfare. The super high yield makes people both beam with joy and kick themselves in regret.

"The village head's family and the Qitian family are really good at thinking things through. They bought so much land to cultivate, they're going to make a fortune this time!"

"I should have started clearing the land too! I regret it so much!"

"What's there to regret? Let's save more seed and hurry up and clear the land. There's always next year."

"Yeah!"

"I have to say, the hot and sour shredded potatoes are really delicious."

"My family gritted our teeth and made steamed sweet potatoes last night, and they were so sweet!"

Everyone burst into laughter when they recalled how some families had mistakenly steamed and eaten the seeds.

The entire Liangjia Village was immersed in a joyful atmosphere.

(End of this chapter)