The latter half of the first lunar month is the time to start plowing.

The day before yesterday was the Rain Water solar term, but because the climate in the northwest is cold, the ground had not yet thawed by the time of the Beginning of Spring, so it was more appropriate to start plowing at this time.

Yejiacun is located on a flat area without hills, and the fields surround the village.

Almost every household is tilling the land in the fields, loosening the soil.

Ye Panjiu walked slowly, constantly greeting the villagers as she carefully observed how they cultivated the land.

Most of them used straight-shaft plows, or even simpler ones, such as hand-held rakes to harrow the land.

She was still wearing a quilted coat with a fur collar, while many people in the fields were already wearing only a single layer of clothing because of the heat from working, and their backs and chests were soaked with sweat.

After walking for half an hour, they arrived at their own land. Old Man Ye was using the family's black ox to pull the plow and till the land, while Old Woman Ye was picking out stones from the field and breaking up hard clods of soil with a rake.

Ye Panjiu prepared to walk into the field.

Grandma Ye waved her hand, "Don't go into the fields, you'll get your skirt dirty."

In ancient times, there were no washing machines, so she had to wash all her clothes by hand. Thinking of this, she stopped in her tracks.

She called out, "Mother, Father, I brought some hot tea to warm you up. Where did we make this plow?"

Old Ye picked up the towel hanging around his neck and wiped the sweat from his forehead. "It was all made by Old Wu from the village. He's very skilled, and people from other villages also get their plows made by him. We've been using this plow for years, and it's never had a problem!"

Ye Panjiu nodded. "Dad, I have an idea. Let's change this straight plow."

She pointed to the straight-shafted plow and said, "If we make the plow shaft curved, it will be more labor-saving and more flexible."

Before Old Man Ye could speak, Ye Xiong, a neighbor, shouted, "Pan Jiu, working in the fields is not like making braised food; it's not that simple!"

Ye Panjiu smiled and looked at him, "Uncle Xiong, I don't think farming is easy. I learned it from books."

Ye Xiong scoffed dismissively, "Hey, how many of us farmers are literate? Who writes books while farming?! That's all just for show, don't take it seriously!"

Ye Panjiu smiled, "Uncle Xiong, shall we make a bet? I'll go find Uncle Wu this afternoon and have this plow made. If it's even more labor-saving and easier to use..."

Ye Xiong waved his hand, "If it works better, I'll plow all your land! If it doesn't, you can hire someone to plow all your land for me!"

Old Man Ye pulled on the ox's reins. "Old Xiong, I'm not bragging, but my daughter has never lost!"

He hadn't found any tenant farmers yet, but the work in the fields couldn't be delayed, so he took over himself.

Ye Xiong looked at Ye Panjiu provocatively, "Panjiu, just tell me if you dare to accept!"

Ye Panjiu readily agreed, "Uncle Xiong, no problem!"

Regarding the plow, she only took advantage of the information gap as a time traveler; it wasn't her invention, and she didn't want to take advantage of Uncle Xiong. But since things had come to this point, she couldn't refuse.

Ye Xiong smiled broadly, "Oh, now my blistered shoulders can finally get a little rest!"

His family didn't have the money to buy an ox, so he had to pull the plow himself while his wife held the plow from behind. Both of them were exhausted.

As he gets older, his shoulders hurt more and more from pulling.

Looking at his shoulders, marked with sweat from the straps, Ye Panjiu felt a pang of pity and thought to herself that she should buy three more oxen, keep them at home, and lend them to the villagers to use for plowing.

Old Man Ye retorted, "What's your rush? Can't you wait until I finish plowing with the ox before you use it to pull the cart?"

Ye Xiong waved his hand, "No need, I'm only in my forties, in my prime, with immense strength! I'm very capable!"

Ye Xiong's wife couldn't help but laugh from behind, "Aren't you ashamed? Who says they're over forty when they're forty-nine!"

Grandma Ye laughed too, saying that everyone was a neighbor and they would chat like this to pass the time while working.

Ye Panjiu put down the tea canister, waved to the four of them, and said, "Don't work too long. Come home for dinner. I'm leaving!"

With her small frame, she can't help with farm work, so we can only offer her extra money to help.

Agriculture is the cornerstone of a nation, and food is the foundation of human survival; these are of paramount importance.

The main reason why Daliang prioritized agriculture and suppressed commerce was the shortage of grain.

There are too many corrupt officials and powerful families, which are both problems.

Instead of going home, she asked for directions and headed towards Old Wu's house in the village.

Old Wu's courtyard was a typical farmhouse, with a wooden door and mud walls. He sat in the courtyard, sharpening a sickle in his hand.

"Uncle Wu."

When Old Wu saw her, he smiled and said, "Panjiu, come inside quickly, I'll have your aunt pour you some tea."

Ye Panjiu waved her hand, "No need, Uncle Wu, I came here to ask you to make me a plow."

Old Wu sharpened the sickle, put it in the basket on his back, stood up and pointed to the straight-shafted plow, "Uncle has one right here. I made an extra one in the winter when I had nothing to do. You can take it and use it?"

Ye Panjiu shook her head, walked over and pointed to the plowshare, "Uncle, I want to make this plowshare short and curved, and add a plowshare disc and a plow scale at the bottom."

Old Wu frowned and scratched his head; he couldn't understand it at all.

Ye Panjiu smiled and said, "Uncle, do you have paper and pen? I'll draw it for you."

Uncle Wu called out from inside the house, "Wife, bring me paper and pen."

Aunt Wu came out with paper and pen, saying, "Why do we need to use this thing? It's covered in dust."

Ye Panjiu took it, shook off the dust from her hands, dipped her brush in ink, and began to paint.

Fortunately, she still remembered the improvements to the curved plow.

The problem is that the main beam doesn't have gasoline, machinery, or electricity. Otherwise, with her general direction, someone could definitely make a tractor or rotary tiller.

There's still a long way to go.

After finishing the painting, she took it to Lao Wu and explained in detail how it worked.

Old Wu's eyes lit up as he looked at Ye Panjiu in astonishment. "Incredible! Xingchao is truly blessed. This girl is so clever!"

Aunt Wu chuckled from the side, "It's a pity she's not our daughter."

Ye Panjiu asked with a smile, "Uncle Wu, how long do you think it will take to make this plow? It's spring plowing season now, so it will be more convenient if it's made sooner."

Old Wu held up one finger. "It'll be quick. This thing isn't particularly complicated; its strength lies in its ingenuity. I'll expedite its production, and it should be finished by tomorrow."

Ye Panjiu nodded, "Okay, thank you for your hard work, Uncle Wu. I'll call the magistrate to come and take a look tomorrow."

Old Wu slapped his forehead. "That's right! If it were convenient, this would be a tremendous act of kindness!"

Ye Panjiu nodded.

Qu Yuanli has troubled Chu Guan so much; this is his way of repaying him.

After leaving the Wu family, she went home and had lunch first.

After finishing her meal, Ye Cuihua followed her into the house.

“Aunt, this is the money the shop has collected in the past two weeks. Mother exchanged it for silver. There are too many copper coins. Count them.”

Ye Panjiu took the money bag and patted her shoulder. "I don't need to count it. Did your mother and you take your wages from inside?"

Ye Cuihua shook her head, "We need my aunt to pay us our wages."

They didn't take it themselves because they didn't want the accounts to get messed up.

"Okay, I'll send them to you this afternoon. Have you sent them to Aunt Tian and the others yet?" Ye Panjiu asked.

“They have a fixed schedule every day, and they settle their accounts on the same day.”