Immediately, some villagers wanted to go down into the field to turn over the rice stalks, but Li Xuhai quickly stopped them.

"You can't flip through it, you can't flip through it. I've already shown it to you, you can't do it yourself."

Seeing Li Xuhai's actions, Li Xuming quickly stopped him as well.

Li Xuhai was tall and strong, and Zhao Qi was afraid that the villagers might not know their own strength and ruin the seeds, so he also helped to stop them.

After much effort, they finally managed to stop the person.

Zhao Qi smiled kindly and spoke to Li Xuhai.

"Young man, how did you plant these seeds? How come they sprouted so quickly?"

"Yes, yes, young man, how come it sprouted so early?"

"We're all from the same village, please teach us."

"·····"

As soon as Zhao Qi spoke, the villagers who had followed him hurriedly chimed in, some humbly seeking advice, others resorting to moral blackmail, and so on.

Li Xuhai didn't mind the attitude of the others.

He went up to the bank and led everyone back a few steps, getting further away from the paddy field, before he felt at ease.

"Cough cough cough." Li Xuhai cleared his throat.

"Uncles and elders, this breeding method was a sudden inspiration from my aunt when she was growing flowers. It's the first time my family has ever done it this way. Now that the seeds have sprouted, we don't know what will happen next."

"Does that mean you don't want to teach us?" someone questioned.

The other villagers were also watching closely, waiting to see if Li Xuhai would really refuse.

“It’s not that I don’t want to teach you all. As you all have said, we are from the same village. My family once came up with a recipe for a kang (heated brick bed), and we shared it with everyone so they could make money from it.”

Upon hearing this, everyone present felt a pang of guilt.

Yes, the Li family has always been generous and willing to help the village. If there were such a good thing, how could they not tell the villagers? The few people who were just keeping a close watch on the villagers reflected on this and deeply agreed.

Seeing the changing expressions of the people present, Li Xuming couldn't help but give his cousin a thumbs up in his heart. He looked honest and simple on the surface, but he was someone who wouldn't suffer a loss.

They truly are members of the Li family.

Seeing that the others were listening, Li Xuhai continued.

"As I said, this is the first time our family has tried this breeding formula, and we don't know what might happen. We have to be upfront about this. We'll teach anyone who wants to learn the formula."

"But if the crops don't grow well or the harvest is low, don't blame my family. Everyone, please consider this: if you want to learn, feel free to come to my house. I will never hold back. But if you come looking for trouble later, I will have a temper."

Li Xuhai clenched his fist.

"If you've decided not to learn, feel free to come and watch. If we can harvest ahead of schedule this year without affecting the yield of this crop, it won't affect everyone's learning when we plant the second crop."

Li Xuhai had said everything he could, good or bad, and the villagers, not being fools, nodded in agreement.

“That’s certainly the truth. But let me add something: since the Li family isn’t going to keep anything secret, if anyone really wants to learn, they should learn properly and bear the consequences themselves. Don’t ruin the relationship. The Li family isn’t getting any benefit from this. If this causes conflict in the village, they’ll definitely be scorned by the village.”

Zhao Qi told them to go back and think about it slowly, and to also inform the families who didn't know.

But he didn't leave; he decided on the spot to learn this breeding method.

"Young man, this breeding method is wonderful. Please teach me."

Zhao Qi bowed and clasped his hands in greeting, and Li Xuhai turned to help Zhao Qi up.

"Has Uncle Zhao made up his mind? Don't you need to go home and discuss it with your family again?"

"No need, I've already thought it through."

The other villagers did indeed spread the word about the Li family's breeding program in the village. Of course, they also remembered what Li Xuhai and Zhao Qi had said, even if it wasn't their exact words, they conveyed the meaning perfectly.

As a result of this news, the rice paddies that Li Xuhai was tending attracted many tourists. This bustling activity lasted for nearly two days. The first day, people came specifically to see the rice paddies, and afterwards, they would stop by whenever they passed by.

Seeing that the grain seeds had indeed sprouted, the villagers were even more excited, and these past two days, whenever they met, they would greet each other with, "Do you want to learn how?"

After all, it's a new formula, and the Li family has only just begun to cultivate it. There are villagers who want to learn it, but they are bound to hesitate.

Zhao Qi was decisive. He learned the method from Li Xuhai that very day and soaked the grain seeds that very night.

He had been tending to his family's land for several years, and these days he and his third son had plowed it several times.

Sure enough, following the Li family's method, the rice seeds sprouted in just two days.

On the day the grain seeds were sown, many villagers went to watch, and sure enough, the grain seeds had all sprouted.

Before Zhao Qi's family sowed their seeds, many families were observing but hadn't taken any action. After Zhao Qi's family started sowing, several families brought eggs to Li Xuhai to learn how to do it, but some were still observing. As Li Xuhai said, people here usually plant two or even three seasons. If they didn't learn this time, it wouldn't be too late to catch up when they planted the second season.

No matter what choice you make, the Li family will have no objections; they will teach the newcomer well.

After being surrounded by onlookers for a while, the Li family's fields returned to their usual tranquility. Occasionally, people would stroll around and check on the growth of the crops, but the enthusiasm was no longer as intense.

After several spring rains, the rice seedlings in the fields began to grow wildly, changing every day. Soon they poked their heads out from the straw, growing tall and graceful, stretching out their emerald green branches and leaves.

At this point, Li Xuhai removed all the straw, no longer covering the rice seedlings.

The rice seedlings are growing well, lush and green, which is very pleasing to the eye.

Li Xuhai was the happiest. Not only was he happy, but everyone who learned the Li family's method for breeding was also happy. The better the Li family's seedlings grew, the better theirs would be.

Sure enough, the seedlings of the other farmers also began to grow taller according to the order in which they were sown.

Pan Jinhua was also observing the growth of the rice seedlings. Once they grew strong, she would have to transplant them.

While the people of Shuxia Village were working diligently on their farming, Fang Da from the county was also not taking a break.

After the new year, he returned to the county to look for a shop. He went out every day to look at shops with intermediaries, and after a lot of effort, he finally found a decent one.

The money for this shop came from Pan Jinhua, and it was registered under her name.

After buying the shop, Fang Da returned the rented courtyard and the family of four moved into the shop.

The shop was neither too big nor too small. The street was full of businesses, with pastry shops and rice shops on both sides, and a butcher shop not far away, making it convenient for him to buy meat.

The street was bustling and the most lively commercial street in Shaoguan County, so the expenses were considerable, and Fang Da felt a pang of regret.

The shop was square inside, with a well inside. It was a two-story building. The street-facing side was a small, partitioned storefront, not very big. The back was the living quarters. Downstairs, besides the kitchen, there were only two rooms, and the attic upstairs could barely accommodate one person. It was just right for their family of four to stay. If more people came, they could just squeeze in.

In the county, drinking water and firewood both cost money, so having a well in the courtyard was the most convenient thing.