During the day, the two were busy transporting ore and trying to avoid being discovered by the supervisor. They hid from each other and didn't have much time to talk.

It wasn't until evening, after they finished work, that the two of them had time to hide together and discuss things properly.

Fang Dayong shared the information he had gathered at the mine with Lu Fusheng. After much discussion, the two realized with despair that there was no way for the two of them to escape on their own.

Fang Dayong was filled with regret and sighed, "If only Chief Gu were here. If Chief Gu were here, we would definitely have been able to escape safely and turn the tide."

Last time, Fang Dayong hadn't told Lu Fusheng's family much about the valley. Hearing this now, he couldn't help but ask curiously, "Valley Chief? Who is that?"

Both of them had fallen into the same predicament, and they didn't know how much longer they could live. Fang Dayong stopped hiding things and told them about how Lu Shiyan had found a valley to settle them in, and how Jiang Tangtang had received divine guidance.

Lu Fusheng's eyes lit up, and he almost stood up to beat him up again. Such a wonderful place, it's practically a paradise in a chaotic world! Why didn't he take him there last time?

If he had gone to the valley, he wouldn't be in this predicament now.

The valley that the two had been longing for was now bustling with excitement once again.

The villagers cheered as they watched the tiles being taken out of the kiln.

"It's done! It's done! The tiles are finally fired."

This is the third kiln that Jiang Tangtang and her team fired.

Both kilns had previously failed due to improper temperature and firing time control. The villagers looked at the damaged tiles with concern, yet they also worked hard to help.

Finally, in the third kiln, perfectly intact tiles were fired.

At this moment, everyone was so happy they almost jumped for joy.

"We will not only have brick houses to live in in the future, but also tiled roofs!"

"Indeed, isn't this the house of a big shot in the city? I never thought I, Zhang Laosan, would be so lucky in this life."

"We have to thank Lu Sanlang and his wife for this. If it weren't for them leading us to this valley to settle down, knowing so many skills, and solving our food problem, even if we had found a place to settle down, we wouldn't be living the life we ​​have now."

"Yes, yes, we have to thank Lord Lu and Chief Gu for this!"

...

The villagers were thrilled and, as always, thanked Jiang Tangtang and Lu Shiyan.

The villagers' gratitude was simple and heartfelt; it stemmed from the kindness shown to them. However, aside from homemade pickled vegetables and the like, the villagers felt they had nothing else to offer.

The Lu family, with Lu Shiyan and Jiang Tangtang finding ways to bring things home, had a much richer diet than the villagers. Every time they sent pickled cabbage, the Su family would reciprocate with gifts, making the villagers feel that they were ultimately taking advantage of the Lu family.

Now everyone has stopped delivering things and is just helping the Lu family with their work. A few days ago, when they learned that Jiang Tangtang was going to open a medicinal herb field, many villagers went to ask her which wasteland she wanted to cultivate, saying they would help her when they had time.

Jiang Tangtang said, "There's no rush to clear land and plant medicinal herbs. I see that everyone has already cleared the wasteland. I just managed to get some wheat seeds a few days ago. I think we should plant winter wheat instead."

She got these wheat seeds yesterday when she used her points to draw random rewards.

I heard these seeds have undergone special systematic cultivation. Not only are they more cold-resistant, but they also have a higher yield than ordinary wheat. In addition, they have strong resistance to diseases and pests.

The villagers didn't know that the winter wheat seeds Jiang Tangtang had obtained were of such high quality, but they were all very excited when they heard that she had gotten her hands on wheat seeds.

After the initial excitement, the villagers somewhat shyly inquired about the price of the wheat seeds.

These women had received so much kindness from Lu Shiyan and his wife that they didn't know how to repay it.

Now, Jiang Tangtang has quietly obtained the winter wheat seeds they desperately need.

The villagers were excited, but they felt they owed Lu Shiyan and his wife far too much.

Jiang Tangtang said, "I'm not charging you for these wheat seeds; consider it a loan. Once the wheat is grown, you can return it to me."

However, I bought this wheat seed at a high price from a traveling merchant. I heard that it was a wheat seed from overseas, which is more cold-resistant and more productive than our local wheat seeds, and therefore much more expensive.

When it's time for everyone to return the grain, I'll ask for 30% of your wheat production. I wonder if you'd be willing?

The villagers nodded in agreement, saying, "Of course we're willing! If it weren't for Chief Gu and Lord Gu, where would we be living such a peaceful life today?"

"That's right. Even if it were 40% or 50%, it would be reasonable, let alone just 30%. If it weren't for the valley chief finding these wheat seeds, even if we cleared these wastelands, we wouldn't have any seeds and would just have been left to lie barren."

...

The villagers all agreed, and had no objection to Jiang Tangtang taking 30% of the total wheat yield after it was planted.

But they were full of doubt about the wheat seeds she mentioned that came from overseas. They had farmed all their lives and had never heard of the cold-resistant wheat she spoke of.

Could I have been scammed?

However, no one could say anything in front of Jiang Tangtang at the moment. It wasn't until they all went home that evening that people started whispering about it.

"Did Gu Chang really buy winter wheat seeds from overseas through itinerant merchants? Are there still itinerant merchants doing business at this time of year?"

"Why not do business? Those who are not as lucky as us and have to hide in the valley to live can only grit their teeth and endure it. Now that there is a war outside, it is definitely not easy to get food. The head of the valley said that he bought it from smuggling merchants, so he must have bought it from smuggling merchants."

"That's true, these wheat seeds must have been very expensive. The grain manager didn't charge us money, she only accepted the grain. She's so kind."

Similar conversations took place in many villagers' homes. But there were also concerns that Jiang Tangtang might be deceived, and that everyone's hard work would be in vain.

However, this worry vanished instantly when Jiang Tangtang took out the wheat seeds the next day.

The wheat seeds that Jiang Tangtang took out were all plump and full, clearly high-quality seeds.

This is much better than the seeds they used to keep themselves.

At this point, no one doubted the truthfulness of Jiang Tangtang's words anymore.

The villagers were busy after receiving their wheat seeds.

However, the work of planting wheat is mostly done by the women in the village. The earthen house is ready to have its roof beams raised.

Some of the able-bodied villagers went to raise the roof beam, while others followed Jiang Tangtang to fire the tiles. Everyone was working hard, eager to finish building the house as soon as possible, lest the autumn rains come and the roof be unfinished.

Besides making tiles to build houses and farming, the villagers also want to take some time to go to the mountains to hunt for wild produce.

The wild fruits in the mountains are ripe, the jujubes are ripe, and the kudzu root and fern root can be dug up to make powder.

In short, autumn is a season of harvest.

The villagers wished they had eight hands so they could store more food to prepare for the coming winter.