The chili peppers were harvested, and the yard was full of bright red chili peppers drying in the sun. Xu Di didn't hire anyone from outside; he just took Zhao Zhuangtou and a few uncles and elders who had retired from the army to extract the seeds from the dried chili peppers. The dried chili peppers were then put into bags. The hot pot restaurant wouldn't open for a while, and the broth couldn't be made yet, so Xu Di put that aside for now. His most important task right now was to harvest the dry rice.

Because of its location by the river, and the fact that the weather was indeed favorable this year, the dry rice grew very well. Not only was Xu Di happy, but the old and young men of Zhangjiazhuang were also very happy. If the young master's crops were successful, it meant that they could also grow wheat and rice. They never expected that their remote northern town could produce such precious things.

The oats wouldn't be ready for harvest for a while, so the people from the village came to help Xu Di harvest the rice.

Xu Di specially invited an experienced master from the south to teach everyone how to harvest rice. The simple tools were made early on. The young men from the village followed the master and grabbed handfuls of rice, hitting them hard into a large wooden box. Then they spread the hulled rice out in the threshing ground to dry.

Rice with the husk on is easier to store. When you want to eat it, you can just remove the husk. The master craftsman has already made the tools for pounding rice: a stone mortar carved from bluestone and a thick piece of wood, which are placed in the west wing of the front yard.

After the rice was dried for a few days, Xu Di pounded more than ten kilograms of rice in a stone mortar and pestle and delivered it to the village head so that he could distribute it to the villagers.

During the Mid-Autumn Festival, the village was very lively. Xu Rao and Zhang Zhaoci took their two children to celebrate the festival on the estate. Because it was the autumn harvest season, everyone had money and food, so the festival was very enjoyable.

After the autumn harvest, the fields were barren. Xu Di led his men to clear the land in preparation for planting wheat. After the people of Zhangjiazhuang harvested their wheat, they also cleared the land. Xu Di simply led his men to work together, cleared the irrigation ditches, replanned the land, and then used fertilizer from his fertilizer factory on the land.

The fertilizer produced by the fertilizer factory was ultimately used by Xu Di himself. However, after the official from the Ministry of Revenue visited the fertilizer factory, he became very interested in it. Putting aside everything else, just considering the hundreds or thousands of acres of land in the imperial estate, if such fertilizer were used, it would really save a lot of trouble and improve efficiency.

When the officials from the Ministry of Revenue returned and reported back, they mentioned this. His Majesty the Emperor was a diligent and benevolent ruler who cared deeply for the people and was very attentive to agriculture. He immediately dispatched the head steward of the imperial estate to Hexi to learn the process of making fertilizer. Xu Rao and Xu Di naturally granted their request without hesitation. Besides, it wasn't a method that needed to be kept secret. They not only taught him everything they knew but also sent the factory manager to the capital to guide the construction of the factory.

Just a few days ago, the factory manager returned. Now, his favorite thing to do is for his fellow workers to gather around him during their breaks and listen to him tell them about his experiences in Beijing.

In the fields of the village, Xu Di always used this kind of fertilizer. It was clean, hygienic, and most importantly, very convenient to use. The people of Zhangjia Village had seen it before and initially thought that this kind of fertilizer was not as good as farmyard manure. However, the crops in the fields grew so well that they knew that this fertilizer was truly excellent. After inquiring further, they found that the fertilizer was not very expensive. Some families bought some and used it in their fields to plant wheat. If this crop was planted well, not only would their families have more grain and be able to eat their fill, but the flour milled from the wheat would also fetch a high price. By selling some of it, they could afford to buy oil and salt, and even cut some cloth to make new clothes for their children.

The sky was high and the clouds were light, the wind was cool, but the people working in the fields were sweating profusely, and some even took off their shirts and worked in the fields shirtless.

Xu Di now misses those agricultural machines terribly. With just a few hundred acres of land, a fully automatic sowing machine could finish the job in two days. Unlike now, after spreading fertilizer, livestock pull a plow to turn the land over, level it, make ridges, and then plant the wheat little by little. The whole village mobilizes and it takes several days to finish.

After the wheat was planted, Xu Di returned to his home behind the Hexi County government office, tidied up the greenhouse, and prepared to plant vegetables.

The Jingbei Marquis's mansion has a large population. Marquis Jingbei, Wei Cheng, is the eldest son of the family, and he also has several younger brothers who are both legitimate and illegitimate. Because Marquis Jingbei's mother is still alive, the family has not separated. With a large family, there are many things to do, especially when it comes to the marriages of the children and grandchildren. The family must pay for the betrothal gifts or dowries through public funds.

Marquis Jingbei rose to prominence through military achievements in his early years, accumulating some wealth. However, none of his family members possessed any particular talent in business; they simply hired a few shopkeepers to help manage a few stores. Over the years, despite Marquis Jingbei and his heir's military exploits on the front lines, their wealth has dwindled considerably.

When Xu Rao approached Wei Lang to discuss opening a hot pot restaurant, it was because she knew the current state of the Wei family that she brought it up. In fact, not only the Wei family, but also the Xu family, were only outwardly prosperous. Many of the dukes, marquises, and earls in the capital were also living off their past wealth. Wei Lang naturally knew that opening a hot pot restaurant was a profitable business, so after discussing it with his family, he decided that no one else in the family could be sent. Instead, he sent his eldest sister, Wei Juan, who was already married, as the representative of the Wei family.

When the Marquis of Jingbei was stationed here a few years ago, his wife stayed with him. The general's mansion where Wei Lang lives now is the place where the Marquis of Jingbei and his wife used to live. Wei Lang and his siblings were all born and raised here. Later, the Marquis of Jingbei retired from the army due to injuries and illnesses, and his son took over the post of guarding this place.

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