Xu Di led his men to the estate to harvest the wheat and tidy up the vegetables in the fields. Some of the dried wheat was stored in the estate's warehouse, while the rest was taken to Hexi. As for the vegetables, except for chili peppers, other varieties were already being widely promoted in Hexi. In particular, the broad beans that Zhang Zhaozhi had specially brought back from overseas were very popular. You could just find a place, plant a couple of them, build a trellis, and you could have a good harvest. Moreover, even when boiled in salt water, these broad beans were quite delicious. When the seeds of the broad beans grew plump and firm, they could even be eaten as a meal, making them very popular.

The vegetables from the village were picked and delivered to Hexi by Zhao Zhuangtou within two days. The Xu family not only ate some themselves, but also sent some to Lord Li's family and some to Wei Lang at the military camp. Wei Lang has already cleared dozens of acres of wasteland near the military camp, preparing to plant vegetables on a large scale. Xu Rao had already told him that the last thing they lacked when stationed here was manpower. As long as there were people, they could work. If they could work, wouldn't they be able to manage the vegetable garden? It would be best to raise dozens of pigs as well. Once they were fattened up, they could be slaughtered and made into pork.

Wei Lang, accompanied by several advisors, toured the wasteland near Yanmen Pass and decided that they could clear the land, build a pig farm, and use the pig manure from the farm as fertilizer.

After last year's war, Hexi City was devastated, but thanks to Xu Rao, the people of the entire county felt full of hope for the future. In the past six months, a brand-new city has appeared before people's eyes. The rows of blue brick and tile houses are spacious and bright. Many people say that these houses can be passed down for several generations. Once they are all built, they will be distributed to the original residents of the city. Of course, if people in the villages and towns below have money, they can also come and buy houses with their household registration. However, they can only buy houses after the original residents of Hexi County have all been distributed.

The introduction of this policy has stirred up a lot of people. There are quite a few wealthy landowners in the villages and towns below. They originally thought that since Hexi County was close to Yanmen Pass, it was safer to live in the villages and towns far away from the county seat. But now it seems that the new county seat of Hexi not only has better houses, but even the city walls are comparable to those of Yanmen Pass. The safety level has been improved by several levels.

More and more people want to buy houses in Hexi. Xu Rao wondered if he could start a real estate company, build houses in the city and sell them. But thinking about the current economic situation, he realized that this was just a thought. If he actually did it, he would probably lose a lot of money. In today's society, there are too few rich people and the gap between the rich and the poor is too big. Rich people buy land and build their own houses. If he really built his own land and sold houses, he probably wouldn't have many buyers. This time, Hexi was just a matter of chance. The city wall was repaired and made people feel safe, which is why they came to buy houses.

When Xu Di returned from the manor with a group of men, it was already late afternoon. The steward of the general's mansion helped move the wheat that Xu Di had brought back to the storeroom next to the kitchen. Xu Di then washed up briefly in the front yard and went to the back yard.

Granny Lu was sitting under a tree in the courtyard doing needlework. Her younger sister and her unmarried fiancée were sitting next to her, while her six-month-old brother was wearing a red bib and sitting on a piece of oilcloth on the ground, holding a colorful embroidered ball that Granny Lu had made for him.

Xu Di frowned. Xu Bai looked up and saw Xu Di, a fawning smile on his face. Xu Di came over, picked him up, called him "Granny," and then took the embroidered ball from his hand, saying, "Granny, my little brother is a boy, so it's better not to play with things that girls play with."

Granny Lu said nonchalantly, "Brother Bai is still young. Such brightly colored things are good for his eyes. He won't play with them anymore when he gets a little older."

Xu Di listened and agreed. He had seen his classmates share their early childhood experiences on social media, saying that looking at brightly colored things could stimulate the development of the optic nerve and was good for children's eyes, so he didn't say anything more.

Holding Xu Bai, she sat on a small chair next to her and said, "Grandma, I brought back the freshly harvested wheat. I'll grind some flour for you with a stone mill later, and we'll make pancakes for dinner."

Xu Bai really likes to eat noodles, but right now his only complementary food is steamed egg custard. However, he wants to eat flatbread. Just thinking about the aroma of wheat flatbread makes Xu Bai's mouth water uncontrollably, and some of it even drips onto Xu Di's hand.

Xu Di shook his hand in disgust and said, "Ugh, so dirty. You're so old, why are you still drooling?"

Granny Lu quickly took a handkerchief and helped Xu Bai wipe his mouth. Xu Di wiped his hands and said, "Is our Bai-ge'er about to get his teeth? Feel his gums and see if they're bulging out."

Xu Di was about to put his finger in Xu Bai's mouth, but Xu Bai, remembering that Xu Di hadn't seen him wash his hands when he came in, wouldn't let him and kept shaking his head. In the end, Xu Di forced his finger into Xu Bai's mouth, touched his gums, and actually felt a small, hard protrusion on his lower gums.

Xu Bai's eyes were red with anger. He pouted and looked at Xu Di. When Xu Di saw this, he said, "Why are you so delicate, boy? Your eyes are red just like that. You have to remember, you are a man. A man bleeds and sweats but doesn't shed tears."

Xu Bai turned his head away angrily. The other person was still a three-headed little baby. What kind of man was he? He was still a long way from being a man.

Granny Lu smiled and said, "Di-ge'er, Bai-ge'er is still too young. He won't understand if you talk to him about these things. You've been busy for several days. Give Bai-ge'er to me and go and rest."

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