Shui Qing led Bai Ziqian to Shanshui Village empty-handed, and when they returned, Bai Ziqian was carrying a heavy long basket in both hands.

The two had a very fruitful morning.

Under the blazing sun, Shui Qing picked out a plump cucumber from the long basket Bai Ziqian was carrying, wiped it on her clothes, and ate it.

The refreshing aroma of cucumber bursts in your mouth, it's incredibly cooling.

We gave all the cucumbers from our vegetable garden to the men who were going out early in the morning, even the ones that weren't fully grown yet. We haven't had any fresh cucumbers to eat for the past two or three days.

Unexpectedly, the women in the village immediately replaced it for her.

Bai Ziqian never expected things to go so smoothly.

He looked at Shui Qing beside him, who was crunching on a cucumber, and asked, "Auntie, you said that tenant farmers, at least, own the land. Giving them 60% is already considered heartless. But if they have no land, they have no choice but to rent land to farm."

But these fields belong to them, why should they agree to your request?

They even enthusiastically rushed to plant the crops, completely unlike the gloomy tenant farmers.

He had expected to be scolded and treated coldly, but he reluctantly agreed, determined to be the villain for once.

Unexpectedly, they left with smiles and even received several gifts.

A handful of fresh cucumbers, a stack of tender loofahs, young gourds, snails and clams caught by the children at home... these are all common foods in Shanshui Village. They don't cost any money, but they are the best of what can be offered.

The bamboo basket was given to me by a woman in the village, and she wouldn't let me return it, saying that she had a lot of bamboo at home and that someone in her family knew how to weave it, so it wasn't worth making another trip to return it if it wasn't woven well.

They kept talking to them, insisting that they stay for lunch, and the two of them declined for a long time before finally leaving.

This is a heartfelt expression of gratitude.

Shui Qing corrected: "It's not a promise to me, it's a promise to you."

Bai Ziqian frowned slightly, puzzled: "In the end, you agreed. Whether you agreed to it or not, it's all the same, isn't it?"

Before he came, he thought that Aunt Shuiqing wanted him to take the blame and make the Bai family bear a bad reputation, so she asked him to step forward and use the Bai family's name; but now it seems that no one thinks it is a bad thing at all, so why does Aunt Shuiqing have to make such a clear distinction?

Shui Qing looked at the rugged dirt road in the village and shook her head: "It's different."

You have no relation to them. The Bai family are merchants, and business is business. The potatoes were originally bought by you, but you are now forced to plant them in Shanshui Village. It was a voluntary arrangement by both parties.

Potatoes are produced in large quantities. Planting rice or wheat yields only three to four hundred catties per mu, and planting corn, millet, or other coarse grains yields no more than five hundred catties per mu. But even if 60% of potatoes are handed over, the rest will still be more than that!

Moreover, nothing else can be grown except winter wheat, and planting winter wheat would affect potato planting in the first half of next year. After weighing the options, planting potatoes is obviously the more cost-effective option.

Bai Ziqian wanted to say that the same two points applied to Aunt Shuiqing, but then he heard her sigh softly: "You don't understand people's hearts. People are very complicated. If it were you or the Bai family, they would be grateful, but if it were me, they would think I'm heartless!"

There are over 400 people in the village. Do you think there might be some who think: "We are from the same village. Shouldn't we help each other? How can they take advantage of us and ask for 60%?"

Since the Bai family isn't willing to buy potatoes to plant, they're just sitting there anyway. Even though they don't have cornmeal to exchange for potatoes, they can plant them first and return them to you after the harvest. They can even add a little extra weight to the return amount; you'll still make a profit!

Bai Ziqian's long eyelashes trembled. He suddenly realized that Aunt Shuiqing's words made a lot of sense...