Chapter 163 Many hands make light work!

(Thanks to Gusu Flower Shopkeeper for casting a monthly vote.)

Upon hearing what Li Shiyue said, Ma San didn't hesitate and patted his chest, saying to Li Shiyue, "I thought it was something serious."

Don't worry about this, leave it to me!

When you ask someone for a favor, you can't just say it without actually asking. You have to show the attitude of asking for a favor and offer them something in return so that they are genuinely willing to help you.

Li Shiyue directly found paper and pen and copied out a copy of the planting guide that he had bought with points from the system.

"This method, along with the seed drill and the curved plow, was in that book. If we hadn't encountered refugees on our way to escape famine, we wouldn't have been able to abandon so many things on the road. This book was in that pile of books."

It was obtained by my mother when she saved a Taoist priest by the roadside many years ago.

However, although I can't find that booklet, I've still memorized quite a bit. If the general doesn't mind, you can ask an experienced craftsman to try using it; it should increase production."

Ma San never expected that Li Shiyue would produce something like this again during their conversation. He looked at what Li Shiyue had written right in front of him and was deeply moved. He looked up at Li Shiyue, who was speaking, and said, "Shiyue, it seems you should come back to the village with me to see the general."

This is something too good for me, I'm not sure what to do with it.

You should speak to the general in person.

Li Shiyue was never one to drag things out; she was the type to leave whenever she wanted.

After exchanging a few words with Li's mother, she led the horse out of the stable and followed Ma San out of Liujiatun towards the village office.

When Li Shiyue returned with the household registration documents that had already been divided and included Li's mother and Shitou, and were not part of the Li clan, Li Shiyang had just received a letter from Li Youfu.

After reading the date written on the letter and calculating today's date, Li Shiyang exclaimed, "This is bad!"

"It's too late, far too late!"

Li Shiyang stood up, holding the letter in his hand. He walked to the door and was about to open it when he stopped.

What use would it be for me to go back now?

The relationship is already so strained, if I go back to try and make peace, why would October listen to me?

She's not the kind of person who'll listen to just a few words from others!

He went back, put down the letter from Li Youfu, laid out paper, ground ink, and wrote a letter. After the ink dried, he folded the letter and put it in an envelope. He went out and found a messenger in the county town who specialized in delivering messages. He paid the money, received a note, and then went back.

"I just hope that Father won't be stubborn. How could someone like Shiyue bow his head? Alas."

In Liujiatun, every household is busy with spring plowing.

Li Shiyue directly gathered her people. "All three of our families have large livestock," she said, glancing at Gou Laosan and Li Wangshui among the people sitting around her. "And these three new sets of farm tools that I had someone make are also here. I was thinking, let's get together and work together!"

Li Shiyue then took out a table that he had prepared in advance, listing the number of laborers and acreage of each household, as well as livestock and farm tools.

"Many hands make light work. As long as the distribution is reasonable and everyone does their job, we can finish all the land in the shortest amount of time!"

Li Shiyue specifically pointed out Erdan's mother: "You're the only able-bodied person in your family. Even if you treat yourself like an animal, it's still difficult to manage."

Everyone helped you plant the land, and if you take good care of it yourself, you can manage.

If it's harvest time in the fall, we can all work together then.

When it comes to farming, everyone helps you with the work, so you're kind of taking advantage of them.

To be fair, I suggest that from now on, the vegetables Auntie grows should be distributed to each family according to the harvest season. This would make up for the difference between you and everyone else. What do you think?

Erdan's mother stood up and bowed to Li Shiyue and the others, including Erdan. Her eyes were moist as she looked up.

She knew that Li Shiyue said this simply because she was afraid that everyone would think she was a widow and that no one would want to help her.

She was afraid that everyone would be unhappy because Li Shiyue's words helped her, so she asked her to use the method of growing vegetables to make up for the debts for everyone. She thought of everything and took good care of her.

"I'm not good at saying nice things, but thank you so much, October and everyone!"

Don't worry, from now on, everyone can eat as many of the vegetables I grow as they want!

With everything arranged, everyone got to work.

Spring plowing is a race against the weather. This year's preparations were not sufficient, so Li Shiyue thought that next year he should prepare fertilizer in advance and apply it to the fields. He believed that this would increase the yield by at least half a percent to one percent.

On the first day, Li Youfu and the others saw that Li Wangshui and his gang didn't care about their own land and were all busy working on Li Shiyue's land. They thought that Li Wangshui and the others were doing this on purpose to curry favor with Li Shiyue.

But by mid-morning the next day, Li Shiyue's land was almost finished, and in the afternoon everyone went to Zheng Mei's land.

Even though Zheng Mei's family consisted entirely of women, they didn't have as much land as Li Shiyue's family. Moreover, the three Zheng family members, mother and daughters, were all capable, and with large livestock, a powerful seed drill, and a curved plow at their disposal, everyone managed to get all of Zheng's land ready by dusk!

On the third day, everyone, including Li Shiyue himself, took their tools and went to Li Wangshui's land. Only then did Li Youfu and the others realize that Li Shiyue and the others were thinking of working together quickly to arrange the work for each family in order.

After three days of getting to know each other and learning how to use the seed drill and the curved plow, it only took four and a half days to clear the land for Ma Zi, Wei Zi, Yang Zai, and the others.

At this point, Li Shiyue suggested, "Old Liu said it would take three to five days for it to rain. I thought we could take advantage of these few days and all get together to clear a few more acres of land over there."

Since there are no taxes for the first three years, any grain we can get is better than nothing; having more to eat is always a good thing.

Therefore, Li Shiyue drove the cart and, together with Shitou, sent Li Wangming back to the prefectural school in the city to study. Li's mother and Zheng Meiniang took Li Wangshui and others to the wasteland. Before the rain, they had actually reclaimed about ten acres of land!

Who would have thought that the curved plow would be so useful and labor-saving!

And these horses, mules, and donkeys are truly great helpers for farming!

It started raining, and the transition from the earthy smell of actinomycetes to the downpour happened in just a short while.

Li Shiyue and Shi Tou returned to Liujiatun amidst the pattering rain. They were both soaked to the bone, wearing nothing on them. As soon as they reached the village entrance, they saw Li Qiutian pacing back and forth with an oil-paper umbrella.

This oil-paper umbrella was a gift from Liu Tan's wife; it's amazing that not a single person in their family ever thought they should get an umbrella.

Li Qiutian gave the umbrella to Li Shiyue so she could hold it for herself and Shitou, while she hurriedly ran back in the rain. With such heavy rain, she had to ask her mother to bring out her medicine bag and brew a bowl of medicine for the two of them to drink, lest they catch a cold.

Li Shiyue and Shitou drove the cart home. Even amidst the heavy rain, they could hear dogs barking. Li Youfu, lying on the kang (a heated brick bed), puffed on his pipe. He listened to the sounds outside, looked down at the letter Li Shiyang had sent back to him, and felt a mix of emotions.