Li Hongtao laughed loudly: "What use is your life to me? Here's what we'll do: if you can't harvest all thirty acres of land, give me fifty yuan to spend!"

Shen Heng gave Bai Jiaojiao a betrothal gift of two hundred yuan, which has almost become a legend in Shili Village.

These days, most families aren't wealthy; if they can afford to spend a few dozen yuan on a wedding, it's considered a great honor.

I've only heard that dowries in the town are several hundred yuan, but in Shili Village they're astronomical!

The villagers speculated that Shen Heng had saved up quite a bit over the years and must have even more money in his hands.

Li Hongtao made an outrageous demand, asking for fifty yuan right off the bat, causing the villagers who had been listening intently to gasp in shock.

Li Hongtao pressed, "Do you dare?"

"Dare! What wouldn't I dare!" Shen Heng shouted to the people around him, "Everyone, be my witness!"

"Witness what! Is betting a good thing?" The captain came over when he heard the argument.

He initially wanted to smooth things over, but Li Hongtao wasn't about to let the opportunity slip by: "Captain, it was Shen Heng who gambled first!"

The captain glared at Shen Heng and said, "Kid, once you're married, settle down and live a good life. Fifty yuan is all you can do with it."

The captain had already started to predict the worst, implicitly acknowledging that Shen Heng would have to pay for it.

Even he, the one who assigned the tasks, knew that it was impossible for everyone to finish all the work, but as the team leader, he had no choice but to distribute the tasks.

"I, Shen Heng, always keep my word. I never take back what I've said. Captain, you're our witness, I'm afraid he won't admit it!"

"I was afraid you wouldn't admit it! Captain, look, he asked for it himself!"

The captain gave Shen Heng a look of exasperation and said angrily, "Good advice is useless against this damned devil!"

Li Hongtao followed the team leader, walking away triumphantly. Bai Shihai looked worried: "Why did you take this so seriously? We couldn't finish this land even if we didn't eat or drink. If you don't want Jiaojiao to suffer, you shouldn't have made this kind of bet."

Shen Heng felt annoyed by Bai Shihai's nagging, and his expression turned unpleasant.

He suppressed his impatience for Bai Jiaojiao's sake: "Big brother, just wait to become the squad leader."

In the countryside, whoever has the most family members and the most sons has the most power.

The reason Li Hongtao came specifically to pick a fight with them was because the Bai family was not very large.

If only I could be a squad leader...

Shen Heng's words were so resolute that Bai Shihai actually followed his line of thought.

"Sigh." Bai Shihai sighed, realizing he had misunderstood.

He should go back and talk to Li Hongtao properly about the fifty yuan, and ask him to lend a hand!

Bai Jiaojiao was also sweating profusely halfway up the mountain.

The two farm tools were made of solid iron and wood, and when they stood up, they were as tall as a person, almost making Bai Jiaojiao die from the weight.

Shen Heng saw Bai Jiaojiao walking and resting every few steps on the mountainside from afar, so he quickly went down to help her, and said rudely, "If you can't carry it, then carry it in more trips. With your little arms and legs, do you think you're so strong!"

Bai Jiaojiao pouted.

Go ahead and be fierce, but even if you're fierce, you'll still have to come and help me get my things.

"What's this?"

Bai Shihai saw Shen Heng come up with two strange-looking objects. The bottom was a large scythe, but the handle was as long as a hoe, and there was a rounded piece next to it. They were very strange.

"Jiaojiao did the research, saying it works well for harvesting wheat."

Shen Heng handed one to Bai Shihai.

Bai Jiaojiao immediately demonstrated to Bai Shihai. She held the pole with one hand and the handle with the other, and with two quick "swishes," two clumps of wheat were piled up to the side.

"That's great!"

Bai Shiqing immediately exclaimed, "This doesn't require bending over, and one cut is equivalent to several cuts we made with a sickle! The cut wheat is also gathered to one side without scattering at all."

This summarizes all the advantages of this wheat harvester.

Bai Shihai couldn't resist and tried it out in his hand.

He exclaimed in admiration, "That's really great! Jiaojiao, how did you make it?"

Bai Shiqing watched from the side, her eyes filled with excitement. "My god, high school students are really something else! Why didn't they bring this good stuff over sooner?"

If Bai Jiaojiao hadn't known that Bai Shiqing was straightforward and outspoken, she would have thought that Bai Shiqing was criticizing her.

Bai Jiaojiao explained, "The razor blade was just delivered by my third brother. I happened to run into him when I came down the mountain. As soon as he gave it to me, I put it on and brought it over."

Bai Shiqing exclaimed joyfully, "That's great! With this, we'll definitely be able to get those fifty acres of land. My brother-in-law won't have to pay Li Hongtao anymore! It's time for our family to be the team leader!"

Bai Jiaojiao was surprised that her aunt Bai Shiqing had changed her address so quickly. Just yesterday she was calling Shen Heng "brother-in-law," but now she was calling him "brother-in-law."

Completely bewildered, one asked, "What money? What squad leader?"

Bai Shiqing blurted out to Bai Jiaojiao about Li Hongtao's earlier trouble-making, and said smugly, "Li Hongtao's really done for this time! He dares to deny it, just wait and see how I deal with him!"

After Bai Jiaojiao understood the whole story, her gaze towards Shen Heng softened even more.

This person really trusted her enough, daring to make this bet even though they didn't know if what she drew was any good or not.

"Let's get started. Don't celebrate prematurely, or we might end up regretting it."

Bai Shihai was that kind of person, always seeking stability. After drinking some water, he turned around and started working with the new tools.

Bai Shiqing said "Oh" and stuck out her tongue at Bai Shihai's back.

"Heng-ge, have some water."

Bai Jiaojiao not only brought water for everyone, but also draped a wet towel over the glass bottle.

She tiptoed to wipe Shen Heng's face, making Shen Heng feel as if a kitten was scratching at his heart.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!