"The Farmer's Fat Wife": Fat Men Are All Potential Stocks (Part 4)...

Ye Xiqing was speechless. What was she doing? It was already good enough that she could "invent" it, why did she care when she invented it?

Too lazy to pay attention to these people, he simply stood there with his massive body in a perfect stance, and began to swing his sickle to harvest wheat.

Brother Li and Old Man Li were both very interested when they saw the scythe that was sweeping across a large area.

Eager to take the new tool from her, I realized it would require considerable effort, so I suggested they do it instead.

Ye Xiqing simply slapped them away and told her to obediently take a sickle and bend down to cut wheat. She gave them the sickle and used her old sickle to cut the wheat.

Although the sickle is efficient for harvesting wheat, it is heavy and powerful, and it is not easy to swing it repeatedly all day. However, it is definitely much better than harvesting wheat by hand while bending over.

Hua Xigu lifted her almost numb waist and looked at Ye Xiqing, who had been slashed open in a large chunk. "Your mother, you don't care at all!"

Ye Xiqing: ...

Okay, I'll make one up for you, and then that person who likes to say "lol" can continue bending over to harvest wheat.

Li Qiyue: ……

Ye Xiqing used the advanced tools alone, while the others continued to crouch down and cut away. Watching her departing figure, they felt a mix of emotions.

During the wheat harvest, people barely rested. When the sun was high in the sky, Hua Xigu and her daughter-in-law would go home to cook and bring the food to eat on the field.

Hua Xigu's family owned fields, side businesses, and oxen, making them a wealthy farming family in ancient times. However, even a wealthy farming family couldn't have much good food during this lean season.

The pot was full of wild vegetable and mixed grain pancakes, porridge and vegetable congee, which would be quite nutritious and healthy in modern times, but would have been very harsh on the throat in ancient times.

Seeing that everyone was too tired from working, Hua Xigu asked her daughter-in-law to grab a handful of salt from the salt jar and sprinkle it on them.

In ancient times, salt was considered the king of all flavors and the most important of all medicines; anything that was mixed with a little salt would taste better.

When the livestock are exhausted, give them some salt; when people are exhausted, give them some salt too.

After working all day, everyone's stomachs were like open doors. They were already hungry, and the salty taste in their food made them even more energetic.

Even someone as picky as Ye Xiqing ate several pancakes and several bowls of porridge with just wild vegetables and salty porridge, and still thought it was quite delicious.

Life is getting more and more miserable.

After finishing their meal, they would catch their breath under the shade of a tree before continuing their work.

Under the blazing sun, with only a straw hat for shade, Ye Xiqing, who was already overweight and sensitive to heat, looked as if she had been pulled out of the water by the end of the day.

However, since she doesn't have to bend over frequently, she can still manage to swing her arms while standing still.

It's no wonder Li Sanyue wanted to slack off. Fat people already have a heavy load on their lumbar spine, and bending over is difficult. The work in the fields also involves bending over, which doubles the burden.

Ye Xiqing noticed that farming novels always liked to look down on lazy people, but never mentioned how incredible or inhuman farming was.

Who exactly started the first volume with the highest level of hardship, and then mentally bullied those who wanted to slack off? I really want to kick him.

Fortunately, the improved wheat harvesting tools are much more user-friendly for her. When she has some free time, she will make another back brace. Fat people must take good care of their backs.

As long as she doesn't bend over backwards too often, Li Sanyue is invincible. With her arm strength and ability to deliver powerful blows while standing still, anyone who gets hit by her will know what's what.

The sight of the sickle sweeping up layers of wheat was witnessed by others, and many people were itching to try it themselves.

During the agricultural era, farmland was managed by families. The imperial court's removal of 15,000 adult laborers was a devastating blow to every family.

The manpower was already tight, and now there were even fewer people. The remaining people looked at the empty house and were worried about how to harvest the wheat when they saw Ye Xiqing's advanced tools.

This thing is really needed right now. As soon as the sun started to set, a group of people gathered around to ask about it. Some asked how it was made, and others asked if they could borrow it.

Of course we can lend it. After her family finishes harvesting wheat, anyone who wants to can borrow it.

If you want to make it yourself, prepare the materials, and she will teach you how to do it.

Except for the large blade, which needs to be forged by a blacksmith, the other materials for the saber are common in rural areas.

The crowd cheered and surrounded her, asking about the materials needed to make the scythe. They showed her great respect and admiration, and Li Sanyue's previous bad reputation vanished.

Seeing this scene, Hua Xigu felt a little gratified. It seemed like her daughter had suddenly grown up.

Li Qiyue's world has collapsed! No, Li Sanyue is somehow becoming popular with others!

Ye Xiqing chuckled. This must be what it means to be a lucky person who doesn't have to work hard, my dear sister.

With your pig brain, you'll never understand.

The days in May are long, and everyone worked until sunset before going home.

Actually, the weather is most pleasant at this time of day, around dusk, and people in the fields really want to harvest a little longer.

But night was approaching, and in ancient times, wolves and tigers would visit at night, so no one dared to stay outside alone in the dark.

Ye Xiqing told everyone to go back and find materials, and the next day they would not value the saber anymore and would give it to Hua Xigu.

She's going to teach everyone how to make new tools. She'll be free for half a day, so good luck everyone!

Hua Xigu: ...

Li Qiyue: ……

Sharpening your axe won't delay your woodcutting work. With the addition of the sickle, the efficiency of wheat harvesting increased dramatically, and everyone was very excited.

When it comes to conscription, the lower the social class of a family, the less likely they are to survive. The Hua family was able to avoid losing members because they had some resources. Other families in the village were left with only the elderly, women, and children. In some cases, even the elderly, women, and children were taken away.

At times like these, it's crucial to avoid a disorganized and disorganized approach. While teaching everyone how to make scythes, Ye Xiqing encouraged them to pool their strength.

Now everyone has something to ask of her, so naturally they listen to her and ask her how to save it.

Ye Xiqing then said, "Now every household is short-staffed, so even if the wheat is cut down, it can't be hauled back, right?"

"Taxes are due soon, and everyone knows what kind of people are in charge. With war coming up this year, the taxes will only be more than before, not less."

“If you can’t get your wheat back this year and can’t plant beans, you won’t be able to keep your land next year. You’ll have to sell it to pay taxes and exchange it for food. It’s easy to sell your land, but it’s hard to buy it back.”

“In the past, we were afraid that the neighbor would take a little advantage of us, or that the neighbor would take a little advantage of us, so we could all manage to live our lives behind closed doors. But that’s absolutely not possible now.”

"So I advise everyone not to fixate on their own little plot of land at this time, but to pool their land together, plant together, and harvest together."

"Those who are strong and powerful and can cut wheat quickly will specialize in cutting wheat, while those who are agile and can pick wheat quickly will specialize in picking wheat."

"If you just work hard for your own family, the skilled wheat harvesters will cut for a while and then have to go glean the wheat, and the skilled gleaners will have to free up their hands to harvest wheat again. All that good energy will be wasted on things that shouldn't be wasted."

"Originally, when everyone worked together, helped each other, and used the same tools, some harvested wheat and others gathered wheat, everyone's strength could be maximized, taking care of all the fields."

"Now everyone is doing their own thing, confined by small frameworks. If they have extra resources, they keep them to themselves, while others have extra resources, and they can't get them all."

"It's like being blind. Every family clearly has surplus, but they can't find it. They work themselves to death, and they can't even take care of their own land. Do you think it's worth it?"

This concept is so advanced that those who came to learn how to make scythes were momentarily stunned by Ye Xiqing's words, and began to ponder deeply.

But to form such an alliance, one thing that must be considered is who benefits and who suffers, and whose land is larger and whose wheat is harvested first.

Since ancient times, people have been more concerned about inequality than scarcity. When people hesitate, what they fear more than working harder is the situation where others' land is taken first, and they are left at the bottom of the list, watching the season pass by.

The whole family depends on those few acres of land for their livelihood. If such a situation of being wrongfully killed happens, it would be even more unjust than if they harvested slowly themselves...

Ye Xiqing had anticipated this situation. To unite everyone without compensation, it had to be a public ownership system. But how could people in ancient times trust public ownership when they had nothing? There had to be a carrot and radish trap.

So Ye Xiqing threw out the bait again: "My mother went to the city to inquire. This time, Yang County has taken away 15,000 able-bodied men. It's not just us who are short of people to sell land. With more people selling land, the land price will definitely become very cheap in the coming days."

"So have you ever thought that while others are too busy farming, we should pool our resources and buy a few more acres of land?"

"You only have a few acres of land now, and you're already haggling over who gets more or less. What will you do when you buy dozens or hundreds of acres more?"

"If I remember correctly, many people here still rent land from others."

“We’ll give up the land, and next year we’ll buy our own land and farm it ourselves.”

Everyone: ...

Um?

I never imagined this would happen. After the "pillar" of the family was taken away, everyone was thinking about how to get through the difficult days ahead. Selling the land wasn't just empty talk.

In ancient times, land not only meant harvests, but also heavy taxes. Small farmers were unable to manage land beyond their means of cultivation.

Even knowing that things would gradually decline from then on, there was nothing they could do; if they didn't sell, they would starve to death.

But in Ye Xiqing's words, it actually became a good time for them to annex other people's land?

People who struggle at the bottom have limited experience and rigid thinking. Sometimes they don't understand reason, but they are also easily swayed.

If you put someone who is well-versed in the Four Books and Five Classics, knowledgeable, and has seen all kinds of historical examples here, they might shake their head.

The world is already in such chaos, how can we expect you to continue to farm peacefully?

But those people present didn't understand that they were more accepting of simple logic than complex logic.

So they can easily switch from selling their own land to selling someone else's land. If they really take this opportunity to buy land, they will definitely make a profit!

Everyone's hearts were warmed by this empty promise, and they were all thinking about it with restless minds. Ye Xiqing wasn't worried that they would refuse.

Saying no is the most decisive thing in the world; if you're not decisive, you basically can't say no.

Their emotions were in turmoil, full of twists and turns, but when Hua Xigu returned, she was furious.

What? You've already given away our land in just a short time?

No one expected Ye Xiqing to do such a thing, and they stared at her in disbelief. Li Qiyue was even happier, waiting to see her mother deal with Li Sanyue.

Now I can't run away!

Ye Xiqing remained calm: "Mother, it's one thing if others can't understand it, but how could someone as smart as you not understand it?"

"Don't you remember the dream I told you about before? If the Taishan Niangniang Temple is really flooded three years later, what use is the land?"

“If it hadn’t happened, there would be no harm in taking this opportunity to integrate all the people and land in the village.”

"The emperor doesn't farm, he only manages people, yet he's the richest person in the world. Can you guess why?"

"Sometimes managing the big picture can provide more food than just farming."

Hua Xigu: ...

Ye Xiqing had taken the position, and of course she wanted to show off her intelligence.

Having spent half her life as a matchmaker and frequently dealing with all sorts of people, Hua Xigu was indeed more quick-witted than the average person and quickly understood her daughter's "profit."

There's something weird about it, what's going on?

He called Ye Xiqing over and said seriously, "Tell me again."

Ye Xiqing went over and whispered to her. Hua Xigu's expression changed several times, and she looked quite pained, but in the end, she didn't vent her anger.

With a final flick of his sleeve, he said, "Fine, give it a try if you want. But let me tell you, if there's no improvement in a year, I'll take it all back immediately!"

Ye Xiqing nodded repeatedly in agreement, and massaged her waist and back, saying, "Mom, you're so good to me."

Upon hearing this, the members of the Li family looked up sharply: "Hmm?"