Xue Ye had been listening attentively the whole time, and only after she had finished explaining did he nod and say, "Yes, I understand!"

Liu Yingying couldn't help but glance at him again.

This boy is really handsome, but he's too aloof and doesn't talk much...

Since Liu Yingying's family did not have any materials on hand, she ended up spending money to buy some wood and ironware from the villagers.

Xue Ye spent the whole morning processing the wood into shape, and now he just had to wait to assemble it.

Throughout the entire process, the Zhu brothers hid behind the door and secretly observed.

Zhu Jiafu: "Brother Xue Ye is so amazing! I think he can do these things better than Dongxi's father!"

Zhu Jiawang immediately retorted, unconvinced: "You're still young, how can you distinguish between good and bad?"

Zhu Jiafu;...

Liu Yingying and Zhao Di cooked knife-cut noodles in the kitchen and added a topping of eggplant and pork belly.

The enticing aroma quickly filled the courtyard.

"It smells so good!" The Zhu brothers, as if bewitched, headed straight for the kitchen...

Liu Yingying brought out a bowl of noodles and handed it to Xue Ye.

Let's have lunch first!

"I'm not hungry!"

"Besides, you've already paid me my wages!"

Xue Ye refused outright.

Liu Yingying wasn't surprised at all. She smiled slightly and said, "I provide meals for the workers here, not just for you, but for everyone else as well, so you don't need to be polite with me!"

Liu Yingying is generous and never shortchanges those who help her, something Xue Ye had actually heard about.

Thank you!

He stopped refusing, took the bowl of noodles, and sat down on the steps to start eating.

In the afternoon, the first curved plow was completed, and all that was left was to install the engine.

Seeing how much she adored the curved plow, Xue Ye, unusually curious, asked, "What are you planning to put in that box on top?"

Xue Ye grew up in the countryside and was naturally very familiar with farm tools.

But the things Liu Yingying asked him to make were vastly different from traditional farm tools.

Moreover, after completing the work according to her drawings, Xue Ye felt that something was still missing...

Liu Yingying frowned slightly and glanced at him.

Since we asked him to do this, there are some secrets that we can't completely keep from him.

"You wait..." Liu Yingying turned and went into the house.

A short while later, Xue saw her carrying out a strange-looking iron box.

"What's this?"

Liu Yingying patiently explained, "This thing is called an engine. I bought it from a Hu person. Can you install it according to the blueprints?"

"I'll give it a try!" Xue Ye carefully examined the engine, then gently put it back into the box. He then looked at Liu Yingying and asked, "How are you going to use this?"

“Press here…” Liu Yingying demonstrated for him.

Then, the curved plow in Xue Ye's hand started up with a "click-clack" sound.

Xue Ye was utterly shocked; "This...this thing can move on its own?"

"Of course!" Liu Yingying proudly raised her chin; "With this, we can save a lot of manpower and time when farming, and production efficiency will be greatly improved!"

"I see..." Xue Ye nodded thoughtfully.

As Liu Yingying was pondering when to start production, she suddenly heard Xue Ye ask a question.

"So, you don't need me to keep your secret?"

Liu Yingying;...

She knew the boy was naturally intelligent, but she never expected him to realize this complex situation.

No matter how she tries to conceal the engine's origin, such a highly efficient production tool will inevitably attract a lot of attention.

What she possessed couldn't withstand further scrutiny...

“Xiao Ye…” She gave him an incredibly bright smile.

Xue Ye seemed a little shy and turned his face away; "Ahem! You should just call me by my full name!"

"Um... I didn't mean anything by it, and please don't misunderstand. I just wanted to remind you!"

"And... I'll install another layer of mechanisms inside this wooden box. If anyone tries to open it, other than yourself, the mechanisms inside will immediately self-destruct!"

Holy crap!

Liu Yingying was utterly shocked!

First of all, she hadn't expected Xue Ye's mechanical skills to be so advanced!

Secondly, she never expected that this seemingly cold-hearted boy would have such a delicate and "kind" heart!

"Thank you for keeping my secret!"

Liu Yingying felt a little embarrassed, so she took out another coin and stuffed it into his hand.

"Xiaoye, if you have any difficulties in the future, tell your aunt. Don't treat your aunt like an outsider!"

Xue Ye looked at the copper coins in his hand, then at the woman in front of him who wasn't much older than him.

!!

With Xue Ye's assistance, the entire set of farm tools that Liu Yingying wanted was completed in just two days.

So next, it's time to put these farm tools into use.

But Liu Yingying was in a dilemma again.

Once the fields are all cultivated, it's time to sow seeds, but the growth cycle of the seeds in the store is several times shorter than that of real crops.

If not handled properly, it will inevitably arouse suspicion again...

This problem troubled Liu Yingying so much that she didn't sleep a wink for one or two nights.

On the morning of the third day, Sister Zou arrived.

"Sister Zou, why did you come so early?"

"Come in, come in and sit down!"

Liu Yingying warmly welcomed them in, made them tea, and brought out a plate of salt and pepper bread slices baked in a bread oven...

"Yingying, you don't need to be so polite. Every time you come over, you bring out a bunch of food and drinks. It makes me feel embarrassed to visit again..." Sister Zou said, half-jokingly and half-seriously.

Liu Yingying: "Look at how distant you're making that! What kind of relationship do we have? We're sworn brothers!"

"In short, I won't stand on ceremony with you, and don't try to be polite with me!"

"Pfft!" Sister Zou was amused by her and quickly admitted her mistake; "My fault... my fault, I shouldn't have been so polite to you..."

Although Zou Xiuzhi was several years older than Liu Yingying, she was bold and straightforward, completely lacking the pettiness and coyness of an ordinary woman.

Therefore, Liu Yingying and she were surprisingly compatible in personality.

Upon learning that Sister Zou had come to deliver grain to her parents' home and stopped by to visit her, Liu Yingying couldn't help but ask.

“It’s raining now, but it’s not harvest time yet. You can’t all keep relying on Lord Shen’s work-for-relief policy to make a living, can you?”

"What are your plans with Brother Lu after this?"

Although Lord Shen proposed to provide work relief so that the disaster-stricken people in Furong County would have food to eat and not starve to death.

But that only meant being able to eat a bite of food.