The sharpness in Xu Kuo's eyes was as keen as a knife.
The village chief was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter, as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world.
"Good! Well done, Xu Kuo! You've got guts! I'd like to see what you're capable of that dares to challenge me!"
News of the competition spread like wildfire throughout the village, and curious onlookers flocked to the threshing ground, crowding the open space.
The air was filled with excitement and anticipation, as if a grand festival celebration was about to begin.
"Come on, place your bets! Place your bets! I bet the village chief will win, a steamed bun!"
A villager was shouting at the top of his lungs, holding up a plump white steamed bun in his hand.
"I bet the village chief, a sweet potato!"
Another villager joined in the clamor, clutching a sweet potato in his hand as if it were the most precious treasure in the world.
Almost everyone bet on the village chief to win, after all, the village chief was recognized by the whole village as an "iron man" whose harvesting skills were unmatched.
Only a handful of people were optimistic about Xu Kuo, among whom was Jiang Xiuying.
She stood on the periphery of the crowd, her hands clenched tightly together, her eyes filled with worry and anticipation.
At this moment, Liu Yuan ran over, panting, with fine beads of sweat on his forehead.
She glanced at the sickles laid out on the edge of the field, then at Xu Kuo, and as if possessed, pulled two sprouted sweet potatoes out of her pocket.
"I...I bet Xu Kuo will win!"
The surrounding villagers burst into laughter.
"Teacher Liu, are you kidding yourself?"
"You think you can win with just these two rotten sweet potatoes? Dream on!"
"Teacher Liu, you'd better stop gambling, or you might lose and not even be able to afford food!"
Liu Yuan's face turned bright red, but he stubbornly refused to take back the sweet potato.
Jiang Xiuying walked to Liu Yuan's side and gently patted her shoulder, giving her silent encouragement.
With everything ready, Xu Kuo and the village chief stood at opposite ends of the wheat field, each holding a sharp sickle.
"start!"
At a command, the two men swung their sickles simultaneously, and the golden ears of wheat fell down with a rustling sound.
The village chief initially slowed down, thinking that Xu's third son had just separated from the family and had not fully recovered, so he wanted to save him some face.
Unexpectedly, Xu Kuo only needed a little time to adapt before his speed increased rapidly, and he quickly caught up with the village chief.
Seeing this, the village chief dared not delay any longer and immediately sped up, wielding his sickle with great force.
However, no matter how hard he tried, he could not catch up with Xu Kuo.
Xu Kuo's movements were fluid and graceful, as if he were one with the sickle. Each strike was precise and powerful, and the ears of wheat fell into the basket on his back.
In less than half an hour, Xu Kuo had finished harvesting half an acre of land.
The village chief, however, still has one-third left.
The onlookers were stunned, as if they had witnessed a miracle.
"Is...is this even human?"
"How could they have collected them so quickly?"
"The village chief swung his sickle so hard it was practically smoking, and he still fell so far behind!"
"The third son of the Xu family is incredibly capable!"
The villagers who had bet on the village chief to win slapped their thighs in regret.
Jiang Xiuying and Liu Yuan cheered, their eyes filled with tears of excitement.
Xu Kuo really did it!
Liu Yuan looked at Xu Kuo with curiosity and admiration, then glanced at Jiang Xiuya beside him, feeling a pang of envy.
The village chief put down his sickle and let out a long sigh.
“I lost. Xu Kuo, I will redistribute your land.”
Overjoyed, Xu Kuo's mother, Ren Hongmei, wept tears of joy and excitedly grasped Xu Kuo's hand.
Some are happy, some are sad.
Standing in the crowd, Xu Kuo's elder sister-in-law Liu Xueli and his second sister-in-law Zhang Cuifen were filled with deep regret.
If we hadn't driven Jiang Xiuya away back then, she could be living a good life with the third son of the Xu family now!
The autumn harvest horn sounded, and the whole village was in an uproar.
"Give it your all! Whoever harvests the most will get a bigger share of the grain!" The village chief stood on the edge of the field, shouting encouragement, his loud voice carrying across every inch of the land.
The villagers were all eager and ready to give it their all.
The sickle swung, the wheat ears fell, and sweat mixed with mud soaked their clothes.
This is the culmination of their year's hard work, and the hope for their entire family to survive.
Xu Kuo, however, appeared remarkably relaxed.
He was agile and swift; the sickle seemed to come alive in his hands, each swing bringing forth a golden hue.
Jiang Xiuying and Ren Hongmei stood by the field, watching quietly.
Their faces beamed with pride and happiness. This man was their support and their pride.
"Mother, Xiuya, you two rest. I can finish this work by myself!"
Xu Kuo didn't turn his head, his voice full of confidence.
Before long, Xu Kuo had finished harvesting his own fields.
The wheat ears were piled up like mountains, resembling a small, golden hill.
The surrounding villagers stared in disbelief, and one by one they stopped what they were doing.
"This...this is way too fast!"
"What kind of magic drug did Xu's third son take? He's as strong as several of us!"
"It's true what they say, comparisons are the thief of joy!"
Envy, jealousy, amazement... a variety of emotions churned in the villagers' hearts.
Xu Kuo sheathed his sickle, and the system's cold voice echoed in his mind: "Harvesting skill has been withdrawn."
Xu Kuo was stunned and almost cursed out loud.
This system is so stingy! It takes it back right after I use it. It has no human touch at all!
Before he could finish complaining, the system prompted again: "Given that the host has spent too many points at once, the reward items will be refreshed once."
Xu Kuo's eyes lit up, and a glimmer of hope ignited in his heart.
He nervously pressed the refresh button, afraid that he would get some useless information again.
"bite!"
The system interface flickered for a moment, then finally settled on a familiar icon—fertilizer.
Xu Kuo was both amused and exasperated. This system was determined to make him a farmer!
"Well, it seems I'm destined to be tied to the land for life." Xu Kuo shook his head helplessly.
"However, I don't have any points right now, so I can't redeem it." Xu Kuo had no choice but to give up on redeeming it for the time being and focus his attention on other things.
He walked to the edge of his field, squatted down, and carefully observed the growth of the sweet potatoes.
Lush green vines climbed all over the field ridges, their leaves thick and full of life.
"Judging from this, we can start digging in another half month."
Xu Kuo was making plans in his mind.
Hearing footsteps behind him, Xu Kuo turned around and saw a young man standing not far behind him. When the young man saw him turn around, he lowered his head and dared not look at him.
"Niu Erbao? What's he doing here?" Xu Kuo wondered.
Niu Erbao is a well-known strong laborer in the village. He is usually very good at working, but he is a bit shy.
"Brother Xu... I... I've come to..."
Niu Erbao stammered, unable to utter a complete sentence for a long time.
It turned out that Niu Erbao admired Xu Kuo's heroic performance in harvesting wheat and wanted to learn some tricks from Xu Kuo so that his family could harvest more grain and live a better life.
But he was too shy to go forward.
Suddenly, a commotion came from the mountain.
"Aww—"
A piercing scream shattered the tranquility of the fields.
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