I have been farming since I crossed over.

On the morning of April 18, the air was still filled with the faint scent of dew, as if it was a refreshing baptism specially prepared by nature for the upcoming harvest scene.

Fresh from their morning exercises, the people, all in high spirits, marched with determined steps from every corner of the village to Yang Mingxi's rice paddies. The entire Changshan Village seemed to be ablaze with enthusiasm, each with a common goal: to help Yang Mingxi's family harvest the rice and, in exchange, to earn the right to use the precious thresher.

In the rice fields, the twenty threshers, hastily constructed overnight, stood silently in sections, like a group of loyal guards, seemingly awaiting their master's command to begin their efficient harvesting. Their sturdy frames radiated a steely luster, as if proclaiming their strength and determination.

The Wu family boys, usually busy with the brick kiln, stopped their work and joined the rice harvest with anticipation and enthusiasm. They knew that unity was powerful, and only by working together could they make this harvest a complete success.

After Yang Mingxi's family finished harvesting, they would tacitly pull the thresher back home and continue harvesting the Wu family's rice. At this moment, the entire Changshan Village seemed to have become a closely connected family, everyone working hard for the common good.

Everyone worked with all their might, and the laughter and shouts were deafening.

More than forty men were responsible for transporting the grains. The grains were first transported directly to the drying yard and open space of the workshop. When there was no more space there, they were placed in the small courtyard built by the fifth branch of the Yang family.

At noon, Yang Mingyang, who was in charge of transporting the grain, approached Yang Mingxi and said, "Xi'er, we know that all the places where we can store the grain are full, and it's piled up in a thick layer. If we put more, it will get moldy. Where should we put the remaining grain?"

Yang Mingxi thought for a moment and said, "Let's pile some in the unused backyard and harvest them together. I'm afraid the drying yard won't be enough."

Yang Mingyang smiled and said, "Xi'er, don't you know how much millet we've delivered? We just dumped it one basket at a time, and now all the places where we can store millet are full, including the backyard. There are more than forty of us responsible for transportation, and almost everyone has made fourteen or fifteen trips. Looking at the remaining ones, each person has to make at least ten more trips, and there are still many drying areas."

Yang Mingxi thought for a while and said, "How much does one of your backpacks weigh?" This backpack was made by Yang Mingxi at the request of Yang Laowu and Yang Laotou. It was much larger than the usual backpacks and was mainly used to carry small items, and it could hold more.

Yang Mingyang thought for a moment and said, "About 150 pounds, it's still enough to carry on my back."

Yang Mingxi said, "Okay, I got it. Let's transport some more to the drying yard in the workshop. I'll see where else I can put it."

After Yang Mingxi finished speaking, he stood there thinking for a long time, but couldn't think of a suitable place. Finally, he thought of the threshing ground in the village, which should be enough space.

Yang Mingxi found Village Chief Zhang, who was helping, and told him that she wanted to use the threshing ground. Village Chief Zhang said, "You can just use it directly. The threshing ground belongs to the entire village and doesn't belong to any one person. Just ask them to send it over! I'll arrange for someone to clean it up."

In this way, the remaining rice from Yang Mingxi's family was transported to the village threshing ground, where it was also poured out in baskets and piled up thickly.

In the evening, Yang Mingxi's family finally harvested more than 200 acres of rice, and the Yang family's yard was filled with rice.

Yang Mingyu was responsible for recording the work, keeping a record of the number of people working in each household so that he could exchange them for threshers and seedlings later.

Tang Jiahang, who hadn't been seen for a day, suddenly appeared beside Yang Mingxi and said, "Miss Yang, why do I feel like your family's rice yield is even higher than your uncle's?"

Yang Mingxi was confused. She glanced at Tang Jiahang and said, "Why do you say that? Our land is barren, but we have enough fertilizer. It shouldn't yield as much as my uncle's fertile land!"

Tang Jiahang glanced at his notebook and said, "Your family carried out a total of 1175 baskets. I had a few baskets weighed, and each one held about 150 kilograms. I also checked out some paddy fields, and the largest one covered 220 mu. So, your family's yield per mu should be around 800 kilograms."

Yang Mingxi smiled. As expected of an official, he could even record such things. Was it necessary? The rice would be ready in a few days, and the information would be revealed once it was weighed. But he still smiled and said, "I don't know the details. Mei Tingzhou will record them once the rice is harvested."

Tang Jiahang was stunned for a moment and said, "Miss Yang, you're so generous! You're not even anxious to know the yield? My uncle is very anxious. He heard yesterday that I needed rice for rice seeds. He was originally out on business. I'm afraid he'll be back soon if it's too late today."

Yang Mingxi seemed to have just remembered that she hadn't seen Lu Jintang for many days. He seemed to have said before that he was going somewhere, but she couldn't remember clearly.

Yang Mingxi tilted her head slightly, a sly glint in her eyes. The corners of her mouth curled up, her smile growing even brighter as she softly said, "Don't worry, Master Tang. Your uncle will surely complete his duties and return safely. He must have been traveling for so long and must be exhausted. We just need to wait patiently."

Tang Jiahang sighed softly, a hint of helplessness in his eyes. He rubbed his chin, pondered for a moment, and then said, "Oh, it's been a long journey. I wonder what happened to him. Lu Er's cooking skills are not very good, and I don't know if he can make a meal that will satisfy my uncle. It's so pitiful that he can't even eat a meal that he likes after such a tiring journey. But as long as they can return safely, it shouldn't matter what they eat."

Yang Mingxi nodded, then suddenly realized what Tang Jiahang meant. She smiled to herself and said slowly, "Yes, we are all looking forward to their early return so we can have a good chat about our experiences these past few days. It shouldn't matter what we eat, as it's enough to fill our stomachs."

Tang Jiahang took a deep breath and looked at Yang Mingxi in horror, as if she were a fool. He had said it so clearly, why didn't she understand? Helpless, Lord Tang could only mutter to himself, "Come back soon, at least there's a hot meal to eat."

Yang Mingxi ignored Tang Jiahang who was directing and acting in the show, and went straight to Lu Jintang's courtyard by the river.

Seeing Yang Mingxi coming over, Lu Er smiled and said, "Miss Yang, you're here. Our master should be back soon. Please wait a moment and have dinner with him! He will definitely be very happy."

Yang Mingxi said, "Come to the kitchen and take a look! I'll cook. If you need any ingredients, go to the vegetable planting base and get them."

Lu Er brought Yang Mingxi to the kitchen. When Yang Mingxi saw it, she was surprised. What was missing from this table?

There were things cooking in all three pots. A large bucket of rice was steaming on top of the chicken pot. In another pot was what looked like a roe deer, also chopped up and cooked. And in another pot was what looked like braised pork, also being boiled in water.

Yang Mingxi asked, "Lu Er, how many people did you cook for? Why did you cook so much?"

Lu Er touched his head and said, "It should be twenty-one. The master's guards and secret guards have all returned. I am hosting a welcome party for them today."