My lady, I'm going to rebel.

This problem was like a heavy mountain, weighing on everyone's heart, making the newly ignited fire of hope seem to be covered by a layer of haze.

Mu Zheng looked at the worried crowd and frowned as well, but he still forced himself to cheer up and said loudly: "Fellow villagers, don't lose heart! There are no seeds within a hundred miles of our area, so let's go look for them somewhere farther away. I don't believe that we can't find seeds that can be planted in this big world!" His words made a glimmer of light flash in everyone's originally dim eyes.

So, the villagers pooled their only dry food and travel expenses, and Han Zi and Gong Wen, along with a few strong, brave and careful men, set out on a journey to look for seeds.

They hurried all the way to the neighboring county which was rumored to be relatively peaceful. The road was rugged and bumpy. Sometimes they had to cross mountains and ridges, and sometimes they had to wade through fast-flowing rivers. When their shoes were worn out, they simply tied them up with straw ropes. When they were hungry, they ate some dry and hard bread.

Li Lian was quite smart. Seeing that everyone was worried about the seeds, he thought about doing something else for the village, so he set his sights on the pheasants and ducks that often appeared around the village.

He first used some branches and vines to build a simple fence in a relatively remote place in the village but with convenient water sources. Then he took a few equally agile friends in the village, holding a homemade simple fishing net, and began to look for traces of pheasants and ducks in the surrounding area.

At first, the pheasants and ducks were extremely alert and would flap their wings and fly away at the slightest movement. Many times, everyone worked for a long time but got nothing.

But Li Lian was not discouraged. He carefully analyzed the reasons for the failure and found that they made too much noise when they moved, and the location of the net was not right.

So he changed his strategy and chose to act in the early morning and evening, because at this time pheasants and ducks are relatively relaxed and more of them come out to forage.

He also cleverly set up better-concealed nets along the routes where birds often appeared, and scattered some grains around as bait.

Hard work pays off. Finally one day, when they went to check again, they found several pheasants and wild ducks trapped in the net.

Everyone was very excited and carefully brought them back to the pen to try to tame them. Li Lian knew that in order to make these wild and unruly guys obedient, they had to first adapt them to the new environment and feed them regularly.

Every day he would go to the mountains to collect some wild vegetables and fruits, and mix them with some leftover grains from his own fields to feed them.

At first, the pheasants and ducks didn't eat at all, but just fluttered around in panic in the pen. Li Lian watched over them patiently and comforted them softly. As time went by, they seemed to feel that Li Lian had no ill intentions, and gradually began to peck at the food.

Li Lian also divided the pen into different areas based on their habits, including dry corners for them to rest and a small shallow water area for the wild ducks to play.

In this way, under Li Lian's careful care and patient domestication, the pheasants and ducks slowly adapted to captive life, and their numbers began to gradually increase.

As for Han Zi, after several days of travel, they finally arrived at the market in the neighboring county.

But to their disappointment, the seeds here were also extremely scarce. The few that were available were either ridiculously expensive or of poor quality. Mu Zheng was unwilling to give up and went from house to house, asking questions one by one, not missing any chance to get seeds.

They asked around at the market and heard that there was a well-known old farmer in the east of the county town whose family had been farming for generations and might have some seeds left.

Han Zi and the others hurried towards the east of the city, asking many passersby along the way. After much trouble, they finally found the old farmer's home. It was a slightly shabby but tidy courtyard, filled with various farm tools and crop straw.

Mu Zheng knocked respectfully on the door and explained his purpose. The old farmer, upon hearing they were from a war-torn region and struggling so hard to find seeds, couldn't help but feel pity. However, he shook his head helplessly and said, "Alas, I used to have some seeds, but a few days ago a group of bandits came and took away everything we could. Now I only have a little left to sustain myself, and I really can't give much to you."

Mu Zheng and the others felt their hearts sink again, but they still begged the old farmer earnestly, even if it was just a little bit.

The old farmer looked at their expectant eyes, hesitated for a moment, and said, "How about this? I know there's a secluded Taoist temple in the mountains west of our county. The Taoist priest there likes to grow exotic flowers and plants. Maybe there are some crop seeds hidden there too. But the mountain path is steep and difficult to travel."

When Mu Zheng and the others heard this, hope rekindled in their eyes. They thanked the old farmer and rushed to the mountains west of the city without stopping.

The mountain road was indeed as the old farmer had said, extremely steep, with a steep cliff on one side and a bottomless valley on the other. If they were not careful, they would be crushed to pieces. They used their hands and feet, holding on to the vines and rocks on the roadside, and climbed up step by step with difficulty.

After a lot of effort, we arrived at the Taoist temple. It looked quite ancient and peaceful, with clouds and mist all around, as if it was isolated from the world.

Mu Zheng stepped forward and gently knocked on the door of the Taoist temple. Soon, a Taoist priest with a sage-like appearance opened the door. Mu Zheng quickly told them everything about their experience and the purpose of their visit.

After hearing this, the Taoist priest nodded slightly, stroked his beard and said, "Good, seeing that you are so sincere, I do have some seeds here that I originally kept for some research. Now I will give them to you, hoping that they can help you overcome this difficult time."

Mu Zheng and the others were so excited that their eyes were filled with tears. After expressing their gratitude repeatedly, they took the heavy bag of seeds as if they had taken over the hopes of the entire village.

On their return journey with the seeds, they dared not slack off, working day and night. When they appeared at the village entrance, the entire village erupted in excitement. Everyone cheered and greeted them, their eyes filled with uncontrollable joy and anticipation.

Spring plowing is finally about to begin!