The Little Shennong of This Gully

A mu of alkaline, hardened thin soil—the villagers say nothing worthwhile can be grown on it. Chen Jiu presses his hand into the earth, yet he knows what it lacks, and which planting holes can still survive. After three years hauling cardboard boxes in the city, he returns to the village, determined to make the land his father left behind produce something worth seeing. Others are still waiting for seedlings; his grain has already broken through green. But growing good grain is only the first hurdle—the grain dealer's price must be negotiated, the name on the seed sack must be fought for, and the neighbors who worked alongside him all autumn must not have their hard work go to waste. A mu and three fen of land, an old ledger. Chen Jiu wants to sell good grain out of the gully, let those who believe in him earn money, and give those waiting on him a definite answer. Those who once urged him not to plant now all want to keep a sack of his seed. — Description from novelcodex.orgFull novel: The Little Shennong of This Gully — read the rest free on N​o⁠v​e⁠l​C⁠o​d⁠e​x⁠.​o⁠r​g⁠