As the weather gradually grew hotter, the summer harvest season drew near. To speed up the work, Li Xiaoxiao urged Qin Dashu to hire twenty temporary laborers in advance. Most of them came from poorer families in the village. The wage was twenty-five copper coins per day if meals were not provided.
With twenty workers laboring together, the efficiency was remarkable. In just one day, they harvested all twenty mu of rapeseed. After that, all that remained was to let the plants dry before threshing the seeds.
While the rapeseed was drying, Li Xiaoxiao contracted the threshing work out to the same laborers at a rate of eighty copper coins per mu. Since they could earn money close to home, most participated as husband-and-wife teams or pairs of brothers.
Many hands made light work. In only two days, the twenty laborers finished harvesting, threshing, and storing all thirty mu of wheat.
Li Xiaoxiao then spent her days leading her sons and daughters-in-law in drying the wheat. It took three full days of strong sunshine before the grain was properly dried.
The thirty mu of wheat yielded just over 12,300 jin (about 6,150 kilograms), averaging a little over 400 jin per mu. Compared to modern yields of over 1,000 jin per mu, the difference was enormous.
More importantly, they still had to pay thirty percent of the harvest as tax—3,600 jin went to the government, leaving only 8,700 jin of wheat for the family.
Their family was considered relatively fortunate. Tenant farmers who rented land often had to surrender half of their harvest after paying both rent and taxes, and going hungry was common.
No sooner had the wheat been stored away than it was time to thresh the rapeseed. The twenty workers completed the entire job in a single day and even thoughtfully dug up the rapeseed stalks afterward.
Twenty mu of rapeseed fields produced 6,000 jin of rapeseed after drying. After paying 1,800 jin in taxes, 4,200 jin remained.
By the standards of the era, this was considered a very good harvest. By modern standards, however, it was still quite low.
Although Li Xiaoxiao was frugal, she was not the type to cheat workers out of their wages. Seeing how quickly and efficiently they had worked, she rewarded each laborer with an additional twenty copper coins.
In total, she spent only three taels and six hundred copper coins to bring in both the wheat and rapeseed harvests.
Meanwhile, the corn and soybeans growing along the field ridges had already reached a height taller than a person. In another half month, the young sweet corn would be ready to eat.
Although her sons and daughters-in-law did not have to participate directly in the harvest this year, they were far from idle.
As soon as the rapeseed was cut, Li Xiaoxiao organized everyone into action. They immediately cleared the fields, spread fertilizer, plowed the soil, irrigated the land, and carefully prepared seedbeds.
The rice seeds had been soaked in water for several days beforehand. These were then evenly scattered over the seedbeds and covered with a layer of wood ash that the family had saved over time.
In this era, a rice yield of four hundred jin per mu was considered excellent. But Li Xiaoxiao had a bold idea.
She wanted to test the high-yield rice seeds from her mysterious space—seeds capable of producing around eight hundred jin per mu—to see how they would perform in an ordinary environment without spiritual energy.
While other families were still busy gathering their summer harvests, Li Xiaoxiao’s rice nursery beds had already been prepared.
By the time everyone else finally finished harvesting, her rice seedlings had already grown to about an inch in height.
Once the fields were free, the three brothers followed the traditional farming process: fertilizing, plowing, and then flooding the paddies.
Because they had completed their harvest earlier than everyone else, they had no trouble renting three oxen.
This greatly sped up their work and saved considerable time and effort.
As for why they rented oxen instead of using their own—it was simple. Their family’s old cow was pregnant and could not handle heavy labor.
The hardworking brothers each led an ox, and their efficiency far surpassed previous years. While many villagers were only beginning to prepare their rice paddies, the brothers had already thoroughly plowed all of theirs.
After being exposed to sunlight for a period, the soil became less prone to insect infestations.
The villagers of Qin Family Village could only watch in envy.
Some were especially jealous of the thriving corn and soybean plants growing along the edges of Li Xiaoxiao’s fields.
Summer harvest season was an incredibly busy time for Li Xiaoxiao.
During the day, she worked in the family’s fields.
At night, she continued working inside her magical space.
The corn and rice within the space had already been harvested. The once-golden rice fields were now covered only with stubble.
The fruit trees around the fields had also ripened, their fruits glowing with inviting colors.
Li Xiaoxiao began harvesting them.
She carefully picked the dates one by one and spread them out inside the space to dry. The many other kinds of fruit were stored safely inside her Qiankun Bag.
This time, she did not devote all her land to grain production as she usually did.
Instead, she divided the two mu of land inside the space into several smaller plots.
One plot was planted with corn, with mung beans and red beans growing beneath it.
Another plot received the twenty watermelon seeds she had secretly saved. The remaining space was planted with five pumpkin seeds and five winter melon seeds.
A third plot was dedicated to vegetables, including cucumbers, eggplants, yardlong beans, Chinese cabbage, and many others.
Another section was planted with wheat and rice.
The final small plot would become a dedicated fruit-tree nursery.
After careful consideration, Li Xiaoxiao decided to begin with dates.
She carefully selected the healthiest and highest-quality date seeds, prepared rich soil and suitable growing conditions, and sowed them in the small plot.
Every day she visited the nursery to observe the seeds.
She watered them patiently, applied fertilizer, and made sure each seedling received proper care and nutrition.
After a period of effort, the day finally came when the first tender green shoot broke through the soil.
Stretching its tiny leaves toward the sunlight, it radiated vitality and determination.
The sight filled Li Xiaoxiao with joy and strengthened her resolve.
As time passed, more and more seedlings emerged.
Under her attentive care, they gradually transformed the plot into a vibrant patch of life.
Looking at the young saplings, Li Xiaoxiao could almost see the future orchard taking shape before her eyes. Her heart brimmed with anticipation and satisfaction.
Next, she began experimenting with different cultivation techniques to improve both survival rates and growth speed. At the same time, she actively studied agricultural knowledge and continually refined her methods.
Through this experiment, Li Xiaoxiao not only raised a healthy batch of date saplings but also gained valuable experience.
She firmly believed that, with persistence and dedication, she would eventually be able to propagate many more date trees and make her dream of owning a flourishing orchard come true.