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After Wei Ruo left, Shi Dayou told the villagers to return to their fields and continue working, while he himself carried his hoe home.
What Young Master Xu had just discussed with him about contracting the land was now his top priority.
After returning home, Shi Dayou invited several respected elders from the village to his house. He carefully explained the plan to cooperate with Young Master Xu and sought their opinions.
The elders were highly supportive. There was no fixed rent required—only half of the profits would be taken. With such a guaranteed, no-loss arrangement, they were naturally willing to accept.
Moreover, their village already had surplus labor. If they could unite and work together, perhaps even branch out into other sidelines, maybe everyone could enjoy a prosperous year.
The elders repeatedly instructed Shi Dayou to treat Xu Heyou well. The villagers had no special skills or other means of livelihood, nor did they understand how to deal with city folk to make money. Now that someone was willing to lend them a hand and give them a way to survive, they had to cherish the opportunity.
After receiving the elders’ approval, Shi Dayou promptly sent word back to Wei Ruo.
Wei Ruo did not delay. Time waited for no one—nor did the spring planting season. The land needed to be reclaimed and planted immediately.
Thus, Wei Ruo quickly signed a formal contract with the people of Shitou Village.
On the very day the contract was finalized, Shi Dayou led the selected villagers to begin work on the large tract of sandy land Wei Ruo had purchased.
When selecting workers, Shi Dayou considered multiple factors. The primary principle was willingness. Some households had limited labor and could barely manage their own fields, so they naturally could not take on additional work.
But other families had little land and many brothers; they were eager to seize this new opportunity to earn money.
After voluntary sign-ups, Shi Dayou and the village elders coordinated further. For example, if three people from the same family signed up, they would typically allocate one or two slots depending on the household’s situation, striving to distribute the opportunities as fairly as possible.
However, since each family’s circumstances differed greatly, complete equality was impossible.
Fortunately, with Shi Dayou as village head and the elders overseeing matters, the villagers were generally satisfied with the final arrangement.
Afterward, this group of villagers went to the vast sandy land Wei Ruo had purchased and began working: clearing weeds, removing stones, turning the soil, and applying fertilizer as needed.
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Wei Ruo had kept the matter of the late rice seeds in mind. Two days later, after calculating various factors, she sent people to the villages suffering from the blight to spread the news that she had late rice seeds on hand—seeds that could still be sown and raised successfully even at this time.
Upon hearing the news, villagers hurried toward Wei Ruo’s estate.
Outside the gates of her manor, against the outer wall, were piles of bulging burlap sacks. At that very moment, people were still carrying more sacks out from inside.
The first few villagers to arrive saw the sacks and their eyes lit up. They guessed that what filled those bags were the late rice seeds they so desperately needed.
However, the seven or eight tall, broad-shouldered, sturdy men standing beside the sacks made them hesitate to step forward.
Just then, Wei Ruo walked out from inside the estate, and several villagers couldn’t help but gather around her to ask.
“Young Master Xu, we heard that you have rice seeds that can still survive even if planted now. Is that true?” an old man asked cautiously.
Wei Ruo found the old man somewhat familiar. After thinking for a moment, she remembered he was someone she had met when she went to Madam Xu’s farm. She had advised him to switch seedlings, and he had accused her of cursing them.
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