Chapter 171: Shouldn't the Barren Mountains Be Put to Use?

In truth, the majority of the villagers shared the village chief's mindset, willing to take a gamble. Although everyone harbored doubts about whether this fertilizer could genuinely increase crop yields, the undeniable transformations in the Wen family over the past year were plain for all to see. What if it actually worked? If it did, they wouldn't have to worry about going hungry come next year.

By the following morning, Madam Luo had expected only a handful of people to show up. To her surprise, when she opened the front door, a large portion of the village was already waiting outside.

"Mother Wen," everyone greeted respectfully as soon as Madam Luo stepped out.

Madam Luo cast a glance at the bags they had brought along with them, but remained silent. She simply stepped out and pulled the heavy wooden doors of the old ancestral house shut behind her, securing the latch.

Surveying the crowd, she asked, "Have you all thought this through? Let me make it clear once again: I am not giving this away for free."

People chuckled and bantered, "Of course not, of course not! We're here to buy it fair and square."

As they walked toward Wen Xiuyi's new residence, someone could not help but voice a lingering doubt to Madam Luo.

"Mother Wen, is this top-dressing fertilizer the Scholar brought back really effective? Can it actually boost the harvest?"

Madam Luo looked at the person who spoke. It was an honest and reliable villager, and the question clearly stemmed from genuine anxiety. Consequently, her expression softened, though she answered firmly, "If my eldest son says it will work, then it will work. However, you must strictly follow his instructions. If anyone decides to act on their own and mess things up, and then tries to blame my eldest son, I certainly won't let them off easily."

The crowd quickly chimed in, "Yes, yes, absolutely. We will definitely listen to Scholar Wen."

Only then did Madam Luo nod and lead them toward the new house.

Wen Xiuyi had purposely stayed home today, accompanied by Uncle Lu. Wen Yao had set up a small table with a small abacus placed neatly to one side; while Wen Xiuyi and Madam Luo handled the weighing, she would be responsible for collecting the payments and keeping the records.

Every household's purchase had to be meticulously logged with the exact weight, ensuring they had a reliable reference if any issues arose later.

"Your fourth aunt will be bringing your eldest cousin and the others over to pick up their share of the fertilizer later. Their portion has been set aside separately, right?" Madam Luo asked. Seeing such a large crowd gathered, she worried her younger sister's share might get depleted in the rush.

Wen Xiuyi pointed toward a locked side room and replied, "It's all stored safely in there. Rest assured, Mother, even if everyone else's runs out, I'd never shortchange my fourth aunt."

"Good. Then let everyone line up and begin. Uncle Lu, make sure your scales are accurate today," Madam Luo instructed, turning to Uncle Lu.

Uncle Lu nodded readily. "Old Madam, you can rest easy. My hands won't shake."

Satisfied, Madam Luo turned to the crowd outside, directing them to form an orderly queue and proceed one by one.

It had already been established that the standard application rate was fifty pounds per mu of land, so each family purchased precisely according to their cultivated acreage. Wen Xiuyi had specifically emphasized not to over-apply, warning them that more did not equal better growth. Fertilizer was much like drinking water: a single cup quenches your thirst, and a whole jar quenches it just the same, but overindulging only leaves you uncomfortably bloated with no real benefit.

A few individuals had indeed harbored thoughts of buying extra, but Wen Xiuyi's explanation quickly dissuaded them. Besides, living in the same small village, everyone knew the exact size of each other's fields.

And so, Wen Xiuyi took charge of bagging the fertilizer, Uncle Lu handled the weighing, and Wen Yao collected the money and updated the ledger. Madam Luo pulled up a stool and sat right beside Wen Yao, keeping a watchful eye on the proceedings to deter anyone from attempting any mischief.

It had to be said that Madam Luo's formidable presence carried considerable weight; at the very least, everyone conducted themselves civilly and purchased exactly what they needed without incident.

The entire family remained busy until late afternoon before all the fertilizer was finally distributed. Very little remained in the storehouse.

Those villagers who had initially adopted a wait-and-see attitude, hoping to watch how things unfolded, realized the situation and no longer dared to drag their feet. Rushing over in a panic, they bought up the remainder.

Ultimately, the entire batch of two thousand five hundred pounds that Wen Yao had produced was completely sold out, leaving not a single ounce for their own household.

Consequently, Wen Xiuyi had no choice but to take Wen Yao out on another quiet trip, returning shortly after with another substantial load.

When Qiu Rongrong caught wind of this, she insisted that such a lucrative opportunity could not possibly exclude her. With no other alternative, Wen Xiuyi and Wen Yao made yet another excursion, hauling back three thousand pounds specifically for Qiu Rongrong.

As for where the endless supplies came from, after a few perfunctory explanations, not a single person ever questioned the matter again.

This made Wen Yao silently and profoundly grateful for the convenient plot armor bestowed by the original author of this world.

By now, the fish farming was well underway, and the ducks would be ready for market in another month. However, the barren mountain they had purchased alongside the farmland remained completely untouched. Aside from the soil that had been cleared and baked dry under the sun, leaving patches of dirt overrun with wild weeds, the landscape showed no signs of alteration.

It was only when Second Uncle Wen and the others brought it up in conversation that Old Man Wen finally remembered the mountain belonged to them as well.

"If your second uncle hadn't mentioned it, I would have completely forgotten about that mountain. Eldest, now that you're raising fish and ducks, what do you plan to do with that piece of land?" Old Man Wen really wanted to avoid asking, knowing full well that bringing it up would open the floodgates to endless troubles.

Yet, failing to ask while watching the mountain lie completely fallow—knowing full well it was bought with hard-earned money—gnawed uncomfortably at his conscience. Surely they couldn't just use it to gather firewood? Even if they burned wood for years on end, they couldn't possibly consume the endless forests blanketing those slopes.

Wen Xiuyi was currently inspecting his youngest son's recent academic progress and didn't even lift his head as he replied, "Huh? Weren't we talking about planting fruit trees and raising chickens?"

Old Man Wen came perilously close to slipping off his shoe and hurling it straight at his eldest son's face. Catching himself just in time out of fear of damaging his youngest grandson's textbooks, he restrained his anger and barked, "Datou, go back inside your room."

Datou had been eagerly awaiting praise. He glanced at his grandfather, then down at the shoe already half-slipped off the old man's foot, and wisely decided to snatch his books from Wen Xiuyi's hands and beat a hasty retreat.

Sure enough, the very next second, Wen Xiuyi's exaggerated wail echoed through the room.

"Father, why are you hitting me again?"

Datou and the other two children watched the scene unfold from the doorway of the study, clutching their bellies and laughing uproariously.

Standing on one bare foot, Old Man Wen ranted, "Raise chickens and plant fruit trees—doesn't that require skilled hands to tend them?" The crux of the matter was that no one in their household knew the first thing about such endeavors. Raising chickens was fine; the old woman and the daughters-in-law had experience with poultry. But fruit trees? None of them knew how to cultivate orchards. If the trees grew poorly and bore unpalatable fruit that couldn't be sold, wouldn't all their investment go down the drain?

In truth, Wen Xiuyi felt no pain at all; he was merely howling dramatically to cheer the old man up. Seeing his father standing on one bare foot, he quickly leaned over to help slip the shoe back onto the old man's foot, smiling as he said, "Look at you, Father. Why have you been getting so easily irritated lately? Jun, go whip up a batch of cooling herbal medicine for your grandfather to clear his internal heat."

Suppressing a smile, Wen Wenjun assumed a grave and professional expression. "Grandfather, would you like me to take your pulse?"

Old Man Wen's attention was instantly derailed.

"What? My goodness, our Jun can take pulses now? Come on, quickly examine your grandfather. Lately, I've just been feeling all-around out of sorts," Old Man Wen said anxiously, thrusting his arm forward.

What had started merely as a lighthearted attempt to amuse the old man suddenly took a serious turn when he claimed to feel unwell. Wenjun's expression immediately hardened into one of utmost professional focus, and even Wen Xiuyi's heart leaped to his throat as he watched his son anxiously check Old Man Wen's pulse.