The five hundred large greenhouses at the westernmost end were enclosed by a separate wall, so people outside could not see what was happening inside.
The village's seedling nursery no longer grew seedlings; from now on, seedlings would be purchased from the nursery compound.
The ten villagers hired by the village, known for their discretion and diligence, were:
Ouyang Meihua, Li Damai, Li Xiaomai, Li Min, Chen Suozhu, Niu Dasao, Niu Dage, Lin Silai, Wang Hongwei, Guo Hong.
The villagers thought, "..."
What discretion and diligence? Wasn't it just nepotism?
But no one dared to speak up. Who could they blame, if not their lack of closeness to Tian Jing?
...
The seedlings in the five hundred greenhouses were not to be wasted. In front of these fifty people, Tian Jing demonstrated her special ability.
From now on, in the spring, summer, and autumn seasons, planting and harvesting would occur once a month. Her ability could no longer be hidden.
The vegetables and watermelons in the greenhouses suddenly ripened to perfection, so much so that some even burst open, scattering seeds, leaving the fifty people stunned.
The first to recover was Li Min, "Sister-in-law, what exactly is your true form?"
Tian Jing: "..." This silly girl still remembered her true form.
"Hurry and harvest the seeds. I need to grow new seedlings."
Chen Suozhu pulled his wife to work. He finally understood why his grandfather had entrusted all the Chen family's secrets to Tian Jing.
Sun Liyang had made a fuss, and after Tian Jing returned from the capital, she had spoken with him, telling him the Chen family's ancestral precepts.
He had not understood his grandfather's actions, but after seeing the plants in the greenhouses ripen without Tian Jing even moving, he no longer had any doubts.
His grandfather's eyesight was incredibly sharp; he had noticed Tian Jing's uniqueness in the slightest detail.
The forty retired soldiers were divided into two groups, one for work and one for transportation, cooperating with perfect默契.
Ouyang Meihua was very disappointed; she hadn't even seen how Tian Daxia operated.
Niu Dasao covered her mouth tightly. "I knew it," she said. "I knew there was something different about the seedlings Tian Jing grew. It turns out Tian Jing is no ordinary person."
Wang Hongwei pulled his wife Guo Hong to work, feeling fortunate that his father had once again supported Uncle Zhengguo and Aunt Tian.
Lin Silai smiled. His father's judgment had never been wrong. Tian Daxia was indeed someone even Ouyang Lei admired.
Damai and Xiaomai quietly approached Tian Jing, "Auntie, did Auntie see you perform miracles?"
"Go away!" Tian Jing lightly chided. "Don't learn your aunt's superstitious ways. What I have is a special ability. I didn't reveal it before because I didn't want trouble. Now, I belong to the country."
Damai and Xiaomai nodded and went to work together.
...
The seedling nursery was converted into a seed processing room, and a semi-automatic seed packaging machine was purchased.
Custom packaging bags and boxes with the Ku Shan Li logo were ordered.
Twenty-four young villagers were hired to work in shifts packaging the seeds.
The village committee's Western-style building was repurposed as a warehouse.
The processed and packaged seeds had just entered the warehouse when they were already claimed.
The ones claiming the seeds were the students brought by Li Zhengguo.
The students had studied in Ku Shan Li for over half a year. After returning, they had been educating the villagers on civilization and hygiene, and transitioning from grain cultivation to cash crops.
However, the income from cash crops had not significantly increased compared to ordinary grain cultivation.
After two years of effort, when the students exchanged information, they identified the key issue.
Hence, the plan to transform Ku Shan Li into a seed base.
As soon as they heard that Ku Shan Li had seeds in stock, the students almost fought over them.
They were all vying for the seeds, and with it being the end of April, it would be too late to plant if they didn't act soon.
Li Zhengguo decided to divide the seeds equally among them, also emphasizing that grain cultivation should not be completely abandoned, to avoid losing sight of the fundamentals.
Besides, with the greenhouses, what did the month or season matter? There would be more next month.
...
May 18th, Saturday, the day Xiaomai was to be married.
On the afternoon of the 17th, Mother Li and her four grandchildren were brought back.
Mother Li was reluctant to part, as Damai was marrying into the same village, and she could see her every day.
Xiaomai, the bride-to-be, comforted her grandmother, "Grandma, when I come back for my first visit home, I'll be living in the small Western-style building in the south."
Mother Li was unsure of Ouyang Meihua's arrangements, "Isn't that your eldest sister's?"
Xiaomai giggled, "Grandma, who do you care about more?"
Mother Li patted Xiaomai's hand, "I care about all of you. The year I found out you two sisters were my own granddaughters, my heart ached so much..."
Xiaomai's eyes reddened, "Grandma, after my elder sister and I were brought here by our uncle, we hoped so much that you were our real grandmother. We never expected heaven to favor us..."
The grandmother and granddaughter began to cry, leaving Tian Jing speechless.
"Mother, it's only for two days. After the return visit, Zhou Chengbin and Xiaomai will be living together."
Mother Li brought up the old issue again, "What about Damai's house?"
Ouyang Meihua was also exasperated with her mother-in-law.
"Technically, we live in Damai's house. Now, I can only consider this small Western-style building as Yanyan's."
"As for Damai's house, you'll have to ask Village Chief Li when the second phase of construction will begin."
Village Chief Li waved his hand, "No time. Just wait. If you can't fit, squeeze in."
With the village chief's word, Mother Li knew Damai would have a house, so she dropped the matter and started chattering with Xiaomai about how to get along with her in-laws.
Xiaomai agreed to everything.
The Zhou family arrived with six cars to escort the bride, a unique sight in Ku Shan Li.
Mother Li was pleased and gave a large red envelope for the change of address.
After receiving three red envelopes for the change of address, Zhou Chengbin also gave a red envelope to his youngest brother-in-law.
As they were preparing to pick up the bride, they were stopped by their brother-in-law, who had returned in a hurry.
Li Weiyan blocked the door, "No big red envelope, you can't take my second sister away."
Zhou Chengbin quickly took out the prepared red envelope, knowing well how difficult this younger brother-in-law could be.
Li Weiyan counted the money and refused, "No, I still have to carry my second sister to the car later. Double it."
Zhou Chengbin, helpless, added another six hundred-yuan bills to the red envelope.
Only then did Li Weiyan accept the red envelope and turned to carry his second sister, "Second sister, I'll see you off."
Looking at his broad back, Xiaomai's eyes welled up with tears. Her younger brother had grown into a man.
She leaned onto her younger brother's back, "From now on, you are the eldest in the family. Be a good elder brother and look after Xiaoyu."
Li Weiyan nodded, "I know. Don't nag others. Live your own life well. You specifically chose someone with parents, so you have two more elders for yourself."
Ouyang Meihua felt like rolling up her sleeves again.
Did her eldest son mean that she and her husband wouldn't have to worry about him getting married until they were gone?
Tian Jing held her back, "Everyone is biased. Everyone is biased. Don't take it personally, okay?"
Ouyang Meihua scratched her head, "What do you think I should do? This son has been contrary to me since he was little. He's almost nineteen and is like a wild horse when he goes out. When will I get to hold my grandson?"
Tian Jing chuckled, "Did your father ever ask you when he could hold his grandchildren back then?"
Ouyang Meihua glared at her, "You're bringing up sore points."
"Hahaha." Tian Jing burst into laughter, "Your father must have supported Yanyan. Yanyan is your retribution in this life, hahaha."
"Pah!" Ouyang Meihua pushed her hand away, "Don't gloat. Your Hao Hao is already nineteen."
Tian Jing shrugged indifferently, "I'm not in a hurry to hold grandchildren. Grandchildren are other people's sons."
"If I can take care of them, I will. If not, I won't force it. I'll just be happy myself."
She didn't want to be a mother-in-law like that, working hard and yet not getting a single good word.