Chapter Thirty-Four: Gathering Grain (Seeking Fresh Flowers and Seeking Collection)

  "By the way, Xiao Fei, have you told the village chief about your plan?" Zhao Feng asked seriously.

  "Ah, yes! How could I have forgotten that at this moment?" Upon hearing Zhao Feng say so, he suddenly slapped his own head, revealing a hint of regret.

  "Since you said it's useful, hurry up and go, let the village chief mobilize everyone in the village. Strive for a good harvest this year." Zhao Feng urged Zhao Fei hastily. Grain is the most important thing for the people, farmers work hard all year round, aren't they just hoping for a good harvest?

  "My dear Wind Brother, what time is it now? Autumn has already arrived, and there's not much time left before harvest. It's too late to do anything about it now. Let's talk about it next spring. You're not the only one who's anxious, Wind Brother." Zhao Fei looked at Zhao Feng with a "you're so silly" expression, occasionally blinking his eyes.

  "Hehe, indeed, but you're being too anxious." Looking at Zhao Fei's gaze, Zhao Feng's old face turned red. Always being looked down upon by Zhao Fei, Zhao Feng felt very embarrassed.

  Looking at Zhao Fei's embarrassed appearance, Zhao Fei was very happy in his heart. Unexpectedly, the usually calm Wind Brother also had such a cute side. Wanting to laugh, but still not daring to laugh in front of Zhao Feng, this made Zhao Fei suffocate. His face turned bright red from being stifled.

  Noticing Zhao Fei's unusual expression, Zhao Feng's face turned even redder. "Alright, if you want to laugh, just laugh, why are you holding it in so painfully." As soon as he finished speaking, Zhao Fei burst out laughing.

  "Is it that funny?" Zhao Feng looked at Zhao Fei, who was laughing with his head thrown back, and a hint of amusement appeared on his face. But Zhao Fei remained immersed in his laughter, unaware of Zhao Feng's expression.

  "Of course..." Zhao Fei smiled with some shortness of breath, his words somewhat stuttering.

  "Of course I'm calling you a little brat." Zhao Feng suddenly exerted his strength and pounced on Zhao Fei, pinching his neck and shaking him back and forth.

  "Brother Wind... I know I was wrong, let me go." Zhao Fei's face turned red as he pitifully begged for mercy from Zhao Feng.

  Looking at Zhao Fei's pitiful expression, Zhao Feng's heart softened, and he let go of Zhao Fei's hand. As soon as Zhao Feng let go, Zhao Fei suddenly ran off, laughing as he went. Realizing he had been tricked, Zhao Feng hastily chased after him. "You little scamp, stop right there! If you have the guts, don't run!" "I won't stand still and let you bully me!" Ignoring Zhao Feng's words, Zhao Fei continued to run forward, laughing as he went. He ran out of the Zhao house and out of the village. The sunset cast a glow over the two figures.

  "Haha, I've finally caught you!" After running for a while, Zhao Fei was ultimately exhausted and caught by Zhao Feng.

  "Haha, no... I'm not running anymore." Zhao Fei supported himself with his hands on his knees, panting heavily. "This is clearly bullying, I'm tied up with a sandbag." Zhao Fei said extremely unwillingly.

  "It's not like I tied you up." Zhao Feng said with a mischievous smile, grinning at Zhao Fei.

  "I... " Looking at Zhao Feng with a rogue-like expression, Zhao Fei was helpless. "But thank you, Brother Feng, my mood is much better now."

  "Thanks, I'm your brother. How was the rest? Back to the village?" Zhao Fei nodded, and Zhao Feng put his arm around Zhao Fei's shoulder, slowly walking towards the village. During this time, the two of them said a lot of things. And Zhao Fei also understood many things.

  The next day, Zhao Fei went to the village chief's home with a full expression. Looking at Zhao Feng's appearance, the village chief nodded repeatedly. "Not bad, not bad, the child is teachable."

  After finishing class, Zhao Fei told the village chief about his plan. At first, the village chief was also shocked by Zhao Fei's words, but as time went on, the smile on the village chief's face grew thicker. If what Zhao Fei said really worked and could increase grain production, then soiling himself a bit wouldn't be a big deal. After all, this matter concerned the livelihood of the entire village.

  "Alright, I'll consider what you've said. It's about time too, go back home now. Don't let your parents worry." After Zhao Fei finished speaking, the village chief waved his hand, indicating for Zhao Fei to leave.

  The student then bid farewell. Zhao Fei stood up and left, leaving only the village chief in the house to ponder, thinking about the possibility of what Zhao Fei said. He could understand using water from the stream for irrigation, but applying manure to crops and turning over the soil was something he couldn't comprehend. Did it have anything to do with crop growth? "Forget it, thinking is useless anyway," the village chief shook his head, rubbing his slightly dizzy brain. "But I can still accept students like Little Fei, this life is not in vain." It's clear that the village chief had high expectations for Zhao Fei. But Zhao Fei didn't care about how much he could achieve in the future, he just wanted to live his simple life. At this moment, he was drinking a small wine and walking on the road back home.

  Time passed day by day, and the autumn tiger came fiercely. Soon, a layer of golden yellow was put on the plants. Autumn, a joyful solar term. All the old and young people in Zhaojia Village showed relieved and joyful expressions. Because this year's weather is still good, the harvest seems to be not bad. This is more delightful for the common people who rely on food for a living than anything else.

  "The sweat drips to the ground as I work in the fields at noon. Who knows that the meal on our plates is made up of hard-earned grains?" Reciting this familiar Tang poem, Zhao Fei stood up straight and wiped his forehead. Only now could he fully understand the poem's meaning. "It's really true that every grain of rice is a drop of sweat and toil for farmers." Watching his parents harvesting in the fields, Zhao Fei couldn't help but sigh with emotion.

  "What's wrong, Little Fei? Don't you feel well?" Seeing Zhao Fei standing still and muttering to himself, Li Shi hastily got up and asked. "If not, then go home and rest, your father and I are here, that's enough."

  "My daughter, I'm fine, just thinking about things." Ignoring Li's attempts to stop him, Zhao Fei bent down and started harvesting the wheat. Li saw that she couldn't persuade Zhao Fei, so she could only continue working, but from time to time, she would still glance at Zhao Fei. Zhao Fei knew what his mother was thinking, but he could only shake his head helplessly.

  "Little Tiger, you're still busy here?" Just as Zhao Fei was concentrating on cutting the wheat, a voice came from not far away. And when Zhao Hu heard someone calling him, he also stopped and looked up.

  "Zhaoge, do you have something to say?" The person in front of him was indeed Zhao Cai. He saw that Zhao Cai was not very tall and had a slightly chubby build, which was rare in the village. His eyes were small, but they emitted a faint, almost imperceptible glint, which did not escape Zhao Fei's notice. Zhao Fei looked at him coldly, unsure of what he wanted to do.

  "Oh, it's okay, I just wanted to see if you're busy." Zhao Cai smiled foolishly, but this smile gave Zhao Fei a different feeling. However, Zhao Fei couldn't quite put his finger on what the feeling was. He felt that the Zhao Cai in front of him didn't seem as foolish as he appeared. And thinking of Zhao Cai's fierce wife, Zhao Fei seemed to have thought of something.

  "Oh, it's going to take a while. If you have something on, Second Brother, just let me know." Zhao Hu was honest and simple-minded, not thinking of anything else.

  "This isn't my home's land, but your sister-in-law and I are busy, too busy to handle it all. Your sister-in-law asked me to come see if you're done being busy. Once you're done, she wants you to help out our household. I said no need, but you also know your sister-in-law's temper." Zhao said somewhat embarrassedly, as if he was forced over by his wife.

  "It's okay, Ge, I'll come and help you once I'm done with things here." Zhao Hu nodded in response.

  "That's more trouble for you, you go ahead and busy yourself, I'll leave first." Having received a satisfactory response, Zhao Cai turned around and left. During this time, Zhao Fei coldly watched Zhao Cai with a sly gaze. Ha ha, the fox's tail is exposed, one playing the red face and the other playing the white face, they're performing this double act very well. Zhao Fei sneered to himself.