Chapter 31

The next day, the entire Xili Village was in an uproar.

Villagers came to Xiao Fei's cotton field in groups to see what had happened. They found that, as the rumors suggested, the Xiao family's cotton field had indeed turned into a white expanse. Xiao Yang was leveling the field, preparing to water and fertilize it, which caused a stir among the crowd.

Now everyone knew that the Xiao family was planning to replant with corn, a type of sweet corn that no one in the village had ever grown before, a new variety that was said to mature in about 80 days.

The villagers were not foolish; they knew that a new crop that had not been tested would have no guaranteed yield.

No one was optimistic about this risky experiment, which was like using themselves as guinea pigs.

The Xiao family had just made a fortune from catching tortoises, and most people in the village were envious. Now, seeing the Xiao family make such a foolish move, everyone was quick to make sarcastic comments.

In short, many families were already preparing to sit on stools, buy some sunflower seeds, and wait to see the Xiao family's downfall.

Rumors spread faster than anything else in this world.

Xiao Yan and her mother, who were at the hospital with her father, soon heard the news.

The mother was immediately flustered and hurried back to the village. When she saw her own field, it was indeed barren, with the lush cotton plants that had once grown there now gone.

She fell to the ground, slapping the earth and crying her heart out.

She couldn't help but cry; this season's cotton was the Xiao family's lifeline.

Now, it had been ruined by two good-for-nothings.

That meant there was no hope for this year.

Xiao Yang tried to calm her down for a long time, explaining Xiao Fei's plan in detail. Only then did she stop crying, asking doubtfully, "Is it reliable? Where did Xiao Fei go?"

"He went to the county to buy corn seeds."

"Ah! What can we do now? Let's just try planting it." The mother looked helpless and added, "We must keep this from your father. He can't know for now. If he finds out, he'll be so angry he might die."

But they never imagined that the father would find out so quickly.

A village woman, under the pretense of visiting the father in the hospital, loudly and dramatically told him what Xiao Fei and his brother had done.

The father immediately rolled his eyes and fainted.

After a while, the father came to.

When he woke up, he pounded the bed and had Xiao Yan call Xiao Yang and his brother over. He wanted to give them a severe scolding.

Xiao Fei was still not back from the county, so Xiao Yang went to his father's bedside. As soon as he stood by the bed, the father lying there kicked him to the ground.

"Rascal!" the father shouted, pointing at Xiao Yang's nose.

"Xiao Fei doesn't know any better, but you don't either? Six acres of cotton! You pulled it all out without telling me. Do you still see me as your father?"

Xiao Yang quickly got up, brushed off the dirt, and loudly defended himself, "Father, listen to me. Xiao Fei said that in no more than 20 days, you'll see how right we were to pull out the cotton. Father! This year's bollworms are incurable. No matter how much effort we put in, it won't help! Father, if you don't act decisively, you'll suffer the consequences. Don't think the villagers are just waiting to see our downfall. In 20 days, they'll be the ones crying."

"Kneel down! Kneel down! You still haven't recognized your mistake! You ungrateful son!" The father sat up in bed, his whole body trembling.

"I ask you, can that Su Yu No. 1 really mature so early? In 90 days?"

"Xiao Fei said so. He checked with the county agricultural station." Xiao Yang knelt down, feeling wronged.

"What if it doesn't mature on time?" The father frowned, his face dark with anger.

"It won't happen! Besides, every action has risks, Father, don't you agree? If it works, we can earn over a thousand yuan per acre!" Xiao Yang said.

"Every word you say is what Xiao Fei said. How old is he? Does he know how to farm? As the eldest son, you need to have a backbone, Xiao Yang!" The father patted his chest.

"Father, I believe Xiao Fei is right, so I followed his advice." Xiao Yang said firmly.

The father sighed deeply and waved his hand, "Go and get to work. Time is tight. Plant the corn in the next two days!"

"Don't worry, Father, we'll definitely finish on time." Xiao Yang got up from the ground.

In the following days, except for the mother who stayed at the hospital with the father, the three siblings all worked in the field.

Xiao Fei went to the county agricultural station to buy the Su Yu No. 1 seeds. Fortunately, the station still had some in stock, and he was able to buy them smoothly.

When he returned from the county with the seeds, his brother and sister had already watered the field.

The soil in Xili Village was sandy and dried quickly after watering. In the afternoon, the three of them started planting, and by nightfall, the six acres were planted.

They were exhausted, with sore backs and aching muscles, and went home to make some food.

Xiao Yan was going to bring food to her parents, and Xiao Fei had planned to go with her.

But Xiao Yang held him back.

"Fei, don't go to Father now. He's still angry. If you go, you might get beaten!" Xiao Yang said.

Xiao Fei touched his nose, thinking that he would avoid it for a few days. He had no desire to be beaten, especially when he knew he was doing something good and was being misunderstood by his family. He could only wait for time to prove him right.

"Alright, I won't go. I'll stay home and take care of these tortoises." Xiao Fei backed down.

Xiao Yang and Xiao Yan went to the township health center.

Xiao Fei looked at the half-dried tortoises spread out on the floor of the house. He thought the room was too damp and decided to move them to the backyard to dry for another two days before selling them.

Yesterday, when his father suddenly got poisoned, although the situation was urgent, his mother and sister had still managed to move the tortoises from outside into the house while they were taking his father to the township health center.

As a result, there was almost no space left in the house.

Xiao Fei used a sieve to move the tortoises outside, which took him over half an hour to complete.

He was spreading the tortoises in the backyard when he heard someone speaking in the front yard.

"Is anyone home? Is anyone there?"

It was a woman's voice, and it sounded very familiar.

Xiao Fei put down the bamboo rake, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and came out of the backyard to see a middle-aged woman standing in the courtyard.

She looked to be about 35 or 36 years old, of medium build, with a delicate face and wearing glasses.

Xiao Fei recognized her as his elementary school teacher, Lin Chunli. She was a villager from Xili Village and lived at the north end of the village. She had taught Xiao Fei from third to fifth grade.

However, he hadn't seen her much since he started middle school.

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