Courtyard House: My Hidden Wheat Seeds Caused a National Sensation

Delisilin's residence is a two-story building surrounded by a low wall. In the small courtyard in front of the door, there are several vegetable plots, and a few free-range chickens are leisurely foraging in the corner.

As soon as she stepped into the courtyard, the girl deftly grabbed a chicken and walked towards the back of the house.

Taking advantage of the break, Li Jianye quietly brought the rooster and hen from the yard into his ranch space.

When he came out a moment later, he had eight fluffy little chicks in his hands.

Leaving the chicks on the pasture and putting the pair of adult chickens back into their cage in the corner of the yard, Li Jianye smiled – from now on, eggs would no longer be a rarity.

Since his transmigration, he has only tasted an egg during the New Year holidays, and meat is even more rare for him.

The meat he had the other day was something he had obtained by hunting wild boar in the countryside.

These days are truly difficult, especially in recent years when the economy is bad. People are struggling to feed themselves, let alone have enough surplus grain to feed livestock. As a result, market prices have been reversed: hens are the most expensive, followed by pork, then roosters, while beef and mutton are ranked last.

But with that magical ranch, Li Jianye knew that the days of meat shortages were over.

Before long, the aroma wafted from the kitchen.

Dilisilin brought out a large pot of glossy stewed chicken. As the two sat facing each other for the meal, Li Jianye learned that this 21-year-old female volleyball team leader was a martyr's family member, whose parents had both sacrificed their lives and who was now all alone.

He also noticed that the girl's eyes lit up when she talked about food, her cheeks puffed out as she chewed chicken, her tone becoming cheerful: "I'm really good at grilling! Whether it's chicken, fish, or lamb, I'll definitely let you try it next time—"

Before he could finish speaking, the courtyard gate was pushed open with a bang.

Seven or eight armed men burst in, their expressions fierce.

Li Jianye caught a glimpse of Hawulrouzi, whom he had seen during the day, mixed in with them.

The leader shouted sternly, "Outsiders! Hands up! We suspect you're an enemy agent!"

"Hawulerouzi!"

Delilah abruptly stood up, spreading her arms to block Li Jianye. "This is my guest! What are you doing, causing such a ruckus!"

Li Jianye gently patted her shoulder and took out an ID card from his pocket, tossing it to her.

Look carefully before you speak.

The man sneered as he opened the book, but his gaze froze as he scanned the pages. Cold sweat beaded on his forehead, and the last part of his rebuke stuck in his throat.

The few lines of text on the document were like a branding iron, so hot that his hand trembled slightly.

He cursed inwardly: This Hawulrouzi has gone to such lengths to pursue a girl. Now he's met his match. If this man is a spy, who in the world can be trusted?

He hurriedly bowed and handed back the documents with both hands: "I'm so sorry, Researcher Li! We were being presumptuous!"

"It's a misunderstanding, it's all a misunderstanding!" The leader quickly forced a smile and explained repeatedly, "What can't be resolved between comrades? It's all because we listened to the nonsense of some petty people... Yes, it was petty people spreading rumors! We'll definitely deal with them severely when we get back! The wolf packs on the border have been causing a lot of trouble lately, so this is perfect, let him lead a team to hunt down the wolves and make amends!"

"That's enough."

Li Jianye waved his hand indifferently.

He could see clearly that this was nothing more than a farce orchestrated by Hawulrouzi out of selfishness, the root of which was probably just a matter of jealousy and rivalry.

"Researcher Li is incredibly magnanimous!"

The man quickly bowed and thanked him, then tentatively asked, "What aspect of your research do you need here? If there's anything we can help you with, please let us know."

"No need to trouble yourself, Dilisilin's help is enough."

"That's good, that's good! If you need anything, just let Delilah come to us anytime—we'll take our leave now."

"etc!"

Hawulerouzi stepped forward, his neck stiff, his face full of indignation. "I never do things in secret! I'm the one who reported you! And you said you're a researcher, what level? You're so young, even if you really are doing research, you're at most an assistant researcher, right?"

"Oh?"

Li Jianye glanced at him, then slowly took out his ID from his pocket and handed it over.

Hawulrouzi chuckled as he took it, but his expression suddenly froze, and his eyes widened in shock.

"Impossible... This is absolutely impossible! A Level 1 Researcher? Which Level 1 Researcher isn't an elderly gentleman with gray hair? How could he possibly..."

"Shut up!"

The leader's face immediately darkened.

"I just won't shut up!"

Hawulrouzi whirled around, his anger blazing. "I refuse to accept this! Your credentials say you're a first-level researcher in agriculture, fine! We have a whole host of agricultural problems we can't solve. If you're really capable, then help us solve them!"

"Can."

Li Jianye smiled slightly.

He agreed not out of spite or to prove anything, but because he couldn't bear to see the people living in such hardship and wanted to do his best to help.

"Alright! Please go ahead then, let's head to the fields now!"

Hawulrouzi sneered repeatedly.

He had been pursuing Delilah for a long time, but she had always been indifferent to him. Now, however, she was unusually close to this stranger from afar, and jealousy had long since burned away his reason.

He was determined to make this so-called "Level 1 Researcher" pay.

He couldn't bear to be embarrassed in public—he simply didn't believe that someone so young could have much ability.

"OK."

Li Jianye nodded. "However, we'll have to wait until we finish eating."

……

After the meal, the group rode out of the city.

Hawulrouzi wanted to prepare a separate horse for Li Jianye, but Li Jianye frankly said that he could not ride and once again rode with Dilishilin.

Seeing this scene, Hawulerouzi almost gritted his teeth, his chest heaving violently.

Li Jianye seemed quite at ease, even gently putting his arm around Dilisilin's waist. He also took advantage of the horse's swaying to wink almost imperceptibly in Hawlerouzi's direction, nearly making her fall off her horse in anger.

The fields are not far from the city; it will only take a short while to reach them.

After the announcement, Battalion Commander Zhou, who was in charge of the area, quickly came out to greet them.

"Researcher Li, welcome! I am Zhou Minghan, in charge of land reclamation in this area."

Zhou Minghan warmly grasped Li Jianye's hand, his voice filled with eager anticipation, "It's so wonderful that you could come! We have so many agricultural problems here, and we don't understand them ourselves. We've consulted some experts before, but they haven't been able to completely solve them..."

The crowd escorted Li Jianye deeper into the wheat field. All around was quiet, with only the soft sound of his footsteps echoing across the earthen ridges.

The wheat ears in the field have turned a pale gold, drooping heavily, but their density is so sparse that it makes one feel empty inside.

Hawul spoke first, running his fingers along the sparse wheat stalks: "Look, it's almost time to harvest, but these ears of wheat... This year it's been dry, but we've never slackened in our irrigation efforts, so it's definitely not due to a lack of water."

What on earth happened?

Zhou Minghan glanced at Hawul without saying a word.

In this land, Hawul's words carry weight.

Li Jianye frowned slightly, bent down to part a few clumps of wheat, rubbed the soil between his fingertips, and carefully examined the roots.

"Did you plant corn after last year's wheat harvest?"

He asked without looking up.

"yes,"

Hawul answered matter-of-factly, "The older generation has always done it this way in rotation, and there has never been a problem."

"So, were the planting dates for these wheat seeds delayed past the 15th of October last year?"

These words stunned everyone around them.

Hawul opened his mouth, his voice slightly stammering: "How...how did you know? Did someone leak the information? But how could a few days' difference make such a big difference? Last year the corn harvest was a bit late, and the wheat wasn't sown until the 17th."

"The crux of the problem lies here."

Li Jianye straightened up, patted the dirt off his hands, and said, "Remember this from now on: the best time to sow winter wheat in our area is from September 26th to October 15th."

Even one day too little, and the seedlings will be weak, resulting in insufficient tillering before winter, and naturally, the number of ears per mu (unit of land area) will not be high the following year.

Zhou Minghan's eyes lit up, and he clapped his hands, saying, "Now we've finally figured it out! Researcher Li, please come this way; there are still a few problems that need your help."

The group moved on and soon arrived at an orchard.

Wheat was planted in the gaps between the rows of apple trees.

Upon seeing this layout, Li Jianye frowned again.

"We noticed something was wrong too."

Hawul pointed to the withered wheat seedlings, "Apple trees and wheat don't grow together."

You said it's a waste to leave this land empty; what should we replace it with?

"Let's switch to growing soybeans."

Li Jianye pondered for a moment and said, "Soybeans can fix nitrogen, so they don't compete with apples for soil fertility. Even if there are pests, they are less likely to affect the trees."

Hawul nodded repeatedly, then led Li Jianye to a few fruit trees, picked a smooth-skinned apple, and deftly cut it open with a knife.

In the center of the fruit pulp, there was a small, translucent piece that looked like it was filled with honey.

That's the strange thing.

When the fruit is almost ripe, many of them may look fine, but they may have quietly gone bad inside.

But these spoiled ones are not astringent at all; on the contrary, they are incredibly sweet, and some even have a hint of wine aroma.

The fruit stored in the cellar, when later cut open, all looked exactly like this.

What exactly is this illness? Is there a cure?

Li Jianye took the half of the apple and examined its transparent core closely.

"This is called water heart disease."

The dyed fruit is edible and even tastes sweeter; some people call it "sugar heart apple".

The root cause is a disordered metabolism in the tree, related to an imbalance in the supply of potassium and calcium.

He paused, his tone becoming more somber, "Potassium fertilizer... was only produced in a factory built in 1958, and there's simply not enough to meet the demand right now."

Lime is commonly used to supplement calcium, but it is not readily available.

There's no quick and easy solution to this problem right now.

He looked up at the worried faces of the crowd, and his voice became steady: "But there's no need to worry too much."

When I get back, I will focus on increasing fertilizer production capacity.

Once there is a sufficient supply of various fertilizers, the situation will improve.

Currently, you should carefully prune the fruit trees, leave a reasonable amount of fruit, and adjust the ratio of leaves to fruit.

This method can significantly reduce the incidence of watercore disease.

When the trees bear fruit each year, remember to thin them out a bit; never be greedy and allow too many to grow.

"So that's how it is!"

A fervent light ignited in Zhou Minghan's eyes.

He had met with many experts, but most of them were vague or helpless.

But Li Jianye in front of us seemed to have a living encyclopedia of agriculture in his mind, knowing everything and hitting the nail on the head with every word.

Li Jianye's reputation spread throughout the fields.

People say that this new young man is like a know-it-all who grew out of the ground; there is no question he cannot answer, and no problem he cannot solve.

Hawulrozi initially approached the situation with a probing mindset, throwing out one tricky question after another, as if trying to gauge the young man's capabilities.

But gradually, more and more people gathered around, their faces, tanned dark by the sun, etched with the hardships accumulated over the years in their fields.

About seeds, about soil moisture, about unpredictable weather and seedlings that never seem to grow.

Li Jianye spoke calmly and steadily, each answer like cool water flowing into a thirsty heart.

He walked between the rows of crops, his fingers brushing over the newly sprouted leaves. Sometimes he would squat down, grab a handful of soil, and rub it between his fingertips to examine it closely.

People followed behind him, their eyes shifting from doubt to focus, then from focus to conviction, and finally, that conviction was filled with profound gratitude.

In this day and age, the emptiness in one's belly is the most real suffering. Whoever can make the land produce an extra mouthful of grain is a living bodhisattva who saves people from suffering.

Among the crowd, several young women's gazes quietly bypassed the crops and lingered on the figure who was focused on explaining.

Those eyes were bright and sparkling, hiding something else entirely.

Delisilin stood among them, initially just listening and watching, when she suddenly noticed the strange looks in the eyes of her sisters. Her heart tightened for no reason, as if someone had seen some of her treasures.

She pursed her lips, said nothing, and turned to leave.

The girls looked at each other, seemingly understanding something, and one by one, they quietly dispersed.

As the sun gradually sets in the west, it bathes the entire field in a soft, warm golden light.

Li Jianye handed the hoe in his hand to the person next to him, straightened up, and let out a long sigh of relief.

After an afternoon of explanations and demonstrations, even though he was physically strong, his throat was slightly dry.

Just as he was looking for a drink of water, he saw a group of eye-catching figures walking towards him from the other side of the field.

It was those girls who had just left.