Courtyard House: My Hidden Wheat Seeds Caused a National Sensation

Li Jianye, standing behind her, saw everything clearly.

He observed quietly for a while, and then it dawned on him—after not seeing him for several months, Jia Dongxu had actually learned such roundabout scheming.

What kind of discipline is this? It's clearly a carefully orchestrated scheme to make him suffer.

Judging from the situation, the neighbors' sympathetic tears were almost drowning the wooden clappers, and the blame was about to fall on their own ordinary pot of noodles.

The whispers and pointing around her grew increasingly harsh, and Delilah's face gradually paled as she unconsciously gripped the spatula tightly.

She took a deep breath, about to speak—

A warm hand gently covered the back of her hand.

Li Jianye had somehow appeared beside her, gently pressing his fingertips on her tense knuckles.

The force wasn't strong, but it acted like a silent dam, instantly blocking all the anger and grievances that were about to surge forth.

Delilah looked up at him, her tense shoulders relaxed slightly, and a soft light of dependence appeared in her eyes.

She stopped talking, simply nodded, and turned her attention back to the dishes she was flipping through.

The noise of the crowd subsided as Li Jianye stepped forward.

Many people exchanged glances, recalling how Yi Zhonghai had been humiliated in front of them before, and the atmosphere became more cautious and hesitant.

Jia Dongxu's Adam's apple bobbed.

Looking at Li Jianye's calm face, the little bit of bravado he had mustered began to waver, but he still forced himself to raise his chin: "Li Jianye, what... what do you want? This is pretty obvious..."

Li Jianye didn't respond to him. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small square wrapped in a shiny candy wrapper.

His gaze passed over Jia Dongxu and landed on Banggeng, who was still lying on the ground, covering his face and peeking at the commotion.

"Banggeng,"

Li Jianye's voice was low but clear, "Do you recognize what this is?"

Banggeng squinted and looked at it.

The candy wrappers were colorful and had an enticing sheen. Although he had never seen this style before, the way it was wrapped meant it was definitely candy! High-quality stuff! He licked his lips, having long forgotten to continue humming, and stared intently at it.

"This is called milk candy. It's even more fragrant and sweeter than fruit candy. You can't find it in the market now."

Li Jianye spoke casually, as if sharing an amusing anecdote, "If someone has a piece of this, all the kids in the alley will be envious."

Here, that's for you.

As he spoke, he flicked his wrist, and the small cube traced an arc, "click."

A soft sound landed on the ground not far from the clapper.

Everyone was stunned.

Jia Dongxu stared, mouth agape, momentarily unable to comprehend what kind of performance this was.

In that brief moment of silence, the creature on the ground, which had just been "on its last legs,"...

Suddenly, the stalk sprang up like a carp leaping out of the water, its movements so nimble that it showed no sign of injury whatsoever.

He rushed towards the "candy" in a few strides.

He scooped it up, held it high, and cheered, "The candy is mine!"

As he jumped, the hem of his shirt lifted up behind him, revealing a thick, padded wad of old cloth at his waistband.

The courtyard erupted in an uproar.

Li Jianye then turned to Jia Dongxu, whose expression had suddenly changed, and said with a knowing smile, "Everyone saw it, right? Jia Dongxu, you put on quite a convincing beating."

"Just to trick us out of this little bit of meat?"

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the faces around him, a mixture of realization and indignation.

"The current situation is difficult, with each person receiving a total of only three ounces of meat per month."

This bowl contains all the meat coupons our family has for a month.

Who would have thought that Jia Dongxu could come up with such a clumsy trick, trying to take all the meat from my family for a whole month?

Be the judge, is this reasonable?

"This is outrageous!"

"So his earlier beating incident was all an act!"

"Using such a trick just for a bite of meat? It's truly despicable!"

"That's true, who's living comfortably these days? He, on the other hand, tries to steal a month's worth of someone's money with a single stroke—that's utterly dishonest!"

The accusations came like needles from all sides.

Jia Dongxu's face turned pale and then red. He glared fiercely at the stick, threw it away, and grabbed the child, intending to slam him to the ground.

In a flash, Qin Huairu saw through his intention, pounced on him, and snatched the child back into her arms.

Jia Dongxu was furious and raised his hand to slap Qin Huairu again, but when he caught a glimpse of the angry neighbors surrounding them, his arrogance immediately diminished.

He turned and slipped away without looking back.

"That Jia Dongxu is a real scoundrel!"

"Absolutely, they'd even throw their own son!"

"Is Bang Geng even his biological son? I'm starting to doubt it..."

"Hitting a child to get food—that's hardly the behavior of a father!"

"Of course, the 'stick' is Dongxu's offspring!"

Hearing these murmurs, Qin Huairu's face turned pale instantly.

She can't afford to bear this reputation; once it's confirmed, her future will be difficult.

"Everyone, please stop making wild guesses... Dongxu is just... he was just confused for a moment after his mother-in-law's incident."

Please forgive me, please forgive me...

As she spoke, her eyes reddened, and tears rolled down her cheeks.

Seeing her like this, everyone's hearts softened, and the murmurs gradually subsided.

"That's it, everyone disperse!"

At this moment, Yi Zhonghai finally emerged from the crowd.

He was actually there all along, but he didn't say anything at first.

He watched Jia Dongxu's scheming with a cold eye, secretly praising his apprentice's recent progress.

But he knew even better that Jia Dongxu was no match for Li Jianye—Li Jianye was someone he secretly considered a formidable rival, whose strength was unfathomable.

As he expected, things turned out exactly as he predicted.

But he couldn't let the gossip fester any longer; he had to step in.

At the urging of an elderly man named Yi Zhonghai, the crowd gradually dispersed, and the commotion finally subsided.

"It was the right decision not to rush to stand out earlier."

Yi Zhonghai secretly rejoiced.

"How does it feel?"

After everyone had left, Li Jianye smiled and looked at Dilisilin beside him.

"How could they... be so evil?"

Dilisilin was both angry and aggrieved.

She was not only deceived by Jia Dongxu, but also almost scolded by her unsuspecting neighbors.

She clearly did nothing wrong.

"It's just a petty trick from the streets, not something that can be taken seriously."

Li Jianye shook his head dismissively, "However, Jia Dongxu's actions were indeed quite despicable."

If we don't teach him a lesson, it would make us seem too easy to bully.

"Um!"

Delilah nodded vigorously, then asked curiously, "Then... how can we make him suffer a loss?"

"Let's eat first."

Li Jianye smiled slightly, his eyes holding a certain profound meaning.

I'll tell you when I get off work tomorrow.

"Hmph, fine, don't tell me then!"

Delisilin turned her face away unhappily and gave a pretty eye roll.

"Go wash your hands, it's time to eat."

……

While Li Jianye and his wife were having their meal, the scene inside the Jia family's house was quite different.

Jia Dongxu was watching his son Banggeng with great interest.

"Bangeng, is Daddy good enough to you?"

"not good!"

Banggeng shook his head vigorously, while gripping the candy in his hand even tighter.

"How could it not be good? Dad loves you the most."

Come on, let your dad taste that piece of candy. Just one lick, really just one lick, I'm not kidding.

When they start selling this kind of candy outside, Daddy will buy you lots and lots of it.

"Really?"

Banggeng was only five years old, and he was quickly appeased by these words.

He hesitated for a moment, then took out the candy and whispered a few words of advice:

"Then you really can only lick it once! And... when it's sold outside, you have to buy me ten pounds!"

"no problem."

Jia Dongxu readily agreed, but in his heart he had already decided to make an empty promise.

He happily accepted the White Rabbit candy, his eyes sparkling with anticipation.

"Huai Ru, look, we didn't work for nothing today."

At least I managed to get a milk candy! It's a milk candy... I haven't had one since Mickey Mouse candy stopped being sold.

Heh heh, Li Jianye, no matter how shrewd you are, I still managed to get a piece of candy out of you! My elaborate scheme wasn't for nothing!

He couldn't wait to unwrap the candy.

Banggeng and Qin Huairu, who were standing next to them, also curiously leaned closer, wanting to see what this new candy, which had not yet been released to the market, looked like.

result--

Wrapped in the candy wrapper was a stone.

Jia Dongxu was stunned.

Banggeng's eyes widened.

"Wow—my candy!!"

The child immediately burst into tears.

Does he really dare to kick me out?

Moreover.

I did indeed take Xu Damao's chickens.

But I'm not brainless.

I know perfectly well who should give way to me and who should avoid me in this courtyard.

Aside from someone as easy to bully as Xu Damao, I haven't touched a single thread from anyone else!

"well--"

Yi Zhonghai shook his head and could only sigh.

"From now on, you'd better think about what to do."

……

Li Jianye tasted the food that Dilisilin served him, his eyes full of approval.

"Honey, your cooking is amazing."

"Of course."

Delilah raised her face, her eyes crinkling with laughter.

"What I enjoy most is figuring out how to make the food taste better! Didn't you say you weren't good at cooking? From now on, I'll take care of all the meals at home."

"That's great!"

Li Jianye felt a warm glow in his heart upon hearing this.

"Life is completely different after you get married."

After tidying up the dishes, Diliresh went to wash the clothes.

Li Jianye sat at the table and opened his books.

On the surface, he appears to be engrossed in his studies.

In reality, his mind was already immersed in that magical farm—where a new season of rice was being cultivated.

Rice and wheat are the staple foods that people rely on for survival.

Their harvests must be improved first.

The research on hybrid wheat has been completed, and all the superior varieties have been prepared and are ready for release at the appropriate time.

But this can't be rushed, since wheat is a hexaploid crop, and its cultivation is even more difficult than that of common hybrid rice varieties.

Now, it's time to shift the focus to rice.

"The rice gene pool collected this time has limited sources; it's unclear how far it will ultimately go."

With this in mind, Li Jianye began a new round of busy work.

In the early days of the People's Republic of China, tall rice plants were mostly planted in the fields. The plants could grow to be more than a person's height and looked like a green curtain from a distance.

This type of rice has a low yield, is susceptible to disease, and collapses in large swathes when it is rained on. The yield is less than 200 jin per mu, which is pitifully small.

Later, with agricultural technology innovation, tall rice was gradually replaced by short rice varieties, and the yield per mu jumped to about 600 jin.

But once this number was reached, growth stalled.

It wasn't until the advent of hybrid rice technology that yields broke through again.

Because the current rice yield per mu is hovering around 600 jin, while Li Jianye has increased the wheat yield per mu from 113 jin to 700 jin, allowing the originally weak wheat to surpass rice, he has received so much attention.

"We succeeded!"

Three hours passed quietly.

Li Jianye gazed at the golden ears of rice drooping over the fields, a smile spreading across his face.

After repeated breeding, he finally obtained rice with an average yield of 2,500 jin per mu.

This number is reassuring enough.

"With this batch of rice seeds, we will never have to worry about going hungry again."

However, promotion must be done step by step.

Moreover, current yields are nearing the limits of current breeding methods; to achieve further improvements, it is necessary to explore more diverse rice gene pools for a new round of hybridization.

"But for now, that's enough."

What pleased him even more was that with this breakthrough, he unlocked two more achievements in rice cultivation and received the corresponding rewards—

First, there's the divine hunting technique.

Once he mastered this method, no trace in the mountains and forests could escape his eyes, and setting traps and seizing opportunities became second nature to him.

Second, large-scale agricultural drying machines.

After the rice and wheat harvest, the biggest fear is rain. With this machine, drying no longer depends on the weather.

If grains are not properly dried, they are very susceptible to dampness and mold, which not only affects storage and transportation but also damages their taste.

However, the traditional method of drying clothes by relying on sunlight is by no means easy.

If the weather turns bad, the hard-earned harvest may suffer huge losses.