Chapter Twenty-Five: The Strange Fish Plate

  The villagers in the mountain village are simple and kind-hearted, everyone is enthusiastic, but there is one shortcoming - the gambling wind is relatively strong, regardless of men, women, old and young, they all like to play cards, get a little excited.

  This has nothing to do with personal character, the rural life is quiet and leisurely, but it also lacks entertainment facilities, no karaoke to sing, and no nightclubs to hook up with beauties or handsome guys, so for such small matters, even police turn a blind eye, too lazy to care.

  Li Yuanfang, although an educated cadre, was also a gambler. After hearing Zhou Yi's words, he suddenly became enthusiastic: "Alright, Brother Zhou, you say how to gamble? I'll follow suit."

  "Alright, I'll harvest the wheat on this mu of land by myself. Within two hours, if I finish harvesting it, Brother Yuanfang, you have to grant me one request. If I don't finish harvesting it, then you can set a condition, and I won't refuse."

  Zhou Yi said this very loudly, so that the nearby villagers all heard clearly. What? A white-faced scholar from the city wants to challenge our secretary, saying he can cut a mu of wheat in two hours, and if he loses, he'll let the secretary set any condition?

  Labour is beautiful, but the process of labour is also quite dull. These men and women who have been sweating for half a day are worried that they won't have any fun. But now it seems like they've got a show to watch. Suddenly, a crowd gathered around. And some busybodies ran up the mountain, shouting loudly: "Fellow villagers, come and see! Dr. Zhou from the city is going to compete with Secretary in a contest! Two hours to harvest one mu of wheat, and the scholar has put down his boastful words..."

  The whole village of Yunshui was stirred up, and the villagers swarmed over, surrounding Zhou Yi and Li Yuanfang in layers, with everyone looking at Li Yuanfang with a gaze that feared chaos would erupt if he didn't speak, wanting to hear what conditions he would propose to the scholar.

  "Zhou brothers, you really want to bet with me?"

  Li Yuanfang looked at Zhou Yi with a playful expression, clearly not believing that he could cut an acre of wheat in two hours: "Brother, I'm telling you upfront, even the best harvester wouldn't dare say something like this. Two hours... do you still want your waist?"

  "Haha, don't worry about me, Yuanfang. I'm a doctor, aren't I? If I get waist disease from exhaustion, I can treat myself." Zhou Yi smiled and said, "Just say whether you agree or not."

  "Zhou brothers, what exactly do you want me to help you with? Can't you say it first?"

  Li Yuanfang has been a secretary for over a decade, if he's not a fox then he'll become one, and first he needs to get familiar with the I Ching.

  "Brother Yuanfang, don't worry, it's not a difficult task. If I win, please help me think of a way to get two or three mu of land. I'm idle all day and also want to plant some land..."

  I Ching had actually planned this long ago, coming to the mountain village without farming would be a waste. Moreover, staying in the nursing home these days, he found that the food there was not all green and healthy; after all, the yield of truly organic grains is too low, although the country has abolished the system of paying public grain, it's better to grow some high-yielding crops to make money quickly, and the villagers also have to count their economic accounts.

  Moreover, in these times, human feces are not easy to come by. Even if all the old and young masters in the village were pulled together, it wouldn't be enough; as for going to the city to get human feces, that's even more nonsense. The public toilets in the city use flushing water, every household in the city has a flush toilet, haven't you heard someone say on the phone: "Honey, I want a room where I can poop at home..."

  So, this year's trend is all about genetically modified food and inorganic grains flooding supermarkets and markets. It can't be blamed entirely on the government; it's actually a social issue.

  I Ching is thinking, in order to eat green food for a long time, he has to take the initiative to work hard and make a living, can't always rely on his hometown's autumn wind.

  "Do you want to farm?"

  Li Yuanfang stared at Zhou Yi with wide eyes, and the villagers were also shocked. Everyone was guessing and speculating, but no one expected Zhou Yi to make such a request. What's going on? All the young people in our village are trying every means to get into the city, but this big intellectual from the city wants to farm?

  "Hmm, I just don't know how many mu of land the village can give me?"

  I Ching is also quite embarrassing, it's said that farmers' lives are predetermined, and I shouldn't have spoken out of turn like this, or else I'll commit another taboo.

  "If you win, Brother Zhou, I'll take care of this matter! As long as you don't mind the hard work, it's settled."

  Li Yuanfang smiled and said, "However, Brother Zhou, if you lose, then you'll have to listen to me. My request is simple, I want to introduce you to a wife...I see that you're alone in the village, so you must not be married yet. Coincidentally, I have a distant cousin who's also a university graduate and hasn't gotten married yet either. I think you two are quite compatible, both being cultured people..."

  "Find me a wife?"

  I Ching heard that cry and laugh, did not see themselves still quite have a woman's luck, in the heart miss one, arrived at this cloud water village, was given to miss again.

  "Alright, it's settled then! If I lose, I'll listen to Brother Yuanfang!"

  Zhou Yi readily agreed. He was extremely confident in his physical abilities, two hours to reap an acre of wheat? That's using only one hand.

  "Great! Shall we begin then, young Zhou?"

  Since Zhou Yi came to the village, Li Yuanfang arranged for her distant cousin from Shangzhai Village to sneak a peek at him in the nursing home. After that, Li Yuanfang asked how it was, and his little cousin's face turned red with embarrassment, humming and saying "it depends on brother-in-law's arrangement", Li Yuanfang knew that this good thing had already been half settled.

  But he wasn't very familiar with Zhou Yi, and was just thinking about how to bring it up when Zhou Yi suddenly suggested a wager? Li Yuanfang's heart skipped a beat as this was clearly an intentional move by Zhou Yi to make a statement in front of the villagers, leaving no room for him to back down later.

  Don't underestimate the village secretary, Li Yuanfang is cunning and if it weren't for being restricted in the mountains, he would have easily become a county-level official.

  Zhou Yi smiled slightly, rolled up his sleeves and pant legs, took the sickle from Li Yuanfang's hand, and walked into the wheat field.

  Just cut a handful of wheat, the villagers burst out laughing, and Li Yuanfang also walked over with a suppressed smile: "Zhou younger brother, you really are a newcomer... This way of cutting is not good. Cutting wheat should be done by borrowing waist strength, although it's slower, but because the waist is always moving, it won't get hurt; but your waist doesn't even move, relying solely on wrist strength to cut, if this continues, you'll soon be unable to straighten your waist, and if you're injured, lying in bed for ten days or half a month will be light.

  Li Yuanfang's family also laughed and said, "Yes, and big brother, your sickle is not held correctly either? The blade should be facing outwards, when you take it out, use force from the inside of your waist to the outside. But your direction is completely opposite, if you're not careful, you'll cut your own leg."

  "Ha! Brother Yuanfang, what you said to your wife is all correct, but everyone has their own way of doing things. I'm just a bit faster this way. Don't worry, my body can still take the strain..."

  Li Yuanfang sighed and said, "Alright then. But you have to be careful not to hurt yourself; also, if your waist feels stiff, take a break before continuing, don't exhaust yourself for the sake of the competition, or my cousin will worry..."

  He still had in mind the matter of being a matchmaker for his cousin.

  "Hehe, don't worry about it."

  The Zhou Yi said no more, bent down and quickly started reaping the wheat.

  Swish swish swish——

  After undergoing a systematic transformation of his body through the I Ching, Zhou Yi can be said to have limitless strength, and the enhancement of his spiritual root and immortal body is not only in terms of power, but also speed!

  With this full-force launch, his body was as agile as a civet cat. With one swipe of his hand, nearly a hundred stalks of wheat were pulled in front of him. A cold light flashed, and these stalks were cut down neatly, then he quickly flung them behind him.

  This propulsion speed is simply a humanoid combine harvester!

  The two silly men stared with their eyes wide open, and drool flowed out of their mouths for about half a meter: "Uncle Zhou is awesome...... It seems that my grandfather's distant cousin-in-law needs to change her husband. I wonder if she can appreciate me, the second silly man? Although I have no hair, I don't lack a nose or eyes."

  This guy has average IQ, but his EQ is extremely high, he looks at every woman as if she's his first love.

  "It's faster this way, but it still doesn't feel right..."

  Li Yuanfang and some old farmers were amazed at Zhou Yi's speed, but they all shook their heads.

  In their view, Zhou Yi is simply relying on his youth and brute force.

  An experienced farmer would never do it this way, they have to pay attention to stability in the feet, relaxation in the waist, and coordination of both hands. This means standing firmly on the ground, relaxing the waist to exert force at any time, and coordinating the hands that hold the wheat and the sickle as if they had a rhythm, borrowing strength from each other. In this way, cutting wheat uses skillful strength, so even after working for a whole day, one's body won't be exhausted.

  Just like Zhou Yi, every swing of the sickle is with all one's might, and the whole body is tense. This is completely an amateurish way of reaping, it will be very fast at first, but as time goes on, the speed will slow down, not to mention finishing this mu of wheat, if you don't collapse on the spot, it's a blessing!

  The villagers all looked at Li Yuanfang with subtle eyes, thinking that your cousin is settled, and next year it's almost time to drink wedding wine.

  Li Yuanfang's mood was very contradictory, both happy and worried. Happy that her cousin's marriage had a good prospect, worried that Zhou Yi would really exhaust himself.

  "Never mind, young people don't listen to advice. Let him suffer a bit and that's also helping my cousin to take down this show-off..."

  Li Yuanfang fought with Zhou Yi for a while, but still couldn't stop him from being so reckless. Fortunately, he was young and even if he really got exhausted, he would recover quickly. Just in time, his cousin had some chicken soup ready to nourish him.

  It's clear that Li Yuanfang is going to disappoint these old farmers, but as half an hour passed, his wheat-cutting speed not only didn't slow down, but instead got faster and faster, with each step bringing a gust of wind, whooshing.

  "Isn't that right, Xiao Cai's body is so good?"

  Everyone's face changed, in just over half an hour, Zhou Yi had cut down nearly half of the wheat, and his speed was still increasing. Moreover, the wheat he cut down was arranged neatly, even more orderly than theirs.

  Forty minutes, one hour!

  With a swift movement, he flashed to the last row of wheat and with his left hand grasping and right hand cutting, along with a flash of cold light, nearly a hundred stalks of wheat were cut off in an instant. He casually tossed them over his shoulder, and they fell to the ground.

  The final move was even more agile and swift than the previous ones, it's simply a perfect finale!

  "Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

  The kiln sister is more beautiful, the scholar's essay, the warrior's bravery, but the farmer admires the good harvest. Seeing Zhou Yi finish cutting a whole acre of wheat in just one hour, without even breaking a sweat, as if he had just taken a leisurely stroll, all the villagers from Li Yuanfang down applauded at once.

  "Good job, Xiaocai!"

  "You're amazing! You are indeed the number one farmer in our Yunshui Village!"

  "Xiucai, Secretary Li's niece is not lucky enough to be your wife. My sister is only 18 this year, a lively and charming girl, do you want me to send her to warm your bed?"

  These are old men.

  There are also some sentimental girls who have already seen stars, and they immediately became Zhou Yi's iron fans, just short of voting on the spot and rewarding them...

  Although Zhou Yi had mixed with the villagers before, they still treated him as a guest from the city and didn't truly accept him until today when he showed his skills, everyone finally considered him one of their own, a villager.

  Zhou Yi walked up to Li Yuanfang with a smile: "Brother Yuanfang, I won."

  "Zhou younger brother, you are really a good hand, I underestimated you."

  Li Yuanfang was also very generous, sticking out his thumb and saying: "I admit defeat wholeheartedly, little brother, don't worry, I'll give you three mu of land, is that enough?"

  "Haha, then thank you, Brother Yuanfang......" Zhou Yi was very satisfied.

  "Come on, let's go to my place for a drink, and after dinner I'll take you out to see the land."

  Li Yuanfang pulled Zhou Yi with one hand, and with the eyes of a village secretary for over ten years, he could see that the young man in front of him was absolutely not simple, and naturally wanted to make friends.

  "Alright, then I won't be polite." Zhou Yi also smiled. He had many ideas that he wanted to implement one by one in Yunshui Village, and it was also very necessary for him to get along with Li Yuanfang.

  ***

  Although Zhou Yi won the bet, he slightly lost face to Li Yuanfang, but he also helped the Li family harvest a whole acre of wheat for nothing. So when it came to Zhou Yi's arrival, Li Yuanfang's wife was still extremely welcoming. This woman even had some small thoughts in mind, although her husband lost the bet, maybe there was still hope for her cousin's matter? Young people are like dry firewood, as long as they get together more often, can't they still spark something?

  A man should have his own land, and Zhou Xiucai is still single. As long as he finds an opportunity to take the first step, this piece of land will belong to him, and he will surely be willing to cultivate it.

  So this woman's gaze at Zhou Yi became more and more ambiguous, directly treating him as her own brother-in-law. The good wine and dishes at home were also sent over without charge. Since Zhou Yi became a god of cooking, his mouth also became arrogant, but he didn't eat much, instead making it cheaper for Er Cai Zi this foodie. On the spot, it was a mess of gluttony, making Li's wife roll her eyes in anger.

  "Zhou brothers, try this steamed fish, it's freshly caught wild fish. You eat a couple more bites, don't let Cai Zi this good-for-nothing get the better of you..."

  The woman placed the fish in front of Zhou Yi and gave him a gentle glance.

  "Hehe, my aunt really understands me, I'm just a foodie, but it's all because her cooking is too delicious, so I come every day, and if I don't eat for a day, I'll feel uncomfortable......" Li Yuanfang was actually Lai Zi's uncle, but according to the rural way of calling, Lai Zi still called him 'grandpa'.

  "Haha, Lai Zi brothers, this is a good appetite, physical..."

  The I Ching has a good impression of the second fool, feeling that this guy is somewhat similar to Zhu Xiaohua, looking quite familiar. Just thinking about opening up a few sentences for him, but inadvertently saw Sheng Yu's plate.

  "This fish dish seems a bit strange..."

  PS: Thanks to 'good fat bookworm' and 'ordinary bookworm' two worm brothers for their rewards, making Guang'an feel warmer:)

  Also want to thank "ordinary bookworm" brother's update ticket, 3000 of them, great job! You're a kind-hearted person... touched.