In the blink of an eye, it was time for the wheat harvest.
This is the most hectic time for every household.
Even the families in town shut their doors and return home to join the rush of harvesting.
The wheat ripens quickly—one day it’s green, the next it’s heavy and golden.
If you don’t rush to gather it into storage, one rainfall and the wheat will sprout right on the stalk.
Once the wheat sprouts, it’s completely inedible.
That’s why farmers dread rain most during harvest time.
Liford Village was swept up in the harvest frenzy too. Old or young, men or women—if you could work the fields, you were out there.
This was about covering the year’s expenses.
Many families depended on this season’s wheat to get a good price—maybe fix up the walls, replace a roof tile, or save up for a wedding or a dowry.
Early that morning, just as the sky was turning light, neighbors came knocking, calling Ryan King and the others to head out to the fields.
Today, Yina Yin was joining them in the fields too.
The two got up early, ate, changed clothes, and followed the villagers to work.
The village chief hired both of them to help harvest wheat on the mountainside.
The mountain path was tough, and everything had to be harvested and carried by hand. It was seriously hard labor.
Ryan King and Yina Yin wanted to fit in, so of course they didn’t shy away from the work. That was the only way to get information, right?
At that moment, Ryan King was especially grateful for all the farming practice he’d had at Sunset Manor. Otherwise, he’d be totally lost!
He finally understood why Ethan Yin never let him use modern machinery, insisting on the most old-school farming methods.
Because here, there was no modern machinery at all!
Yina Yin was up ahead harvesting, while Ryan King hauled the bundles down the mountain.
The two worked together seamlessly, and in less than an hour, they'd cleared a whole patch.
Because they put in real, honest work, everyone in Liford Village was full of praise for them.
Especially the village chief’s youngest daughter, Li Xiaomeng—her cheeks flushed with emotion, convinced Ryan King was working so hard just to impress her father for her sake.
"Brother Ryan, take a break!" Li Xiaomeng came over with a basket of water, greeting Yina Yin warmly too. "Brother Gu, come have some water! This job is going to take a while, don’t wear yourselves out."
Yina Yin and Ryan King immediately dropped their work and came over to rest and drink water.
"Xiaomeng, your family has a lot of land, huh? Did you clear it all yourselves?" Ryan King asked.
"Some of it, some was bought," Li Xiaomeng replied. "When families can’t make ends meet, they sell their land. Brother Ryan, I told my dad to keep an eye out for you. After the ceremony, a lot of people might sell. My dad can help you get a good price..."
Yina Yin found shy Li Xiaomeng amusing and asked, "Why would people sell their land?"
Li Xiaomeng said, "A few days ago, a heavy rain hit Wang Village. Tons of rocks crashed down from the mountain, smashing lots of houses—and even killed several people! Those families need money for funerals and rebuilding. If they can’t scrape enough together, they have to sell their land."
Ryan King and Yina Yin exchanged a grave look: The landslide had finally hit!
Emily Lee continued, "Wang Village is close to our Liford Village. The lands are all adjacent, so buying and planting here is actually quite convenient."
Yina Yin asked, "After what happened to Wang Village, didn’t anyone think of building their houses somewhere else?"
Emily Lee looked confused. "Why would we build houses somewhere else? Wang Village has been home to generations."
Yina Yin didn’t know how to respond.
It seems like this is a habit for many people.
Because these are rules passed down through generations, people keep following them no matter if they’re right or wrong.
From Yina Yin’s outsider perspective, she thought that since Wang Village wasn’t suitable to live in anymore, people should move somewhere better.
Survival of the fittest.
But she also understood that relocating an entire village isn’t easy.
From big things like where to live and build houses, to small things like needles and thread—there were just too many scattered details to handle.