Zhenfei thought about how his sister-in-law made a living by growing vegetables. He figured he might as well start with farming as his entrepreneurial entry point to improve their current living situation.
Excited all night, Zhenfei couldn't contain his eager feelings at dawn. He took some vegetable seeds from the cellar, grabbed his farming tools, and hurried off to the field with excitement.
The Farming Medicine Scripture clearly stated that to improve the taste and quality of fruits and vegetables, the seeds must be dealt with first.
By using some special methods to plant the seeds and then irrigating them with the Spiritual Spring, these seeds would grow faster than ordinary seeds.
Not only that, but the taste of the grown fruits and vegetables would also be incomparable to ordinary ones.
Zhenfei was born into a farming family, and he had a deep affection for planting. With the Divine Artifact in hand, he believed that farming was the most effective shortcut for entrepreneurship.
Once he reached the field, Zhenfei didn't dare to rest. He quickly plowed the field, sowed the seeds, irrigated them with the Spiritual Spring, and covered them with soil...
"Brother Afei, is that you?"
As the sky brightened, Zhenfei was so busy at the field that he almost lost track of time when he suddenly heard a surprised voice behind him.
The voice was as clear as a lark, and Zhenfei was not unfamiliar with it. He immediately recognized the voice as that of his childhood playmate: He Lingxiu.
He Lingxiu was a few months younger than Zhenfei, and just like her name, she was extremely pretty and delicate.
With fair skin and a delicate face, a slightly pointed chin, a slender nose, crescent-shaped eyebrows, and large clear eyes framed by long lashes, she looked very pure.
In the early summer, He Lingxiu was wearing a well-fitted floral dress. Her flowing long hair and fair, smooth skin gave her a very neat and clean appearance.
Anyone who saw her would never have thought she grew up in a village.
In fact, the beauty exuded by He Lingxiu was something even the fashionable city girls couldn't match.
"It's you, Axiu!" Zhenfei had been plowing a piece of land non-stop and almost lost track of time. When he heard someone calling him and turned around, he saw He Lingxiu and gave her a faint smile.
"Brother Afei, weren't you working in the city? How come..."
He Lingxiu, after finishing junior high school, worked in a small garment factory in town. She would pass by Zhenfei's field every morning on her way to work. Today, seeing him sweating profusely in the field early in the morning, she couldn't help but be surprised.
"Work..." Zhenfei replied with a bitter smile, "Haha, I'm not going anymore. I'm back to farming!"
"Not going to work anymore? Brother Afei, you worked so hard to get a job at the hospital. Isn't it a pity not to go?"
Hearing Zhenfei's words, a look of regret appeared on He Lingxiu's pretty face.
"Brother Afei, you're sweating so much. Take a rest!"
Though she was shocked, seeing Zhenfei sweating profusely, He Lingxiu's brow furrowed. She took a clean handkerchief from her pocket and started wiping his sweat.
"Thank you, Axiu..."
Zhenfei and He Lingxiu had grown up together, completely innocent. Zhenfei had long sensed that He Lingxiu had feelings for him, and he too was not indifferent to her.
However, when it came to such vague feelings, Zhenfei had always been too shy to speak up.
He Lingxiu's gaze accidentally met Zhenfei's intense eyes, and she shyly lowered her head.
"Brother Afei, I... I want to..." After a long while, He Lingxiu finally mustered up the courage, looked at Zhenfei, and hesitatingly began to speak.
"Axiu, just say what you want to say! As long as Brother Afei can do it, I will definitely do it!" Zhenfei looked at He Lingxiu in confusion, not understanding what she wanted to say.
"Brother Afei, you... you should marry me quickly..." He Lingxiu, heavily blushing, hesitated for a long time before speaking in a voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz, then immediately lowered her head.
"What? Axiu, what did you say?" Zhenfei didn't know if he indeed hadn't heard clearly or couldn't believe his ears, so he looked at He Lingxiu with extreme confusion.
"I..."
He Lingxiu's pretty face was already red, and just as she was about to speak again, Zhenfei's sister-in-law, Zhou Yun, called out from a distance: "Zhenfei, I've been looking for you everywhere this morning. Why did you come out to the field alone? Axiu... you're here too!"
Zhou Yun hurried over. She had woken up early and didn't see Zhenfei, worried he might cause trouble, so she searched everywhere. She finally saw Zhenfei and He Lingxiu at the field.
"Yes... Sister, you're here... You talk to Brother Afei, I... I'm leaving!"
The Ling and He Family had a good relationship, and He Lingxiu always called Zhou Yun "sister". She was already shy and couldn't bring herself to speak, and seeing Zhou Yun made her even more embarrassed, so she quickly left.
"Sigh, Axiu is really a poor child!" Zhou Yun shook her head and sighed bitterly as she watched He Lingxiu leave.
"Sister, what did you say? What's wrong with Axiu?"
Zhenfei had been in the city for the past few months and didn't know what had been happening in the village. He was even more puzzled by He Lingxiu's previous unfathomable words, so he couldn't help but ask urgently.
"Alas, two months ago, Axiu's father fell seriously ill. Their family used up all their savings but still couldn't cover the medical expenses. They had no choice but to borrow money from Wu Laosi, the local loan shark.
But who knew, even after spending the money, the illness wasn't cured. Axiu's father could only come back to wait for death! But Wu Laosi was relentless and came to collect the debt every day.
The He Family couldn't repay the debt, and Wu Laosi forced Axiu to marry his foolish son! Now, the whole town knows about this."
Zhou Yun explained the situation again and sighed bitterly: "Wu Laosi only gave the He Family three days. If they can't repay the money in three days, he'll come to take Axiu! Today is the final deadline..."
What? How could this be true?
Upon hearing the story, Zhenfei immediately grew furious.
No wonder He Lingxiu was hesitating and even asked him to marry her quickly. It turned out she was being forced into marriage by Wu Laosi!
In the entire village, other than his sister-in-law Zhou Yun, He Lingxiu's family were his closest people. Now that the He Family was in such great trouble, how could he stand by and do nothing?
"Afei, where are you going?" Zhou Yun was lamenting about the He Family's misery and suddenly saw Zhenfei roll up his sleeves and start leaving. She instantly wanted to stop him.
"It's nothing, sister. Something big has happened to Axiu's family, so I'm going to check on them!"
Afraid that his sister-in-law would worry he might cause trouble, Zhenfei acted calmly while speaking, but he quickly ran toward He Lingxiu's house.