Maxim was having a hard time. The poor boy experienced feelings between men and women for the first time. It hit him so hard that he couldn't sleep at night.
He lay in bed, thinking about what happened when they were together during the day. She smelled so nice, her lips were soft, and her eyes were full of temptation. He tried not to think about it because when he did, his brothers stopped listening to him, and he felt uncomfortable.
He didn't know why but felt his whole body burning and his breath quickening. He tossed and turned in bed until late at night when he finally fell asleep.
"Big Brother Maxim, wake up, why are you still sleeping?" Maxim opened his eyes and saw Yaelle standing by his bed. He suddenly sat up.
"Yaelle, why are you here?" No one told him, and they just let Yaelle come into his room? He wondered.
"I came to keep you company. Are you not happy about that?" Yaelle pouted.
"Happy. Of course, I'm happy," Maxim hurried to say.
Yaelle sat on the bed and wrapped her arms around Maxim's neck. She said, "I thought you didn't want me here."
"No, I thought about you so much I couldn't sleep," Maxim said.
"Then how do you want me? Like this... or like this..." Yaelle touched Maxim's face, ear, then along his neck down to his collarbone and chest.
At that moment, Maxim couldn't hold back anymore. He flipped over and pressed Yaelle to the bed. He captured the red lips he had longed for and kissed her deeply.
Their clothes loosened, revealing large areas of white skin. Maxim's head spun. His hands moved on their own to loosen the clothes more, and then they touched her skin.
Maxim opened his eyes and sat up, gasping for breath. Was that a dream? It felt so real. How could he do those things to Yaelle in a dream? He felt very ashamed.
He lifted the blanket to get out of bed but realized something was wrong. He blushed deeply. He actually... he actually...
Maxim quickly changed out of the dirty clothes. He wiped himself clean with a towel, then changed the bedsheets. He rolled the dirty clothes inside the sheets and quietly hid them in the wooden bucket in the bathroom.
He called for Servant Carter to bring water for washing and told him to bring an extra bucket.
Soon Servant Carter came with two buckets of water. Maxim took the water and sent him out. He poured the water into the bath, took a shower, and then washed the clothes and sheets carefully.
After making sure there was no sign of anything wrong, he wrung them out and set them aside. He called Servant Carter in again. "I accidentally splashed water on these clothes and sheets when I was washing. Take them away and handle them."
Servant Carter felt something was off but did not ask and left with the bucket. What Servant Carter didn't expect was that this excuse was used for several days straight. He was speechless.
Yaelle was very happy these three days because her chili and pepper plants were growing buds. The chili was dense, and the bud rate looked high, but the pepper was sparse with only a few shoots.
The peanuts directly planted in the soil also mostly sprouted. These didn't need transplanting, but chili and pepper did. The space here was too small.
After checking the fields, Yaelle went to find Michael. "Brother, brother, are you busy?" she called at the door.
Michael hurried to open the door and let her in. "What's wrong? You look flustered. Aren't you afraid of falling?"
"Brother, is there any empty land in the village? I need a few acres."
"There should be. How much do you want?"
"I want ten acres."
"You look really excited to want that much. Have you made something new?" Michael was curious.
"Yes," Yaelle said proudly.
"You spent so long on this and I haven't seen it yet. Today isn't too busy, take me to have a look," Michael said with interest.
"Okay, brother, follow me," Yaelle said, and the two quickly walked to the back garden.
Michael looked at the greatly changed garden with surprise. He did not recognize most of the plants, so he randomly pointed at one and asked, "What is that?"
"That is a sweet potato. It may look plain, but it is very valuable. Its leaves can be stir-fried, and its root tubers can be eaten as staple food. They are soft, sweet, and very tasty. The most important thing is that it produces a lot. If planted well, one acre can harvest more than 3,000 jin."
"How many jin?" Michael asked, eyes wide in disbelief, mouth open as if it could hold a whole egg.
"At least 3,000 jin, sometimes as much as 5,000 to 6,000 jin," Yaelle said. She did not mention it could reach 10,000 jin at best.
"Really? Now rice in the south can't reach 300 jin per acre, and wheat in the north is even less," Michael said in disbelief.
"It is true. When it's harvest time, you can come and see for yourself," Yaelle thought. The rice and wheat here are all saved seeds, so the yield is low. They are not like modern seeds that are carefully bred. She had to thank Yuan Longping, a national hero. It is truly a blessing to have him.
"What about that one?" Michael pointed to a shorter plant nearby.
"That is a potato. It can be a staple food or cooked as a vegetable. It can also be made into snacks. It yields more than sweet potatoes, usually over 3,000 jin per acre, sometimes 5,000 to 8,000 jin," Yaelle explained.
Michael found it hard to believe what he was hearing and pointed to another plant, asking, "What about this one?"
"This is corn. When young, it can be boiled and eaten directly or stir-fried. When mature, it can be ground into flour for pancakes. Its yield is lower, about 1,000 jin per acre."
Without waiting for more questions, Yaelle continued introducing the plants. "This is taro. It can be a vegetable or staple food, yielding about 3,000 jin per acre. These can all be stored for a few months."
"This is peanut, which can be cooked or used for oil. The yield is 800 to 1,000 jin per acre."
"This is sword bean, also called yardlong bean. It is a vegetable, yielding about 1,500 to 2,000 jin per acre."
"This is chayote, yielding more than 10,000 jin per acre."
"Cucumbers yield more than 20,000 jin."
"Tomatoes yield less, about 500 jin."
"This is watermelon, yielding 5,000 to 6,000 jin per acre. It is a fruit, very sweet, good for cooling and quenching thirst."
"The most important is this one. It is a very valuable plant that can be used for many foods and to warm the body in cold weather. It yields over 1,000 jin per acre. The key is it can be stored well. After drying, it keeps for two or three years without problems."