Chapter 12: Midnight Rice Harvest, Collecting the Interest

Wen Yunhe remembered that there was a small hand-pushed grass-cutting machine in the farm tool shed in the yard. It was the one she used to clear the weeds and branches in front of and behind the house. 

Sure enough, when she found it and turned it on, it still worked. 

Wen Yunhe quickly charged it, then returned to her room to prepare an outfit—one that could cover her whole body. 

While waiting for the grass cutter to charge, she applied a facial mask, ate some fruit, and took out the book *The General’s Little Darling Wife* to study it again, making sure to capture more details in case she needed them later. 

She passed the time like this until the middle of the night (around 11 PM to 1 AM). 

The entire village was quiet, only the croaking of frogs and the chirping of cicadas filled the air. 

Wen Yunhe put on her “night outfit” and quietly stepped out of the house. 

Walking alone on a dark night could be frightening, but she had gotten used to being alone in the mountains and had developed a lot of courage, so it didn’t feel as bad. 

In this world, the truly terrifying thing was not ghosts, but human hearts. 

Based on the memories of her original self, she quickly located He family’s several acres of paddy fields, which were all connected. These fields had been passed down through He Mingzhang’s ancestors. 

In fact, there had originally been 14 acres of prime farmland owned by the He family. However, over the last ten years, they had sold ten acres to fund He Mingjie’s education, leaving only four acres to support the family. 

After confirming that no one was around, Wen Yunhe put on the rain boots she had prepared in advance, picked up the grass-cutting machine, and began to work. 

Since the He family had insisted on them helping with the harvest, she thought she might as well assist them with this small task. 

As for the rice she harvested, of course, she wouldn’t do it for free—it would serve as payment for her labor. 

The grass-cutting machine swept across the base of the rice stalks, and the rice fields immediately fell flat, as if cutting paper. 

Since it was the latest model, the machine had a small power output, so it wasn’t very loud. If someone came close, they might hear a faint sound, but there were no houses nearby, only farmland, which allowed Wen Yunhe to work undisturbed. 

All the rice she cut was stored in the space—no stalk was left behind. 

With the machine working, the process was quick. In less than 20 minutes, one acre of rice field was completely cleared, not even a rice stalk was left standing—just like the saying “pluck the feathers as the geese fly by.” 

She couldn’t help but laugh, imagining the He family’s reaction when they saw the field the next day. 

The He family had a total of four acres of paddy fields, all in this area. He Father had already harvested half an acre, leaving three and a half acres of rice. 

In just half an hour, Wen Yunhe had harvested all of it. 

She had considered helping with her own fields as well, but doing so with identical cutting patterns might be too obvious and lead to trouble. It would be hard to explain, so she decided against it. 

After completing her “good deed,” Wen Yunhe put the cutting machine back into the space, erased any traces of her presence, removed her rain boots, and leisurely made her way back home. 

In the space, there was now a small mountain of rice piled up. 

Wen Yunhe had absolute control over the space and could use her thoughts to separate the rice grains. It was quick and efficient, but it consumed a lot of energy. 

After finishing half of the work, she felt fatigued and couldn’t continue. 

So, she returned to her room, lay down, and quickly fell asleep. 

This sleep lasted until the sun was high in the sky. 

Wen Mother was in the yard, keeping an eye on the rice she had laid out, occasionally flipping it to ensure it dried evenly. 

Wen Yunqing and his siblings had already gone out early to work, but the pot had been left on the stove with a bowl of thick brown rice porridge and a boiled egg. 

After eating, Wen Yunhe was about to take over the work from Wen Mother when she heard a series of urgent knocks at the door. 

She quickly hid inside the house as Wen Mother felt her way to the door. 

“Who’s there?” 

“Auntie, it’s Daniu. Something big has happened!” 

“This morning, He Father went out to the fields to harvest rice, but several acres of rice disappeared overnight!” 

The county had just sent someone to deliver Mingzhang’s compensation, and now the local officials were investigating the matter. 

Wang Shi was accusing them, saying that they bore a grudge against her family and that the investigation would likely soon reach their door. 

Daniu, who was Hua Shen’s son, rushed to warn the Wen family as soon as he heard the news. 

When Wen Shi heard this, she panicked. Such a big accusation made her feel helpless and flustered. 

Wen Yunhe called out from inside the room, thanking Daniu and telling Wen Shi to send him out and close the door. 

“Mother, we haven’t done anything wrong, so why are you panicking? No matter how high the officials are, they need evidence to convict us. We haven’t stolen anything, nor have we robbed anyone—we rely on our own hands for a living, so there’s nothing to fear! 

When they come, stay calm and just say you don’t know anything. You, with your eye condition, could never have stolen from their family! 

As for me, I’m a bedridden patient; I can hardly get out of bed, so they can’t possibly blame me. 

Evil will be punished in the end. Maybe the heavens can’t stand it anymore and sent divine punishment to take their rice away. Otherwise, how could it disappear in one night?” Wen Yunhe comforted her calmly, her voice not betraying any nervousness. 

She really felt no guilt about the rice she had taken. The original Wen Yunhe had served the He family for two years, suffering through hardships. The rice she had collected was merely interest for her trouble. 

Wen Shi felt reassured and quickly calmed down. Yes, they hadn’t done anything wrong. If you haven’t done anything wrong, there’s nothing to fear when the officials come. Even officials need evidence to handle a case. 

Meanwhile, Wang Shi had woken up early, hurriedly putting on her best clothes, waiting for the official to come and deliver the compensation for her son. The thought of the eighty-two taels of silver and ten bushels of rice made her grin with excitement. 

But to her surprise, the official didn’t arrive. Instead, the head of the family came back and reported that their rice had mysteriously disappeared overnight. 

Wang Shi and He Mingjie naturally couldn’t believe it. How could several acres of rice just vanish in one night? 

They both went to the fields and found that the rice was indeed gone. Even stranger, the rice stalks were neatly cut in a way that no ordinary person could achieve. 

What was more peculiar was that the thief seemed to have specifically targeted their rice—other fields were untouched. 

The elders in the village said it must be divine retribution, that heaven had waved its hand and taken the rice away. Otherwise, how could the stalks be so neatly cut? 

Some also wondered if they had offended someone. 

Wang Shi immediately thought of the Wen family, and she slapped her thigh in anger, rolling on the ground while cursing. 

“It must have been the Wen family! Yesterday, I argued with them a bit, and they must have held a grudge and stolen our rice out of spite.” 

The villagers immediately started discussing the situation. 

“That can’t be true, Wang Shi. You should think about it—your three and a half acres of rice would take at least three people several days to harvest. 

Yunhe is injured, and Wen Shi can’t work because of her eye disease. Wen Yunqing and Wen Yunwei are the only ones who can work—how could they possibly harvest three acres of rice in one night? Do they have ten hands?” Hua Shen couldn’t hold back and directly argued. 

“Exactly, harvesting three acres in one night? That’s unheard of!” 

“Yesterday, Wen Yunqing and Wen Yunwei worked with us from dawn till dusk, and they only managed to finish one acre. It’s impossible for them to do this in one night.” 

“Wang Shi, the Wen family is your daughter-in-law’s family. They wouldn’t do such a thing. Maybe you should think if you have any other enemies—this whole situation is too strange.” 

“Wen Yunhe and her brother couldn’t have done it, but what about you all? You’re all biased toward them, so you must be in on it, stealing my rice together,” Wang Shi quickly retorted, pointing at Hua Shen’s family. 

Naturally, Hua Shen and the others started arguing with her, and things were getting heated. Just as it was about to escalate into a fight, someone from the county arrived with the compensation payment. 

Originally, the official responsible for the payment was from the clerical office, but since the deceased was a centurion, the county magistrate had come to personally visit the family. 

When they arrived, they found themselves in the middle of this commotion. Well, since they were already here, they decided to investigate everything at once. 

The fields were far away, and at this point, Wen Yunqing and Wen Yunwei were still unaware of the situation. They were working diligently in their own fields.