The best way to prove oneself is by farming and earning money.
"I quite like farming. At least it doesn't require much thinking and isn't so tiring. This old lady, why don't you give me two hundred yuan? I'll farm for you, and you can rest assured. I can do the work of two people by myself, the amount of work you two do in five days."
Ye Tiancheng's words left the old lady dumbfounded, and then she quickly reacted, "Young man, I understand. You must have suffered some mental stimulation, which is why you've become so dejected. It's alright; your life has just begun. You really need to go to the hospital and get checked."
"I really farm, and I have a lot of experience. Not only do I farm well, but I'm also very diligent, and my work speed is very fast. Give me this opportunity to prove myself."
She had never seen a young person who enjoyed such menial labor so much. Most people would slack off if they could, and certainly wouldn't tire themselves out.
"Alright then, young man, consider it exercise. Sometimes, physical activity can indeed be a release."
The old lady couldn't do anything about Ye Tiancheng, so she could only let him demonstrate in the field what his so-called excellent farming skills entailed. In any case, she had never seen a young person who was good at farming.
It had been a long time since he had returned to the fields. The feeling of being in a different world made Ye Tiancheng unsure of what to say.
As soon as he was in the fields, he felt a sense of familiarity. He then used his true qi to work rapidly. Ye Tiancheng's speed was not much slower than a machine's, and it was also more precise, requiring no further human intervention.
Two hours later, the old lady brought over some boiled eggs and a bottle of water.
"Young man, you are truly a marvel. I've never seen a young person farm as skillfully as you. Someone with your talent will surely achieve great things in the future."
The old lady was astonished, but she didn't forget to offer the boiled eggs and water to Ye Tiancheng so he could replenish his energy.
"I'm really fine. I've taken your money, and I must do a good job with it. If you hire me, I will definitely work hard and not disappoint you."
After all, whoever paid him was God. Ye Tiancheng understood this principle. Even though this old lady was old, by giving him money, she was, to some extent, his boss. Ye Tiancheng naturally had to work diligently for his boss, or he wouldn't have any future job opportunities.
"You've been so busy today. We don't have much land, and it feels like you've already farmed it all. How about this? I know someone with a lot of land, and I heard they are hiring farm workers. Perhaps I can recommend you."
Having worked in the fields for a long time, it was inevitable that she would have some connections. So, when Ye Tiancheng expressed his desire for a job opportunity, the old lady immediately and happily agreed.
"That's great, thank you for the recommendation. Whether I work for you or for others, I am a very down-to-earth person."
The old lady was also a kind-hearted person. She mainly saw that Ye Tiancheng was a young man who wasn't having an easy time, and he was diligent and willing to work hard. Such people were hard to find.
"Alright, my phone isn't very good. Leave your number, and I'll have someone contact you when they need people."
After bidding farewell to the old lady, Ye Tiancheng went home with the money, overjoyed. The money earned through his own efforts, though only a few bills, was enough to make Ye Tiancheng excited for a long time.
When Ye Tiancheng returned home, he knew that Xiao Pang had gone out to find a job today. He also wanted to celebrate with Xiao Pang, so he bought some pig's head meat.
Their lives were quite difficult now, and they should support each other. It was precisely during difficult times that the preciousness of their friendship could be truly appreciated.
Ye Tiancheng noticed that Xiao Pang looked somewhat dejected. He could probably guess that the job search hadn't gone smoothly today.
Ye Tiancheng also felt anxious for his good friend.
"Alright, don't be sad. It's hard to find jobs nowadays. For recent university graduates, finding a job is a huge challenge, let alone for people like us who don't have academic qualifications. The main reason is that we lived too comfortably before, which is why there's such a big gap now. I think as long as we lower our job search requirements, we should be able to find jobs quickly."
"It seems I've had too good a life and can't adapt. The only job opportunity I have now is to be a chef, but I was previously an associate director. Asking me, an associate director, to be a chef, I feel a huge psychological gap."
Xiao Pang sighed. He had been feeling very depressed earlier, but after eating the pig's head meat, he felt much better. He and Ye Tiancheng truly had a mutually supportive relationship.
"Brother Ye, I heard you say earlier that you were going to farm. Even with your status, you're going to farm? I'm just your subordinate. What's wrong with me being a chef? I've decided to report to the restaurant tomorrow. Given the current situation, I have no right to be picky. It takes courage to start over. I still have my good brother by my side, so I can't be afraid of what others say. I'll just work diligently."
"Good, let's have another drink, my brother. To our new beginnings. I actually think being a farmer is good. It's just that after finding temporary work today, whether I can get long-term employment depends on whether they need me."
"Brother Ye, you are a natural talent. You can easily succeed in whatever you do, as if someone is helping you. That's why I know those bosses will definitely notice you. You don't need to worry about that."
Xiao Pang's words were quite accurate. Not long after, Ye Tiancheng's phone rang. On the other end was a middle-aged woman's voice, with a slightly husky tone.
"Are you Ye Tiancheng?"
"Yes, am I speaking about work?"
"Yes. We pay based on the amount of labor per day. Our workers usually earn one hundred fifty yuan, or at most two hundred yuan. I heard you are very good at farming. Let's see how much you can earn. Can you break the highest record of two hundred yuan?"
With the boss speaking like that, Ye Tiancheng immediately felt challenged, and his mood instantly improved.
"Okay, I'll give it a try. I will work hard. Thank you, boss, for this opportunity."
"The place where our fields are located is different from where you worked before. It's a place called Dashan Village. I'll send you the location. If you can't find it, you can call me. However, you'll need to get up early. You must start working in the fields by 7:30 AM."
"No problem, I can be there by 7 AM."
Now that he had a job opportunity, Ye Tiancheng had no reason to be picky. He was very polite to the boss, fearing that the boss might disagree and cause him trouble.
After Ye Tiancheng hung up the phone, Xiao Pang, who had been listening the whole time, was also very happy for Ye Tiancheng.
"Great, Brother Ye, I knew those bosses had good judgment. They know you're a stock with potential."
"Very good. Whatever I do, I want to be the first. I'm curious to see how difficult it is to break this record of two hundred yuan."
With such lofty ambitions, Ye Tiancheng arrived at Dashan Village. The scenery of Dashan Village was quite beautiful, surrounded by mountains on two sides and water on one. However, the journey was a bit far, mainly because Dashan Village was a very remote village. Moreover, the weather was quite muggy during this season, and it took Ye Tiancheng two hours to travel. Fortunately, he had set off in the early morning, before 5 AM, and arrived at the fields on time before 7:30 AM.
There were quite a few tools at the edge of the fields. Payment would only be made after the work was completed and inspected. The foreman was a rather thin man, not very tall, but with a loud voice.
"Alright, everyone, please complete the tasks assigned to you before the break at 11 AM. If you finish early, you can come to me for your next task."
Ye Tiancheng was eager to start and quickly began his work. Ye Tiancheng was like he had been accelerated, swiftly completing the task in just over eight o'clock.
The foreman was stunned. "You can't be serious, can you? You finished in an hour what others take a whole morning to do. Are you slacking off?"
Even the foreman found it unbelievable, but Ye Tiancheng was not afraid of inspection. He smiled kindly at the foreman and said,
"I work very diligently. You can inspect it if you don't believe me. I've been farming for many years, so I have a lot of experience."
Seeing Ye Tiancheng's confident expression, the foreman hesitated for a moment, then went to inspect. After the inspection, he found that Ye Tiancheng's work was even more meticulous than others. He could only assign him new tasks.
By noon, Ye Tiancheng had already earned three hundred yuan.
Others began to feel the pressure. The person who had previously broken the record of earning two hundred yuan a day was named Zhang Dahu.
Zhang Dahu and his wife were working as laborers. Zhang Dahu could earn about one hundred and eighty yuan a day. His wife, Lin Fenfang, was also a strong and capable woman, a leader among women, earning about one hundred and fifty yuan a day, and at most one hundred and eighty yuan.
During lunch, the couple expressed their dissatisfaction with Ye Tiancheng. The amount of land was limited. Based on the annual situation, they could work on this land for about twenty days. Together, they could earn less than four hundred yuan a day. In total, they could earn about eight thousand yuan. But now, with Ye Tiancheng around, let alone eight thousand yuan, even five thousand yuan would be difficult. They had only earned two thousand yuan since they started working, and the future was even more uncertain. Both of them felt a sense of despair.
Zhang Dahu, smoking a hand-rolled cigarette, remained silent at first, then couldn't help but sigh.
"Wife, what should we do? We can only earn a little extra money here throughout the year. We've been working diligently for so long, and now such a formidable force has appeared. It seems heaven doesn't want us to make money."
"I want to see how much he can earn in a day. Let's not talk about it. Let's finish eating and get back to work in the fields. We won't take a half-hour break like before. We can only make up for it with diligence. That guy doesn't look human."