After seeing the children off, Li Lao Er felt relieved and thought for a moment before saying, "Alright, Uncle, I'll send someone to ask Mr. Wen first. Tomorrow isn't the grand court assembly, so if the Emperor doesn't have anything important to do, let's go present the melons!"

Village Chief: "I just had a new set of clothes made a few days ago. I'll wear it tomorrow and let the Emperor see that our village is doing so well all thanks to His Majesty!"

Li Lao Er immediately called Zheng Feng over and gave him a few detailed instructions before Zheng Feng went into the city.

Jiayin was worried about the Marquis and her father who were away on a military campaign. They would be gone for two or three months. She wondered if the Emperor had forgotten about them, or if any court officials were secretly reporting them to the Emperor.

She just wanted to enter the palace, help her adoptive father defeat a boss, and find a sense of importance.

So she grabbed her second uncle's arm and shook it, "Second Uncle, I want to go too, to deliver melons to Uncle Huang!"

Tao Hongying thought her daughter was just being playful and was afraid that she would cause trouble in the palace. Since the Marquis was not around, there would be no one to help her if something happened.

She advised, "Fu Niu'er, don't go. It's hot, and you don't know how long you'll have to wait outside the palace gates."

"If you want to go out and play, Mom will take you to a restaurant, okay?"

Jiayin refused and tried her best to persuade him, "Mother, Broken Gold Beach is my fiefdom. It's perfect for me to deliver watermelons to my Imperial Uncle. My Imperial Uncle is a very good man, and I won't make him angry."

Grandma Li felt sorry for her granddaughter and thought this made sense, so she advised her daughter-in-law, "Just listen to Fu Niu'er. She's getting older and will eventually have to go to the palace."

"This time it's about presenting melons again, and it's important business. Suijintan was a gift from the Emperor to Fu Niu'er, and now that it has produced melons and fruits, it's only right that Fu Niu'er personally delivers them to the Emperor to taste!"

Li Lao Er and the village chief nodded in agreement. The village chief smiled and said, "It's good that Fu Niu'er is going along. If the emperor summons her, we'll be more prepared. Otherwise, with the emperor's authority, I'll be trembling when I speak."

Tao Hongying looked at her smiling daughter, still worried that she would cause trouble, but since her mother-in-law, the village chief, and her second brother-in-law all said so, she couldn't stop her anymore. She could only say, "Go if you want to, but remember to be careful. Your godfather isn't here. If you cause trouble or get bullied in the palace, no one will come to your rescue..."

"I know, Mother, don't worry. Fu Niu'er is very smart and won't suffer any losses!" Jia Yin quickly hugged her mother and acted coquettishly.

Li Lao Er wanted to go for a walk in the melon field with the village chief, and Jia Yin happily followed behind, quickly escaping her mother's "clutches".

Tao Hongying was both amused and exasperated to see her daughter tumble out of the courtyard gate, her round figure a sight to behold.

Zhao Yuru quickly pulled her to find clothes and jewelry for Jiayin to wear the next day. Old Mrs. Li, who was also concerned, joined in as well.

Jiayin wore a big straw hat, covering her little face completely, afraid that she would get a tan and have an uneven face, which would be embarrassing for her and the whole city would know about it tomorrow!

Shui Ling was afraid that her young master would trip, so she carried him on her back and rushed to the melon-watching shed.

Just then, Ye Shan was helping to pull weeds nearby, so Jia Yin called him over for a chat.

"Uncle Dashan, that Uncle Sanjiang doesn't talk much, he seems scary. Last night, my older brother took him to see Grandpa Zhang, and Grandpa Zhang said he was fine. It's really strange." Jiayin sat on the wooden bed in the shack, kicking her little legs, and asked in a clear voice.

Shui Ling nodded and whispered, "Yes, Uncle Sanjiang always has a cold face. I've been afraid of him since I was little."

Ye Shan, naturally, told his master everything he knew, saying, "I know a little about this. Just like Zheng Er and the others, Sanjiang was also in a small team more than ten years ago. But when he went out on a mission, Sanjiang made a mistake, which resulted in the death of the entire team. Only he was saved by his teammates."

"Perhaps he was always burdened by guilt, which left him with a lingering illness. If it weren't for the Marquis's order that he must live, he would have gone to find his brothers in the afterlife after taking his revenge."

"But even now that he's alive, he doesn't have a family, he doesn't talk much, and besides training the boys in the village, he just eats and sleeps."

"The lord of the manor dotes on his younger brother. This time, he sent out his best lads again, so he used the excuse of needing someone to look after him to force him to come along as well."

Jiayin sighed upon hearing this; no wonder this person's eyes were filled with death.

His heart was probably buried along with his brothers long ago; he was now living like a walking corpse.

Shui Ling covered her mouth, her eyes reddening, "Uncle Sanjiang is so pitiful. When we were little, we even said he looked like a zombie..."

Jiayin quickly comforted her, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid. Our house is lively, maybe Uncle Sanjiang will recover after staying for a while."

She was just saying it casually; she really had no confidence in saving a "heartbroken" person.

But Shui Ling took it seriously, her face beaming with excitement and joy, nodding repeatedly, "Yes, yes! Our home is the best. If Uncle Sanjiang stays here for a long time, he'll definitely become more human, and maybe he'll even get married and have children! Hahaha, then he won't want to die anymore."

Jiayin grinned, really not wanting to discourage the child...

Let's just take it one day at a time; who knows what the future holds?

Even if Zheng Sanjiang doesn't live up to Shui Ling's expectations, as long as he serves the Li family wholeheartedly, the Li family will definitely not let him be destitute in his old age...

Li Lao Er and the village chief walked around the melon field and brought back a cracked jade melon.

With the heat and insufficient rainfall, this situation is unavoidable no matter how diligently the villagers carry water to irrigate.

Fortunately, the park is about to open, and once the money is in my pocket, I feel at ease.

The village chief chuckled and pulled out a wood-chopping knife from behind the shack door. He washed it in a bucket of water before cutting up the jade melon for everyone to try.

As a result, when the school was dismissed, whether it was because of the sweet smell or because they suddenly wanted to join in the fun, the boys all rushed over like a swarm of bees.

Jiayin saw it from afar and immediately jumped onto Shuiling's back, shouting, "Shuiling, let's go home quickly! We haven't seen Santiao in so long, has it run away? Let's go look for it!"

"Oh, okay!" Shui Ling replied without suspicion, as she walked away. "We didn't see any three today. Could they have gone to steal chickens in the village?"

Under the grape trellis in the space, three dogs were taking a comfortable nap when they suddenly sneezed, startling themselves awake.

It looked around, its little face full of confusion, but after looking around, there was only the little green snake sticking its head out of the cage, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

Remembering its interrupted dream, it got annoyed, so it jumped up, swung its tail, and whipped the cage around like a top before curling up and falling asleep again.

The poor little green snake was suddenly thrown around like it was on a roller coaster, its tongue sticking out of its mouth and unable to be pulled back for a long time.

In its daze, it was utterly baffled.

What did it do to deserve this?!

It wants to go home, it wants to find its mother!

Besides, how could Li Lao Er and the village chief not guess why Jia Yin ran away? They were both laughing their heads off.

The mischievous boys had no idea that they were more terrifying than tigers in Jia Yin's eyes.

Each person received a piece of jade-green melon, squatted outside the shack, and ate it with utter satisfaction...

The next morning, Jiayin dressed neatly and rode in a horse-drawn carriage with her second uncle, while the village chief drove a mule cart behind them.

Having endured much hardship, Daqing is now plump and strong. He's pulling a cart loaded with large baskets of jade melons and golden fruits, looking proud and smug as he heads into town to present the melons!

Served at midnight~~