Chapter 93: The Watermelon Defense War – Plants vs. Zombies Come True. ...

Zhong Ying felt like Plants vs. Zombies had come to life.

Those who wanted to steal the watermelons were like zombies, while the patrolling militia were like pea shooters, diligently protecting the watermelons.

The daytime offensive and defensive battles were relatively simple, since it was broad daylight and a single shout was enough to scare people away.

Of course, there were also those with thick skin who, seeing Liu Ximei as just a young girl, didn't take her seriously and were confident they could break through the defenses of the young men accompanying her and snatch a watermelon. But throughout history, what good has come of underestimating one's opponent? Liu Ximei was small and delicate, but she wielded a carrying pole almost as tall as herself with practiced ease. Anyone who dared to step forward to snatch the watermelon would first get a "stir-fried meat with the carrying pole" from her.

Nighttime was also a good time for petty theft. Under the cover of darkness, someone quietly swam along the river to the territory of the Tonggan production team. After approaching silently, he peeked out and, lo and behold, there wasn't a single person guarding the field!

The melon thieves were either secretly relieved or mocking the production team's foolishness; in any case, they opened the door wide enough for them to enjoy the melons to their heart's content.

Just as he was about to climb ashore, something suddenly grabbed his ankle, stopping him from getting ashore and even dragging him back into the river!

The pitch-black night instantly transformed from perfect cover into an atmosphere of terror. The man frantically kicked and thrashed with his other foot, but nothing could stop the strange force. The empty field seemed like a prison where no one could hear his cries for help. In terror, he was dragged back into the river, convinced he would drown that night.

Fortunately, the restraints disappeared before water entered his mouth and nose. But at this moment, he was no longer thinking about stealing melons. All he could think about was "saving his life" and "running away." He swam back frantically, almost scared out of his wits. He staggered up to the other side of the bank and then ran away.

A figure solidified in the river, standing still. The slightly rippling water blocked his waist. Li Linshi coldly watched as the people who were fleeing in panic gradually became a small black dot.

People with guilty consciences can usually be stopped by this kind of scare, but there are times when this trick doesn't work.

Three boys, around ten years old, jumped into the river like dumplings being dropped into boiling water and swam towards the Tonggan production team.

Li Linshi grabbed one of the children's feet.

The boy thought his feet were tangled in the seaweed and called for his companions to help, "Da Cun, Er Mao, help me quickly, I think I'm tangled in the seaweed."

His loyal companions each grabbed one of his hands and struggled to paddle forward.

Li Linshi had no choice but to let go. He only wanted to scare people away, not actually drown them in the river.

Children this age seem to know no fear, or perhaps they're just a little slow on the uptake? Li Linshi looked at the three children who were about to swim to the shore and felt helpless for the first time. He suddenly disappeared into the water.

The summer night was hot, and Zhong Ying didn't sleep well. A thin layer of sweat appeared on her back. When a cool body pressed against her, her slightly furrowed brows instantly relaxed.

However, Zhong Ying was quickly jolted awake, and her first reaction was to turn around and push away.

Li Linshi, pushed away by her series of actions, fell silent. "...What do you think I'm trying to do?"

Zhong Ying just looked at him with distrust, "Don't you know what your 'criminal record' is?" Old water boiled.

Who knows how many mornings she was "woke up" by, so even ghosts on night shifts have resentment.

Zhong Ying glanced at the sky outside the window; it was pitch black. She asked in confusion, "But why are you back so soon?"

“I have important business to attend to,” Li Linshi said, forcefully pulling the person into his arms again. “A few kids came over to steal melons, and I couldn’t scare them away. I need you to come.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Linshi grabbed Zhong Ying by the back of her neck and pressed her into his chest. His once solid body now turned into soft water, enveloping her tightly and instantly moving her away.

Zhong Ying suddenly emerged from the river water, and was steadyed by Li Linshi holding her waist so that she, a non-swimmer, wouldn't fall into the water.

The splashing sound of the water made the three boys stop moving at the same time. One had already reached the shore, one had one leg dangling from the bank, and the other was still in the water.

They stared blankly at the woman whose head was the only part of her body above the water. Her wet black hair clung to her face, and the pale moonlight made her complexion look strange. They were certain that there was no one else in the river when they swam over.

Zhong Ying had just caught her breath and looked at the few young melon thieves. She was about to question them with a stern face when someone beat her to it.

"A ghost!"

After screaming, the children scrambled ashore in a panic. One of them slipped and fell face-first into the mud. The other two children turned back and helped him up. The three of them then ran away hand in hand.

Zhong Ying was left alone in the river, nodding: ...Is it possible that what you can see is a person, and the one you can't see is a ghost?

Although she was mistaken for a ghost, at least she scared people away and saved the watermelon, so Zhong Ying didn't hold it against her.

"Alright, take me back now." Zhong Ying patted the male ghost in front of her on the shoulder, adopting a haughty attitude as if to say, "Little Li, escort me back to the palace."

Li Linshi looked at Zhong Ying and suddenly remembered a scene that had happened before.

At that time, he also dragged people into the Ganlin River, and in retaliation, Ren Zhongying sank into the water, only to be caught off guard by her subsequent actions...

Li Linshi was thinking when he suddenly let go of her hand.

Zhong Ying, who lost her support and fell into the river: ?

Li Linshi waited in the water for a while, and sure enough, the scene repeated itself. Zhong Ying frantically clung to him like seaweed. However, this time when he was kissed, he was no longer stiff and shocked. He smiled and invaded her with ease.

The water ripples reflected the cool glow into the water, and in the half-light and half-shadow, his incomparably handsome face was revealed to be dazzling. The way he pried open his lips and teeth to suck and entwine the sensual scent inch by inch made him seem like a lustful ghost who fed on desire.

The next day, after Zhong Ying recovered, although Li Linshi said that it was just a spur-of-the-moment thing, Zhong Ying did not believe him at all. She felt that Gui Xin was wicked. Bringing brown sugar would have had the same effect of deterring him, but Li Linshi insisted on dragging her along, and they made a fool of themselves by using the sky as a blanket and the water as a bed.

“You’ve changed,” Zhong Ying said with a pained expression. “Sure enough, time has smoothed out your edges. You’ve gone from being one of all sorts of people to just being the 'colorful' one.”

Li Linshi said, "...Next time this happens, I'll bring brown sugar."

Zhong Ying was satisfied. Ghosts don't need to sleep or rest, but she does.

In the following week, although some people continued to "cross the border," not a single watermelon was stolen until the harvest.

Rumors began to circulate privately, spreading from the mouths of the melon thieves who had been "defeated." Some said there was a water ghost in the Ganlin River looking for a scapegoat, others said they saw a disheveled female ghost in the river, and still others said they encountered a huge black dog as tall as a person...

As it was passed around, it eventually coalesced into a bizarre yet logical ghost story.

Tonggan Production Team was nestled against Yingshan Mountain, protected by a black dog demon that descended from the mountain. This demon was eight feet tall and could transform into a woman. It appeared at night, and those who wanted to steal melons would be grabbed by the ankles and dragged into the water by the human-shaped demon. Those who sneaked across the river would encounter the demon in its true form, a large dog as tall as a man, which would pounce like a shadow.

Zhong Ying mingled in the crowd, listening to Hu Dating vividly recount ghost stories, just like everyone else. Her lips twitched slightly as she listened; good heavens, he had completely merged Li Linshi, herself, and Hongtang into one.

The others just took it as a joke. They lived in the Tonggan Production Team, how could they not know if there was a dog demon here?

“Honestly, I’ve lived here most of my life and I’ve never seen a dog taller than a person,” Lin Shuhong laughed until tears streamed down her face. She glanced around and pointed to the side of Zhong Ying, “The biggest dog I’ve ever seen is about the size of Hongtang.”

The big black dog sitting obediently at Zhong Ying's feet wagged its tail. It was only about two inches above her knees, which was already considered large for a local dog, but it was still quite far from being taller than a person.

No one would associate brown sugar with the dog demon in ghost stories. The people in the Tonggan production team just thought that outsiders were scaring themselves, but they were happy to see it happen, since the watermelons planted by the team were all saved.

It must be said that uniting against external forces is indeed a very good way to enhance cohesion. Whether they are old members or new members who have just moved here, their sense of belonging to the Tonggan Production Team has greatly increased because of the watermelon protection campaign.

When the watermelons were fully ripe and ready to be harvested, the surviving watermelons in the field were divided among the people, with one watermelon for each person and some left over. So Zhong Ying gave an extra watermelon to each of the militiamen who had been patrolling diligently these days.

Everyone was holding a watermelon, looking as happy as if it were Chinese New Year.

Liu Ximei insisted on giving the extra watermelon she had to Zhong Ying, saying, "I can't eat that much, Sister Ying, you've worked hard too!"

The girl always thought that Zhong Ying had told her not to guard the melon field at night, but that Zhong Ying had gone herself; otherwise, how could not a single melon have been stolen in all these days?

Unable to resist Liu Ximei's insistence, Zhong Ying had no choice but to accept the watermelon.

We would bring the watermelon home, put it in a basket, and then lower it into the well water. When we wanted to eat it, we would lift it up, cut one out, and enjoy its thin skin, red flesh, and the coolness of the well water – it was truly a feast for the sweltering summer.

Qianqian was engrossed in eating a slice of watermelon bigger than her face. After taking a couple of bites, Li Rou couldn't help but sigh with satisfaction, "Yingni'er, you've never had an ice pop before, have you? This is just as good as the ones sold at the county supply and marketing cooperative—"

Zhong Ying, who was next to her, suddenly burst into a coughing fit.

Li Rou quickly put down the melon she was holding and went to help pat his back, "Why did you suddenly choke?"

Zhong Ying coughed for a long time, her face turning red, "Sister, I'm fine now."

While Li Rou wasn't paying attention, Zhong Ying couldn't help but glare at Li Linshi beside her; she too had become someone whose mind was full of lust.

Zhong Ying changed the subject, "I'd like to bring one of those watermelons to the meeting at the commune tomorrow."

"Anyway, it's all yours to do with, you can do whatever you want with it," Li Rou said with a smile. "I'll get you some straw rope and weave you a bag to carry the watermelon, you can hang it on the crossbar of your bicycle."

The next morning, Zhong Ying rode a bicycle with a watermelon hanging on it to the town commune.

"Captain Nie!" Zhong Ying called out to him.

Just as Captain Nie of the Yuqianwa production team was about to enter the commune building, he stopped in his tracks upon hearing the sound.

Zhong Ying hurriedly parked her bicycle and went to untie the watermelon hanging on it. Perhaps because it had been weighing heavily all the way, the knot that had been tied was now tightly bound and was particularly difficult to untie.

The red rope around her neck, hanging from a small wooden tag inside her clothes, was no longer damp. Li Linshi appeared on the other side of the bicycle, one hand helping to support the watermelon below, while his other slender fingers worked with Zhong Ying to untie the knot.

With help, Zhong Ying was able to take down the watermelon in no time. She carried the watermelon to Captain Nie and said, "You can have this."

Captain Nie was taken aback when he saw the watermelon stuffed into his arms. He then realized that this was a trick by Zhong Ying, and that the enemy wanted to break down their united organization by targeting those with weak wills!

"I don't want it!" Captain Nie swallowed hard, suppressing his heartache as he returned it. He was by no means a weak-willed person who would betray the organization.

Zhong Ying placed both hands on the watermelon and pushed it over, saying, "Captain Nie, you can take it. I ate a watermelon from your team more than ten years ago, and this is how I repay you."

When Zhong Cheng was young and reckless, he followed his friends to steal melons. Although he only later received the education of not taking a single grain of rice from the people, he still couldn't help but feel ashamed when he thought about the past, and felt that it was a "dark history".

Now that Zhong Ying has the ability to pay back, she will write to her brother when she gets back to tell him that this dark history has been made up for.

Captain Nie thought for a moment and remembered that they had only grown watermelons once, eleven years ago. His eyes widened. "Were you one of those little rascals who stole watermelons back then?"

Zhong Ying chuckled, "If not me, then my brother will."

Captain Nie no longer refused; he accepted the watermelon with a clear conscience. This wasn't a sugar-coated bullet from the enemy, but rather the repayment of a debt.

However, Captain Nie carrying a watermelon as he walked into the conference room attracted countless eyes.

"Old Nie, where did this watermelon come from?"

"Old Nie, why did you bring a watermelon? That's too kind of you."

"Eating a watermelon on a hot day like this is simply the best thing ever..."

Captain Nie had no choice but to grit his teeth and say with difficulty, "Then let's cut it open and divide it among everyone."

A huge watermelon was cut open with a few strokes, and soon, a piece of watermelon rind with only white skin was placed in front of each person.

Secretary Cai wiped his mouth, the comfort from his stomach reflecting on his face. He smiled at Zhong Ying and said, "These are watermelons grown by your production team, right? They're really sweet and big."

The quantity of crop seeds for the entire commune was planned, and the number of seeds distributed to each location was recorded. This year, only the Tonggan production team planted watermelons.

For a moment, the crowd, feeling obliged to obey Secretary Cai's words, could only agree with him.

Zhong Ying waved her hands modestly.

Captain Nie looked like he had swallowed a fly.

After this little incident, Director Ding of the commune got down to business, saying, "The Ministry of Agriculture has issued a new notice about a 'South Tea to North' project that we want to promote. This is a bold agricultural exploration, and some places have already successfully tried it. Our commune is also in a suitable area that has been designated, so we can follow suit."

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Author's Note: After planting the watermelons—