After bidding farewell to Old Man Su, County Magistrate Qian Feng was led by Su Muyao to several households in the village that also grew watermelons to place orders.

After all, some of the watermelons were not yet ripe, and the magistrate was afraid that others would buy them, so he wanted to give the deposit to the villagers so that they could keep the watermelons for him.

Su Muyao led the county magistrate to the big tree at the village entrance.

"Oh my, this little lucky star is bringing the county magistrate this way."

"Yes, is the magistrate about to return? Why did he send Little Lucky Star to see him off?"

Su Muyao came up and said, "Fourth Grandma, Grandma Liu, Grandma Wang, Aunt Hua, the county magistrate wants to buy watermelons. I've brought them over so you can discuss the price."

The woman known as Fourth Grandmother was somewhat related to Su Moyao's family. Upon hearing this, she wondered why they needed to buy their plants when they themselves hadn't even planted many.

"Aunties, if any of you have planted winter melons, I will charge you ten taels of silver for each one."

The villagers were stunned when he said that.

"What, Your Excellency, how much is one tree?"

"Is the 'cold melon' the same as the watermelon?"

"The watermelon you're talking about, auntie, is the same thing as the cold melon I'm talking about."

"Ten taels of silver, everyone please do a quick count, how many melons each family can produce, and I will settle the deposit for everyone first."

Qian Feng's decision to give these villagers ten taels of silver was a well-considered one.

He bought melons from the county magistrate; he couldn't let the villagers' melons be priced the same as Xiao Fuxing's.

So he thought that ten taels for a melon was already a high price for these villagers, and that his price was fair.

Although Su Muyao heard the county magistrate say that he would only give the villagers ten taels of silver per melon, she did not say anything, as it was still much more than what the villagers would earn if they sold it themselves.

Old Mrs. Wang's daughter-in-law, who was standing nearby, heard this and immediately went home to call her husband over.

Soon, the old ladies who grew watermelons at home went home to find their husbands.

After all, it's ten taels of silver, which isn't something I can decide on my own.

Soon the old village chief arrived, and upon hearing that it was the county magistrate, he quickly stepped forward to exchange pleasantries.

The villagers were very happy to learn that they would have to pay a high price for the watermelons.

The family that grew watermelons said, "Hey, hurry up and don't be late, or the magistrate won't accept them."

"Mother, are you sure you didn't hear wrong? Unless you're an idiot, how can something like this cost ten taels of silver?"

The speaker was Grandma Wang's son, and his daughter-in-law chimed in, "Yes, Mother, are you sure you didn't mishear? Even if it's delicious, it shouldn't cost this much!"

"Hey, I'm not deaf, come with me."

This scene is now playing out in almost every household that grows winter melon.

After all, ten taels of silver for a watermelon was really hard for them to accept. When did money become so worthless?

When the villagers had all gathered at the village entrance, two large tables were set up under the big tree at the village entrance, and the village chief's two sons each held paper and pen and took notes.

“If the Zhao family can send three people, they can pay 30 taels of silver for signing their names even if they can’t write, or they can just put their fingerprints on the paper.”

Old Zhao stepped forward and pressed his fingerprint on the slip of paper, and the magistrate accepted the thirty taels of silver from him.

When Su Sanlang arrived, he discovered that the magistrate had actually settled all the money. Wasn't it supposed to be a deposit first, with the balance to be paid later when things were settled?

"Why is Father here too?"

"Sweetie, what's going on here? Tell Daddy!"

Su Muyao slowly explained: "The county magistrate said that since we are all honest people, we won't talk about the deposit. As long as we have melons at home and can afford them, we will settle the rest of the payment."

"Yes, it's all thanks to your family, especially Little Lucky Star."

"That's right, Su Sanlang, you're so lucky to have such a blessed little daughter."

"Not only is he blessed, but he's also incredibly beautiful; he must be a celestial being descended to earth."

"Haha, who can disagree? Look at those rosy little cheeks!"

The surrounding villagers gathered around Su Sanlang, praising Su Muyao one after another.

Su Muyao blushed with pride at the praise and broke free from her father's embrace, running to the side.

As soon as I looked up, I saw Longyuan standing by the tree.

"You didn't sell all your melons to him, did you?"

"How could that be? I promised you I'd already reserved your melon."

Long Yuan snorted coldly, "I was originally planning to wait until your melons were ripe before picking them, but now there's someone else trying to steal my business."

"Haha, serves you right for not striking first!"

After the magistrate left, the village became incredibly lively. Everyone, whether they had sold their melons or not, gathered together and chattered excitedly.

"It's all your fault, you old fool! If you hadn't insisted on planting those potatoes and sweet potatoes, we wouldn't have been able to free up two acres of land like the Su family to grow watermelons. Wouldn't we have made a fortune then?"

Old Mrs. Qin cursed her husband, getting angrier the more she thought about it, since they already owned quite a lot of land.

Grandma Su was a good friend of mine, and she encouraged me to plant some as well.

When I discussed it with my family, they all agreed that since sweet potatoes and potatoes were already producing so much, we shouldn't bother with anything else.

Is things alright now? I can only be envious of how much money other people make.

The village had discussed this before, but ultimately hesitated and chose to plant only sweet potatoes and potatoes.

Those who only planted a few seeds in their own vegetable gardens, hoping for a good harvest, and intended for their children to eat, have basically sold them for exorbitant prices.

When Old Man Su told the crowd that the melons would be sold to the capital for the emperor and empresses in the palace, the villagers became even more excited.

Now, they no longer care whether they sell the watermelons for money; what matters most is that the emperor eats the watermelons they grow.

When Su Muyao returned home, she saw that Grandma Su was steaming rice, washing a large basin of green vegetables, and frying a large bowl of egg sauce.

They even took down the large piece of cured meat hanging from the roof beam and stir-fried it with chili peppers to make a whole pot.

When Su Muyao arrived at the kitchen, she discovered that there was a large pot of pork rib soup simmering in the pot.

"Grandma, what's the occasion today? You've prepared such a lavish feast."

“My dear, you’re back. We’ll have the village chief and a few of the village elders come over for a visit later.”

"Oh, okay."

Soon, several respected elders from the entire village gathered at Old Man Su's house.

Looking at the two large bowls of fresh watermelon that had been brought to the table, the group felt a pang of regret.

They knew perfectly well that today, people were coming to buy watermelons, and each watermelon cost ten taels of silver.

Even if a grown laborer didn't eat or drink all year, he couldn't earn ten taels of silver.

"Old Su, you're really willing to part with this hard-earned money."

"We still have to eat it. We should try this fresh food. We can't work so hard to grow it and then not even know what it tastes like, can we?"

Even so, each of the families who came sold two or three.

It's like getting twenty or thirty taels of silver for free. If they had known, they would have asked for two more watermelon vines.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Old Man Su finally got down to business.

Old Su got straight to the point, saying, "The county magistrate intends to sell these watermelons and cantaloupes in the capital. With so many high-ranking officials and nobles in the capital, their reputation will surely spread."

Upon hearing this, the village elders' eyes lit up. Yes, they had heard that these watermelons were only brought as tribute.

Now that they can grow them themselves, won't they become rich next year just from these watermelons?