The rice in the fields began to turn yellow.
This year is the first time that the villagers of Liujia Village followed Qin Yao's intensive farming methods. As the harvest time is approaching, their hearts are lifted.
In addition to the previous famine, the autumn harvest is not only of great concern to the farmers, but also to the officials of all ranks in Kaiyang County who are paying close attention to this year's autumn harvest.
Old man Liu now goes out three times a day. He checks the rice ears, then the rice stalks, and finally runs back to see if the water in the fields has been released.
When I feel the rice ears are full, I can sleep peacefully and feel happy all day long.
Whenever he had time, he would go to the third brother's field to help look after it. When he passed by a melon field, he saw a few children from the village sneaking down the ridge with something in their arms. He realized that he had encountered a melon thief, so he chased after him.
"What are you guys holding in your arms?!"
Four or five young boys didn't expect to be caught red-handed. They quickly hid the things in the bushes, put their hands behind their backs, shook their heads and said, "Nothing!"
Old man Liu stood on the ridge of the field, pointed at the boys from above, and shouted angrily: "Still quibbling? Give me back the melon hidden in the grass!"
"It's not yours!" Liu Daniu shouted unconvinced.
"Hey!" Old Man Liu choked. Before he could continue, Liu Xiaoniu echoed his brother and said, "You two are no longer a family, and we didn't take any melons. Please don't wrongly accuse us."
Qin Yao returned home from the factory. When she looked up, she saw Old Man Liu standing by his field on the other side of the river. She called out in confusion, "Dad, are you here to pick bitter melons?"
The boys were hidden by the grass and were at the bottom of the field, so Qin Yao didn't see them and just felt strange.
Unexpectedly, when Liu Daniu and the others heard her voice, they were so frightened that their faces changed drastically. They didn't want the melons anymore and didn't argue with Old Man Liu. They just ran towards the foot of the mountain.
Only then did Qin Yao see that there was someone in the bushes. She had already guessed what was going on in her mind, so she smiled helplessly and walked towards the other side of the river.
Old Man Liu had already found the melons that the children had stolen from the bushes. He held them in his hands and said angrily, "These stinky boys, I saw them carrying the melons with my own eyes, and you still dare to quibble? I'll go back and tell them on their parents. I'll give them a beating and teach them a lesson!"
Seeing that Qin Yao was still able to smile, Old Man Liu urged her to quickly count the melons in the field to see if there were fewer melons.
Qin Yao was reminded of this and then she remembered to count. It turned out that there were indeed three melons missing.
And the marks are very obvious. She picked them herself by cutting them with a knife, and the vine ends are neat.
The three lost ones had their vines pulled so badly that it looked like they had been forcibly twisted off.
This made Old Man Liu feel distressed, "God damn this little bastard, he's always doing evil!"
Qin Yao shook her head. "Forget it. Next time I'll ask Awang to come over and keep an eye on it."
If they really sue their parents, it will make them seem petty and mean.
Old man Liu was just angry and said that. When Qin Yao said forget it, he sighed and said, "You are still making trouble because you are poor."
If you have money, come and buy it.
Some people from the village also came to buy them, two hundred coins each, and they could choose them themselves, but they would only eat them once, and they would never be willing to spend another two hundred coins.
Compare him with the three kids, Jinhua, Jinbao and Damao, at home. They rely on their third aunt and have whatever they want to eat. They can even eat until they have stomachaches. Old man Liu thinks they are too spoiled.
"They are all children, so how can they not be greedy?" Qin Yao knew what Old Man Liu was thinking and said with a gentle smile.
Old Man Liu didn't have her open-mindedness. He just felt sorry for wasting the melon. He looked at the melon in his hand and said helplessly:
"Originally they could have been kept for a few more days, but now that they've been picked, the little ones are really happy."
Qin Yao asked Old Man Liu if he was not busy. Old Man Liu nodded. The autumn harvest had not started yet, and he didn't have to take care of the beans and peanuts planted in the fields. He was indeed a little idle.
Qin Yao nodded towards the melon field and said, "Pick two melons and take them to the village well. Slice them and sell them. Five or ten cents is fine."
Before she had eaten her fill of watermelon, she had indeed overestimated her appetite.
Now that there are so many extra ones, I might as well cut them into slices and sell them. The price is lower, and the children in the village can afford them, so they don’t have to steal them.
Old Man Liu thought this was a good idea. "Then I'll help you sell it, and I'll have Jinbao send the money you earn home."
Qin Yao said yes, and Old Man Liu became happy again as he had something to do.
He immediately picked out a melon that didn't look very good, and took it home together with the one he had just picked up. He asked Zhang to set up a stall for him, and he became a melon seller.
Sliced melons are sold at five cents each, and not only children are greedy, but adults are also tempted.
Especially the workers in the factory, who knew that melons were sold at the village well, would come over to buy one after work.
You may not feel anything special about this bitter melon before you try it, but once you try it, you can't give it up at all. You will feel comfortable only after eating it once a day.
The factory workers had money, so they didn't think five cents was too expensive. Many of them bought half a piece and took it home, intending to let their family members try it.
The business was surprisingly good, and Old Man Liu felt very accomplished. He thought to himself, no wonder Qin Yao loved doing business so much, it turned out that the feeling of buying and selling was so wonderful.
It was nearly dusk, and the road construction crew was chatting and laughing as they were returning from work when they saw a strange young man appear behind them.
The man was dressed like a scholar. He looked gentle and refined in a long gown. He had a bag on his shoulder and walked very fast, as if he couldn't wait to go home.
The man noticed these gazes, looked up, eyes full of confusion, and muttered softly: Did I take the wrong road?
The two women in the team felt their eyes suddenly light up, and they stood there in shock with their mouths slightly open - this man is too handsome!
"Who are you?" Liu Ji looked suspiciously at the refugees from Huangque Town who seemed to be traveling with him, and pointed ahead, "Are you going to Liujia Village?"
The mute nodded, pointed at him and asked him if he was from Liujia Village.
Liu Ji wondered why there was a mute here, but he nodded and said, "Yes, I'm from Liujia Village. You don't look like you're from our village."
The two women who had been standing there in shock finally came to their senses and explained a little excitedly, "We are refugees from Huangque Town. Thanks to the people of your Liujia Village for taking us in, we are now helping your village build roads to earn a living."
"This. Young Master." The woman was in a dilemma. She finally came up with a name that matched the handsome man in front of her. She asked curiously, "Which family in Liujia Village are you from? We haven't seen you before. Do you often go out?"
When Liu Ji heard them say this, he finally let down his guard. He walked away, smiling and saying, "I often stay at the academy in the county, but since you stay in our village, you must have heard of my name."
All the mutes looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to reveal his name.
Liu Ji smiled confidently, raised his chin and said, "I am Liu Ji, the third child in my family, and my wife's name is Qin Yao."
After saying this, wait and see their jaws drop. (End of this chapter)
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