Madam Liu asked curiously, "What is it? Tell me."
Wan'er replied, "It's nothing serious. My family arranged a marriage for my younger brother. The other party is from a very low-key, scholarly family."
"But I've been married for several years and rarely participate in girls' gatherings and games, so I've never met that girl. My mother is in poor health and rarely goes out, so I'm in a bit of a dilemma."
"After all, adding people to the family is a big deal, so we need to find out about their character and appearance before making a decision."
"Ah, that's easy." Madam Liu agreed immediately. "Tell me the girl's family background and name. I know quite a few ladies whose daughters are all teenagers. I'm sure I know a few of them."
"When the time comes and I get the exact information, I'll have someone tell you to bring the child to my house for a visit, so you don't stay cooped up at home every day."
Madam Jia also said, "Why didn't you mention it when I went back last time? I could have helped inquire. However, since the other party comes from a scholarly family, it would be more appropriate for Sister-in-law Liu to step in."
Wan'er nodded quickly and explained in detail the girl's family background and birth order.
After exchanging a few more casual words, Madam Liu and Madam Jia were about to take their leave and go home.
Wan'er invited them to stay for dinner, but they refused. Wan'er then had someone prepare baskets and sent each of them a jade melon.
The jade melon, about the size of a ceramic bowl, is entirely emerald green and faintly exudes a sweet fragrance; it is delightful to look at.
Madam Liu asked in surprise, "The melon garden at Suijin Beach is open already?"
Wan'er nodded with a smile, "Yes, Auntie. This was sent by the village chief this morning. My father and Mr. Wen also know about it. They plan to present the melons to the palace tomorrow, and then open the garden for sale to the public."
Madam Jia Er reached out and patted the jade melon, extremely excited, and whispered with a smile, "Then wouldn't we be able to eat this year's jade melon even before the Emperor?"
Madam Liu smiled and said, "I'll definitely have a good talk with my grandfather when we get back. He's like a little child these days, and I'm sure he'll be happy for days because of this."
“My old lady is the same,” Madam Jia said, even happier. “She’s been complaining lately that her mouth tastes bitter. I guess it’s because of the heat. If she eats a few pieces of jade melon, she’ll probably get better right away.”
Wan'er had someone cover the basket with a coarse cloth and then put it on the two people's carriage.
Madam Liu and Madam Jia arrived in high spirits and left in joy.
After returning home, needless to say, they all managed to make the old man beam with joy.
The next day, Li Lao Er and Mr. Wen, along with the village chief and Liu Biao Tou, loaded a cart full of jade melons and golden fruits, paraded through the city, and delivered it to the palace.
People both inside and outside Xindu had long been accustomed to the Li family's unique way of announcing their arrival.
So, the melon fields in Suijintan opened, and the news spread almost instantly.
The kids in the family are jumping up and down, yelling that they want to eat watermelon. If there's even the slightest hesitation from the family, the kids will throw a tantrum.
The old men and women love their grandchildren, and in this sweltering heat, they also long for a piece of melon to quench their thirst.
Therefore, if the pillars of each family cannot snatch back a few jade melons, then they are disrespectful to the elderly and unloving to the young.
Inevitably, they led their servants under the scorching sun and hurriedly set off for the road leading to Broken Gold Beach, sweating profusely the whole way.
Even in the sweltering heat, they dared not stop for a moment, fearing that if they were too late, they wouldn't even be able to buy a single melon vine.
In previous years, if you couldn't buy the good melons that were broken into gold, you could always find them elsewhere.
Although the quality isn't as good as Suijintan, it's not as sweet or juicy, but it's still enough to satisfy a craving.
This year, the weather has been uncooperative. Since the beginning of spring, there has been a drought, and the melon vines in other places have withered. The few melons that do grow are pitifully small.
Only in Suijintan, with a total of several hundred people from four villages, and even a few hundred more hired, totaling more than a thousand laborers, they painstakingly dug irrigation canals from Jiangchazi to bring water from the river to the vicinity of Suijintan, and then carried buckets of water to the fields to irrigate the melon vines.
The bustling scene back then attracted quite a few people from the city to come and see what was going on.
It can be said that the jade melons of Suijintan are now truly a rare commodity.
Everyone was prepared for the price to double!
But when they arrived at the melon farm, they heard that the price had only increased by 30%, and if they exchanged it for grain, they could get priority to buy it, and the price might even have only increased by 20%.
This increase is the hard-earned money of the villagers and their hired laborers.
The grain was naturally distributed to the villagers and hired laborers.
On average, a single jade melon could fetch six or seven taels of silver.
If someone can still afford to eat like this, they must be rich.
Wealthy families have stockpiled grain, so it doesn't matter if there's no harvest this year.
So the jade melons of Broken Gold Beach were quickly picked and loaded onto horse-drawn carriages.
Large quantities of grain were also delivered to Suijintan and then distributed there.
Food is the most important thing for people.
Farmers make a living by cultivating the land, yet they are also the group most likely to suffer from hunger.
Especially in a year like this, with such a disaster, no one is more panicked than the farmers.
Anyone with a modicum of sense would have chosen grain over money.
In critical moments, food can save lives, but money cannot...
In the palace, the emperor was delighted to see baskets of jade melons and golden fruits.
He instructed Steward Yi to cut open a jade melon, hold a large piece, and eat to his heart's content.
The village chief looks much older than he did a few years ago.
Seeing the emperor enjoying his meal so much, the wrinkles on his face deepened, making him appear even more simple and honest.
The emperor chatted with him intimately, asking about the drought, the villagers' food and drink, the fruits on the mountain, and the business in the hot spring valley.
The village chief didn't hide anything; he told them what difficulties they were facing.
"Your Majesty, the drought this year is indeed severe. The fruit on the mountain is probably less than half of what it used to be. The water in the hot spring valley has also decreased significantly. In previous years, the flow of water was as thick as a bucket, but this year it's like a child urinating..."
"Ahem!" Manager Yi suddenly coughed, reminding the village chief that such language was impolite.
The village chief was a little confused, and when he finally understood, he felt embarrassed and apprehensive.
The Emperor put down the melon rind, took the damp cloth to wipe his hands, then glared at Steward Yi and said with a smile, "You old servant, don't meddle. Let the village chief say whatever he wants."
"I'm so tired of listening to the officials talking in such bureaucratic jargon. It's best to be like the village chief, who says what he really means."
Steward Yi chuckled ingratiatingly, "Your Majesty is right, this old servant has been meddling."
"Hmph, then you won't get any of this year's jade melons. I'll punish you by making you drool with envy," the Emperor joked.
Surprisingly, Steward Yi did not act subserviently. Instead, he proudly raised his chin and replied, "Even if the Emperor doesn't bestow a reward, this old servant is not afraid. This old servant will go to Zhilan Palace in a moment. The Princess and the Princess will surely take pity on this old servant and reward him with two pieces of jade melon!"
The Emperor laughed heartily, pointed at Chief Eunuch Yi, and shook his head helplessly, "Look at this old servant, he's found a backer. Knowing that those two girls certainly don't lack jade melons, he no longer takes me seriously!"
Everyone laughed.
Liu, the镖头 (bodyguard), was a burly man with an innate air of bravery and a hearty laugh.
The emperor noticed him and asked him a few more questions.
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