After listening to the village chief's explanation and Zheng Qingshu's long-winded explanation, Xingxing frowned and asked again as if to confirm, "Will handing this pumpkin over to the government really ensure that the people of the world have enough to eat and no longer go hungry?"
“The more new varieties there are, the more hope there is. As long as the Great Jin Dynasty has enough food, even if a disaster occurs, it can last longer. The people will not go hungry, so many people will not die, there will be fewer refugees, and the world will be more peaceful,” the village chief explained earnestly.
Although Xingxing really wanted to help the refugees and hoped that the world could be at peace as soon as possible, she was still unhappy about giving away all the dozens of pumpkins she had worked so hard to grow.
Her little face scrunched up in pain.
“We won’t take your pumpkins for nothing. We can buy them from your family. How about five taels of silver per pumpkin?” Zheng Qingshu said with a smile.
“We need to keep three, no, five, five of us,” Xingxing said firmly.
Zheng Qingshu hesitated for a moment, then asked, "How many large pumpkins do you have in your family?"
Xingxing thought for a moment, then shook her head blankly, "I don't know, I didn't count, there aren't many."
"The most fruitful vine produced twenty, and the least fruitful vine produced six. There were sixteen vines in total, and I estimate that they produced no fewer than one hundred fruits when they intertwined," Zhou Erfu said rather vaguely.
However, none of the pumpkins are fully ripe yet. Some are only the size of a fist, while the largest is about the same size as the one that was brought over to be given to the village chief. They vary in size.
“Let’s go take a look now,” Zheng Qingshu gestured to the village chief.
The magistrate gave the order, leaving no room for argument. The group headed straight for the Zhou family. Xingxing, carried by Zhou Erfu, led the way. The little girl's face was tense, her displeasure written all over her face.
This magistrate is so annoying! Every time he comes, he takes things from my house. Last time he took the sweet potato king, and this time he wants to take the pumpkin. Even though he gives me money, Xingxing is still angry.
At this moment, Zhou Laoda and Chen Shunping were chatting in the main room, while Zhao Guihua and Zhao Guizhi were doing needlework under the eaves. The work in the fields had come to an end, and the matter of clearing wasteland and paying taxes was also over. They were enjoying a few days of leisure.
Hearing a knock at the door, Zhao Guihua put down what she was doing to open it. To her surprise, both the county magistrate and the village chief had arrived. This sight made her eyes twitch.
"The county magistrate and the village chief are here!" Zhao Guihua shouted.
Zhou Laoda and Chen Shunping exchanged a glance, then immediately got up and walked outside. They saw that Zheng Qingshu had already led his men into the courtyard, and Zhou Laoda and the others were about to kneel down.
"No need for formalities, take me to the backyard to see the pumpkins." Zheng Qingshu stopped them in time, his tone urgent.
"Pumpkin?" Old Zhou looked bewildered.
The village chief reminded him, "It's that big melon that you just had Erfu and Xingxing deliver."
After understanding what was going on, Boss Zhou quickly led everyone to the vegetable garden in the backyard. Pointing to a vine on a trellis, he said, "It's right here. It took several months to flower and bear fruit. I didn't know it could grow this big. I picked a small one, cooked it, and ate it. It's sweet, soft, and glutinous, and the taste is no worse than sweet potato."
Zheng Qingshu's heart stirred with excitement as he looked at the heavy, round pumpkins hanging from the vines climbing the trellis, each one resembling a large millstone.
"Yes, that's it! It really is a pumpkin. I never imagined that anyone in our Great Jin Dynasty could grow pumpkins. What a fortunate thing this is!"
Zheng Qingshu turned around solemnly and looked at Zhou Laoda and the village chief, saying, "Protect all these pumpkins. Make sure every pumpkin ripens. We need to cultivate the first batch of seeds. This matter is urgent."
"We need to keep five of them; we can't take them all." Xingxing ran over angrily to argue with Zheng Qingshu, afraid that he would go back on his word.
Zheng Qingshu wasn't angry at being contradicted. In a good mood, he chuckled and even picked up Xingxing. "I keep my word. I will definitely leave five for your family. Seeds are rare. Keep your five as seeds. You can also share some with the villagers later."
"Put me down," Xingxing struggled a few times before being placed on the ground. She secretly rolled her eyes and said crisply, "It's my family's business how we arrange things." Mind your own business.
“You little girl have quite a temper. I’m in a good mood, so I won’t hold it against you, Zheng Yue.” Zheng Qingshu held out his hand, and Zheng Yue immediately pulled out a silver note from his pocket and handed it over. The former handed the silver note to Zhou Laoda, “This is a two-hundred-tael silver note. Take it first. Remember to take good care of the pumpkin. I’ll come back for the seeds later.”
Old Zhou hesitated for a moment, not daring to take it, but Xingxing quickly took the silver note and said in a cute but fierce tone, "So many pumpkins, how can two hundred taels be enough?"
“You little brat, you’re really bold. You dare to ask for money directly in front of me, aren’t you afraid of offending me?” Zheng Qingshu clicked his tongue, both amused and exasperated. “You’ll get your share. Once you get the pumpkin seeds, the rest will be settled. But if you don’t take good care of the pumpkin seeds, you won’t only lose the rest of the money, but you’ll also be punished.”
Hearing this, Chen Shunping stepped forward and said, "If nothing unexpected happens, we can definitely guarantee that the remaining pumpkins will mature and be used to grow seeds. But if something unexpected happens, you can't blame us, can you?"
Zheng Qingshu's face suddenly darkened, and he said sternly, "I don't want to hear any surprises. In short, we must get these pumpkin seeds."
Chen Shunping's face paled, and he fell silent. Originally, he just wanted to get some assurance so that if something unexpected happened in the middle, he wouldn't get into trouble. Otherwise, if he couldn't deliver the pumpkin seeds, he would be in trouble.
However, he was just assuming things. The magistrate valued the pumpkin seeds even more than he had imagined. This meant that success was the only option, and failure was not an option. If something went wrong, the Zhou family would have to bear the blame.
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