"Of course they can't finish eating them all. They just pick the big and good ones. One watermelon weighs more than ten kilograms, which is enough for a family to eat for a day. People in the village told my mother that my second uncle and second aunt carry watermelons to other villages to sell every day."

When we got closer, we saw baskets and a shoulder pole behind Peng Fang and his wife. The two baskets were filled with five or six big, round watermelons.

"Second uncle and second aunt, are you busy?"

As soon as he saw Yun Mo, Peng Fang immediately asked about his eldest son Huang Zhao.

"Yun Mo, where is my Xiao Zhao? Where is he now?"

"I heard from his former coworkers on the construction site that he went to the north to make a fortune. How come he hasn't contacted his family yet?"

"Please tell me clearly, where did Xiao Zhao go in the north?"

Perhaps because she was too worried about her eldest son, Peng Fang's tone was quite aggressive.

Yun Mo didn't care. Although she hated Peng Fang's greedy character, she could understand her feelings as a mother.

"Aunt, after cousin Huang Zhao went to Jiang City, he never contacted me except for visiting my mom once. He didn't tell any of us when he left. I really don't know where he is now."

Seeing that she couldn't find out the whereabouts of her eldest son, Peng Fang couldn't help but vent her anger: "Yun Mo, Xiao Zhao is alone in Jiang City and doesn't know anyone here. How can you be his cousin if you don't take care of him?"

"Second aunt, you never told me a word about cousin Huang Zhao going to Jiang City, but now you blame me for not taking care of him. What's the logic? Also, cousin Huang Zhao went to Jiang City to seek refuge with Yun Yao, and the Yun family even arranged a good job for him. He quit his job without even saying goodbye and ran off to the north. Do I, his cousin, have to watch over him 24 hours a day?"

Peng Fang was left speechless.

Huang Jianguo spoke up for his wife, "Yun Mo, your second aunt didn't mean that. Xiao Zhao hasn't contacted his family since he went to the north. Your second aunt and I are very worried, afraid that something has happened to him."

Thinking of Huang Zhao's situation, Yun Mo's tone couldn't help but soften a little.

"If I know the whereabouts of cousin Huang Zhao, I will definitely inform you."

"Oh, okay, Yun Mo, we are a family after all, so you have to pay more attention to your cousin Xiao Zhao's affairs."

Yun Mo did not comment and her eyes fell on the basket behind the couple.

"Uncle, aunt, can you eat all the melons you picked?"

Huang Jianguo said with a wry smile: "We can finish it. This watermelon is very sweet. Your second aunt and I can eat one in one meal."

"That being said, these melons were planted by my aunt, right? It's okay for you to pick a few occasionally, but it's unreasonable to pick them with a basket every day."

Peng Fang put his hands on his waist and snorted, "There was a drought when the melon vines were first planted. If your second uncle and I hadn't helped to fetch water for the melons, the melons wouldn't have grown!"

Huang Qingning said angrily, "I just helped carry a few loads of water. How many melons have you picked? It must be several hundred kilograms. Isn't it enough?"

"Who picked several hundred kilograms? It's only about a hundred kilograms at most. Your mother can't take care of it anyway. Instead of letting the melons rot on the ground, we might as well help eat them."

Huang Qingning was so angry that her face turned red. "How can the melons rot in the field? Not only did outsiders come to steal the melons, but our own people also took advantage of the situation to rob us. There are several acres of melon fields, and my mother has only sold less than 500 kilograms so far. She can't even earn enough to pay the public grain tax!"

Perhaps considering that there were more people on Yun Mo's side, Peng Fang and Huang Jianguo did not argue too much. They hurriedly picked two baskets of watermelons and left.

After watching the couple walk away, Yun Mo turned around and patted Huang Qingning's shoulder comfortingly.

"Okay, don't be angry. I'll think of a way to help my aunt sell all the melons in this field."

"Are you serious, cousin?"

"Cousin, you wouldn't lie to me. You're the best."

Seeing the smile on Huang Qingning's face, Zeng Fang and the others also relaxed. They laughed and excitedly rushed into the melon field to look for big watermelons.

Yun Mo and Huang Qingning walked leisurely behind.

"Qingning, are there many people in the village who come to steal melons from the fields?"

Huang Qingning sighed, "We are the only family in the village that grows watermelons, and my mother can't take care of it alone. People often come to steal watermelons at night. Actually, it's okay to steal one or two, but some people are not satisfied and come to steal with baskets. The watermelon harvest was good this year, but we haven't made any money so far. We might even lose money."

These days, farmers have to pay public grain, and on average one acre of land has to pay about 100 kilograms.

Take corn for example. One hundred kilograms of corn costs about 12 yuan. Add fertilizer and seeds, and an acre of corn field will cost at least 40 yuan to break even. Only more than 40 yuan is profitable.

"How much can the watermelons in this field be sold for per pound?"

"If you carry the melons to town, you can sell them for 8 cents. If you sell them in the village, you can only sell them for 5 cents at most. Now everyone comes to steal the melons and no one buys them. My mother can only carry the melons to town and sell them at most half a load at a time. She can't carry more than that.

The better ones can be sold for 5 or 6 yuan each time. Sometimes if they can’t be sold, they are sold at a discount or given away for free. Otherwise, they have to be taken home.”

Based on the price of 8 cents, 500 kilograms is only 40 yuan, which is not enough to pay the public grain tax, let alone fertilizer and seeds.

Although a lot of watermelons were stolen, there were still quite a few watermelons in the field. Each one was big and round and very pleasing to the eye. If they could be taken to the city to sell, they could be sold for at least 10 to 15 cents.

Unfortunately, there is no road to the village, so such good watermelons cannot be transported out in large quantities.

"Momo? Is it really you who's back? I saw you from a distance just now and I thought I was seeing things."

The melon fields were not connected. Liu Zhi was working in another melon field. He saw Yun Mo and came over excitedly.

"Aunt."

Seeing Liu Zhi sweating profusely and his face tanned and red, Yun Mo couldn't help feeling a little sad and distressed.

How hard and difficult it must be for a woman to manage the crops for a family of seven or eight people.

Liu Zhi seemed particularly happy about Yun Mo's return. He stopped working in the fields, helped pick two big watermelons, and went home with her.

At home, Yang Xinghua had already boiled water and tied up a big rooster, waiting for Liu Zhi to come back and help slaughter it.

"I don't have anything good to treat you in the countryside, just a chicken. I hope you don't mind it being so shabby."

Zeng Fang said with a smile: "How could it be, grandma, you are so good at raising chickens, this chicken is so big."

"You have no experience of this, this is a rooster. The big roosters weigh more than ten pounds. This one is still small!"

Hearing Yao Cheng's complaints, Yang Xinghua laughed cheerfully and said, "Yes, this rooster was only bought in March and fed for more than four months, but it's still not big enough. It will be fat by the New Year. One chicken leg is enough for a whole pot of stew."

Second update~ 　　I have something to do these few days, I will resume the third update after I finish my work in a few days, muah!

(End of this chapter)