Chapter 35 Resigning to Go Home and Farm (12)
Bai Ye didn't quite believe what Cha said, but she still needed to meet the client's requirements.
Moreover, it was just a barter system, and the villagers all said they could pay in advance, with the "reward" paid upfront, and the "settlement" would be made when the watermelons ripened and were harvested.
But as I kept receiving the compensation, it suddenly became a bit too much.
This matter actually caught the attention of his two uncles, who came over in person to give him a lecture.
Uncle: "Xiao Fan, the people living in Li Family Village are all honest and simple farmers who don't know anything. You can't use your urban methods to cheat them."
Second Uncle: "Xiao Fan knows what's good for him, but, I just want to say, isn't he taking too much stuff?"
Bai Ye looked back at the badgers behind him. In just a few days, these strange creatures had become so plump and round that they were no longer recognizable as badgers. To the untrained eye, they looked like little bears sleeping in a greenhouse.
And he had a premonition that the weird was weird, and the more it ate, the bigger it would grow.
This group of badgers is bound to undergo a major change.
However, “Uncles, I didn’t cheat them; it was all calculated based on equivalent exchange.”
"What kind of equivalence do you mean?"
“The watermelons I grow are big and sweet, and they are organic watermelons. But I have a good conscience. I sell them to the villagers at the price of ordinary Kirin watermelons. The fruits and grains they bring are also converted into money and sold by weight.”
The two uncles understood; it meant buying watermelons in advance in kind.
This is legitimate business.
However, "You only have about a hundred watermelons in your greenhouse, right? Are you sure you can sell that many?"
Bai Ye suddenly smiled mysteriously, "Uncles, you might not believe it if I didn't tell you, but the watermelons in my greenhouse can grow as big as houses."
As he spoke, he opened his arms and gestured as if he were gesturing to the previous few badgers.
Li Jianye and Li Jianjun laughed heartily, expressing their disbelief.
But soon, reality began to prove him wrong.
To be precise, it was a moment to witness a miracle.
Summer days are long and it gets dark late, so villagers who work in the fields usually don't go home until seven or eight o'clock.
Every time I pass by the greenhouses where Bai Ye works, I stop by to drop by and see how the watermelons I ordered in advance are growing.
I checked today, and they're quite big. Not bad at all. We can pick them and eat them in a couple of days.
I'll check again tomorrow. Wait, what happened? This watermelon has grown so much! Did I see things yesterday?
On the third day, holy crap! This watermelon has doubled in size and it's grown way too big.
On the fourth day, the fifth day... all the way to the seventh day, a group of old men and women from Lijia Village all came and gathered around the watermelon field, discussing it animatedly.
The greenhouse that Baiye had set up had already been torn apart. The watermelons were growing too fast and had begun to "invade" outwards, expanding their territory on their own.
Fortunately, there were only a few plots of wasteland nearby, so no one gossiped.
"How come Xiao Fan's watermelons grow so fast? In just one day, they've grown to the size of a basket."
“I passed by yesterday evening and it was only the size of a bucket. That’s amazing.”
"What kind of growth promoter did they give you?"
"Come on, what kind of growth promoter could do that? I think it's the mountain god showing his power to protect my Li Family Village."
"We need to tell Li Dashi that his grandson has made something of himself."
After admiring the house, the group of elderly men and women flocked to the Li family's mud house.
The wooden door, which was already creaking and not very sturdy, was completely destroyed by the crowd of people pushing and shoving it around, and it lay on the ground groaning.
Meanwhile, the courtyard was packed with people.
A group of people were talking all at once, vying to describe the spectacular sight of those giant watermelons.
Bai Ye was taking a nap, sleeping soundly, when the wooden door started banging.
He forced himself to open his eyes, thinking it was his grandmother coming in to urge him to eat breakfast, but instead he met more than a dozen pairs of eyes, each pair bright and piercing, as bright as a light bulb.
"Oh ho!"
Bai Ye was immediately startled awake, pulled a thin blanket over herself, and tried to shrink further into the bed.
Shrinking back and asking nervously, "Good morning, grandpas and grandmas? Are you here to see my grandparents?"
"Xiao Fan, your melon is enormous."
An old woman with a cane, almost all her teeth gone, but incredibly strong, managed to squeeze into the front row. "Get up and take a look! Those watermelons are huge and round, bigger than the moon!"
Bai Ye was terrified. Bigger than the moon? How big would that be? Li Family Village would be buried alive!
When I got to the greenhouse, wow, it was only about 1.5m by 1.5m in size.
This is far from what the badgers said—that it's bigger than a house.
"This old lady is always good at exaggeration," Bai Ye couldn't help but laugh.
A badger, about the size of a brown bear, woke up, opened its eyes, looked around, and grunted, "Almost there, almost there. If it eats a little more, it'll grow to the size of a house. It'll only take a couple of days."
"You guys grew like crazy in the later stages."
Bai Ye was both nervous and expectant. Thinking of something, she worried, "Won't your growth rate arouse suspicion?"
"Who doubts it? You doubt it?"
"Not me, I'm talking about other people."
To everyone's surprise, the brown bear laughed even louder. After laughing, it left behind the words "idiot" and turned to continue sleeping.
Before falling asleep, it didn't forget to guard its big watermelon.
Bai Ye's worst fears came true: villagers in Lijia Village grew giant watermelons. The news spread like wildfire and quickly caught the attention of the county radio station. Reporters and cameramen rushed to the scene.
Bai Ye, the person who planted the melon, was nearly choked by a reporter's microphone, while the camera next to him filmed him from every angle, accompanied by clicking sounds.
Photos have been taken without the person's consent.
Bai Ye frowned, angrily pushing away the microphone. His initial apprehension and fear had been replaced by anger.
No comment.
How can these people be so domineering?
Unable to interview the person directly, the reporter went to the greenhouse without further ado, hoping to take closer photos of the watermelons.
Bai Ye naturally refused and stopped them, saying, "Don't mess around. This is my vegetable garden, my private garden. You can't trespass without permission."
“Mr. Li, uncovering the truth is a journalist’s duty. We must verify whether you have exaggerated or lied.”
“You are not the government, and I haven’t broken the law. You have no right to do this.”
Bai Ye knew a bit about the law; they were abusing their power.
However, the reporter and the cameraman exchanged a glance, and two of them rushed forward to surround Bai Ye, while the other two carried the camera and ran away.
Bai Ye was trapped, feeling frustrated and anxious, and felt helpless. But then he turned his gaze and saw a group of old men and women returning to the village entrance.
So, as a last resort, he shouted, "Second Uncle, Second Uncle, stop those two men! They're trying to steal watermelons!"
If you can't solve the problem, then escalate the conflict.
The watermelons had already been pre-ordered by the villagers; they were all reserved.
Now, a melon thief has come in broad daylight. Bai Ye can tolerate it, but the old folks cannot.
The group of people, whose combined age was nearly a thousand years, usually trembled with fear and would pant after just a few steps. But now, in this battle to defend themselves, each one of them was more courageous than the last.
His legs were no longer lame, his hands no longer trembled, and his mind was exceptionally sharp.
Some were in charge, some were leading the charge, some were covering the rear, and some were responsible for standing on the outermost edge and cursing.
Seeing that the situation was not right, the reporter immediately called for help. Soon after, five or six more people jumped out of the van at the village entrance.
At this point, the two sides were evenly matched.
Bai Ye thought to himself, "It's over. How could the old folks possibly defeat a group of young people? These giant watermelons are probably doomed."
However, a magical and terrifying scene then unfolded.
The elderly men and women, surrounded by young people, suddenly roared, "Some have their arms broken, some have their heads ripped off!"
The heads, freshly severed, still dripping blood from their necks, floated nimbly into the air, surrounding several cameramen. They hurled insults at each other, more vicious than anyone else.
As for the torso, it automatically stood in a straight line, blocking the path to the fields.
That wasn't all; the remaining arms, pushing and scratching, were all aimed at the group of people in front of them.
"Xiao Fan, go quickly and call your third uncle. Tell him to bring the villagers over here immediately, or we'll kill them!"
"Damn it, they're not even fully grown yet, and they're already stealing watermelons. Let's teach them a lesson."
"Do you think the melons in Li Family Village are so easy to steal?!"
Bai Ye mechanically turned around in a daze, ran into the village, knocked on each door, and relayed the words of the village elders.
In less than half an hour, most of the elderly people in the village had come out, dismembering their arms and heads. Before the bodies even reached the village entrance, the heads were already flying away.
First, they join insult groups, where they hurl insults and gossip—it's practically their old trick.
Secondly, scratching, pinching, and twisting are also done with ease.
Some of the more agile ones even dismembered their legs, waiting on the perimeter of the encirclement, ready to strike when the opportunity presented itself.
The group of young people had never seen anything like this before. They were so frightened that they were dumbfounded and ran away faster than rabbits.
The van drove off erratically, and Bai Ye couldn't help but worry that it might roll off the mountainside.
Looking back, the sight of a group of elderly people with limbs and heads separated from their bodies left me deeply shocked.
I was so stupid, really. I only knew that vegetables and fruits were strange, but I didn't know that the villagers were too.
Oh no, I should have known. Back in the beginning, my two uncles had already removed their arms and heads to do manual labor.
However, as time went by, I gradually forgot about it...
While Bai Ye was still in a daze, pondering just how many strange things were happening in Li Family Village, the scattered old men and women began to shout.
"Xiao Fan, I can't find the head. Come quickly and help me find it. Which bastard kicked it away?"
"Xiao Fan, come help your third grandma first. Ouch, my legs are so weak. They're already sore after just a couple of kicks."
"I can't do it anymore, I'm getting old, arguing for a couple of minutes gives me a headache and my blood pressure goes up."
On the large stone slab at the village entrance, dozens of bodies sat in a row, waiting for the only young man to pick up their heads and limbs.
Bai Ye was very familiar with this scene; he had done the first instance before.
Moreover, compared to those strangers, these elders in front of me are quite kind and approachable.
He chuckled and agreed, then found a large bamboo basket, carried it on his back, picked up any head he saw, threw it into the basket, and picked it up again whenever he saw one.
In no time, the whole basket of heads was picked clean.
"Grandpas and grandmas, you're amazing! You're still going strong and healthy, truly incredible!"
"I've seen it for myself now. This is what it means to truly have everyone doing their job. You all speak clearly, act decisively, and move with your feet. There's nothing you can do wrong."
"I've decided that once the watermelons are ripe and ready to be picked, I'll give each of you ten pounds for free."
In the bamboo basket on its back, a group of heads turned around, extremely satisfied.
Along with that, the body sitting on the stone slab swayed left and right, falling backward in excitement.
"I knew it, Xiao Fan is a sensible young man."
"I'm definitely going to eat my fill of watermelons this year."
"We'll block the road at the village entrance later. Those restless melon thieves outside, they can dream on!"
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