When those people got closer, they discovered that it was actually a watermelon.
A sharp explosion suddenly erupted from the crowd.
"Quick, quick, pinch me! Am I starving to death? There are still watermelons for sale these days!"
"Add me on QQ, am I so hungry I'm dizzy? How come there are still watermelons for sale here? Didn't they say watermelon production stopped a long time ago?"
As everyone chimed in, more and more people gathered in front of the supply and marketing cooperative.
They all pointed at the blackboard to express their doubts.
"This can't be fake, can it?"
"How could this be fake? This was released by the supply and marketing cooperative. Would the supply and marketing cooperative lie to us ordinary people?"
"So that means we'll actually all have watermelons to eat?"
Su Ning happened to walk out, and as soon as everyone saw him, they all started asking him questions.
"Section Chief Su, is everything written here true?"
"Are we really all going to be able to eat watermelon?"
"Does this mean our years of famine are almost over?"
"I feel like it's probably almost over. Now we can even eat rare things like watermelons."
Su Ning smiled and said, "What are you all talking about?"
"Our supply and marketing cooperative has only received a batch of watermelons, and the quantity is not large. Starting tomorrow morning, everyone should line up. First come, first served, and each person can only buy a maximum of half a watermelon."
Someone in the crowd heard what Su Ning said and immediately protested, "Half a watermelon? That's far too little!"
"Yes, half a watermelon isn't enough to go around when we get home!"
Suning was also helpless. He explained to everyone, "There's nothing we can do. We only have a limited number of watermelons right now. These few dozen watermelons were obtained with great difficulty."
"If we don't cut it up and sell it, even fewer people will be able to eat it."
Everyone understood that it was already quite difficult to get watermelons during the Lunar New Year. So they didn't say anything more, otherwise they would have been putting Section Chief Su in a difficult position.
"Okay, let's all be understanding of each other. We can't even buy watermelons on the black market these days."
Someone in the crowd spoke up.
"Section Chief, can we come to buy watermelons every day from now on?"
"Yes, Section Chief Su, will these watermelons be sold every day from now on?"
Section Chief Su looked at them helplessly and explained with a smile, "Of course not. People have to wait and see when the watermelons will be grown. How could they just appear out of nowhere?"
"Alright, then we'll just have to wait for news."
Some were happy, some were sad, and after much persuasion, everyone dispersed.
Lin Chaosheng took two large watermelons to find Lao Wu. When Lao Wu heard that Lin Chaosheng had come with two large watermelons in his hands, he immediately went out to greet him with a big smile.
"Oh, Brother Lin, you've arrived."
Lin Chaosheng handed him the two large watermelons he was carrying, saying, "Didn't I come to keep my promise and bring you watermelons?"
"Then I won't stand on ceremony, brother."
Old Wu didn't refuse; he simply accepted it, since it had been agreed upon beforehand. He'd also given the two dogs to Lin Chaosheng. So, he had a clear conscience about what he said about the watermelon.
"If you need a dog again in the future, just come to me, and I'll give you a 20% discount."
Old Wu patted the watermelon; judging from the sound, it must be sweet.
"Also, if anything happens to those two dogs, be sure to come to me immediately, and don't let them hurt anyone."
Lin Chaosheng chuckled inwardly, thinking that since he had already signed contracts with both dogs, nothing unexpected would happen.
Lin Chaosheng greatly admired Lao Wu's responsible behavior.
"Don't worry, Brother Wu. If there are any problems, I'll definitely come to you. If there's nothing else, I'll be going now."
"It's alright, it's alright, you should go home and rest too!"
Old Wu personally escorted Lin Chaosheng out of the dog farm gate.
When Lin Chaosheng got home, he saw his mother holding something in her hand, about to dump it into the garbage dump.
"Mom, what are you going to throw away?"
Zhao Shufang glanced at Lin Chaosheng, who had returned, and said, "We've kept all the edible fish offal; we can't eat any of this."
"Fish offal?" Lin Chaosheng's eyes lit up, and he quickly went over to stop her. "Mom, don't throw away the fish after it's gone into the water. Keep it for me."
"I went to the dog farm today and bought two dogs. I put them in the watermelon field in the county town to guard the land. We humans can't eat fish offal, but dogs can."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Shufang chuckled and said, "You've grown all sorts of cunning."
"Hehe, I call this not wasting anything."
"Okay, no waste, no waste. Come back quickly, wash your hands, and get ready for dinner."
Everyone ate a quick bite for dinner, but even so, it was still much better than what the neighbors ate.
"If the watermelons sell well, Mom and Dad, I'd like to expand the watermelon planting area a bit more. What do you think?"
Lin Chaosheng was holding a steamed bun in his hand, eating as he talked.
“If you want to do it, then do it. You never asked me or your mother before when you did these things.”
Lin Shanhai spoke, but there was no hint of blame in his tone.
"I know, but I'm not sure myself, that's why I asked you."
Then, the kitchen staff picked up a piece of dried eggplant, mixed it into the rice, and said, "If you really manage to grow and sell watermelons, that would certainly be a great thing. After all, it's a year of famine, and I've never heard of anyone actually managing to grow watermelons like you."
“Yes, yes, my brother has been saying the same thing.” Su Hang chimed in from the side, “My brother said that fifty-odd watermelons are actually a bit few. After sending them to higher authorities, there aren’t many left that can be sold to the people at the supply and marketing cooperative. It’s a difficult situation for them.”
With Su Hang's words in mind, Lin Chaosheng confirmed his idea—he wanted to expand the watermelon planting area.
“Okay, then I’ll take Wei He to the county town tomorrow to see if there’s any land we can buy.”
"As for the family matters and the supplies for the state-run restaurant, I'll leave it to Dad and Shansheng."
Upon hearing this, Lin Shanhai glared at Lin Chaosheng and said, "We're all family, what's the trouble? Let's eat quickly."
After dinner, Lin Chaosheng was going to the county town.
Just as he was about to leave, he heard Liang Mei come out and call out to him.
"Chaosheng, I also want to go to the county town."
Lin Chaosheng's face immediately showed concern. "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
"No, it's because I noticed that Mom's clothes are covered in patches. I was thinking of making her a new dress, but the colors of the fabrics we have at home aren't quite right, so I thought I'd go to the county town to buy a few different kinds of fabric."
"Why don't you buy a few? I won't go; it's not comfortable to ride in this donkey cart back and forth."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com