When Jiang Shuyun returned home from the old house, Mu Yi'an was already awake.
"I heard my aunt came. She's looking for you about the watermelon, right?"
"Yi'an, you're amazing! How did you guess that? I didn't even think of it when I went there."
"What's so hard to guess? My aunt has always been indifferent to us, and has never thought highly of you. The only reason she's in such a hurry to find you is if she has something to gain. Besides, have Jiang Lan's fiancé's family also come?"
Jiang Shuyun gave a thumbs up. His wife was truly amazing.
“I told them that we have signed an agreement with the merchants in the prefecture and we cannot break the contract. The penalty for breach of contract is very high, and one cannot lose one's integrity.”
"Well said. No matter what, we can't sacrifice ourselves for their benefit. We're not that close."
"Well, we're not that close."
Jiang Shuyun echoed, agreeing with him.
"Mommy, I want to eat watermelon."
"Shao Yun, shall we wait for my brother to come home from school and eat watermelon together?"
"Okay, let's wait for my brother."
Shao Yun is happy as long as there is watermelon to eat, and he wants to eat it with his brother and sister.
"Second brother, second sister-in-law."
"Shuwen, sister-in-law, you're here."
"Second sister-in-law, I heard that you will be dividing up some watermelon seedlings from your next watermelon harvest. Could you leave a few for us? We don't need many, just ten or so, to keep for ourselves. The watermelon is so delicious, it's the first time I've ever tasted the legendary watermelon."
Jiang Shuwen was a little embarrassed. He had heard it from his parents, so he came to ask.
"Do you have a place to plant them? If so, we can give you a few dozen trees. We've already included some for you."
"Thank you, Second Sister-in-law. We have a vegetable garden, which was divided up when the family property was divided. Shuwen isn't home often, so Shaokun and I don't eat many vegetables."
Li Qiuniang quickly spoke up, feeling a little embarrassed because she hadn't been able to visit her second sister-in-law's house much in the past few months due to severe pregnancy symptoms.
"Any place will do. You can manage it yourselves. This batch of watermelons will ripen around the Mid-Autumn Festival."
"I understand, Second Sister-in-law. I've stopped vomiting and I feel much better now. I should be able to do this little bit of work without any problem."
Li Qiuniang felt she could handle the task; she was strong, and her pregnancy wouldn't hinder her.
Mu Yi'an talked about some preliminary preparations. The couple were in a hurry to go back and prepare the land, so they asked Shao Kun to stay here and play with Shao Yun.
After the third batch of watermelons ripened, Manager Zhou brought people over to transport them away.
"Scholar Jiang, Madam Jiang, this is the money for the last batch of watermelons. Please count it."
"The number is correct, not a bit off."
Jiang Shuyun counted the money and confirmed that everything was correct.
"Scholar Jiang, Madam Jiang, let's sign an agreement for the second batch of watermelons. I'll come and buy them then, and the price will still be based on market conditions. What do you think?"
Manager Zhou also learned about Jiang Shuyun's identity as a scholar, and his attitude became even better.
"Manager Zhou, of course we are willing to cooperate with your company. For the next batch of melons, we also plan to get these large melons, which should fetch a higher price than ordinary watermelons."
"Of course, our boss is very satisfied with this batch of watermelons, and we will not maliciously lower the price for the next batch."
Both parties listed the relevant terms, wrote up the agreement, and signed it.
"Manager Zhou, it's a pleasure doing business with you!"
"It's a pleasure doing business with you!"
Manager Zhou bowed to Mu Yi'an, indicating that he had accepted the cooperation with Madam Jiang.
After seeing Manager Zhou off, Mu Yi'an asked Jiang Shuhe to pick all the remaining watermelons from the melon patch, as these were to be given away.
"Okay, sister-in-law. After we pick all the watermelons, should we pull up the vines?"
"Yes, after pulling up the melon vines, we need to plow the field deeply and also go up the mountain to get some rotten leaves to spread over it, otherwise, there won't be enough fertilizer."
Jiang Shuhe understood everything Mu Yi'an said, and he knew what to do.
Mu Yi'an left over fifty watermelons. Some needed to be sent to his third uncle in the prefectural city, Master Wei in the county town, and Manager He, and some also needed to be left for the county magistrate. Some also needed to be sent to the Jiang family's old residence, his third grandfather, great-grandfather, eldest uncle, cousin, third uncle… and other frequently visited relatives, as well as the elderly living alone in the clan. The rest were stored in the cellar for the children to eat.
After Mu Yi'an moved in, she cleaned up the original cellar in the yard so that she could store some things.
"Yi'an, tomorrow my brother-in-law and I will go to the county government office first to meet the county magistrate, and then we will go to the prefectural city to properly thank our third uncle."
"Alright, you can discuss it with your eldest and second brothers. I'm going to count the silver now."
Mu Yi'an couldn't stop smiling. She wasn't interested in what Jiang Shuyun was saying. She preferred silver, no, she'd always liked money!
Mu Yi'an sold three batches of watermelons, including some for his own family, totaling over 40,000 watermelons and earning 12,000 taels of silver, which was quite a fortune.
"One, two, three... there are too many to count!"
"Yi'an, you look so funny and cute with your money-grubbing attitude!"
"That's because you're never short of money. My favorite thing to do is count money, and I never get tired of it."
Mu Yi'an straightened the silver notes. This sum of more than ten thousand taels of silver looked like a lot, but that was only because it was in Jiangjia Village. If they left Jiangjia Village, it would be easy to spend all this silver.
Putting aside everything else, buying a courtyard or a manor in the prefectural city would cost a considerable amount of money. Jiang Shuyun also needs to go to the capital to take the imperial examination, and she doesn't know where she will be afterward, so these things need to be planned.
Shao Ming is already five years old and about to start his formal education. If possible, Mu Yi'an wants to provide him with a better environment. Like many parents in her previous life, she unconsciously wanted to give her child the best. Mu Yi'an was no exception; she was just an ordinary person.
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