Mr. Liang was pushed around the estate by Shanzi, and they strolled around slowly.
The master and servant had nothing to pack; their employer had already prepared everything.
Li Dahu also caught up and put all three of their luggage away.
"Sir, the crops here are growing so well! I can see their wheat fields; the ears of wheat are so big and heavy. I wonder how they grow them, how they're so good!"
"Big Tiger, the climate here is pleasant, and there are two harvests a year. If the crops are well tended, the harvest will be plentiful."
"Throughout our journey here, we've noticed that the landlord's estate is managed very well. They not only grow grains, but also other crops."
Mr. Liang was in the army and was in charge of grain distribution. He often went to the fields to check on the planting of grain and also participated in the autumn harvest.
The least profitable part of this estate must be the grain.
Those vast fields of vegetables must have been grown for more than just their own family's consumption.
"Sir, come and see what this is!"
Big Tiger pointed to a large patch of land in front of him, where round, green things were growing on lush green vines. He didn't know what they were.
Shanzi heard Li Dahu's call and pushed the teacher over. He also saw those round things.
"That's a watermelon."
"Watermelon? Is it for eating?"
Li Dahu and Liang Shan had never heard of watermelons and didn't know what they were.
"It's a kind of fruit, the flesh inside is red and very sweet."
Mr. Liang had eaten watermelon before; back then in Beijing, watermelons were a rare treat. He never imagined that so many were being grown here.
"Are you guests invited by the master?"
Uncle Li came out of the melon patch. The watermelons would be ripe in about ten days, and he would come over to check on them often.
"Greetings, sir. We are here to give a lesson to the two sons of our master."
Mr. Liang did not know the old man's identity, but judging from his tone, he seemed to be a servant in the household.
"Hello, sir. I heard from my son that several highly skilled masters have come to our house."
My son is Butler Li; you should have met him before.
"Yes, I have. Butler Li has taken good care of us."
Mr. Liang couldn't find that this was Steward Li's father; judging from his appearance, he must be an old man from the village.
"Look, these watermelons will be ripe in about ten days. Then you'll be able to eat them. The watermelons we grow are very sweet."
When it comes to watermelons, Uncle Li becomes quite talkative.
"Uncle Li, how long have you been growing watermelons?"
"It's been several years. We planted them in the county town before, this is the first year here."
Including this year, it's been planted for three or four years now. My wife's brother found this method, and later she tried some other fertilization methods, with good results.
Uncle Li couldn't even remember how many years they had been growing watermelons. He felt that they hadn't been sold to the Jiang family later, but had always lived with the Jiang family and grown watermelons with the wife.
"Wow, this watermelon is really easy to care for. I didn't eat it for many years. Back then, watermelons were a very rare treat."
"Watermelons are easy to grow; they don't need top-quality soil, but prefer sandy soil."
My wife once said that our watermelons are just average; they'd be much sweeter if grown in places with large temperature differences between day and night.
Uncle Li had only heard his wife lament once; he didn't know where the temperature difference between day and night was significant, even though he had lived on this land his entire life.
"The temperature difference between day and night is large in sandy areas."
These words were etched in Liang Wenxuan's heart.
Li Dahu and Liang Shan were completely focused on the watermelons scattered on the ground. It was the first time they had ever seen watermelons, and they couldn't imagine what the red-fleshed ones the teacher had described would look like.
"Uncle Li, are watermelons expensive right now?"
"It used to be very expensive; a pound of watermelon could sell for twenty coins."
Later, Magistrate Zhao promoted watermelon cultivation in Xinyuan County. With increased planting, the price dropped; now, good watermelons cost only six or seven copper coins per pound.
When it comes to growing watermelons and farming, Uncle Li gets more and more excited to talk about it.
"This watermelon is great. I'm so lucky to be able to eat watermelon this year."
"That's right, my wife is very generous, we get to eat lots of watermelons every year."
Uncle Li looked happy as he talked about these things.
What could be sweeter or happier than eating the fruit of your own hard work?
"The boss is a good person, and we know that very well."
Mr. Liang and Uncle Li had a great time chatting, and Li Dahu and his friend also enjoyed looking at the watermelons.
"Sir, there is a pond over there, with lots of lotus roots and a large expanse of lotus leaves. It's very beautiful."
Many teachers and students at the academy enjoyed looking at the leaves and composing poems there.
In Uncle Li's eyes, Mr. Liang was also a learned man. His son told him that Mr. Liang was very capable and should be respected.
"Thank you, Uncle Li. Let's go for a walk over there. It was a pleasure chatting with you."
"I love farming. If you ever want to know anything about farming, just come find me."
Uncle Li also quite liked this gentleman, and the gentleman responded to everything he said.
They called out to Liang Shan and the other man, and Mr. Liang and his companions headed towards the pond.
"Sir, a green-skinned watermelon has red flesh inside. What does that look like? I can't imagine."
Liang Shan was still pondering the watermelon; his head was throbbing, and he couldn't even imagine what it would look like.
"Uncle Li said that in about ten days, the watermelons will be ripe. Then you will be able to see what a watermelon looks like and taste what it tastes like."
Mr. Liang couldn't explain to him what a red-soil watermelon looks like.
"Really? We can have it too?"
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