Spring has gone, summer has arrived, and the days fly by in our busy lives.
The watermelon flowers have blossomed, starting with just one or two, and now they're blooming everywhere. Mu Yi'an wishes she had more hands.
Once the flowers bloom, artificial intervention is needed to prevent the melon seedlings from rotting, including pollination.
Mu Yi'an observed that there were only two or three bees on this plot of land, so relying on natural pollination seemed unrealistic.
Mu Yi'an sought out her older brother, Jiang Shuyun, and Uncle Wang and his son. The group worked all day, exhausted and dizzy, and the first batch of flowers was successfully pollinated.
"Yi'an, it's such a shame you lost that book. It covered everything about watermelons so comprehensively. Seedling cultivation, fertilization, fertilizer production, and what is this too?"
"pollination."
Mu Yi'an thought to herself, what books are there? That's what she's learned over the years.
Brother Mu's watermelons bloomed a little later than Mu Yi'an's; some of them had just started to flower. By the time I finished helping out, his watermelons would be almost ready to bloom too.
After seeing their elder brother off, Mu Yi'an and Jiang Shuyun went home.
"Shuyun, once the watermelons are sold and we have some extra money, I definitely want to buy a few servants, the kind with lifelong contracts."
"Yes, buy them. In this era, servants who have signed a life-long contract are also part of the property. You will have a lot to do in the future, and there are many things that need to be kept secret, so it's better to buy them."
Jiang Shuyun didn't think there was anything wrong with buying people; given the current environment, they were simply adapting to survive.
As they talked, the two arrived home.
"Second brother, second sister-in-law, you're done with your work. Wash your hands and get ready for dinner."
Jiang Qi busied herself setting the table, and Shao Yun and Chu Yue, seeing their parents return, scurried over.
"Dad, Mom, is the watermelon ready to eat?"
"Mommy, hug me."
Mu Yi'an held Chu Yue in his arms. The little girl had gotten chubby again.
"Shao Yun, you want to eat watermelon, but not now. It was about the size of a fingernail just now, so you can't eat it."
Mu Yi'an carried the little one and led the big one to wash their hands.
"Oh! That's too small. When will it grow up?"
"It will take another ten days or so."
"That will take a long time!"
The little guy shook his head, a regretful look on his face. It was too interesting.
Mu Yi'an couldn't resist. He put Chu Yue down, bent down and kissed Shao Yun, then kissed Chu Yue again, making the two children giggle.
After lunch, the family went for a nap. Mu Yi'an didn't care about what happened on Jiang Da Sao's one-month celebration. In Mu Yi'an's mind, Jiang Da Sao had already been excluded from her social circle.
In the days that followed, Mu Yi'an devoted all her energy to the watermelon field.
Watching the little watermelon grow from the size of a fingernail to the size of a marble, then an egg, and finally bigger than a fist...
There were quite a few watermelons. Mu Yi'an sorted through the fruit, leaving two or three small watermelons on each vine and cutting off the rest.
The eggshell fertilizer has already been applied once; the carbonized eggshells mixed with humus should provide enough nutrients.
"Shuhe, you need to be careful during this time. I'm afraid some curious people will come in. The watermelon can't be eaten yet, otherwise it will be ruined and wasted."
"Okay, sister-in-law, I'll be careful."
Mu Yi'an walked around again. The watermelons were now as big as balls, with two or three watermelons on each vine. Mu Yi'an had a good idea of how many watermelons there were in this thirty acres of land.
"Shuyun, what do you think about me asking my cousin next door if I could watch over his watermelons for a month and pay him two hundred coins? Would he do it?"
“You’re capable. My cousin works odd jobs in the county town and only earns five or six coins a day. Giving him two hundred coins a month is already a lot.”
Jiang Shuyun knew that once the watermelons grew big, she would need to hire someone to watch over them. Jiangjia Village was so big, with over a thousand people, and there were bound to be some people with questionable character.
"I'm relieved to hear that. I'll go next door and tell my cousin and the others."
Mu Yi'an initially considered using Uncle Jiang's eldest son, but then thought better of it and decided against testing people's hearts. What if something went wrong? Money can easily corrupt people; sometimes, greed can arise in an instant.
After thinking about it, Mu Yi'an went to her cousin's house next door.
"Shuyun's wife, come in quickly. It's been a long time since you've been here. You're such a capable child, running to the melon field every day, you've gotten so tanned."
Mu Yi'an was warmly greeted by her aunt, just as she always did when she came.
“Aunt, I came here to ask if my cousin has time for the next month. The watermelons in my melon patch have already grown, and we need to look after them. It will cost two hundred copper coins a month, and he will patrol the patch day and night with Jiang Shuhe.”
“Your cousin has time, but the jobs in the county are all odd jobs, sometimes available and sometimes not. You’re so grateful to have given him such a good job.”
My aunt was telling the truth; their family was neither rich nor poor. They had enough to eat, but their extra money was limited. They also had a grandson in school, which was a considerable expense.
"Alright, then let my cousin come over tomorrow. Aunt, I have something to do at home, so I'll head back now."
"Alright, Shuyun's wife, you hurry up and get busy. Don't forget to have your eldest uncle talk to the Wang family and ask them to help look after the melon patch."
"I understand, Aunt. I'll have Shuyun talk to Uncle in a bit."
Mu Yi'an was used to modern ways of thinking and hadn't considered this aspect. In ancient times, the relationships between clansmen weren't just literal; they were real relationships.
"Yi'an, you're back. What did your aunt say?"
“My aunt agreed and was very grateful. She even asked you to talk to my eldest uncle and ask the Wang family to help look after them. I didn’t even think of that. The way we understand the clan is different from how we perceive them.”
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