Looking at the trays of paper tubes filled with seeds in the room, Mu Yi'an felt happy; this was hope.
No watering is needed before the seedlings emerge; just pay attention to the temperature. Mu Yi'an controls the room temperature by feel, a skill she's quite adept at.
Mu Yi'an stayed at home, looking after the seedlings and the baby. Chu Yue was about to turn one year old, and preparations were being made for the baby's first birthday celebration, which was still very important in ancient times.
Although most families prefer sons to daughters and the first birthday ceremony for girls is usually simple or not held at all, Mu Yi'an wanted to hold one for Chu Yue, without inviting outsiders, just for the family to celebrate together.
Mu Yi'an is living a good life now. She shares housework and takes care of the children with Jiang Qi, which is very easy. Jiang Shuhe takes care of the sheep, so she doesn't have to cut grass for them anymore. Occasionally, she goes to the fields to check on things and knows that Jiang Shuhe has already fenced off thirty acres of land.
All that's left is to wait for the watermelon seedlings to sprout.
The villagers knew that Jiang Shuhe worked for Jiang Shuyun's family as a long-term laborer. They were all very surprised to see him cut vines down from the mountain and fence off that piece of land.
All I saw was Jiang Shuhe leading an ox to turn the soil and make ridges, but I didn't see him planting anything in the field, so how did it get fenced off?
"Shuhe, what are you doing? Why are you enclosing this land with vines?"
"I just did what Brother Shuyun told me to do. I don't know the specifics of why."
Jiang Shuhe looked at the curious villagers around him and kept saying that he didn't know. No matter who asked him, he said he didn't know.
Everyone in the village knew Jiang Shuhe's temperament and knew they wouldn't get anything out of him by asking. Although they were curious, there was nothing they could do, and they couldn't go to Jiang Shuyun's house to ask.
The Jiang family's old residence has also heard about it; Jiang Shuyun's land has been fenced off with vines.
"Third sister-in-law, do you know what second sister-in-law wants to plant?"
Sister-in-law Jiang had also heard about it and was curious. She also wondered what kind of money-making scheme Mu Yi'an was up to, but was keeping it from them.
"Sister-in-law, I haven't been to Second Sister-in-law's place recently, so I had no idea."
Li Qiuniang went back to her parents' home for a few days before returning. Moreover, since becoming pregnant, she has been particularly prone to fatigue and hasn't been to her second sister-in-law's house for quite some time.
"Really? I thought you two had a good relationship, so your sister-in-law would tell you in advance."
Jiang's sister-in-law muttered to herself. She dared not utter a sound now, for fear that Jiang Shuheng would divorce her.
"Shao Qin, go and call your second uncle. I have something to say to him."
"Okay, Grandpa."
Jiang Shaoqin has been personally disciplined by his grandfather recently, and his temperament has been somewhat corrected. In addition, with Lin Yaozu leaving the school and no one leading him to do bad things, he has become much more well-behaved.
Jiang Shuyun was a little confused when he was called over, not knowing why his father had called him over.
"Father, did you call me?"
"Hmm, the villagers have been talking about it these past few days. They've surrounded your dry land with vines. I wonder what you're going to do with it?"
"Oh, Yi-an wants to grow watermelons, so she used vines to surround them to prevent the watermelons from growing and being damaged."
Jiang Shuyun hasn't left the yard these past few days; she's been reading and exercising at home. She had no idea her house had become the center of gossip.
"Growing watermelons?"
Are watermelons easy to grow?
Jiang's mother and sister-in-law exclaimed in surprise, and even Jiang Lan, who didn't usually care much about family matters, looked astonished.
Watermelons, although many people know about them, very few have actually seen one. This is because the cultivation methods were kept secret, and many people tried but only saw vines grow without producing watermelons. Or the watermelons would just form a seed pod and then inexplicably rot away. As a result, many people lost everything, and eventually, ordinary people stopped growing watermelons.
"If you don't know, just give it a try. Brother Yi'an is researching it, so let's plant it together. My brother-in-law will help with anything we don't understand."
Jiang Shuyun told his parents about the plan they had discussed, and also to let others know that it was An's family who took the lead, and they were just benefiting from it.
“So that’s what happened. Lately, people have been asking me about your land. It’s been fenced off, so it’s very conspicuous, and everyone’s curious. That’s normal. Find some time to talk to your third grandfather about it, so you can avoid trouble later.”
After thinking for a moment, Jiang's father gave his suggestion.
"I understand, Dad. I'll go to Third Grandfather's house in a bit. I didn't intend to keep this a secret forever, and there's nothing to hide anyway. It's just that everyone's curious about the watermelon planting, and they'll want to ask about it. Yi'an and I have been quite busy lately."
Jiang Shuyun thought that Yi'an was afraid of trouble and didn't want to answer all sorts of questions all day long.
"Your studies are the most important thing. Time flies by, don't waste it. As for the watermelon planting, you're only doing it because of your in-laws. Once everyone knows how it happened, they won't be curious anymore."
You should have a good talk with your third grandfather; he'll take care of things in the clan. If the watermelons grow successfully, you'll likely be quite busy next year; there will always be people trying to find out more.
Jiang's father thought that money was a powerful motivator, and watermelons were such a precious commodity. If they could be successfully grown, it would be a considerable fortune.
“We know, it’s our first time planting here too, and we don’t know how it will turn out. We didn’t rent any of the dry land to Uncle’s family this year, because we’re afraid they’ll lose everything and they can’t afford that risk.”
"That's how it should be; his whole family has had a tough time."
Jiang's father felt that Shuyun did the right thing and that she had a conscience.
After listening for a while, Sister-in-law Jiang opened her mouth as if to say something, but in the end she said nothing. She noticed that Jiang Shuheng was looking at her with some reservations.
Jiang Shuyun left the old house and went to his third grandfather's house. He told his third grandfather about Yi'an growing watermelons, emphasizing that the watermelons were arranged by his brother-in-law, Mu, and that they were just trying it out.
This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
