Iced Melon

Time drifted on.

In the blink of an eye, summer arrived.

The weather was scorching, the sun hanging high in the sky like a huge fireball, baking the earth.

During this time, Xu Chuan took in three more servants, all sturdy young men in their twenties.

They were all refugees.

One of them was named Zhou Ming and had a talent for management.

Quick-witted and resourceful, he could help handle many miscellaneous matters and mediate disputes.

The other three had all practiced martial arts. Each was a Martial Artist, but their family circumstances were ordinary, and they had been occupied with chores, so none had yet opened all thirty-six Acupoints.

Yet they all held firmly to their bottom line and had not relied on their strength to run wild.

That was why Xu Chuan had taken a liking to them.

They became the Guards who watched over the Xu Family's home, fields, and forests.

If Xu Chuan supplied them generously with medicinal meals, qi-and-blood herbs, and other resources, all three had a chance of becoming Third-rate Martial Artists, perhaps even Second-rate Martial Artists.

A few more thatched huts had appeared around the Xu Family. They were rather crude and served as their dwellings.

The huts were only for them to live in.

As for meals, they ate in the Xu Family courtyard alongside Xu Chuan and the others.

"Brother Chuan, the watermelons in the Melon Field are all ripe. When should we harvest them?"

Chen Ergou rushed excitedly to the Xu Family, his eager expression brimming with excitement.

After all, this was his first time doing business in earnest.

"I checked this morning. We can harvest them tomorrow, then take them to the Ten-Mile Eight Villages to sell the day after," Xu Chuan said with a smile. "Have Zhao Dalong, Sun Fugui, and Qian Youcai go together. With their martial skills, dealing with a dozen or so grown men won't be a problem."

"Mm. That saves me from having to look for my Elder Brother."

"Besides, I don't want to see that sour face of his, like he looks down on everyone."

"Uncle Ergou."

Xu Mingyuan came out of the room and greeted him with a smile.

Chen Ergou stepped forward and patted his shoulder, chuckling. "A Yuan, come with Uncle Ergou to the Ten-Mile Eight Villages to sell melons the day after tomorrow. Excited?"

"Uncle Ergou, you're the excited one, aren't you? It's only selling melons, not some earth-shattering business."

Xu Mingyuan spoke blandly.

"Heh, is that any way to speak to Uncle Ergou? Looks like you're asking for a beating."

Chen Ergou pretended to raise his hand, but Xu Mingyuan was not afraid in the slightest.

Whether he was joking or not, Xu Mingyuan could tell at a glance.

No matter what, Chen Ergou would not discipline him in front of Xu Chuan.

The day after tomorrow.

Xu Mingyuan set out with Chen Ergou and the others.

Bai Jing's face was full of worry, and there was reluctance in her eyes.

After all, Xu Mingyuan was only seven years old and was going far from home for several days.

When a son travels a thousand miles, his mother worries.

Xu Chuan sighed softly inside, taking Bai Jing's hand as he comforted her. "With Ergou, Dalong, and the others there, he'll be fine."

Zhao Dalong clasped his fist and cupped his hands toward Xu Chuan. "Rest assured, Patriarch. We will ensure the Second Young Master comes back safe and sound, whole from head to toe."

Xu Mingyuan also said, "Mother, I'm only going out for a few days. I'll be back soon."

"Set out, then."

Of the profits, the Xu Family took three and a half parts, while the Chen Family took six and a half.

Everyone in Dongxi Village knew that the Xu Family grew good melons. Before Chen Ergou and the others had even left Dongxi Village, quite a few households had bought two or three to taste something fresh.

In the blink of an eye, they had sold over a hundred.

"Father, I want to eat melon."

Feeling the heat, Xu Mingxuan ran over.

Xu Chuan smiled and readily agreed. "All right. Let Father cool the watermelon down first."

He found a large wooden bucket, poured in water, tossed in a White Crystal, then placed a watermelon weighing eight or nine jin into the bucket.

The watermelon bobbed up and down in the bucket.

Xu Mingxuan reached a hand inside, then looked at Xu Chuan in surprise. "Father, this water is so cold."

"Right? After half a shichen, we can eat Iced Melon."

"Yay!"

Xu Mingxuan scampered off again to play with Li Zhi.

Li Zhi was no longer skin and bones. He had recovered to the appearance of an ordinary three- or four-year-old child.

Chubby and soft, with a touch of childish handsomeness between his brows.

After thinking it over, Xu Chuan put two more slightly smaller watermelons into the bucket.

Half a shichen passed.

He called Xu Mingwei over, pointed at the melons in the bucket, and said, "Shitou, take one each to Uncle Chen's home and Uncle Ergou's Home."

"All right, Father."

Xu Mingwei carried two watermelons out. He soon reached Chen Ergou's Home, and after delivering them, he went to Uncle Chen's home.

"Grandpa Chen, Father sent this Iced Melon. Summer is hot, so have some to cool off."

"Iced?" Uncle Chen touched the watermelon and said in surprise, "It really is. Your father is becoming more and more capable."

Xu Mingwei smiled shyly.

"Thank your father for me."

After Xu Mingwei returned, Xu Chuan, Bai Jing, and Li Er and his son were also eating melon.

He walked over and casually picked up a cut slice of watermelon from the table.

Then he sat beside Xu Chuan and took a bite.

At once, pale red juice splashed everywhere.

"So sweet."

Two days later.

The melon-selling group returned.

The trip had gone very smoothly, and every last melon had been sold.

Chen Ergou's Home.

When Xu Yan saw the silver Chen Ergou had brought back, her eyes curved into crescents with delight.

She counted the silver and copper coins over and over several times.

This was only the money from selling watermelons. Add in the produce from the other seasons, and they could make quite a bit more.

As for the fruit trees in the thirty mu of mountain forest, the earliest harvest would not come until next year or the year after.

"Wife, let me tell you, selling our melons went incredibly smoothly. Everywhere else, once they heard they were grown by Brother Chuan's family, practically no one even haggled."

Chen Ergou leisurely took a sip of tea, a smug smile on his face.

"That good? Then we can raise the price next time."

"No. I brought it up, but A Yuan rejected it. He said these melons were already somewhat pricier than ordinary ones and could still bring in plenty of profit. There was no need to ruin our reputation over it."

"Besides, for anyone who bought five or more at once, he gave them a gift."

"What gift?"

"Something like a stone, I think. Put it in water, and it lowers the temperature, letting you make Iced Melon."

"So that's how the Iced Melon Shitou brought over last time was made."

Xu Yan was rather surprised. She felt this stone held many business opportunities. It should sell especially well in summer.

"Did you ask where the stone came from?"

"I did, but A Yuan didn't know either. Brother Chuan gave it to him, and there weren't many of them."

Chen Ergou's eyes rolled as he stretched his legs out and propped them on the bench.

"Wife, now you've seen what your Husband can do, right? Why don't you come knead my shoulders and pound my legs? I've been exhausted these past few days."

Chen Ergou wanted to bolster his authority as husband.

Xu Yan shot him a glance and left him to reflect on it himself.

Chen Ergou's heart was tired.

This woman!

We made money, and she still treats me like this. She's really hard to handle!

"Oh, right. We're having dinner at Brother Chuan's house tonight to celebrate this haul."

That evening.

Naturally, Xu Yan would not let this chance slip by and asked about the origins of the White Stone.

Xu Chuan only said he had happened to pick it up in the mountain forest and discovered its effect by accident.

That was not exactly a lie.

It was only that after investigating and studying it, he had found a Saltpeter Mine nearby.

He simply did not yet have the ability to mine it, so he could only set it aside for now.

Most importantly, that stretch of mountain forest was ownerless and, strictly speaking, belonged to the Qingjiang County Office.