Fields of Gold

Chapter 165 – To Change

“Wife, wife! I will truly change this time!!” When Wang Ergou saw that his wife had made up her mind, he almost fell to his knees. He sullenly continued in a soft voice, “I only did this because I noticed that you looked tired due to pregnancy and didn’t have an appetite, right? So…I wanted to pick this watermelon and have you try some…”

A faint spark appeared within Ergou’s wife’s dead-looking eyes, and she snarled angrily, “You stupid wretch! Do you think I could possibly eat the watermelon that you stole?!”

“I was wrong, I truly did the wrong thing this time. Wife, please forgive me this one last time!!” Ergou’zi saw that his wife was still willing to leave him so he apologized profusely in hope that she might understand his reasons. He truly regretted his actions now!

Ergou’s wife sniffed her nose a couple of times and said, “What are you apologizing to me for? It’s not like I lost anything. You should actually be apologizing to Second Brother Yu! There hasn’t been much rain this year, so these two siblings, Xiaosha and Xiaocao, have been hauling water into the fields to water them. You should know how hard it is; you’ve seen it with your own two eyes. You should actually be apologizing to these two siblings! Why do you think Second Brother Yu’s family decided to plant watermelons? The people you should be apologizing to is them, not me!”

“Yes, yes, yes! Don’t be angry, wife. I’ll apologize, I’ll apologize right now!” Wang Ergou immediately turned into his wife’s slave. If his wife said to go east, he absolutely wouldn’t go west.

Wang Ergou hung his head as he guiltily faced the Yu Family. He softly yet honestly said, “Second Brother Yu, I’m so sorry! Brother, I was confused and stole your family’s watermelon…I’m willing to compensate you guys for this watermelon. Please forgive me…”

Yu Hai walked over and slapped him on the shoulder, “I understand your feelings! When your second sister-in-law was pregnant with Xiaosha, she also didn’t have a good appetite. At that time, I snuck out of the house late at night to go hunt in the hills in order to make your second sister-in-law some chicken broth to drink. A man who knows how to treat his wife well is a true man!! However, in the future, if your wife wants to eat watermelon, give us a holler and don’t hurt your wife’s feelings anymore. Go and comfort your wife. It’s not embarrassing to bow in front of your wife!”

Yu Xiaocao couldn’t help but let a peal of laughter come out. Her father’s love towards his wife could clearly be seen by his words. Apparently, ah, he was destined to be a henpecked man.

“You’re back, Cao’er? Did your grandmother make things awkward for you?” When Yu Hai heard his daughter’s snicker, his entire face felt hot, yet he still solicitously asked her about her trip.

Fang Zizhen’s laughter was even more prominent as he replied, “With me there, who would dare to have to guts to bully our daughter? However, brother, I never would have thought that you were someone who treated your wife so well ah! What you said was right! Treating your wife well isn’t embarrassing at all!!” Wah! Here was another guy who pampered his wife!

Xiaocao sniggered endlessly. Fang Zizhen felt embarrassed by her laughter and gently knocked on her head with a fist but then tenderly rubbed the part he hit with a hand.

Xiaocao spoke to the Wang Ergou couple, “In the future, if you want to eat watermelon, come and find me! This watermelon isn’t ripe yet, so it won’t taste good! Come, try some our ripe watermelon here!”

Wang Ergou had been able to smell the melon’s sweet scent from where he was standing and stealthily swallowed down the pooled saliva in his mouth, “I don’t need to eat any! Give my wife two pieces to try…yeouch!” The pitiful Wang Ergou had just been pinched by his wife again.

Yu Xiaocao took two pieces of the already sliced melon and gave it to him. She grinned, “Uncle Ergou, this watermelon has a cold nature, so pregnant women can’t eat too much. If they do, they might have a miscarriage!”

When Wang Ergou heard her warning, his face immediately paled. He almost harmed his own wife; he was truly too stupid! He solemnly apologized again to everyone in the Yu Family and promised that he would never touch their watermelon fields again!

“Uncle Ergou! Our family’s watermelons will soon become ripe. Do you have any interest in taking some to sell at town or the docks ah?” Yu Xiaocao considered for a bit and realized her family was short on working hands. With her cheat, the mystic-stone water, their melon fields would absolutely have a large output. Even a good wine was afraid if there was no market. This was their first year in attempting to sell watermelon, so she wasn’t sure how it would go. They couldn’t let the ripe watermelons just rot in the fields, right?

“Eh? Sweet niece, what do you mean by this?” Wang Ergou felt faintly excited inside. His eyes brightened as he looked at Yu Xiaocao.

Yu Xiaocao smiled sweetly at him, “We will sell these watermelons to you below the market price, so you can sell them at market price in town. That way, you can keep the difference.”

Wang Ergou’s eyes revealed an excited yet emotional look. He hesitated for a bit before he admitted, “Niece ah, you also know what my family’s circumstances are like, I’m afraid that we don’t have enough money right now to buy them…”

“Not a problem, the first time you can just take the melons from my family and then pay the bill after you sell the melons.” Wang Ergou definitely wouldn’t have enough money to pay for one whole cart’s worth of watermelons. Yu Xiaocao had also thought of this problem.

Wang Ergou’s lips trembled as he softly replied, “You…you trust me?”

“Why wouldn’t I trust you? My father said earlier, any man who treats his wife well can’t be a bad person!” Yu Xiaocao winked at him teasingly, “That being said, whether or not I trust you isn’t the point, but how could I possibly not trust Auntie Wang eh?”

Ergou’s wife’s eyes became wet with tears as she repeatedly expressed her gratitude. No one knew how hard it was for her after she married over. She had used a lot of energy ordering her idle husband around, but the rest of the household also required her to be present. Everyone said that she was competent and capable. However, if she had a husband that she could lean on, did she have to work so hard day in and day out?

“Ergou! This time you have to do the job well! Second Brother Yu’s family trusts us and is taking care of us, so you absolutely cannot let them down! If, if you slack of this time too, then I will definitely…”

Wang Ergou hurriedly grabbed his wife’s hand and promised, “Wife, believe in me!! I, Wang Ergou, will absolutely do my best and not let you down, otherwise I will no longer be surnamed Wang!! And the child can also have your surname instead!!”

Wang Ergou had lost both of his parents and he was their only child. When his father was on his deathbed he had held his hand but didn’t close his eyes. Only after he vowed to take a wife and have kids did his father finally peacefully close his eyes. Thus, he was very attached to carrying on the family name. Therefore, when he said that his child could take his wife’s surname, that meant that he was making a serious vow.

After they escorted the extremely grateful Wang Ergou couple out, Yu Xiaocao and her family, along with Fang Zizhen, sat down to enjoy the sweetness of the watermelon.

Because they had used the mystic-stone water to irrigate their plants towards the end of spring, the Yu Family’s watermelons had all become ripe before the regular season. In other words, the watermelon plants in the capital had only just flowered on the vine while the Yu Family’s watermelons could all be brought to market. A summer fruit becoming ripe at the end of spring, that was absolutely out of season ah!

In her previous life, watermelons easily weighed more than twenty catties, and that size wasn’t considered rare either. However, Yu Xiaocao didn’t know that, in this era, the largest watermelon that could be seen was usually around ten catties. In addition, watermelon grown in ancient times had flesh that alternated between red and white, and the white parts couldn’t be eaten. More than half of the watermelon had to be thrown out when being consumed, what a waste!

As for the Yu Family’s watermelons, after being improved by the mystic-stone water, they were pretty much the same as the ones found in modern times. The white parts of the melon flesh, that couldn’t be eaten, had completely receded and only the red parts were available.

Out of all of the people here, only Fang Zizhen had eaten a watermelon before. He was a crude person, so how could he possibly care about what a watermelon looked like? In the past, the watermelon he ate had all been carefully prepared by his servants, who only gave him the edible parts. This was also the first time that Fang Zizhen was able to eat watermelon that had been cut into slices.

He picked up a very thick slice and opened his mouth very wide to take a bite. The sweet and fresh juice flowed into his mouth. To someone that was thirsty, the refreshing cold and sweet juice was absolutely something that could quench thirst.

“Sweet! So sweet!! This tastes a hundred times better than the watermelons I’ve eaten before!!” Fang Zizhen didn’t stint on his praise. The biggest reason was this: his daughter was the one who had proposed planting watermelons and the watermelons were also personally taken care of by his daughter. However, this watermelon was truly extremely delicious!

Yu Xiaocao gave Yu Hai and Madam Liu each a piece. At this moment, Little Shitou could no longer wait and impatiently grabbed a slice. He licked his lips. The expression on his face showed that he desperately wanted to eat a bite but couldn’t bear to; it was quite adorable.

Xiaocao rubbed his head and also picked a piece. She lightly bit off a small mouthful and slowly chewed it. She couldn’t help but let out a satisfied sigh, “So sweet…”

Little Shitou copied his sister’s method and also bit a tiny crescent from the watermelon. His large, cute eyes immediately crinkled into a smile. The juice from the watermelon dripped down along his mouth, and he used his pink little tongue to lick it up.

The Yu Family normally couldn’t even bear to buy sugar, so how could they possibly eat something that was as sweet as this juice. They simultaneously ate as they exclaimed compliments.

Fang Zizhen polished off a slice quickly and put the remaining rind with skin in front of the little roe deer, who was pitifully staring at them. He then started on his second piece. The little roe deer hastily lowered its head and gnawed at the light rind on the skin. It ate with extreme pleasure.

After being raised at home for over half a year, the little roe deer, for whatever reason, still didn’t get any larger. The Yu Family members were all busy, so the little roe deer had been given free-range. When it was hungry, it would eat the fallen leaves from the vegetables. When it was thirsty, it would drink its water from its special bowl. The water had been specially prepared by Xiaocao and had a few drops of mystic-stone water in it, which frequently attracted birds who wanted to steal it from the deer.

Whenever the little roe deer got bored, it would run out of the courtyard and stroll in the area around the old residence. The Qian Family’s and Zhou Family’s children all liked the creature very much and played with it. Sometimes, they would even carry the animal in their arms. The little creature was quite clever and could tell whether someone had good or bad intentions towards it. When it met Qian Wu or some other kid who frequently played with it, it would obediently let that person carry it and would occasionally lick that person’s palms. However, if it met someone who had ill intentions and wanted to steal it, it would run like the wind. Even an adult man who sprinted swiftly wouldn’t be able to catch it.

The little roe deer loved to play the most with its master’s other pet——the little golden kitten. The tiny kitten had a smell that was irresistible on its small body. Usually, the little kitten would climb on its head and take a nap, while it obediently kept its neck steady and slowly walked around with the kitten on its head. If someone wasn’t careful, he or she might even believe that the little roe deer had a golden hat on its head, it was quite a sight to behold!

At this moment, the little roe deer was energetically gnawing on the melon rind. When Little Shitou noticed that his beloved pet also liked to eat watermelon, he left a thick layer of red flesh on the skin of his slice and even used a small knife to peel the skin and chop the flesh into small pieces to put into Tiny’s bowl.

Had it been before, someone at home would have definitely scolded him for wasting food. When they first split from the main family, the whole family didn’t have enough food to fill their stomachs, let alone leave any to feed the little roe deer. At that time, the little roe deer was also not picky and would eat withered grass and leaves as long as there was mystic-stone water on them. Now, the family’s circumstances were a lot better, so no one would reproach a child for feeding his beloved pet some bits of melon flesh.