They got right to work, and the next day, everyone went to pick watermelons.
The melon field was bustling with activity. Adults shooed away the mischievous children.
“Get out of here and stay on the bank! If you break even one melon, you’ll get a taste of my stick today!”
Under the threat of the stick, the children craned their necks from the bank but still shouted at the top of their lungs.
“Mom, I want to eat watermelon! I want watermelon today!”
“How about I give you two slaps instead? Shut up and stop yelling!”
The children pouted.
Just then, Heidan arrived with his pack of wolves, big and small, and a fox.
The fox had come craving watermelon.
It had just dashed into the melon field, hoping to nibble on a watermelon, when Song Wei grabbed it by the scruff of its neck and lifted it up.
The plump, orange-red fox looked at her pitifully, cleverly cupping its paws in a pleading gesture while whining and acting cute.
Song Wei set it down on the ridge. “Stay off the field. Don’t eat the watermelons randomly. I’ll buy two for you later, but not now.”
She added a threat: “If you come down again, I’ll pluck all your fur out.”
The fox was clever. It might not have understood her words, but it certainly understood her tone.
It lay on the ground, covering its head, whining pitifully.
Song Wei also went down to the melon field to pick watermelons. A group of children, wolves, cats, dogs, and the fox watched eagerly from the bank.
“Ahem… Didn’t you all want to know what Pallas’s cats, snow leopards, and horses look like? I brought photos!”
Heidan lifted his chin proudly.
The wolf-tooth necklace around his neck was particularly eye-catching.
He had worn it out to show off yesterday, and everyone in the village envied him.
Today, he brought another wolf-tooth necklace, similar to the ones worn by the village chief’s grandchildren—the kind with just a single wolf tooth.
“Shuan Zi, this is for you. There aren’t any extras.”
Friendships had their hierarchies, and Shuan Zi was his best friend.
The other children could only look on with envy.
Hei Dan had now risen to become the leader of the village children.
“Although there are no more wolf-tooth necklaces, I still have some wolf teeth at home. Whoever behaves well from now on will get one from me.”
Instantly, everyone looked at Hei Dan with fervent admiration.
“Hei Dan, Hei Dan, I have candy for you!”
“Hei Dan, I’ll give you the boiled eggs from my house.”
Hei Dan was very pleased. These were all his little followers!
Then, the children gathered around to look at the photos. Hei Dan explained what each animal in the photos was, eliciting exclamations of amazement.
The adults glanced over but didn’t interfere. As long as the children weren’t causing trouble, it was fine.
The watermelons were large and fragile. The village chief used straw to cushion them in the tractor trailer to minimize damage.
The brigade had planted about ten acres of watermelons. When the first truckload was being hauled away, Song Wei suddenly remembered something.
She found Lin Zhen and said, “Don’t forget we promised to bring a few watermelons back for the comrade who sold us the watermelon seeds.”
Lin Zhen nodded. “I remember.”
After he left, they picked more watermelons and stopped when it was time to eat.
Some brigade members bought watermelons to take home and eat. Song Wei was no exception. She had already set aside the biggest and best one she had her eye on, planning to take it home after work.
Ahead of her, the village secretary’s family was also buying watermelons—three of them in one go.
“Oh, Village Secretary, are you bringing watermelons for Xiao Wan too?”
Jiang Xiao Wan had gotten married during the month when Song Wei and Lin Zhen were away in the northwest.
Quite a lot had happened that month.
“Yes, Xiao Wan and her husband brought us a big, fat chicken when they visited. Now that our watermelons are ripe, we’re taking a couple for them to try.”
The village secretary’s family had smiles on their faces, suggesting that Jiang Xiaowan’s married life was going well—at the very least, her parents were quite satisfied.
A scumbag like Luo Yecheng wasn’t worth dwelling on for so long.
“Comrade Song, you’re buying melons too?”
Seeing Song Wei, the village secretary’s family greeted her cheerfully, clearly holding a favorable impression of her.
Song Wei responded warmly and openly: “Comrade Jiang Xiaowan’s wedding took place while Lin Zhen and I were away, so we missed it. What a pity!”
“Your own matters come first. Besides, you’ll still have chances to see Xiaowan when she visits her parents.”
After buying the watermelons, Song Wei headed back to Lin Zhen’s place with Hei Dan, followed by the lively procession of wolves and the fox.
The fox was eager to eat, and even the three deer at home gathered around.
The little fawn had now grown into an adult sika deer, its antlers particularly beautiful and its coat glossy and well-groomed.
“Wait, we need to chill it in the well first. It’ll be a bit longer.”
With so many animals at home, she had bought two large watermelons.
Although wolves are carnivores, it turned out they also enjoyed cool, sweet watermelon in this weather.
Though Lin Zhen had left, he had prepared meals in the morning, so they only needed to heat them up to eat.
After Song Wei and Hei Dan finished breakfast, urged on by the animals, they finally brought out one of the watermelons.
A small crowd gathered around the little table.
The watermelon was cut into crescent-shaped slices of roughly equal size.
“Go fetch your own bowls.”
The two larger wolves swiftly went to get their bowls.
The smaller ones, however, weren’t strong enough to carry theirs. They watched anxiously as the two big wolves began eating, whining impatiently.
Hei Dan eventually brought out a bowl for them. Song Wei cut two slices of watermelon into small pieces, saving the rinds for the deer and the silly roe deer—or to feed the chickens and rabbits. Nothing went to waste.
While Song Wei and Hei Dan enjoyed their watermelon leisurely, the brigade leader and Lin Zhen were busy selling melons with great enthusiasm.
Watermelons were in high demand this season, and nearly all of Ping’an Brigade’s watermelons had been reserved by several large factories.
Lin Zhen informed the brigade leader and, carrying two watermelons, went to find the uncle who had sold them the watermelon seeds.
The uncle was surprised to see him but broke into a wide smile when he noticed the watermelons and recalled their earlier interaction.
“You actually managed to grow these watermelons! Wow, they’re huge.”
Two watermelons were enough for his family, but in those days, who didn’t have relatives and friends to share with?
“Was it your brigade selling watermelons in the city recently? Since we’ve got a bit of a connection, could you secretly sell me a few more? It’s impossible to get any at the department store or the supply and marketing cooperative!”
With so many people in the city and only two or three brigades growing watermelons, demand far outstripped supply.
Lin Zhen said, “We’ll be transporting another batch of watermelons this afternoon. Come find me at the steel factory then, and I’ll sell you a few—but no more than five.”
“Great, great! I’ll come find you this afternoon.”
After leaving the uncle’s place, Lin Zhen went to the city hospital.
Caterpillar fungus could fetch a decent price even at official hospitals, so there was no need to take risks on the black market.
In the afternoon, frustrated with the slow pace of transporting watermelons load by load, Lin Zhen directly took a few watermelons to the agricultural machinery station. He managed to borrow two tractors, leaving the brigade leader grinning from ear to ear.
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