On a midsummer night, the watermelon field behind Little Lin Manor stretched out in dark green waves under the moonlight, covering over a dozen acres.
A-Gua carried a lantern on his night patrol, his steps light.
Miss had praised him today for keeping such a close watch on the melon field and rewarded him with a bowl of chilled watermelon juice.
That watermelon juice—oh, the rainbow colors layered in the bowl, and one sip was sweet enough to melt your heart, with hints of grape, strawberry, and several other flavors mixed in.
“Miss really knows how to grow melons…” A-Gua was savoring the thought when the corner of his eye caught a flicker deep in the field.
A greenish glow.
Like a ghost light.
A-Gua’s lantern crashed to the ground with a clatter, the candle snuffed out.
He froze on the spot, every hair on his body standing on end.
The green light flickered again—this time more clearly. Right in the middle of the best patch of rainbow-striped watermelons, a fist-sized ball of green light drifted up, hovering three inches above the melon leaves, drifting slowly.
“A—a demon!!” A-Gua let out a terrified shriek and scrambled back toward the house.
In the main room, Lin Shuying had just finished her bath and was sketching an improved watermelon grafting diagram with a charcoal stick on paper.
A Li was beside her, sorting through account books, her abacus clicking away.
“Miss!” The door burst open, and A-Gua stumbled in, his face ashen. “The melon field… there’s a demon in the melon field!”
Lin Shuying’s brush paused. She looked up: “What kind of demon?”
“A g-green ghost light! Hovering over our best patch of melons!” A-Gua gestured wildly. “It’s this big, bobbing up and down, and it can even turn corners!”
A Li put down her abacus and frowned: “Are you sure you didn’t just see fireflies?”
“Absolutely not!” A-Gua stomped his foot. “Fireflies aren’t that big! And the light was an eerie green—I saw it come out of a watermelon with my own eyes!”
Lin Shuying set down her charcoal stick, thoughtful.
The rainbow watermelons were her first batch of mutant varieties, bred using her ‘Wood Spirit Root’ combined with the Strange Melon Illustrated Record. Their rinds showed a gradient of red, yellow, and blue, and their flesh was layered with fruity aromas. While growing them, she’d noticed these watermelons had a peculiar attraction for insects.
“Let’s go take a look.” She stood up.
“Miss, don’t go!” A-Gua blocked her. “What if the watermelon really has become a spirit…”
“If it has,” Lin Shuying laughed, “wouldn’t that be better? A watermelon that can cultivate itself might produce even sweeter fruit next year.”
A Li sighed helplessly and fetched her mistress’s outer robe. The three picked up fresh lanterns and headed toward the melon field.
The night breeze was cool, and frogs croaked in the distance. Under the moonlight, the field lay serene, with rows of watermelons peeking out round and plump between their vines.
“Th-there it is!” A-Gua pointed at the middle of the field, his hand shaking so hard the lantern swung.
Lin Shuying squinted—sure enough, a greenish glow hovered in the center of the field. Not just a spot or two, but a small patch, like a thin green mist clinging to the most vigorous watermelon vines.
She lifted her skirt and stepped onto the field ridge.
“Miss, be careful!” A-Gua looked like he was about to cry.
Lin Shuying approached the green glow. Only up close could she see that it wasn’t a single “ball” of light, but hundreds, maybe thousands, of fireflies clustered together, densely covering the watermelon leaves and rinds. Their glowing tails merged into a soft green halo that pulsed gently with the swarm’s movement—from a distance, it really did look like a drifting ghost fire.
“They really are fireflies.” A Li had followed and let out a breath of relief.
A-Gua leaned in for a closer look, his face reddening: “But—but there are so many of them…”
Lin Shuying crouched down and examined the fireflies carefully.
They seemed particularly drawn to these few melon plants, almost completely covering the vines and leaves. Some had even crawled into the crevices near the stems, their green light seeping out through the gaps, making it look as if the watermelons themselves were glowing.
She reached out and lightly touched the rind.
Her ‘Wood Spirit Root’ perception spread instantly.
These few watermelon plants had absorbed more of the ‘Wood Spirit Root’s’ energy, making the sugar content and certain special aromas in their juices exceptionally intense. The fireflies were clearly drawn to this scent.
“Interesting.” Lin Shuying’s eyes lit up.
“Miss, should we… chase the bugs away?” A Li asked.
“Chase them away?” Lin Shuying stood up and brushed the dirt off her hands. “With such a beautiful sight, it would be a shame to chase them away.”
A-Gua looked confused: “Beautiful sight?”
Lin Shuying had already turned and started walking back, giving instructions as she went: “A Li, go into town first thing tomorrow and have the best carpenter make twenty windproof glass lanterns. A-Gua, find the village chief and tell him that a ‘blessed sign’ has appeared in our melon field—ask him to spread the word in the village.”
“A blessed sign?” A-Gua was even more bewildered.
“Yes.” Lin Shuying turned back, moonlight on her face, a sly smile playing on her lips. “Say that the watermelons grown by the Second Miss Lin have absorbed the essence of heaven and earth, attracting ‘Firefly Immortal Insects,’ and watching them at night can bring good fortune. Starting tomorrow night, Little Lin Manor will open for evening tours of the melon field—twenty wen per person, limited to fifty people.”
A Li’s accounting brain immediately kicked in: “Twenty wen per person, fifty people makes one tael of silver. If it’s full every night…”
“Let’s try it for three days first,” Lin Shuying said. “Remember—emphasize ‘limited capacity’ and ‘reservation required.’ Also, after the tour, give each person a small bowl of rainbow watermelon juice—made from the leftover scraps.”
A-Gua finally caught on, rubbing his hands excitedly: “Miss is brilliant! I’m on it!”
“Wait.” Lin Shuying called him back. “Also, go tell Miss Wei to bring some servants tomorrow night to ‘maintain order’ by the field. And tell her to dress sharply—say it’s to prevent anyone from disturbing the ‘Immortal Insects.’”
“Yes!”
— —
The news spread faster than the wind.
By the next afternoon, a line had already formed at the entrance of Little Lin Manor. The village chief personally helped with registration and collection, grinning from ear to ear—Miss Lin had said she’d give him two wen per ticket as a token of appreciation.
“Auntie Wang, you came too?” the women in line greeted each other.
“Of course! I heard that watermelon spirit—no, the Firefly Immortal Insects—seeing them can bless your children to study well!”
“My husband said I was wasting money. I told him, what do you know? These were grown by Miss Lin—even the Emperor has praised them!”
“Exactly, exactly…”
By dusk, all fifty spots were filled.
Those who hadn’t made it were beating their chests in frustration, and A-Gua could only console them: “There’s always tomorrow! Tomorrow too! Come early!”
As soon as dusk fell, the entrance to Little Lin Manor was already packed with people.
Lin Shuying had servants place special glass lanterns around the melon field.
The lanterns weren’t lit with candles, but with captured fireflies. Their green glow made the field’s edge look like something out of a dream.
“Everyone,” Lin Shuying stood at the field ridge, dressed in a light green outfit that, under the green glow, gave her an almost ethereal air, “this melon field has been favored by heaven and earth, drawing the Firefly Immortal Insects to accompany it. Please refrain from loud noise and do not touch the vines—just quietly enjoy the view. After a quarter of an hour, please collect a bowl of watermelon juice at the field’s edge.”
Everyone nodded eagerly, holding their breath.
Wei Fuyu stood at the side with four servants in crisp attire, arms crossed—a formidable presence.
The first group of twenty entered.
Moonlight, melon fields, stars scattered across the sky, and that floating green halo—the fireflies seemed even more numerous than the night before, swirling around the rainbow-striped watermelons. Their green glow reflected off the gradient rinds, casting a dreamlike iridescence.
“Good heavens…” an old woman murmured, “it’s truly like a fairyland…”
“Mother, look! That watermelon is glowing!” A child pointed at a stem where several fireflies had crawled into a crevice.
“Shh—don’t disturb the Immortal Insects!”
A quarter of an hour later, the first group emerged reluctantly, each receiving a small bowl of chilled rainbow watermelon juice. The juice layered in the bowl, red-yellow-blue gradation glistening under the lantern light—surreal in its beauty.
“Sweet! So sweet!”
“I feel great after drinking that—worth every penny!”
Word of mouth exploded.
The next day, long before nightfall, a massive queue had already formed at the entrance of Little Lin Manor.
This time, it wasn’t just locals—even people from neighboring towns had come by carriage.
A Li counted money until her hands went numb, whispering to Lin Shuying: “Miss, at this rate, just from the night tour tickets alone, we could make thirty taels a month. And that’s not counting the watermelons we’re selling on the side. Five households placed orders just this morning.”
Lin Shuying was crouched by the melon field, burying some specially prepared spices in the soil.
She’d blended them the night before—they would continuously emit an aroma that attracted fireflies, ensuring the “Immortal Insects” would visit every night.
“Good.” She patted the dirt from her hands. “Once this wave of excitement dies down, we’ll try something new.”
“Something new?”
“Like…” Lin Shuying thought for a moment, “firefly wishes? Pay ten wen, get a little lantern, set it down in the field, and say it carries your wishes to the Immortal Insects?”
A Li burst out laughing: “Miss, how does your brain come up with these things?”
“From growing melons.” Lin Shuying laughed too.
— —
On the third night, a low-key carriage joined the crowd.
The curtain was drawn back, and a tall, simply dressed man stepped out, accompanied by a handsome young man.
Lin Shuying recognized the young man at once—the Seventh Prince, Xiao Shengrui.
The other, naturally, was the Emperor in plain clothes.
“Lin girl, word of your ‘watermelon spirit’ has reached my ears,” the Emperor said cheerfully. “The whole palace is buzzing—people say a fairy insect has taken up residence in the Second Miss Lin’s melon field, and that drinking the watermelon juice there can grant longevity.”
Lin Shuying quickly bowed: “Your Majesty jokes—they’re just fireflies. I merely borrowed them to dress up the place.”
“Well dressed up,” the Emperor said, looking at the queue by the field, then at the green-lit glow within. “It’s entertaining and profitable. Seventh Son,” he turned to Xiao Shengrui, “sometimes, the governance you study isn’t as practical as this girl’s melon-growing.”
Xiao Shengrui smiled: “Your subject is instructed.”
The Emperor also walked into the melon field, stayed for a quarter of an hour, and came out to drink a bowl of watermelon juice, praising it: “Plant more of these rainbow melons next year—the palace will want them.”
“Yes.”
Before leaving, the Emperor said quietly to Lin Shuying: “That old man at the Astronomical Bureau heard about this and insists your land is a ‘site where Wood Virtue gathers.’ He told me to protect it well. And I agree—you really do seem to have some fortune about you.”
After the carriage rolled away, Xiao Shengrui stayed behind.
“The Listening Wind Pavilion reported that over a hundred people had gathered here at night—I was worried something might be wrong, so I came to check.” Xiao Shengrui looked at her. “I didn’t expect it to be this ‘watermelon spirit.’”
Lin Shuying laughed: “Isn’t it interesting?”
“Yes.” Xiao Shengrui nodded, then paused. “There’s a temple fair on the eighth of next month at the capital’s outskirts—I heard foreign merchants will be bringing some rare seeds. Would you like to go?”
“Yes!” Lin Shuying’s eyes lit up immediately.
“I’ll come pick you up then.”
“Alright.”
The two stood at the field’s edge, watching the last group of visitors leave reluctantly.
The fireflies still danced over the melon patch, green specks of light like scattered diamonds on dark green silk.
A-Gua sidled up and whispered: “Miss, should we continue tomorrow?”
“Continue,” Lin Shuying said. “But from tomorrow on, raise the ticket price to thirty wen.”
“Huh? Why?”
“Since a prince has come to see it,” Lin Shuying said matter-of-factly, “this melon field is now a divinely blessed site personally approved by the Emperor. It’s only natural to raise the price, isn’t it?”
A-Gua gaped, and after a long moment, managed to say: “Miss, you really are…”
“Really am what?”
“A genius at business!”
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