country bumpkin

Chapter 14 Harvesting Watermelons

Eating a cool and refreshing slice of watermelon is the best way to beat the heat during the hottest part of summer.

My maternal grandmother's family grows a small watermelon field. The watermelons are ripe, and my second uncle even picked one to eat a few days ago. There were still many unripe watermelons at that time, but now they are mostly ripe, so my grandfather decided that the whole family will go to the field to harvest watermelons tomorrow.

The next day, around 4:30 a.m., as dawn was breaking, the whole family got busy. They had already notified my eldest uncle and aunt the day before, and they came to help today.

The adults were busy picking watermelons, while the children played and frolicked nearby, occasionally helping to carry the picked watermelons to the edge of the field.

Although Yunya is small in stature, she is very strong and can easily lift a watermelon weighing about 10 pounds. Grandpa is an experienced farmer with superb skills; the largest watermelon he grows weighs 20 pounds. One acre of land yields approximately 5000 pounds. However, yields vary due to differences in soil and climate.

Kong Jianjun, the eldest uncle's son, is half a year older than Yunya and also a head taller. He carries a watermelon weighing over 10 kilograms much more easily than Yunya; boys are generally stronger than girls.

Kong Jianjun carried the watermelon back and forth three times. On the fourth trip, he slipped and broke a watermelon weighing over 10 kilograms. Mu Shuyun and Kong Tongming saw this and rushed over to check on it. His parents looked up, saw that nothing was wrong, and continued picking watermelons.

"Jianjun, did you hurt your foot? Does it hurt?" Mu Shuyun asked.

"Grandma, it didn't hit me, I'm fine, it just slipped and I couldn't hold on."

"Good child, take a rest if you're tired. We adults are here, so we won't have to work out. Do you want to go to the field to rest for a bit? Let your grandpa pick some watermelon for you."

Kong Jianjun shook his head, pulled his grandmother to a corner, and his grandmother bent down and asked, "What's wrong?"

Kong Jianjun glanced at Wang Cuihua furtively, and seeing that she wasn't paying attention, he whispered in his grandmother's ear, "Grandma, I'll tell you a secret. My mom told me to smash the watermelon. If it's smashed, we can eat it. Otherwise, if we keep it to sell, we won't be able to eat any watermelons. Don't tell my mom that I told her to, or she'll beat me again."

Mu Shuyun was furious after hearing this. This was how her eldest daughter-in-law raised her children. She had only intended to save some watermelons for her and her own family, and she hadn't even had a chance to tell her yet! And this daughter-in-law was already so impatient.

Mu Shuyun suppressed her anger and tenderly stroked Kong Jianjun's head.

“Jun, does she often hit you? My poor child. Listen to Grandma, don’t make her angry at home. When you’re a little older, come to Grandma’s every day, and Grandma will cook for you. Be good at home so you won’t get beaten again. Also, don’t listen to her. We must be honest and trustworthy. We shouldn’t do such bad things. Actually, Grandma was planning to save some watermelon for you. When you go home later, have your dad bring some back for you.”

Mu Shuyun comforted Kong Jianjun, took his little hand and returned to the field, continuing to pick watermelons as if nothing had happened.

She knew what kind of person Wang Cuihua was; even if confronted, she would never admit to teaching children that way.

And she learned that it was her son who told her mother-in-law that the things she had said would lead to Kong Jianjun being beaten again.

Therefore, Mu Shuyun did not expose her.

The weather is getting hotter and hotter, but everyone's faces are filled with the joy of a good harvest.

Around 10 a.m., with the last large watermelon being picked, today's watermelon harvest was finally completed.

There were still more than twenty small, unripe watermelons left in the field. Grandpa said he would wait for them to grow bigger and save them for his own family to eat.

Grandma smiled with satisfaction as she looked at the pile of round watermelons in front of her.

Grandpa cut open a large watermelon and distributed it to everyone. Everyone sat together, enjoying the fresh and delicious watermelon. Juicy, sweet, and refreshing, it was a gift from nature and a reward for hard work.

Amidst laughter and joy, the family shared this sweet fruit.

"Hey! Third Uncle, Third Aunt, Eldest Brother and Sister-in-law, Second Brother, you're all here. The watermelon harvest this year is pretty good, I'm not late, am I?" A deep male voice rang out.

Grandpa looked over and saw it was Granny Niu's eldest son, Kong Tiezhu. His father was Kong Fugui. Kong Fugui's father and Kong Tongming's father were cousins ​​from the same grandmother. Kong Fugui and Kong Tongming were also like brothers. They were old relatives.

Because his family owned a donkey cart, he often did delivery and hauling business when it wasn't busy with farming. Sometimes he could even rent out his cart to others.

Yesterday, Kong Tongming found him and they agreed that today they would collect watermelons and transport them to the city to sell to fruit resellers. Although selling to resellers would be cheaper, it would save them time and effort.

"Tiezhu's here!" Grandma greeted him warmly. "We just finished tidying up, and here we are, just cut open a watermelon! Come and have a taste!"

Kong Tiezhu waved his hand with a smile, "No, no, Third Aunt, I've already eaten. Let's load the melons first!" With that, he walked to the donkey cart and handed the reins to Kong Tongming.

Everyone worked together to load the watermelons onto the donkey cart. Fifteen watermelons remained on the ground. These were intended for distribution to their own families, their eldest son's family, Granny Niu's family, and Granny Zhang's family—all neighbors letting them have a taste.

Kong Tiezhu secured the watermelon with rope to ensure it wouldn't fall during transport.

Grandpa used some watermelon vines to block the area around the watermelon, and then stuffed them around the watermelon to make sure there were no gaps around it before he felt at ease.

"Alright, let's go!" Kong Tiezhu cracked his whip, and the donkey slowly started moving towards the city.

Grandpa went along on his big bicycle. The donkey cart was so full that it was almost completely loaded, with a dozen or so fertilizer bags still on top of the watermelons that were secured to the cart. There was no extra room, so the driver had to make do with the cart.

Grandpa and Tiezhu rode their bicycles at a leisurely pace, chatting about everyday matters. Tiezhu praised the large size and sweetness of this year's watermelons, saying they would surely fetch a good price. Grandpa, in turn, told Tiezhu about some interesting things happening in the village, which Tiezhu listened to with great interest.

Before they knew it, they had arrived at the city gate. By then, the sun was high overhead, and it was getting hot.

Tie Zhu stopped the bicycle, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and said to Kong Tongming, "Uncle, let's rest here for a while, and then go into town." Grandpa nodded and got off the bicycle.

They found a shady spot to sit and watched the pedestrians and vehicles passing by. Tie Zhu took a water bottle from his satchel, took a sip, and then handed it to Kong Tongming. He took it with one hand, drank a few mouthfuls, and immediately felt much cooler.

After resting for a while, they set off again. The donkey cart slowly entered the city and headed towards the fruit market.

Kong Tongming went to negotiate the price first, while Tiezhu watched over the car and waited in a shady spot.

He went to several fruit wholesalers, but couldn't agree on a price. Kong Tongming then went to several other shops to negotiate prices.

After agreeing on the price, he went to find Tiezhu, who drove the donkey cart toward the shop.