"These seedlings are still a bit small. How about we wait until after the spring planting is done, once everyone's food crops are in, and then start planting the striped watermelons? That way, everyone can come over and see how it's done and learn. All they need to do is set aside the land they want to use for planting striped watermelons," Zheng Wei said.
Bai Yonggui glanced at the village elders. They all nodded in agreement, and Bai Yonggui also agreed.
After Bai Yonggui and his group left, Shen Xiaoyan and Zheng Wei began to tidy up the land in the original courtyard, making plans for planting the striped watermelons.
That courtyard was very large, and they weren't planting vegetables there this year, so planting striped watermelons there alone would be enough to earn them a good sum of money.
About eight days later, the village's spring planting concluded.
Bai Yonggui arrived again with people, but this time it wasn't the same six individuals from before. Instead, it was a large, bustling crowd. Shen Xiaoyan did a quick count and realized they had brought everyone from every household in the village.
Indeed, Bai Yonggui led the group to the cross courtyard and then said to Zheng Wei, "I've brought everyone today. It's perfect. You can plant a few first so everyone can see, and then each family can take their seedlings back. It'll save you the trouble."
Zheng Wei and Shen Xiaoyan smiled and agreed.
After digging out more than ten seedlings, Shen Xiaoyan and Zheng Wei went to the old courtyard together. Bai Yonggui and the others quickly followed.
The crowd watched as Shen Xiaoyan and Zheng Wei planted the striped watermelon seedlings one by one. They listened intently as Zheng Wei explained how far apart to space the seedlings, how to pinch off the flowers and leave the main fruit later on, and how to manage them. Zheng Wei explained everything clearly, just as Shen Xiaoyan had taught him.
After watching Shen Xiaoyan plant more than ten striped watermelon seedlings and listening to the explanation, everyone felt it was simple. Consequently, they all urged Zheng Wei to quickly dig seedlings for them.
Shen Xiaoyan glanced at Zheng Wei and nodded slightly.
Zheng Wei saw her nod and also nodded back at Shen Xiaoyan. He then said to Bai Yonggui and the others, "Please line up, and I'll distribute the striped watermelon seedlings. But please don't ask for too many. Take only as many seedlings as the land you've set aside can accommodate. Asking for more will be useless. If striped watermelons are planted too close together, the fruits will be small and not very sweet, which would be a loss."
Some people among the crowd thought that since Zheng Wei had made so much money from striped watermelons last year, they should plant a lot this year and would surely make a fortune.
However, after hearing Zheng Wei's words, they felt a bit discouraged. If planting too closely actually reduced the yield, that would be a real loss.
Others grumbled to themselves, thinking that Zheng Wei's reason for asking them to wait until after sowing was precisely for this purpose.
In fact, Shen Xiaoyan and Zheng Wei had thought of this. Although they had cultivated a good number of striped watermelon seedlings, if every family in the village wanted more, there wouldn't be enough, and it would lead to trouble.
Therefore, Zheng Wei had suggested that they first sow their crops and reserve land for the striped watermelons.
Many people were still skeptical about planting striped watermelons and wouldn't reserve much land. This way, there would be enough seedlings to go around.
Among those receiving seedlings, Shen Xiaoyan didn't see anyone from the Shen or Zhu families. She wondered if it was because they disdained planting striped watermelons or because they felt embarrassed and didn't dare to come.
After distributing the seedlings, everyone thanked Zheng Wei and Shen Xiaoyan and hurried away. Taking advantage of the remaining time, they wanted to plant them as soon as possible.
Shen Xiaoyan looked at the remaining row of seedlings and said to Zheng Wei, "Fortunately, there's still this much left. We should be able to finish planting."
Yue Qingxin and Sima Han also walked out from the west wing room. They hadn't come out earlier because they didn't want to see the villagers and had deliberately hidden away.
Shen Xiaoyan didn't know why, but she wasn't in the habit of prying.
"These people, they really are..." As soon as Yue Qingxin arrived, a hint of anger flashed across her face, but she didn't finish her sentence.
"Sister, why are you angry? We're just doing this to save face for the village head, nothing more. What those people do has nothing to do with us," Shen Xiaoyan said, walking up to comfort her.
Zheng Wei also nodded in agreement. Originally, they hadn't expected any gratitude from the villagers; it was just to do the village head a favor.
The group then stopped talking about it and, as the day was still young, decided to start planting.
After carefully teaching Yue Qingxin and Sima Han how to plant the seedlings, the four of them began planting.
Although they had only been planting for a year, Shen Xiaoyan and Zheng Wei could be considered experienced farmers. Therefore, their movements were naturally faster than Yue Qingxin and Sima Han's.
However, it wasn't a difficult skill to learn. By the next day when they planted again, the two of them were almost as fast as Shen Xiaoyan and Zheng Wei.
The original courtyard had a total of eight mu of land. Those few rooms, the milk fruit, and the red berries combined occupied no more than two mu. The remaining six mu were planted with striped watermelons, and the leftover seedlings were just enough.
After finishing the planting of striped watermelons, they immediately proceeded to plant various vegetables. This was something they had done last year, so Shen Xiaoyan and Zheng Wei handled it with ease.
When they finally had some free time again, it was three days later.
As the weather gradually warmed and the soil temperature rose, with not much rain, they had to water every few days.
Watering was a big undertaking. They not only had to water the vegetable fields and melon patches but also the more than twenty mu of fruit trees behind them. Watering everything once took about four people a whole day.
After the first watering, Yue Qingxin rubbed her lower back and said, "I never knew farming was so hard before."
Sima Han, standing beside her, looked thoughtful, but he didn't say anything.
That evening, Zheng Wei didn't exercise with Shen Xiaoyan. Instead, he held her in bed and spoke.
"Mimi, I want to discuss something with you," Zheng Wei said quietly after a long silence.
Shen Xiaoyan had noticed he had something on his mind and said, "Just say it. I was wondering how long you could keep it in."
Zheng Wei smiled faintly. He knew Mimi was so smart, how could she not tell he had something to say? Her not asking meant she was waiting for him to speak.
"Sima Han and I have discussed it. We're planning to go on a trip."
"Go out? Where to?" Shen Xiaoyan was a bit confused. It was just going out; what was so difficult to say that he had to hesitate for several days?
"We're planning to go out to do business."
Zheng Wei's voice reached Shen Xiaoyan's ears, startling her into sitting up.
Seeing her sit up, Zheng Wei quickly sat up too and asked anxiously, "What? Mimi, you don't want me to go? Then I..."
"Why do you need to do business?" Shen Xiaoyan interrupted Zheng Wei and asked.
"I know our life is quite good now. In just two years, when these fruit trees mature, our lives will be even better. However, all of this is your credit, your ideas. I haven't done anything. I don't want to be supported by Mimi. It makes me feel useless."