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Among the five mu of watermelon were dozens that had been successfully grafted and blossomed. They were already boring fruit. Under the yellow female flower that had gradually withered, there was a pocket watermelon with small fluff. It had green patterns with a bulging belly. It looked very good. Zhao Liniang was waiting for the summer so they would produce a lot of large and round watermelons.
While cultivating these watermelons these past few months, Lin Lixuan learned a lot of raising watermelons. Some of it he learned from Uncle Xu and some he learned from agricultural books. He summarized the process. He was good at observing, and he carefully recorded the growth of the watermelons vines. Seeing that the survival rate of the grafted watermelon was getting higher and higher, he summed up his experiences.
The plant had high vitality. The more carefully he treated it, the easier it would die. There was a text in the Chinese textbook stating you had to let the plant grow freely. Do not move them and do not worry. After grafting, do not randomly turn it. Do not check on it every day. They originally thought the small eyelashes meant the grafting was successful, but it slowly came together.
—Of course, Lin Lixuan, who was holding a small pair of scissors, smiled. The vines that weren’t allowed to grow had to be pruned.
the vines that grew on the side of the main vines had to be pinched off. The principle was that two female melons if side by side, and depending on the situation, would reduce the quality but increase the yield. Did you want to harvest a healthy and sweet large watermelon that absorbed all the nutrients, or harvest two small watermelons that weren’t very nutritious?
He chose the former.
The watermelon that grew on the vine was like a big balloon. It kept getting bigger. Watching the small watermelon grow from the size of a finger, slowly turn into a fist, then finally become a big lantern a person could hug. The fruit farmer, Lin Lixuan, was very pleased. He stood in his watermelon field, and with an orange straw hat on, and the sun shining on the top of his head, he used his slender finger to knock on the melon. The sound was crisp and loud. It had to be a good watermelon with thin skin and a lot of meat.
At the beginning of June, the first batch of watermelon could finally be harvested. There were a total of 36 melons, weighing a total of 380 catties.
Lin Lixuan returned to the Lin residence with the first ripe watermelon. On the way home, two dogs ran around his feet, as if wanting to celebrate with him. After returning home, the three people in the family applauded and welcomed him. In this regard, the Lin family held the first watermelon meeting. As the first agenda on the meeting, Lin Lixuan cut the watermelon to reveal the watermelon flesh. He hated the small watermelon he saw hanging on the vine on the way here.
“These watermelons are too picky. If you move them a little bit, they’ll lose their temper and won’t grow. It’s as if they’ve been subjected to time…”
Lin Lixuan’s hand moved as spoke about the process of growing watermelon. He handed the watermelon to the three people in the family: Zhao Liniang, Ger Yan, and Ger Yu. While they accepted the watermelon, they listened to his speech.
The light green and dark green pattern intertwined to form the oval watermelon. The melon belly had a deep pattern like egg yolk, forming many layers. This piece faced the earth. The watermelon was very stable on the table. The knife fell on and cut the crisp melon open. A fresh aroma burst out, and watermelon juice flowed onto the wooden table. The aroma flowed straight into the nose. Before they could savor the sweet fragrance, their eyes were occupied by the bright red flesh. They no longer cared about anything else.
Zhao Liniang, Ger Yan, and Ger Yu swallowed a mouthful of saliva.
Lin Lixuan continued his speech. After Ger Yan finished eating a piece of melon, he threw out a sentence that stopped the speech, “Continue growing watermelons next year.”
Zhao Liniang nodded and exclaimed, “The melons my son grew are delicious.”
Ger Yan nodded and picked up another piece and ate it.
Ger Yu nodded too, burped, and exclaimed, “Ge, you’re eating too fast.”
Lin Lixuan brushed off the watermelon juice from Ger Yan’s mouth. He took a bite of the watermelon he was holding. The gorgeous flesh was sweet and warm. He frowned, then commented, “There’s no refreshing icy watermelon flavor.”
Ger Yu was confused,.” It’s already delicious.”
He had never eaten such a sweet fruit before, so he was really happy today. The “watermelon pumpkin” they worked so hard to cultivate wasn’t yellow like he thought it would be. Its flesh was very red and even more beautiful than the rock sugar gourd sold on the streets. It didn’t taste like pumpkin either. Ger Yu couldn’t describe the taste. In short, it was very delicious.
The watermelon juice was sweeter than the honey water they drank in the morning!
Uncle Xu raised bees on the mountain. After they started producing honey, he sent a large jar to Lin Lixuan. His brother-in-law asked the entire family to drink a glass of honey water when they woke in the morning. It was very sweet.
Lin Lixuan rubbed Ger Yu’s head, smiled, and said to him, “It’ll taste better if you put it in ice, like the snow skin mooncake.” After speaking, he glanced at Ger Yan, who was still eating. “Ger Yan, eat less. Watermelon is a cold food, so if you eat too much, it won’t be good for your stomach.”
Even so, the four of them still ate too much. The result of eating too much was that they had to go to the bathroom nonstop. The watermelon contained too much water, so they had to discharge a lot. The weather wasn’t hot, so they didn’t sweat. They could only rely on…
After taking off the heavy winter clothes, they changed into thin spring clothes, then into their cool summer clothes. The weather was getting hotter. The humid and hot summer was finally coming. After Lin Lixuan harvested the first batch of watermelons, he didn’t rush to sell them at the store. Most were sent to their friends and family to try. They were sent to the brothers Huoda and Shuishen’s families, the county town’s Official Register, Mr. Shen from Songyun Bookstore, who had a good relationship with his family.
Speaking of Mr. Shen, it had to be mentioned that Lin Lixuan’s Investiture of the Gods had published its second volume. There was a good response from the market. Many scholars and bachelors liked it. Lin Lixuan was ready to write the third volume. In addition, the book he wrote when he was bored, The Diaries of Scholar Yongyi, had also begun circulating in the market. This book was filled with Lin Lixuan’s bad tastes. The story was about Scholar Yongyi, and it was very eye-opening. There were a whole bunch of twists and turns. Everything was unexpected. It was the ultimate nonsensical, hilarious book.
Lin Lixuan also used his charcoal to create countless tiny drawings in the comic. It added infinite fun and made it even more hilarious.
Lin Lixuan himself didn’t expect the illogical little book he wrote to spread like the plague among merchants.
