about to speak, a sudden chill ran down her neck. She turned her head and saw her granddaughter crying with red eyes."Don't cry, Funiu. The Marquis is very capable, he'll be fine! Besides, your fathe..."Haha, you're wondering if Dayong can come back, aren't you" the old woman teased as she pulled her down to sit.

"The lord may seem cold, but he's actually very soft-hearted. Even if he can't come back himself, he will definitely send the fourth and Da Yong back to see you. Just rest assured!"

Huiniang blushed, "It's not that I'm worrying, it's just that the child is growing up bigger and bigger, and my heart feels uneasy."

"This is your first child, of course you're worried. Don't worry, I heard that the barbarians from Jiangbei were repelled again. Who knows, maybe this time Da Yong will return and stay by your side until the baby is a month old."

"Really"

"That's about right. I heard a few things from the head steward of Marquis House, so it shouldn't be wrong."

The old woman coaxed Hui's daughter into happiness and then called everyone to eat.

After dinner, Dongmei accompanied Huiniang back home, while Jiayin lay down for a nap on the mats under the eaves of the corridor with her brothers.

The old woman sat on one side sewing clothes for her grandsons, occasionally picking up a large fan to drive away mosquitoes for the children.

In the scorching summer, cicadas chirp incessantly, and the sky is a breathtakingly pure blue.

Jia Yin narrowed her eyes, looking intoxicated, and unknowingly fell asleep.

Her birthday is coming up soon, and everyone in the family is very excited. Actually, she feels indifferent about it.

While other children look forward to growing up, she would rather be a child forever. carefree and loved, with all her family around her...

Unfortunately, time will not stop because of anyone's hope.

In the blink of an eye, it had been seven or eight days. On this day, just as dawn broke, the dew in the field was still very heavy.

Jia Yin yawned and was carried to the gourd by her second uncle.

The village head stepped forward and coaxed with a smile: "Funiu, you help the old village head see if the melons in the field are ripe Which one is ripe, pick it down, and we'll send it to the palace for the emperor to eat."

Upon hearing this, Jia Yin immediately perked up. She jumped down and ran around in the melon field.

It has to be said, with last year's experience, the villagers have grown even better melons this year.

The ditch was bare, with no weeds to be found. All the gourd vines had been topped, and even the main-stem gourds were scarce.

Now, each jade gourd is as large as a pottery basin, with a deep green rind, lying lazily among the vines. Just looking at them makes one's mouth water.

To tribute to the palace, Jiayin picked out those that were nine parts ripe, with round and beautiful shapes.

As for the melon patch, it's even easier. Just tap the tail of the melon and if the stem comes off easily, it's ripe.

Soon, sixty jade gourds and one hundred and twenty golden fruits were loaded onto the truck.

The carriage was also surrounded by some gourd vines, decorated in a rather rustic way.

The village head and Zhao Shu personally drove a carriage, while Li La'er, Liu Biaotou, and Ye Shan took the Hou Mansion's carriage to follow behind.

Logically speaking, this lineup is pretty good.

But several villagers were not at ease and wanted to go to the city to see the excitement, so they begged the village headman to take them along.

The village head simply waved his hand, "If you want to go, then go. Just don't complain if you can't get into the palace gates."

"No, let's just see what the palace gate looks like."

The villagers were overjoyed. They didn't take the carriage, instead they walked on both sides of it, protecting the full cart of melons as they entered the city.

Suijin Beach is thirty li from Xindu. By the time they reached the city gate, it was almost dawn.

The city gate bustled with vehicles and people, a cacophony of voices filling the air. Passersby, witnessing this grand spectacle of the crowd at Suijin Beach, were all curious.

"Are these jade melons and golden fruits Are they ripe already"

"No, the Wang from our village came from somewhere and got some seeds. He planted half a mu of land. I looked, and the melons he grew were only the size of tea bowls..."

"But look at the cars over there, they are so big!"

Someone couldn't help but ask loudly, "Brother, where did you buy this jade gourd"

"We're from Broken Gold Beach, this is something we grew ourselves," they replied with a mixture of pride and joy.

"Ah, the Suijin Beach!"

"Oh, no wonder. I heard that the melons from Suijin Beach are the best. Seeing them today, it's truly well-deserved."

"The melon fields in Suijin Beach are in bloom, we must buy some!"

"Let's follow them and see where they are taking it. I'll buy a few to try some fresh ones."

When the crowd was buzzing with discussion, Ye Shan took out the Hou Mansion's token and entered the city without queuing.

The carriage swaggered through the streets for half an hour before reaching the east of the city.

Ye Shan went to the palace gate, took his token, and bribed the eunuch at the gate with some silver. He had originally planned to find the chief eunuch serving the emperor and give him a jade gourd in exchange for help.

To their surprise, the eunuch director personally came out and called in the village headman and Li Lao'er to answer questions.

A car of jade gourds and golden fruits was also carefully carried into the palace.

The Emperor had just finished court and was chatting with several senior officials about government affairs.

At such times, he naturally couldn't talk much with the village head and Li Laer. He could only ask about this year's jade gourd harvest and how the business in Hot Spring Valley was doing.

Although the village head was nervous, he had met the emperor twice before. While his etiquette might not have been perfect, his replies were honest and straightforward. His gratitude towards the emperor and the court was evident.

The Emperor was delighted. At last, he told several old ministers, "Suijintan is a geomantically blessed land. Not only is the local population simple and honest, but their fruits are also the best. In a while, each of you should take two back to try."

Having said that, he asked the village head, “Isn’t it true, old man, that this year’s melons are sweeter than last year’s”

If someone else were here, they would probably say that they'd never tasted it before and offer the first bite to the Emperor.

The village head was particularly sincere, his face flushed slightly red. He replied in a hushed voice: "Your Majesty, originally, the villagers, young and old, all said they would offer you the first bite of this first harvest melon. But I was afraid that the melons wouldn't be sweet this year, so last night I secretly opened one... It was sweet, truly exceptionally sweet!"

His expression, like a child caught stealing, caused the Emperor and the old ministers to burst into laughter.

They are all accustomed to scheming and deception, to hypocrisy. How could they not like this simplicity and sincerity

“Hear ye! The people of Suijin Beach are loyal to me. They have presented the first cart of jadeite melons and golden fruits of summer, so bestow upon them fifty pieces of brocade, one hundred taels of gold, and a thousand taels of silver. Command the Ministry of Works to build a gate archway, inscribed with the words 'Auspicious Feng Shui Land'.

His heart was filled with joy, so the rewards were naturally generous.

The village head and Li Laoer quickly knelt down and thanked him. The village head said, "Your Majesty, we just need the archway. With Your Majesty's name on it, no one will dare to bully us in the future. We don't want the silk and silver. Please keep the silver to reward the soldiers who went out to fight. This year, jade gourds and golden fruits have a bumper harvest, and our village can sell a lot of silver. It's enough for everyone to eat well and wear warm clothes!"

It's considered disrespectful to decline an imperial gift.

But the village head didn't know, speaking like this, with a sincere face, his heart was full of thoughts for the emperor and the court.

The eunuch's chief and the old ministers wanted to rebuke him, but they didn't dare open their mouths.

After a long pause, just as the village head and Li Laoer were filled with apprehension and confusion, the emperor finally said, "Alright, then we'll only build a gate."

The village head and Li Laoer then felt relieved and quickly bowed to bid farewell.

"Your Majesty, you are busy, we shall take our leave. Many people saw us pulling the jade melon on the way here and were very envious. They probably already went to the village to buy melons. We have to go back and look after them."from the Li family's side, she also came over to help.The elderly women, sitting on the kang and standing in groups on the ground, divided into two places to wrap dumplings.When the sun began to set,...