Chapter 1485: No Bones Left

The spring breeze was gentle and warm, blowing across people's faces and leaving them beaming with joy.

Tourists were scattered about, chatting loudly while digging for wild vegetables. Some carried plastic bags, others carried baskets. Although plastic bags saved money, the baskets somehow felt more convenient and had more of that "authentic" feel.

Quite a few aunties even wanted to borrow the baskets when they were taking photos!

They started chatting: "Your little basket looks sturdily woven and quite new. Where did you buy it?"

"Oh! Just by the side of the road. An old man was selling them there."

"I saw an old man selling them there too. He even waited a while when he ran out of stock. They're woven by the elderly in the nearby village."

"I saw people buying them in front, so I just joined in the fun..."

"Me too... Come to think of it, it wasn't a loss. Isn't it coming in handy right now?"

Indeed! Carrying a plastic bag while filming for TikTok or posting to Moments just felt like something was missing.

Those who hadn't bought one, or hadn't been willing to spend the money, couldn't help but sigh: "Sigh, it wasn't expensive either. If we'd known, we would've bought one too. It's useful for when we go out."

"I'll see if anyone is still selling them when we head back tonight. If not, I'm coming back in two days, and I'll buy one then."

Everyone was chatting enthusiastically; even the toddlers who had just learned to walk were touching and digging in the fields, finding their own fun.

The mothers would say: "Oh my, in the blink of an eye, they've got mud all over their hands. Isn't it dirty?"

Nearby, aunties chimed in with laughter: "It's fine! Since you're already here, they're already dirty anyway, a little more won't hurt. Besides, it's good for children to get close to the earth."

On the other side of the hillside, Song Tan was leisurely delivering strawberries when she saw Lu Chuan coming downstairs: "I just saw Qiao Qiao and the others start their livestream. I think I'll go to the field and pick a couple of watermelons too."

"Sure!" Song Tan set down the strawberries, and the two of them headed toward the back mountain together.

Once they left the courtyard of the homestay, they could see the small house at the fork in the road from afar.

That was Li Zui's new home.

Previously, thanks to Zhao Fangyuan's silver tongue, she had managed to squeeze twenty thousand yuan out of his unfilial son to build a proper cement house for the old man.

With white walls and grey tiles, it looked brand new and certainly wasn't shabby.

For a small old man, he had two partition walls inside: a living room large enough for an Eight Immortals table, a small kitchen for boiling water, cooking porridge, and keeping a stove in winter, and then a small bedroom.

A utility room on the outside and a toilet built behind the house were more than enough.

The water and electricity had been arranged by Secretary Xiao Zhu as part of her assistance to the elderly. Everyone in the village knew about his situation; who didn't call him a fool behind his back?

But the die was cast. Li Zui's big yellow ox was gone, his old house was gone, and his fields were gone... Now, he earned one or two thousand yuan a month doing odd jobs for Song Tan, keeping an eye on the fields, and that was enough.

Lu Chuan sighed: "When it comes to being thoughtful, I'm not as good as you."

Song Tan was puzzled: "Why would you think that about yourself?"

Lu Chuan was clearly the more meticulous one.

Lu Chuan shook his head: "People like Old Man Li are usually people I wouldn't get involved with; you reap what you sow. But you were incredibly thorough."

A lonely old man who had lost everything—even though it was a legitimate transaction, if something happened to him, the villagers would inevitably grumble, blaming the Song family for insisting on buying the house.

After buying the house, she had asked Zhao Fangyuan to help haul over the leftover construction materials to build him a house—although the homestead still belonged to the village committee and his children wouldn't be able to take advantage of it in the future, the investment was far more than twenty thousand.

Then there was giving him a job—as long as an elderly person in the countryside has the spirit and an income, life isn't actually that hard. Regardless of whether the income is large or small, as long as there's enough to eat, it's fine.

Li Zui now ate at the canteen with everyone else, and he could save his wages every month; his spirit had gradually recovered. Now, as he walked up and down the mountain, looking at the fields and the old house, he no longer had that look of utter despair.

When the villagers saw this, who didn't say the Song family had a good heart?

They were children who had grown up before their eyes; they were capable and kind.

Correspondingly, even he, the one running the homestay, was warmly welcomed by everyone. When villagers came to ask him for flower cuttings, they would always bring something along in the lively atmosphere.

He told Song Tan these thoughts he had been pondering, and Song Tan blinked, finally nodding solemnly: "Exactly! That was my long-term consideration."

Lu Chuan:...

He had analyzed it so seriously, but looking at Song Tan, it seemed his analysis was in vain, because she hadn't thought that much at all; it was purely out of genuine kindness.

Lu Chuan couldn't help but laugh again, taking her hand: "Mm, long-term vision."

There was still a way to go to the watermelon field along the gentle slope. Lu Chuan opened the livestream for Song Tan to see: "Xiao Yang and Qiao Qiao are a great match, and he's really good at using memes; he's very in tune with current internet trends."

Song Tan nodded: "Yeah! It's just a pity the kid is too talented; he's going to summer camp soon..."

Before he left, he had to go home for a while to spend time with his parents, so Qiao Qiao would soon be parting ways with his little partner.

Looking down at the livestream, the chat was already buzzing.

Song Tan looked at the livestream title—

【Rebirth: Picking Watermelons in May】

Good, good! The word "watermelon" was the essence. Not long after the broadcast started, the viewer count had already soared to over fifty thousand. And keep in mind, it was only four in the afternoon!

Xiao Yang and Qiao Qiao had already used voice control to call the guard on duty to open the fence. Now, walking on the path, one hand adjusting the phone's position while looking at the round, plump little watermelons, they couldn't have been happier.

"Oh my!" he exclaimed: "No wonder so many people are addicted to farming. This is so rewarding!"

The livestream chat was in tears:

【Look at me, I killed my cineraria and am crying in the bathroom.】

【Haha, I was about to repot my cactus that I've had for years, only to find out it was plastic.】

【Buy pots, buy soil, buy flowers; buy pots, buy soil, buy flowers; buy pots, buy soil... wait, where did my salary go?】

【I don't know if you've ever grown oxalis; it blooms when I'm at work and closes when I get off work. I grew over 20 pots in a year and only saw 3 flowers in total.】

【Stop talking about your pathetic flowers, look at the watermelons.】

【What's the point of looking? They aren't even selling them.】

【Exactly! I'm not watching!】

【Me neither! Sooner or later, I'll make him an obscure, has-been influencer.】

【Wait, aren't you guys watching? Is this the AI sending the messages?】

Xiao Yang looked at the chat and laughed heartily without hesitation: "Hehe! This is an early batch of melons, but there might not be many ripe ones yet, so we aren't selling them for now. But don't worry, everyone! Even though we aren't selling them, we can eat them for you to see on the spot!"

He clenched his fist and shook it: "With one punch and one iron mouth, I'll make sure that watermelon is left with no bones!" ===== CHAPTER 1486 =====