Chapter 277: Finally a Harvest

Qin Han's words were faultless, but Jiang Shi dismissed them with a brush-off: "We'll have to wait and see before harvesting the melons."

"Sister-in-law must let me know," Qin Han said politely, "Don't stand on ceremony."

Jiang Shi and Lady Lin saw her off. Jiang Ren and his siblings were reluctant to leave; they loved visiting their maternal grandparents' home. Their family were merchants, nothing compared to the Marquis Manor, and they possessed no cultivation resources.

When the carriage arrived at the Jiang residence, Jiang Mo was already waiting.

A maid took items off the carriage. Jiang Mo was delighted, but upon taking a look, he saw they were not melons or fruits. Seeing Qin Han's displeased expression, he said nothing about spiritual melons or spiritual fruits.

When Qin Bi left, she took only one string of spiritual fruits, left one string behind, and ate the rest.

The little milk bun, Rong Chi, ate the most; the little fellow was utterly unreserved! Back at the Wang Fu, Rong Juan took the little bun. The child babbled, imitating speech, while Rong Juan's eyes and brows softened with tenderness.

Qin Bi told him what the little bun, Rong Chi, had eaten. Rong Juan thought for a moment, then signaled a guard to bring steamed egg custard. Rong Juan took a small porcelain spoon and fed the little bun half a bowl.

By nightfall, Rong Yang and Qin Tang's group finally activated the teleportation array to return.

Rong Yang rushed back to the Wang Fu for dinner. The Wang He Shizi and Qin Bi waited for him. The child beamed with joy, first running off to chat with his younger brother for a while before going to wash up and change clothes.

Inside the Qin Yan Marquis Manor, Qin Tang and Qin Xun, along with the fourth branch's illegitimate son, returned to the manor. Qin Tang and Qin Xun went first to see Qin Di and his wife.

"Father," Qin Tang said, "I plan to harvest the melons tomorrow."

Qin Xun stood nearby; the melons in his field were ripe too. "The melons planted together are likely all ripe. Spiritual melons standing out in the fields are too conspicuous. Let's pick them first. As for the ordinary watermelons, the ripe ones are about the same."

Qin Di and his wife were overjoyed; finally, there was a harvest.

"Call your few younger illegitimate brothers to help," Qin Di said.

Qin Tang and Qin Xun nodded. Lady He waved her hand. "Hurry and clean up, then come for dinner."

Qin Tang and his wife, along with Qin Xun and his wife, left Lady He's courtyard. The illegitimate sons, learning they had to go to the Wildlands again tomorrow, hurried to wash and change. The young masters of the Marquis Manor were exhausted.

Back in their own courtyard, Qin Tang washed and changed into clean clothes, then sat down for tea. Jiang Shi said, "Qin Han brought the children today."

Jiang Shi briefly mentioned that they hadn't hidden the fact they ate spiritual fruits. In the afternoon, Qin Han had brought the children. Qin Tang was no fool; hearing this, he knew exactly what Qin Han was up to and frowned slightly.

"Before leaving, Qin Han mentioned it," Jiang Shi said, troubled. "She instructed me to tell her if we harvest melons from the fields in the Wildlands, saying her husband and children would come to help."

The Qin Yan Marquis Manor was populous and did not lack hands.

Spiritual melons were rare, and even the ordinary watermelons tasted excellent. In this situation, it was best to harvest them quietly on their own. These were edible things; if someone helped, would they not be allowed to eat a piece?!

If Qin Han hadn't deliberately mentioned it, Jiang Shi wouldn't have informed her.

But since Qin Han brought it up, staying silent would seem inhospitable.

"I'll discuss it with Qin Xun," Qin Tang said, rising. The couple went together to Lady He's courtyard for dinner.

The illegitimate sons arrived too. The fourth branch prepared a lavish dinner. Working in the fields was hard labor; Lady He would not mistreat the illegitimate sons. The illegitimate daughters had no face to complain at this time.

The illegitimate sons sat at the table to dine with Qin Di and his wife. The illegitimate daughters waited on the side, eating leftovers. If they didn't like it, too bad; they could return to their own small courtyards to eat, though the food wouldn't be lavish.

After eating their fill, everyone moved to the courtyard to enjoy the cool breeze. The autumn wind was refreshing at night.

Qin Tang and his brother followed Qin Di and his wife into the main hall. Qin Di looked at them, and Qin Tang said, "Qin Han instructed Jiang Shi and my sister-in-law to invite Jiang Mo and Jiang Ren when harvesting the melons."

Qin Di frowned. It was not good to invite people to harvest edible things.

Everyone understood this logic. If Qin Han had just politely mentioned it casually, it would be fine. But if she had seriously instructed it, not inviting her would make her unhappy, yet inviting her was unnecessary; even children could carry melons.

Before Qin Han married, she had great favor with Lady He. Lady He said, "After harvesting the spiritual melons, when we harvest the remaining melons, send someone to tell her. Whether she comes or not is up to her."

Spiritual melons were rare. Qin Han had some standing in the fourth branch, but she had no share in them.

The melons in the Wildlands were planted by the eldest legitimate son and the second legitimate son. Qin Di would not interfere much. His silence was tacit approval. Qin Tang and Qin Xun exchanged a glance, and the decision was made.

In the Jiang Shi first branch, Jiang Xu returned home after a day of hard work in the Wildlands. After hesitating, he stepped forward to see Elder Jiang. Elder Jiang was fanning himself to cool off in the courtyard.

"Father," Jiang Xu said, "I planted a patch of melons in the Wildlands. I plan to harvest them tomorrow."

Elder Jiang was stunned. In recent days, he had heard that someone had planted things in the Wildlands, and they were quite sought after. However, he hadn't expected Jiang Xu to have planted melons there too.

"Do you need your elder brothers and nephews to help you harvest the melons?" Elder Jiang asked.

The children of the first wife had enjoyed all the benefits here. Jiang Xu had always quietly stepped aside. Elder Jiang saw that Jiang Xu was very sensitive about his illegitimate status and indeed had treated this child poorly.

Planting things in the Wildlands was not easy. The family had not helped Jiang Xu. Since these were edible things, Jiang Xu didn't want to involve them, and Elder Jiang wouldn't interfere either. The eldest son and his brothers hadn't thought of Jiang Xu for good things; whatever Jiang Xu did was appropriate.

Who would have thought Jiang Xu would say, "There are spiritual melons in my field."

Elder Jiang blinked. Oh, there were spiritual melons? He fanned himself.

"What?" Elder Jiang stood up. "Spiritual melons??????"

Immediately, Elder Jiang asked, "Did your grandfather give them to you?"

Jiang Xu was not at all surprised by Elder Jiang's reaction. He shook his head. "No. I reclaimed the land and planted them myself. There aren't many spiritual melons. My field lacked sufficient rain, but a few grew. I can give Father two to eat."

Elder Jiang digested this for a while, sat down, and thought deeply. After a moment, he said, "If you need people, go tell your maternal grandparents' family. Ask your uncles to help. Don't tell your elder brothers."

Jiang Xu was stunned, seemingly not expecting Elder Jiang to consider his interests. The only family he could rely on was his maternal grandparents. If his legitimate elder brothers knew he had grown spiritual melons, they would surely want to pick them and take advantage.

For the first time, Elder Jiang did not favor the eldest sons. Jiang Xu stood there, dazed.

"It's getting late. You haven't eaten yet, have you?" Elder Jiang said. "Hurry and go tell your maternal grandparents' family."

Jiang Xu came to his senses, nodded hurriedly, and quickly went to his maternal grandparents' home.

Compared to Jiang Xu's cautious and unloved demeanor before his father, Rong Yan's home was much simpler. When he returned and said he would harvest melons tomorrow, Rong Cui, whose complexion had improved greatly after taking elixirs these past few days, looked even better upon hearing this.

"Tell your younger brothers to all come," Rong Cui arranged.

The few younger illegitimate brothers were only half-grown youths and dared not compete with Rong Yan for anything. Rong Yan smiled. "Very well. Father should go too. The spiritual melons growing in the field will also benefit Father's health."

Rong Cui hesitated. The illegitimate younger brothers of Rong Yan, upon hearing their legitimate elder brother was harvesting melons, agreed without a second word.