Chapter 277: Finally, There Was a Harvest

Qin Han's words were fine, but Jiang Shi was evasive: "We'll have to see about harvesting the melons."

"Sister-in-law, you must let me know," Qin Han said politely: "Don't be strangers."

Jiang Shi and Lin Shi saw her out. Jiang Ren and her younger brother were reluctant to leave; they loved coming to their maternal grandfather's home. Their family were merchants and couldn't compare to the Marquis Manor, and they had no cultivation resources.

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

The maid took the things off the carriage. Jiang Mo was happy, but upon taking them and seeing they weren't melon or fruit, and seeing Qin Han's unhappy expression, he didn't mention any spirit melon or spirit fruit.

Qin Bi had only taken one bunch of spirit fruit when she left, leaving one bunch behind, and they had eaten the rest.

The little milk bun Rong Chi had eaten the most; the little guy wasn't polite at all! Returning to the Prince Manor, Rong Juan took the little bun, and the child babbled, mimicking speech. Rong Juan's eyes were gentle.

Qin Bi told the Heir Apparent what the child had eaten. Rong Juan thought for a moment and signaled the guard to bring the 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 opened the teleportation array and returned.

Rong Yang rushed back to the Prince Manor to eat. He He Shizi Apparent and Qin Bi were waiting for him. The child was beaming with joy, first running to talk to his younger brother for a while before going to wash up and change his clothes.

In the Qin Yan Marquis Manor, Qin Tang, Qin Xun, and the concubine-born sons of the fourth branch returned. Qin Tang and Qin Xun first went to see Qin Di and his wife.

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

Qin Xun stood to the side; the melons in his field were also ripe: "The melons planted in the same plot are all about ripe. Spirit melons are too eye-catching in the field, so we should harvest them first. There are also ordinary watermelons; they are all about ripe too."

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

"Call your concubine-born younger brothers to help," Qin Di said.

Qin Tang and Qin Xun nodded, and He Shi waved her hand: "Hurry and tidy up, then come over for dinner."

Qin Tang and his wife and Qin Xun and his wife left He Shi's courtyard. The concubine-born sons learned they had to go to the desolate land tomorrow and hurriedly went to wash up and change clothes. The young masters of the Marquis Manor were all exhausted.

Returning to their own courtyard, Qin Tang washed up, changed into clean clothes, and sat down to drink tea. Jiang Shi said: "Qin Han brought the children today."

Jiang Shi roughly mentioned that they hadn't hidden the fact that they were eating spirit fruit, and Qin Han had brought the children over in the afternoon. Qin Tang wasn't stupid; he knew what Qin Han was planning as soon as he heard it, and he frowned slightly.

"Qin Han mentioned it when she was leaving," Jiang Shi said, conflicted: "She instructed me that if the fields in the desolate land were harvested, I should let her know, and her husband and children would come to help."

The Qin Yan Marquis Manor was populous and didn't lack manpower.

Spirit melons were rare, and even ordinary watermelons tasted quite good. It was best to harvest them quietly at home. These were things that could be eaten; if someone helped, could you not let them eat a piece?!

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

But since Qin Han had mentioned it, not saying anything would seem heartless.

"I'll discuss it with Qin Xun." Qin Tang got up, and the couple went to He Shi's courtyard for dinner.

The concubine-born sons also came. The fourth branch had prepared a sumptuous dinner. Working in the fields was hard work, and He Shi wouldn't mistreat the concubine-born sons. The concubine-born daughters didn't dare to make a fuss at this time.

The concubine-born sons sat at the table to dine with Qin Di and his wife, while the concubine-born daughters waited on the side, eating leftovers. If they didn't like it, they could go back to their own small courtyards to eat; it just wouldn't be as sumptuous.

After dinner, everyone moved to the courtyard to enjoy the cool air. The autumn night breeze was refreshing.

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 the younger sister-in-law to call Jiang Mo and Jiang Ren when harvesting the melons."

Qin Di frowned. It wasn't good to call people to harvest food that was meant for eating.

Everyone understood this principle. It would have been fine if Qin Han had just made a polite remark, but it was worrying if she had instructed them seriously. If you didn't call her, she would be unhappy. If you did call her, it wasn't necessary; even children could move melons.

Before Qin Han was married, she had been very favored by He Shi. He Shi said: "After harvesting the spirit melons, when harvesting the rest, send someone to tell her. Whether she comes or not is up to her."

Spirit melons were rare. Qin Han had some face in the fourth branch, but there was no share for her.

The melons in the desolate land were grown by the eldest legal son and the second legal son. Qin Di wouldn't interfere much. His silence was tacit approval. Qin Tang and Qin Xun looked at each other, and that was how it was decided.

In the Jiang family's first branch, Jiang Xu returned home after a busy day in the desolate land. He hesitated but still walked over to see the Jiang Old Master. The Jiang Old Master was fanning himself in the courtyard to enjoy the cool air.

"Father," Jiang Xu said: "I grew a melon field in the desolate land. I plan to harvest the melons tomorrow."

The Jiang Old Master was stunned. He had heard that someone had grown things in the desolate land these past few days and that they were quite popular, but he hadn't expected Jiang Xu to have grown melons there too.

"Do you need your elder brother and nephews to help you harvest the melons?" the Jiang Old Master asked.

The children of the legal wife had taken all the benefits here, and Jiang Xu had always silently retreated to the side. The Jiang Old Master saw that Jiang Xu was very concerned about his status as a concubine-born son, and he had indeed treated this child poorly.

Growing things in the desolate land wasn't easy, and the family hadn't helped Jiang Xu. As for food, Jiang Xu didn't want it, and the Jiang Old Master didn't care. If the eldest brother and others had good things and didn't think of Jiang Xu, whatever Jiang Xu did was appropriate.

Who knew, Jiang Xu said: "There are spirit melons in my field."

The Jiang Old Master blinked. Oh, there were spirit melons, he fanned himself.

"What?" The Jiang Old Master stood up: "Spirit melons?????"

Immediately, the Jiang Old Master said: "Given by your grandfather?"

Jiang Xu wasn't surprised by the Old Master's reaction. He shook his head: "No, I cleared the land myself and planted them. There aren't many spirit melons; my field doesn't have enough rainfall, so only a few grew. I can give Father two to eat."

The Jiang Old Master digested this for a long time, sat down, and pondered. After a while, he said: "If you need people, go tell your maternal grandfather's family and call your uncles to help. Don't tell your elder brother and the others."

Jiang Xu was stunned, seemingly not expecting the Jiang Old Master to think of him too. He could only rely on his maternal grandfather's family. If the legal brothers knew he had grown spirit melons, they would definitely want to pick them and take advantage.

It was the first time the Jiang Old Master hadn't favored the eldest brother and the others. Jiang Xu was stunned.

"It's getting late, you haven't eaten yet, right?" The Jiang Old Master said: "Hurry and go tell your maternal grandfather's family."

Jiang Xu came back to his senses, nodded hastily, and walked quickly to his maternal grandfather's home.

Compared to Jiang Xu being cautious and out of favor in front of his father, things were much simpler in Rong Yan's home. When he went home and said they would harvest melons tomorrow, Rong Cui, who had been in much better spirits after taking the pill these past few days, looked even better upon hearing this.

"Call your younger brothers to go," Rong Cui arranged.

The concubine-born younger brothers were just half-grown teenagers and didn't dare to compete with Rong Yan for anything. Rong Yan smiled heartily: "Okay, Father should come too. There are spirit melons in the field, which will be good for Father's health."

Rong Cui hesitated, and Rong Yan's concubine-born younger brothers agreed without a word upon hearing that their legal elder brother was harvesting melons. ===== CHAPTER 278 =====