Font Size:
After Liu Zhoucheng left, the Tan household gradually grew quiet. Perhaps from the fatigue of the day, everyone quickly fell asleep.
The next morning.
After making breakfast for the young man from the Yu family, Old Tan followed Tan Yiliang to the vegetable garden.
That morning, Tan Yiliang had noticed that they couldn’t pull the radishes out of the ground, so he returned to fetch Old Tan to help.
The two of them set down their baskets and began pulling at a radish.
At first, Old Tan didn’t think much of it. He assumed the soil was too compact, so he turned around to grab a hoe and loosened the earth a bit before resuming.
After a while, both of them were sweating, yet they still couldn’t pull the radish out.
Tan Yiliang straightened up, wiped his sweat, and asked, “Father, what’s going on here?”
Old Tan supported his back and replied, “Maybe the radish is just too big. Let me loosen the soil some more.”
After he finished speaking, he grabbed the hoe again and dug around the soil.
Gradually, the white top of the radish appeared.
Tan Yiliang stared at it in awe and exclaimed, “Father, this radish is as thick as a bowl! How big is it going to be?”
Old Tan wasn’t too excited. “Ah, it’s probably just an old radish. It might not taste very good.”
He continued digging with the hoe.
Before long, the entire radish was pulled out, lying on the ground and nearly as long as an adult’s arm.
Tan Yiliang patted the large radish and laughed, “Father, this radish is really huge, like one for three!”
“We still don’t know if it’s tasty or not.” Old Tan continued digging for another radish.
Tan Yiliang took a sickle, sliced a piece off the large radish, peeled it, and took a bite.
The taste was sweet and juicy, almost like eating a fruit.
He quickly smiled and said, “Father, it’s delicious! This big radish is really tasty.”
Old Tan paused his work and asked, “Really?”
Tan Yiliang nodded eagerly, “Really! It’s even better than the fruit from the tree!”
Old Tan, still a little skeptical, walked over, sliced off a piece, and took a bite. He froze for a moment. Not only was the radish not tough or spicy, but it was also tender and much better than the radishes they had harvested a few days ago.
He quickly wiped his hands and said, “Yiliang, come on, let’s dig up a few more!”
“Alright, Father!” Tan Yiliang responded with a smile, picking up a hoe and joining his father in the work.
After more than an hour, Old Tan and Tan Yiliang returned, each carrying a large basket of radishes.
Though the two baskets were full, there were only about a dozen white radishes in total.
They placed the radishes one by one on the ground.
Wan Chunmei, who had been preparing porridge for little Qiyue, was stunned. “Good heavens, did you dig up the entire family of radishes?”
Old Tan took a sip of water and replied, “No, these are just the ones left in our field.”
With that, he hurriedly went back outside to continue working on the house.
Wan Chunmei, holding little Qiyue, glanced at the radishes on the ground and asked, “Can these radishes be eaten?”
Little Qiyue blinked her big eyes and smiled sweetly at the sight.
Tan Yiliang smiled and replied, “Yes, Mother, they can be eaten. And they’re really delicious!”
Wan Chunmei squatted down to inspect the radishes, tapping them and listening to the sound. When she heard no hollow sound, she felt reassured. She stood up and said, “Alright, then I’ll turn these big radishes into pickled vegetables today.”
“Good, Mother. By the way, where’s second brother? It seems like it’s been several days since he last came back,” Tan Yiliang said, bending down to tease little Qiyue.
Little Qiyue reached her arms out, wanting to be held. Tan Yiliang picked her up and spun around with her, saying, “We’re still waiting for his good news.”
Wan Chunmei, rummaging through the radishes, replied, “What good news could there be? It’s just a few jars of pickled vegetables. What kind of profit could that make?”
Tan Yiliang settled little Qiyue on his shoulders and, grinning foolishly, said, “You never know. Maybe second brother has some brilliant idea and sold them for a great price.”
Wan Chunmei gave him a glance and said, “Stop daydreaming. Just focus on doing your work.”
Tan Yiliang looked up at little Qiyue sitting on his shoulders, pinching her chubby little hand and smiling, “Qiyue, big brother isn’t daydreaming, right?”
Little Qiyue giggled and babbled a word, “Shi…”
Wan Chunmei, who had been looking at the radishes, suddenly froze, stood up, and exclaimed, “Our little Qiyue can talk?!”
“It seems like it. I heard her say the word ‘shi’,” Tan Yiliang replied quickly.
He hurriedly placed little Qiyue on the bed, crouched down, and asked her eagerly, “Qiyue, quick, quick, say ‘big brother’!”