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Tan Yiliang couldn’t resist taking a few more bites, looking as though he hadn’t eaten in days.
Old Tan hurried over and asked with a smile, “How is it? What does it taste like? Is it really true?”
Tan Yiliang, chewing with delight, replied, “It’s delicious, Father. It’s really good.”
Old Tan picked a bitter melon, wiped it on his sleeve without hesitation, and took a big bite.
The bitterness of the bitter melon was intense, but as he chewed, a subtle sweetness began to emerge.
Old Tan took a few more bites and then said, “The ordinary seeds we bought somehow produced this excellent bitter melon! This is truly a strange thing!”
Meanwhile, Tan Erqian was much calmer than the other two. Standing aside, he spoke nonchalantly, “Father, Big Brother, I think this must be a blessing from Heaven.”
Old Tan picked a few chili peppers and started eating them, grumbling, “What nonsense are you talking? Why would Heaven bless us?”
Tan Erqian confidently replied, “Because our family is kind-hearted! As the saying goes, good people get good rewards. It must be something like that.”
Old Tan shot him a glance and said, “Good people getting good rewards? Have you ever seen a good person become incredibly rich? Have you ever seen bad people living in poverty? Don’t expect such things.”
Tan Erqian was confused. “Father, if that’s the case, then why should we still be good people?”
Old Tan, sweating from the spiciness of the chili peppers, replied, “Being good or bad doesn’t depend on what rewards you get from Heaven. As long as you can face your conscience and live without regrets, that’s all that matters. Don’t get caught up in nonsense. As farmers, we should just focus on honestly working the land—that’s the right way.”
Tan Yiliang and Tan Erqian both nodded in agreement. “Yes, Father!”
At the moment, no matter how these vegetables had grown, the most important thing was to harvest them.
The summer heat was strong, and if they waited too long, the vegetables that were already ripe might lose their freshness.
The winter melon and chili peppers were fine.
The winter melon could be stored for a while, and the chili peppers could be left to ripen further, ready for making more chili paste later.
The loofah could be left to ripen and used to make loofah sponges later.
Right now, the most urgent crops to harvest were the cucumbers and bitter melons.
Old Tan and Tan Yiliang had only brought two baskets, but they quickly gathered all the ripe vegetables. After two trips, they finally returned home with the harvest.
Wan Chunmei was once again stunned. “Goodness, how did you manage to bring so many vegetables back?”
Tan Yiliang smiled and said, “Mother, these are from our field.”
Wan Chunmei thought she had misheard. “What? What do you mean from our field? I thought these vegetables were just planted!”
Tan Erqian took a few cucumbers out of the basket and smiled, “Mother, these are the ones we planted a few days ago.”
Wan Chunmei was stunned, then quickly ran over. She picked each one up, inspecting it, and couldn’t stop laughing. “This is truly an incredible thing! We just planted them, and within two or three days, they’re already ripe!”
Old Tan set down the basket and said, “Enough of that, Wife. Don’t worry about it. This afternoon, make a nice meal for the kids. Let them enjoy a good feast.”
After all the strange events they had been through recently, the Tan family had become more accepting of the unbelievable.
Wan Chunmei immediately agreed, “Alright, alright! I’ll make some smashed cucumbers and stir-fried melon with meat.”
With that, she grabbed a few cucumbers and bitter melons, ready to wash them.
Tan Yiliang quickly grabbed the basket, “Mother, let me wash them. Father said you shouldn’t touch cold water yet.”
Wan Chunmei nodded. “Alright, you go ahead and wash them.”
Tan Yiliang took a large wooden basin, filled it with the bitter melons and cucumbers, and went to wash them.
Old Tan began taking the vegetables out of the basket, one by one, and as he did, he asked, “Woman, what do you think we should do with all these vegetables?”
Wan Chunmei crouched down to help him, pondering for a moment. “The weather’s hot, and these vegetables won’t keep for long. How about I pickle them and make some preserved vegetables instead?”
“Pickled vegetables?” Old Tan asked, somewhat surprised.