The Fantastic Little Farmer

Chapter 21: Chapter 21: Oh No! A Massive Harvest!

Zhang Yun was wiping the water off his body. It wasn’t convenient to go out, so he could only speak through the door. ”That doesn’t seem right... This is the food you guys brought to eat later. I’ll just head back and eat.”

Sister-in-law Xiuqin quickly said, ”It’s fine, we have enough. We’ll leave... one for you.”

Through the crack in the door, Zhang Yun saw her set down the bamboo basket and take a steamed bun out of their rations.

”What do you mean, one? We just saw Zhang Yun’s physique; how could one possibly be enough for him?” Auntie Pang hollered with a laugh from the side. ”Zhang Yun! Your Sister-in-law Xiuqin’s big, white steamed buns are incredibly delicious. Let her give you two!”

Xiuxun grabbed another one, walked over, and placed them on a small folding stool by the door. As she got closer, Zhang Yun could see her more clearly. Her face was flushed so red that it looked burning hot.

”I left them on the stool...” Her voice was soft, but Zhang Yun, standing just a few feet away, felt his heart flutter.

Separated by the small wooden cabin, Xiuxun didn’t think much of it and naturally bent down to put the steamed buns down. However, from behind the crack in the door, Zhang Yun had a clear view down her collar as she leaned over, catching sight of another pair of ”steamed buns”...

”Uh... th-thank you, Xiuxun... I mean, Sister-in-law Xiuqin! Thank you, Auntie Pang!” Zhang Yun felt his breathing quicken. After calling her Xiuxun, he hurriedly tacked on ”Sister-in-law” and made sure to thank Auntie Pang as well.

”What are you thanking me for? We just got a good look at your big—” Auntie Pang didn’t even get to finish her sentence before Xiuxun dragged her away.

Once they were far away, Zhang Yun calmed down, got dressed, and stepped outside. He picked up the two steamed buns, sat on the small folding stool, and began to eat. Sister-in-law Xiuqin’s big, white steamed buns really were delicious!

After finishing the food, Zhang Yun entered the Peach Blossom Spring Space, planning to grab the other softshell turtle to take home and eat. As soon as he stepped inside, he was left completely dumbfounded.

Last night, he had hurriedly set up a vegetable patch and transplanted some rice seedlings and vegetables. After just one night, they had grown as tall as trees! He had previously planted ginseng here. While it grew quickly, its branches and leaves weren’t quite this exaggerated. When planting the vegetables last night, he hadn’t thought much about it and spaced them out normally. Now that they had exploded into the size of trees, everything was crammed together.

Zhang Yun stared at the drooping ears of rice, which hung higher than his head. Was this even grain anymore? The kernels were the size of grapes! The other vegetables and fruits had also reached an unbelievably exaggerated scale.

Looking at the vegetable patch that had squeezed into a ”small forest” and comparing it to the bed of ginseng, he figured he either shouldn’t plant things with such a short maturation period, or he would need to harvest them almost immediately. This bumper crop genuinely worried Zhang Yun. Could he really take grape-sized grains out to be milled into rice? The cucumbers were bigger than winter melons—could anyone even bite into them? If he didn’t explicitly say those were tomatoes, people would think they were red-skinned pumpkins!

It wasn’t convenient to take them outside, and even saving them for seeds seemed too bizarre. He had no choice but to leave them here. Zhang Yun decided to stop watering them.

By the time he found the softshell turtle, it had grown massive—at least seven or eight pounds! Zhang Yun couldn’t keep raising it. If it got any bigger, his dad would think it was an ancient turtle spirit and be too terrified to eat it.

When he carried the massive turtle back in a net bag, anyone who saw him—whether out in the fields or in the village—gasped in shock. They were all envious of his luck, amazed that he had managed to catch such a colossal softshell turtle.

”I heated up the leftovers you packed. Wash your hands and let’s eat. Good heavens! Where did you get such a huge turtle?” Zhang Fu was just as stunned when he got a clear look at it. Selling yesterday’s turtle for three thousand yuan had already made Zhang Fu feel incredibly lucky, yet now his son had caught an even bigger one!

Zhang Yun smiled, laying down an excuse. ”Maybe there are still a lot of wild turtles hiding in our fishpond.”

”Keep your voice down!” Zhang Fu immediately hushed him. ”If other people go dredging for them, it won’t count as stealing since they’re wild! And if they conveniently swipe a fish or two while they’re at it, we won’t be able to say much.”

Zhang Yun thought it over and realized his dad had a point. While he could afford the loss of a few fish now, having other people around would make it inconvenient for him to secretly alter the pond water. ”Then I’ll buy some small softshell turtles later and release them in there to breed.”

”That’d be tough. Whether they’d even survive is one thing, but farm-raised turtles won’t fetch a high price anyway.”

Zhang Yun placed it in a washbasin. ”Let’s not worry about that for now. I’ll make a soup out of this to nourish your health!”

”Heh, let’s just sell it!” Zhang Fu chuckled, a hidden meaning in his words. ”Eating this stuff gives a man too much internal heat. We’d better not eat too much of it, or we’ll get too fired up!”

Zhang Yun sweatdropped. So that was the kind of ”heat” he was talking about.

”Brother Fu!” A shout rang out from the courtyard gate, followed by someone rushing in, panting heavily.

”Uncle Cai, out for a morning jog?” Zhang Yun greeted him while washing his hands.

”Youcai, is there something you need? Come inside and have some tea!” Zhang Fu quickly offered a warm greeting of his own.

The names of the older generation in the village were all quite straightforward—Fu for blessing, Xi for happiness, Jin for gold, Cai for wealth, and Wang for prosperity. They were just simple hopes and blessings, but Zhang Youcai truly lived up to his name of having wealth! In his youth, Zhang Youcai had gone to the southern coastal cities to seek his fortune. However, he wasn’t satisfied with a salary that was merely much higher than what he’d make in the countryside. He learned technical skills, researched distribution channels, and eventually saved up enough money to return home and open a factory. After surviving a few grueling years, his business was now highly profitable.

Panting, Zhang Youcai laughed and said, ”I actually came looking for you guys because I need something.”

Both Zhang Yun and his father knew this perfectly well. They figured he obviously needed something, otherwise he wouldn’t have come visiting so early in the morning.

Zhang Youcai’s house was built quite grandly, and he drove a sedan wherever he went. People rumored his net worth to be at least ten or twenty million yuan, making him the local tycoon of the village. Yet, he was never arrogant and treated everyone politely. Still, his interactions were usually limited to a quick greeting and offering a cigarette; he rarely had time to drop by just to drink tea and chat.

”That’s it!” Zhang Youcai pointed excitedly at the massive softshell turtle that was nearly overflowing the washbasin.

”You want to buy it?” Zhang Fu realized immediately.

”I just heard that Zhang Yun caught a giant turtle, so I rushed right over. I’m willing to pay a high price. Can you part with it?” Catching his breath, Zhang Youcai quickly handed cigarettes to both Zhang Fu and Zhang Yun.

Since his dad had already agreed to sell it, Zhang Yun wasn’t going to insist on keeping it. Since they were from the same village, it wouldn’t be polite to demand an outrageous price, so he decided to make a joke instead. ”This thing is supposedly quite nourishing for men, isn’t it? Uncle Cai, are you... Heh heh!”

Zhang Youcai was significantly younger than Zhang Fu, yet he was completely out of breath just from jogging over. Clearly, being a boss had caused him to overwork himself.

Zhang Youcai gave an awkward laugh. ”Haha, well, I don’t have any issues in that department. But in business, we have to deal with various officials and bosses. This makes for an excellent gift.”

Zhang Yun hadn’t actually meant to mock him; he was merely pointing out the turtle’s specific value. But as soon as Zhang Youcai finished speaking, Zhang Yun suddenly remembered something.

The guy who had been shaking the cornstalks with someone in the cornfield last night... wasn’t that Zhang Youcai? When he’d gotten a closer look at the time, the man had seemed familiar enough to confirm he was a villager, though Zhang Yun couldn’t make out exactly who it was. Now, as Zhang Youcai spoke, his general appearance and the tone of his voice perfectly matched the murmurs from last night.

TSK, TSK. Boss Zhang didn’t have it easy, either. Going to a hotel meant risking being recognized and gossiped about at any moment, and even if he owned a house in town, he wouldn’t dare be too flashy about it. He had no choice but to run out into the wild fields to ”work overtime”...

”We were originally planning to stew it for ourselves, but since you need it for a gift, Uncle Cai, we can work something out!” Zhang Yun pointed at the turtle. ”It’s purely wild. You might not see one this big on the market for months.”

Zhang Youcai raised a hand. ”I’ll give you three thousand!”

Zhang Yun looked at his father. His dad would definitely want to give face to a fellow villager, so Zhang Yun didn’t feel right asking for too high a price.

To his surprise, Zhang Fu bluntly replied, ”That’s way too low!”

”Then... Brother Fu, how much do you think it should be?” Zhang Youcai asked awkwardly. He was fairly knowledgeable about the market price of softshell turtles and didn’t feel he had lowballed them.