Qin Ke—whom Shopkeeper Song had just deemed a young man worth associating with—was now lying leisurely atop the donkey cart, a stalk of wild grass between his lips. His hands were folded behind his head, and a straw hat covered his face, shielding him from the glaring sun.
Han Qi, seated at the front and driving the donkey, asked in confusion, "My lord, are we really not going to sell watermelons tomorrow?"
"Of course not," Qin Ke replied. He reached up to remove the straw hat from his face and sat up, taking a deep breath of the fresh green-scented air. "Since ancient times, scarcity has driven value. This is called hunger marketing."
Han Qi scratched his head, not quite understanding the term hunger marketing that his lord had mentioned.
"And more importantly," Qin Ke continued, "we're taking a day off. That way, tomorrow the only place in town selling watermelons will be Caiyue Pavilion. This will let Shopkeeper Song see just how popular watermelons really are."
Han Qi's eyes lit up in sudden realization. "So if Shopkeeper Song sees that the watermelons sell well, he'll keep ordering from us!"
Qin Ke chuckled. "Exactly."
"Your wisdom is unmatched, my lord," Han Qi said with a simple, honest grin.
"Enough flattery," Qin Ke said, waving him off. "You've been working in the fields before dawn every day these past few days. Since there's nothing to do tomorrow, take a good rest."
"Thank you, my lord," Han Qi replied cheerfully, flicking the reins.
He had often heard that many masters were harsh, demanding long hours of labor from dawn till dusk. But after coming to Qin Ke's household, he discovered that both his lord and lady were kind and approachable, attentive to his food, clothing, and daily needs. To Han Qi, Qin Ke and Lu Youqing were not merely masters—they were family.
It was they who had given him a taste of familial warmth after a life of drifting, hunger, and cold.
As soon as they entered the village, they saw a crowd gathered in front of their home.
Worried that something had happened, Qin Ke did not even wait for the cart to stop before jumping down and rushing over. Han Qi hastily pulled the donkey cart aside.
Although the crowd had tightly surrounded the gate, the atmosphere was surprisingly friendly. When they saw Qin Ke arrive, they immediately made way for him.
"Qin Ke, you're back!"
Their unusually warm attitude made Qin Ke instinctively wary.
"May I ask why everyone has gathered at my door?" he asked.
"Oh, Little Qin," said a slightly plump middle-aged woman, "we heard that you've been selling something called watermelon in town lately—very expensive stuff! None of us villagers have ever seen it, so we thought we'd come take a look."
Qin Ke recognized her at once. She was from Butcher Li's household, known in the village as Auntie Li. She was famous for her fiery enthusiasm and generous nature—whenever anything happened in the village, big or small, she was always the first to show up and help organize things.
Now Qin Ke understood why everyone had come. He and Lu Youqing had anticipated that the villagers would eventually find out, given their frequent trips in and out of town.
Fortunately, they had been selling in the West Market, a place villagers rarely visited. Otherwise, the village would have discovered the watermelon business on the very first day.
"That's right, Qin Ke," someone chimed in. "I heard you sell those watermelons for five hundred coins each, and people line up every day to buy them!"
As the chatter grew louder, Qin Ke slowly raised his hand and pressed it down in the air, calling out, "Everyone! Everyone! Please quiet down!"
At his gesture and voice, the noise gradually subsided, and all eyes turned to him.
"I know everyone is curious," Qin Ke said. "Here's the truth—I happened to buy some seeds from a foreign merchant last year. I only planted them out of curiosity and never expected much to come of it, so I didn't plant many. The yield is limited."
This was the same explanation he had used at the market. Foreign merchants came and went without a trace—no one could verify his story anyway.
"At the market, we do sell them for five hundred coins each. But since we're all from Qinghe Village, we're selling them to our fellow villagers for one hundred coins. After all, this is a small business."
Lu Youqing had reminded him before: a bushel of kindness breeds gratitude, but a peck breeds resentment. Giving things away too easily would not earn appreciation—only entitlement and eventual resentment.
Qin Ke fully agreed. He had no intention of raising a pack of ungrateful ingrates.
So they had settled on a price of one hundred coins—something most villagers could just barely afford.
The villagers whispered among themselves. Though one hundred coins was still expensive to them, it was five times cheaper than five hundred. Qin Ke was truly being generous.
Auntie Li was the first to take out her money. Lu Youqing had already instructed Li Nanqiao to bring out some watermelons from the storehouse, and one was immediately handed to her.
Auntie Li's household farmed and raised pigs, and she butchered them as well. Her family lived better than most in the village. Still, people like her who could pay so readily were few.
Only a handful of others bought one to take home and try.
Seeing this, Lu Youqing stepped forward gently and said, "For those who are still unsure, you can buy a small portion to try first."
She nodded to Li Nanqiao, who immediately fetched a watermelon knife from the kitchen. She split a watermelon in half, then cut each half into two more pieces.
One watermelon was now eight pieces.
Seeing this, some villagers began counting on their fingers.
With a soft smile, Lu Youqing continued, "Each piece will only cost twenty-five coins. Anyone who wants to try it may buy just one piece."
Qin Ke silently gave her a thumbs-up in his heart. She had resolved the situation perfectly, without bruising anyone's pride.
Twenty-five coins was something most families could manage, and many chose to buy a single piece to try.
After a long while, the villagers finally dispersed. Qin Ke felt his face grow stiff from smiling—but his headache began when he noticed the Qin family standing at the back of the crowd.
The Qin family only stepped forward after most villagers had left. Elder Qin immediately launched into a scolding.
"This thing sells for five hundred coins! How can you sell it to villagers for only one hundred?"
"Exactly," Grandma Qin echoed. "Do you know how much money you're losing like this?"
They spoke over each other, completely absorbed in their complaints. Qin Ke listened and nearly laughed in exasperation.
As expected, their greedy and arrogant nature had not changed one bit. From their words alone, it was as if the watermelons already belonged to them.
Qin Ke deliberately played dumb. "So… are you here to buy watermelons too?"
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Currently at chapter 166 for advance chapters
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