Gourd Farm Chapter 18
Translated by Etherna (ko-fi)
TLCed by MissQ
Chapter 18: Helping Out
"It's about time; I assume the car on the other side should be repaired by now."
The two tidied up their belongings. Yang Feng picked up the watermelon that had fallen on the ground and disposed of it in the trash.
Luckily, the security guard didn't approach at that moment. If he had seen the mess on the ground, he might have been furious and potentially resorted to violence.
"Boss, is the car repaired?"
"Yes, it's fixed. The total cost is fifty yuan."
Watermelon Girl settled the bill, and now she seemed to have returned to her previous cheerful mood. Her face was relaxed and filled with ease.
"I'm heading back now. There's still a lot to do at home," she announced.
Seeing that things on this side were wrapping up, and he needed to attend to his greenhouse, Yang Feng bid farewell.
"Thank you so much for today!" Watermelon Girl expressed her gratitude.
"Alright, you've thanked me more than ten times today," Yang Feng replied with a smile.
"I'm not called Watermelon Girl, my name is Xia Ying," her voice came from a short distance away.
"Xia Ying, my name is Yang Feng!" he shouted with a loud voice, noticing that Xia Ying hadn't gone too far yet.
"Cough, cough, cough."
Yang Feng coughed, feeling a sore throat from exerting too much force. Xia Ying heard it but only paused briefly before continuing on her way without looking back.
"Xia Ying, that's a pretty good name," he muttered to himself, repeating it a couple of times to remember it. Then, he stopped dwelling on it and swiftly revved the throttle to head home and tend to his crops.
Upon entering the greenhouse, Yang Feng was met with a surge of heat. He promptly lifted the door curtain. After observing for a few days, he noticed that the seedlings inside the greenhouse were growing faster than those outside. In just a few days, they had shot up more than ten centimeters.
"Yang Feng, Yang Feng? Are you in there?"
While plucking out the excess seedlings, a gruff voice called out.
"Yeah, I'm here."
Yang Feng removed his gloves and stepped outside the greenhouse. As he emerged from the greenhouse, he saw that it was his second uncle.
Yang Feng recalled that he hadn't seen his second uncle since he returned. Hadn't he heard that the entire family had moved to live in the county? Why was he suddenly free to visit?
"Second Uncle, it's been a while."
"Yeah, it's been a while. I just returned to the village. I was actually planning to call you, but I heard from the villagers that you had come back some time ago."
"Is there something you need from me, Second Uncle?"
"Yeah. You know we bought a house in the county before? We're planning to move in tomorrow."
"Oh, I see, Second Uncle. I'll definitely come tomorrow."
"Great, that's all I wanted to say. I'll go inform the others now."
"Alright."
Lately, regardless of the occasion, the host always organized banquets and received gifts from others. It's challenging to decline an invitation once extended. While a housewarming party was understandable, there was another recent event where a student who passed a college entrance exam threw a lavish feast and received numerous gifts. It's perplexing why people willingly go through such trouble for a bit of money.
...
As soon as the sun rose, the atmosphere at Second Uncle's house became lively. Upbeat music shattered the tranquility of the village, and a group of mischievous children chased each other around. It seemed like running the stall today would be impossible.
Yesterday, Second Uncle had asked for help with errands like buying groceries, but there weren't many young people left in the village. So, after breakfast, Yang Feng planned to go and lend a hand.
"Hey, is Yang Feng at home?"
Who? Someone had unexpectedly came over so early in the morning, but the voice sounds familiar.
"Yes, I'm home. Who is it?"
Before Yang Feng could go outside, a slender, tall, and cute girl jumped right in front of him.
"You can't even recognize my voice. It feels like all those years of playing together as kids were for nothing."
Glancing up, he discovered that it was Yang Nana, the daughter of Second Uncle's family.
This girl had always been fond of trailing behind Yang Feng since childhood, like a little shadow. It was only in recent years that she went to Shanghai, and they lost contact. However, it had only been a few years since their last meeting, and his little companion had blossomed into a young lady.
"Yo, how did you find time to come back? I heard you were in university."
"If I'm at university, can't I come back to see you? Look at how surprised you are."
After saying this, Yang Nana pouted and rolled her eyes.
"Forget that, it's better for you to find a boyfriend than spend time to see me again."
"There’s no need for me to find a boyfriend; there’s a long line of guys who want to date me."
Yang Feng glanced at the charming and graceful Yang Nana and nodded, "Well, that's true. Do you need anything from me?"
“Oh, I forgot because you interrupted me. My dad sent me to call you for breakfast, saying it will be busy later on.”
“I'll pass. Look, the water is already boiling. I'll just whip up some noodles and eat before heading out.”
Today's event was undoubtedly going to be crowded; Yang Feng never enjoyed engaging with those people.
"No way! No noodles! We've already prepared food at home, and we're just waiting for you," replied Yang Nana as she dragged him towards the door.
Yang Feng attempted to resist, but he couldn't prevail against the determined girl. "Alright, alright. But I need to make sure the stove is turned off first, or else we might come back to a burnt-down house."
"Fine, fine. Hurry up, what a dawdler."
After putting out the fire, adding some cold water to the pot, and ensuring everything was safe, Yang Feng locked the door and followed Yang Nana to her house.
When they arrived at Second Uncle's house, it was already bustling with activity.
Second Uncle’s family was relatively affluent, and he worked as a chief labor contractor frequently outside the village. He was also the first person in the village to build three single-story houses.
There were already quite a few people in the house, and the cooks helping with the banquet had started bustling around the kitchen.
"Yang Feng, come and sit down quickly and have something to eat. It's going to be busy later."
Uncle Yang warmly greeted him at the door, and, of course, he wasn't just waiting for him. Many guests were expected, and they needed to be properly entertained.
Yang Feng randomly found a seat and sat down. Before he could even reach out, Yang Nana had already brought over his bowl and chopsticks.
In the morning, the dishes were prepared by the chef hired for the occasion. Observing the five or six dishes on the table, Yang Feng served himself a bowl of porridge and took a steamed bun to eat by himself.
While others chatted and exchanged greetings, Yang Feng refrained from participating and simply responded to anyone who greeted him.
"Little Feng, come over here for a moment."
Yang Feng was in the middle of his meal when one of his uncles appeared out of nowhere and pulled him aside.
"Uncle, can't we wait until we finish eating?"
Yang Feng didn't hold much affection for this particular uncle. The man never engaged in any meaningful work and always gossiped like an old woman.
"I heard that you've made a lot of money from selling goods at a stall recently. Look at you, building greenhouses and buying new cars."
"Yeah, I made a little bit of money, but as you can see, I've already used it all."
"Little Feng, I watched you grow up. Is it too much to ask for a favor today?"
Yang Feng rolled his eyes, fully aware that his uncle was up to no good. He always stayed vigilant as a monkey, associating with like-minded people or keeping a distance otherwise. When he had nothing to do, he would hang out with that brother-in-law. How could he be a decent person?
"What's the matter? Just tell me first, and I'll try to help if I can."
Since they were all relatives, outright refusal was challenging. As long as it didn't involve borrowing money, he was willing to hear him out.
"Well, you know, your Second Uncle's sudden move and all the expenses have left me a bit tight on cash lately. And as you already know, I like to gamble a bit, but the major expenses are taken care of by my wife."