Chapter 149: Crops Unseen in the Fields
Just as Qiu Rongrong had anticipated, the moment the roast duck was launched, it instantly sparked a roast duck craze in Yunwu Town and surrounding towns. Every day, all the ducks in the shop sold out quickly, and the orders kept pouring in non-stop.
On the Wen family’s side, with the construction of the three waterwheels completed, the day they opened the water channel for irrigation, the entire canal was lined with villagers who came to watch the spectacle.
“Go check if the other side is ready,” Old Man Wen ordered his youngest son.
Wen Xiuqing had no choice but to trot off toward the pond. After confirming things were good to go, he ran back, panting heavily as he nodded. “Dad, Eldest Brother said it’s all set. You can open the gate.”
Under everyone’s gaze, Old Man Wen walked up to the waterwheel and opened the sluice gate. The wheel spun with the current, scooping water into the canal and letting it flow downward.
At the second waterwheel, the force of the water caused the wheel to turn, continuing to pass the water along to the next section of the canal.
Along the canal, the villagers followed the water’s flow step by step back to the pond, watching as the water finally gathered in the large reservoir, the stream gradually increasing in volume.
The pond was massive—it would take several days to fill completely. But even so, Old Man Wen was very pleased.
“Uncle Wen, will we be able to draw water from your canal for irrigation later on?” a villager asked.
After all, previously, irrigating the fields meant hauling water directly from the river. It wasn’t just far; it was exhausting.
Old Man Wen waved his hand generously. “If you want to draw water, go ahead. We built the canal to make things easier for everyone.”
As soon as he finished, a round of applause and cheers broke out. The village chief, beaming with joy, walked over with a wide grin. “Uncle, your family’s waterwheel is really convenient, huh?”
It was solving a lot of people’s problems.
But Old Man Wen had gotten smarter. He said directly, “If the village wants to build waterwheels, go find Carpenter Zhang. But he doesn’t work for free.”
The village chief chuckled awkwardly and nodded. “Of course, of course.”
Old Man Wen ignored him and walked over to his eldest son. Watching the water flow into the pond and disappear without a trace still left him a little uneasy.
“Eldest, will this work? What if the water doesn’t keep up?” That was what he was worried about.
Wen Xiuyi shook his head. “It will. It’s just a matter of time. Just wait. These days Mother and the others are still looking for ducklings, right? Once we’ve got the ducklings, we’ll be ready. Dad, the pond is done—now we need to build the duck pens. Got that arranged?”
Old Man Wen replied, “Do I need you to tell me that? Your mother can’t wait to nag me about it every day. Now that the canal’s done, we’ll start cutting wood from the hillside to build.”
Old Man Wen couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. Life was unfolding in a way he never imagined. His pockets might be empty, but his heart felt settled and steady.
After circling the pond and seeing the faint shimmer of water starting to appear, he finally relaxed. But then he noticed a few people standing in the fields where Wen Xiuyi had planted unfamiliar crops, and he instantly tensed up.
“What are you doing? Get out of the fields right now!” Old Man Wen shouted in alarm.
Only then did the others notice the figures standing in the field. Old Man Wen quickly pushed past the onlookers and ran over, shouting from the edge, “Get out! What do you think you’re doing?”
The few people were simply curious about the crops growing there—all things they’d never seen before. They hadn’t expected to be discovered and were suddenly embarrassed, quickly scrambling out of the fields.
“Watch your step, don’t trample the seedlings!” Old Man Wen was furious. His eldest son treated those crops like precious treasures—if anything got damaged, he’d explode.
The people stumbled out sheepishly, and Old Man Wen launched into a scolding. “Who walks into someone else’s field and messes with their crops like that? What were you thinking?”
They were locals, and they all knew the Wen family wasn’t what it used to be—especially since some of them even had family working for the Wens now. They quickly explained, “Uncle Wen, we didn’t mean anything by it. We were just curious about what you’ve planted—we’ve never seen it before. We didn’t step on anything, really.”
“What it is has nothing to do with you. What’s there to look at?” Old Man Wen said dismissively.
The villagers looked embarrassed, not knowing what else to say.
But one of them noticed something off. Old Man Wen seemed to be guarding that field like it held treasure. Could this be the secret behind the Wen family’s recent fortune?
Someone’s eyes gleamed as they asked, “Uncle Wen, what exactly have you planted here? None of us have seen this stuff before. Is it something valuable?”
Old Man Wen glanced at the man and felt a chill. That one wasn’t a good egg—shifty and untrustworthy. He replied blandly, “Valuable or not, they’re just regular crops. Wouldn’t you panic if your seedlings got trampled?”
He clearly didn’t want them digging any deeper. So, turning to the rest of the crowd, he said, “Water’s flowing. If you’ve got work to do, go do it. Once the pond is full, anyone who wants to draw water to irrigate their fields can go ahead. Show’s over—go on, scatter.”
Seeing there was no more excitement to be had, the villagers dispersed in small groups. Still, several glanced one last time at the plots of land where potatoes and corn were growing.
Once the crowd was mostly gone, leaving only the Wen family, Old Man Wen furrowed his brow. He looked between his three sons but then focused only on the second and third. After a moment’s hesitation, he said, “When the crew comes to build the duck pens, have them start by putting up a shed here. Second and third sons, you two take turns staying here and watching the fields.”
Everyone was stunned, especially Wen Xiuzhu and Wen Xiuqing, who looked completely puzzled. Wen Xiuyi asked, “Dad, did something happen?”
Old Man Wen sighed. “We’ve drawn too much attention lately. I think someone’s got their eye on what we’ve planted here.” Then he explained what had just happened with those villagers.
Old Madam Luo’s face darkened, and she cursed, “Bunch of damn scoundrels—always scheming to steal someone else’s things.”
Wen Xiuzhu and Wen Xiuqing understood. They both knew how important those crops were to their eldest brother, and they nodded firmly. “We’ll keep watch, Dad. Don’t worry.”
But Wen Xiuyi frowned deeply. He looked at his two younger brothers, then said, “Dad, there’s still a ton of stuff to be done at home. Second and third brothers have their own work to do too—they can’t just sit out here all day watching two plots of land.”
Old Man Wen shot him a glare. “So you’re volunteering instead? If it weren’t for you planting all this weird stuff, would I be putting your brothers on guard duty?”
Wen Xiuyi knew that strange crops combined with their family’s recent rise would definitely attract attention. But having his brothers shoulder the burden? That made him uncomfortable.
