Transmigrated as a Stepmother: Time to Bring the Family to Prosper!-Chapter 304 - 303: Selling Watermelons

"Jinhua, when you get home today, hand the watermelon over to your mother right away. Maybe you’ll get fewer scoldings."

Qin Yao covered the half-cut watermelon with gauze, placed it in the bamboo basket, and handed it to the little girl’s wrist with these instructions.

Jinhua looked at her own round, full belly and let out a burp filled with watermelon scent, nodding gratefully at Third Aunt.

"Can I go now?" Jinhua had a solemn expression as if she were going on a heroic mission.

Qin Yao nodded heavily, "Off you go, little girl!"

Jinhua walked away with her heavy bamboo basket, looking back every few steps. Ah Wang, sitting on the doorstep eating watermelon, watched her safely enter the village and turn into the Liu Family’s old house, then turned to Qin Yao in the courtyard and said, "She’s safely home."

Qin Yao signaled Ah Wang to finish up quickly, "In a while, we’ll go to town to pick up Da Lang and the others."

We can also go to the fields to pick two melons, see if they’re good to sell.

Whole melons are too expensive; most people wouldn’t be willing to buy them, so Qin Yao planned to cut them into slices and sell them by the slice, making the price sound more acceptable.

Ah Wang finished the watermelon in three bites, threw the rind into the wooden basin Qin Yao brought out, and took it to the livestock shed to give Old Huang and Old Qing a snack.

Even though it was just the rind, the horse and the ox munched happily.

When Ah Wang led Old Huang out to attach to the carriage, Old Huang was so excited he let out a loud neigh.

With the carriage set up, Qin Yao was also ready with the high-legged table, gauze, cutting board, and vegetable knife needed for the stall.

She had Ah Wang load the items into the cart, and then she personally ran to the melon field to pick two somewhat misshapen watermelons.

They left the pretty ones to sell whole; these unsightly ones could be sliced up!

The road leading out of the village had been extended quite a bit, with the sides widened and the roadbed reinforced.

The outer roadbed was entirely built with stone blocks, with foundations half a meter deep, unlikely to collapse easily.

The materials used to pave the road surface were also carefully chosen, with several layers, each made of different materials.

The first layer was regular soil, and the second had something to inhibit weed growth, usually lime mixed with something else.

The third layer used crushed stones, flattened and then rolled with a heavy stone roller to compact them firmly.

The crushed stones from Qin Yao’s grinding stone factory were repurposed to pave the road surface.

A layer of fine sand from the river was spread over the crushed stones to serve as a cushion, reducing friction for moving wheels.

Only with all this done could a smooth, reliable road be considered complete.

The road was also widened; the path, originally less than one and a half meters, was now expanded to about two meters, with wide turns easier for carriages.

Traveling on a well-paved road and then returning to the old, bumpy path made even Old Huang, the horse, snort impatiently.

Two-quarters before the Ding Family School ended, Qin Yao and her servant reached the school gate smoothly.

Under the old elm tree beside the road, Qin Yao found a clean, cool spot and set up the high-legged table with the cutting board and vegetable knife.

Ah Wang tied up the carriage, brought two heavy buckets over, and placed them under Qin Yao’s table.

The buckets contained cold well water from a nearby farmhouse that Ah Wang had fetched; watermelons kept in the cart were soaked for a short while to make them perfectly cool.

When the school gate opened, students pouring out could smell a sweet, distinctive aroma wafting from the roadside, their eyes irresistibly searching for its source.

Slices of evenly cut watermelon lay on the white gauze, the red flesh glistening invitingly in the setting sun.

"Gulp~" A student couldn’t help but swallow, trying to ease a dry throat.

Qin Yao patted Ah Wang, who began to call out expressionlessly — "Cool and sweet melon, no charge if it’s not good!"

Very soon, a group of students crowded around the stall, asking Qin Yao if it was really free if it didn’t taste good.

Qin Yao handed over a bowl of sliced watermelon, "Free samples for everyone. Give it a try; it’s sweet and juicy, guaranteed to leave you wanting more!"

Being young, they couldn’t resist the temptation. Hearing it was free, they immediately reached out for it.

One bite of watermelon and a chorus of "Wow" ensued.

Catching sight of their mother and Ah Wang surrounded by students from afar, Da Lang and his three siblings came running over to see what was happening. Seeing the enticing red watermelon, they couldn’t help swallowing hard.

Someone wanted to buy, and only then did Qin Yao take out the price board: ten cents for a small slice. It didn’t seem expensive at first sight, but upon closer calculation, a big mouthful might take three or four bites for ten cents.

But how could the students who had tasted it hold back?

Students with attendants urged them to shell out money, selecting the largest and reddest slice they could find, eating with pure satisfaction.

One slice wasn’t enough; they wanted another.

Qin Yao had cut half a watermelon, and it sold out in seconds.

She cut the other half, selling out just as quickly.

Seeing the hesitating Ding Family students sprint home for money, the previously crowded cutting board cleared out in no time.

Some who had already tried a slice wanted to buy more and reached for the last two slices but were quickly stopped by Qin Yao, "Sorry, these two slices aren’t for sale."

Turning, she handed them to Da Lang and his four siblings, who had somehow stepped up to help sell and collect money when she wasn’t paying attention.

"Half a slice each, to quench your thirst for now. We’ll have more to eat when we’re home," Qin Yao winked playfully at the four siblings.

The children were too understanding, and it was a bit heart-wrenching to see.

Clearly, they were craving it, too, yet they were helping sell the melons without tasting a single slice themselves.

Si Niang was so delighted she jumped in place, "Mother, the watermelon is so delicious!"

"Isn’t it a cool melon?" Sanlang gnawed at the remaining rind hesitantly.

He had just heard Ah Wang calling it a cool melon.

Qin Yao: "It’s both a cool melon and a watermelon. Call it whatever you like."

Sanlang was still confused, "Then why not call it an east melon, north melon, or south melon, but a watermelon?"

Qin Yao: "Shut up and eat your melon."

Sanlang was baffled but obedient, "Oh."

After packing up the stall, the students reluctantly left, hoping Qin Yao would return the next day but fearing she really would.

Ten cents a slice wasn’t expensive but was far from cheap, fearing they’d want to eat but their parents wouldn’t buy, only to watch their classmates enjoy it.

Then they looked at Da Lang’s four siblings. Their eyes overflowed with envy, along with the few classmates they were close to.

Just now, Miss Qin had said they could eat their fill when they got home!

"We’re heading home; you all should go back too."

Da Lang waved goodbye to his envious friends, licking the remaining watermelon juice from his fingers, helping their stepmother pack the stall, and the four siblings eagerly returned home by cart.

Once they entered the courtyard, Second Lang saw the water bucket under the kitchen eaves, ran over to check, and indeed found watermelons. He glanced back at Qin Yao, got her nod, then carried it straight to the kitchen’s cutting board.

The other three dropped their book boxes and followed him instantly.

Qin Yao chuckled at the children’s joyful screams, instructing Ah Wang to prepare dinner while she sat calmly in the main room, counting money.

In the afternoon, she sold two watermelons for a total of three hundred and ninety coins.

Oh, and with the Liu Dafu family buy-one-get-one, that was five hundred and ninety coins in total.