She didn't care when the other melon seedlings would ripen.
A Jiu quickly picked the three ripe watermelons and put them into her basket.
For the other small melon seedlings, A Jiu dug holes on the spot and covered them with soil and dry grass.
Even if they grew by tomorrow, they would only push up a small mound of earth, making them difficult to discover.
"Ugh!" A Jiu gritted her teeth, unable to stand up straight with the basket on her back.
This thing weighed over a hundred catties.
A Jiu gritted her teeth again, propped herself up with her knees, and slowly stood up. Her legs trembled with each step due to the heavy load.
"You little brat, are you trying to die?"
From afar, Wang Shi ran over quickly, swinging her arms.
Upon reaching them, she scolded, "Put that down for me."
With a thud, the heavy bamboo basket landed on the ground, and some pomegranates rolled out. A Jiu quickly picked them up.
When she looked back, Wang Shi had already taken the basket onto her back:
"If I hadn't been meditating in the carriage outside and heard that someone had died, I wouldn't have thought you'd run out to get food. If anything happened to you, how would I explain it to your father?"
"I was just trying to plant spiritual fruits for Grandma," A Jiu said, catching up and standing on her tiptoes to put the pomegranates into the basket.
"Sweet talker. You were clearly doing it for those two kids. All the way here, they cried about being hungry, and I saw the concern in your eyes. Do you think I'm too old to see that?"
Wang Shi huffed and walked forward with large strides. This girl was good in every way except she was too kind-hearted. If someone tricked her, she would even count their money for them. She was truly worried.
A Jiu noticed that Grandma's back was no longer hunched. She stood up, a head taller than A Jiu:
"Grandma, your health is getting better and better. Next time, can I ask you to help me dig holes and carry the fruits for me?"
"That's more like it. It's a great virtue to correct your mistakes." Wang Shi sighed:
"Now that the world is in chaos, people's darkness is revealed, and demons and monsters have nowhere to hide. Do you, a young girl, know how treacherous people can be in this world?"
A Jiu understood what Wang Shi meant. In reality, the so-called demons and monsters were merely the darkness hidden deep within people's hearts.
In this era, morality couldn't fill stomachs. Therefore, being able to eat was what maintained the bottom line of morality.
A Jiu remained silent, lowering her head all the way to the Niu family's home.
Wang Shi shoved the basket of fruits into the carriage: "Don't worry, I won't eat it all myself."
That wasn't A Jiu's intention either. She was thinking of giving Grandpa Niu some food as repayment for his hospitality.
Carrying a watermelon and stuffing a few pomegranates into her arms, she quietly entered the courtyard. She pushed the door, but it was barred from the inside.
Understandable. Grandpa Niu was also afraid of the refugees.
"Xiao Yanyan?" A Jiu called out softly.
After calling three times, Xiao Yanyan appeared in the gap of the door: "Oh, Sister A Jiu, why are you outside?"
"Hurry and open the door." A Jiu didn't explain much. Once the door was opened, she said:
"I went out to plant some food."
As soon as they heard about food, the two children who had been hungry for two days and one night couldn't sleep. They both leaned against the window lattice and looked out:
"Sister Jiu'er, you found food."
A Jiu's heart rejoiced. Even though she knew the children couldn't see clearly in the dark, she hugged the watermelon in her arms:
"I found it. Look, hurry up and eat."
As A Jiu stepped into the house, the door to the main hall creaked open:
"You're going to be the death of me! I told you not to go out in the middle of the night. What are you doing? If you let those refugees in, it would be disastrous. Am I getting senile, why did I take you in?"
A Jiu suddenly felt embarrassed. She gestured for Xiao Yanyan to bolt the door:
"Grandpa Niu, the two children are so hungry they're crying. I just went out to find some food."
"Looking for food?" Grandpa Niu didn't believe her: "There isn't a blade of grass here, where did you find food? Oh... I get it, you little brat, did you steal from someone else's house..."
"Grandpa Niu, I didn't steal," A Jiu quickly interrupted him.
"You didn't steal, what are you holding in your arms?" Grandpa Niu took two steps forward. Being old and it being dark, he couldn't see clearly.
A Jiu stamped her feet in anxiety. Seeing Grandpa Niu approach, she handed him the watermelon she was holding:
"I really didn't steal. If you don't believe me, touch it and see what it is."
Grandpa Niu reached out and felt it. Hiss. It was cold. "What is this thing?"