Chapter 23: No sweetness, no payment

  The horse-drawn carriage rattled along the official road in Lingyun City, while the scorching sun roasted the top of the carriage, and the rising heat made the temperature inside the carriage continue to rise. The air was stifling, and all that could be seen was that the tea on the case table had been drunk up, and the three people were all parched.

  Shen Bi Xing's personal maid, Lan Er, quietly lifted the curtain of the carriage and saw a bustling scene outside. There were vendors selling their goods on the ground, and the sound of hawking was endless. It turned out that they had already arrived at the market. Not far away, a small vendor was selling fresh watermelons that had just ripened.

  Watermelon! Lan'er's beautiful eyes lit up, and she said softly: "Miss, the tea is all gone. Let's buy a watermelon to quench our thirst?"

  Shen Bixian had long been parched, but her cold and proud nature had never revealed itself. Upon hearing the two words "watermelon", a hint of hope flashed across her beautiful eyes, and she nodded slightly: "En, let Shen Liu go buy one."

  The family servant who drove the carriage was called Shen Liu. He was loyal and honest, but also had a bit of a wild streak. Shen Biyun often took him with her when she went out. Lan'er hastily said: "Liu-zi, Miss wants you to buy a watermelon."

  "Great!" Shen Liu shouted, thinking that it had been a long time since he last ate watermelon. Today, thanks to Miss's good fortune, he could finally have a taste of watermelon, and it was truly refreshing.

  Zhu Ziming licked his parched lips, this damned weather is so hot, and he still had to sit in this rickety old horse carriage that was hotter than hell. If only there were air conditioning... although that's impossible, but a guy can dream, right?

  The carriage stopped, and Shen Liu quickly bought some sliced watermelon. He respectfully handed the entire tray to Lan'er, not daring to eat a single piece without her permission. How could a servant like him dare to eat first?

  Lan'er placed the watermelon on the table and then brought a slice of watermelon in front of the young lady: "Miss..."

  Shen Bixian softly murmured in agreement, took a bite, and gently bit down. The sweet and refreshing taste of the watermelon made her feel extremely comfortable, revealing a rare smile: "You and Shen Liu can eat it yourselves."

  "Eh!" Lan'er had been waiting for Miss's words, and she happily responded with a smile, quickly taking one herself and then giving one to Shen Liu.

  Shen Liu happily held a watermelon and sat in the carriage, excitedly eating it with big mouthfuls. However, at this moment, only Zhu Ziming sat on one side, watching them eat their share.

  This vicious little girl, doesn't need to be so cruel, not even giving it to the person who will be her future husband? Zhu Ziming's heart was filled with anger and resentment, although he had a thick skin, but not thick enough to go begging from others.

  Shen Bixian took another small bite of the melon, then glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, thinking to herself, I didn't expect you to have some pride after all!

  Zhu Ziming's big hand quietly reached into his pocket, but it was empty, he had forgotten to bring his wallet and wanted to buy a watermelon for himself.

  Xiao Yāo Ruan Lan'er glanced at her brother-in-law, saw his parched lips and suddenly felt a pang of sympathy for the poor man. However, noticing that Miss was still as cold as frost, she didn't dare say anything more and lowered her head to continue eating watermelon.

  The horse cart was still in front of the vendor, and after making a deal, the vendor became even more enthusiastic, shouting loudly: "Selling watermelon! If it's not sweet, you don't have to pay!"

  Before Shen Bi Xian could react, Zhu Zi Ming lifted the car curtain and asked the vendor, "Old man, is this melon really sweet?"

  "Hmph..." Shen Bixian sneered, seemingly having guessed what he was up to.

  "Not sweet, no pay?"

  The old merchant with a white beard said confidently: "Right, if it's not sweet, don't take a single penny!"

  Under everyone's stunned gaze, Zhu Ziming exclaimed: "Wow! Too good, boss, make it a non-sweet one."

  ........

  The old merchant's forehead was sweating profusely, don't mess with this business.

  "Haha...!" Lan'er and Shen Liu burst out laughing, this young master is really good at making a scene, it's so funny. The surrounding vendors were also laughing loudly, running into such a watermelon buyer, it's really laughable.

  This hateful person! He thought he was going to ask the merchant for a melon to eat, but at this time, Shen Biying's eyes were full of laughter, but she didn't laugh out loud. Her smile flashed and disappeared, and she showed a cold expression again.

  The little maid thought to herself, with the young master being so interesting, living with him would certainly not be boring. Unfortunately, the missus didn't seem to like him very much.

  "This big black melon is completely here to kick the scene, the old merchant said slightly embarrassed: "This young master, the melons I sell are all sweet, there's no unsweet one..."

  This young master with a dark face sat in the carriage, while his servant had already bought melons and gone up, wasn't it intentional to stir up trouble? But how could the old merchant know about Zhu Ziming's troubles? Even those who served as servants were better than the young master, what kind of world is this?

  "Nothing......" Zhu Ziming took a look at the full and round heap of watermelons, and chuckled: "Old man must have used bran cakes as fertilizer, right?"

  The old merchant was shocked and asked, "Shh... how did you know? Using bran cakes as fertilizer is a secret that has been passed down from our ancestors and has never been spoken of to outsiders."

  Seeing the old merchant's nervous expression, Zhu Ziming nodded and said: "Don't worry, I won't speak out of turn. My hometown also uses this method to grow watermelons."

  I've long heard that Brother-in-law is quite capable, but I didn't expect him to be so skilled in this kind of trickery. It's truly impressive. Shen Liu looked at Brother-in-law with a gaze that was filled with even more admiration.

  Recalling his hometown, his mother had grown this kind of watermelon, using bran cakes as fertilizer, the appearance was very similar. Zhu Ziming's heart suddenly brought up many past events, a melancholy feeling...

  Zhu Ziming's sudden silence made Shen Bixian look at him with puzzlement, but what Miss Shen saw was a pair of eyes that were extremely sorrowful, with a faint sense of melancholy and a hint of sadness, as if he had countless heart-wrenching stories to tell.

  Shen Biyin's heart skipped a beat, she couldn't even believe her own eyes. This person who had been acting strangely all day suddenly changed his appearance, leaving people unable to accept it for the time being.

  "Shen Liu, let's go, don't delay any longer," Shen Biying said without looking at him again, but instead turned to the servant waiting outside who had finished eating watermelon and was awaiting orders.

  "Go!" Shen Liu yelled, and the horse carriage started moving...

  Shen Bixia immediately whispered something in Lan'er's ear when Zhu Dachang was not paying attention.

  Zhūzi míng shuǎi le shuǎi nǎo dāi, xiǎng zài duō yě yú shì wú bǔ, hǎo hǎo guò rì zi ba, zhèng xiǎng tái tóu jiān, miàn qián shēn chūlái yī shuāng xiān xì de xiǎo shǒu lái, ér xiǎo shǒu jiān duān zhe yī kuài xīn xiān kě kǒu de xī guā.

  The little maid smiled and said: "Young master, come and eat some watermelon."

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