After Reincarnating as the Dragon King, I Made a Fortune with Seafood – CH28

Chapter 28: Planting Melons

Lu Ao put on his clothes and took out the watermelon seeds.

The large watermelon he had eaten was quite big, and it had many seeds, around five or six hundred.

The weather was rather hot now, and the season for planting watermelons had already passed.

Lu Ao thought for a moment and ultimately poured out only half of them. He put the other half of the watermelon seeds back into the drawer as they were. If the watermelons did not grow successfully this year, he could try again next year.

After pouring out the watermelon seeds, Lu Ao picked up a small basket, carried a hoe, put on a straw hat, and went to the back mountain to plant watermelons.

Watermelons liked sandy soil, and the soil on the back mountain was basically sandy loam.

The back mountain was right behind their village, fairly close.

In just five minutes, Lu Ao had climbed the mountain.

There were many vegetable fields on the back mountain, all terraced fields.

A ditch wound down from the mountain, and clear, icy mountain spring water flowed along the valley into the village, merging with the drainage channels beside the village.

The water quality here was good. Looking down, one could see quite a few thumb-length fish.

Lu Ao’s family’s field was right beside the stream.

This field had been opened up by his ancestors. In the past, it had always been used as a vegetable field and was not included in the three mu and eight fen of farmland.

The nearby fields were the same. They were all vegetable plots opened up by the village elders long ago. Later, when the farmland was divided, they were not returned to the collective and redistributed.

These fields had been cultivated for several generations, so their fertility was decent. In addition, they were close to the village, so fewer plots had been abandoned. Most had been planted with vegetables, unlike the fields near the village, where most were overgrown with grass.

Lu Ao walked up along the mountain path and even saw elderly villagers carrying buckets to water their vegetables.

Lu Ao greeted them one by one.

When he reached his field, he discovered that his family’s plot was already full of weeds. There were also quite a few small shrubs, roughly reaching his knees.

These shrubs did not look big, but their roots underneath were very deep and spread in every direction. Lu Ao put down the hoe and basket, stepped forward, and tried pulling one out. He found that it took quite a bit of strength to uproot it.

The elderly Wang Huaiying, who was watering vegetables in a nearby field, saw him struggling and could not help walking to the ridge to ask, “This field hasn’t been planted for so long. You want to clear it and plant something?”

“Mm. I’m planting a little something.”

“It’s too much work to reclaim this place. What do you want to plant? If you don’t mind it being a little farther away, you can plant in my field down below.”

Lu Ao had been back for over a month. Everyone in the village knew that he had settled down in the village and was no longer going back to the city to work. They also knew that his family’s three-plus mu of land had all been planted with vegetables, and that they seemed to be growing very well.

The old woman thought he had run out of land to plant things, which was why he had come to take a look at this abandoned plot.

“Thank you, Grandma. I’m planting some watermelons. The soil here is a little better.”

“Planting watermelons now?” The old woman hobbled over with her hands behind her back and reminded him, “Watermelons should be planted in March or April. At this time, many people’s watermelons are already grown.”

Lu Ao explained, “I know. A friend gave me a watermelon, and it tasted very good, so I saved some seeds to try. The weather up on the mountain is cooler, so maybe they can grow.”

“No matter how cool it is, it isn’t that much different from below.” The old woman came over to help pull weeds. After pulling once, she could not help saying, “This field has been abandoned for so many years. The soil has hardened. You have to turn it over carefully. How difficult.”

The old woman meant well.

Lu Ao quickly came over. “Please leave it. I’ll do it myself. If I turn it over this year, it won’t be hard next year.”

The old woman did not dare overexert herself and hobbled back to the field ridge to watch. “In my opinion, you might as well buy some herbicide. Spray it, and in a few days, the grass will wither. Then you can come cut it away. That’s much more convenient than pulling it now.”

“I’ll first try and see if I can pull them out.”

“Even if you can, it’s not worth all this effort. Listen to me and go buy a bottle of herbicide. Spray it once, and in three to five days, it’ll be done. If you pull them like this, even if you clear the grass on the surface, all the weed seeds will fall inside. Your family’s field has been abandoned for more than ten years. The weed seeds must have accumulated layer upon layer. Maybe they’re three cun thick. Even if you clear it now, once you water it, the weeds will grow back.”

The old woman was experienced. Hearing her say this, Lu Ao finally realized the severity of the problem.

Seeing him fall into thought, the old woman continued, “It’s better to plant down the mountain. There isn’t much difference. The fields down below have only been abandoned for a few years, and the soil is fertile. Weed once, fertilize once, and it’ll be easy to plant. The channels there are bigger too, so bringing in water is much more convenient than here. Watermelons need quite a lot of water.”

This was the first time Lu Ao had encountered this kind of situation since returning to his hometown.

He thought for a moment but still said, “Thank you. I’ll try first. If it doesn’t work, I’ll plant down below next year.”

The old woman could do nothing about him. “Then remember to spray it once.”

Lu Ao agreed.

Seeing that she could not persuade him, the old woman muttered for a while longer, then went back to her own field.

Before long, the old woman finished watering, greeted Lu Ao, and carried her buckets back down the mountain.

Lu Ao pulled weeds in the field until his palms turned red.

Looking around and seeing the old woman gradually descend the mountain, with no one else nearby, he simply took out his phone and looked for Song Zhou: Song Zhou, are you free? Requesting assistance.

—Hm?

—I’m planting watermelons on the mountain. There are too many weeds, so I wanted you to come help clear them. As repayment, I’ll treat you to a feast later.

A moment later, Song Zhou replied: Go rest under the shade first. I’ll be there in ten minutes.

—Okay. I’m on the mountain behind the village, the one with terraced fields.

—I know. Wait a moment.

After receiving his reply, Lu Ao sat down under the ginkgo tree beside his family’s field and waited with peace of mind.

His family’s ginkgo tree had been planted for nearly a hundred years. Its trunk was now thicker than the mouth of a bowl, but it had never borne fruit.

His ancestors saw that the ginkgo tree was growing well and could not bear to cut it down. They also saw that it only occupied one corner of the field and did not get in the way much, so they simply kept it there all along.

It was only after Lu Ao went to school that he learned ginkgo trees were dioecious plants. If one wanted them to bear fruit, both male and female trees had to exist. Only after the pollen from the male tree landed on the flower of the female tree and the female flower was fertilized could it produce fruit.

By the time he learned this, he was already in puberty. At that time, his family had already moved to Xiding City and no longer returned to farm, so the matter was left alone.

Later, after both his parents died, he had no mind to care about these things back home.

Now that he had returned to live here, with such a large ginkgo tree growing in this place, he could try to identify whether it was male or female, then plant a tree of the opposite sex nearby and look forward to ginkgo nuts next year.

When Song Zhou arrived, he saw Lu Ao staring blankly at the ginkgo tree and asked, “What are you thinking about?”

“Mm?” Lu Ao came back to himself, stood, and stretched. “I was thinking whether I should plant another tree and get some ginkgo nuts next year.”

Song Zhou also glanced at the ginkgo tree. “This tree has grown quite well.”

“Yes, it’s been around for many years.”

After chatting briefly, Lu Ao shifted the topic to the field below. “I want to reclaim this plot. There are too many wild grasses in it. I’d like to trouble you to help clear the weeds once more. The weed seeds in the soil need to be removed too.”

Song Zhou looked at the plot. It was not large, only about one and a half fen.

“You want to plant watermelons here?”

“Yes. Don’t they say sandy loam is best for growing watermelons? It’s windy here, close to the ditch, and it’s sandy loam. I feel like this place is pretty good.”

Song Zhou understood. He looked at the field and said, “I’ll clear the weeds first.”

“Okay.”

Song Zhou bent down and gently touched the soil.

Except for the ginkgo tree, every plant in Lu Ao’s family’s field quickly dried up and turned yellow, then became ash.

At that moment, Lu Ao felt a wave of heat rushing toward him. He could not help retreating a few steps and looked at Song Zhou in astonishment.

Song Zhou said, “High-temperature sterilization.”

Lu Ao looked toward the nearby ginkgo tree. The ginkgo tree remained lush and green, completely unaffected. It showed just how precise Song Zhou’s control was.

After the grass turned into ash, Song Zhou touched the ground again.

In this patch of land, clods of soil suddenly crumbled apart, becoming loose and fluffy. The whole field rose two or three centimeters higher for no reason.

Song Zhou stood up and looked toward the sky. Dark clouds gathered and drifted above the land, then light rain began to fall.

Once again, Lu Ao witnessed Song Zhou’s methods and was so shocked he could barely move.

His whole person nearly went blank.

The rain began as a drizzle, then turned into heavy rain. Coolness rushed toward Lu Ao, followed by a fine misty rain that fully moistened the surface of the soil. Finally, the rain stopped.

Song Zhou turned back to look at Lu Ao. “Done.”

Lu Ao was still a little dazed. “Can I really learn this?”

Song Zhou curved his eyes. “You can. Your dragon race is better at making rain than I am.”

Lu Ao touched the moist soil, which was wet but not waterlogged, and found it somewhat unbelievable.

With Song Zhou’s help, farming had become an incredibly convenient thing.

It took a little over an hour for Lu Ao to make ridges and plant all the watermelon seeds.

If nothing unexpected happened, these watermelons would sprout in two or three days.

Lu Ao and Song Zhou washed their hands clean by the ditch.

The two packed up their things and went home.

After returning to the courtyard, Lu Ao went to pour tea. He respectfully handed the first cup to Song Zhou with both hands. “Teacher Song, please have some tea.”

“Gladly. What’s this feast you’re treating me to?”

“Speaking of that, I absolutely have to show you—” Lu Ao ran into the kitchen. A moment later, he came out carrying a large lobster waving its claws and legs, a little proudly. “This! A painted spiny lobster I caught this morning. Extremely lively!”

Song Zhou praised it sincerely. “This lobster really is big.”

“I think so too.” Lu Ao held up the lobster. “I don’t know what’s going on either. Lately, I keep catching especially many, especially large fish.”

“That’s only natural. The last dragon in this plane—do you think that title is just for show?” Song Zhou smiled. “The longer-lived the marine creature, the more it can sense your presence, and the more it will unconsciously move closer to you.”

Lu Ao thought of the giant grouper he had speared before, then the large yellow croaker he had caught, and understood a little.

Then he thought of something. “Is it affection?”

“Most of it is. But that kind of closeness is still quite shallow. Your dragon body is too small.” Song Zhou said, “It’s more attraction than anything.”

“In that case, if I go into the ocean, will there be danger? For example, enormous marine creatures coming too close and causing accidents?”

“Not for now. Your dragon body is still small and can’t attract those giant creatures weighing over a ton.”

Hearing this, Lu Ao felt somewhat relieved, yet also somewhat disappointed.

After silently feeling gloomy for a while, he held up the big lobster in his hand. “Shall we have lobster for dinner?”

“Sure.”

Lu Ao was full of enthusiasm. “Then let’s make lobster sashimi, another plate of butter-fried lobster meat, and lobster noodles as the main dish?”

Song Zhou had no objections. “I’ll help you.”

Lu Ao carried the lobster over to wash and scrub it.

This kind of lobster grew in the wild and was quite dirty, so it had to be scrubbed clean before cooking.

Lu Ao carefully scrubbed all the corners and edges of the lobster clean, then brought it to the chopping board. He held down the lobster’s head, gripped its body, and twisted.

He was extremely strong. Even though this lobster was so large he could not wrap one hand fully around it, under that tremendous force, the body and head separated easily.

Once the head was twisted off, the milky-white, crystal-clear meat inside the lobster body was revealed.

Lu Ao used large scissors to cut open the shell, took out the meat, placed it on the chopping board specially used for cooked food, and gently sliced it.

Half of the lobster meat was cut into thin slices, and the other half into thick slices.

After Lu Ao finished cutting, his hands were full of the scent of meat. He called to Song Zhou, who was helping him, “Please help me get a plate of ice. There are clean ice cubes in the first drawer at the bottom of the fridge.”

Before he even finished speaking, Song Zhou had already brought over a plate piled full of ice cubes.

Lu Ao placed the thinly sliced lobster meat on the plate, muttering, “This portion of shrimp meat is for sashimi. It’ll be smoother after being chilled.”

Lobsters were marine creatures and had very few parasites inside them. Even if there were parasites, they were not used to the environment of the human body.

Generally speaking, as long as they were not contaminated, this kind of seafood could be eaten directly as sashimi.

Song Zhou looked at the large half-plate of lobster meat and praised, “Nice knife work.”

“Of course.” Lu Ao lightly marinated the thick pieces of lobster meat with pepper, cooking wine, and other seasonings, covered them with plastic wrap, and set them aside. “I’ll handle the lobster head first.”

The most anticipated part of the lobster head was the large chunks of lobster roe and tomalley.

He took out the roe and tomalley and placed them separately. Then Lu Ao cut away the edges and corners of the lobster head, chopped it in half, scrubbed the dirty parts inside the shell clean, and chopped the lobster head into several pieces.

The lobster head, roe, and tomalley could all be fried in oil later and then made into soup as the base.

Lu Ao worked swiftly. Smelling the waves of fragrance drifting from the pot, he felt hungrier and hungrier.

The butter-fried lobster meat was already done. The pieces of milky-white meat were slightly yellow, sprinkled with a little sea salt. The fresh, savory aroma rushed straight to one’s head, making the mouth water.

After the lobster head, roe, and tomalley were fried, they were simmered into soup. Once the soup became rich and delicious, he seasoned it.

Lu Ao specially made it into a hot-and-sour soup. The lobster shells were discarded, but the roe and tomalley had already melted into the broth.

After filtering, the soup showed a rich creamy-yellow color. Lu Ao added noodles, fatty beef, large shrimp, shellfish, and small greens one by one, making a large pot of lobster noodles.

The aroma was extremely refreshing and invigorating. The creamy-yellow, rich broth was packed full of ingredients, making one’s mouth water.

Lu Ao divided the noodles into two portions and placed them in dedicated ramen bowls. Then he eagerly called Song Zhou, “Dinner, dinner. Come taste today’s lobster meat.”

Song Zhou was using tongs to lift the lobster meat from the ice plate. “Almost done.”

Lu Ao opened the fridge. “I’ll find the wasabi and soy sauce first. I bought special soy sauce for seafood some time ago. It tastes pretty good.”

He could almost already imagine the flavor of the milky-white lobster meat dipped in wasabi soy sauce.

Especially since the lobster meat had just been chilled—once placed in the mouth, it would definitely be fresh, sweet, and springy.

Just thinking about it made Lu Ao want to drool. He sped up and searched the fridge for the wasabi.

Just as he was focused on searching, his phone rang outside.

Lu Ao turned his head and saw Song Zhou carrying the lobster meat out. He casually asked, “Who is it? Help me check.”

Song Zhou glanced at it for him. “It’s a landline. You don’t have this number saved.”

“Strange. Could it be someone who wants to buy the lobster?” Lu Ao looked at the lobster that had already been cooked and felt a little regretful for the person calling. “My lobster is already made and waiting to be eaten.”

He carried the soy sauce and wasabi out quickly and answered the phone. “Hello.”

A male voice came from the phone. “Hello, Mr. Lu. We are from the Qianyong City Maritime Shipping Public Security Bureau—”

Lu Ao frowned and looked up at Song Zhou, completely puzzled.

He had not done anything illegal. Could it be about his conflict with those hooligans?

Shouldn’t that matter fall under the jurisdiction of Xiding City’s public security bureau?

All kinds of thoughts flashed rapidly through Lu Ao’s mind. The police officer on the phone was still reporting his badge number. “…This is my badge number. You can write it down.”

Lu Ao came back to himself and gave an “Mm.” “All right. May I ask what this is about?”

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