After being jilted, the entire neighboring village was filled with deep regret.

Chapter 254 The Fruit Can't Be Sold

Su Chunlin nodded and winked at Su Chunsen in the next bed.

Su Chunsen, his head wrapped up like a dumpling, rolled his eyes speechlessly, but felt mostly happy. Unlike Su Chunlin, he had really hurt himself. He had a hole in his head and a broken arm. Apart from being able to walk, he couldn't lift anything heavy at all.

Shen Zhuang was even more ruthless; both of his legs were broken, and he was now lying in bed, sweating profusely from the pain.

Shen Yi also asked Pan Wanli to help register the older villagers who had come with them on the list of those returning home.

To avoid any unforeseen complications, Shen Zhuang and his group, despite their physical limitations, set off after the list was finalized.

The journey home was long and arduous, and the bumps along the way could be excruciating. To make everyone feel better, Shen Yi took out all the silver that Su Tai had prepared for him and handed it to Liu Jianzhang.

"Brother Liu, I'm entrusting my father-in-law and the others to you. Here's a thousand taels of silver. Please prepare a few carriages and some thick quilts for them. You can keep the rest of the silver." Shen Yi's attitude was sincere.

Liu Jianzhang was shocked. "Shen Baizhang, this is too much! A top-class carriage doesn't even cost a hundred taels of silver, and this still leaves several hundred taels!"

"It's alright, the rest is Brother Liu's hard-earned money. Please make sure they are safely delivered to Zhaohua County."

"Alright! I will certainly live up to Shen Baichang's expectations." Liu Jianzhang patted his chest and promised.

After the convoy had gone a few miles, Shen Yicai walked back with peace of mind.

With Su Chunlin and the others no longer around, his mental pressure lessened considerably. Next, he needed to work with Song Yongnian and the others to figure out how to survive on the battlefield and eliminate any possible obstacles.

Su Tai was unaware that Su Chunlin and the others were about to return, and the villagers were still worried about the bad weather.

Although the seedlings were successfully transplanted during the spring planting season and all survived, the weather was unpredictable, with more overcast skies than sunny ones and occasional rain showers. While this didn't cause flooding, it was definitely not good news for drought-tolerant crops, and everyone was worried that there would be no harvest this year.

They were even more grateful to Su Tai at this time. If it weren't for Su Tai letting them transplant fruit seedlings and use all the land to grow crops, their losses this autumn harvest would have been even greater.

When Shen Ergou and Shen Tian saw Su Tai coming over while they were working, they immediately told her everything that was going on in the village.

"Sister Su Tai, you are really amazing. My mother said that the villagers wish they could offer you a longevity tablet."

Su Tai was startled. "What's going on? I'm still alive and well. You can't just make offerings to memorial tablets randomly."

She was very flustered.

Shen Ergou quickly explained, "Everyone is grateful to you! My grandma said that we owe you a lot this year. Even if the crops don't grow well, we're not afraid. If we hadn't transplanted them before, everyone would have panicked."

"Oh! What's this!" Su Tai said dismissively, glancing at the weather outside and pondering the death list sent back by the county government. "Do you know which families in the village are holding funerals? And what news is there from Liu Family Village?"

Shen Ergou and Shen Tian exchanged a glance. Shen Tian said cautiously, "My sister-in-law went to her parents' house that day. When she came back, she told me a few things, but I didn't remember anything else. However, Niu Peng, who climbed over your wall, is dead, and Liu Zhu, the village chief of Liujiazhuang, also lost his son."

Su Tai put down her work, a hint of surprise in her eyes. "Is the news true?"

Shen Tian nodded vigorously, "My sister-in-law originally took the child back to see her grandmother, but it just so happened that both families were holding funerals, and her grandmother even went to help. According to my sister-in-law, Niu Peng's mother is going crazy and keeps hitting Niu Youfu, saying that he killed Niu Peng."

"What do you mean?" Su Tai didn't quite understand.

Shen Tian said, "Niu Peng is their only son, but he's been spoiled and hasn't been able to get married to carry on the family line. They had their eye on a girl from Ximen Village, but she made some demands, and Niu Peng didn't dare to agree. Niu Youfu also felt that she was asking for too much, so the marriage fell through."

His circumstances made it difficult for him to find a wife. Those with poor conditions didn't want him, and those with good conditions didn't want him either. The couple was just taking it easy and weren't in a hurry at all. As a result, Niu Peng got into trouble, was arrested, and was even sent to fight on the border.

That's practically ending the Niu family line! Before, when the news hadn't come back, they could still wait, but now that the body has been brought back, they dare not hold onto any hope anymore. They've been crying and making a scene non-stop. The villagers used to try to persuade them, but they wouldn't listen, and now no one is willing to go to their door to talk to them anymore.

The village chief's wife is Niu Youfu's younger sister. Originally, her family would definitely have taken care of things, but now that the village chief's son is gone, they have no interest in getting involved in Niu's family's mess.

My sister-in-law said that although her family didn't get along with the Niu family, her grandparents were still quite upset to hear this news. They were also worried about her cousin, wondering what would happen to him.

The Wei family had not officially separated yet, so the conscription was decided by lottery. The eldest branch of the family was chosen, and Wei Erya's cousin went to serve.

Su Tai also sighed. She had a grudge against the Niu family, so she should have been happy to hear such news, but she couldn't feel happy. Perhaps it was because Shen Yi was also on the battlefield.

Summer arrived in this somber atmosphere.

After finishing her work, Huang Xinghua came to Su Tai with a worried expression. "Xiao Tai, I don't know what's wrong with the fruit this year. It seems to have no flavor at all. It's not as sweet as usual, and some of them are even a bit sour. The shapes of the fruit are also strange. Some of them I've never seen before. They won't fetch a good price! And the watermelons, in previous years the fruit would be big by this time, but this year they're only the size of a fist. I don't know if they'll even bear fruit!"

Boss Ji just came to place an order early, and he's very disappointed with this year's strawberries. He's arguing with the village chief on the back hill.

Su Tai and Huang Xinghua went to the back mountain to check and found many villagers busy at work, and every single one of them looked worried.

Shen Ying argued heatedly with Boss Ji, her face flushed. "The price has always been the same in previous years. This year, the crops didn't grow well because of the weather. We've worked so hard to plant them for so long, and now you're offering such a low price. Is that fair?"

Boss Ji's expression was also not very good. "Village Chief, let's talk business. It's not that I want to deliberately lower your price, but the goods are right there. If the strawberries were as sweet and delicious as in previous years, I would definitely pay the deposit without hesitation. But you all know what's going on this year. I'm afraid that if I buy the goods, I won't be able to sell them and will end up losing money."

If I buy more at the previous price, I'll lose a fortune!

"That can't be so outrageous! Ten coins a pound? I might as well not sell it at all!" Shen Ying was so angry she almost had a heart attack.

Mr. Ji shook his head. "If you're not going to sell them, I won't buy them. I'm not doing the strawberry business this year."

Shen Ying watched with a sullen face as Boss Ji walked down the hillside, without stopping him.