Song Dingxiang [Completed]

C41.1 Yellow Peach in Sugar Water. (1)

Chapter 41.1

There is an old saying that goes, "Jujubes in July, Pears in August, and Persimmons in September at the market," which proves that as summer comes to an end, it is the season for various fruits to ripen. However, peaches ripen even earlier than Jujubes.

In Song Dingxiang's home, there were two types of peach trees planted. One ripened around June, with a soft, sweet flesh and plenty of juice, making it especially suitable for the elderly and children.

However, these peaches couldn't be kept for long. Every day, they had to go to the garden to pick the ripe peaches quickly and either sell them in town or directly to the peddlers who came to the garden.

However, a few years ago, the Sixth Granduncle had someone bring in over two hundred yellow peach trees from the south and gave half of them to Song Dingxiang's family.

At first, the young trees hadn't grown well, and the peaches they bore were small, and pale in comparison to the same period's honey peaches. But due to their affordable price, they could still be sold.

After several years, these yellow peaches began to bear more fruit each year, but their prices continued to drop, and by the end, they would become too soft to sell, ending up being cut open and dried. Dried fruits naturally couldn't fetch the same price as fresh fruits, only selling for a few cents per pound, and it was also laborious.

Sixth Granduncle had once considered cutting down or grafting other types of peaches onto the yellow peach trees, but due to being too busy, he had never done so. Now that the peaches were laden with fruit again, looking extremely festive, they were even more reluctant to part with them.

Though it was called a garden, it was a purchased half-hillside, adorned slightly with a fence to indicate that it was cultivated land and not wild.

The villagers are very clear about the distinction between wild and cultivated fruits. Wild fruits can be picked freely, and whoever picks them, owns them.

However one cannot just pick cultivated fruits without permission from the owner, and wasting is not allowed. Ancient foods were scarce, and the villagers understood the concept of "every grain is hard-earned."

Even a sour apple, the core must be gnawed clean before being thrown away.

Song Dingxiang arrived at the foot of the mountain, where several mule carts were parked. A young boy was helping to watch the carts, and when he saw Song Dingxiang, he greeted her, "Aunt Dingxiang."

"Shengzi, are you the only one here?" Song Dingxiang walked over with a smile, "Where is your brother?"

Shengzi was his nickname, commonly given to children in the countryside because it was believed to be easier to raise them. He was seven years old, with a ten-year-old brother named Zuozuo.

It was said that Shengzi had a rough start in life, and his family sought an old monk’s help in the temple to give him this name. After surviving the first year, he grew up smoothly and strong like a little calf.

Shengzi chuckled, covering his mouth as he spoke, "He's up there helping to pick fruits. Seventh Uncle said he would give our family a bag of peaches to eat."

He was in the middle of losing teeth and had a shy demeanor, often covering his mouth when speaking to hide his appearance, which was quite amusing.

The Seventh Uncle he mentioned was Song Dingxiang's paternal uncle, the seventh eldest in the entire generation of the Song family.

"Then Auntie will go up and take a look. Don't run around below, you know?" Song Dingxiang playfully placed a flower behind Shengzi's ear and patted the little boy's sunburned face before heading up the mountain, advising him not to wander and stay with the carts.