Chapter 501: 501. Watermelon and Peach_1 Chapter 501: 501. Watermelon and Peach_1 And on this end, seeing Wu Lei rebound and head upstairs again, he probably couldn’t let go and still wanted to contact Lili. Song Tan immediately took out her phone to call Auntie:
“Hello, Auntie! It seems like Brother Wu Lei had a fight with Lili…”

“It’s fine, it’s fine… We’re family, why mention these things…”

“…I was just thinking, afraid that he might take the money and sneak off to see Lili, so I came up with an idea. I said we’d use his salary to buy 10 boxes of peaches, 8 for you to have sent over, and two reserved for Lili…”

“…That’s just talk, how could I take Brother Wu Lei’s hard-earned money… I was planning to send two boxes each to you and Auntie anyway…”

“…Right, right, right… You all mustn’t let it slip… Pretend like I sent them, took the money, but actually, those peaches, 2500 yuan, all transferred to you, Auntie, to keep…”

“…Our own orchard… doesn’t need much giving… just take a few for a fresh taste… what’s this talk about money…”

On the side, Zhang Yanping watched Song Tan warily until she hung up the phone, and then he sized her up: “It can’t be that I also have a salary of 5000, and you gave half to my mom, right?”

Song Tan: …

She sincerely said, “Brother Yanping, you should have more confidence in your own worth–2500 is already a family discount!”

…

8:00 PM.

The night finally enveloped the mountainous village.

And at this moment, the eager Mr. Qian, looking at the table full of delicious banquet and the closed refrigerator, finally received a call from his good brother, Mr. Wang–
“I’m looking at the navigation and should be arriving soon, at most 10 minutes!”

“Great, great, great!”

Mr. Qian couldn’t wait to dash to the refrigerator and then he hugged out a big watermelon weighing about 20 pounds, looking at everyone with hopeful eyes:
“He’s coming so late, he must be hungry. Let’s cut up the watermelon first!”

Everyone: … Aren’t the peaches tasty enough? How come you still think about watermelon while eating peaches!

Unbelievable.

But Seventh Uncle nonetheless swiftly pulled out his watermelon knife and with a few swift moves, sliced it in half!

Just then, a faint click sounded throughout the house followed by pitch darkness.

Everyone was stunned.

“The power’s out!”

Qiaoqiao said loudly, then added dejectedly, “The tablet is out of battery… How am I going to watch TV tonight?”

Song Tan blinked in confusion.

Turning to look at Secretary Xiaozu, she saw her walking out into the courtyard, and after a while, she came back:
“It’s dark everywhere in the village; probably a problem with the lines somewhere, seeing as it’s summer now.”

Song Tan was slow to catch on, but finally remembered that during the summer peak season for electricity, the village would often experience outages every few days.

Ah, to think she had been home for half a year and there hadn’t been a single outage, making her forget about this totally!

Qiaoqiao moved swiftly: “I’ll go get the flashlight!”

And Zhang Yanping looked at his cellphone relieved: “Luckily, it’s fully charged.”

Song Tan, whose phone battery was at only 20%: …

Though she had to practice at night and couldn’t play for long, having a charged phone to play with and not being able to play because of a dead phone were two different things!

And in the distance, the village gradually became lively again.

It had just turned completely dark at eight o’clock, and many of those who had been working only just got home for their meal.

The heat of the day had yet to dissipate, making it difficult to sleep without fans or air conditioning. Everyone could only fan themselves with palm-leaf fans, wearing flip-flops, and slowly strolling through the village, visiting neighbors to chat.

Occasionally, one could also hear the crackling sound of electric mosquito swatters.

Above, a crescent moon hung in the sky, its light faint and hazy, casting a weak pale glow on the road. The surrounding hills and fields were pitch-black, and the summer’s hot wind carried with it the particularly loud buzzing of mosquitoes.

As usual, there were bundles of burning Ai Cao by the courtyard walls–since there were no mosquitoes in the house this year, everyone unanimously agreed that the quality of the Ai Cao was excellent and its effects strong. Each evening, a bundle would be lit in the yard until everyone was done with their tasks.

And Song Tan had made up her mind! “I really need to buy a personal generator.”

The road was bad, the electrical circuitry was bad… Sigh!

Secretary Xiaozu clearing his throat, “I’ll call and ask how long it will take to fix…”

And just then, the sound of a car engine rumbling in the distance reached their ears.

Before long, the distant headlights approached gradually, and finally came to a slow stop on the open ground in front of the gate.

The middle-aged man inside hesitated before stepping out of the car. At this moment, with darkness all around, even his movements were much slower.

“This is… a power outage?”

He was not unfamiliar with this situation.

Qiaoqiao glanced at the stranger who had come from afar before turning her hopeful eyes to Song Tan, “Sis, can I go catch fireflies?”

In recent years, the number of fireflies in the village had decreased, but this year, they had made a lively comeback around the front and back of their house. Qiaoqiao had been coveting them for a long time.

However, she usually had chores during the day, homework in the evening, and then there was TV to watch–there really was no spare time. Today, the moment she saw the power was out, she couldn’t contain her excitement.

Song Tan laughed, “Sure, go ahead. Just be careful not to catch any poisonous bugs.”

Some fireflies flew about in midair, while others rested on leaves.

The flying ones were somewhat delicate, but the ones perched could really make one’s skin crawl, and only kids like Qiaoqiao wouldn’t be afraid.

For adults like Song Tan, who had already seen what fireflies really looked like, it was a firm no-thank-you, eliciting nothing but goosebumps.

And just at that moment, Boss Qian finally hurried out from the house. Upon seeing the visitor, he complained, “Old Wang! I told you to come earlier, look at you, dragging it out until now!”

“Is it all right now? Is the power out, huh?”

“You speak as if the power outage was my doing,” the boss on the other side retorted, disgruntled, “No matter how good the peaches are, what can you see in the dead of night? I was actually planning to come tomorrow…”

Come tomorrow? Then what about his watermelons, would they still be there to eat?

Boss Qian became anxious and quickly patted his shoulder, “Come on, have some watermelon. You must be hot and thirsty after the journey, right?”

Old Wang: …Actually, not really.

The car had air conditioning, and he had brought tea water with him. Apart from bumpy roads, everything else was fine.

But before he could say a word, a chilly piece of watermelon was thrust into his hand, the unique refreshing scent assailing his senses, submerging him in what felt like cool well water, making him sigh and groan from every joint.

The next moment, without hesitation, he bit off the tip of the watermelon slice!

What on earth was this flavor?!!

Before he could collect himself from his astonishment, he saw Boss Qian beside him already frustrated beyond measure, “Argh, how can it be so delicious? How can it be this good? It’s completely different from a peach!!”

“Big sister, I’ll take all your watermelons, is that okay? Just name your price!”

Well, well!

As Old Wang continued to eat the watermelon, he observed Boss Qian, who had clearly lost the upper hand typically held by a wholesaler.