"To think, Liu Yifeng is the only college student from our village in recent years. I thought he'd achieve great things and bring honor to our village.
Who knew he’d choose to farm? Such a lack of ambition. What did he even study?" one person sighed.
"You're telling me. We haven't had rain in months. The last time I planted some beans, I lost so many because I couldn't water them for a single day.
He's actually choosing to farm during the dry season, I don't know what he's thinking.
Just you wait, the vegetables he planted will surely wither and die."
"He also planted so many watermelons on the back mountain. It's past the best time to plant watermelons, they won't survive."
"When he loses money, he'll know what regret feels like."
The villagers sat by the entrance of the small shop, discussing Liu Yifeng.
Suddenly, with a loud clap of thunder, lightning flashed, startling everyone.
Then, raindrops as big as beans began to fall without warning.
Before anyone could escape, they were drenched like drowned rats.
So, everyone scrambled into the small shop to take shelter from the rain.
"How did it suddenly start raining so heavily?" one person asked, shaking water from his clothes, utterly bewildered.
"Who knows? It was bright and sunny all day, and now there's thunder and lightning at night."
While everyone huddled inside, Liu Yifeng stood by the window, looking at the lightning and the heavy rain outside, his face filled with shock.
His son had been right again. It was as if his son was more divine than an immortal; he said it would rain, and it truly did.
Fortunately, he hadn't gone ahead and applied any growth enhancers, otherwise, they would have been wasted.
"Daddy, I didn't lie to you, did I?" Tong Tong said, seeking praise.
"Tong Tong, you are a genius. From now on, you are your father's pride." Liu Yifeng never chased celebrities or blindly admired anyone.
But now, he felt a genuine sense of admiration for Tong Tong from the bottom of his heart.
His son was his pride.
As night fell, the villagers drifted off to sleep accompanied by the sound of the rain.
The next morning, when Liu Yifeng woke up, the sun was already out. If it weren't for the still-wet ground, one wouldn't have guessed it had rained.
After breakfast, he busied himself with going to the watermelon patch to apply the growth enhancer.
Tong Tong, meanwhile, stayed home to draw. He had received more orders in the past few days and needed to hurry and finish them.
A week flew by, and the vegetables in the vegetable patch had grown considerably.
For beans and cucumbers, when the vines started to curl, trellises needed to be set up promptly, usually in an A-frame structure.
Liu Chunsheng was responsible for getting the bamboo poles, and Liu Yifeng handled the trellising.
Every three days or so, they had to perform vine training, ensuring that the branches were evenly distributed on the trellis.
This was the only way to produce more fruit. While this was common knowledge, it was also something Tong Tong had taught him.
He had no choice; when it came to farming, he truly knew nothing.
On the other side, watermelon seedlings had also sprouted in the sweet potato field, already over twenty centimeters tall.
At this growth rate, they should be flowering and bearing fruit within another week or so.
Liu Yifeng looked at the fruits of his labor, feeling overjoyed every day, wishing he could harvest them immediately.
However, he knew that patience was a virtue, and with the growth enhancers, they were already growing fast enough.
Any faster would be truly abnormal.
"Daddy, can I have some crayfish?" Liu Yifeng, who was daydreaming about a bright future, heard his son's voice.
It was the season for crayfish. There was a pond in the village where many crayfish resided, and villagers would often go fishing for them when they craved them.
However, by now, most of them had been caught.
It was a bit late to go buy them, and the good ones were likely already picked over, leaving only the half-dead ones.
So, Liu Yifeng decided to try his luck and see if he could catch some crayfish to satisfy his son's craving.
"Let's go, Daddy will take you to catch crayfish." Liu Yifeng patted Tong Tong's back.
Upon hearing that they could go fishing for crayfish, Tong Tong's eyes lit up with surprise. "Really? Can Tong Tong also catch crayfish?"
"Of course, it's real. Wait for Daddy to get the fishing rod and some pork."
Then, Liu Yifeng grabbed the equipment for catching crayfish and headed to the pond, while Tong Tong, carrying a small stool, trotted along behind him.
Arriving at the pond, Liu Yifeng found a shady spot to sit. Two other villagers were also fishing nearby, but after more than an hour, they had only caught a dozen or so. It seemed the crayfish in the pond were scarce.
"Yifeng, brought your son to catch crayfish?
I suggest you don't waste your time, there are no more crayfish." Liu Jizhou said from not too far away.
He was only a few years older than Liu Yifeng and was still single.
He was known in the village as a womanizer with a cunning mind.
His words were likely motivated by his fear that if Liu Yifeng caught any crayfish, he would catch even fewer.
However, Liu Yifeng had no intention of leaving. He smiled and said, "It's okay. If we don't catch any, it'll just be an experience. My son has never fished for crayfish before, so let him have some fun."
Liu Jizhou was displeased by Liu Yifeng's words but said nothing more.
An adult like himself couldn't catch crayfish, let alone a little kid.
Liu Yifeng baited the hook with about two taels of pork belly and demonstrated to Tong Tong how to catch crayfish, then handed the fishing rod over to him.
However, Tong Tong wasn't in a hurry to catch crayfish; he began observing the environment around the pond.
"Tong Tong, what are you looking at?" Liu Yifeng asked curiously.
"Daddy, I'm looking for where the crayfish are," Tong Tong replied truthfully.
Liu Yifeng gazed at the calm surface of the lake but couldn't discern anything. He couldn't see any crayfish with the naked eye.
Could it be that Tong Tong had X-ray vision? Just as he was filled with curiosity.
Tong Tong had already identified the best spot for catching crayfish. He then cast the hook into the pond and sat on his stool, waiting for the crayfish to bite. His actions were smooth and efficient.
Liu Jizhou watched Tong Tong's actions with disdain.
A little kid over three years old catching crayfish? That would be a miracle.
At that moment, Liu Yifeng noticed the fishing line sinking and exclaimed excitedly, "Tong Tong, a crayfish bit! Quick, slowly reel it in. Daddy will net it."
Tong Tong stood up and slowly pulled the fishing rod upwards. When the hook emerged from the water, as expected, a crayfish was nibbling at the pork, completely unaware of the danger.
Liu Yifeng quickly swooped in with the net, and the crayfish fell into it.
This crayfish was quite large, and it was clear it had plenty of meat.
Liu Jizhou and the other villager nearby were dumbfounded by the scene.
However, they quickly recovered. They hadn't fished in that particular spot yet. Liu Yifeng's son catching a crayfish so quickly must have been a coincidence.
Liu Yifeng gleefully picked up the crayfish and threw it into the bucket. Tong Tong continued to fish.
Soon, the fishing line sank again, and Tong Tong caught another crayfish.
In just ten minutes, Tong Tong had caught nearly twenty crayfish, more than Liu Jizhou and the other person combined.
These two had been fishing there for an hour and a half, and they began to think their chosen spots were wrong.
So, they shamelessly moved closer to Tong Tong. Since Tong Tong could catch crayfish there, they surely could too.
However, fate was not on their side. Despite sitting right next to Tong Tong, they could only watch with envy as Tong Tong reeled in crayfish one after another.
They hadn't even seen a single shadow of a crayfish. Being outdone by a three-year-old child made them feel rather embarrassed.
The other villager, claiming he had something to do, quickly left with his meager catch.
Liu Jizhou looked at the growing pile of crayfish in Liu Yifeng's bucket, filled with envy.
"Little friend, can you tell Uncle how you caught so many crayfish? Is there a technique?" he finally couldn't help but ask.
"Isn't it very simple? There's no technique needed," Tong Tong replied with a naive expression.
But the more innocent he seemed, the more Liu Jizhou's expression became strained. He felt as if he was being mocked by a child.