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This place was indeed a bit remote. If they were in an area crowded with buildings, such a large vehicle would barely make it to the alley entrance, let alone reach the main gate.
Su Niannian opened the door and asked the others to wait a moment in the courtyard.
She went alone into one of the previously cleared-out main rooms and retrieved the items she planned to sell the next day from her personal space.
Unthreshed rice, wheat, sorghum, and corn—five hundred kilograms of each.
As for vegetables—green peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, string beans, potatoes, and sweet potatoes—Su Niannian brought out two crates of each, with each crate weighing approximately twenty-five kilograms.
The crates were made from nailed wooden slats, and some were woven from rattan.
The sacks used for the grains were made of coarse burlap. All of these containers matched what was typical for this era.
Nothing seemed out of place.
Once she had taken everything out, Su Niannian called in Old Qian and his brothers.
Lu Hongliang was actually quite curious about Su Niannian’s capabilities, so he had come along the next day just to see the excitement for himself.
Before the group stepped into the main room, they were admittedly a bit uneasy, worried that driving the truck all the way here might end up being a waste.
But when they saw the piles of grain and vegetables stacked like a small mountain before them, their eyes all widened in shock.
Some of the younger men even unconsciously let their mouths fall open.
“T-This…” Old Qian, who had seen his fair share of the world, was the first to recover.
“Young lady, may I step closer and take a look?” At this moment, even Old Qian’s tone toward Su Niannian had grown noticeably more respectful.
This—this was what true capability looked like.
“Of course.” After all, when selling goods, people needed to inspect them carefully, didn’t they?
Old Qian stepped forward and carefully examined Su Niannian’s wares.
The grains were plump and full. Though they hadn’t been threshed yet, it was still clear that they were of superior quality.
As for the green peppers, cucumbers, and tomatoes—although it wasn’t exactly their peak season, each and every one of them looked remarkably fresh.
Old Qian stopped in front of the tomatoes. The sight of those vibrant, full tomatoes was simply too captivating.
A distinct, fresh scent of vegetables and fruits wafted straight toward him.
“You can have a taste,” Su Niannian said, having understood what Old Qian was thinking.
Old Qian chuckled twice. “Then I won’t stand on ceremony.”
He had wanted to pick a smaller tomato to sample, but all of Su Niannian’s tomatoes were more or less the same size—perfectly ripened and visually appealing.
So Old Qian simply grabbed one at random and took a bite.
Old Qian’s eyes widened noticeably in an instant.
He was a man who truly loved to eat and wasn’t stingy about spending money on good food.
And he could swear, in all his years of living, the tomato he held in his hand was the best he’d ever tasted.
The texture, juiciness, flavor, the perfect balance of sweetness and tartness—it was flawless.
Old Qian then grabbed a cucumber. The moment he snapped it in half, a burst of that distinct cucumber fragrance rushed to his nose.
He took a bite—crisp, refreshing, and that clean cucumber flavor immediately spread through his mouth.
“This is delicious—way too delicious,” Old Qian said as he ate with gusto.
His underlings couldn’t help but swallow their saliva.
Even Lu Hongliang, standing off to the side, had a glint in his eyes.
“This is delicious—just unbelievably good,” Old Qian said, thoroughly enjoying the food.
His younger men couldn’t help but gulp down their saliva.
Standing to the side, Lu Hongliang’s eyes lit up.
“Little miss, this…” Lu Hongliang started to speak but swallowed his words midway.
He had intended to ask Su Niannian where she got her vegetables and grains from—how they could be this fresh and high-quality.
But thinking about the current circumstances, he figured even if he asked, Su Niannian probably wouldn’t reveal anything.
Since that was the case, why bother asking unnecessary questions?
Su Niannian smiled. “You’ve seen the quality of the goods for yourself. Shall we talk prices now?”
Anything that came from her space was top-tier quality—Su Niannian had no intention of selling it cheap.
These crops were watered with spiritual spring water. If she sold them too cheaply, she’d feel like she was the one taking a loss.
Over on the other side, Old Qian had already been completely won over by the goods Su Niannian had presented.
“Alright,” he said. “Let’s talk prices.”
“On the black market, rice and flour without tickets are four mao per half kilogram. Since your rice and wheat aren’t threshed yet, how about I offer you four mao half kilogram?”
Boss Qian looked at Su Niannian with eyes that seemed to sparkle.
“Although it’s not threshed yet, the quality of these grains is excellent, so the price should be adjusted higher,” Su Niannian replied.
She had bought rice and flour on the black market before, where the price was indeed four mao per half kilogram without needing any tickets.
The supply and marketing cooperatives also sold rice and flour, but those required tickets. The rice was one mao eight per half kilogram, and the flour was two mao per half kilogram.
The black market, without tickets, selling at four mao per half kilogram seemed reasonable.
It was because the finely produced grains only cost four mao per half kilogram that Su Niannian was unwilling to make her pig offal stall too large.
Otherwise, she’d easily be left with unsold items. No matter how tasty something is, it’s only worth pursuing if people can eat enough to feel full.
As for these grains and vegetables, Su Niannian realized when she saw Old Qian’s truck that he had a way to transport them into the city.
If not, the county town probably wouldn’t be able to consume all of it.
Su Niannian wasn’t aiming for a one-time sale. The goods in her space were continuously being produced.
Old Qian was having some difficulty. The quality was definitely good, but if the price was much higher than the market value, he feared it would end up sitting unsold in his hands.
“Rice and wheat, I’ll take them at five mao per half kilogram. After I get them back, I’ll need to thresh them, and there will be some loss. Little miss, you’ve got to let your big brother make a little profit, right?”
“After all, I’ve got a bunch of younger brothers to feed,” Old Qian said, trying to make his point.
He thought that buying at five mao per half kilogram and selling at six or seven mao wouldn’t be too difficult. But if the price was raised too high, there was a risk of losing money, especially with labor and transportation costs.
“Fine,” Su Niannian agreed. She wasn’t someone who would push her advantage too far.
“But I’ll need some tickets too. I can pay you for them,” Su Niannian said, her eyes scanning the grains.
“This is no problem at all!” Old Qian immediately agreed.
He had plenty of tickets on hand; he wasn’t just flipping food; he was flipping tickets too.
In the end, the price was settled. It was slightly higher than the market rate, but still reasonable.
The key was that Su Niannian’s goods were of much higher quality than what was available on the market.
Old Qian’s plan was to take these goods to the city and sell them to wealthy buyers.
In the county town, he feared the demand might not be enough to sell everything.
The common folk still prioritized being able to fill their stomachs.
Exquisite grains were a rare luxury, let alone the fresh and beautifully presented vegetables like these.
In the end, the pricing was finalized:
Green peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, and beans—at the market, these vegetables typically cost just a few cents to one mao per half kilogram.
However, because Su Niannian’s vegetables were of exceptional quality, she priced them at 0.3 yuan per half kilogram, which was already three times the usual market price. This price was still considered reasonable, primarily because the local crops had not yet officially come in, allowing for such a price point.
Su Niannian was willing to accept it, as she knew that once these vegetables gained attraction in the market and people tasted them, they would definitely return to buy more. At that point, it would be possible to increase the price gradually.
She also discussed this plan with Old Qian, making sure he was aware of the potential for future price adjustments. Old Qian had already tasted the tomatoes and cucumbers, and from the first bite, he knew they were delicious. If the market response turned out to be good, he felt that raising the price later on was definitely something that could be negotiated.