Yun Tutu had never farmed before and only knew about a few high-yield crops. But if you asked her how to grow them, she honestly wouldn’t have a clue. The shopkeeper’s suggestion was exactly what she needed.

“That’s great,” Yun Tutu said, nodding at the shopkeeper. “I’ll buy the seeds first, and then I’ll see if you have any books that go along with them. I’ll need your help picking them out.”

The shopkeeper smiled, “Of course, no problem. If you follow the instructions in the books, your harvest will definitely be better.”

She continued, “I’ve had customers come in to buy seeds before, and I recommended the books to them as well. But many of them claimed to be experienced farmers and didn’t need the extra help. Later, when their harvests didn’t meet expectations, they came back to complain, putting me in a tough spot.”

“Are the seeds here really good?” Yun Tutu asked, now a bit skeptical. Could the seeds actually be of poor quality?

“I’m not saying there wasn’t any harvest, just that it didn’t turn out as expected,” the shopkeeper explained with an awkward laugh. “But rest assured, the seeds here are of good quality. I can even give you a receipt. If the seeds don’t work out, you’re welcome to come back and hold me accountable.”

“Then I’ll leave it to you,” Yun Tutu said, realizing she had no other choice. Even if she went to another shop, she wouldn’t be able to tell the quality of the seeds.

In her mind, she asked for help from Song Song, “Can you tell if these seeds are any good?”

“Don’t worry, I’ll check them for you,” Song Song reassured her, not refusing her request. Seeds only need to have vitality, which is easy to verify.

Feeling relieved, Yun Tutu thought, that’s good. She certainly didn’t want to give her ancestors subpar seeds.

“How much do you need?” the shopkeeper asked as she prepared to weigh out the seeds.

Thinking about the current capacity of her motorbike, Yun Tutu said, “I’ll take 200 jin (approximately 100 kg) each of potatoes, corn, and sweet potatoes.”

That should be enough to fill the side boxes. She’d squeeze in some smaller seeds as well.

As for the rear box, she had other things she wanted to buy.

Looking at the farming tools stacked to the side, she thought they might also come in handy.

The shopkeeper was a bit surprised. “It seems like you have a large farm. Can you carry all this by yourself?”

Yun Tutu’s heart skipped a beat. This isn’t like carrying a few bags of cosmetics.

“Don’t worry,” Song Song said, stepping in. “Just have the shopkeeper put the items by the tree, and I’ll help you load them up.” Song Song still had hopes for a long-term partnership and couldn’t afford to let its only employee get caught and dissected.

“Don’t worry, the person picking them up will handle it. Just have them placed by that tree over there by the road; it’s a good spot for loading,” Yun Tutu instructed, pointing to a large tree near the street.

“Then that’s fine,” the shopkeeper agreed, relieved that she wouldn’t have to arrange delivery. With her husband away and no staff to help, she couldn’t leave the shop unattended.

“For sweet potatoes, I have varieties like Jishu 18, Guanshu 135, Ningzi 4, and Jinshu 6… I even have fruit sweet potatoes. Which one would you like?” the shopkeeper asked.

Yun Tutu was overwhelmed. She had no idea there were so many kinds of sweet potatoes! But it made sense—different varieties had different tastes.

“Why don’t you pick out the ones that are easy to grow and taste good, and give me a mix of those.”

“I have 50 jin bags of each variety. How about I pick out four types for you?” The shopkeeper was puzzled by this clueless customer who seemed to have been sent by some very trusting adults to do such an important task. But she only grumbled internally; as long as she could make a sale, she didn’t care.

“Sure. Are there different types of potatoes too?”

“Of course! There are yellow-skinned potatoes, red-skinned potatoes, white potatoes, and even black potatoes…” The shopkeeper gave a thorough explanation, then suggested, “How about I pick out 50 jin of each for you?”

“Thank you very much. And please choose the highest-yielding varieties,” Yun Tutu said, knowing she was out of her depth and trusting the expert.

“Don’t worry. I’ve never had complaints about my seeds,” the shopkeeper assured her, patting her chest. “I’ll make the choices for you.”

As she spoke, the shopkeeper got to work, dragging bags of seeds out to the front.

“Miss, could you give me a hand?” The shopkeeper opened a door beside the counter, revealing the store’s stockroom. Although each bag only weighed 50 jin, the quantity was still substantial.

Yun Tutu couldn’t just stand by, so every time the shopkeeper brought out a bag, she helped move it outside, gradually piling 300 jin of seeds by the tree.

Song Song soon confirmed that the seeds were indeed good quality.

“Oh, and I’ll take some tomato and pepper seeds too,” Yun Tutu added, thinking of the ancestors’ limited diet. She noticed the labels on the cabinets and ended up selecting several more types.

“Would you like to plant some rice? I just received a batch of hybrid rice seeds,” the shopkeeper suggested, eager to make another sale.

“Hybrid rice seeds? Will they be suitable for saving seeds?” Yun Tutu remembered that hybrid rice wasn’t ideal for seed saving. Subsequent generations would have lower yields, and the seeds could even mutate, leading to poor harvests.

The shopkeeper explained, “Not really. If you want to save seeds, you’d better go with local varieties. While the yield might not match hybrid rice, with good soil and management, you could still get about a thousand jin per mu.”

“And the seeds I already picked…?”

The shopkeeper quickly reassured her, “Don’t worry, none of those are hybrid varieties. If they were, I would have told you.”

With that, the shopkeeper removed two items she had packed earlier and replaced them with new ones. After all, business is about trust.

Yun Tutu was relieved.

“Don’t worry, this shopkeeper seems quite honest,” Song Song whispered in her ear. “Are you sure you just want to bring these seeds?”

Song Song didn’t quite understand humans—seeds weren’t worth much money.

“Yes, just these,” Yun Tutu replied. She wanted to bring other things, but she couldn’t access them.

But this did remind her of something. Yun Tutu pulled out her phone and started clicking through it.

Song Song noticed but didn’t pay much attention.

The shopkeeper worked quickly and soon had everything packed, even throwing in some extra vegetable seeds that Yun Tutu hadn’t mentioned. “If the crops turn out well, come back to my store next time.”

If someone bought this many seeds, they must have a lot of land. There was potential for a long-term customer here.

The shopkeeper handed over a business card, “Here’s my contact information. If you ever need a large quantity, I can arrange delivery.”

“Your store delivers?” Yun Tutu asked, surprised.

The shopkeeper chuckled awkwardly, “It depends on whether I have enough staff. If it’s not urgent, I can have my husband deliver it when he’s back from his hometown. But right now, I’m on my own.”

Yun Tutu took the card and slipped it into her bag, unsure if she would ever need it again. “If these seeds turn out well, I’ll definitely be back for more.”