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Su Yu looked at Wang Jinhe in a helpless manner and said, “When did I ever try to withhold money from you? You always bully me.”
“I’m going to check on the strawberries. Do you want to come?” Wang Jinhe smiled, changing the subject in a rather insincere manner.
“Sure.”
The two of them went to see the strawberries that had been transplanted for a month. Looking at those vibrant strawberries, Su Yu remarked, “I wonder if we’ll have strawberries for the New Year. If we do, you’ll make a fortune.”
“It looks like we should have some, but not too many,” Wang Jinhe considered and replied.
To encourage the strawberries to bear fruit earlier, all they needed was to use Lingquan water. However, Wang Jinhe was currently using diluted Lingquan water, so the effect wasn’t as good.
“What are you thinking?” When Wang Jinhe didn’t react to her words and seemed lost in thought, Su Yu reached out and waved in front of her to bring her back.
Wang Jinhe looked at Su Yu with a puzzled expression, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. You were so lost in thought. What were you thinking about?” Su Yu asked curiously, looking at Wang Jinhe.
Wang Jinhe didn’t say much but continued with the topic Su Yu brought up earlier, “It’s nothing. I was just thinking about how much I could sell the strawberries for if they come out before the New Year.”
“Five hundred wen per kilogram. I want as much as you can get,” Su Yu said straightforwardly.
“…” Where did this spendthrift come from?
“First, tell me how much you sold them for in the capital?” Wang Jinhe looked at Su Yu and asked directly.
“About one tael of silver?” If the strawberries tasted exceptionally good, some people might even buy them for two taels of silver. After all, places like the capital had plenty of people who liked to show off, especially the daughters of prestigious families. If you have something I don’t, I might be ridiculed; if I have something you don’t, it’s your problem.
In any case, there were a lot of messy things going on.
And the chaos created by these people guaranteed that their strawberries would be in high demand in the future.
Looking down at the strawberries on the ground, Wang Jinhe said earnestly, “The yield of strawberries is not very high. Even if the price is high, I don’t think we’ll make much money.”
“That’s true. A watermelon weighs over ten kilograms, but whether these ten strawberries together would even make a kilogram is questionable.”
It seemed that selling these strawberries for one or two thousand taels to Su Yu was quite generous.
“It looks like growing watermelons is more profitable. They have a high yield, and the price is good.”
“In winter, there are not many fruits. If there are strawberries, they would be considered rare. People might be willing to pay a high price, especially during the New Year…” Wang Jinhe’s words weren’t finished, but Su Yu already knew what she meant.
Reaching out to hold Wang Jinhe’s face, Su Yu planted a firm kiss on it. When Wang Jinhe was about to look displeased, Su Yu continued speaking, “If it coincides with the New Year, I’ll pay you two taels of silver per kilogram.”
“…” Wang Jinhe looked at Su Yu and felt that this person didn’t want to behave again.
“I think you’re just trying to scam money.”
Su Yu wiggled her fingers very seriously and said, “Xiao He, you’ve got it wrong. I’m not scamming money; I’m making money openly and honestly. I’ve finally found such rare fruit as strawberries, shouldn’t they be grateful to me?”
Wang Jinhe looked at Su Yu’s shameless appearance and said disdainfully, “Su Yu, this is the first time I’ve seen you be so shameless.”
“Haha, aren’t all business people like this?” Su Yu laughed heartily and said unapologetically.
Listening to Su Yu’s matter-of-fact words, Wang Jinhe felt she couldn’t argue with him.
“You’re right.” In fact, Wang Jinhe also knew that the more winter advanced, the more expensive fruits and vegetables became.
If they could grow vegetables this winter, they could earn a good amount of money.
Looking at the things in the yard, Wang Jinhe’s eyes revealed a contemplative expression, “After the autumn harvest, I need to start preparing for seeds, and the grapes in the manor, except for those sold to you, the rest will be used to make wine.”
“Sure, by the way, Xiao He, my eldest brother wrote saying that if you produce grape wine here, more than half will be reserved for the emperor. The price will be whatever it is, and the emperor won’t shortchange us a single copper coin.” Su Yu remembered something that Su Jiu told him earlier but had forgotten.
“More than half? Why does the emperor need so much grape wine?” Although the wine was good, taking more than half at once didn’t seem right.
“The emperor hosts many banquets for numerous ministers every year. Apart from that, during significant festivals or when foreign envoys visit, we need to present good things. The melons from this time have already left those people praising endlessly.” Su Yu explained to Wang Jinhe.
Wang Jinhe might not understand their new ideas and practices now, but with more exposure, she would naturally come to understand.
“Is it really too extraordinary? Your makit it seem like it’s never been seen in the world.” Wang Jinhe couldn’t help but murmur.
Wang Jinhe’s words made Su Yu laugh and cry. She reached out and hugged her, saying, “What are you talking about, you little girl? If it weren’t for you growing this watermelon, I wouldn’t have seen such big and delicious ones. Don’t blame others for not having seen much.”
A single sentence left Wang Jinhe speechless. It seemed true; she hadn’t seen such large melons before.
While Wang Jinhe and Su Yu were discussing strawberries, the thresher designed by Wang Jinhe had become popular throughout the capital. Those who grew rice had already started figuring out how to get a thresher.
At this time, someone spread the news that the watermelons served at the Empress Dowager’s birthday celebration were grown by the same person who created the thresher. When these two pieces of news were connected, Wang Jinhe’s name became more and more renowned in the capital.
“Have you heard? The thresher and the watermelons are actually the work of the same person. I don’t know how they grew such large watermelons weighing over ten kilograms.”
“Wang Jinhe is really amazing.”
As Gu Xiruo passed by with her maidservant, she overheard the maidservants in the garden talking about Wang Jinhe’s achievements.
The name Wang Jinhe made Gu Xiruo feel somewhat uneasy.
Returning to her courtyard with her maidservant, she dismissed the maidservant before summoning her own people, saying, “Find out who Wang Jinhe is and where she lives.”
“Yes, Miss.”
After the people left, Gu Xiruo’s expression remained unpleasant.
“I hope it’s not that person.” Gu Xiruo gritted her teeth. If it was that person, she had to find a way to prevent them from coming to the capital. It would be best if they spent their entire life dying in a small mountain village.
While Gu Xiruo’s people were investigating Wang Jinhe, Wan Gu and the others quickly learned about it. Not only did they know, but they also passed the information to Su Yu.
Su Yu squinted his eyes when he saw the news.
The Gu family’s Miss Gu Xiruo unexpectedly sent people to investigate Xiao He. What did she want to do?
“Master, Miss Gu is not a good person. Why is she suddenly investigating Madam? What does she want?”