Chapter 52: Starting to Sell Vegetables

After wandering around until about four in the afternoon, they had basically seen all the major markets and finally decided to try the agricultural trade market first.

When she got back, she told Chen Tao about it.

The Chen family had a lot of land, and they also had to help other relatives, so they were still busy with the autumn harvest.

But it wouldn’t be long before it was over.

After it was over, they would immediately fertilize the land and plant a new crop of winter wheat.

It wouldn’t be until next June when the winter wheat could be harvested, long after the planting season for vegetables.

So, Chen Tao’s task was to make a good impression before the winter wheat was planted, to persuade his family to set aside some land for growing vegetables.

She would also use four acres of the Qin family’s six acres to grow vegetables, and the remaining two acres would continue to grow wheat.

But she wouldn’t plant the current wheat seeds. She would use the current wheat seeds, soak them in the spring water in her space, and let them sprout.

She had already mastered this in her previous life. By repeatedly improving the seeds with spring water, she could continuously increase the yield and quality of crops.

She didn’t dare to directly take out the high-yield wheat seeds that had been improved many times in her previous life.

The yield of about 2,000 pounds per acre of wheat compared to the current yield of over 300 pounds per acre was too big of a difference.

Using her grandfather as an excuse wouldn’t work either.

After all, at this time, the wheat yield abroad was not high either.

She got the space late in her previous life and didn’t specifically study planting, so she was still in the exploratory stage now.

Based on her guess, combining her previous life’s experience of planting in the space.

If all goes well, the yield of this batch of wheat seedlings transformed by spring water might reach 500 pounds.

Some places now have wheat yields that are not without 400 pounds.

Even two years ago, the experimental field in Xinjiang had already achieved an average yield of over 1,000 pounds per acre.

So, although growing wheat with a yield of around 500 pounds here would be outstanding, it wouldn’t immediately attract the attention of the higher authorities.

Then, she could improve it every year, gradually increasing the yield.

Now, everything was in place, all that was missing was Chen Tao’s support.

If he couldn’t persuade his family, she wouldn’t be able to do much with just the Qin family’s few acres of land.

But she didn’t plan to give up. If Chen Tao’s side really didn’t work out, she was thinking about whether she could use the Qin family’s name to help contract out ten or so acres of land.

After all, her household registration wasn’t here, and many procedures would have to be done by the Qin family.

But if she did that, she would have to bear the risk of not being able to move easily in the future.

And at this point in time, contracting land was the best…

Being a pioneer requires someone like the Chen family, who has a background and influence in the brigade. Otherwise, there might be a lot of trouble later.

Now, they just have to wait for Chen Tao to make a good impression and persuade his family.

That night, Qin Zhiyi borrowed a large cargo tractor from Liu Boss and went to the city with Chen Tao to pick up goods overnight.

Xu Sangluo had left a batch of fruits and vegetables in the warehouse she rented.

Considering the uncertain market situation, Xu Sangluo didn’t put in too much.

But there were many varieties, including white radishes, carrots, cabbages, spinach, napa cabbages, cauliflowers, lettuce, chives, garlic, onions, and cilantro, about 10,000 pounds in total.

Except for a few leafy vegetables, the rest were relatively easy to store and could be sold for a week without any problems.

For fruits, she only took out apples,耙耙柑 (a type of citrus fruit), pomelos, crisp persimmons, ice sugar oranges, pears, and jujubes, about 8,000 pounds in total.

She had already made a list of the purchase prices for Chen Tao, and she also added a suggested retail price table.

She didn’t raise the purchase price too high, using the excuse that it was an internal purchase for friends.

But even the lowest price was almost double the original price.

For example, white radishes were 0.07 yuan per pound, carrots were 0.12 yuan per pound, cabbages were 0.06 yuan per pound, spinach was 0.15 yuan per pound, napa cabbages were 0.10 yuan per pound, cauliflowers were 0.20 yuan per pound, lettuce was 0.09 yuan per pound, chives were 0.08 yuan per pound, chive flowers were 0.16 yuan per pound, garlic was 0.05 yuan per pound, onions were 0.03 yuan per pound, and cilantro was 0.05 yuan per pound.

For fruits, apples were 1 yuan per pound,耙耙柑 were 0.8 yuan per pound, pomelos were 0.3 yuan per pound, crisp persimmons were 1.2 yuan per pound, ice sugar oranges were 0.8 yuan per pound, pears were 0.6 yuan per pound, and jujubes were 0.5 yuan per pound.

This batch of goods, including transportation costs, totaled about 5,000 yuan.

To make enough profit to persuade his family, the retail price would probably have to double or even triple. At least, the total revenue from sales should not be less than 7,000 yuan.

Based on the consumption level and market fruit and vegetable situation in the county, Xu Sangluo’s suggested retail price was to increase the purchase price by about double, and the price of common vegetables was increased by half.

For example, cabbage could be sold for 0.14 yuan per pound.

But even so, compared to the current market average price of 0.03 yuan per pound for cabbage, the price difference was still too big.

So, not to mention Chen Tao, even Xu Sangluo herself was unsure.

Therefore, while the two of them were going to pick up the goods, Xu Sangluo confirmed it with him again.

If he changed his mind now, it was still possible. She could buy this batch of fruits and vegetables in full.

After all, a few thousand yuan was nothing to her, who was making at least four to five thousand yuan a day.

Even on the surface, she could afford to lose money now.

But Chen Tao didn’t agree. He refused without even thinking.

Since he had agreed, he couldn’t back down.

If he really lost money, he would just carry a bag and go to the city to work and pay off his debts.

That’s right, the two thousand yuan Chen Tao put in was borrowed.

He didn’t have much savings over the years, and it was all with his mother, so he couldn’t easily take it out.

The money was borrowed temporarily from his brothers.

Qin Zhiyi lent him 500 yuan, all from his share of the repair shop’s repairs and sales of second-hand machinery, as well as his advance salary.

It was clear that the repair shop had been making a lot of money recently.

The rest was borrowed from his two older brothers, 500 yuan each, and he lied to them, saying that he was going to cooperate with Qin Zhiyi’s repair shop.

The remaining 1,000 yuan was borrowed from his third cousin, using the same excuse.

He even used his parents as an excuse, saying that they opposed him doing business, so he asked them to keep it a secret.

His brothers were naturally afraid that he would lose money if he acted recklessly, but Chen Tao used the repair shop’s recent orders from Qin Zhiyi and Liu Boss to convince them.

The repair shop had recently received many orders for machinery repairs from various factories, so it was quite reliable.

This was the first time he was willing to go out and try, and his brothers didn’t want to stop him too much.

Children grow up and have to go out and experience the world. They agreed to help him keep it a secret.

But he had to report back every now and then.

Chen Tao readily agreed and turned around to give all the money to Xu Sangluo.

Xu Sangluo had rented a detached house with a cellar in the county in advance, and it was close to the agricultural trade market, so she could directly pull the vegetables there to sell in the morning.

The stalls in the agricultural trade market were all numbered, and Xu Sangluo hadn’t had time to negotiate yet.

So, for now, she could only set up a stall outside the market.

This wasn’t a big problem. She could just pull up a three-wheeled cart, lay down a straw mat next to it, and put up a price tag.

Chen Tao stayed in the small house and didn’t come back, while Qin Zhiyi drove back overnight.

He got home at around two in the morning.

Although Qin Zhiyi parked the tractor at the intersection to avoid disturbing people, Xu Sangluo, who was light sleeper, was still woken up.

She was worried about things in the county and hadn’t really fallen asleep. When she heard the noise, she put on her coat and came out.

Qin Zhiyi walked over, wrapped in a chill, and saw her standing at the gate with a flashlight. He quickly walked over, put his hand on her shoulder, and pushed her inside.