Chapter 53: The Vegetable Rush

“Why are you standing here? It’s too cold. Go back to the house.”

“I heard a noise. How did it go? How was it over there?”

Xu Sangluo followed his strength and went back to her room.

The room was lit with warm yellow lights, and the four sides were windproof, making it much warmer.

Qin Zhiyi stood at the door, not entering, “It went smoothly. Taozi is guarding over there. You go to bed quickly. It’s very late. Don’t forget you have to get up early tomorrow.”

Xu Sangluo would definitely go with them on the first day of setting up a stall.

It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Chen Tao, but she also needed to feel the market and understand the situation firsthand to make a good judgment.

She nodded, “Okay, you too. Go to bed quickly. You don’t have to accompany me tomorrow. I can go by myself.”

Qin Zhiyi didn’t argue with her. He urged her again and closed the door for her.

Then the next day, Xu Sangluo got up at five o’clock and saw Qin Zhiyi already squatting by the water pump, washing his face.

She smiled helplessly and didn’t say anything about not needing to go.

Qin Zhiyi didn’t drive the tractor in the morning. The two of them quickly prepared and rode their tricycle into the county.

Chen Tao was so nervous that he hadn’t slept all night. He had been waiting at the corner of the electric pole outside since early morning.

When he saw the tricycle coming, he immediately jumped up.

The three of them quickly moved the vegetables and fruits onto the cart. When they arrived at the agricultural trade market, it was exactly six o’clock.

At six in the morning, the market was already bustling.

After autumn, vegetables started to decrease, and now it was deep autumn, so there were only a few vegetable stores left.

They all got their vegetables from various production teams.

But farmers grow more grain, and vegetables are basically grown for their own consumption. How could they supply other places?

So, every day, vegetables were not only expensive, but they also needed to be bought with ration coupons and limited purchases.

Sure enough, many residents came early to grab vegetables.

When they saw a large vegetable stall set up at the entrance of the agricultural trade market, many people’s eyes lit up, and they quickly surrounded it.

Xu Sangluo’s batch of vegetables came from the farm, not from her space.

Although they were slightly inferior, they were still many times better than the improved vegetables outside in her previous life, not to mention now.

The vegetables were laid out, and they didn’t even need to be sprinkled with water. They shone brightly in the sunlight, very eye-catching.

Anyone with eyes could see how good the quality of these vegetables was.

But the prices were really high, more than three times higher than those in the agricultural trade market.

Many people were attracted but shook their heads and left when they saw the prices, muttering that it was unreasonable.

Some people really liked them and kept trying to bargain.

Chen Tao was a little shaken and quietly suggested that they lower the price on the first day.

But Xu Sangluo didn’t allow it. If they lowered the price at the beginning, it would be even harder to sell the vegetables.

Insisting on the original price, she sent another group of people away.

Another group thought they would go to the market first and come back to buy if they couldn’t find anything.

After all, these vegetables were so expensive, they wouldn’t be sold out for a while. Maybe they would lower the price later.

The remaining small group were those who didn’t care about the price and really liked them…

The quality of the fruits and vegetables was excellent.

Especially, several of the fruits and vegetables they had were not available in the market.

Many people tried to buy some, especially the fruits.

The jujubes, which had the lowest price, sold the best, followed by apples and ice sugar oranges. The others also sold a little.

The pomelos were the worst sellers.

Because the pomelos Xu Sangluo brought out were about 8 pounds each, and the retail price was 0.6 yuan per pound, a whole pomelo would cost four or five yuan.

Few people were willing to buy immediately.

But this situation quickly reversed.

Xu Sangluo directly took a pomelo and peeled it in front of everyone. Then, she took out a segment, peeled it, and gave the flesh to everyone to taste.

She also said that the pomelos could be bought by the segment, at 0.8 yuan per segment.

Xu Sangluo took out a golden honey pomelo, which had 10 segments, all the same size.

Each segment of pomelo was golden in color, full of flesh, crystal clear, sweet and delicious, with a strong pomelo aroma, very tempting.

Moreover, they were grown with spring water. Thinking about the consumers in her previous life who often squatted on the official website and wailed, you knew how good the taste was.

Basically, everyone who tasted it couldn’t move their feet.

In the end, they couldn’t help but buy some.

Some bought one or two segments, just to give their family a taste, while others gritted their teeth and bought a whole pomelo.

She opened five pomelos in a row, all the same size, with thin skin and 10 segments.

Xu Sangluo even specially weighed the peeled pomelo skin, which weighed about 5 taels.

Buying a whole pomelo for four or five yuan was still much more cost-effective than buying individual segments.

Chen Tao followed suit, also taking a small knife and giving people a taste of both fruits and vegetables.

Even those who weren’t particularly fond of food were attracted by the taste of these fruits and vegetables.

So, they all bought some.

Cabbages and radishes sold the most because they were the cheapest.

Soon, people who had entered the market came out.

Those who had bought vegetables naturally left with their baskets.

Those who hadn’t bought any hesitated for a moment and then went over to buy some.

Some even just bought one or two onions and left.

So, although there were many people gathered today, and many people bought things, they didn’t actually sell much.

They made over 50 yuan in the morning.

But the peak time for buying vegetables was usually in the morning.

50 yuan seemed like a lot, but it wasn’t even enough to cover the cost of 5,000 yuan, let alone 7,000 yuan.

Chen Tao scratched his short hair, feeling a lot of pressure.

He came to sell vegetables without telling his family.

And he definitely couldn’t just sell for one or two days. His family was still harvesting in autumn, and although he had found an excuse, if he didn’t achieve good results, his family would definitely beat him up if they found out.

Xu Sangluo could only comfort him, “The vegetables are good, and there will naturally be repeat customers. It’s only the first day, and people need to try them before they know. It should be better tomorrow.”

Chen Tao wiped his face and accepted this comfort.

Because he felt the same way.

These fruits and vegetables…

The quality of the fruits and vegetables was excellent. Especially, several of the fruits and vegetables they had were not available in the market. Many people tried to buy some, especially the fruits. The jujubes, which had the lowest price, sold the best, followed by apples and ice sugar oranges. The others also sold a little.

The pomelos were the worst sellers. Because the pomelos Xu Sangluo brought out were about 8 pounds each, and the retail price was 0.6 yuan per pound, a whole pomelo would cost four or five yuan. Few people were willing to buy immediately.

But this situation quickly reversed. Xu Sangluo directly took a pomelo and peeled it in front of everyone. Then, she took out a segment, peeled it, and gave the flesh to everyone to taste. She also said that the pomelos could be bought by the segment, at 0.8 yuan per segment.

Xu Sangluo took out a golden honey pomelo, which had 10 segments, all the same size. Each segment of pomelo was golden in color, full of flesh, crystal clear, sweet and delicious, with a strong pomelo aroma, very tempting. Moreover, they were grown with spring water. Thinking about the consumers in her previous life who often squatted on the official website and wailed, you knew how good the taste was.

Basically, everyone who tasted it couldn’t move their feet. In the end, they couldn’t help but buy some. Some bought one or two segments, just to give their family a taste, while others gritted their teeth and bought a whole pomelo.

She opened five pomelos in a row, all the same size, with thin skin and 10 segments. Xu Sangluo even specially weighed the peeled pomelo skin, which weighed about 5 taels. Buying a whole pomelo for four or five yuan was still much more cost-effective than buying individual segments.

Chen Tao followed suit, also taking a small knife and giving people a taste of both fruits and vegetables. Even those who weren’t particularly fond of food were attracted by the taste of these fruits and vegetables. So, they all bought some.

Cabbages and radishes sold the most because they were the cheapest. Soon, people who had entered the market came out. Those who had bought vegetables naturally left with their baskets. Those who hadn’t bought any hesitated for a moment and then went over to buy some. Some even just bought one or two onions and left.

So, although there were many people gathered today, and many people bought things, they didn’t actually sell much. They made over 50 yuan in the morning. But the peak time for buying vegetables was usually in the morning. 50 yuan seemed like a lot, but it wasn’t even enough to cover the cost of 5,000 yuan, let alone 7,000 yuan.

Chen Tao scratched his short hair, feeling a lot of pressure. He came to sell vegetables without telling his family. And he definitely couldn’t just sell for one or two days. His family was still harvesting in autumn, and although he had found an excuse, if he didn’t achieve good results, his family would definitely beat him up if they found out.

Xu Sangluo could only comfort him, “The vegetables are good, and there will naturally be repeat customers. It’s only the first day, and people need to try them before they know. It should be better tomorrow.”

Chen Tao wiped his face and accepted this comfort. Because he felt the same way. These fruits and vegetables were really unexpectedly good. If it were him, he would have bought a few pounds if he had encountered them. He didn’t believe that anyone who had tasted them wouldn’t like them.

“What should we do now? Should we keep waiting or come back in the evening?” He hadn’t set up a stall and done business before, so he didn’t know much about it.

“Wait. Let’s try to sell all of this batch today.” Xu Sangluo said, reaching out to take a cloth bag next to her. She took out a few egg pancakes from it, and the three of them shared them.

The egg pancakes were made by her the night before and kept in her space. She took them out this morning. She had made over 50 of them, with less flour and more eggs. They were thin and large, and even when they were cold, they tasted very good.

At this time, in a half-new apartment building near the machinery factory, it was lunchtime, and the air was filled with aromas.

Zhang Qian opened the door and walked into the house, looking tired. She suddenly smelled a strong aroma of onions. She put down her things, rolled up her sleeves, and walked inside, “Mom, what did you cook today? It smells so good.”

The sound of a spatula clanging and Zhang’s mother’s cheerful response came from the kitchen.

“I made braised pork. I didn’t buy any vegetables today, so I just stir-fried some onion and egg. It smells good, right? I think so too.”

Occasionally, there was a childish voice, slightly urging and anxious.

“Grandma, is it ready? Kangkang wants to eat.”

“It’s coming, it’s coming. It’ll be ready soon.”

Hearing her son’s voice, Zhang Qian paused, a look of surprise on her face. She quickly walked into the small kitchen.

She saw Zhang’s mother holding a public bowl, scooping the yellow-green onion and egg stir-fry into the bowl. Next to her, a boy of seven or eight years old was hugging her waist, constantly licking his lips and stretching his neck to urge her.

His mouth was still oily, obviously he had eaten some already.

“Kangkang.” Zhang Qian called out to her son in surprise.

The boy turned his head and called out “Mom,” then his eyes followed the bowl.

Zhang’s mother cheerfully handed the bowl to Zhang Qian, “Take it out first.”

Zhang Qian nodded. Smelling the aroma, she couldn’t help but swallow.

“Mom, what did you put in the eggs? Why does it smell so good?”

“Mom, give me some. I want to eat.” The little boy shifted his target.

Zhang Qian was surprised again.

Zhang Qian was a young intellectual who went to the countryside. She returned to the city with her son four years ago. Her ex-husband went to college and disappeared without a trace. Her in-laws were very harsh to her and her son.

Her child had stomach problems during that time because of poor diet.

Although she had been carefully taking care of him for years, the child had developed an eating disorder and was never enthusiastic about eating.

She had to coax him for a long time every time he ate.

But now, he was actually asking for food on his own initiative.

She looked at the onion and egg stir-fry in the bowl with confusion, “Kangkang, didn’t you eat breakfast this morning? You’re so hungry.”

“I had some porridge, but I got hungry quickly.” Zhang’s mother brought out a bowl of braised pork.

Zhang Qian served the rice, and soon the family of three sat down to eat.

Kangkang immediately reached out with his chopsticks to grab the onion and egg stir-fry, but the stir-fry was too crumbly, and he couldn’t pick it up. He was so anxious that he…

Kangkang immediately stood up from his chair.

“Oh, silly child, use a spoon.” Zhang’s mother quickly scooped a spoonful onto his rice with a spoon.

Kangkang immediately picked up his chopsticks and carefully picked at the onion and egg stir-fry.

“Kangkang, don’t just eat vegetables, eat some rice too. There’s also meat. You need to eat to grow taller.” Zhang’s mother picked up a piece of braised pork with fat and lean meat and put it in his bowl.

Kangkang immediately picked up his bowl and moved it to the side, shaking his head like a rattle.

Seeing this, Zhang Qian picked up a piece of braised pork and ate it, “Kangkang, braised pork is also delicious. Try it.”

But Kangkang turned around and continued to eat the eggs. After finishing them, he picked up his spoon and went to scoop some more.

Zhang’s mother directly picked up the bowl and scooped some of the eggs into his bowl.

Zhang Qian also picked up a chopstick of onion and egg stir-fry. It was full of a rich onion aroma.

The special spicy aroma mixed with the rich aroma of eggs, reducing the fishy smell and adding a touch of herbal fragrance. It was very appetizing.

No wonder her son liked to eat it.

Zhang’s mother wasn’t making onion and egg stir-fry for the first time. Zhang Qian quickly figured out what was wrong.

“The onions are good today, they have a strong flavor.”

“Yes, I bought them from a vegetable stall outside the agricultural trade market. It’s a new vegetable farmer. The vegetables are all fresh and look good, but they’re expensive. Two cents for an ounce of onions. If I hadn’t been unable to buy vegetables today, I wouldn’t have bought them.”

“That expensive?” Zhang Qian was surprised, but she chewed on the onion aroma in her mouth and couldn’t help but say, “But it’s really delicious. Mom, why don’t you buy more onions next time? I see Kangkang likes them. Let’s make some scallion pancakes and see if he likes them.”

“Okay, I’ll go take a look later.”

“No need to rush, you can go tomorrow.”

“It’s fine. Those vegetables are expensive, they shouldn’t be sold out for a while. Maybe they’ve already lowered the price.”

“Okay, let’s go together after dinner. Don’t be too frugal.”

After returning to the city, Zhang Qian ended up working as a temporary worker at the machinery factory. Because she was good at math, she was recruited by the finance department.

Although she was still just a junior clerk, the factory’s wages had been increasing in recent years. Now, she earned about 60 yuan a month after taxes.

The two of them, plus Zhang’s mother, had enough for their normal expenses.

Seeing that her son only picked at the onion and egg stir-fry, Zhang Qian tried to persuade him a few times, but he didn’t listen.

She thought for a moment and took her son’s rice bowl, scooped a large spoonful of onion and egg stir-fry into it, and then mixed it with the rice.

“Kangkang, try it. It’s more fragrant this way.”

The boy’s brows furrowed, as if he was dissatisfied.

Zhang’s mother saw this and was afraid that her grandson would make a fuss, so she was about to speak.

But the boy hesitated for a moment and scooped a spoonful into his mouth.

Then his eyes lit up, and he started to eat the rice much faster.

The mother and daughter both saw this and their eyes lit up.

Similar things happened at many places at noon.

At the stall, Xu Sangluo was chatting with a middle-aged man.

The man was the manager of a fruit and vegetable department store in the agricultural trade market. When he got off work at noon and was going home for lunch, he saw the stall.

He was attracted by the quality of the vegetables…

He was attracted and walked over.

Then he was also shocked by the prices on the stall.

When he learned that the vegetables were all theirs and they had a lot of stock, the manager had an idea.

He wanted to buy their fruits and vegetables.

But the price he offered was less than half the price, and Xu Sangluo couldn’t possibly agree. She just smiled and kept arguing with him.

“I’m not saying this to be rude, but your price is really unrealistic. A pound of vegetables isn’t enough for a meal. Who would spend so much money to buy them? If you keep setting up a stall, you probably won’t sell much. It’s better to sell them to me than to have them all go to waste.”

Xu Sangluo’s smile remained unchanged, “Manager Zhang, it’s not that I’m being stubborn and not listening to your good advice, but we really can’t make the decision ourselves. Besides, the cost price from the other side is higher than what you’re offering. You see…”

Manager Zhang frowned, “Why don’t you give me the contact information of your supplier? I’ll talk to him myself?”

Xu Sangluo smiled, “I can’t make that decision either. Why don’t I ask when I go back tonight?”

Manager Zhang was a little dissatisfied and tried to continue arguing, shamelessly.

It was just that the quality of these vegetables was really good.

If he could get a large quantity of such vegetables, he might even be able to make a great contribution.

But before he could speak, two middle-aged women suddenly ran over with baskets.

“Oh, you young comrades are still here. Quickly, help me weigh two more cabbages, two radishes too, one napa cabbage, one pound of spinach, and two pounds of lettuce.”

Then she ran to the side to pick fruits.

The old lady next to her, who had just caught her breath, also spoke up, “And me, give me two cauliflowers, two napa cabbages, two cabbages, two radishes, three pounds of chives, and one carrot too.”

Then she also ran to the side to pick fruits, chatting casually as she picked, and her words were full of feedback about the vegetables and fruits they had eaten at home for lunch.

Chen Tao was a little stunned, but Xu Sangluo reacted quickly. She immediately gave the two women their “orders” and then quickly pulled over some dry grass to tie up the vegetables.

She had practiced this technique in her previous life when she sold vegetables. It took her less than two seconds to pull the dry grass and tie it up.

Qin Zhiyi quickly picked up the scale and started weighing the vegetables one by one.

Chen Tao also quickly helped her tie up the vegetables.

But before they were finished, a few more people came from a distance.

Some of them directly asked them to get vegetables, while others picked them out themselves.

Manager Zhang, who was standing aside, was even squeezed aside by the old ladies, who thought he was taking up space. He watched them spend money like water, dumbfounded.

A moment later, more people came over.

There were also some passersby who were attracted to come and watch the excitement.

For a moment, the three of them were almost too busy.

This time, the people who came were different from those who had said they would only buy a little in the morning.

Basically, everyone who came bought at least a pound or two.

Most of them were repeat customers from the morning, and a few were onlookers who were attracted by the excitement and followed the trend to buy.

“Mom, that’s the stall. Why are so many people there?” Zhang Qian walked over with her son and Zhang’s mother.

She saw a group of people gathered at the entrance of the market from afar.