Qi Kai took the price tags outside and taped them to the edges of the vegetable baskets.

Lin You was still moving vegetables. After getting tired, she massaged her waist, took a small stool, and sat down.

After resting for a moment, she continued to open the freezer and take out vegetables.

When Qi Kai came back, he saw this scene.

He couldn’t help but exclaim: “This is too hard on you, it’s a pity I can’t help.”

Lin You said: “It’s fine, I’ll just rest for a while.”

Qi Kai nodded and went out the breakfast shop’s door to stand by the vegetable baskets outside.

These baskets were different from the ones that had previously contained fresh vegetables. They were the regular baskets Lin You had prepared for selling vegetables.

Each one was about half a meter tall and could hold a fair amount of goods.

Not to mention anything else, just placing a few baskets outside gave the impression of being quite “rich and impressive”—

After all, there were very few places that could afford to display so many vegetables for sale, unless the family had plenty of surplus stock.

Tong Lan had washed her hands and was now massaging Lin You’s back. Qi Kai pulled over a small stool and sat behind the baskets.

He rested his arm on his knee and stared at the vegetables in the baskets.

Before long, some pedestrians started to stop.

“Are you selling these vegetables?” a middle-aged woman asked as she approached.

Qi Kai nodded: “Auntie, would you like some? This cabbage is great for stewing with vermicelli!”

The middle-aged woman laughed: “Then I’ll need some pork too, we’ve run out of pork at home.”

Qi Kai’s eyes lit up: “Pork, yes, yes! Auntie, we have everything you need! Please wait a moment!”

He quickly entered the store, took the fresh pork that Lin You handed to him, and ran outside.

He placed the pork in a bag and handed it to the woman, saying: “Look at this meat, it’s perfectly balanced with fat and lean, it looks good, you can stir-fry with the lean part, and the fat is not greasy, you can stir-fry slices of meat or mince it, perfect!”

The woman looked at the quality of the meat and asked: “How much meat do you have? I want to buy more.”

Qi Kai patted his chest and assured her: “We have as much as you need, Auntie. If you want an unlimited supply, today’s the day. After this afternoon or evening, there will be a limit on the amount each person can buy.”

This referred to the system being set up to connect with the government’s information after debugging.

The woman didn’t ask further and assumed the current meat stock was still sufficient, so later, when the supply decreased, there would naturally be a limit on purchases.

She then waved her hand and said: “I’ll take five more pieces the same size as this one!”

Qi Kai excitedly replied: “Alright!”

He ran back into the store, took out the other pieces of meat, weighed them, and handed them to the woman: “This is 10 kilograms, Auntie, can you carry it?”

The woman laughed: “Hah, what’s the big deal with this weight…”

Halfway through, she suddenly remembered something and hurriedly took out her phone to make a call:

“Chengzi, hurry up and come here. There’s a shop selling vegetables right at our doorstep. I bought some meat, but the vegetables are a bit hard to carry. Come down quickly and stock up more, do you hear me?!”

The woman gave detailed directions and then happily carried her vegetable bag home.

Before leaving, she still remembered to ask Qi Kai: “Child, do you have a lot of vegetables in stock here? Will I be able to buy enough?”

Qi Kai looked at the baskets full of vegetables and was first puzzled. Wasn’t there enough with so many vegetables?

But the next moment, he answered readily: “Yes, yes, no matter how big your fridge is, it’ll be filled!”

The woman nodded in satisfaction.

Once the vegetable stand was empty, Qi Kai sat back on the stool, feeling a sense of accomplishment as things were just starting to sell.

However, he didn’t have much time to relax before more people arrived.

It seemed like it was the woman’s child.

The man was muscular, his outer clothes tight on his body, looking like a fitness instructor.

He walked over with a mighty air, saw Qi Kai, and directly extended his hand: “Give me a few big bags.”

Qi Kai hurriedly handed him the largest bag.

The man didn’t speak further, lowered his head, and began packing. Before long, he had emptied the basket that had contained the cabbage.

Qi Kai watched him pack in a frenzy and couldn’t help but be amazed: “Brother, don’t you think your fridge won’t fit all this?”

The man looked up at him for a moment and continued packing other vegetables: “There’s a way to store cabbage properly; someone who knows how to store it won’t let it spoil easily. Although it’s summer, the temperature isn’t high, and with our method, it can last for a season.”

Qi Kai asked curiously: “What method?”

The man replied: “We have a basement at home, we put the cabbage in there, lay soil at the bottom, cover with breathable cloth, pack the cabbage tightly, and ventilate regularly…”

Qi Kai nodded: “Looks like we need to store more cabbage at home too.”

The man finished packing a new basket of radishes, then looked up and asked Qi Kai: “Where do you get these vegetables from? Isn’t the wholesale vegetable market closed?”

Qi Kai replied according to what Shang Zhisheng had emphasized: “Ah, these are government-supplied goods.”

This was mainly to keep the secret of the freezer producing vegetables and prevent anyone from targeting it.

The man suddenly understood: “So it’s the supply of goods through a new transportation route… oh, I get it now, you must have worked hard! Bringing so many vegetables in.”

Qi Kai smiled: “Not hard at all.”

The man grunted in acknowledgment and continued packing vegetables.

Qi Kai watched the baskets emptying quickly, his face showing fear: “Are you really carrying all this by yourself?”

The man, too busy to look up, replied: “I’m the provincial weightlifting champion; carrying all this is nothing.”

Hearing this, Qi Kai’s eyes lit up, and he stretched out his hand to stop the man from continuing to load the vegetables, forcing the man to look up in confusion.

“Brother, would you be willing to join our Fifth Division? We are a civilian defense organization jointly established by the government. Right now, the armed forces in Ancheng haven’t returned, so the city’s safety is being ensured by us. I am a former soldier. Would you be interested in joining?” Qi Kai’s expression was earnest and sincere.

The man was stunned for a moment, probably not expecting to be offered a job while coming downstairs to buy vegetables.

After thinking for a while, he said, “I’ll join after I finish loading this bag of vegetables.”

Qi Kai cleared his throat twice and removed his hand: “Go ahead, take your time.”

The man quickly emptied another vegetable basket in front of him.

Then he raised his arm and weighed the vegetables: “That’s enough, I’ll come back to buy more when needed.”

Qi Kai weighed the vegetables one by one and told the total weight. The man immediately scanned the code to pay.

When he was about to take the vegetables and leave, the man suddenly paused and asked, “Does the Fifth Division cover the southern district? Just this area where we live?”

Qi Kai nodded: “Yes.”

The man decided quickly: “Give me an address, I’ll sign up tomorrow.”

Qi Kai: “Sure.”

The man turned and left, carrying several large, reinforced bags of vegetables. His arm muscles bulged.

Indeed, he must have trained, carrying such heavy loads without seeming to struggle.

.

Qi Kai sat down and exhaled deeply.

Not only was he selling vegetables, but he had also secured a recruit.

When he glanced at the now-empty vegetable baskets, he realized he had to go inside to get more.

There hadn’t been many customers yet, but they were buying fast. If long lines formed in the afternoon, there might not be enough baskets.

With that in mind, he quickly grabbed some baskets and went to the back kitchen to bring in the vegetables that Lin You had already sorted.

Tong Lan had finished giving Lin You a back rub and returned to the stove to continue cooking for the incoming customers.

However, her cooking skills were still a bit unstable.

When Qi Kai came over to check, she was cracking an egg—shell and all—onto the pancake.

“Tsk tsk, you…”

Qi Kai had just started to speak when Tong Lan cut him off with a single sentence: “Mind your own vegetables! Customers are here!”

Qi Kai hurried out with the baskets.

Tong Lan apologized to the customer and quickly remade the pancake.

As soon as he stepped outside, Qi Kai was stunned by the scene before him.

He knew customers were coming, but he hadn’t expected so many people.

They were all older folks, holding various carts and cloth bags, smiling brightly.

“Do you have more vegetables? Young man, these aren’t enough for us!” one of the elderly men said.

Qi Kai was a bit stunned but nodded: “We do, please wait…”

With that, he quickly turned and went back to the kitchen.

The elderly people were the ones that the earlier lady had called, and since they all knew each other, there was no chaotic scene.

They calmly picked up the vegetables near them, and once done, they waited for Qi Kai to bring more out.

“Ms. Wang said that the vegetables here are government-supplied and in abundant supply. We’ll just wait a little longer.”

“That’s right, if there’s a supply point for vegetables, it means the supply has returned to normal, no need to rush.”

“These vegetables seem fresh, the seedlings are still green, we can stock up for a while.”

The elderly folks chatted while emptying a few baskets of vegetables.

When Qi Kai came out again, he was shocked: …they’re really fast at loading the vegetables.

He had no choice but to put down the baskets he had just filled and go back inside to get more.