34

The purchase price is too expensive…

Xiao Fengyun fell silent.

The purchase price was just a few cents, and they were selling it so expensively. On top of that, they were the only ones in the whole county who knew where to source the goods, and yet they were throwing away a solid golden opportunity…

Xiao Fengyun’s subordinates also looked speechless, their minds full of the thought: Is Zhang Ji out of his mind? A partner like this, such a good source, and he just killed the deal like this?

Old Zhang tentatively asked, “Is the boss of Zhang Ji from your village?”

Could it be because he relied on being from Lianhua Town, thinking he wouldn’t fear being cut off from supplies?

Yao Jiu shook her head: “No.”

Old Zhang was even more confused now. So they didn’t even have a fallback plan? They had just unilaterally torn up the agreement. And from the looks of it, it was done poorly. Considering what Yao Jiu had just insisted—that they couldn’t refuse any of the vegetables…

Xiao Fengyun’s subordinates exchanged glances and, without saying a word, all seemed to wonder if the sun had risen from the west today. How else could they possibly encounter such foolish competitors?

Yao Jiu thought for a moment and felt some things needed to be said upfront. Although the situation with Sun Qing wasn’t major, it had taught her a lesson: always keep things in her hands.

“I have one condition to add.”

Xiao Fengyun replied, “Go ahead.”

“I know you’ll need to package the vegetables we send. My request is that the packaging must state the origin of the vegetables. You don’t have to write Lianhua Town, but it should mention Yanxia Mountain.”

Xiao Fengyun paused for a moment. Yao Jiu’s request seemed simple, but it was clearly a statement of intent. If Huizhou couldn’t meet their terms, Lianhua Town’s vegetables might not have to rely solely on them for sales.

However, Xiao Fengyun quickly agreed after a brief hesitation. After all, if she could find Yanxia Mountain, any determined competitor could as well. Instead of hiding the truth and leaving a bad taste for the partner, it was better to collaborate openly, which would make the partnership last longer.

“However,” Xiao Fengyun added her own request, “I hope to have a greater variety of vegetables. I’m wondering if Huizhou can specify certain vegetable varieties? Don’t worry, we’ll do our research. They’ll definitely be suited to the local ecosystem.”

This condition wasn’t unreasonable, and Yao Jiu readily agreed. The villagers didn’t grow many varieties of vegetables anyway, and since they were now in this business, it wouldn’t hurt to diversify.

Both sides had shown their sincerity, and the details of the cooperation would be finalized by Huizhou. On a suitable day, a representative would come to the village to have the villagers sign a collective contract.

Xiao Fengyun arranged for the two drivers who had come with her today to go to Lianhua Town and deliver the vegetables picked today down the mountain.

Bo Chuan spoke up: “I’ll go back with them.”

He didn’t have anything urgent to attend to, he had only come along to ensure that Yao Jiu and Lin You didn’t miss any important opportunities. Bo Chuan returned to Lianhua Town with the two drivers, collecting all the vegetables picked that day.

Meanwhile, in Jingshui County, Zhang Ji was still unaware of what had happened.

Sun Qing proudly descended the mountain. As soon as he arrived at the store, he noticed there were a lot of customers lined up. When the familiar golden cup vehicle from Zhang Ji was seen, a few customers at the front of the line were thrilled.

“They’re here! They’re here!”

“Do you have tomatoes today? I already bought the beef, just waiting for your tomatoes!”

“Hehe, I bought some pork belly. My dad’s at home grinding the meat filling. Once I get the eggplants, I can make minced meat with eggplant.”

Sun Ling walked out from behind the counter, slightly impatient: “Move aside, hey, the vegetables should be unloaded first no matter what.”

A thin gold chain was around Sun Ling’s neck. She straightened her back and let the chain show: “Everyone, please line up properly, don’t crowd.”

“Old Zhang! Come out quickly and help Xiao Qing unload the goods!”

Zhang Ming responded and came out from the side door of the shop, immediately heading to the back of the truck to unload the vegetables.

Sun Qing cast a dark look at his sister and brother-in-law, noticing the gold necklace around his sister’s neck, his brother-in-law’s new sneakers, and the new electronic scale in the shop. The small speaker that his sister had always complained about was also gone…

Zhang Ming: “Hey? Xiao Qing, how come there are no vegetables today?”

The back of the golden cup vehicle was empty, not even the back seat was lowered.

Sun Qing lit a cigarette: “Not today, brother-in-law. My classmate said the delivery truck overturned on the road, so they’re taking the day off.”

Zhang Ming became a little anxious, seeing so many people lined up outside the shop. To suddenly say there were no vegetables at this time—how could they face the customers?

“Xiao Qing, not even onions or garlic today?”

Even some onions would have been fine, but there was nothing at all. How could they explain this?

Sun Qing remained silent, still smoking, but Sun Ling glared at her husband: “Look at you, what are you panicking for? It’s just one day without vegetables. What’s the big deal? Let them come back tomorrow.”

Recently, business had been going well for Sun Ling, and she was feeling quite smug. In her view, the best vegetables were only available at their shop. If customers didn’t like the small selection, they could go elsewhere!

She didn’t feel the need to pamper these customers at all.

Zhang Ming wanted to say something but swallowed his words. Sun Ling, feeling sorry for her younger brother, comforted him: “You’ve had a hard time running around today. Go home and rest, I’ll bring you some food later.”

Zhang Ming wanted to ask about the vegetables and how much money had been paid for the goods that didn’t come in, but his wife had already arranged everything and told her brother-in-law to drive off.

Once Sun Qing left, Sun Ling turned and went to explain the situation to the customers in line.

“What’s going on? I’ve been waiting this long, and there’s nothing!”

“Sigh, what bad luck. I took a day off and now I can’t even get anything good to eat.”

“Really unlucky, telling us this at this time.”

Once Sun Ling finished explaining, she didn’t try to calm anyone down and just returned to stand behind the counter.

Some people got upset at her attitude. They had planned to buy something quickly just to get by, but seeing how the shopkeeper didn’t seem at all apologetic, they simply left the line.

However, most people didn’t dwell on the small details and still bought something casually from the shop.

Of course, there were also those who were picky, grumbling for a while before becoming unsure.

“It’s already this late, what good vegetables can we still buy? How about eating something outside for lunch?”

“If you want to eat, you can go ahead, I’ll go to Huihe and see if they have any better eggplants.”

The speakers were Gao He’s parents.

Father Gao had gotten up early to buy some local pork, planning to make eggplant with pork for lunch. By this time, the filling was ready, and they were just waiting for the eggplants.

Mother Gao had recently gotten used to good food and felt that the vegetables outside didn’t taste as good anymore. Hearing her husband say that, she agreed to go to Huihe and check.

The vegetables at Huihe were expensive, but the quality was indeed good.

The two elderly people didn’t feel hot at all and took a taxi to Huihe Fresh. Many others like them were also there. As soon as Mother Gao entered, she sighed, “Still, the big supermarkets are so generous. They’ve turned on the air conditioning at this time.”

It was still chilly in the early mornings and evenings, but only around noon did the temperature rise. However, Huihe had generously turned on the air conditioning for the whole supermarket, making Father Gao and mother feel much more comfortable as they arrived.

Father Gao didn’t care about the air conditioning, he went straight to the vegetable counter, grabbing a staff member and asking where the eggplants were.

Seeing the rows of uniform-sized and evenly purple eggplants, Father Gao frowned, clearly dissatisfied.

The eggplants weren’t firm enough, and the soft ones meant they weren’t fresh…

Mother Gao said, “Stop being so picky. Just buy a couple and let’s go.”

Father Gao muttered, “I bought such good pork, and now I have to settle for these eggplants.”

Local pork wasn’t easy to come by these days. He had to rely on his daughter’s connections at the TV station to learn about a specialty shop that sold local pork. He got up before dawn, went to watch the pigs being slaughtered, and managed to grab the best cut of front leg meat.

Mother Gao sighed, “So what should we do then? Should we buy some dumpling wrappers and make dumplings instead?”

Just as she finished speaking, a Huihe staff member approached: “Hello, are you here for eggplants? I see you’ve been here for a while. Is there something you’re not satisfied with?”

Since Huihe Fresh targeted the high-end market, its staff was well-trained. Xiao Fengyun had even promised that if customers bought poor-quality vegetables or fruits, they could get a five-time compensation.

Mother Gao said, “Yes, we’re here for eggplants, but you don’t need to worry. He’s just being stubborn because he can’t find the ones he wants.”

The staff member kept smiling: “It’s fine, we try to meet our customers’ needs. Let me check if we have eggplants from other suppliers. I’ll bring them for you to take a look.”

Mother Gao responded, “No need, we’ll be leaving soon.”

“It’s okay, it won’t take long to ask. Please wait a moment.”

Mother Gao patted Father Gao on the shoulder: “Look at you, still acting like this at your age. Now we’re making it awkward for that young lady.”

Father Gao: … I just wanted to eat some eggplants, is that wrong?

The staff member came back shortly: “Hello, we don’t have any other batches of eggplants in stock right now… but we’ll be getting a new batch soon, probably in about ten minutes.”

Mother Gao: “Ten minutes…”

Father Gao: “It’s fine, we’ll wait.”

Since the store had air conditioning, he was determined to see if there were any eggplants that caught his eye today!

After about ten minutes, a delivery truck arrived. Huihe’s staff quickly cleared some space on the shelves and wrote up labels for the new stock.

“Yanxia Mountain Green Vegetables”

The price tags were also written up, and surprisingly, they weren’t expensive at all.

“Eggplants, 3.5 yuan per jin…”

Mother Gao remarked, “This is even cheaper than Zhang Ji’s.”

The prices at Zhang Ji had really been steep recently, and although both Gao’s parents had pensions, they still felt a bit reluctant to spend.

“Dear, what are you looking at? Are we buying them or not? If not, we’ll just go get dumpling wrappers…”

Father Gao, excited, picked up two eggplants: “Look! These eggplants, don’t they look just like Zhang Ji’s?”

Mother Gao was also surprised. Upon closer inspection, they really did look similar.

Huihe’s staff was still unloading the rest of the goods, and once the mizuna, cucumbers, and tomatoes were put on display, Father Gao and mother were immediately certain.

It was definitely the same!

Only Zhang Ji’s mizuna could be so fresh and vibrant!

Father Gao, happily holding two large eggplants, looked like he was holding a prized golden doll.

“I told you, hard work pays off! Come on, Dear, let’s go home and make eggplant with pork!”

Mother Gao swatted her husband’s hand away and asked the staff: “Do you have any purchase limits in your store?”

The staff smiled and replied, “No purchase limit today.”

Tomorrow might be a different story.

Mother Gao, commanding her husband like a general, said, “Get two jin of that, five jin of these cucumbers, and more tomatoes, a few more, for our daughter to take to her work…”

The two elderly people filled a shopping cart with vegetables, and when they went to pay, they found that it was much cheaper than Zhang Ji’s prices.

Father Gao said, “Hey, Dear, why do you think Zhang Ji’s vegetables ended up at Huihe? And why is the label ‘Yanxia Mountain’? Didn’t Zhang Ji say their vegetables came from the city?”

Mother Gao replied, “Who cares? I think Huihe is nice. They say what they mean, and their vegetables aren’t expensive… Let’s come early tomorrow and check it out.”

“Buying so much today, we’ll have enough for tomorrow.”

“You’re really silly. Don’t you want to see if Huihe is going to be selling these from now on, and not Zhang Ji? If Huihe really took over, it’s farther from home, so we’ll have to wake up earlier, or we won’t get any.”

“You’re absolutely right, Dear!”

“Alright, let’s go home! Let’s make eggplant with pork!”

Huihe quietly secured a new source of goods, but Xiao Fengyun didn’t let the staff publicly advertise that these were previously Zhang Ji’s goods. In Xiao Fengyun’s view, businesses that don’t know how to operate should avoid any association with their reputation, as it would only bring trouble.

However, even though Huihe didn’t say anything, the old foodies were quick to catch on. By evening, several of Huihe’s vegetables were sold out.

Of course, many people asked why the label said “Yanxia Mountain.”

The staff would reply that the vegetables were purchased from the mountain.

Some customers further questioned whether these came from Zhang Ji, but the staff simply smiled and said nothing.

“Our vegetables are from Yanxia Mountain, as for where Zhang Ji’s vegetables come from, how would we know?”

Naturally, Huihe’s cheaper prices compared to Zhang Ji made many more people question Zhang Ji’s pricing. Huihe, with its large store, had always been known for expensive vegetables, but even so, their prices were still cheaper than Zhang Ji’s…

Just how much had Zhang Ji raised their prices?

Sun Ling still didn’t know that her younger brother had already ruined their family’s good life. While doing the accounts in the evening, she cursed and complained that there were no special vegetables today, and some people simply came in and left without buying anything.

In the past, Sun Ling wouldn’t have felt upset about this. Seeing people come in without buying meant more foot traffic to the store, which wasn’t a bad thing.

But now, Sun Ling couldn’t stand it anymore, she found these people increasingly irritating.

“They should set up vegetable bundles in the store, with a few fixed items in each bundle, so people don’t just pick the best ones and leave the rest.”

Zhang Ming frowned, disagreeing strongly: “The prices in the store are already high enough. If we bundle them, customers will likely be unhappy.”

Sun Ling threw the calculator aside, placing her hands on her hips and arguing: “You’re too timid! That’s why our business never grows! Why should we care if customers are satisfied or not? Anyway, only Xiao Qing has the supply, so why can’t we do the same? If other stores have the ability, they should go find their own supply! Are they not trying to make money? It’s just that they don’t have the ability!”

Zhang Ming’s head was pounding: “This isn’t about money…”

“Then what is it about? Zhang Ming, we’ve finally got a good life, don’t drag me down!”

Sun Ling had made up her mind to bundle the vegetables and was just waiting for her brother to bring in the new stock.

But the next day, no vegetables arrived. The day after, still nothing…

On the fourth day, Sun Ling couldn’t take it anymore. Customers were asking every day, but today, hardly anyone came in to ask. It seemed like they had all silently accepted that there were no special vegetables at their store anymore.

“Xiao Qing, tell me, what’s really going on? Did something happen with your classmates? Or did you two have a falling out? If it’s really bad, we can send a gift to your classmates. Let your brother-in-law go with you to meet them, and we’ll make sure to offer them the proper benefits…”

Sun Qing’s eyes were bloodshot. He had listened to his dubious friends and thought he should stretch things out for at least three days, so he didn’t go up the mountain the next day, believing the other side would definitely call and apologize.

But after these few days, the other side hadn’t contacted him at all!

And last night, when he tried calling, the phone didn’t even connect.

Sun Qing had an instinctive feeling that something was wrong. Now he realized that the situation wasn’t just about him. In such a big Jingshui County, the other side didn’t seem to have only him as an option.

“Sis, give me five thousand more, and I’ll go buy some good liquor…”

Sun Qing felt that he couldn’t wait any longer. He decided to go up the mountain and talk things over with the other party again. Even if the price didn’t change, as long as the supply was still under his control, everything else could be negotiated.

Sun Ling, holding back the pain of parting with money, gave her brother the funds. After having enjoyed the days when she could earn thousands a day, the recent days of low income made her anxious.

Before the money could reach Sun Qing’s hands, it was knocked out of her hand by Zhang Ming.

Zhang Ming’s face was livid, pointing his finger at Sun Qing and shouting, “What have you done?! Explain yourself! Are those vegetables you brought from Lu City, or did you get them from Yanxia Mountain?!”

“Brother-in-law?”

“Don’t call me that!”

Zhang Ming was fuming, panting heavily in anger: “I don’t have a brother-in-law like you!”

Sun Ling asked, “What’s going on? Why are you suddenly yelling at Xiao Qing? Zhang Ming, don’t go too far…”

For the first time, Zhang Ming slapped away his wife’s hand that was pointing at him, enraged beyond control: “Your brother, your brother is an idiot! Do you know what he’s done? He took the money for buying goods and bought vegetables from the mountain! All that talk about middle school classmates, about special vegetables from Lu City—it’s all fake!”

Sun Ling instinctively glanced at her brother, and when she saw Sun Qing lowering his head in guilt, she forced herself to say, “What’s wrong with the vegetables from the mountain? It just shows that Xiao Qing is smart. Besides, the goods from the mountain are better, and we can lower the purchase price!”

Whether it’s a brother or sister, both of them were thinking in the same way—lower the price paid to the farmers in order to increase their own profit.

Zhang Ming yelled, “It’s too late!”

Zhang Ming’s face was dark: “Didn’t you ask your brother what he’s done? How capable is he? He went up the mountain and told the farmers that 60 cents per pound was too high and refused to buy! He directly sent the farmers’ goods to Huihe Fresh! Now, even if you go and offer to raise the price, they might not even want it!”

“What?!”

Sun Ling and Sun Qing both exclaimed in surprise at the same time.

Sun Ling’s shock came partly from Huihe and partly from the 60-cent purchase price. She knew her brother had taken money from the vegetable sales, but 60 cents was far off from the prices he had reported.

Sun Qing felt a wave of darkness before him.

Huihe Fresh?!

How did those old mountain farmers know to contact Huihe?!

What should he do now? Sun Qing felt lost, and instinctively looked at his sister.

Sun Ling couldn’t bring herself to say anything good about her brother anymore. Losing the supply source was a big deal, but her brother’s betrayal had also dealt her a huge blow.

“Xiao Qing, tell me, none of this is true, right?”

“How could you use 60-cent vegetables and lie to me saying they were over two yuan?”

“Your brother-in-law is wrong, just listen to me.”

Sun Qing didn’t know what to say. He instinctively wanted to lie, but he had lied so much that he didn’t know where to start fixing things.

“How could you do this?”

Sun Ling cried out in sorrow. She genuinely cared for Sun Qing and had always thought that he had some flaws but was still sincere with her. Who knew that she had been taken advantage of by her own brother, turning her into a fool!

Zhang Ming said, “What’s the point of asking him? I’ve warned him so many times before, but you always defended him. Fine, you go on protecting him, but I don’t think we can keep this shop going. Are you satisfied with how things are now?”

“Can’t keep going?” Sun Ling, tears streaming down her face, looked up at Zhang Ming.

Zhang Ming bitterly said, “I heard from a few small leaders at Huihe that they’ve talked to the suppliers, and the information has leaked. It won’t be long before everyone nearby knows we’ve been selling vegetables that cost 60 cents per pound for five or six yuan… we can’t stay here anymore.”

Their small shop relied on being familiar with the local area, and the longer they operated, the more popular it became. But after this, who would want to visit them?

Sun Ling cried aloud, feeling regret not only for indulging her brother but also for her own greed. The way she cried made Zhang Ming, who once felt pity for his wife, no longer feel the same.

Sun Qing was certainly not a good person, but his wife’s greed, constantly pushing up vegetable prices—was that normal?

He pointed outside and told Sun Qing, “Get out!”

Sun Qing could only leave, humiliated.

Zhang Ming collapsed into a chair, his face shadowed, which made his expression appear even more defeated.

He had cursed his brother-in-law and judged his wife, but didn’t he have any fault in this situation? He knew very well that his brother-in-law was unreliable, yet he kept him in the shop. He knew his wife was protective and greedy but kept letting it slide. As the head of the family, he hadn’t taken control when needed, but let things get out of hand, leading to this situation.

Zhang Ming bitterly said, “Let’s sell the shop. We’ll move to the next county. My uncle runs a restaurant there. I’ll go work as a handyman, and you can help with serving plates.”

He had realized that neither he nor his wife was cut out for doing business.

A few days later, the sign for Zhang Ji was taken down and replaced with that of a bun shop.

After signing an agreement with Huihe, the vegetables from Lianhua Village suddenly found a market, priced three times higher than the market rate, which was enough to make this remote mountain village buzz for a while.

As a large supermarket, Huihe had also employed some creative marketing and sales techniques, though not like Zhang Ji’s.

Xiao Fengyun first introduced membership cards, which tied the amount of vegetables a person could buy to their membership level. This undoubtedly attracted a group of wealthy customers who spent extravagantly at Huihe, eager to upgrade their membership to buy more vegetables. The vegetables from Yanxia Mountain were not expensive, but the limited purchase threshold made it tricky for many.

Besides the membership cards, Xiao Fengyun also introduced tasting events. Because the vegetables sold out quickly and only a few people could get them, Xiao Fengyun set up several stations in the afternoon, where the vegetables were cooked in various ways for tasting, which kept many customers coming back for more. Some people who didn’t know about the green vegetables from Yanxia Mountain became regular buyers after the tasting.

Yanxia Mountain even attracted people from the county to visit. Some mistakenly believed that all the vegetables from the mountain were of high quality and went early to the mountain market to buy them. Since Fangping Town had the biggest morning market, many even came in luxury cars.

In the end, it turned out that not all the vegetables were good, and many people still kept coming.

At this point, the vegetables didn’t matter much. It was purely because the morning market in Fangping Town was so appealing.

The lively atmosphere of the morning market was hard to find elsewhere in the area. People went to the mountain to stroll around, have breakfast, and spend a relaxing day fishing, then head down the mountain before it got dark. It was a very comfortable way to spend the day.

Lin You and Yao Jiu no longer needed to rush to the morning market to sell vegetables, but would sometimes come to buy some meat and necessities.

One day, the two of them arrived early to buy some duck eggs, as it was almost time for the ^[1]Dragon Boat Festival (端午节, Duānwǔ Jié) is a traditional Chinese holiday that falls on the 5th day of the 5th month of the lunar calendar, typically in June. It is one of the most important … Continue readingDragon Boat Festival, and it was time to pickle salty duck eggs.

Lin You bought duck eggs and a few already pickled salty duck eggs. For lunch, she made a dish of salted egg yolk baked chicken wings. She cut the marinated chicken wings open, fried them in oil, and after taking them out, added melted butter and cooked salted egg yolks, stirring until the yolk bubbled and turned golden and thick. Then, she tossed the wings in the pan until they were evenly coated, ready to serve.

The duck egg yolk coated the chicken wings evenly, with a golden, crispy outer layer. The salted egg yolk was not overly salty, and its rich, buttery flavor blended beautifully, making it delicious.

Lin You also made a plate of salted egg yolk shrimp, which was equally delicious.

After the meal, Lin You finally started her live stream.

This was also the first time she hung her biscuits in the live stream room.