Chapter 28 Fruit Paradise

“My girl, Mama won’t come in. Here’s 1,000 yuan, keep it…”
“Your father and I… we’ve never been capable people. We’ve worked our whole lives and hardly saved any money…”
“This is the bride price from the Lu family, plus the money you and your second brother handed over to the family from that first month selling melons.”
“It’s all here. You need the money right now, so your father and I agreed — this money is for you to keep…”
“Take it. Whatever you want to do, go for it… Your dad and I will support you all the way…”

Li Shuzhen stuffed the money into Jiang Peiyu’s hands and turned to go back to her room.

Looking at the stack of cash in her hands, Jiang Peiyu felt both touched and a little sad. Family love didn’t need words — it was already overflowing in silence. Though she didn’t urgently need the money, she accepted it. She’d repay them double once she started earning more.

After paying for the property and getting all the legal documents in order, Jiang Peiyu and Jiang Yanwen divided the work: she handled the business license paperwork while he oversaw the shop renovation.

She drew a floor plan: the two storefronts would be connected; the left entrance would lead to the cashier counter, shelves would line the walls and fill the center space. A large light would hang in the center of the ceiling, with two freezers beside the cashier. The floor would be tiled in white, and the walls would be repainted.

They gave Grandpa Li three days to move out from the upstairs apartment.

In those few days, while they were busy renovating and handling business registration, they continued selling melons right in front of the shop. This doubled as advertising — they told customers the store would soon open and sell fresh fruit, and they were welcome to stop by, even if they didn’t buy anything.

A few regulars promised they’d definitely come to support the business on opening day.

After a week, everything was finally ready. Concerned about potential formaldehyde from renovations, Jiang Peiyu decided to let the space air out for a week before officially opening. That conveniently lined up with National Day on October 1st, giving them time to source stock.

Back home, Jiang Peiyu asked her parents to spread the word: their family would be buying a large amount of fresh, seasonal fruit. Those willing to sell to them should deliver their fruit to the Jiang home on the morning of September 29th for weighing.

She even created a set of purchasing guidelines. Fruits like lychees, mulberries, grapes, jujubes, longans, and peaches would be purchased at 0.2 yuan per jin (half a kilogram). Everything else would be 0.1 yuan per jin. The fruits had to be of good quality, taste great, and look nice — otherwise, they wouldn’t be accepted.

Once the news got out, the whole village buzzed with excitement. Those who had fruit at home rushed to confirm whether the info was real. Once they heard it was true, they couldn’t sit still. The purchase prices were nearly double what outside vendors paid.

Ever since the government relaxed its policies, many outside fruit merchants had come to purchase fruit from the villages. For common fruits like apples, pears, watermelons, and bananas, they paid just a few cents per jin. But the Jiangs were paying a full dime — 0.1 yuan per jin — which was a big increase. Of course, people were willing to sell to them. You’d be foolish not to make easy money.

Days were full and busy. During that time, Jiang Peiyu received another letter from Lu Huaijin. He wrote that he was being sent on a mission, with no set return date. He might not be able to come back for National Day and hoped she wouldn’t be angry or anxious. As soon as he returned, he’d come home to marry her.

Reading the letter, Jiang Peiyu was speechless. This man! Talking like she was desperate to marry him. Hmph. Since he was away on assignment and not even at his base, and she was very busy herself, she decided not to write him back. Let’s see who gets anxious first!

On the morning of the 29th, Jiang Peiyu had her eldest brother Jiang Yanshu help with weighing, while her sister-in-law Yang Xiaoyan handled logging and payments. Her father and second brother Jiang Yanwen transported the fruit to the store with the ox cart, and she took care of product displays.

On October 1st, the fruit shop officially opened. Jiang Peiyu named it “Fruit Paradise”, with every Saturday designated as Member Day. On Member Day, customers who spent at least 8.8 yuan would receive a free 1-jin fruit platter.

On the first day, she placed a sign outside announcing a grand opening discount from October 1st to 3rd — everything at 12% off (8.8 discount rate).

Many customers were drawn in by the discount and made purchases — business was better than expected. Jiang Peiyu handled weighing and payment, her sister-in-law washed and cut the fruit and prepared the platters, while her elder and second brothers took care of restocking and organizing goods.

Before this, nearby residents could only buy fruit at the farmers’ market or roadside stalls, and everything was sold by the jin. Jiang Peiyu’s store was something new: you could buy as much or as little as you wanted, and the price was the same as the market.

The shop had a wide variety of fruits — any seasonal fruit you wanted was there. You could get it washed, sliced, and plated. For the same amount of money, instead of buying just one kind of fruit, you could now enjoy three or four kinds. Same weight, but more variety, more choices — of course people wanted to buy from her.

Some customers didn’t eat much or wanted to sample different fruits without buying too much. Others wanted to host guests and needed a mixed selection — Fruit Paradise was the perfect option.

It was affordable, classy, and convenient.

The shop’s business model met customers’ needs: they could eat what they liked, spend less money, and enjoy flexibility in choosing. Naturally, the store became more and more popular.

Around 6:30 PM, before the movie started at the nearby cinema, many moviegoers came in. Jiang Peiyu, attractive, cheerful, and eloquent, stood outside the shop enthusiastically calling out:

“Come and have a look, folks! Grand opening! Everything at 12% off!”
“Fresh, top-quality fruit — take your time, pick what you like! Buy as much or as little as you want!”
“Hey brother, is that your girlfriend? You two look great together! Buy her some fruit to snack on during the movie!”
“Fruit Paradise — where you buy with confidence and eat with joy!”
“You just pay, I’ll do the washing, cutting, and plating — all ready to go!”
“Miss, are you here with your family to see a movie? You and your husband look so sweet together, and your child is adorable!”
“Mister, treat your wife to some fruit — much better than chewing on sunflower seeds!”

They stayed open until around 9:00 PM when the movie ended and the streets emptied. Only then did they close shop.

From 8:00 AM to 9:30 PM — 12.5 hours of non-stop work. But no one complained about being tired. Everyone was happy — they had made money.

That night, after washing up, the family sat in the second-floor living room to count the day’s earnings. After subtracting costs, they had made 286 yuan in net profit.

Everyone was thrilled — they had earned more in one day than the entire family used to make in a long time.

The shop had been started by Jiang Peiyu. Even though they were siblings, money matters needed to be handled clearly to avoid future arguments. Since her older brother, sister-in-law, and second brother had all worked hard these past days, she felt it was time to tell them her plan — to be fair and transparent moving forward.