CTF 0045

Maybe this year, luck had finally turned in the Xu family’s favour.

The next day, Xu Yin rode her electric bicycle to the train station to pick up a package. On her way, she ran into Instructor Yu and the farm manager, who had come in a tractor to find her. They said they had come to purchase her family’s watermelons.

This was a significant matter, so Xu Yin decided to turn back home. She would pick up the package later in the afternoon. 

Once she got home, she prepared tea and offered it to her guests.

“Sorry, there’s no one at home right now. My dad’s in the watermelon field, and my mom went to visit my grandmother.”

Her family would be starting their rice harvest tomorrow, and her mother had gone to ask her uncle for help. She was also bringing a few rice paddy fish to her grandmother’s house.

“No problem, telling you is just as good.”

The farm manager had been very busy these days; otherwise, he would have come yesterday. 

He got straight to the point.

“Your family’s watermelons, are they all of the same variety? Are they as good as the ones you delivered yesterday? If so, I’ll take them all. The payment might be a few days late but don’t worry, I’ll buy it at a higher price than the market price.

“I won’t hide it from you; I’m doing this as a favour for someone else. My classmate is into trying to optimise watermelon varieties. He initially wanted to use watermelons from our farm, but after he tested the sample ones, he said our farm’s watermelons didn’t meet his requirements. To be honest, that got me annoyed…

“Your watermelons, on the other hand, taste really good. I took half of one back yesterday and let him taste it. Even his critical taste buds gave it a thumbs-up. He said as long as the quality is as good as it was yesterday, he’ll take them all. He had planned to come and discuss it with you today, but he had an urgent matter in Haicheng that he needed to attend to this morning, so he asked me to handle this.”

early in the morning, he had something in Haicheng to attend to, so he asked me earnestly to handle this.”

With someone coming to their doorstep to collect the watermelons, the Xu family couldn’t have been happier. It saved them the trouble of having to borrow a tractor to transport and sell the watermelons elsewhere. 

They also didn’t discuss the price. It was certainly going to be higher than the market price, anyway. 

How much higher would depend on the assessment by experts from the Watermelon Variety Optimization Research Institute, but the Xu family was sure they wouldn’t be shortchanged. 

Xu Yin’s buyers were in a rush, so after the farm manager and her family reached an agreement, they wasted no time and got their business done. That very day, the farm manager went to the Xu family’s watermelon deal with his tractor. 

He was concerned that if he waited, others might snatch the watermelons away from him.

Basket after basket of watermelons was weighed. After their quantity was recorded, they were loaded onto the truck, all in one go. 

Except for the late-season watermelons that were planted after the rapeseed was harvested, the farm manager, on behalf of the research institute, bought almost all the others. They left only around a dozen that were not fully ripe for the Xu family to consume at a later date.

The Xu family received a down payment of 500 yuan for this batch of watermelons. 

To be frank, even if there were no follow-up payments, this amount greatly exceeded what Xu Yin’s parents had expected to earn from selling the watermelons. 

As such, they had no reason to worry. They were all smiles, enthusiastically helping pick and weigh the melons, keeping records, and thoroughly enjoying the busy work.

The villagers, seeing that the Xu family had earned 500 yuan from just two mu of watermelons, were more than envious. They wished they could approach Father Xu and ask, “Why is your family’s luck so good?” 

Last year, many families in the village had grown watermelons, but a heavy rainstorm during the ripening period affected the taste. As such, they couldn’t be sold at a high price.

Because of that, this year, not many of them were willing to plant watermelons again. Those who did plant them only did so in small quantities in their own plots, just enough for their own consumption. 

However, Father Xu used all three mu of his dryland at the foot of the mountain to plant watermelons. For this, he had been quietly ridiculed by others. 

Little did they know, they were the ones who had been foolish!

Now, seeing how well Father Xu’s watermelons were selling, they wondered if it was too late for them to follow his lead and plant watermelons.

“Guoshun’s family has become prosperous this year!”

“I heard it was Yinyin who had persuaded him to only plant rice and watermelons. It seems that top students really are different from other kids.”

“What will Uncle Guoshun plant next year? I’ll plant the same in my field!”

“Why wait until next year? You can start in the second half of this year. Uncle Guoshun has four mu of paddy fields; he’s still growing rice and rice paddy fish. I’ll follow his lead!”

“It’s a pity we didn’t have time to plant watermelons…”

“I actually think that the reason Uncle Guoshun’s watermelons sell well isn’t just because fewer people are planting them, but also because they taste good. Didn’t you notice?”

“Now that you mention it, it makes sense. My son was pestering me to buy a watermelon a few days ago. I got one from Uncle Guoshun, and it was indeed delicious. His watermelon was very sweet and very juicy.”

“Guoshun’s skill in growing watermelons is unmatched…”

Thanks to the high-priced sale of watermelons that he’d made, Father Xu had now established a firm reputation as a watermelon-growing expert for himself.

The villagers who had once made fun of him for planting so many watermelons, thinking he couldn’t sell them at a good price, now felt rather embarrassed.

With a smile on her face, Mother Xu sent off the farm representatives and then turned to Xu Yin, saying, “Oh my, these people didn’t leave us a single ripe one. They took them all! The few remaining are still unripe. Now, your uncle and the others will come to help us harvest the rice, and we won’t even be able to enjoy a watermelon…”

The villagers who hadn’t left yet: “…”

Would you look at her? She was showing off again!

Xu Yin thought, that although Mother Xu lacked formal education, she had a way with words, and could effortlessly use subtle expressions in her speech.

Due to the watermelon sale, Xu Yin was a day late in going to the train station to collect her package. 

The package contained many items—some were for her family, some for her grandmother’s house, and some were from her sister-in-law to deliver to her maternal family. 

There were also a few flawed pieces of fabric, as well as some extra wool and cashmere yarn, which were items she planned to resell.

After sorting everything out, Xu Yin took out the items for her sister-in-law’s maternal family and packed them into two large bamboo baskets tied to the back seat. 

Speaking of which, these baskets belonged to the Li family, so she should return them this time.

She also took out about three pounds of fresh lamb belly and a plucked duck from her system inventory.

In addition to helping her sister-in-law with these items, she also needed the Li family’s assistance in purchasing dried seafood to send to Tongcheng. 

She prepared a list for them, detailing the market prices in Tongcheng for common dried seafood items such as dried kelp.

As for how much they should buy at what price, she left it to the Li family to decide. It was a way for her to help them earn some extra income.

The Li family, upon hearing that the small dried seafood that hardly gained any attention locally was in high demand in Tongcheng, was delighted to take on the business. The dried seafood Xu Yin had brought had been sold out within a few days, and there was a significant profit margin between her purchase price and her retail price.

Xu Yin left the Li family with the address and phone number of the young couple that had approached her, as well as her older brother’s office phone number. She gave some instructions regarding the quality requirements for the dried seafood and then left their village.

While it was still daylight, she went directly to her grandmother’s house. 

She also gave her uncle’s family the address and phone number of that young couple. If the local dried goods market offered a purchase price far below the retail price in Tongcheng, and if her uncle was willing to go through the trouble, they could just send the goods to Tongcheng.

Before coming, she had made arrangements with her brother and sister-in-law, as well as the young couple who had a market stall. The things sent to Tongcheng would be sold by the young couple on her behalf, and her sister-in-law would send her the money that they paid for the goods.

With two additional side income projects successfully set up, Xu Yin felt relaxed. She tied the larger items, such as fabric, to the back of her electric bicycle. Two baskets, containing lamb spine and plucked duck, hung from the front of her electric bicycle.

She headed home. Then, she stewed lamb spine with some radish in a pot and red-cooked the duck. 

Tomorrow was the first day of rice harvesting, and she wanted to give her family a good meal to provide them with energy.