Gourd Farm Chapter 11
Translated by Etherna (ko-fi)
Chapter 11: Preliminary Plan for the Greenhouse
These days, Yang Feng has been feeling depressed due to the continuous rain. Sitting around all day without doing anything is not an option, so he started thinking about what to plant on his two-acre land. Other people's lands have already been planted with various crops, and time is running out.
After much deliberation, he decided not to plant the usual crops such as corn or peanuts because they have a long growth cycle. Although he could use the help of gourds, he was worried that it might cause unnecessary trouble if he goes overboard with it.
Finally, he decided to build a greenhouse. This way, he could grow more varieties of crops, and since the greenhouse is sealed, outsiders would not be able to enter easily. Using gourd water would also be more convenient.
However, building a greenhouse requires a lot of money, and just one greenhouse costs several thousand yuan. He calculated that he would need to build at least five or six greenhouses on his two-acre land.
Although he earned some money from selling his goods these past few days, it was not enough to cover the cost of building a greenhouse.
Let's take it step by step. Yang Feng decided to stop hesitating and start with constructing the first steel frame. He planned to finish setting up his stall today and then visit the steel frame supplier.
It has been raining continuously for the past few days, but today the weather cleared up, and the sun was shining.
He got up early to prepare the strawberries and other produce. After the rain and the added moisture from the gourd water, the small phoenix peppers or "fengxiang pepper" have started to bloom, and the melon vines have covered the vegetable garden. He estimated that they could be sold in about ten days.
Yang Feng rode his bike to his usual spot and began unloading and setting up his stall. He sat down and glanced at the girl selling watermelons next to him.
Coincidentally, she also looked over and they smiled at each other, acknowledging each other's presence.
The two of them had been setting a stall together in the same area for some time already, but they had never spoken more than three sentences to each other.
Although the two were more than ten meters apart, just from the shallow smile, one could faintly see two dimples, the smile was so sweet.
Although Yang Feng had not had much intimate contact with the Watermelon Girl, every time he saw her, he had a feeling that even if life was tough, everything seemed sweet around her.
After the rain came sunshine, the street was bustling with pedestrians, and Yang Feng's business was doing well. In just over ten minutes, he had already sold over fifty yuan.
Having a steady source of income made Yang Feng feel more at ease. These past few days had been quite frustrating for him.
Today, there were quite a few cars and people coming and going. After being cooped up indoors due to the thunderstorm, everyone seemed to be out and about, enjoying the fresh air.
"Boss, how much are these strawberries?"
A girl with a ponytail rode up on her electric bike and stopped in front of Yang Feng's stall. Her eyes were fixed on the large, red strawberries.
"Strawberries for 50 yuan per catty."
As the peak season for strawberries has passed, the supply of strawberries has decreased, causing the prices to rise slightly.
"Boss, can you give me a discount? This is too expensive."
Yang Feng explained, "Miss, take a look at my strawberries, they are different from others. This price is not expensive."
"Boss, just give me a little discount, if they taste good, I'll bring my colleagues over to buy some."
Yang Feng thought for a moment, "Okay, I'll give you a discount of two yuan per catty. But if they're delicious, remember to come back and buy some more."
Since he grew these strawberries himself, and they weren't purchased from the market, the profit margin didn't matter as much. What mattered more was having return customers.
To his surprise, his first customer of the day was already a returning customer who didn't even haggle over the price.
"Okay, then weigh me 50 yuan worth of strawberries."
"Sure thing."
For convenience, Yang Feng had already divided the strawberries into plastic containers, with one container equaling one catty, so he didn't have to worry about people taking more than they paid for.
At this point, three or four people had gathered around the stall, some buying vegetables and chili powder, while others were buying strawberries.
Although Yang Feng had been running the stall for a while now, it still felt like a battlefield when a group of people crowded around the stall all at once.
"If you want some strawberries, just pick whichever container you like. They're all the same quality, and there are no defective ones."
"Boss, can I have a bag? I've been waiting for ages."
"Please give me my change soon. I gave you a fifty, and I'm in a hurry."
...
"Okay, okay, everyone calm down, one at a time please."
In just a moment, Yang Feng was kept busy attending to all the customers.
"Make way, be careful not to step on anyone!"
The already noisy little stall was suddenly quieted by this sudden outburst.
Yang Feng looked up and saw that it was the fat boss of the steamed bun shop, riding his tricycle and carrying a snakeskin bag as he squeezed his way towards the stall.
"What are you doing? Don't you have any manners?"
"Yeah, how can you be so impatient and not follow the order?"
"Are you blind? You stepped on my foot!"
The crowd, which had just quieted down for a few seconds, was now even more noisy than before, all because of the fat owner.
"I'm sorry, everyone, I got a little too excited because of an urgent matter."
The fat boss has been coming to this roadside every day for the past few days, making three trips each time, but he always left disappointed.
Today, he didn't have much hope either, he just came to try his luck.
Unexpectedly, on only his second trip today, he saw Yang Feng setting up a stall here. How could he not be excited?
Leaving his steamed bun shop to his employee, he rushed over with a snakeskin bag. He was afraid that if he came too late, all the food would be sold out.
"Brother, you finally showed up. If you don't come again, I'll have to post a missing person notice."
Looking at the fat boss's sad face, he almost cried while speaking. He already had small eyes, and now they were almost invisible due to his excitement.
Yang Feng couldn't help but chuckle.
"Um, I’ll buy all your vegetables, please don't sell any more."
The fat boss directly waved a few new hundred yuan bills.
Seeing the vegetables in other people's bags, the fat boss regretted not coming earlier.
"Why? Just because you have money, you think you're better than us?"
"Yeah, don't act like you're too good for us just because you have a little money."
Several customers who were still picking vegetables said reluctantly.
At this point, Yang Feng could understand the fat boss's feelings, but he also couldn't afford to offend these customers. They were all residents in the area, and he relied on them to help his business in the future.
"Fat boss, don't worry. I brought a lot today. You can wait for them to finish weighing, and I won't sell to anyone else after that. I'll save them all for you. Is that okay?"
Seeing the current situation and the public’s outrage, Fat boss could only agree.
"Just buy enough for today. Don't buy too much. This stuff won't keep for long."
Fat boss couldn't stop the customers from buying, so he tried to find a way to get them to buy as little as possible.
As soon as he said that, the customers who were planning to buy a catty ended up buying two catties, making the Fat boss nervous and confused.
