Gourd Farm Chapter 30
Translated by Etherna (ko-fi)
Chapter 30: Expanding the Scale
Looking back now, Yang Feng still felt a lingering sense of unease. This time, it came perilously close to ruining the greenhouse that he had worked so hard to set up. It seems like he'll need to be more cautious in the future.
Fortunately, things are mostly fine now on this side. Yang Feng had taken care of what needed to be fixed, and added a few extra support pillars in between to prevent rain from causing extensive flooding.
Looking at himself, covered head to toe in mud, Yang Feng needed to hurry back and change his clothes. Stopping for a moment, he still felt a bit chilly with the wet clothes sticking on to him.
Anyway, my clothes are already wet, so using an umbrella or not doesn't really matter.
Riding an electric scooter, Yang Feng hurried back home.
"Achoo!"
Just as he changed into clean clothes and poured a cup of hot water, Yang Feng couldn't help but sneeze.
It looks like he might be catching a cold.
With all the thunder and lightning outside, and after a busy morning, Yang Feng didn't feel like cooking. Luckily, he had a box of instant noodles at home.
Yang Feng turned on the TV, savoring the piping hot instant noodles, feeling incredibly comfortable. Whoever invented these instant noodles did a great service to millions of people.
"According to today's on-site reporter's report, the victims affected by this typhoon..."
Now, the news on TV is filled with reports of the disaster caused by the typhoon.
Many greenhouses have also fallen victim to the disaster. It's heartbreaking to see them on the verge of harvest, only to be destroyed in an instant, all that hard work going to waste.
Yang Feng never paid too much attention to this before, but it turns out there are significant risks in agriculture and farming as well.
Throughout the entire day, he was glued to various news reports and checked online forums where people were discussing the damage caused by the typhoon today.
In the blink of an eye, it was the next morning, and Yang Feng woke up early. Today was a beautiful and calm day.
As he looked at the scattered leaves and the uneven tree branches on the ground, it seemed like they were telling the story of how fierce the typhoon had been yesterday.
Yang Feng went to the greenhouse and delivered the cucumbers the restaurant had ordered. Today, he planned to go to the place that sold steel frame structures and buy two large greenhouse frames.
During this period of time, between selling fruit boxes at his stall and the money he had received from his friend, the chubby boss, Yang Feng had just enough to buy two greenhouse frames.
Now was the time to expand the operation. If Yang Feng continued with just one greenhouse, the production wouldn't be enough. Even one greenhouse would barely be sufficient for a small kitchen for the chain store.
When he arrived at the "Steel Frame Structures Shop," things went more smoothly this time.
Since Yang Feng had bought from them before, he discussed the specifications with the owner and arranged for the frames to be delivered in the afternoon.
Even though Yang Feng had almost become a "thousandaire" (someone with a thousand yuan), when he looked at his wallet now, there was less than three hundred yuan left.
"Ah, this money really isn't enough. I've been working tirelessly for months, and I'm still penniless."
Yang Feng had initially planned to buy just one greenhouse frame, but considering that the Chinese New Year was only a few months away, he knew that the prices of fresh produce would soar. Reluctantly, he clenched his teeth and decided to buy two frames at once.
Yang Feng always remembered that when it came to buying vegetables for the Chinese New Year, the prices would at least double, and some vegetables were even more expensive than meat.
With the greenhouse situation settled, he could finally focus on running his stall. These days, Yang Feng couldn't even sleep well because he kept thinking about it.
At his usual spot, Yang Feng spread out the plastic sheeting and neatly arranged the cucumbers. He skillfully watered them, making them appear more glossy and maintaining their freshness.
For the time being, there was no one around. Yang Feng glanced over to Xia Ying, who was sitting alone in her car, her head lowered as if lost in thought.
"Hey, why do you have so few goods today?" Yang Feng asked.
He walked up to her and saw that there were just a dozen watermelons in her truck, whereas it was usually filled to the brim.
"Oh, you're here," Xia Ying finally noticed Yang Feng’s presence.
"Yeah, why do you have so few goods today?" Yang Feng asked again, suspecting that Xia Ying might not have heard him the first time.
"Oh, we've sold out of watermelons from home, and this season is over," Xia Ying replied absentmindedly, as if she had something on her mind.
"Oh, I see," Yang Feng realized that he had forgotten the normal planting cycle. Right now, it was mostly the season for growing winter melons. Looking at the watermelons, they didn't seem very large, and their sizes were uneven.
"Boss, why is there no one here?" someone inquired.
"Someone's coming, someone's coming," Xia Ying replied.
Just as Yang Feng arrived and exchanged a few words with Xia Ying, a customer approached his stall and jogged over.
"Excuse me, what's the price of these cucumbers?" the customer asked.
"Oh, these are eight yuan per kilogram, crispy and refreshing," Yang Feng replied.
As soon as Yang Feng finished speaking, without even waiting for his response, the elderly man who had asked about the price rode away on his bike without looking back.
Yang Feng didn't mind; this was a common occurrence. The price might not be affordable for most people, given that chicken meat was only 7.5 yuan per kilogram.
*Ding ding ding.*
Just then, his phone rang, and Yang Feng noticed it was an unknown number.
"Hello?" He answered.
"Hello, I'm the one delivering the greenhouse structures. I'm heading towards your place now. When I get there, please come and pick up your order. We want to avoid any mix-up between the two deliveries."
"Okay, got it."
After hanging up, Yang Feng prepared to close my stall and head back home. Regardless of the situation, he needed to get the greenhouse set up these next couple of days.
Yang Feng rode my bike toward home, passing by Xia Ying's spot when she suddenly called out to me.
"Yang Feng, do you still have strawberries?"
"Yes, I do."
"Give me a box, and here's the money," Xia Ying said, handing me the payment.
"Sure, here you go."
"Thanks. Why are you heading back so early today?"
"I just bought two greenhouse structures, and I need to go pick them up now."
"Alright then."
I revved the throttle all the way and soon arrived under the old locust tree, parking my bike and waiting there.
"Xiaofeng, why aren't you setting up your stall today? How come you have time to sit around here?" asked a group of elderly women from the village, each holding a piece of clothing and sewing.
"Oh, I bought something and will have it delivered shortly. The driver doesn't know the place," Yang Feng replied, lifting his head to answer Aunt Biao's question.
"Look at you young folks, always buying random things online all day long, just wasting money," Aunt Biao scoffed.
"That's right, our daughter is the same, always buying stuff on her phone," another lady chimed in.
"You see, our poor child bought some massage chair game on his phone a few days ago, it cost over three hundred bucks, and his dad was so furious he broke his belt," added another lady.
Yang Feng found these elderly women truly fascinating; once they had a topic, they could talk endlessly about it.
"Xiaofeng, you work hard to earn money, but why don't you think about saving up to get married? You're not getting any younger," chimed in Aunt Hua.
"There's no rush to get married. I'll earn money first and then think about it," Yang Feng replied.
"Clack, clack, clack."
The group of elderly women chattered on, and in the distance, they could hear the sound of an engine approaching.
Yang Feng figured it must be the delivery truck, and it had been almost an hour.
Sure enough, as they were talking, a three-wheeled vehicle with a cabin arrived, towing a full load of steel frames under the old locust tree.
The driver of the vehicle rolled down the window, and after Yang Feng went up to confirm the delivery, he began towing the load home.
