Gourd Farm Chapter 52
Translated by Etherna (ko-fi)
Chapter 52: Village Meeting
It seems that they are really emphasizing the importance of the greenhouses this time, even sending a university graduate to our village.
"I told you a few days ago to start working on it, but you hesitated. Look, my second greenhouse is almost finished."
"Yeah, you're right. Give me your phone number later. We have two more acres of land available on our side."
People in the square were chatting in groups of two or three, and Yang Feng found a quieter spot to sit down.
After a while, when most of the people had gathered, the village head, wearing his usual Zhongshan suit and a pair of reading glasses, came out from the village office.
"Everyone, please quiet down. Whose unruly kids are those? Tell them to come down and sit."
The village head glanced at the noisy crowd, and a group of unruly children were still hopping up and down on the steps.
...
"We've called everyone here today for two main reasons. First, as mentioned in the radio broadcast, a university graduate village official will be coming to our village tomorrow. Second, we'll discuss our village's appearance and future development direction."
Once the village head finished speaking, the previously quiet crowd started to get noisy again.
"Now, let's focus on the second matter. When you go back, make sure to clean up your doorstep and throw away any garbage. We don't want to leave a bad impression when the university graduate official visits our village for the first time."
The village head went on to explain several points, but in summary, the whole village needed to participate in a thorough clean-up.
After the meeting, several members of the village committee, along with a group of volunteers, went from house to house to oversee the cleanup. Even though Aunt Hua had retired, she couldn't stay away from such matters.
"Old Wang, please move your cows to the side. Look at the mess they've made with their dung."
"Old Zhang, I've told you several times to sell those useless scraps you have."
"Yang San, the grass in front of your house is taller than you. Can't you do something about it?"
Aunt Hua reached the doorstep of Yang San, an elderly bachelor. Except for a narrow path just wide enough for a person to walk through, the rest of the area was covered in weeds.
"Creak."
Yang San pushed open the door, clearly intoxicated.
"You should handle this yourselves. I don't have the time."
As Aunt Hua and her team approached Yang San, they were hit by a strong smell of alcohol, causing them to involuntarily step back a few paces.
"Aunt Hua, let us handle this," one of the village committee members spoke up.
Yang San used to be a relatively successful person in the village. He had built these five large tile-roofed houses, which were considered a luxury a few years ago. However, his life took a tragic turn when he had a motorcycle accident while drunk, resulting in the loss of his wife and son. Since then, Yang San had changed dramatically and turned to alcohol to drown his sorrows.
Aunt Hua didn't bother arguing with Yang San further; it was pointless. With the collective effort of the villagers of all ages, they managed to clean up the entire village in just over two hours. The village now looked much neater and tidier.
….
"Yang Feng, I've roughly calculated this side. Take a look."
As soon as they entered the greenhouse, Xia Ying handed over an estimate of the yield for the tomatoes in the second greenhouse.
Looking at the first batch, there were more than 6,000 catties ready for shipment, and judging by the fruiting rate, it seemed like reaching 20,000 catties wouldn't be a problem.
The normal yield of tomatoes per acre is around 20,000 to 26,000. I only planted half an acre myself, which means my yield doubled.
"Ding, ding, ding."
The alarm clock rang at 6:30 in the morning. The weather is different from summer; it's still not very bright at this hour.
The weather is getting colder, and getting out of bed is a struggle. If it weren't for the goal of buying a house and a car, I would really want to sleep for a few more days.
Yang Feng needed to deliver the goods early today. The vegetable vendor he contacted yesterday said they would come to inspect the produce today.
"Yang Feng, how about I go with you?"
Xia Ying and Yang Feng finished packing the goods and wiped the sweat from their foreheads.
"No need. In case the vegetable vendor comes early, it won't be good if no one's here."
Yang Feng tied the packed crates with ropes because there's a lot of produce, and it's hard to see what's behind them. The road ahead is not in great condition.
"Then drive carefully, and don't forget the bag of tomatoes in the back. I'll call you when the vendor arrives."
Upon delivering the goods to the restaurant, it was quite fortunate that there weren't many people in the kitchen today. Yang Feng noticed the head chef sitting with a list in hand.
"Chef Li, why did you personally come to inspect the goods today?"
Usually, when delivering goods, there's hardly anyone around. You might occasionally see someone when they're working.
"My assistant had a family emergency today, so I came to fill in."
"Yang Feng, where did you learn your vegetable skills? Checking your produce every day is the easiest job."
"I just figured things out on my own. I didn't have the opportunity to receive formal training."
"I've been a chef for so many years, and this is the first time I've seen such high-quality ingredients, both in terms of quality and taste."
"Chef Li, I have a new variety here. Would your restaurant like to give it a try?"
"A new variety?"
Chef Li put down his work and looked at Yang Feng with some interest.
Yang Feng took out some tomatoes he had prepared earlier from the truck. He didn't bring a lot this time, just enough to give each restaurant a taste.
"Oh, tomatoes?"
During this time, Chef Li had been infuriated by the tomatoes sent by Old Wang. The quality of the tomatoes was deteriorating day by day, and he wanted to switch suppliers, but he couldn't find a stable one. Every day, the chefs were complaining, and he was also troubled by this matter.
"I grew these myself, and they just became ripe for the market today, so I brought some for you to try."
Li Yi opened the bag and picked up a tomato to examine it.
"Not bad. Whether it's the size or color, it meets the standards. I just don't know how it tastes."
After saying that, he picked up a tomato, walked over to the sink, rinsed it under the tap, and wiped it before taking a bite.
"Splurt."
The tomato's flesh burst, juicy and succulent. Excess juice flowed from the corner of Li Yi's mouth. He sucked it up, and it was like water, filling his mouth with the tomato's juice.
"What's the price for these tomatoes?"
Looking at the tomato in his hand, which had excellent appearance and taste.
"These are six yuan per kilogram."
"So expensive?"
Although these tomatoes were good, they were two yuan more per kilogram compared to what Old Wang had been sending.
"No choice, you get what you pay for."
Li Yi took a pen and made a few marks in his notebook, hesitating for a few minutes before continuing, "Alright, go ahead and give me some to try."
With one hand holding the half-eaten tomato, he took out his phone and scrolled through his contacts, then dialed a number.
"Hello, Old Wang, you don't need to send tomatoes today. That's it."
"Hello?"
*Click, click, click...*
Old Wang on the other end of the phone was left bewildered. He had just managed to secure a higher price for his tomatoes from someone else this morning after a hard negotiation.
He thought to himself that it was almost the end of the month, and he could renegotiate the price then.
Seeing Li Yi take out his phone after just one bite, Yang Feng thought he might not have accepted the price.
"Yang Feng, how many of these tomatoes do you have left?"
Li Yi suddenly became excited and quickly grabbed the bag of tomatoes, looking as though he was afraid someone would snatch them away.
"This batch of tomatoes has just ripened; I haven't started selling them yet."
"That's good, that's good."
Li Yi muttered to himself on the side, his eyes darting around, as if he were calculating something.