Gourd Farm Chapter 6
Translated by Etherna (ko-fi)
Chapter 6: New Products Launch
Yang Feng is considering what price would be more appropriate to sell this vegetable.
During this season, normal Shanghai greens only cost around 3-4 yuan per catty. Although his greens are of better quality, he can't sell them too expensively as the consumption level in the town is not very high.
"Hey, young man, how much are you selling this vegetable for?"
While he was thinking, an old lady with a small cart came over and asked.
Yang Feng quickly replied, "The greens are five yuan per catty, if you buy more, I can give you a discount."
"Five yuan? Why don't you just rob us?"
Before Yang Feng could explain, the old lady picked up her bag and walked away, muttering something under her breath.
"Is my price too high?" Yang Feng began to hesitate. In the countryside, this price is considered overpriced. Moreover, others don't know the quality of his greens and it's not like strawberries, which people can taste before buying.
"Hey, honey, these vegetables look pretty good. They seem quite fresh."
A couple walked over, holding hands, and looked at the greens as they spoke.
"They look okay."
"We've been eating a lot of meat these past few days. Look, I'm starting to gain weight."
"Hey, young man, how much are you selling these vegetables for?"
"Five yuan per catty."
Yang Feng was about to explain that these vegetables were different, but before he could speak, the man said, "Oh, that's quite cheap. Give me two catties!"
"Quite cheap?"
Yang Feng was now confused. Just a moment ago, an old lady had said it was too expensive, and now this man was saying it was too cheap.
Without thinking too much, he quickly weighed out two catties and put them in a bag. Despite the high price of the greens, they were light and fluffy, and two catties of greens filled up a large bag.
He sold a few more greens intermittently, but they weren't selling too well. He didn't have too much to begin with, so he decided to just sell a bit to test the waters.
It was almost noon, and he had only made 85 yuan so far. He still had about five or six catties of greens in front of him.
The sun was getting hotter and the previously vibrant greens were starting to dry out. Luckily, he had filled up a plastic bottle with water earlier in the morning and was able to sprinkle some on the greens from time to time to keep them fresh.
He was packing up and getting ready to go back when a middle-aged man with a fat head and big ears, wearing a long apron, rode past on an electric bike and stopped when he saw Yang Feng's stall.
"How much for the vegetables?" he asked, picking up a vegetable and taking a bite.
Judging from his actions, he seemed to know his vegetables, so Yang Feng replied, "Five yuan."
After thinking about it, the middle-aged man said, "Your vegetables are good, but can you make them any cheaper?"
From his expression, Yang Feng could tell that he was satisfied with the vegetables, but he was probably an old hand at buying vegetables and was trying to haggle.
"How much do you want?"
"If the price is cheaper, I'll keep them all."
Yang Feng immediately perked up at the idea of selling more.
"If you don't mind the selection, I can give you a discount of 50 cents per catty."
The middle-aged man was quite decisive and said, "Okay, pack it all up for me."
"Forget it, I'll even give you the bag, so it's easier for you to carry."
"Six and a half catties in total, that'll be 29 yuan."
"Okay."
The middle-aged man paid and carried the bag away.
Yang Feng packed up his things and prepared to go back.
He had eaten a piece of flatbread in the morning to come early to set up his stall, but now he was so hungry that he felt like his front chest was stuck to his back.
As he rode his bike to the small shop, he suddenly realized that there were no vegetables at home either.
The weather was too hot, and he had no appetite, so even if he bought too many vegetables, he couldn't keep them fresh.
He decided to buy an ice cream bar from the small shop first, as standing by his stall for a long time had made him thirsty and parched already.
"Oh, Xiao Feng, you're here."
The owner of the small shop greeted him politely.
"Yeah, I just came back from my stall."
"I heard from the villagers a few days ago that they saw you setting up a stall by the road in town, and I didn't believe it." Yang Feng asked
"What's there to not believe? It's just a matter of being self-reliant."
"That's true. Speaking of which, that person named Ma, what was his full name again?"
"Jack Ma."
"Right, Jack Ma. He also set up a stall before he became rich."
Note: Jack Ma - the co-founder of Alibaba Group.
He didn't know what to eat today, but the cold noodles looked good.
"Boss, can you give me a piece of cold noodles and remember to add more garlic sauce, and also get me a bottle of cold beer."
"Sure thing."
After greeting the owner, Yang Feng walked out of the small shop with a bowl of cold noodles in his hand. As he walked, a motorcycle suddenly blocked the entrance of the shop, and it was Li Qiang, a second-rate troublemaker in the village.
Yang Feng instinctively stepped back, and if he hadn't reacted quickly, the motorcycle wheel would have run over his foot.
“Don’t you have eyes? How do you even ride a bike?”
"Oh, it's Yang Feng, didn't you go to work in the big city? Can't make it there?" Li Qiang's face was full of disdain. He revealed a big yellow tooth as he spoke, and there were some chili flakes stuck to it, making it hard to distinguish whether it was a tooth or chili flakes.
"I can't make it, can you help me find a way?" Yang Feng retorted.
"That's definitely not a problem, my internet café on the street just opened. Why don't you come and be the network manager for me?"
"You've got to be kidding me. Your place isn't even a real internet café. There are only five computers, and one of them is broken," Yang Feng remembered that a couple of years ago when he left his hometown, Li Qiang was running an internet café on the street, cheating elementary school students.
"Can't you speak nicely? The scale is much bigger than two years ago. Now, in addition to the broken one, there are ten computers," Li Qiang was already in his thirties and was idle all day long. If it weren't for his family's money, he would have starved to death a long time ago.
"Forget it, your ambitions are too big," Yang Feng said.
"If you ask me, this is your problem. You're always setting your sights too high, but your skills are too low. It's because you're still young."
Yang Feng didn't have time to argue with him. This kind of street hoodlum had nothing better to do, and if you talked to him, you wouldn't finish chatting until evening.
…..
He went home, had a simple meal, and took a rest for a while.
With a shovel in hand, Yang Feng was ready to go to the vegetable garden to pick the remaining greens. The chili peppers had ripened as well. Together, there was enough to sell for two days. By the time the strawberries were ready to harvest, the greens would be gone.
Yang Feng worked all afternoon, finally finishing the greens. He took a cloth bag, picked them up, and rinsed them in the river for a better appearance. The chili peppers were easy to pick, just a quick pluck.
These chili peppers were huge and very long. Yang Feng weighed one and it was three liang. He wished he had planted more of these instead of the greens. They were more expensive and less troublesome.
With the land cleared, Yang Feng took a shovel and turned the soil over, then added some fertilizer and urea. This time, he was going to plant some special mini watermelons. He had gone to the supermarket to check them out. In this season, regular watermelons were priced between one and one and a half yuan.
The mini watermelons, on the other hand, were different. The cheapest were five to six yuan per jin. With his own gourd water to accelerate growth, the quality would surely be better. He shouldn't have a problem selling them for ten or eight yuan each.
Thinking about this, Yang Feng was full of energy. In no time, he had planted the watermelon seeds and covered them with a thin film.
