The next morning, Shen Tingzhou pushed fifty jin (25 kg) of tomatoes to the commune canteen. Director Wang personally inspected the goods and, seeing that the tomatoes were all plump and bright red, with not a single rotten one, immediately instructed the accountant to settle the payment—seven yuan and fifty cents. The heavy bill in Shen Tingzhou's hand made him feel particularly at ease. After leaving the canteen, he went to several restaurants, delivered the ordered tomatoes, and collected another five yuan or so. Combined with the money he had earned from selling fermented bean curd, he had almost saved enough to build his house.

Back in the village, Shen Tingzhou handed the money to Lin Wanqiu. Lin Wanqiu carefully put the money into the tin box, then took out some more and handed it to Aunt Li: "Aunt Li, thank you so much for your help these past few days. Take this money and buy some good food for the children." Aunt Li quickly declined: "No, no, we're neighbors, helping each other is what I should do, how can I accept money?" Lin Wanqiu smiled and stuffed the money into her hands: "Please take it, we'll need your help taking care of the greenhouse in the future."

In the days that followed, Lin Wanqiu's off-season tomatoes became a rarity in town. The cadres at the commune canteen all loved them and recommended them to county leaders; restaurants in town saw their business boom thanks to the fresh tomatoes; and some villagers even came specifically to Lin Wanqiu's house to buy some for their children to try. Lin Wanqiu and Shen Tingzhou decided to keep five jin (approximately 2.5 kg) of tomatoes each day and sell them to the villagers for two mao (0.2 yuan) per jin, satisfying everyone's needs without being too ostentatious.

That afternoon, Lin Wanqiu was picking ripe tomatoes in her spatial dimension when she suddenly heard someone calling her from outside the courtyard. She quickly went out to see who it was, and saw it was Secretary Zhou from the commune, accompanied by several cadres carrying briefcases, as if they were there for an inspection. Lin Wanqiu's heart tightened, and she quickly went to greet him: "Secretary Zhou, what brings you here?" Secretary Zhou smiled and said, "I heard that your family has grown off-season tomatoes, so I came to see you and also wanted to talk to you about whether you could promote this planting technique in the village and help everyone get rich together."

Lin Wanqiu's eyes lit up—this was exactly what she and Shen Tingzhou wanted to do! She quickly invited Secretary Zhou into the house and asked Shen Tingzhou to pick some tomatoes from his spatial storage so the cadres could try them. After tasting the tomatoes, Secretary Zhou praised them highly: "Wanqiu, you are truly a capable person! If we can promote off-season vegetable cultivation in the village, our Hongqi Production Brigade can become a model brigade of the commune, and everyone's life will be better in the future!"

Lin Wanqiu quickly said, "I only managed to get the seeds and planting techniques thanks to a distant relative. If the commune supports us, I'm willing to teach everyone the techniques so we can grow off-season vegetables together and make money together!" Secretary Zhou immediately nodded, "Great! The commune will definitely support us! We will allocate some funds to the village to help everyone build greenhouses and invite agricultural experts to provide guidance, so that everyone can eat fresh vegetables next winter and make money!"

After seeing off Secretary Zhou and the cadres, Lin Wanqiu and Shen Tingzhou exchanged a smile—they knew that this was not only an opportunity brought by tomatoes, but also the key to their family's survival in this era. Looking at the greenhouse in the yard and imagining the vibrant future of the village, Lin Wanqiu's heart was filled with anticipation—she believed that as long as the family worked together and with the support of their neighbors, they would surely be able to carve out their own niche in the 1960s and make their lives increasingly prosperous.