She stared wide-eyed at the vegetables, her mouth agape enough to fit an egg.

"Oh my God! Is this...is this cucumber real?"

Her exclamation immediately drew the attention of those around her.

Soon, five or six people gathered around and started talking all at once.

"What month is it? Where are you going to get fresh cucumbers?"

"Look at those tomatoes, they're growing so well!"

"It couldn't have been shipped from the south, could it? That would be incredibly expensive!"

Seeing the crowd growing larger, Su Jianguo cleared his throat and spoke in a loud voice.

"Dear neighbors, our 'Su Ji Vegetable Shop' is grandly opening today! These are all locally grown, off-season vegetables—fresh, healthy, and available in limited quantities, first come, first served!"

The crowd immediately stirred, and more people gathered around.

A bespectacled man who looked like an official squeezed to the front, picked up a cucumber, and examined it closely.

"Comrade, is this really locally grown? Or was it transported from the south?"

"Absolutely true!"

Su Jianguo said proudly.

"These are greenhouse vegetables from our Sujiatun farm. They were picked just last night, so they're guaranteed to be fresh!"

"How much is it per pound?"

An older woman with curly hair asked impatiently.

Su Jianguo looked around and saw that there were already twenty or thirty people gathered, so he raised his voice.

"The normal price is one yuan per jin, but today we're having a grand opening sale! Everything is 20% off, only 80 cents per jin!"

"Eight cents?"

A gasp of surprise erupted from the crowd.

The curly-haired woman immediately started shouting.

"This is way too expensive! Cucumbers only cost two cents a pound in the summer!"

"that is!"

A man in overalls chimed in.

"Eighty cents is enough to buy four pounds of potatoes!"

The crowd began to stir, and some people shook their heads, preparing to leave.

Wang Xiulan looked at her husband nervously.

Su Yufen also stopped what she was doing and looked at her father with concern.

Su Jianguo remained calm and composed. He picked up a cucumber and spoke in a steady, powerful voice.

"Comrades, let me explain. It's true that cucumbers cost two cents a pound in the summer, but they're seasonal vegetables with high yields, so they're naturally cheap."

He paused, then pointed to the vegetables in the store.

"But these are off-season vegetables. Think about it, it's this month, and in a few days it will be frozen outside. How much effort does it take to grow these vegetables?"

The bespectacled official nodded.

"It really wasn't easy. Comrades, how did you manage to grow them?"

Seeing that someone was interested, Su Jianguo immediately seized the opportunity to explain.

“We built four greenhouses, each about an acre in size. To maintain the temperature in winter, we have to open and close the straw mats twice a day, and we also have to keep burning wood. We've invested over ten thousand yuan in these vegetables.”

"More than ten thousand?"

The crowd gasped in surprise again.

"you do not say!"

Su Jianjun interjected.

"The plastic sheeting for that greenhouse alone cost nearly four thousand yuan! Not to mention the coal we burn, the fertilizer we apply, and the water we use every day."

Su Jianguo continued.

"Moreover, off-season planting is very risky; a slight mistake can lead to total failure. We only succeeded after a long period of trial and error."

The discussions among the crowd gradually shifted direction.

"Now that you mention it, it's definitely not easy."

"Being able to eat fresh vegetables in winter makes spending a little more money worthwhile."

"They invested so much capital, they have to make it back eventually."

The curly-haired woman's attitude softened.

"Then...then give me two pounds of cucumbers, my grandson loves them."

"I want three pounds of tomatoes!"

The bespectacled official immediately spoke.

"Give me a bunch of chives!"

"Bok choy! I want bok choy!"

In the blink of an eye, the store was packed with people rushing to buy things.

Su Jianguo quickly tried to maintain order.

"Everyone, don't push, line up! Jianjun, weigh the cucumbers for this lady! Yufen, pack the tomatoes! Xiulan, collect the money!"

Wang Xiulan hurriedly accepted the money from the curly-haired woman, her fingers trembling slightly with nervousness.

Su Yufen deftly tied a bunch of chives with straw rope and handed it to the customer.

"Line up! Everyone line up!"

Su Jianjun shouted loudly, but the crowd was too excited to maintain order, and everyone was waving their banknotes with their arms outstretched.

Su Jianguo was sweating profusely as he collected money, gave change, and kept accounts, keeping himself extremely busy.

His abacus clicked away, and the banknotes and coins in his money box increased at a visible rate.

"Don't worry, don't worry, everyone will get a share!"

He shouted as he collected the money, his voice already somewhat hoarse.

An hour later, most of the vegetables in the shop had been sold.

The queues continued to form, with many people coming from other markets specifically because they had heard that fresh vegetables were available here.

"Have you heard? There are fresh cucumbers at Dongdan Market!"

"Really? It's already December!"

Why would I lie to you? My neighbor just bought two pounds of it!

Such conversations can be heard everywhere in the market.

The reputation of Su's Vegetable Shop spread far and wide, from one person to ten, and from ten to a hundred.

Su Jianguo wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked at the exciting scene before him, a smile involuntarily creeping onto his face.

He knew he had made the right bet.

The market for off-season vegetables was larger than he had imagined.

"Dad, the tomatoes are almost sold out!"

Su Yufen called out anxiously.

"There are less than twenty pounds of cucumbers left!"

Su Jianjun added.

Su Jianguo made a decisive decision.

"Limited supply! Maximum purchase of two jin per person, so that more people can enjoy our vegetables!"

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!