"Uncle, I've picked over 2,000 jin of pears. Do you think we should drive over now and take them to the market?"

"Wow, you picked them pretty fast! Who helped you? I was thinking of going later, because I thought you only picked about 1,000 jin, not enough for a truckload."

"Yu Hai went home at noon and picked more than a dozen trees for me in the afternoon."

"Yu Hai is back, that's great. He can stay home for a few days and help you harvest the pears. The weather forecast says it will rain in three days, so you don't have to worry about the pears getting wet and cracking. This year's pears will be safely harvested and won't be wasted."

As he spoke, my uncle walked into the yard and started the tricycle. "Old Guo, lift the scale and Chen Hong into the vehicle, lock the door, and help load and weigh the vehicle. More people will make it faster."

"Hey, what are you yelling for? I'm coming. It's so hot, I had to bring a water bottle. Why are you in such a hurry? I loaded the scale onto the truck at noon, didn't you see? All you do is make a fuss?"

Seeing the elderly couple bickering, Chen Hong kept laughing. Her aunt, seeing Chen Hong covering her mouth and laughing non-stop, also burst into laughter, saying, "Your uncle will never change his impatient nature. Not only is he impatient himself, but he also makes others dizzy with his impatience. We've been nagging him for so many years, but he still can't change. I don't think anyone can cure him in this lifetime."

"That's not necessarily true. I know one person who can do it."

"Who is it? I don't know him. Even his father, your cousin, couldn't outmaneuver him in his entire life."

"Haha, I'm sure you recognize this guy, it's your grandson Yiming!"

Auntie paused for a moment, then said, "You mean Yiming? I really can't argue with that, hahaha. You know, I don't know who Yiming got his personality from, but he's always been so steady and calm, like a little adult. You couldn't find anyone like him even if you went back three generations in the Wang family. Your uncle is so impatient, only his eldest grandson can handle him. Whenever Yiming comes back, your uncle follows him around like a shadow, doing whatever his grandson asks him to do, without ever showing any impatience, let alone getting anxious, angry, or throwing a tantrum."

"This is what the old saying goes: one thing subdues another, just like brine curdles tofu. These two, grandfather and grandson, are just naturally compatible!"

"That's true. Ever since Yiming came along, your brother Guoqing's status in the family has risen a lot. He rarely gets scolded by your uncle anymore."

"Without Yiming, my cousin doesn't get scolded as much anymore. Since he went to work in Jinan, got married, and had a child, my cousin has become very steady. He's like a completely different person from when I first met him."

"Yes, they've started families and can stand on their own now. People still need to go out and explore; staying at home won't help them grow or broaden their horizons. Look at all the people from the village who have gone out to work; they've all changed in the last few years."

Auntie Chen talked to Chen Hong as she got into the back of the tricycle, sat down, patted the side railing, and signaled her husband to start the vehicle. The tricycle sputtered and puffed out black smoke as it drove out of the yard, heading west along the village road to the hillside. It then turned around, stopped, and turned off the engine at the edge of Chen Hong's field.

Chen Hong helped her aunt unload the scale from the truck and set it up on a flat spot. "Auntie, don't go into the field. Just look at the scale here and record the number! It's only about 2,000 jin. Yu Hai and I will transport it over in a bit. Uncle, you can wait at the edge of the field and help spread the baskets out."

"Okay, with Yu Hai around, I can take it easy."

"Yu Hai, don't pick them yet. The truck is here. Let's load them into baskets and take them to the field."

"Okay, you put them all in the basket, I'll carry them out first."

After more than an hour of busy work, all the pears were loaded onto the truck. Today's harvest included two baskets weighing about 100 jin that Chen Hong pushed home, and 2,560 jin that were sent to the market. Yu Hai went with the truck to Rongcheng Fruit and Vegetable Market to help unload the pears.

It's about ten kilometers from Yujia Village to Rongcheng, and it takes less than twenty minutes to get there.

They are all regular customers. Chen Hong's family grows Laiyang pears, which are basically not grown in Rongcheng. Chen Hong takes good care of them, and the pears are uniform in size, look good, and taste and are very sweet. They are in high demand in the market. If Chen Hong were not too busy, she would not have to worry about selling them herself.

At 6:30, Uncle and Yu Hai returned home. "It's all thanks to you, Chen Hong, that you have such a strong will. Back then, you spent 1,000 yuan to buy seedlings. It was a bit expensive, but they sold well after they bore fruit, and the price was pretty good. You know, this year, the wholesale price of sand pears in our area is only 50-60 cents, and the retail price is only 1 yuan per jin. Your pears are selling for 3-4 yuan per jin and they're selling like hotcakes."

"Yes, it's all thanks to Chen Hong's insistence on buying saplings from Laiyang back then. Although it was more expensive and troublesome, the difference in sales after the fruit ripened was immediately apparent. You can't find them for five or six yuan a pound in the Jinan market. The higher price isn't the problem; the key is that you can't buy them. Most of the pears grown in Laiyang are exported, and the small portion is from the first year. Orders have already been placed, and you can hardly find them for retail in the market. Our family just doesn't have enough land, so we can't plant enough to increase the quantity. Otherwise, we could definitely sell them for a good price in the provincial capital and Beijing. Oh, we still need to set aside 200 pounds this year. We still need to visit some connections and give gifts."

Yu Hai took out a stack of money and handed it to Chen Hong, "Today's payment is calculated at two yuan per jin, totaling 5120 yuan."

Chen Hong took the money, pulled out two 100-yuan bills, and handed them to her uncle, saying, "Uncle, this is your shipping fee."

"You gave too much. 100 is fine. Yu Yang did all the moving today; I barely lifted a finger."

"Uncle, what are you saying? Yu Yang is just patching things up, helping you out. Isn't that how we've always done things? Why are you being so polite with us? Just put it away."

"Uncle, quickly put the money away,"

Turning to Chen Hong, he said, "The fruit shop asked us to pick more tomorrow. They sent over 2,000 jin of pears, but they don't have enough to sell."

"If it doesn't work, let's find two more people to help tomorrow. Let's try to pick all the pears within a day or two, otherwise it's going to rain the day after tomorrow and the day after. I won't argue with you about the money, I'll just take it. So, do you want to find someone to help yourself, or should I do it?"

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