Li Xiangdong put his luggage on the ground, unzipped it, revealing a small blue quilt with red flowers. He carefully pulled the quilt aside and took out a dark green watermelon the size of a soccer ball.

The sales clerk's eyes widened. "Watermelon?! Just picked?"

The watermelon was bright green and fresh, with two leaves on top.

"How can there be freshly ripe watermelons now?"

Li Xiangdong tapped the watermelon with his index finger, producing a crisp sound, indicating that the watermelon was ripe. "Comrade, could I meet with your purchasing manager? I'd like to discuss the supply of watermelons for the winter."

Soon, the sales clerk took Li Xiangdong and the other two to the manager's office and explained the whole story.

The purchasing manager, surnamed Wan, was a shrewd and capable middle-aged woman in her forties with short, ear-length hair.

Manager Wan first tapped the watermelon with interest and asked Li Xiangdong, "Can we cut it open and take a look?"

Li Xiangdong nodded, "Please feel free to do as you please."

The salesperson brought over a fruit knife, cut open the watermelon, and the abundant juice flowed out. A few watermelon seeds were embedded in the bright red watermelon flesh, and a fresh smell unique to summer wafted over.

The sales clerk cut a slice and handed it to Manager Wan. Manager Wan quickly finished it and took out a handkerchief to wipe the watermelon juice off her fingers. "The flesh is bright red and juicy, with a sweet and refreshing taste. What a great watermelon!"

She sat back down in her seat, her expression softening as she looked at Li Xiangdong and the others. "Where are you from?"

Li Xiangdong said, "We are from Huichuan County, Dongfang City, Zhao Province."

"oh?"

Manager Wan was stunned for a moment. He was actually from the North?

However, his fluent Mandarin does not sound like a southern accent.

However, as far as she knows, watermelons are currently only grown in Hainan Island and Guangxi Province.

"That's because I'm ignorant. Do we still have fresh watermelons in the north at this time of year?"

"This is the latest watermelon variety developed in Qin Province, called Qiongsu."

"The Qiongsu variety is very cold-resistant and matures in late autumn and early winter."

Manager Wan nodded. How come the staff who went to Qin Province to purchase local specialties didn't know about this situation?

Li Xiangdong noticed Manager Wan's confusion. "Manager Wan, Qin Province has not promoted Qiongsu watermelons on a large scale. It is estimated that Lijiapo is the only place in the country where Qiongsu watermelons are grown on a large scale!"

So that explains why the officials from Zhao Province and Qin Province didn't mention the Qiongsu watermelon.

She wasn't one to beat around the bush; she went straight to the point: "How much do you produce? How much do you plan to sell it for per pound?"

Li Xiangdong stated the price he had already decided on: "We have planted 1,000 mu of land, with a yield of about 4,000 jin per mu. We can start supplying now, and it will last for about two months. If you don't need us to deliver to Beijing, it will be 50 cents per jin."

Manager Wan was taking notes in his notebook with a pen. Lijiapo could produce a total of four million catties of watermelons.

The Lunar New Year is just over two months away, and watermelons will definitely sell well then.

The main problem is that no one has ever sold fresh watermelons in the dead of winter when it's snowing heavily...

"We don't need your delivery. We have our own trucks to pick up watermelons from your brigade. I'll tentatively order 200,000 jin (100 tons) first. Starting tomorrow, pick 1,000 jin (500 tons) of watermelons for me. After that, we'll go every three days. The truck driver will tell you how much I need."

Manager Wan speaks like beans popping out of a bamboo tube, crisp and clear.

Li Xiangjie and Li Guoqing were both dumbfounded. This... this deal was done?

"But I have one condition: the melons you pick for me must be of high quality and quantity. If there are any problems, you will be fined."

Li Xiangdong nodded in agreement, "I have confidence in the quality of the watermelons from our brigade."

"Also, 50 cents a pound is too expensive, 30 cents a pound is better."

When Manager Wan cut the price by two-fifths, Li Xiangdong wasn't in a hurry. Instead, he changed the subject, "Manager Wan, you must know about our Huichuan peaches, right?"

Manager Wan replied succinctly, "I know."

Huichuan peaches are famous throughout China for their large size, beautiful color, rich aroma, thin skin, delicate flesh, juiciness, and sweet taste.

"You probably don't know that the production area of ​​Huichuan peaches is right next to our village, in Panjiazhuang Brigade."

"We locals can't afford Huichuan peaches; they're all bought up by the city. The purchase price at the time was four cents a pound."

"Think about it, in the summer when there are so many fruits, peaches from Huichuan can sell for 40 cents. In the dead of winter, you're only offering 30 cents a pound for fresh watermelons. That's not fair, is it?"

Manager Wan remained completely unmoved. "Huichuan peaches are so expensive because only peaches grown in that specific region are called Huichuan peaches. Your watermelon isn't!"

Li Xiangdong said, "But right now, I'm the only one in the north that sells watermelons! Watermelons from Guangxi Province and Hainan Island, considering the losses and transportation costs, probably wouldn't even cost seven cents a pound!"

Manager Wan smiled slightly, "Then I'll give you forty cents, that's all I can give you."

Li Xiangdong, having achieved his desired outcome, readily agreed.

"Manager Wan, we have some more items. Would you like them?"

"Oh? Let me see it."

She was curious to see what other novel ideas Li Xiangdong had up his sleeve.

Li Xiangdong took a neatly packaged rectangular box from the bag Li Guoqing was carrying and placed it in front of Manager Wan.

"Manager Wan, this is a specialty of western Sichuan: cured pork leg."

Manager Wan first smelled a refreshing fragrance, and then his eyes were drawn to the bright golden color of the flesh.

"Cured pork? Smoked with cypress branches?"

Cured meat smoked with cypress branches is resistant to mosquitoes and flies in the summer, does not spoil even during the hottest days of summer, and retains its aroma for a long time without going bad. It is a unique local delicacy.

Li Xiangdong gave a thumbs up, "You're a real expert! Besides cypress branches, there are also bamboo leaves and wild pomelo peels."

"This thing is nothing special!"

They can purchase a lot of cured meat from western Sichuan every year.

"Manager Fang, cured meat is not unusual, but it's rare to see one processed with such meticulous care and of such high quality, isn't it?"

How many do you have?

"Currently, there are 2,000 jin in Huichuan County, and another 10,000 jin will follow, all of which are of this quality."

"Okay, seven cents a pound! I'll take them all."

Li Xiangdong shook his head, "Fresh pork sells for seven or eight mao a jin outside! The price you're offering is too low."

Manager Fang looked at the handsome young man and said, "I didn't expect you to be so good at bargaining at such a young age."

"The whole brigade relies on this little bit of food to eat! You don't know, this year there was heavy rain in our hometown, and the wheat was all flooded."

As he spoke, Li Xiangdong let out a long sigh.

She had heard about this, and Manager Fang became serious. "How are the villagers? Are they still able to eat their fill?"

Li Xiangdong hurriedly said, "Thanks to Secretary Liu of the County Party Committee for the timely disaster relief, at least we have something to eat."

Manager Fang pondered for a while, made two more phone calls, and finally made the final decision.

"We'll buy your cured meat at our highest standard price, one yuan per kilogram. We'll bring it all back when the truck carrying watermelons arrives."