After leaving the Yanjing Department Store, the three of them took a bus and got off at the Hufangqiao bus stop. They walked through Qian'er Hutong, turned a corner, and saw the large red sign with white lettering that read "Yong'an Department Store".

Li Guoqing asked Li Xiangdong, "Second Brother, didn't you just finish your talk with Manager Wan? Why are you at this department store again?"

Li Xiangjie tapped Li Guoqing on the head, "You idiot, Manager Wan only ordered 200,000 jin, who knows how many more he'll order later. Our brigade can produce 4 million jin of watermelons!"

Li Xiangdong nodded. It seemed that Guoqing wasn't as quick-witted as Li Xiangjie when it came to business.

I'll keep Li Guoqing by my side from now on; no one can compare to how much he cares for me.

As the three of them talked, they arrived at the entrance of Yong'an Department Store, where eight bright red characters were written on the white exterior wall: "Develop the economy and ensure supply".

Lifting the curtain, one is greeted by terrazzo floors, incandescent light bulbs, wooden shelves, glass counters, and a variety of enamel basins, aluminum lunch boxes, thermos flasks, sailor shirts, polyester fabric, canvas shoes, men's and women's leather shoes, cigarettes, alcohol, candy, tea, and more...

Yong'an Department Store was built to support a newly constructed residential area. Although it is not as famous as Yanjing Department Store, it still has a wide variety of goods and a large flow of people.

For nearby residents, everything from wedding supplies, fabric and clothing, and furniture to pots, pans, needles and thread, eggs, soy sauce and vinegar can be found at Yong'an Department Store.

Moreover, its customers are not only nearby residents, but also many large state-owned enterprises in the surrounding area, including Guangming Daily and 425 Hospital, which purchase office supplies from here.

Following the same procedure, this time the three were received by He Zhiguo from Yong'an Department Store, who was the section chief in charge of organizing the supply of goods.

He Zhiguo spoke with a thick Northeastern accent, constantly asking, "Where are you from? This watermelon is really something!"

Li Xiangdong asked, "Comrade He, are you from Northeast China?"

A slight smile appeared on He Zhiguo's lips. "Where? I'm from Yanjing, but I spent ten years in the countryside in Northeast China and only just came back this year."

Li Xiangdong understood perfectly; Northeastern dialect had such magic that it could turn people from all over the country with different accents into Northeastern speakers.

"You're saying the Yanjing City Department Store ordered 200,000 jin of watermelons?"

"Mmm~"

"Alright, I'll take 200,000 jin too. From now on, Yong'an Department Store will have all the rare items that their department store has! We'll ask for 1,000 jin tomorrow to test the waters!"

...

In a single day, Li Xiangdong secured sales contracts for 12,000 jin of cured meat and 400,000 jin of watermelon.

Li Xiangdong had Li Xiangjie and Li Guoqing each pick out a corduroy cotton coat, cotton trousers, and leather cotton shoes, and he also picked out gifts for his family.

The three of them didn't even get to eat the Peking duck they had been longing for, and rushed back to Lijiapo overnight by buying train tickets.

Manager Wan and He Zhiguo need watermelons tomorrow. Li Xiangdong has already called Director Yan from a public phone booth and asked him to inform Li Jin to pick the watermelons immediately.

However, he still needed to rush back to handle a lot of follow-up work.

...

The three arrived at Lijiapo at six o'clock the next morning.

Li Xiangdong put down his luggage and went to the east room. He saw Li Jiabao, Li Ping, and Li Yan lying sprawled on the kang (a heated brick bed), fast asleep.

Li Zhen carried firewood into the house and saw Li Xiangdong. She exclaimed in surprise, "When did you get back? Didn't you say you were going to be gone for two or three days?"

Li Xiangdong took the firewood from his fourth sister and put it on the ground. "Plans can't keep up with changes. They need watermelons and cured meat from Yanjing. We can't not come back!"

Li Zhen put firewood into the stove and lit a match. "My parents went to work in the fields early this morning. The shrimp ponds have all stopped operating, and the cannery has laid off half of its workers. Everyone is rushing to harvest corn."

Li Xiangdong took a big bite of an apple and said, "Once we have combine harvesters to harvest corn, we won't need so many people."

After chatting for a few minutes, Li Xiangdong went to wash up. He felt like he smelled terrible after being on the train for so long.

After Li Zhen finished cooking, Li Jin and Zhao Sufang went home, their feet and hands covered in mud.

Upon seeing Li Xiangdong sitting inside, Li Jin smiled broadly and asked, "Xiangdong's back?"

He now looks at his second son with increasing affection, his tone revealing undisguised doting.

Li Xiangdong used a gourd ladle to scoop a ladleful of hot water from the large pot into a washbasin, then added cold water. "Dad, Mom, wash your hands."

"Dad, Mom, have all the watermelons been picked?"

After washing her face, Zhao Sufang dried it with a towel. "We've picked them all, a total of two thousand catties of melons, and they're all on the field."

"That's good!"

Li Xiangdong planned to check the quality of the watermelons after dinner; the first batch absolutely could not have any unripe or rotten watermelons.

Zhao Sufang asked Li Xiangdong, "There are so many melons in the field, and I think they are almost ripe. We can't sell them all right away. It's already the Minor Snow solar term, and if it snows one day, all the melons in the field will be ruined."

Li Xiangdong had thought about this problem before. "Mom, the way we usually store radishes should be able to keep watermelons fresh for more than a month."

"If we still can't sell them by then, we'll make them into canned watermelons."

When Zhao Sufang heard about the new type of canned food, her eyes lit up. "Watermelon can be canned too?"

Li Xiangdong explained the process to her in detail, and Zhao Sufang lost all interest in anything else, focusing entirely on the canned watermelon.

"Dad, how's the corn harvest?"

It now appears that the cultivation of Qiongsu watermelons has been successful, and Li Xiangdong is now very concerned about the yield of "Pohong No. 1".

"Wow! Now one acre yields more than four acres used to!"

When talking about corn yield, Li Jin became even more animated.

After breakfast, Li Xiangdong strolled over to the watermelon patch and checked the quality of each watermelon.

Great-uncle Li Jinshan and Guo Yuxi's grandfather Guo Haiguang used to grow watermelons for landlords. This time, they led a group of people to remove the buds and keep the watermelons.

"Grandpa, Grandpa Guo, do you know how to keep watermelons fresh?"

Li Xiangdong wanted to know if they had any traditional folk remedies passed down through generations.

Li Jinshan and Guo Haiguang exchanged a glance and shook their heads. They had been thinking about this problem for a long time but hadn't come up with a solution.

"Watermelons can be stored for a month or two if the temperature is around 20 degrees Celsius."

"Xiangdong, could you sell all the watermelons within a month?"

Li Xiangdong squatted down shoulder to shoulder with the two of them. "A month is probably not enough. Besides, if we sell watermelons around the Chinese New Year, wouldn't the price be even higher?"

"There are still more than two months until the Chinese New Year!"

"They'll all be rotten by then and won't be edible."

Li Xiangdong casually picked up a twig and scratched it on the ground. "I found a method in a book that can help watermelons survive the winter. Let me tell you about it."