Xu Qingzhi laughed and replied, "Then you might as well raise it yourself."

"That's different. What I grow is not tasty. Moreover, I can even kill the cacti I grow, let alone edible ones." Wen Shanshan said dejectedly.

She just felt that the vegetables and chickens and ducks outside did not taste so good, and the vegetables grown by Qingzhi and the chickens and ducks raised were different. It must be because Qingzhi put a lot of effort into raising them well.

"I'll raise it when I want to in the future." Xu Qingzhi looked at Wen Shanshan, his eyebrows curved, as if coaxing a child: "You, just be responsible for eating."

"Okay, I'll help you pick the vegetables and pack the express for you then."

"Okay." Xu Qingzhi responded.

Wen Shanshan became very skilled at picking beans and soon she had picked a whole basket.

"You can't carry it, let me do it." Xu Qingzhi picked up the full basket of beans, put it on the pile on the side, and brought her a new basket.

"Qingzhi, why are you so nice to me?" Wen Shanshan asked.

Xu Qingzhi paused in picking vegetables and looked at the girl's bright smiling face, as if he saw an old friend.

Those little sisters who always loved to chatter in her ears have all grown up. I wonder how they are doing now. Did they see the letter she sent with the paper crane? "Qingzhi." Wen Shanshan saw that she seemed to be thinking about something and called out.

Xu Qingzhi came back to his senses and said with a smile: "Because you are nice to me, and you are very cute." Who doesn't love a sweet girl.

Wen Shanshan blushed and said shyly, "Oh, Qingzhi, please stop praising me. I'm going to feel embarrassed."

Xu Qingzhi smiled and stopped teasing her.

"Keep picking vegetables."

Several aunts in the vegetable fields on the back mountain were picking vegetables and chatting animatedly.

"The vegetables are growing so well. I just ate a piece of lettuce. It tastes so sweet."

"Auntie Ma, these are vegetables that people grow to sell, don't mess with them."

"I'll just eat one piece, it's no big deal." Aunt Ma said disapprovingly.

Aunt Ma said seriously, "These are vegetables that they want to sell. If you do this, I will ask Yanmei not to invite you next time."

"Oh, no, I don't want to eat it." Aunt Ma was scared and said guiltily: "Please don't tell Yanmei, I just saw that the vegetables are growing so well and look delicious, so I want to try them. If they are delicious, I will buy some and take them back."

Another aunt had a good relationship with Wang Yanmei, and they would go up the mountain together every year to pick yellow gardenias and sell them for money. She said, "Picking vegetables is just picking vegetables. If you take the money from others, you should do your job well."

Aunt Ma curled her lips and changed the topic of gossip, saying, "Didn't you hear what Yanmei's second sister-in-law said? Yanmei came back to grow vegetables because she couldn't make it in the city. I wanted to try the vegetables Yanmei grew."

"Yan Mei's second sister-in-law is a chatterbox. She said some nasty things, such as Yan Mei's daughter was kept by a rich man and that the vegetables were sent to the rich family. Later, she said more and more outrageous things, saying that Yan Mei's daughter had an abortion to recuperate. Tell me, do you believe this?"

"I think if Miss Yanmei is really having an affair with a rich man, why is there no sign of that rich man? I pass by here and often see Miss Yanmei wandering around in the fields. She stays at home every day. It's obvious that the second sister-in-law is talking nonsense."

"I don't know if Yanmei can make it in the city, but I envy her for being able to come back to accompany her parents and grow vegetables to sell. But my two sons prefer to stay in the city and don't want to come back except during the Chinese New Year."

"Yes, my two children don't want to come back. My little grandson thinks there is no playground in the village and it's not fun."

"Yanmei has always been a good student. Many times when I came to play cards, she saw me while taking a walk in the evening. I didn't even notice her, but she called me aunt. She is a good and responsible child. I don't believe the nonsense that Yanmei's second sister-in-law said."

"I don't believe it either."

Aunt Ma, who was listening to Fu Guiying gossiping about Yanmei's daughter yesterday, is silent now.

She seemed... a little unconvinced.

She just came back to grow vegetables, and there are several handsome men and beautiful women around her. She doesn't look like someone being kept by a 60-year-old man.

After picking the vegetables, I started washing and packing them.

Auntie Ma looked at so many vegetables packed into beautiful boxes and exclaimed, "How many kilograms of vegetables are these?"

Wang Yanmei felt that there was nothing to hide, so she smiled and said, "Bring a little more if you add a thousand jin."

"Isn't it expensive to send this by express delivery? Can I make money? I can't even finish eating all the cabbages in my garden. If I can make money, I will also sell it online." Aunt Ma asked.

Xu Qingzhi looked at the aunt. He had said before they set out to pick vegetables that he wanted her to help sell the vegetables.

She was afraid that her mother would not be able to tell her, so she smiled and said, "Aunt, Jixian Express costs dozens of yuan each time, and the cabbages at the market usually cost one yuan a bunch."

Aunt Ma also understood and was afraid that she would lose money if she sold the cabbages.

She asked, "Then how do you sell your vegetables online?"

"Qingzhi's vegetables are delicious, so someone is willing to buy them." Wen Shanshan frowned and muttered, "None of the people who came to help pick vegetables before were as inquisitive as you."

Jiang Xiao had just finished watching the bayberries being loaded onto the truck and left. When he came back, he heard this and said sternly, "Who do you think you are? If you want to establish a relationship with someone, why don't you first check if you are qualified?"

"You little white face, what are you talking about!" Aunt Ma is a well-known street-swearer from the next door village.

Wang Yanmei didn't intend to call Aunt Ma today, but when she was calling others, Aunt Ma happened to be there, so they came together, and she didn't want to ask her to leave.

Now, the situation was very embarrassing.

The aunt who had a good relationship with Wang Yanmei pulled Aunt Ma's arm and said, "Okay, stop bullying the child."

After Xu Qingzhi finished packing the box of vegetables in his hand, he stood up and said to Wang Yanmei, "Mom, pay Aunt Ma's wages."

Wang Yanmei did whatever her daughter said and took out a fifty-yuan note and a ten-yuan note from her pocket and handed them over.

Aunt Ma wiped her hands on herself, took the money, and said with a smile: "Okay, Yanmei, next time you need someone to pick vegetables, just call me."

Then he snorted at Wen Shanshan and Jiang Xiao, his nose almost turned upside down, and said sarcastically: "I don't know whose child this is, he is so uneducated!"

Wen Shanshan's face turned red with anger. She had never been told that she was ill-mannered in her life! When Aunt Ma was about to leave, Xu Qingzhi reached out and grabbed her arm, saying calmly, "Apologize before you leave."

"You want me to apologize? Dream on!" Aunt Ma's eyes widened.

As soon as Xu Qingzhi moved, Aunt Ma's arms were turned behind her back, and half of her body was bowing towards Wen Shanshan and Jiang Xiao.

"Ouch, it hurts, you damn bastard..." Aunt Ma screamed, but her hand hurt even more, so she had to say, "I apologize, I apologize, okay?"

Xu Qingzhi loosened his grip, and Aunt Ma finally stood up straight. She breathed a sigh of relief and was about to leave, thinking that everything was fine. But then her hands were forced behind her back again, and she bowed forward again.

Aunt Ma wailed, "It hurts so much."

Xu Qingzhi: "If your apology is insincere, you can just bow three times."

Relax again and bow again.

Xu Qingzhi then let go. Aunt Ma's face flushed with anger. She didn't dare to stay and ran away, cursing: "I won't come again next time. You are a family of rags and uneducated people. Ouch, it hurts me to death."

"I shouldn't have let Auntie Ma know that I was coming to pick vegetables today. She insisted on coming with me and I couldn't drive her away." An aunt sighed, "She is always a troublemaker in the village."

"A few years ago, I caught her stealing two cabbages from my house, and she scolded me. Qingzhi, you did a good job. This is how you should treat people like her."

"I just saw her walking away with something like a vegetable in her arms."

"This kind of thief is a sneaky person."

Aunt Ma was running over there, but she tripped over a stone and fell forward, landing on a pile of cow dung.

She got up in pain and shouted at the man who was driving the cattle back in front of her: "You old fool, your cattle have fallen on the roadside and you didn't even clean it up."

At this time, the people who had finished picking bayberries also helped to pack the vegetables. They were quickly done and all the courier services were taken away.

Wang Yanmei paid the wages to everyone and went back.

Xu Qingzhi thought for a moment and said, "Mom, the bayberries will be harvested tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. Let's hire some regular pickers."

Wang Yanmei was a little tempted. With some money in hand, she didn't have to worry about money problems. With a fixed person, she didn't have to call for people to pick vegetables every day. But when she thought about the fact that these vegetables were harvested in batches, she hesitated and said, "What should I do when the vegetables at home are all picked?"

"There are still so many chickens and ducks in the back mountain. Instead of picking vegetables, you can help take care of the chickens and ducks. Hire a few more people. You and Dad can be busy, but don't be too tired." Xu Qingzhi suddenly remembered the large piece of land above the bayberry forest. "Oh, isn't the land above the bayberry forest also ours? I'll plant some fruit trees and ask Dad to find someone to build a chicken coop and two pig pens. I want to raise a few pigs so we can kill them for New Year's Eve."

This is both planting fruit trees and raising pigs. In the past, Wang Yanmei would have to weigh the pros and cons. Now that she has money in her hands, she is not worried about losing money. She said, "Okay, if my daughter wants to raise pigs, then raise pigs. If she wants to plant fruit trees, then plant fruit trees. Have you decided what you want to plant? That land has not been planted for a long time. We need to rent a plowman to loosen the ground."

Xu Qingzhi said: "I haven't thought about it yet. I'll think about it after the land is plowed."

Wen Shanshan, who was standing by, was no longer angry. She was so happy that Qingzhi stood up for her. Listening to the discussion about planting fruit trees, she happily suggested, "Qingzhi, why don't we plant cherries? They are delicious and the price is high. When they are expensive, they cost about five yuan each."

"Yes, yes, yes, we can grow cherries at home." Wang Yanmei thought about the red fruit she bought for Zijun before, and realized how expensive it was.

If you grow some at home, you can eat it whenever you want. Besides, these red fruits seem to be quite popular and many people like to eat them.

"Okay, let's plant cherries first." Xu Qingzhi made the decision.

Among the saplings she brought back today and threw into the spiritual space were cherries. She would plant them in the space tonight and then use the spiritual spring water to water them to stimulate their growth. When the land is plowed, she would transplant them out. If things go well, she would be able to eat the fruits next year.

.

(End of this chapter)