Chapter 91 A Bountiful Harvest in Peach Orchard: The bolder the people, the greater the harvest…
"Chirp chirp—"
A few clear bird calls drew back the curtain at five in the morning.
A small, pale yellow bird landed lightly on a branch, and after the slender branch swayed slightly, it returned to its usual tranquility.
A moment later, several more birds flew out from the woods and landed on remote branches.
Not far away, the shadows of trees were thick, and the sounds of people were noisy.
Over a hundred pickers stood huddled together in the open space of a few dozen square meters. They were simply dressed, but their spirits were high.
"Do you think those peaches on the tree are really peaches? They don't look like the ones on TV."
"I was just saying, the peaches in 'Journey to the West' are so big, you can't hold them in one hand, they're big and round, unlike these, which are small and flat."
"And I heard that their requirements for picking are very high, and there are many steps involved..."
Liu Qiaofeng, standing to the side, slowly smoothed out the wrinkles on her sleeves, put on her faded arm protectors and cotton gloves, and kindly reminded her: "The most important thing for those who come to do work is to keep their hands and feet clean and to do more and talk less."
Fang Min pouted: "What's it to you? We were just chatting, and you're making a big fuss about it."
"I'm just offering a few kind words of advice because you're all quite young. You can listen if you want, or ignore it if you don't," Liu Qiaofeng replied.
Fang Min was about to say something when Ke Shasha, who was standing behind her, gently tugged at her sleeve. "Say less. We're all here to work. It wouldn't be good if the master heard us."
Chen Mian, carrying a bamboo basket, clapped her hands to signal everyone to be quiet.
Chen Mian loudly instructed, "Listen to me, everyone. Today is the first day that our peach orchard officially begins harvesting, but time is tight and the task is heavy. Every step must be done correctly."
I will divide everyone into three groups. One group will be responsible for picking the peaches. When picking, you need to be careful to distinguish between fully ripe peaches and unripe peaches..."
Chen Mian carefully explained the difference between the two: "The skin of the flat peach is thin, so you have to be gentle when you pick them. Once you have a full basket, put it on the open ground under the tree, and the transport team will come to collect it."
The last group was responsible for assembling cardboard boxes in the open space outside, putting protective film on the peaches, and then a special truck would come to pick them up.
Chen Mian: "If you don't understand, you can ask Aunt Liu. She's an expert in this field."
Liu Qiaofeng laughed upon hearing this, "Mu Mian, please stop teasing this old woman. Let everyone ask you young people instead."
Chen Mian: "Let me emphasize one last time, the peaches must be picked with one or two leaves attached, but not too many leaves. Damaged or bruised peaches will not be counted. It is not allowed to pass off inferior peaches as superior ones or try to cheat the market."
For the peaches in the orchard, those that are half-ripe are the best quality, as they have a longer shelf life and a lower rate of damage during transportation. For this reason, she specially ordered a batch of cardboard boxes, hoping to transport these peaches to other places and sell them at a high price.
Fully ripe peaches have a short shelf life and pose a high risk during transportation, so they can only be sold locally in urban areas.
She also customized gift boxes for this batch of peaches, which she will tie with red ribbons and place in front of the small restaurant to sell to students' parents.
She even came up with a slogan for the promotion: "Nutrition for brain health, better grades."
The nearly ripe peaches were picked from the branches in batches, packed into cardboard boxes, and transported to other places.
The owner of the convoy was also an acquaintance, none other than Maihemuti, who had previously argued with Ayili over cotton purchase prices.
Maihemuti was wearing a square hat and holding a palm-leaf fan. He bent down, picked up a peach from his bamboo basket, and took a bite.
Mai Hemuti said, "Girl, these peaches are really delicious! Let's plant more next year and get rich together!"
Chen Mianmian was packing peaches into cardboard boxes with the workers when she glanced up at him and said, "Hurry up and help after you finish this bite, we're racing against time."
"I know, my truck is specially modified, it can carry watermelons, what's a few peaches?"
Chen Mian didn't respond, just kept working. They had estimated that Taoyuan's output this year would be at a moderate level, and had prepared some cardboard boxes in advance, but they didn't expect it still wouldn't be enough.
The entire Chen family, several members of the Ji family, and Ayili's family all came to help.
Seeing this, Maihemuti had no choice but to shut up, lower his head and walk to the side, where he picked up a few cardboard boxes and put them on the car.
A skilled picker can pick three to four hundred pounds of fruit in five hours a day. Chen Mian pays them by the pound, and the wage is two cents for every pound of peaches picked.
The yield per mu (a Chinese unit of area, approximately 0.165 acres) is about 1,000 jin (a Chinese unit of weight, approximately 500 kg). With 150 mu of peach orchard and hundreds of pickers, the harvest can be completed in as little as two days. This ensures the freshness of the peaches to the greatest extent possible and saves time for transportation.
Three days later, when the last truckload of peaches left the farm, Chen Mian finally breathed a long sigh of relief and collapsed to the ground.
Behind them, Mr. Chen held a pen and notebook, while Mrs. Chen counted money. The two were still settling accounts with the long line of pickers.
The sound of cicadas chirping, the sweltering summer has only just begun, yet it already makes people feel irritable.
Chen Mian lowered her head and played with the weeds in her hands, remaining silent, when suddenly a cool sensation came from her ear.
Ji Yu held a palm-leaf fan and gently fanned herself up and down. "What's wrong, Mianmian? Have you been too tired these past few days?"
"Did I take too risky a step, betting almost all my chips on buying Hemuti?" Chen Mian's voice was very low, so low that it sounded like she was talking to herself.
She wanted to sell peaches at a high price, and Maihemuti also wanted a unique source of goods to earn more money; the two hit it off immediately.
However, the difference is that Mahemuti still intends to have him purchase all the goods and then distribute them, so that Chen Mian can receive all the payment once the truck is loaded.
Unexpectedly, Chen Mian proposed another plan: profit sharing. Chen Mian would be responsible for shipping the goods, while Maihemuti would be responsible for leading the trucking team to transport them to other places for high-price distribution. The profits would be split 60/40, with Chen Mian receiving 60% and Maihemuti receiving 40%.
The price of ordinary peaches on the market is between 50 cents and 1.5 yuan per kilogram. They are sold directly from the place of origin for 50 cents, while they are sold for 1.5 yuan from other places.
Over the years, Maihemuti has traveled extensively, broadening his horizons considerably. After talking with him, Chen Mian boldly set the price of the gift box peaches at five yuan per kilogram, targeting the mid-to-high-end market.
The price of the peaches sold in the city center was set at three yuan per kilogram.
Ji Yu gently patted her back with his large, warm hand, patiently encouraging her, "You need to have confidence in yourself. You deserve the best results. Our peaches are delicious, and Maihemuti is a shrewd businessman. He might even be able to sell them for a higher price."
"To put it bluntly, if we fail this time, it's because we misjudged people. Next year, Taoyuan's output will only be better, and we can still find someone else to cooperate with. We can even set up our own fleet of vehicles to handle transportation."
What Ji Yu didn't say was that even if Taoyuan really lost money this time, he could afford the future expenses, and Chen Mian didn't need to worry about it at all.
Listening to Ji Yu's clumsy attempts at comforting her, Chen Mian actually started considering forming her own racing team.
But that's a matter for later; the most urgent task is to settle the accounts with these workers.
Chen Mian got up, dusted herself off, and said, "Let's go, let's get back to work."
In July, exciting news came over the phone: Maihemuti had sold all the peach gift boxes, and many customers had left their contact information, saying they wanted to buy more next year.
Chen Mian beamed with joy: "Great! It's a success!"
Buying Hemuti: "Over the years, I've gotten to know some big and small business owners while running my business. After they've tasted the flat peaches, they all say they're perfect for gifting, both presentable and novel."
It would be even better if we could sell during the Chinese New Year, as that's when the demand for gifts is at its highest. Whether it's visiting relatives and friends or giving gifts to employees, there's a huge demand.
Chen Mian certainly understood this principle, but with current technology, it was practically impossible to preserve peaches that ripened in June until winter or even the Lunar New Year.
unless……
Mai Hemuti was a very practical person. Fearing that things might go wrong if he delayed, he went to the credit union and transferred the money to Chen Mian as soon as he hung up the phone.
After deducting the costs of labor, fertilizer, packaging, and transportation, the 150-mu peach orchard brought Chen Mian a total income of 300,000 yuan.
Three hundred thousand. An ordinary worker's salary is only two or three hundred. You can't earn that much money even if you work your whole life.
Touching the long string of numbers on her savings account, Chen Mian's first thought was to rent more land and plant more peaches.
Her second thought was that she wanted to buy a house in the city and live in an apartment building.
Renting land can't be rushed; we need to go home and discuss it carefully together. But buying a house, on the other hand, can be done by looking at properties first.
Chen Mian and her sister spent a day excitedly exploring the city, visiting seven or eight places, but ultimately came up empty-handed.
In the 1990s, the urban area was not large, and there were not many buildings with more than five floors. Most of the buildings were employee housing allocated by factories or work units, and most of them were single rooms with one toilet shared by the floor.
A family of several people might be crammed into this one room, barely enough for themselves, so why would they want to sell it for money?
The houses that are occasionally available for sale are in very remote locations, and the houses look like they haven't been cleaned in over a decade; they're dirty and messy.
Besides, Chen Mian didn't want a room; it was too small and the yard at home was more comfortable.
She wanted a two-bedroom apartment with a kitchen and a bathroom.
However, those who are allocated such houses are basically leaders of various units, whose families are not too poor, and they will not easily sell their houses unless there is a major event.
Chen Mian wanted to buy a house partly because she felt it would be convenient to have a place to live in the city and travel back and forth, and partly because of a gut feeling.
With more people doing business now, there must be quite a few like her who want to move to the city after becoming wealthy.
Even if it's just for the sake of the child being closer to school, not having to walk on muddy dirt roads when it rains, or having easier access to the hospital when sick.
With this in mind, Chen Mian's determination to buy a house became more and more firm, but since there were no good sellers for the time being, she had to give up for the time being.
Chen Muhe seemed to see through her sister's thoughts and comforted her, "Sister, we can ask around to find out which families are selling their houses. As long as we have money, it's only a matter of time before we can buy a house that we like."
"Maybe soon, a whole new building complex will be constructed in the city and sold there."
She came from the future, and no one knows better than her how much housing prices have risen in just a few years.
If nothing unexpected happens, prices will continue to rise.
Having a second chance, I certainly can't waste such a good opportunity.
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