Zhang Guodong couldn't explain it clearly. Ye Cuihua saw that her son promised to earn only 3,000 yuan less a month, and if he couldn't earn that, he would do something else. She hesitated but agreed to give it a try, but she couldn't be happy at all.
Zhang Zhengrong agreed.
His son wanted to do something important, and he couldn't object. However, even if he did offer support, it would be limited to only two hundred yuan, which was all the money the family had left for daily expenses.
Zhang Guodong confidently assured him that he would handle the matter himself, using the excuse that a classmate's father was in the vegetable wholesale business and could buy vegetables on credit, paying back the principal after the vegetables were sold.
After gaining his family's support, Zhang Guodong spent the next two days inspecting the surrounding vegetable markets, suppressing his strong desire to visit Taoyuan. Every day, Zhang Guodong would go into Taoyuan, and each time he went in, he was so excited that he was almost going crazy.
Sure enough, the peach orchard promoted plant growth, and extremely quickly. In just one day, the seedlings of the three vegetables sprouted from the soil and grew to half a foot long. The tomato and bell pepper seedlings were thriving, while the Chinese cabbage unfurled its emerald green leaves, a picture of flourishing growth.
By the next day, the cabbage had grown significantly larger, and the tomatoes and bell peppers were over a foot tall. Zhang Guodong was thrilled. At this rate of growth, he estimated that the tomatoes and bell peppers would bear fruit in less than five days, and be ready to ripen in a week!
With hope in sight, Zhang Guodong became even more determined to be a vegetable farmer. Urban vegetable farmer—that's quite an original name.
With Zhang Guodong relieved, Zhang Zhengrong and Ye Cuihua, who had been anxious, also felt much more at ease. However, their son went out for a stroll every day, supposedly to check the market and prices, given the heavy snow and the white expanse outside. The two elders, however, were unsure of the situation.
As soon as the heavy snow fell, vegetable prices indeed skyrocketed. Those who worked in other places and rented houses kept complaining that vegetable prices were too high, but no matter how much they complained, the prices kept changing every day and kept rising!
After a week, Zhang Guodong finally couldn't hold back any longer.
The family's situation was becoming increasingly difficult, and the financial pressure was mounting, but his parents never voiced their concerns, though he was anxious inside. Unlike big business owners who could spend hundreds of thousands or millions at a time, rural people like Zhang Guodong simply wanted a comfortable, modest life.
That day, after Zhang Zhengrong and Ye Cuihua finished their meal, they went to visit a fellow villager. Zhang Guodong immediately set off.
Entering the paradise from the room, the two plots of land are now lush and vibrant.
The tomato vines had grown to 1.8 meters tall, with very lush foliage. Each plant bore over a hundred fruits, a beautiful mix of red and green, ripe and unripe. Moreover, Zhang Guodong knew that each tomato was about the size of a fist, quite uniform, crystal clear, and flawless. A bite revealed that they were ten times sweeter than ordinary tomatoes.
Absolutely top-quality tomatoes!
The giant green peppers were growing incredibly fast, some reaching as tall as Zhang Guodong's neck. The peppers themselves were no smaller than tomatoes, their green color shimmering. Although I hadn't tasted them myself, they were definitely high-quality. Purely natural!
After a week of growth, the Chinese cabbages grown on the ground are three-tenths larger than ordinary Chinese cabbages, and their color and appearance are also excellent.
The baskets were ready long ago—three bamboo baskets, three kinds of vegetables. Zhang Guodong happily picked the vegetables, carefully placing them into the baskets as if they were eggs, afraid of accidentally breaking them. The harvest was joyful; it took him an hour to fill all three baskets. The ripe tomatoes and green peppers were almost empty, since the land was limited. He finished picking the ripe tomatoes and green peppers, but the cabbages didn't hold well; three heads were enough to fill the baskets, as they were quite large.
However, planting Chinese cabbage seems to have been a mistake. Once the cabbage is dug up, all that's left is a hole, unlike tomatoes and bell peppers which don't require much care and can be harvested in succession.
"A basket of tomatoes weighs about 40 jin, green peppers weigh about 30 jin, and three heads of Chinese cabbage weigh about 20 jin!"
That's all money!
Full of confidence, Zhang Guodong left Taoyuan, picked up a basket, and carried it downstairs. On the first floor was a dilapidated tricycle, a second-hand human-powered tricycle that he had bought for 180 yuan. It belonged to the Zhang family, but it hadn't been used much and mostly sat idle. Now it was finally coming in handy.
As they were moving the vegetables, their landlord, Li Guang, saw them and exclaimed in surprise, "Guodong, you're out selling vegetables in this snowy weather? Hey, these tomatoes look pretty good!"
The hallway was poorly lit, so I couldn't see the whole picture, but it still looked quite plump, which I would call a compliment.
Li Guang is in his fifties. As a landlord, he is a decent person except for being a bit stingy. Zhang Guodong's family has lived here for three years, and the rent has always been lower than that of other tenants.
There are many villagers like Li Guang who live off rent. Of course, their sons and daughters live separately, as they have their own jobs.
Zhang Guodong chuckled and said, "Yes, I bought some vegetables last night. I'll go out and sell them later. Let's see if that works."
Li Guang chatted for a few minutes and then went back to his room.
He loaded the three baskets of vegetables onto the vehicle, grabbed the keys and a spring scale, covered the baskets with a blanket to prevent them from freezing, opened the gate, and hopped on the tricycle into the snow. But nothing could dampen Zhang Guodong's excitement.
As soon as I stepped outside, I was greeted by a chilly breeze accompanied by light snowflakes. I shivered. There were already several inches of snow on the ground, and the sky was overcast, looking like it was about to snow again.
Selling vegetables for the first time was a completely different experience for Zhang Guodong. As he pedaled his tricycle, it felt like everyone was watching him. However, this load of vegetables was worth a lot of money; it wasn't a small business for him. After a moment of nervousness, his mindset gradually calmed down.
Once he left the village, the tension completely vanished. He didn't linger in the small vegetable market in the urban village; it was mostly filled with migrant workers and rather stingy landlords and villagers, so he couldn't get good prices. He had to go to the large wholesale vegetable market, about seven or eight bus stops away.
Pedaling a tricycle in the snow is no easy task; it's extremely strenuous, and you have to be constantly aware of traffic safety, otherwise an accident can easily happen. More than an hour later, Zhang Guodong finally arrived at the large vegetable wholesale market, which was even more bustling with activity. Vehicles were coming and going, unloading and buying goods, and many nearby residents were also there to make purchases.
"Uncle, give me a ticket. I'll be selling vegetables here all day, at the front stall!" After parking his tricycle, Zhang Guodong quickly reached for money at the management office to reserve his stall. The weather was too cold, and he didn't want to stay a moment longer. He wanted to sell his vegetables as soon as possible and go home.
There are financial staff in the market management office who are specifically responsible for temporary stall rental business. Zhang Guodong's week of work was not wasted; he had already found out all of this.
A hand reached out from the window, and a somewhat cold voice said, "Two hundred a day!"
Not wanting to say another word, Zhang Guodong rolled his eyes. Damn it, this street stall is really expensive. It's less than four square meters and it costs two hundred yuan a day, which is twice as expensive as those long-term rentals. Moreover, long-term rentals are not allowed in the Qianmen area. It's only for temporary tenants, and the price is so high.
Of course, Zhang Guodong also knew that this front stall was for big customers to promote their products, so the price was very high.
After paying and getting the ticket, some people around Zhang Guodong looked at him differently, as if he were an idiot. Could all the vegetables on that small tricycle really sell for two hundred? He had just squeezed two hundred out of the market. In many people's eyes, this small tricycle couldn't even cover its costs, let alone make a profit!
"Young people are just too naive; they'll be waiting to lose money!"
"Damn it, it's a willing buyer and a willing seller, what's wrong with you?!" Immediately, some of the auxiliary staff complained. They loved it when people were generous like this, because if there were many temporary tenants in this area, they would get a bonus.
As soon as the auxiliary police officers arrived, the vegetable vendors scattered in a flurry of laughter. Zhang Guodong's actions only provided them with more fodder for conversation.
As soon as Zhang Guodong set out three baskets of vegetables and uncovered the blanket, passersby came up to ask about the price. Clearly, Zhang Guodong's vegetables looked better than average.
"Young man, what kind of tomatoes do you sell? And big green peppers too?" A woman in her fifties came up and asked.
Zhang Guodong casually remarked, "Tomatoes are six yuan a pound, green peppers are eight yuan a pound, and Chinese cabbage is four yuan a pound!"
"You're robbing me!" someone immediately protested. "Over there, tomatoes are only three yuan a pound, green peppers are four yuan a pound, and cabbage is only one yuan eighty cents a pound. Yours is more than twice as expensive!"
"yes!"
Zhang Guodong had never experienced such a chaotic scene before. However, he knew his own products well, so he said frankly, "Auntie, everyone, my tomatoes, bell peppers, and cabbages are all new varieties. They not only look good, but they taste even better. Which vendor in the market can compare to mine? I'm going to do business in the future. If anyone doesn't like what they've got, you can just go around telling everyone that I'm ripping people off!"
The price is non-negotiable.
"Give me a pound of tomatoes and a pound of green peppers!" The older woman finally relented. Zhang Guodong's explanation piqued people's curiosity. They looked quite good for the price, so some people started buying a pound or two to try. Once someone bought some, others were likely to follow suit.
"Don't panic, everyone get some!" Zhang Guodong was a little flustered. His hands were overflowing with banknotes, and the feeling was indescribable—he was incredibly happy.
With this excitement, I couldn't feel the freezing weather anymore.
After the first wave of people dispersed, Zhang Guodong looked at the three baskets and saw that 20 jin of tomatoes, about 18 jin of green peppers, and 28 jin of four Chinese cabbages had been sold. The three kinds of vegetables had sold about half of their value in this rush. He counted the money and found that he had 374 yuan.
A nearby stall owner stared in disbelief, wondering how such expensive items could be sold.
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