Chapter 25 The Last Reserves 1
The weather is getting colder and colder, and the frequency of temperature drops matches that of my past life. The end of the world is coming.
With temperatures dropping significantly, these last few days are the best time to stock up on fresh fruits and vegetables and frozen foods.
I need to complete the final stockpiling in these last few days.
I glanced at the time and my bank account. My bank account was 33,000 yuan on July 5th, so I have at most a week left.
Last night, I saw on the WeChat Moments of a man who sells pork that a nearby vegetable greenhouse was selling vegetables at a clearance price because of the drop in temperature, which the weather forecast indicated would continue to drop.
So now I drive my little truck and use Gaode Maps to go to the vegetable greenhouses to stock up on goods.
Getting out of the car and taking a quick look around, the scale of this vegetable greenhouse is quite impressive.
There are at least 20 greenhouses that stretch as far as the eye can see.
Although they are selling at a clearance price, at this time of year, every farmer has vegetables, and there aren't many people around.
More than 20 people were scattered in twos and threes in different greenhouses.
The farming couple placed a large scale at the entrance of the greenhouse, where everyone weighed themselves and paid.
I need a large quantity, so I'll go directly to the farmers.
"Do you have any other people here to help? I need a large quantity, so it would be best if someone could help me."
When the farmer heard that I wanted a large quantity, his worried face eased slightly.
"Yes, yes, my older brother and nephew are inside."
He then shouted loudly inside twice.
A dark-skinned, thin boy of about 20 years old ran out.
"Take this little girl inside and take her for a walk. See if she needs any help moving things."
The dark-skinned, thin boy readily agreed and led me inside.
We walked and chatted, and I learned why it was being sold cheaply.
The weather is getting colder, there's no sun, and we haven't prepared enough heat sources for summer. The temperature inside the greenhouse is dropping, and if we don't sell the vegetables soon, they'll freeze and become unsellable. This will not only result in financial losses but also cause us a lot of heartache.
Since all greenhouse farmers thought the same way, everyone started selling off large quantities of their produce. The market supply channels were already saturated, so they could only sell to the general public.
Then we arrived at various vegetable greenhouses.
He introduced me to various vegetables. Except for cilantro, which was two yuan, all leafy greens were sold for one yuan per jin (500g), and the remaining frost-resistant vegetables were sold at the regular price.
The vegetables haven't been too affected by the temperature yet; they're growing very well, lush and green, all huddled together, and their tender green color looks delicious.
So I opened my phone's notes app and started calculating how many vegetables I needed:
Stock up on more vegetables, blanch them in hot water, freeze them, and you can eat them as fresh vegetables anytime. As long as the temperature is low enough, you can stock up on as many vegetables as you want.
After the boy's explanation, I had a better understanding of the situation.
Do you have potatoes and green onions here?
"Yes, yes, but they're sold at full price. Do you want some, sister?" The boy was even happier when he heard that I wanted other vegetables.
"Yes, I want quite a lot of vegetables."
"Let me take you to the door to talk to your uncle." The boy couldn't make the decision either, so he led me towards the door.
After I explained my thoughts to the male homeowner, he put down the weighing task and handed it over to the boy.
"What kind of vegetables do you want? I'll give them to you at the normal wholesale price."
"Do you have any mushroom spawn bags here?" I almost forgot about that; mushroom spawn bags can be stored for up to a year.
Then I'll learn more and make more mushroom spawn using the existing spawn bags, so I'll have a continuous supply of mushrooms to eat.
"Yes, yes, I can give you more if you want."
Based on my preferences, I ordered the following vegetables.
100 jin each of romaine lettuce, lettuce, bok choy, celery, and rapeseed; 200 jin of garland chrysanthemum and cilantro.
Chives cannot be frozen, so I didn't buy any.
1000 jin of potatoes, 500 jin each of peppers, sweet potatoes, green beans, eggplants, tomatoes, and scallions, and 200 jin of radishes and cauliflower.
(No garlic or ginger available.)
100 oyster mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, white jade mushrooms, button mushrooms, and 100 mushroom bags each.
The farmer's eyes widened when he heard this; he had rarely received such a large order.
Especially now that the weather has suddenly become abnormal and farmers are facing such difficult circumstances, it is surprising that a young girl is willing to lend a helping hand and buy such a large quantity of vegetables.
He readily agreed and began calculating the price.
Although this greenhouse seems large to me, it can only be considered small to medium-sized compared to others.
Given the remote location, the customers who come to him for their goods are mostly small vegetable and fruit supermarkets and restaurants in nearby towns, so it's normal that they don't buy the large quantities I need.
However, in the past, there were no large customers, but there were always small customers, so he could definitely produce these goods, which accounted for less than 1/10 of the total.
Even at full price, it's still much cheaper than in supermarkets, and I can't help but feel incredibly lucky.
The shop owner told me that they didn't have mushroom bags, only spawn, and sold me 50 bags of spawn.
The total is 11,000 yuan.
"Thank you so much, young lady, otherwise these dishes would have been wasted." After settling the bill, the owner's eyes were full of gratitude.
Then he called to the people and started serving the dishes.
He didn't have a large truck to deliver vegetables, and after learning that I didn't have a large truck, he planned to ask his nephew to drive a small truck to help deliver them.
I politely declined, as I felt more at ease making the trips myself at this time.
The people in the greenhouse cut the vegetables, stacked them neatly, and put them in large plastic bags.
The couple and their nephew helped me load the truck.
Their loading technique was excellent; they placed the heavier vegetables at the bottom and stacked the lighter ones high, then tied them tightly with hemp rope.
I carefully drove home, my truck loaded with a heavy load of vegetables.
After unloading the first truck, they loaded the second one, making three trips in total to bring all the vegetables back.
When paying, I couldn't help but remind them that the weather was getting so cold, and they should keep some vegetables and grains for themselves.
After transporting them home, I dared not rest, fearing that a sudden drop in outdoor temperature would freeze the vegetables.
They carried the vegetables into the house in a small cart.
Potatoes won't freeze for a while, but I wanted to stack them at the bottom, so I moved the heavier vegetables in first.
Potatoes, carrots, and eggplants were all piled up on the west side of the kitchen stove.
Potatoes, radishes, sweet potatoes, and eggplants totaled no more than 22 bags.
If you arrange it compactly, you can fit half the kitchen area next to the shower area.
Then I put the leafy greens on top of these bags, and they barely fit.
I went into the house to check on the chicks halfway through, and seeing that they were all safe and sound, I felt relieved.
Green beans, cauliflower, and mushroom bags were piled up at the entrance, which is the place between the east and west rooms.
We finally finished moving things late into the night, and the house suddenly felt crowded.
But today is not over yet.
I moved around in the cramped space, gathered firewood to heat the kang (a heated brick bed), and added another honeycomb briquette.
I was able to rest only after wolfing down a bowl of instant noodles.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
