Chapter 133 Villagers’ Questions
Upon hearing this news, Wu Baoan was surprised and asked, "You bought 5,000 kilograms of vegetables?"
Chen Qingqing nodded and smiled, "Yes, so I would like to trouble Uncle Li Zheng to help me find a suitable large courtyard.
My yard is a little small and can’t hold so many vegetables.”
"Your yard really can't hold all the vegetables. How about this? Our old house is still empty. The yard is big enough, and there's a large stone cellar behind the house built against the mountain, perfect for storing vegetables so they don't rot."
Chen Qingqing knew that the Wu family's old house was not far from her home. Not only was the yard large, it was also close to the well. If they made sugar there, they could save a lot of labor.
Her face was full of gratitude. "Thank you, Uncle Li Zheng. You really helped me a lot."
"You don't have to thank me. I just want to know why you bought so many vegetables. It's so hot, aren't you going to let them rot?" Wu Baoan frowned and asked in confusion.
"Don't worry, Uncle Village Chief. This kind of beet won't rot easily."
"Even though I don't like spoiled food, you bought so much. How long will it take to finish it all?"
"I bought these beets not just to eat them, but because they have a great use." Chen Qingqing smiled slightly, "I'm going to use them to make brown sugar!"
"Making sugar?" Wu Baoan was puzzled. "Sugar should be made from mulberry trees. How can we use vegetables?"
The zhe that Wu Baoan mentioned is what modern people call sugarcane, which is the main raw material for sugar production.
As far as Chen Qingqing knows, sugar beets were introduced from foreign countries in modern times and quickly became the main raw material for sugar production.
The Da Ning Dynasty was a dynasty that had never existed in history. She didn't know why beets appeared. What made her even more curious was that they didn't know that beets could be used to make sugar.
This is a really good thing for her.
Seeing Wu Baoan's suspicious face, Chen Qingqing fumbled to explain, "Uncle Village Chief, this vegetable is also called beetroot. I happened to see it in a book. According to the book, this vegetable can indeed be boiled into brown sugar, so I dared to buy all of it."
When Wu Baoan heard that she could make sugar, his eyes lit up. If this girl could really make sugar successfully, not only would he, as the village head, be proud, but the villagers would also be able to find something to do and earn some income.
Brown sugar is expensive but it sells very well. He couldn't wait to see what the vegetable that can be used to make sugar looks like.
Just as I was thinking about it, I heard Chen Qingqing say, "Uncle Lizheng, you lent me such a big yard, I can't use it for nothing. I'll give you a hundred coins a month as rent. Is that okay with you?"
Wu Baoan nodded in satisfaction. "Sure, why not? The yard is empty anyway. I'm only a hundred coins a month, so why wouldn't I be satisfied?"
After agreeing on the rent with Wu Baoan, Chen Qingqing finally breathed a sigh of relief. She said hello to Mrs. Lin and walked towards the Wu family's old house.
The Wu family's old house covers an area of two acres, and the yard is large and spacious.
Behind the thatched house is the village's back mountain. The Wu family built their house against the mountain and dug out a large stone cave from the middle of the rock.
This is the stone cellar that Wu Baoan mentioned. The space inside is indeed large enough to store a lot of beets.
Then I went into the house and took a look around, and found that there were two large pots. Everything was ready except for the beets. I could make brown sugar early tomorrow morning.
The convoy carrying sugar beets soon arrived at Nanshan Village.
The news that Chen Qingqing had bought 5,000 kilograms of vegetables spread from one person to ten, and from ten to a hundred, and spread throughout the village like wings.
When the villagers heard about this rare thing, men, women, old and young came to watch, and they were all surprised and curious when they saw the beets being unloaded into the yard.
"This thing looks like a carrot. Can it be delicious?"
"I heard it taste sweet, so I guess it's delicious."
"No matter how delicious it is, you can't buy these. I heard that Qing girl bought a whole boatload of vegetables, a full 5,000 kilograms!"
"Oh my, five thousand kilograms! Even if we eat it every day, every meal, we probably can't finish it in a year. Is this Qing girl trying to raise pigs?"
"Go away! Didn't you hear that this vegetable costs three cents a pound? Who would buy it to feed the pigs? You must be crazy!"
"That's right, five thousand catties is fifteen taels of silver, enough to buy several pigs!"
"Then why do you think the Chen family buy so many vegetables?"
"Who knows what's going on with them? Maybe they just like this."
......
Hearing the people's discussions, Old Lady Chen also pulled Old Man Chen closer.
Looking at the beets all over the yard, I was so greedy that I wanted to pick up a beet and take a bite to satisfy my craving.
Old Man Chen was filled with jealousy and could not help but complain to Old Lady Chen, "This damn girl really doesn't know how to live. She actually threw money into the water. She doesn't know how to show off when she has a little money. Do you think these things she bought are delicious?"
Old Lady Chen spat fiercely on the ground, "Who said it wasn't true? This ungrateful bastard, if I had known she was so heartless, I should have thrown her out to feed the wolves when I gave birth to her."
Old Man Chen glanced at her with dissatisfaction, "If you hadn't insisted on splitting up the family and severing the relationship, you would have been able to watch them smugly. It's too late to regret it now!"
Old Mrs. Chen was choked and speechless for a long time. If she had known that this dead girl was so capable, she would not have divided the family property even if she was beaten to death.
But there is no medicine for regret in the world, what can she do.
Suddenly, Mrs. Chen's eyes rolled. "Old man, I heard that this thing tastes sweet. Go and try some. Let's go home and try it."
"I won't go. There will be too many people and it will be embarrassing for me."
"What's there to be ashamed of? Just go to the yard quickly and put a few in your pockets when no one is paying attention. No one will notice."
Seeing that he didn't move, Old Lady Chen raised her hand and pushed him, "Hurry up, go quickly."
Old man Chen shook his head repeatedly, "If you want to go, go ahead. I won't do anything that would be embarrassing."
"Look at your little achievements. If you continue to live like this, you will have a miserable life."
Old Mrs. Chen gritted her teeth and glared at Old Man Chen, ignoring him. She stretched her neck and stared into the yard, hoping to find the right opportunity to take a few to taste while no one was paying attention.
The last truckload of beets was finally unloaded. Chen Qingqing ignored the villagers' questioning voices. As long as she could make brown sugar tomorrow, the villagers' doubts would naturally be resolved.
Zheng Zhong couldn't believe that Chen Qingqing could buy a whole shipload of beets, not to mention that she asked for delivery once a month. This was a profitable deal, so of course he had to be sure of it. Otherwise, if he couldn't sell the beets after shipping them, that would be too torturous.
With a look of gratitude on his face, he stepped forward and clasped his fists. "Miss Chen, the beets have been unloaded. I'm just confirming with you, can we really have a long-term partnership?"
Chen Qingqing nodded solemnly, "Uncle Zheng, don't worry. As long as you send it to me, I will accept it all."
After receiving a positive answer, Zheng Zhong smiled brightly, exchanged a few more pleasantries, and then stood up to say goodbye...
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