Chapter 130: Sky-high Price Strawberries are a Big Seller
Xia Zhirong said, "I saw a large patch of wild berries in the field turning red, and I thought I'd take advantage of these two days to send them to the county town. It happens to be the second or third day of the Lunar New Year, which is a time when families are bustling with visitors."
Jiang Tangtang agreed with this. She came back this time to see if the strawberries in the field could catch up with the peak season of the Spring Festival.
"But the wild berries in the field are very delicate. They become soft at the slightest touch." Xia Zhirong said in embarrassment: "How can I pack this properly?"
"Just leave this to me."
After talking to Xia Zhirong, Jiang Tangtang asked Lu Shili to drive back to the shop and bring back the remaining bamboo gift boxes.
He took people to the river and picked some reed fluff. He first used the reed fluff to pad the bottom of the basket, and then put some soft green grass on it.
The strawberries are placed one by one in the soft green grass, which not only looks good but also protects the strawberries.
On the second day of the Lunar New Year, the Xia and Lu families had no time to rest. They got up at dawn, picked bright red strawberries, put them in baskets, and went to the county town to sell them.
Although it was agreed that the Xia family would be responsible for sales, Jiang Tangtang was still not entirely confident in handing it over to the Xia family since it was a business matter, so she went with Xia Zhirong that day.
Xia Zhirong had already contacted the managers of several families, including the Fu family and the Yu family. These families were all wealthy local businessmen with plenty of money.
Besides, dealing with merchants is easier than dealing with officials. So when they arrived in the county town today, they went straight to several of them.
The first place we went to was the Fu family.
As it had been agreed earlier, the two of them met the steward without waiting in the gatehouse for a while.
"What do these fresh fruits smell like?" The Fu family steward looked at the strawberries Xia Zhirong brought out, and a look of satisfaction appeared on his face. This smell is so fragrant.
Xia Zhirong took out some strawberries that didn't look very good from another small basket and was about to hand them over to the steward to try them when several young men in brocade robes came out from the Fu family courtyard.
One of the young men in brocade robes was waving a folding fan. It was Song Muci. He sniffed and walked towards Jiang Tangtang and the others. "What are you doing?"
Seeing that it was the young master's distinguished guest, Steward Fu hurriedly explained, "A villager came here to sell fresh fruit. I thought it looked fresh, so I decided to buy some for the old lady to try."
Song Muci casually grabbed a strawberry from the basket and popped it into his mouth. Then, an extremely subtle expression appeared on his face. He looked at Jiang Tangtang and said, "Did your family grow this?"
Jiang Tangtang hesitated for a second, but still told the truth, "Yes, it was grown by my family."
He nodded and looked at Jiang Tangtang slowly, "Have we met somewhere before?"
Jiang Tangtang rolled her eyes inwardly, but said respectfully, "My family owns a shop in the county town. I think you've probably bought something from my shop before, so you might have seen it by chance!"
"Brother Song, what are you doing!" The young man who came out with him winked at Song Muci, obviously misunderstanding the relationship between the two.
Jiang Tangtang tried hard to suppress her impatience and asked, "I wonder if Manager Fu is interested in my ground berries? These are freshly ripened from the fields and are the best and freshest. After eating greasy meat during the New Year, eating these ground berries can not only change the taste, but also regulate the stomach."
Before Steward Fu could say anything, Song Muci asked, "How much do you want to sell it for?"
Jiang Tangtang said, "Ten taels of silver per basket."
The several noblemen who were with Song Muci were all from wealthy families, but they were still surprised when they heard the price.
Song Muci didn't even blink. "Send all the money to the Song Mansion," he said. He took a few steps towards Jiang Tangtang and said with a smile, "Why do I feel like you look like someone?"
Jiang Tangtang took a few steps back, putting some distance between them and him. "Thirteen baskets of ground berries, a total of one hundred and thirty taels of silver. Would you like to pay now or wait until they are delivered to your house?"
Song Muci threw a bag of silver to Jiang Tangtang without taking it seriously, left three baskets of strawberries to the Fu family, and asked Jiang Tangtang to deliver the rest to the Song Mansion.
Xia Zhirong was dumbfounded the whole time, and he didn't react until he came out of the Song Mansion.
He thought that no matter how novel these wild berries were, they would only be worth two taels of silver per basket at most. He didn't expect Jiang Tangtang to directly ask for ten taels of silver per basket. Furthermore, the young master of the Song Mansion didn't even bargain, simply handing over one hundred and thirty taels of silver.
One hundred and thirty taels!
Many families may not be able to earn this fraction even if they work hard for a whole year. Moreover, there are still some unripe fruits in the fields. In two days, they can pick another ten baskets.
Although these belong to the Lu family and he can only get a small share, as long as the Xia family grows them themselves, will they still be worried about not making money in the future?
The more Xia Zhirong thought about it, the more excited he became, and the more respect he had for Jiang Tangtang.
To be honest, he had finally realized today that the other party didn't need the Xia family's connections at all. If she went to sell it herself, she would be able to sell it.
He was partnering with the Xia family just to find an excuse to send money to them. When he returned home today, he had to talk to his family about it.
Jiang Tangtang didn't know that Xia Zhirong had thought so much. When she returned to the village, she gave Xia Zhirong the money that should be distributed to the Xia family.
Xia Zhirong took the twenty-six taels of silver, as if it were a huge sum of money, and everyone almost laughed themselves silly.
The villagers don't go to the fields to work during the New Year. Instead, they visit each other and know what's going on in everyone's house.
The Xia and Lu families were busy working in the wasteland early this morning, and then drove out of the farm. Everyone saw it.
Seeing Xia Zhirong coming back from outside, he couldn't hide his joy. Someone immediately asked, "You've been busy working in the wasteland this winter. You look so happy. Did you make a lot of money selling the crops?"
Xia Zhirong was unwilling to tell anyone about the money he made from Wild Berry. He shook his head repeatedly and said, "No, no! There's no big money to be made. It's just some hard work pay."
But the more he denied it, the more people thought he had made a lot of money and was worried that everyone would take away his wealth, so he refused to tell anyone.
The villagers also had a new perspective on growing strawberries on wasteland. At this time, people also began to seriously consider Jiang Tangtang's proposal.
Some villagers even came to the Lu family in groups of three or four to ask about growing sugarcane.
Jiang Tangtang had already thought about how to get the seedlings and what price to charge.
He immediately took paper and pen and wrote a contract for everyone to see.
In addition to protecting the rights and interests of growers, the contract also imposes restrictions on them. The main highlights include:
First, the sugarcane that she planted can only be sold to her and cannot be sold to others, even if the price offered by others is higher than hers.
Second, sugarcane seedlings cannot be flowed out.
He also stated that all deeds must be notarized by Manager Xia and filed with the government office to ensure the rights and interests of both parties.
Seeing such solemnity, people hesitated again.
Several groups of people came that day, but in the end no deal was reached.
After everyone left, Su hurriedly pulled Jiang Tangtang aside and asked, "Why did you suddenly think of asking the villagers to plant sugarcane? Where are you going to get the sugarcane seedlings?"
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