Afterwards, we went to the vineyard and picked ten boxes of grapes. This time, we picked some loose grapes and divided them into two bags, thinking of keeping one bag for Shuting.
When they arrived, thankfully it was just five o'clock, almost time to get off work. She called Shuting, and soon the young man from lunchtime came out. He hadn't even tasted the grapes; he just bought two boxes. As the crowd thinned out, Jiang Shuya's grapes were all bought up by the onlookers. When Shuting arrived, she said regretfully, "I didn't tell you beforehand, thinking they might not sell so quickly. My colleagues even asked you to bring back a few boxes."
Shuya took a bag of loose grapes out of the bicycle basket and gave it to Shuting, who then delivered it to her colleague with a smile.
It was already dark when they got home. The old man was anxiously waiting by the roadside, holding Tangtang. Tangtang was crying and sweating profusely. She hadn't had milk all day, and seeing her mother made her even more upset. Jiang Shuya didn't stop for a moment. She picked up Tangtang and went upstairs to breastfeed her. She calculated the sales for the day: ten boxes sold in total. 515 in the morning and 535 in the afternoon, plus yesterday's total of 1325. After noting down the numbers, she felt she had taken a small step closer to her goal.
For the next two days, Jiang Shuya didn't ask her mother-in-law to take care of Tangtang. As usual, she sent her to her grandfather's house to look after her. She also briefly taught her grandfather how to make rice cereal for Tangtang. She went to Software Avenue twice a day, once in the morning and once in the afternoon. Since it was a non-motorized vehicle, the cart was too small to carry too much. At most, she could only carry 15 boxes per trip, and a maximum of 30 boxes a day. After selling for two days, most of them were sold for 50 yuan a box. When she got home, she calculated the accounts and collected 4325 yuan. She was getting closer and closer to her goal and gave herself a big thumbs up.
Just as I was getting excited, I received a text message from my sister saying that the office buildings on Software Avenue were closed on Saturdays and Sundays. Not working meant no business, which made me feel a little disappointed. I immediately took Tangtang to the vineyard and found that most of the first batch of ripe grapes had been picked in the past few days. I had unknowingly consumed about 700 or 800 pounds of grapes in the past few days, and it was obvious that there were not many ripe grapes left on the vines.
When I got home, my neighbor Wang Hongjuan came over and asked if I was there. She said tomorrow was Saturday, the first weekend of the grape season. We were going to the square where the grape festival was being held to showcase the varieties that each family was selling. It was also the forum for evaluating the cultivation level of each family, as people who came to pick grapes met there. It was also the most comprehensive gathering place for all the grape varieties each year. There were no fixed stalls; it was like selling vegetables. Whoever got up early got a spot first.
Seeing Wang Hongjuan sitting there talking eloquently, Jiang Shuya asked her mother-in-law and suggested that her mother-in-law get up early to reserve a spot, and then she would go over there later. Although the amount of grapes that were ripe and ready for picking was not large at the moment, it would be enough to deal with some scattered customers over the weekend. They were just here to have fun and experience something new, and they wouldn't buy too much.
Seeing her mother-in-law's obvious dissatisfaction, Jiang Shuya ignored the fact that Wang Hongjuan hadn't left yet and promised that she would be responsible for negotiating the price, while her mother-in-law would lead people into the vineyard to pick the fruit. As for how much the customers could pick, that would be up to her. She would not charge them for the next two days.
Hearing Jiang Shuya say that she was helping sell grapes for free these past two days, a smile clearly appeared on her face.
Seeing that the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law seemed to have a conflict over money, Wang Hongjuan knew it was inappropriate to stay any longer, so she arranged a time for the next morning and went home.
The next morning, as darkness fell, I noticed it seemed to be drizzling outside. I checked the time on my phone; it was the first rain of August.
Wow, it's already August! That person will be back in the middle of the month. Suddenly, I felt both anticipation and worry, and a kind of inexplicable unease. I got up and tidied up for a while. Seeing that Tangtang was still asleep, I went to the kitchen and found some cooked porridge. I ate a bowl, picked up the still-sleepy Tangtang, fed her, put her in the stroller, and with an umbrella in hand, we soon arrived at the center of the square.
The weather was bad, it was raining, and each stall had a large umbrella set up in front of it. Although there weren't many tourists, it didn't dampen the enthusiasm of the grape sellers. On the rows of tables, there was a dazzling array of varieties, all carefully selected, with bunches of grapes placed on the grape leaves like agate and jade.
Seeing her two varieties displayed there, compared to others, Jiang Shuya suddenly felt that all the grapes she had sold in the past few days were defective. It's true that there's no harm without comparison. Other people's grapes were tightly clustered, jade-green and smooth as brocade, with both shape and appearance. Her own, however, were bunches with gaps, loose like long pig intestines, with unknown spots on the skin. She felt a tremor in her heart, a sense of loss and inferiority, and a pang of sadness for her previous ignorance. She inexplicably felt sorry for those who bought her grapes.
Looking at Wang Hongjuan's smiling face, I saw her hand me an unknown variety of grapes from her family. I put one in my mouth, and it tasted sweet and refreshing with a hint of rose fragrance: "How is it? This Sunshine Rose grape only started bearing fruit this year, and there aren't many."
"Mmm, so sweet, not a trace of sourness. Your mother-in-law is really capable. I heard this variety is difficult to grow, it must be very expensive!"
Looking at Jiang Shuya, whose grapes looked far better than her own, she asked.
Wang Hongjuan said with a hint of smugness, "10 yuan a pound, that's not too expensive, is it!"
“I heard you went out to sell grapes a few days ago. Your mother-in-law said there aren’t many ripe ones left to pick, and you’ll have to wait for the next batch. Where did you sell them, and at what price?”
Jiang Shuya thought for a moment and said, "We didn't sell many, only two or three hundred catties. You know, the first batch of grapes doesn't yield many catties. Some people from my sister's workplace wanted them. She helped promote them before, so the price she gave was fair and not too high."
After waiting for a while, Tangtang became a little impatient, so Jiang Shuya asked her mother-in-law to take her home. She stayed in front of the stall all morning. During that time, a few people asked about the price. With the two pearls on the other side as a comparison, hers was obviously much less appealing. No one came into the garden to pick any fruit all morning.
As the rain gradually stopped in the afternoon, Jiang Shuya received a call from someone who had made a reservation for picking fruit. They said they had arrived at the display point. Looking around, she saw a woman holding a phone and walking over with one hand raised, followed by two young girls.
The three looked at the various varieties in front of them. One woman looked at the ping-pong ball with great curiosity and said that she wanted to pick such a big fruit herself. The other two also invited Jiang Shuya to accompany them.
She could only have the old man watch the stall while she personally led them to pick the fruit.
The plan changed at the drop of a hat. Without asking about the price, the group went straight into the vineyard with Jiang Shuya. Once inside, the youngest girl touched and looked around curiously, but dared not touch anything. The group tasted the grapes again and again. Seeing that the bunches of grapes were being picked here and there, which was really unsightly, Jiang Shuya patiently cut a bunch for each of them so they could eat their fill.
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