Chapter 8 I won't take these peanuts
"Okay, come back to the village with me. This year, we have a lot of peanuts and sweet potatoes, and the sorghum harvest will probably be good too. It's just that the ones on the mountain are not ripe yet. Take a look and see what you want?"
Su Yuhe was an old hand at farming, and he knew the harvests of every household in the village! Su Xiaoli pondered for a moment.
Now is the season when the autumn heat is at its worst, and it is probably not the time for roasted sweet potatoes to be sold hotly. Besides, most people in the county eat white flour and rice, so sorghum probably won’t be sold either.
"Then I'll buy peanuts. According to the market price, the dried peanuts with shells are 30 cents per pound, and the wet peanuts are 20 cents per pound. I can also exchange them for sugar, salt or matches. What do you think?"
People in the countryside are not used to using "kilogram" as a unit of measurement, and still use the local method. 10 taels equal one catty, and the villagers are familiar with this calculation.
Su Yuhe did a quick mental calculation.
"Okay, this price is a win-win for everyone, and it also saves the villagers the travel expenses to go to the county grain station."
He paused, then continued, “I will make the announcement on the loud speaker, have lunch at home, and in the afternoon ask them to bring any surplus peanuts to the playground of the village primary school.”
The two of them discussed all the way back to the village, and Village Chief Su shouted twice on the loudspeaker.
When Su Xiaoli finished lunch and arrived at the elementary school playground, there were already quite a few people gathered in groups of three or four.
Before leaving home, Grandma Su gave her all the salary she had just received. In total, she took more than 40 yuan, which was enough to collect at least 100 kilograms of dried peanuts.
Su Xiaoli borrowed a scale from the supply and marketing cooperative, reiterated the purchase price twice, and emphasized the principle of not purchasing goods that are sandy, stone-filled, moldy, and infested with insects.
An auntie standing at the front couldn't wait to hand her a basket.
"Girl, I've been drying these peanuts for seven or eight days. They're very dry. Come and weigh them."
Su Xiaoli opened a peanut and found two peanuts in one shell. The peanuts were full, large and uniform in size, with a translucent red skin.
"Okay, Auntie, these peanuts are really good and big. I'll give them to you at 30 cents a pound."
The aunt nodded vigorously.
She couldn't stop smiling, "Today's peanut harvest is good. In addition to squeezing oil for ourselves, there is still some left."
The people waiting behind the auntie were a little impatient, "Aunt Zhang, stop chatting, there are still people waiting behind."
Su Xiaoli showed Aunt Zhang the scale and said, "Aunt, this is 7.2 jin. Do you want to change it all into money, or add some salt or sugar?"
Aunt Zhang had obviously figured it out. "I'll give you two dollars in exchange, and the rest can be used as salt."
"Okay!"
Su Xiaoli poured the peanuts into the sack, counted out 2 yuan, and took out two bags of salt that had been packed at noon and handed them to Aunt Zhang.
Aunt Zhang wet her mouth with some saliva with her finger, counted the two RMB notes again, then turned around and walked away with a smile on her face.
A young wife came up with a half-grown boy and handed Su Xiaoli a basket full of peanuts.
"Girl, look at my house."
"Sister-in-law, this was just dug out, it's really fresh."
Su Xiaoli picked one apart and tasted it.
The peanuts in the light pink coat smell light and taste sweet and pure when chewed.
"Of course not. My family planted it late. I heard the broadcast on the loudspeaker in the morning and didn't even have time to eat lunch. I went to pull them out now. Look, I washed them very clean." The young daughter-in-law couldn't help but feel proud.
Su Xiaoli was also happy, it seemed that this trip was the right one.
"It's exactly 9.8 jins. Do you want to..."
Before she could finish, the young wife rushed in and said, "I want money, and three more boxes of matches."
Matches are consumable, so it's always a good idea to take this opportunity to stock up on some.
"Mom, I want to eat candy--" The boy tugged at the corner of the young wife's clothes.
The young wife was a little hesitant. These days, sugar is more expensive than matches.
"Mom, candy--" The boy's saliva was almost flowing out.
"Okay, sister, then give me a bag of candy!" The young daughter-in-law made up her mind.
Su Xiaoli poured the wet peanuts into another sack, added 1.5 yuan, and gave her some candy and matches, "Sister-in-law, keep them."
The young daughter-in-law walked over with the happy baby.
The people at the back were afraid that the salt or sugar they wanted would be taken away by the people in front, so they all scrambled to squeeze forward.
A plump middle-aged woman pushed through the crowd with great effort and handed over a basket. "It's my turn, it's my turn. I want to exchange money and candy!"
Su Xiaoli took a quick look, picked up another peanut and smelled it, "Auntie, I won't accept your peanuts."
"What did you say?" The middle-aged woman, named Zhang Cuihua, immediately frowned, "Why don't you accept mine?!"
"Your piece is not only sandy on the outside, but it's also moldy inside. I can't accept it."
Su Xiaoli peeled the peanut. The red skin had already turned dark and wrinkled, and a layer of yellowish-brown mycelium gave off an unpleasant smell of mold.
"If you say you don't want to accept it, then don't accept it. If it's moldy, just wash it, right?" Zhang Cuihua asked back angrily.
"Yes, you can eat it after washing it." An auntie agreed softly.
"Who among us farmers hasn't eaten peanuts like this?" muttered an old man smoking a pipe.
"That's right, if there's anything you can't eat, you can just buy it at a lower price."
The peanuts in a brother's bag were similar to those of the middle-aged woman, and he gave an idea directly.
The onlookers also began to talk.
Seeing that she had the support of her fellow villagers, Zhang Cuihua straightened her back a little.
Su Xiaoli stood up calmly and looked around.
When the discussion died down, she said in a loud voice: "Grandparents, uncles and aunts, please listen to me. Peanuts that are moldy and sprouted are not only unpalatable, but more importantly, they will produce aflatoxin! Aflatoxin is extremely toxic. Eating too much will cause poisoning! It can also cause cancer!
Cancer is currently a terminal illness! No matter how much money is spent, it cannot be cured. Would you be willing to eat a few moldy peanuts and end up spending tens of thousands of dollars on treatment?"
When Su Xiaoli calculated the financial accounts, everyone was suddenly stunned.
Although no one understood the words "xanthocyanin" and "cancer", everyone heard the words "poisoning", "terminal illness" and "tens of thousands of dollars in medical expenses" clearly.
Who has seen tens of thousands of dollars these days? I’ve never even seen a few hundred dollars!
Zhang Cuihua curled her lips.
This little yellow-haired girl actually threatened everyone with the expense of getting sick. If you don't spit on this girl, you think Zhang Cuihua is easy to bully, right? "Humph! What's the matter? It's just a few peanuts. Is it that serious? You're just trying to scare people."
Zhang Cuihua sneered and looked like she was ready to fight.
"It's written in the medical books. If you don't believe me, let's ask the doctor from the hospital." Su Xiaoli did not show any weakness and directly cited his authority.
Zhang Cuihua didn't even go to primary school, so naturally she didn't understand.
After Su Xiaoli said this, she felt a little panicked.
Su Xiaoli ignored Zhang Cuihua's nagging.
She looked at the crowd and continued, "Most of the people here today are my elders. I'm just being arrogant. I harvest these peanuts to feed people. It's a conscientious job.
Since I was a child, my father Su Jianguo taught me that I should always act according to my conscience! I will never let anyone who has eaten peanuts say that he got sick because he ate the peanuts from our Nanzhule Village!"
Thank you all for your votes~ (End of this chapter)
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