The Du family had four acres of melon fields. The father and son were picking melons in the field. Wang Peng only picked the big ones and not the small ones. Du Geda smiled slightly and didn't care.
Before long, Du Liu arrived with a cart. He unloaded the scale from the cart, rolled up his sleeves, and helped weigh and load the cart.
After two hours of work, the three of them filled a truck with watermelons.
Du Liu handed the ledger to Wang Peng, saying, "Scholar, take a look and see if my calculations are correct."
Wang Peng took the ledger, quickly calculated it, and laughed, "Not bad, a total of 523 jin. The village chief is indeed quite capable."
"Of course, do you think just anyone can be the village chief?" Du Liu started to show off. "Young man, you're quite remarkable, daring to start a business at such a young age."
“When I was your age, I was herding cattle with my bare bottom showing. Young people these days are really amazing.” Du Geda gave a thumbs up.
Wang Peng felt embarrassed by their words, but he took it as a compliment and took out money from his wallet to pay the bill.
“Top scholar, I’ll give you a discount. This cartload of melons will be charged as 500 catties. How about it?” Du Geda was also very happy.
He has proven to the village chief that he was right and that the village chief was judging him by his own petty standards.
"Thank you, Uncle. You're very generous," Wang Peng quickly said.
Old Master Du is kind-hearted and gave away twenty-three catties of watermelon for free, which is worth two yuan and thirty cents.
I earned a total of 123.85 yuan this morning, and now I only have 15 yuan and 500 jin of watermelon left. It's still a long way from my goal of "tuition fees".
However, he is confident about the future.
There are still plenty of watermelons here. The two sides have already established a cooperative relationship, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, achieving our small goal should not be a problem.
As the sun set and the red clouds flew across the western mountains, Wang Peng pulled his melon cart to the railway culvert when night fell. He would spend the night there.
I didn't eat dinner, so I cut a watermelon to satisfy my hunger and thirst.
Suddenly, two green lights appeared outside the culvert, staring intently at this side.
"Meow, meow..."
"A stray cat?" Wang Peng laughed. "You want to watch the drama too?"
"Meow, meow..." the stray cat kept meowing.
The cat was probably lured over by the watermelon.
He cut a slice of watermelon and placed it at the entrance of the culvert, saying, "Brother Cat, please help yourself, and remember to bring me good fortune."
In traditional Chinese culture, cats are regarded as animals that bring good fortune, and the image of the lucky cat is deeply ingrained in people's minds.
After an unknown amount of time, the cat slowly approached, meowed twice, and buried its head in its food.
Wang Peng spread two snakeskin bags on the ground, curled up in a ball and lay down. He felt unwell all over when he woke up the next day.
"This won't do. I'll rent a house after I sell the watermelons." He stretched his limbs, packed up his snakeskin bag, and prepared to continue his journey.
If he continues to sleep outdoors like this, he might get sick, and he can't afford to get sick now.
Suddenly, he stared wide-eyed at the cart.
A white cat was perched on the car, its eyes silently fixed on him.
This cat is pure white with very clean fur; it doesn't look like a stray.
One eye is blue and the other is yellow, a condition commonly known as heterochromia, and the person is very beautiful.
He scratched his head, perhaps because he had been single for too long in two lifetimes, and even a cat seemed handsome to him.
"Let's go, it's pointless." He pulled the cart away from the railway culvert.
Looking back, the white cat was still squatting in the car. It had been latched onto. The cat probably knew the difference between being full at one meal and being full at every meal.
"Following me might mean you won't get any meat to eat. You should think it through."
Wang Peng walked through the cemetery, circled the wall of the railway family compound, and arrived at the main gate of the compound, where he offered two watermelons to the security guard.
The old man opened the iron gate with a smile. "This is a Persian cat. Our leader has an identical one at home. He bought it in the provincial capital for two hundred yuan."
"Grandpa, the boss is really rich. I can't bear to spend two hundred yuan to buy a cat," Wang Peng said with a smile.
"Go sell your watermelons, kid. You're lucky; the leaders are away in the city for a meeting these days." The old man carried the watermelons back to the guardhouse.
Wang Peng pulled his cart into the residential compound, intending to hawk his wares, but worried about disturbing the neighbors and being kicked out, so he continued knocking on doors to sell melons.
Yesterday, I knocked on the door of courtyard number 30, and just as I was about to knock on the door of courtyard number 31, the main gate across the street opened.
A young woman was pushing her bicycle, preparing to go out. Her round, chubby face was covered with a few pimples, making her less attractive.
"Hey beautiful, want some watermelon?" Wang Peng struck up a conversation. "Three cents a pound, no fruit coupons required."
The uncle who sells sesame cakes told him yesterday that watermelons at the farmers' market are also 30 cents a pound, but you need a fruit coupon for a pound.
Currently, planned economy and market economy coexist. It seems that before long, all kinds of ration coupons will disappear from the historical stage, and planned economy will become history.
"Wow!" The sound of a beautiful woman made her heart flutter. "What a beautiful cat!"
She stopped her bicycle, reached out and petted the white cat, "Mimi, Mimi."
The white cat didn't run away; instead, it rubbed its fluffy head against her palm and purred softly.
The beautiful woman's heart melted. "Comrade, I'll buy fifty pounds of watermelon. Give me the cat; I have too many mice at home."
"Huh?" Wang Peng hurriedly shook his head, "No, beautiful lady, my parents aren't home, and this cat is my only family."
The cat was found on the street, and its owner is probably someone from the neighborhood. The security guard said it was a Persian cat worth 200 yuan, but he didn't dare to sell it.
The beautiful woman looked regretful and hugged the cat to her chest. "Pick six melons for me. If they're not ripe, can I get a refund?"
"Money-back guarantee. I came yesterday, and I'll come again." Wang Peng picked out melons for her.
The beautiful woman only looked at the cat, not the melon; she bent down and kissed the cat's head—she truly loves cats.
Wang Peng never expected that the cat could actually attract business; it truly lived up to its reputation as a lucky cat.
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