Chapter 71 Chapter 71 Experience

It was the first time that the eldest son's good friend came to his home, and Wang Nian put in his best efforts to entertain him.

After going next door to ask Hu Wenli to go to Baoshan Bridge, he returned home and asked Shi Shuwen to ask Xiao Kangping to come home to play as well. Communicating more with peers would help him adapt to school life as quickly as possible.

Xiao Kangping was only ten years old when he was abducted. He never went to school again during that time. If he wanted to go back to school, he had to start from the fourth grade of elementary school.

In addition, the child was very introverted. If Shi Shuwen didn't take the initiative to play with him, he would basically stay at home and carve wood carvings.

"There are snacks in the cabinet, don't forget to take them out and treat your friends."

"Got it! Be careful on the road."

Ever since Jiang Feng sent someone to follow him last time, he would lock the front door of his house whenever he entered or left.

Shi Shuwen closed the door and called the shy Xiao Kangping: "Kangping, did you learn the algebra I taught you last week?"

Xiao Kangping nodded, still scratching his head a little embarrassedly: "Can I really catch up with your learning progress?"

"Of course you can. As long as you rank first in your fourth grade, you can apply to skip a grade." Shi Shuwen was very confident about this. He smiled and patted Xiao Kangping on the shoulder: "If you go fast, you can be admitted to the junior high school of No. 8 Middle School in one year... and then... you have wood carving skills that can add points, and then..."

What parents see is that their children are introverted, quiet and thin.

However, Shi Shuwen, who is of the same age as him, can quickly discover many advantages and guide him to gradually bring out those advantages.

Perhaps it is because he has already adapted to the boring and repetitive time when learning the carving craft, Xiao Kangping is extremely patient and hardworking.

These two qualities are equally effective in learning. As long as he has thoroughly understood the content taught by Shi Shuwen, he can be considered to have passed.

"Thanks to you, I have more confidence!"

"Let me introduce two friends to you." In the distance, Ding Hongyun and Xia Wei had already heard the voice and walked out. Shi Shuwen quickly pulled them over and said, "This is my neighbor brother. You should also call Kang Ping brother..."

A few teenagers got together. There was nothing they shouldn't talk about, so they naturally talked about their own situations.

Of course, I mainly listened to what Xiao Kangping said about what happened in Dingtai Village.

Ding Hongyun's eyes welled up with tears, and his round face was as wrinkled as a steamed bun that had been swollen by water.

"My troubles are nothing compared to yours."

"Stop crying..." Xia Wei raised his arms, intending to use his sleeves to wipe his good friend's tears.

Shi Shuwen saw that the atmosphere was so depressing that he was not going to do anything. He tore off a piece of toilet paper for Ding Hongyun to wipe his tears and then suggested, "Let's go to the backyard to pick cherries! I'm going to sell cherries with my brothers and sisters this afternoon."

The crying stopped.

"Where do the cherries come from in late February?"

Don't forget that Xiao Kangping lived in the village for several years. When he was hungry, he would go to the village to steal fruits grown by other families.

Cherries usually mature in late March, so the fruits should be only a little bit big now.

Shi Shuwen shook his head: "My mother said that if I don't pick them now, they will fall all over the floor."

Although he grew up in Changshenggou, strictly speaking he was a child who had never been to the ground, so how could he know when the fruit should be ripe.

Anyway, whenever his mother says that certain fruits at home are ripe, he is responsible for eating them.

Seeing that the three siblings stayed at home all day, Wang Nian suggested that they pick cherries and sell them at the doorstep, and the profit would be divided equally among the three of them.

"Let's go and take a look." Xiao Kangping was curious.

"In the backyard."

The four cherry trees left by the previous owner were previously planted on the roof. Wang Nian felt that the nutrients in the soil of the flowerpots were not enough to support flowering and fruiting, so after the loofah season was over, he transplanted the cherry trees to the innermost plot of land in the yard.

When Shi Shuwen moved in, he watered these trees. The branches were not even as thick as two fingers, and sparse leaves hung on the branches, looking like they would die at any time.

But these four trees...

"There are really so many cherries!" Xiao Kangping sighed.

From a distance, the four trees form a red fruit wall. From a closer look, each tree looks like a big red lantern, densely covered with purple-red cherries.

"Why is it different from what my grandma bought?" Ding Hongyun felt very strange.

The cherries were not only dark in color but also large in size, and the air was filled with a sweet scent.

Shi Shuwen suddenly rushed towards the cherry tree and waved his hand to drive away the birds that were flying over to peck at the cherries.

“Go…go…”

The sweet smell comes from the cherries that have been pecked. Birds will only peck at ripe fruits.

The bird persevered and flew back to another tree. Shi Shuwen couldn't chase it away with his hands, so he had to take out a bamboo pole and wave it.

Tying a piece of rag to the top of a bamboo pole can not only drive away ducks, but also drive away flying birds.

The bird was frightened and finally spread its wings and flew into the sky.

"You guys try it first, I'll go call my brothers and sisters."

After chasing the bird away, Shi Shuwen was already so tired that his forehead was covered in sweat. He could only ask his companions to wait for a while and ran upstairs to call for help.

Shi Wan had already said that she wanted to pick the fruits herself, and if I didn’t call her, I wouldn’t know what to do when she got up.

As soon as Shi Shuwen walked away, Xia Wei followed him and walked back.

Of course, it was not to follow and call for help, but because he saw something else that interested him when he walked in just now.

"Come and take a look."

"What are you looking at?"

The place that Xia Wei was interested in was blocked by a plastic shed. When Ding Hongyun walked over, he found that there was actually a small patch of grapes there.

"Grapes?" Xiao Kangping said.

"It doesn't look like grapes." Xia Wei walked under the vines, but couldn't even reach the fruit with his hands, so he could only put it down helplessly: "The grapes in my hometown are black. I've never seen grapes this red! And look..."

The fruit is oval in shape and a bit hard when pinched, and has an indescribable floral fragrance.

Each bunch was as big as their head and was so heavy that they had to be hung on the branches with ropes.

"My mom said it was just grapes, just hybrid grapes...and they were delicious!"

Suddenly, a chubby kid popped out from behind the shed, rolled his eyes, and turned around abruptly: "Brother, let's pick some grapes and sell them!"

"I'll ask mom when she comes back." Shi Shuwen hurried over with a pair of pants in his hand: "Put on your pants first."

The brothers then realized that Shi Feiying was only wearing a pair of autumn pants and no outer pants.

"Brother, I want to eat grapes."

The reason these grapes didn't suffer a tragic loss was because the trellis was built too high, and even the dwarf Shi Feiying couldn't reach it even with a stool.

Unless his brother helps him, he can only drool at the grapes every day.

"I'm going home to get the ladder. You put on your pants first."

"Where's Mom?"

Shi Feiying took the pants and immediately started looking for his mother. As for his father who was on a business trip today, he had already forgotten about him.

"Mom went to Baoshan Bridge to buy shrimps."

"Why didn't you call me?"

"Put on your pants first!"

Shi Feiying finally started to put on her pants. Shi Wan came closer, rubbing her eyes, and asked the same question again: "Where's Mom?"

"Mom went to Baoshan Bridge to buy shrimps." Shi Shuwen replied helplessly, and then simply pushed his sister to the living room: "Go and ask Shasha to come and eat grapes."

After finally calming his younger brothers and sisters down, Shi Shuwen quickly found a ladder from the warehouse.

"Ding Hongyun, help me answer it."

The bunches of grapes are large and heavy, so one person has to hold them and cut them while another person catches them with a colander, otherwise they will slip out of their hands if they are not careful.

When Shi Shuwen climbed up the stairs, Ding Hongyun, the tallest one, was holding a colander below.

With a dull thud, the grapes that had just been cut could not be caught with one hand and fell accurately into the colander.

"Let's wait for mom to come back before we pick the grapes! Brother, you..." Shi Feiying's face was full of disdain, and she didn't forget to hold the ladder: "You're not as strong as my second sister."

Shi Shuwen couldn't refute it...

"Look, even after falling like that, the skin is not even scratched at all."

Ding Hongyun put the colander on the ground to check, and was surprised to find that the skin of the whole bunch of grapes was not broken at all after falling.

Everyone gathered around him.

It doesn’t matter whether the skin is broken or not, everyone just grabs one and puts it in their mouth immediately.

Not only does it smell like flowers, but it also tastes like flowers in your mouth. The flesh is delicate and elastic, and the juice is rich and sweet.

One bite was obviously not enough to fill the gaps between the teeth, and then everyone's hands reached out for the grapes.

Ding Hongyun has tasted many kinds of grapes, and the ones grown by Shi Shuwen are the best.

They said they were only going to try one skewer, but it was not enough for a few young men. After they finished the second skewer, Shi Wan and Qiu Shasha came again.

Until Wang Nian and Hu Wenli returned home, a group of people gathered in a circle under the grape trellis, eating and chatting happily!

"Mom...hiccup..."

The joy of seeing her mother coming home was instantly overwhelmed by the gas in her stomach, causing her to burp. She covered her stomach in embarrassment and even shouted, "I'm hungry."

"Go pick some cherries to help you digest your food. Mom will make you something delicious for lunch."

After hearing this, several children happily got up from the ground and began to divide the work, each of them would do something.

"Just pick a basket today to try it out. If it sells well, you can pick more." Hu Wenli reminded with a smile.

“Let them plan.”

The purpose was originally to train the children's abilities, and if adults interfered, the purpose would be lost. Wang Nian pulled Hu Wenli away and left the backyard to the children to decide for themselves.

"My husband Lao Xiao said that since Kangping has recovered to this state, my husband and I should kowtow to you."

After Xiao Kangping returned home, he was unable to replenish his nutrition for a long time due to severe stomach problems. He would have diarrhea and vomiting if he ate anything greasy.

If it weren't for the medicinal diet recipe that Wang Nian asked someone to find, the couple would still be worried about their child's health.

His health improved, and it was Wang Nian who asked Shi Shuwen to make friends with Xiao Kangping and help him with his homework.

This really solved their big problem regarding their children's education.

Now that Xiao Kangping has recovered to be no different from an ordinary child, my expectations for the future have unconsciously become much higher.

Lao Xiao worked very hard, and Hu Wenli never quarreled with the neighbors. They just thought about how to make their lives better, so naturally their spirits were different from before.

Wang Nian had personally witnessed the changes in Lao Xiao and his wife. At this moment, he just smiled and tapped the ground with his toes: "How about one now?"

"You really mean it..."

"Don't talk about that. Help me cook and we'll have lunch at my house."

"Don't tell me the truth! Has Mr. Shi increased his salary again? Your family's living expenses are really outrageous..."

"Most of my salary is spent on food. Try to see if it tastes good."

“It’s almost the same at my house now!”

The two chatted as they walked away. The children in the backyard had also completed their division of work.

Shi Shuwen plays the role of chief commander.

Ding Hongyun was tall, so he was responsible for picking the cherries on the top of the trees, while Xiao Kangping and his two sisters were responsible for the lower parts.

"Pick the cherries that are purple-red, and leave the light-red ones alone."

However, Shi Shuwen did not follow Hu Wenli's advice and focus on one tree, but picked the ripe ones first.

"Xiao Wan, pick some fresh leaves and put them under the colander. When you're done picking, put more fresh leaves on top."

"Why?" Shi Wan was puzzled.

"The sun is very strong today, which prevents the cherries from wilting and looking ugly, and also allows people to see that the cherries have just been picked from the tree," said Shi Shuwen.

Shi Feiying looked at her elder brother in admiration, and planned in her mind that Grape would follow suit later.

"Huang Wei and I are going to pick grapes."

"What about me?" Shi Feiying listened for a long time but her name was not called. She couldn't help but get anxious: "Why don't I help pick cherries?"

"Go brush your teeth and wash your face first," said Shi Shuwen.

Everyone was busy with their own work. After Shi Shuwen finished picking the grapes, he remembered the white mushrooms in the shed that they were all tired of eating, so he took a basin and cut a full basin of them.

When Shi Feiying saw her brother picking mushrooms, she changed her mind and ran to the rooftop again.

The fruit trees were transplanted downstairs, and the upstairs was planted with vegetables.

Among them is the vegetable that Shi Feiying hates the most - zucchini.

Even though she only planted six, Shi Feiying felt like she was eating them every day. No matter how delicious they were, she still felt sick of them.

When I went upstairs, I saw that it had fallen out of the flowerpot again. Without saying a word, I broke it clean and it took me three steps to move it.

"Shi Feiying!"

By the time Wang Nian discovered it, the two pots of zucchini had already been placed in the yard, with a lot of leaves inserted on the edges of the pots as decorations.

As soon as one looks at this look, it is basically certain that Shi Feiying is the culprit.

"Are you planning to empty the house?" Wang Nian said helplessly.

Hu Wenli simply looked at the pile of fruits and vegetables in front of her and smacked her lips: "What else do you have in your yard? No wonder you never go out to buy vegetables."

Other people go to the market to buy what they want to eat, but Wang Nian wants to eat... just plant it!

"We want to sell at the entrance of Annong Market, where there are many people."

After covering the last basket of grapes with leaves, Shi Shuwen took out a small notebook from his pocket and quickly wrote a few words.

Wang Nian went over to take a look and saw that it only said the number of bunches of grapes, but the weight was undetermined.

"I made some dumplings at noon, and we'll celebrate when you make some money."

Wang Nian didn't even ask them how they planned to sell it. He turned his gaze away and started preparing for dinner.

After eating the dumplings, Shi Shuwen suddenly went to the dry goods store at the end of the road.

Soon, I returned with a scale and started practicing weighing myself at home.

After you know the weight by looking at the scale, weigh all the things you plan to bring and record them in detail in a notebook before you consider that the preparations are complete.

The last wave: "Let's go."

Seven children of different heights set out in a mighty procession, looking as brave as if they were going to join the army.

In fact, the Annong Market is just next door, and it only takes five minutes to get there if you walk through the chemical plant living area.

"What are they going to pack later?" Hu Wenli asked.

Wang Nian smiled and shrugged, "Who knows?" and nonchalantly moved a stool to the door and sat there to learn knitting.

Five minutes later, at the entrance of Annong Market.

"Brother, I see that others have bags, but why don't we have any?" Shi Feiying quickly discovered the problem.

There are many small stalls selling fruits and vegetables at the entrance of the market, but everyone either bundles the vegetables with straw ropes or has plastic bags hanging around their waists.

Zucchini can be put directly into other people's bags, but fruits like cherries, which are easy to break, can only be carried in plastic bags.

"Wait a minute, I'll go buy some plastic bags."

Before a cherry is sold, money has to be spent.

At the same time, two beautifully dressed women were wandering around the market bored.

The short-haired woman in a pink dress sighed: "Let's go back to the hotel first, there's nothing to see!"

The other nodded.

They heard from the hotel staff that Annong Market is the largest comprehensive market in the city center, so they decided to check it out to see if there was anything delicious.

After walking around, I found that there was nothing in the market except a few common fruits and vegetables.

In terms of wealth, even the farmers' market outside their home cannot compare to them.

"Although Mr. Ho said that fruits and vegetables in the Mainland are much more abundant than those in Hong Kong, I think they are still far behind."

The woman in the pink suit is called Situ Lan, and the sturdy woman next to her is her sister-in-law. They both came to the mainland for an inspection with their husband Gan Rong.

"Then let's take a taxi back and don't go out tomorrow."

As soon as Sister-in-law Gan entered the market, she stepped on horse shit. She didn't know which horse-drawn delivery carriage had left it that morning, and she had been feeling unhappy about it for a long time.

As soon as she reached the door, Situ Lan was instantly attracted by a group of children on the roadside.

The three children were neatly dressed, very different from the snotty-nosed kid sitting on the side of the road playing marbles.

Then there is the colander in front of the people.

"Do you smell the fragrance?" Situ Lan asked her sister-in-law.

The other party was on the verge of running out of patience, and just shook his head casually and was about to shake his head: "I don't smell anything."

"It's the scent of cherries." said Situ Lan.

As if to confirm her words, the next moment the youngest child took all the leaves on the colander, revealing the bright red cherries inside.

“It’s really a cherry!”

After walking around the entire market, this is the first time I have seen fruits other than oranges and apples.

It wasn't just two people who noticed the cherries. Passersby simply glanced at them and immediately stopped and walked away.

“Is this a cherry?”

"It's cherries." Shi Feiying's voice was crisp, and she looked at the man nervously with big eyes: "Uncle, do you want to buy cherries?"

"How can I buy it if I don't want to try it?"

When the man saw that it was a few kids selling things, his tone became smiling.

The adults would have seen at a glance that this man was just teasing the children, but Shi Feiying didn't hear a word of it.

"You can try it." Shi Feiying enthusiastically grabbed one and handed it to the man to taste. Shi Wan stood on tiptoe and looked nervously into the market, fearing that someone would say that her brother had not returned yet.

The man spat out the cherry pit, ate it and said "good" twice, but he didn't mean to buy it. Instead, he squatted down and stretched out his hand again: "Uncle, I don't taste it, try another one."

After saying that, he quickly grabbed a small handful from the colander. Shi Feiying frowned but still said nothing.

The four brothers went to the market to look for plastic bags. Although they felt that it was wrong for men to do so, they did not realize why it was wrong.

The man finished eating quickly, and said with a smile that he needed to taste it to appreciate its flavor.

This is clearly a case of looking at a few kids selling things and trying to take advantage.

Situ Lan was just about to step forward to speak up for the injustice, when she suddenly saw that the child had grabbed the man's hand.

"Brother, this uncle said he wants to weigh two kilograms." Shi Feiying shouted to the four brothers who came out of the market.

The physique of a sixteen-year-old boy is completely comparable to that of an adult male.

Shi Feiying immediately retracted her hand and continued happily: "Uncle tasted a lot and said that our cherries are delicious." She pointed to the cherry pits on the ground and said: "Uncle must like them very much."

"Sixty cents a pound, two pounds is one dollar and twenty cents." Shi Shuwen walked over and seriously quoted the price, while tearing off a plastic bag.

"Guoguang apples are only 55 cents, how can cherries be so expensive?" The man frowned.

"It tastes good." Shi Shuwen smiled and said, "How else could you taste so much?"

It's not like his mouth has lost its sense of taste, so how could he not taste anything? It's obvious that he's just being naughty because Fei Ying is young.

The man turned and walked away, his face full of anger at being exposed.

"Doing business is so difficult!" Shi Feiying squatted down, holding her chin with her hands, thinking: "My mother said that doing business is also a science, it seems to be true."

I haven't even sold a penny yet, and I've already lost a lot of cherries.

"As long as you learn, you will always make progress." Shi Shuwen touched his brother's head and said, "Look at how many times Dad failed when he was grinding parts."

"That's right." Shi Feiying thought for a moment, and moved the stools for her two sisters to sit on. She became happy again: "I'll go back and get some dried meat, and we can sell it while we eat."

"Jerky is much more expensive than cherries." Shi Wan sighed.

"Excuse me...how do you sell cherries?"

Situ Lan walked up and asked with a smile, specifically asking about Shi Feiying.

"Sixty cents a pound." Shi Feiying opened her palm and made the number five.

"Can I try it?"

Shi Feiying: “…”

You can see the tangled look on that cute little face. After a long while, she looked at her elder brother and nodded, "You can have a taste."

Shi Shuwen took two and passed them over.

"These cherries were just picked from the trees this morning. Both aunts, please have a taste."

Whether cherries are fresh or not can be seen just by looking at the cherry stem. After a long period of transportation, the cherry stems that enter the supermarket will be yellowed and the skin will lose its elasticity.

The two cherries in the palm of my hand not only have shiny skin, but also have green stems.

When you take a bite, the skin opens instantly and the juice gushes out, while the flesh is sweet and elastic.

The taste is excellent and really fresh.

Seeing the two of them spit out the pits after eating and wrap them in a tissue instead of throwing them away, Shi Feiying's brain immediately started working and she quickly lifted the leaves off the grapes.

"Auntie, try some grapes too."

Seeing this, Shi Wan had already pulled off two grapes and passed them over. The three siblings coordinated perfectly.

If cherries are a surprise, then grapes are absolutely amazing.

Situ Lan was sure that she had tasted at least most of the various types of grapes from home and abroad, but she had never tasted grapes like this.

"Grapes are one yuan per pound." Shi Shuwen quoted the price.

Wang Nian said that growing grapes is much more complicated than growing cherries, and the more labor required, the higher the price.

And Situ Lan obviously didn't mind the price which was much higher than the market price.

"Give me ten pounds of cherries." He looked down at the number of grapes in the basket and said proudly, "I'll take all the grapes."

Cherries don’t last long, otherwise she would have bought them all.

It can be seen that these children's families are not professional fruit farmers, but of course they cannot miss such delicious fruits.