Zhang Hongmei hasn't gone anywhere else, so the spinach shouldn't be hard to sell. It would be best to find out more by asking around.
Zhang Hongmei was hesitant to ask Liu Changhai, as she didn't know what had happened between him and the old lady.
But I don't know where to ask. If all else fails, I'll just have to find someone else to cause trouble and then pull some strings.
There should be a lot of mushrooms on the mountain after this rain. I wonder if the aunties and grandmas in the village have gone up the mountain yet.
If I were at home, I definitely wouldn't have let this opportunity pass me by. I couldn't sell it; I would have kept it for myself.
No, tonight we'll have chicken stew with mushrooms, and stir-fried pork with matsutake mushrooms and scallions.
The week passed quickly. On Saturday morning, after finishing breakfast, Zhang Hongmei went to the post office to wait for Wang Hongxi and brought him some vegetable buns with chives and eggs.
This task absolutely had to be done by Wang Hongxi; no one else was as experienced, worldly-wise, and shrewd as him. Liu Maocai certainly couldn't have done it as well as Wang Hongxi. It's all about temperament and character.
Zhang Hongmei spotted Wang Hongxi from afar at the post office entrance. He was so conspicuous; his bicycle was almost completely hidden by its basket.
There were two large baskets on each side of the back seat, and two more baskets on top of that. Two more baskets hung on either side of the front crossbar, and a cloth bag, probably a scale, was hanging from the handlebars. How did they even manage to ride this far?
Zhang Hongmei quickly ran over and said, "Uncle Village Chief, you're here so early! Hurry up, this is a vegetable bun I made for you this morning. Eat it quickly, they'll be opening for work soon."
"I have to admit I'm really hungry, but we need to unload the car first, otherwise you won't be able to hold it up."
"Village Chief, you're amazing! How did you manage to ride all that way?"
"The baskets in front are mainly for pressing down the seeds; otherwise, the shaft is too light to ride." Zhang Hongmei first untied the rope at the back. To prevent the spinach from being crushed, she also put wooden sticks on the bottom basket before placing the second basket on top. She really has a good idea.
This basket of spinach must weigh at least forty or fifty pounds, meaning we brought over three hundred pounds of vegetables this time.
Zhang Hongmei put all eight baskets on the ground and urged Wang Hongxi to eat quickly.
"Uncle Village Chief, how much do you sell this spinach for per pound?"
"I discussed it with your third uncle, and it'll be one cent per pound. The bok choy will be the same price, and so will the scallions."
Zhang Hongmei thought the price was acceptable, especially considering that in good years, even cabbages could fetch two or three cents.
Wang Hongxi didn't eat them all, leaving three for her "third uncle later, he's driving the cart behind."
"Village Chief, you've eaten all of this. I still have some left. Just take it with you when you go to pick me up."
When Huang Ying arrived, she saw a row of eight boxes, all covered with snakeskin bags.
"Hongmei, is this spinach?"
"Yes, Sister Huang Ying, look, they're so tender and fresh."
Huang Ying opened a bag and nodded with satisfaction. "It looks really good, it makes my mouth water. How much do you plan to sell it for per pound?"
Wang Hongxi smiled warmly, "We only have one mao per jin. Hongmei said that our comrade helped arrange it. Thank you."
"You're welcome. Let's help each other out. One cent per pound is acceptable. Our director should be here soon, and our canteen might also need some. Please wait a little longer."
"Sister Huang Ying, can you distribute this much? Why don't you wait here, Uncle Village Chief, and I'll take a bundle of spinach to the cotton mill and ask if the canteen will take it?"
"I reckon we can distribute them all. Everyone will buy some to take home, so the cafeteria will have to keep the rest for lunch today, right?"
"Hongmei, why don't you take it and ask? I still need to pick up your third uncle later."
"Okay, I'll go first and come back in a bit."
Zhang Hongmei rode her bicycle to the cotton mill with a bundle of spinach in her hand. The gatekeeper didn't stop her. She found yesterday's team leader and said, "Leader, look, this is our village's spinach. Our village chief is distributing vegetables at the post office. If you decide you want some, several hundred kilograms will be delivered in about an hour."
"That's really something new. How much is it priced?"
"One cent per pound."
"Sure, just bring them over when you get off the bus. If anyone wants some, we'll share. If no one wants them, they'll all go to the cafeteria."
"Okay, I'll go tell our village chief right away, and I'll come find you in a little while."
Zhang Hongmei took the bundle of spinach to the food supply station again and received a positive reply. They would send them whatever they had tomorrow, but the price would be nine cents.
Zhang Hongmei didn't dare to make a decision, only saying that the village chief would come over in a little while.
It was an hour later when I rushed back to the post office. By then, the last basket of spinach had been divided up by everyone.
"Uncle Village Chief, the cotton mill has ordered a truckload of spinach."
Wang Hongxi took the bicycle. "Okay, here you go. This is the scale, and there's money in it. Count it in a bit. I'm going to pick up your third uncle first."
"Okay. I'll wait for you at the cotton mill gate in a bit." Zhang Hongmei helped Wang Hongxi stack the baskets together and tie them to the cart.
Zhang Hongmei carried a cloth bag into Huang Ying's office.
"Sister Huang Ying, may I use your office for a while? And thank you so much."
"Don't mention it, we've actually helped out. Besides, we didn't overcharge you."
"Hehe, our village chief is so honest. I'll count my money here with you."
"You stay here by yourself, I'll go get you the newspaper."
Zhang Hongmei took the scale out of the cloth bag and poured the money directly onto the table; it was quite a lot. She counted it—a total of thirty-one yuan and fifty cents.
Zhang Hongmei put the money into her handbag, put it in a cloth bag to weigh it, took the newspaper from Huang Ying, and left.
He strolled over to the cotton mill, chatted idly with the gatekeeper, and waited for Wang Hongxi.
An hour and a half later, Wang Hongxi arrived, covered in sweat. This time it went smoothly; the cafeteria had everything they wanted, and they even ordered spinach for tomorrow.
This time it weighed 350 jin (125 kg), totaling 35 jin (12.5 kg).
"Uncle Village Chief, has my Third Uncle come home?"
"Yes, he went home, and I went back too. The spinach can still be sold for three or four more days, after which it will be bok choy. This vegetable will not run out for another month."
“That’s great, we have extra income now. Oh, right, we still need to go to the food supply station. They want as much as we want, but they only pay nine cents a pound. You should go and talk to them.”
“Sure, you can bring over a thousand catties tomorrow. Your third uncle and I will take turns selling them, and we’ll be able to sell them all by noon. Come on, let’s go take a look.”
Listening to Wang Hongxi chatting with the leaders of the non-staple food supply station, Zhang Hongmei was truly impressed by his eloquence; it was a waste of his talent to be the village head.
Finally, it was settled at 9.5 cents.
"Village Chief, are you leaving after you've finished your meal?" Zhang Hongmei said, handing the money to Wang Hongxi.
"This is thirty-one yuan and fifty cents. We've bought sixty yuan worth of goods in a day."
Wang Hong smiled broadly, her eyes practically disappearing into her teeth, and said, "No, I'm not hungry. Go home and eat. You should go back and rest too, you need to study hard."
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