I don't even know how to take a shower before taking a plane.
Pei Xu lit up the screen of his phone and showed it to him, "Five in the morning."
Jiang Lin covered his face with one hand, "You'd better have a reason that convinces me. I'm grumpy when I wake up."
"Didn't I tell you a few days ago? Selling sugar cane."
“I think you look like sugar cane.”
Pei Xu urged him: "Hurry up and wash up, and go to the field to cut sugarcane."
Jiang Lin turned around reluctantly and said, "I want to chop someone down."
After a lot of hard work, the two of them arrived at the market at around eight o'clock in the morning with two bundles of sugarcane.
Jiang Lin sat on a small stool with his back to the people passing by, and said with a wrinkled face: "Xiao Pei, I feel that you have caused me great mental harm."
Pei Xu was sorting the sugar canes. "Village Master, are you still not used to getting up early?"
"You also know that I get up early every day?" Jiang Lin looked at him resentfully, "Today is the first day that I don't have to get up early to cut sugarcane. Thanks to you, I still stick to my post."
Pei Xu took out a thermos cup from her bag and handed it to him, "I'll give you some extra life."
"What?"
"I'll open it for you! You're just too lazy!" Pei Xu said as he opened the lid.
The familiar smell wafted into his nose, Jiang Lin gulped down a few mouthfuls, looking satisfied, "Didn't you say that American coffee is hot pot water?"
Pei Xu crossed his arms over his chest and teased him leisurely: "Yes, but this cup is not."
Jiang Lin closed the lid and asked, "What's the difference?"
"The coffee powder I personally ground must have a high gold content, right?"
Jiang Lin nodded with satisfaction, then turned around and said, "Since you are so sincere, I will not take it to heart."
Pei Xu stuffed a piece of cardboard and a marker into his arms, "Don't be so pretentious, write the sign quickly."
"Why don't you write? You have a PhD!"
Pei Xu fiddled with the sugar cane and said, "You have worked hard and made great contributions. You should do some clerical work."
There were more and more people at the market, and the two men seemed to have become mascots. The middle-aged and elderly customers passing by looked at them instead of Sugarcane.
Jiang Lin consciously took out his phone to check his face, "There's nothing on my face either. I feel like a monkey in a park being watched."
Pei Xu said casually: "You are handsome."
"That's the truth."
The back of a nearby truck was piled high with tangerines and a sign said, "10 yuan for 5 jin."
The boss was a middle-aged man in his 50s, a little thin, with a black cloth wallet tied around his waist. He picked up the loudspeaker and shouted: "It's a bargain! Fresh and sweet tangerines are 10 yuan for 5 catties. If they are not sweet, you don't have to pay. Try them before you buy!"
Passers-by were attracted by the shouting, and their hesitant eyes slowed down their pace. The boss grabbed a few tangerines and handed them to them, saying enthusiastically: "Uncle, you can have a taste. It doesn't matter if you don't buy."
The boss surrounded them with enthusiasm and said, "Give me a few pounds."
He pulled off the plastic bag and picked up the fruits in one go. Jiang Lin was stunned and showed an admiring look, "If I were in your place, I would not be able to resist. I would have to buy a few kilograms too."
Pei Xu patted his shoulder and said, "So, customers need to be recruited."
Facing the sunlight, Jiang Lin half-closed his eyes and said, "Forget about it."
Pei Xu patted his pants, stood up suddenly, and shouted loudly: "Uncle, aunt, give me some sugar cane, crisp and sweet! The price is good!"
Passing customers looked at them suspiciously. Jiang Lin covered half of his face with one hand and pulled the corner of his clothes with the other hand, "Stop shouting!"
Pei Xu looked down at him, the corners of his mouth slightly raised, and he shouted even more happily: "The sugarcane grown at home, without pesticides or fertilizers, is crisp and sweet. Uncle, have one."
The old man with half white hair waved his hands and said, "My teeth can't bite it anymore."
“Hahahahahahaha.” Jiang Lin lowered his head and laughed, “Next time you sell tofu, come to me.”
"Big star, just smile. You can go home when you sell these two bundles of sugarcane."
"My legs are on my body, why?"
Pei Xu looked at the staff holding the camera and smiled slyly: "Since you are filming in Peijia Village, if you don't want to gain a bunch of haters as soon as the show is broadcast, you must listen to me."
Jiang Lin stood up and clapped his hands beside his ears: "You are so awesome! You are outstanding!"
The two began to sell precisely, attracting several middle-aged women to come over. Pei Xu said attentively: "It's cheap! It's not worth the money. Buy a few more, so that the grandchildren at home can eat them after school."
The aunt said cheerfully: "Then give me two and help me cut them into pieces and pack them up."
Jiang Lin put on the plastic bag and said, "Don't worry, it won't break."
Gradually, more and more customers came to the stall. Pei Xu peeled the sugarcane skillfully, Jiang Lin packed it up neatly, and collected and gave change.
An old lady asked: "Are you two brothers?"
Jiang Lin smiled and asked: "Auntie, do you think we look alike?"
The aunt's eyes wandered between them for a few seconds. "Yes, they are both very handsome."
Pei Xu smiled and handed the sugar cane to her: "Auntie, you have really good taste!"
With wave after wave of arrivals and departures, only half of the two bundles of sugarcane were left, and the hill of tangerines on the side gradually flattened.
The boss grabbed a handful with both hands and handed them over, asking: "You are so young and you know how to do business. You sold out more than half of it in no time."
Jiang Lin also gave him two pieces of sugar cane, "This is my first time doing business."
The boss showed a surprised expression, "First time? That's rare. Nowadays, young people are too embarrassed to shout and solicit business. When I first started my business, I just sat there with a chair and waited for customers to come and buy."
Jiang Lin said: "If you don't work hard, you won't be able to go home."
The boss moved the chair to the side closest to them and said, "Everything is difficult now, and selling fruit is even more difficult. If you can't sell it, the fruit will be damaged, and you can only watch the loss of money."
Pei Xu glanced at the tangerines on the truck and asked, "Boss, excuse me, how much can you earn if you sell all the tangerines on this truck?"
The boss sighed and said slowly: "If we sell them all in one day, excluding the cost and gas, we will make about 400 to 450. If we sell them all in two days, we won't make that much, more than 300."
"With such a large truckload of fruit, the net profit is so low?" Jiang Lin asked in disbelief.
"The fruits I get from dealers are more expensive than those picked directly from the orchard. 10 yuan for 5 kilograms of fruit, sold at 2 yuan, so naturally the profit is not much, it all depends on the volume."
Jiang Lin suddenly felt that he didn't recognize these numbers anymore. It refreshed his consumption concept. "Then won't the fruit farmers sell the fruit at a lower price? Maybe even less than one yuan per pound."
Pei Xu continued his words: "As a consumer, the cheaper the fruit, the better. However, low fruit prices hurt farmers, and even farmers only rely on selling in large quantities to make small profits."
The boss nodded and said, "In some years, the fruit harvest is great and the price keeps dropping. Some fruit farmers even shed tears while picking the fruit. The cost of fertilizer, the effort and hard work of caring for the fruit, and the labor cost of picking the fruit are all costs. But if the fruit is left to rot on the trees, you won't get a penny back."
Jiang Lin thought of a comment on the Internet, and clarified: "Can you please give me a close-up, photographer? A 10-yuan 5-jin tangerine may cost less than one yuan when it is wholesaled from fruit farmers. It is good quality and cheap. Even so, you still question whether the fruit is injected with saccharin? The price of saccharin is higher than the fruit itself, so who injected it for you?"
Pei Xu smiled and said, "Do you believe it too?"
"I didn't believe it. I thought there were so many fruits on the tree, who would have the time to put cyclamate in each one for you?"
The boss glanced at the camera and asked shyly: "Are you shooting a short video?"
Jiang Lin said: "We are filming a variety show about farming."
"Is it a program broadcast on TV? Will I be included in it?" After saying that, he adjusted his clothes.
"If you don't want to show your face, the production team can blur it out."
The boss smiled and said, "It's okay. We have a lot of sweet fruits here. We welcome everyone to come and see more and spread the word."
Pei Xu seemed to be thinking about something, but said nothing.
Following the boss's advice, the two men pulled half a bundle of sugarcane to the bus station and sold it out in less than two hours.
The steaming pot was bubbling with heat, and the noodle stall owner was scalding the noodles skillfully. Jiang Lin's stomach was already growling in protest. Pei Xu waved to the boss and said, "Boss, add a piece of braised pork."
"Try our braised pork belly. It's fatty but not greasy. Once you eat one piece, you'll want to go back for another."
Jiang Lin wiped the greasy table with a paper towel. "Beijing's braised pork is not bad, but I don't like it because it contains taro and it's so dry and powdery that I think it could choke a child to death."
When the boss heard this, he turned around and said with a smile: "Our taro braised pork is delicious. You can try it when you have time. It is authentic and delicious."
Jiang Lin politely responded: "Okay, thank you for the recommendation, boss."
The two of them feasted on the fruit. Jiang Lin remembered what the fruit stall owner said. He turned on his phone and watched it while eating. On the way back, he asked, "I looked at the map. There are many supermarkets in the county and the city. If fruit farmers negotiate cooperation directly with these supermarket owners and sell their fruits in supermarkets, the price will be much higher than the wholesale price."
Pei Xu shook his head: "It is difficult for ordinary farmers' agricultural products to enter supermarkets. First of all, they need to undergo various pesticide residue tests to enter supermarkets. Most of the people who farm and produce at home are middle-aged and elderly. They can't do these things and don't even have the concept. Second, the sale of fruits has formed a complete industrial chain. The supply of supermarkets has been monopolized. Fruit farmers have no way to sell and can only rely on distributors."
Jiang Lin said: "To put it bluntly, the problem lies in sales. Sugar oranges in Beijing can even be sold for 10 yuan per kilogram, and the price is not much lower even if purchased online. Whether it is long-distance delivery, offline sales, or online sales, the channels have been monopolized by middlemen, who have taken most of the profits."
The cold wind blew on their faces. Pei Xu said solemnly: "We are still too backward. We are backward in knowledge, technology, and sales. We don't have a guide."
Jiang Lin slowed down and drove side by side with him, looking towards him and asked: "So, you want to be the guide?"
Pei Xu met his gaze, and when their eyes met, she said firmly: "Yes, that's why I studied agronomy. Because I was born in the countryside, I have been familiar with all kinds of farm work since I was a child. It is not easy to be a farmer, and I even have a low social status. The year I went to college, I had just finished my work in the fields, and an uncle from the next village happened to drive to the city. I followed the car to the city and took a plane to Beijing. It was my first time to travel far away and my first time to take a plane. There were mud stains on my trouser legs. When I was queuing to board the plane, the aunt behind me said disdainfully, "You don't even know to wash your pants before taking a plane."
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