Chapter 30 [VIP]
Wang Ying is an honest person. Now that she has decided to be with Chen Qingyan, she is no longer so hesitant.
I gave him a big kiss when I woke up in the morning, and said, "I'm going to ask Dunzi to deliver the vegetables. You can sleep a little longer."
"I'll go with you."
"No need, it's still early."
Wang Ying put on her clothes and went outside. The air outside was bitterly cold; her breath turned into white mist, and the air carried a chilling smell.
Dunzi was already waiting outside. It was Wang Ying's rule to pick up vegetables every four days, and today was exactly the fourth day.
He was honest and didn't know how to say much, but when he saw his husband come out, he quickly got up and kowtowed.
"Get up quickly, you don't need to kowtow next time."
"Hey, hey."
He verbally agreed to do the same next time, fearing that he would break the rules and dislike his master, and be bullied again when he returned to the estate.
Last night, Wang Ying picked six baskets of vegetables from the experimental field, each weighing more than 30 jin (15 kg). These vegetables can probably be sold for four or five days. After the vegetables are almost sold out, the rest will be sold at a low price to nearby wonton stalls and restaurants.
After carrying the load twice, Chen Qingyan came out and bent down to help.
Why didn't you lie down a little longer?
Chen Qingyan whispered, "It's cold in bed after you leave. I can't sleep alone."
Wang Ying's face flushed, and she kicked him. This kid had no semblance of a gentleman anymore.
After the vegetables were packed, Dunzi drove the mule cart to the outskirts of town. Wang Ying took Ershun to open the shop. By the time Dunzi returned with the cart, it was almost dawn.
When unloading the vegetables, some people inevitably came up to ask about their origin. Wang Ying used the same old excuse to brush them off: "They were transported from Laizhou. How come they were transported so quickly? There was a truck that delivered them halfway there. We just picked them up at the post station."
After the dishes were arranged, customers started arriving one after another. Usually, the waiters from the two restaurants were the first to arrive, afraid that they would be picking leftovers.
Then there are a few wealthy families in the city who are willing to spend tens or hundreds of coins every day to buy vegetables.
After seeing off these customers, things were basically quiet. Ershun lit the stove, and the shop became warm.
Wang Ying began counting the money, stringing the loose copper coins together with hemp rope, tying a knot around each string of one hundred coins, so that it wouldn't be too troublesome when tallying the accounts at the end of the month.
"Excuse me, does this shop sell fresh vegetables?" Several unfamiliar faces suddenly appeared outside the door.
Wang Ying quickly stood up and greeted, "Yes, sir, please come in and see what vegetables you'd like to buy?"
The man in the lead was a young man with a full beard. He asked, "Are you the owner of this shop?"
"right."
The group stamped the snow off their feet at the door and went into the shop. They saw a lot of fresh vegetables on the wooden shelf next to them, and their faces showed disbelief.
"I am Cao Kun, a porter from Longquan County. I heard that there is a shop selling fresh vegetables in Qingshui Town. I thought it was just something someone made up, but I didn't expect it to be true."
"So it's Mr. Cao, nice to meet you."
"How much does this vegetable cost?"
Wang Ying relayed the prices one by one, and saw that the people's expressions remained unchanged, seemingly unaffected by the expensive vegetable prices.
The purchasing power in the county seat is much stronger than in the town, and there are many wealthy families there, so the vegetable prices are not too high.
Cao Kun examined the vegetables carefully and saw that they were not only fresh but also of a wide variety, so they would definitely fetch a good price when transported to the county town.
He asked tentatively, "It's so cold, the ground must be frozen solid. These vegetables aren't from around here, are they?"
"It was transported from Laizhou."
"No wonder, shopkeeper, how many dishes like this do we still have?"
How many do you want?
"Fifty catties of each kind, and I'll come to buy them every five days. Could you lower the price?"
Wang Ying was stunned for a moment; it turned out they wanted to buy vegetables from her wholesale supplier.
"Fifty jin is too much. It won't be enough to sell to your shop. We can only spare thirty jin at most, but you'll have to pick it up yourself. We won't deliver it. As for the price, we can only give you the price that local restaurants pay for vegetables. We can't go any lower."
Just then, the experimental field was upgraded last night and had a lot more vegetables. I didn't know what to do with them, so this was a godsend.
Cao Kun was overjoyed. He had only come to try his luck, but he never expected to actually stumble upon such a lucky opportunity.
These vegetables, transported back to the county, could conservatively double in value, making much more money than transporting other goods!
When can you come and pick up the groceries?
"Five days later."
"Alright, alright, it's settled then!" Cao Kun was a straightforward man, and immediately took out a ten-tael silver ingot and put it down. He wasn't worried about the shop reneging on the debt, after all, these seasoned travelers were shrewd and could tell who was who at a glance.
As they came out of the vegetable shop, one of the brothers whispered, "Brother Cao, why didn't you find out exactly where these vegetables came from? Wouldn't we have made more money if we just went and got them directly?"
Cao Kun said, "Do you think others can't think of these things? There are so many shops in this town, what does it mean that he's the only one selling fresh vegetables?"
"have no idea."
Cao Kun tapped him on the head. "This means that this shop either has connections or is capable, and we can't afford to offend either of them easily."
Upon hearing this, the brothers immediately gave him a thumbs up, "Brother Cao is truly experienced!"
"There's one more thing I need to make clear to you in advance: don't tell outsiders about buying vegetables from town. If anyone asks, just say they were transported from Laizhou."
"What do you mean by that?"
Cao Kun said, "If the people in the county knew that we got our vegetables from the town, wouldn't they all come and try to steal our business?"
Everyone was convinced; Boss Cao's brain really worked!
Wang Ying never expected that she would unintentionally make the matter of transporting vegetables from Laizhou a reality.
*
When he got home that evening, he planned to take Chen Qingyan for a stroll in the experimental field.
He had been thinking about this ever since the upgrade last night. After dinner today, Wang Ying locked the door and mysteriously pulled Chen Qingyan into bed.
Chen Qingyan's face was flushed, and she said excitedly, "So early today... has it started already?"
"Start what? Come on, I'll take you to a great place!"
"A good place?"
Before Chen Qingyan could react, he felt a blur before his eyes, followed by a feeling of weightlessness. He swayed and fell to the ground. Before him was bright sunshine and lush greenery.
"How's my field? Is it doing well?"
Chen Qingyan stared in disbelief, “There really is such a secluded place in the world…” He murmured as he stood up and walked through the fields, seeing wheat fields sprouting leaves, various kinds of vegetables in the fields beside them, and several peach trees covered with green leaves.
Looking up, the sky was filled with the dazzling sun, blue sky and white clouds, and even a gentle breeze was blowing on my face—almost exactly the same as outside.
What's that place in the distance?
"I don't know. There's an invisible wall of air here. If you walk to the edge, you'll bounce back. Stop looking and come help."
Wang Ying is dividing the vegetable seedlings. This batch of new vegetables should be ready around the end of the year, which will be just in time to supply the market.
Chen Qingyan quickly ran over and, following Wang Ying's method, squatted down to pull out the seedlings from the ground.
Why did you pull them out?
"This is called seedling separation. When seedlings are grown together, they are planted together to save space. Once they reach a certain stage, they need to be separated. Otherwise, if the seedlings are too close together, it will affect the roots' absorption of nutrients and also block sunlight."
Chen Qingyan nodded, half understanding. After the two finished pulling up the seedlings, Wang Ying opened the light screen, marked a plot of land, set the temperature to the most suitable growth temperature of 24 degrees, and increased the humidity to ensure the survival of the transplanted seedlings to the greatest extent.
Chen Qingyan couldn't see the screen, but he saw the man's fingers sliding back and forth in the air. "What are you doing?"
Can't you see this?
"I can't see it."
Wang Ying stroked his chin, it seemed that although the experimental field was bound to both of them, he only had the right to use it.
How is it here?
"It's wonderful, like a paradise on earth."
"It's a pity I can only come in for an hour each day. I'll come in and help me with the farming when I have free time in the evenings."
"good!"
The two of them worked hard for half a day to transplant all the seedlings. Looking at the experimental field that was full of seedlings, Wang Ying felt an indescribable sense of accomplishment.
Seeing that Chen Qingyan was sweating from exhaustion, he turned on the light screen and adjusted the temperature around them to eighteen degrees Celsius, instantly making it cool.
The time was almost up, and the two of them were ejected at the same time.
Lying in bed, Chen Qingyan clutched her chest, unable to recover for a long time. "It feels like a dream."
"Yeah, I thought so too before."
Chen Qingyan suddenly said seriously, "This matter must never be told to anyone else. Only Heaven, Earth, you, and I know. Not even my mother can be told."
"Don't worry, I definitely wouldn't dare to say anything." Wang Ying also believed that he wouldn't tell anyone. After all, this kid was as tight-lipped as a clam shell. He managed to keep such a big matter as the imperial examination a secret from his family for more than a year.
Chen Qingyan took his hand and squeezed it. "There are many people in this world with ill intentions. If powerful people find out about this miracle, I'm afraid it will harm you."
"Okay, go to sleep now."
"...Would it be okay to share a blanket?"
Wang Ying kicked him, threw off the covers and crawled into his bed; the two immediately embraced.
"Are you still able to sleep?"
"Um."
"Then don't point that stick at me, you bastard!"
*
Time flies and it's already December; it's time to prepare New Year's gifts.
Having opened a shop and a private school this year, Wang Ying has become much more financially secure. She plans to prepare more generous New Year's gifts as a way of expressing her gratitude to her fourth uncle and third aunt for helping to uphold justice last time.
Wang Ying approached Li Shi and inquired about the usual practices for preparing New Year's gifts.
Li's face went blank. "New Year's gifts? We didn't prepare any before."
Mr. Chen was the eldest among his brothers, and in previous years his younger siblings would prepare New Year's gifts for him. But this year is different. Mr. Chen has passed away, and only the younger generation remains in the family. There is no tradition of elders giving New Year's gifts to the younger generation.
"Relatives need to visit each other often to feel close. Our family is small, and my uncle and aunt live far away. I thought I would prepare more things for them this year."
Li nodded, "You can arrange it as you see fit. If you don't have enough money, I'll give you some."
"Business has been good at the shop lately, and I have enough money on hand."
Wang Ying just finished reviewing the accounts yesterday. In just three months since opening, he has already earned back the money he spent on the shop. He predicts that business will be even better by the end of the year, and he is ready to make a big sale.
"By the way, what should we do about preparing for my uncle's family?"
Li's face stiffened. "There's no need to prepare anything over there. We haven't had much contact with them in previous years."
"good."
There's probably something else going on here, but Li didn't want to talk about it and didn't press him further. She'll ask Chen Qingyan when she has time tonight; he'll probably know the reason.
My third aunt lives nearby, so I send her some fresh vegetables. I also buy some wild pheasants and wild boars that I hunt in the mountains, so they can be stored for the winter and are perfect for the New Year.
Most of the hunters in the village go out hunting in winter because there are no poisonous insects or snakes during this season, and the black bears hibernate, making it safer to go up the mountain. On market days, you can see many wild animals for sale in the streets.
There are also 30 catties each of dried mushrooms, dates, and peanuts, 10 catties of fine white sugar, and two cans of oil.
Although we prepared a lot of things, the prices weren't too expensive, since it's hard to find anything of high quality in town.
We can't send vegetables as a New Year's gift to my fourth uncle, because they'll freeze and rot if we send them from this far away.
Wang Ying planned to send some local specialties from her hometown, which would show her sincerity and wouldn't cost much money. She asked Aunt Chen in the kitchen and learned that when her fourth uncle and aunt were still alive, their favorite food was yellow millet and jujube cake from their hometown, so she specially made thirty catties of it.
Just like with my third aunt, I prepared thirty catties of dried vegetables for each of us, and also found a few good pieces of leather to send over, so that the gift wouldn't seem too meager.
Wang Ying planned to personally go to the county town to deliver her third aunt's New Year's gifts, and also find a courier to deliver her fourth uncle's New Year's gifts to Laizhou, since there were no long-distance courier services in the town.
A note from the author:
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
