Chapter 182: Expensive Strawberries

Translator: Lonelytree

Old Master Gong seemed to expect Xiao Lingyu’s question. He said, “Girl, look at my courtyard. It’s still a little empty. I need some flowers and plants to decorate it.”

Xiao Lingyu nodded and only said one thing in return, “Old master, we know you mean well. You won’t let the villagers go up to the mountain and work for nothing.” Xiao Lingyu didn’t elaborate.

“Haha…” Old Master Gong suddenly laughed and said, “Girl…” He also didn’t elaborate.

He knew that Xiao Lingyu was telling him not to buy the plants at a high price just because he pitied the villagers. Xiao Zhengyang was baffled by the two’s interactions.

Then, Old Master Gong said, “Alright, Girl. I’ll listen to you!”

Father Xiao was even more confused. ‘What does the elder mean?’

Old Master Gong didn’t explain. He smiled and said, “But, girl, you have to promise me one thing.”

“Old master, of course!” Xiao Zhengyang said on behalf of his daughter.

Old Master Gong nodded. “Can you not look so stern around me in the future? You’re making me feel like you don’t like me that much.”

“Old Master, that’s not true!” Xiao Zhengyang anxiously explained.

Old Master Gong raised his hand to stop Xiao Zhengyang. Then, he stared at Xiao Lingyu with a pair of eyes that looked exactly similar to Gong Tianhao. He had lived over 50 years already. His younger years were filled with turbulence. His mind was sharp. He could see through many things. He just didn’t want to point most things out.

Xiao Lingyu’s continuous loss of composure was not due to fear but something else. But that something else, Old Master Gong didn’t need to know because he believed time would reveal everything.

Xiao Lingyu felt so exposed under the old master’s scrutiny. At that moment, she believed the old master already knew everything. She started to panic, and she became flustered. She quickly took a deep breath. Then, Xiao Lingyu said with a smile, “Elder Gong, my family is honored that you’d come to have meals with us. I am friends with Mr. Gong and Brother Jiang, and you are their elder, so how can I not like you?”

Old Master Gong heard the difference in the address, and his eyes flashed. Then he smiled and said, “Alright then. I’ll have to trouble your family more in the future.”

“It’s no trouble at all!” Xiao Lingyu said with a smile. However, her eyes darted about. After Xiao Lingye finished his exam, Xiao Lingyu would move to the county town to stay with him. When she returned, the old master’s chef would arrive at the village already.

However, Xiao Lingyu had no idea she was dealing with a fox. The old master had seen through her ploy. He was confused about this subterfuge, but he didn’t say anything.

Then, he changed the subject, “Girl, I heard from your father that it was your idea to move the flowers from your yard to my place?”

Xiao Lingyu said, “Old master, the flowers should be yours because you’re the only one at the village who knows how to appreciate them! Before you arrived, people thought they were just wildflowers.”

Old Master Gong narrowed his eyes. “But now the flowers are worth hundreds of thousands. You can take them to the flower market and gain a lot of money. That money is enough for you to buy a new house or a big car. Many people won’t have that much money in their lives. Are you really giving away so much money?”

Xiao Lingyu said with a smile, “Old master, my father should have told you this before, but I’ll repeat it. The flowers are only valuable in the eyes of the people who know how to appreciate them, or they are worthless. The flowers have been in our yard for decades, but who knew their values? In the eyes of the other villagers, they are a waste of time to grow.” She paused before continuing seriously, “Old master, if I am honest, we can’t bear to sell the flowers since we’ve raised them for years. A hundred thousand is a lo,t but I believe I will be able to earn them through other methods soon.”

Old Master Gong was intrigued. “Oh? Are you that confident?”

“Of course!” Xiao Lingyu said, “Old Master, have you seen those strawberries in my courtyard?”

“I did!” Old Master Gong said, “But what does this have to do with strawberries? The berries will get you several hundred thousand?”

“Elder Gong, that’s right!” Xiao Lingyu said, “I have planted strawberries on six Mu of land. One Mu should produce 5000 to 6000 catty. One catty can be sold for 30 RMB. So one Mu of land can yield around 160,000 RMB. Six Mu of land is almost a million yuan.”

This was the first time Xiao Zhengyang heard Xiao Lingyu calculate this number. When he heard the astronomical figure, his eyes widened in disbelief. When Xiao Lingyu said she wanted to plant strawberries, her family supported her unconditionally, but they never calculated the profit. Now that Xiao Zhengyang heard that the projected profit could be over a million, he was stunned!

They worked the whole year and would earn several thousand RMB. But this few Mu of land was worth over a million. The difference made him speechless.

If people knew planting strawberries was so profitable, they would all be planting them in the future.

When Old Master Gong heard her calculations, he immediately said with great interest and sharpness, “Indeed, based on your calculation, you can earn a million. However, the price you use is the market price and not the wholesale price.

“The price difference is huge. Strawberries can be sold for 30 RMB per catty on the market, but most people would only buy wholesale for 10 RMB per catty.

“Furthermore, you have to deal with strawberry quality and taste. If they are small and sour, I doubt you’ll find a wholesaler who will work with you. Where will you get a million? It’s lucky if you don’t lose money.”

Xiao Zhengyang’s eyes trembled. He remembered their climate was not suitable for strawberries. Other farms had tried growing them before, and the harvest was always small and sour.

Xiao Zhengyang was worried. He wanted to consult with Xiao Lingyu, but they were at other people’s homes.

Xiao Lingyu smiled with confidence. “Old Master, I think you’ve misunderstood me. I do plan to sell one catty for 30 RMB for wholesale price. I don’t care how much the wholesaler sells on the market!”

“Oh, you’re that confident?” Old Master Gong raised his eyebrows and asked.

“Of course!” Xiao Lingyu nodded and said, “My strawberries are unique. As for how unique, I’ll let Old Master Gong taste some later. What do you think?”

“Wonderful!” Old Master Gong smiled and said, “Girl, I can’t wait to taste your unique strawberries!”

“Then, old master, please look forward to it!” Xiao Lingyu said confidently, “I definitely won’t let you down!”

Xiao Lingyu and Xiao Zhengyang left Old Master Gong’s courtyard.

Outside the courtyard, the villagers were still lining up, waiting for Old Master Gong to inspect their flowers and plants. Even though no one had found valuable flowers like the ones in Xiao Zhengyang’s family, the villagers had them sold for around 50 RMB, which was better than working the field. Many villagers knew that the old master was doing this out of kindness, but they couldn’t resist the temptation of money!

In the afternoon, the village chief sent out a notice asking all the villagers to have a meeting.

During the meeting, the village chief told them not to bother the old master with the flowers and plants anymore. It caused many people to complain.

“Village chief, if we can’t sell the flowers to Old Master Gong, who can we sell them to? To you?”

“Village chief, the old master needs these flowers, or he wouldn’t buy them. We didn’t even force him to buy them, so why can’t we sell him the things we dug?”

“That’s right, village chief!”

Everyone objected.

“This old man’s grandson is so rich. He used 340,000 RMB to build a road. He won’t care about these small changes!”

“Besides, we don’t know if these flowers are worth anything or not. Only the old master knows how to identify them.”

Some were more extreme. For example, someone whispered, “The old man has accepted all of our flowers. He has planted them in his courtyard. The flowers look similar to the ones in Xiao Zhengyang’s house, so how can he pay us so little?” Clearly, the person was trying to say that the old master had scammed them. Of course, they didn’t dare to say these words out loud.

First, they were afraid of Old Master Gong. They couldn’t match a rich man with bodyguards.

Second, they understood it was Old Master Gong’s grandson who paid for the road. This was a good thing for the village. They were their great benefactors.

Third, they were only running their mouths.

Xiao Taiyang said, “Old Master Gong is not in good health. It’s our honor that his grandson has chosen Taoyuan Village for his grandfather to recuperate. Since Old Master Gong is here, our roads have been repaired. They benefited our village economy greatly. Just take the house building as an example. They bought the land for 30000 even though it was only worth 5000. They bought the wooden pillars for 5000 each even though the pillars only sold for 50 each. Now, the old master is kind enough to take in the plants you dug up from the mountains. When have they ever been bad to us? But.” He paused and glanced around. “We should know our limit! We shouldn’t take their kindness for granted. If you continue to do this and exhaust their good intentions, what will happen? They will move away. What should we do then? Is this how we treat our benefactor?”

The village chief was saying that once the old master left, who were the villagers going to sell their worthless plants to?

“Also, everyone has been running up the mountain these past two days. What about your fieldwork? Don’t you notice the dry land? Or the disease and insect?

“Don’t lose big because of a small gain! Zhengyang’s family found the orchid on the mountain more than a decade ago. Whether you’d have the same good luck, I can’t really tell. But if you don’t have that good luck, be prepared to have an empty stomach for the second half of the year since you haven’t been working your fields!

“Furthermore, for the past two days, the villagers have searched through the mountain. What’s the point of going back?”

The village chief was reasonable, and most villagers agreed. For the past two days, the flower fever was strong. Most ignored their fields. If their negligence caused their paddy to die, then they’d starve during the latter half of the year.

The mountain at Taoyuan Village was only so big. The villagers had searched every inch of it already.

The flower fever was doused instantly. The day after the meeting, most returned to the field. Of course, there were still a few who went into the mountain to try their luck.

Others like children and the elderly also returned to the mountain. They had nothing better to do anyway. What if they really found a flower worth tens of thousands?

…

Xiao Lingyu was sleeping blurrily, when she heard Mother Xiao’s angry voice.

“During the emergency, it was my Yu ‘Er who sent you to the hospital. Now that you’re healed, you still want my Yu ‘Er to drive you? Have you forgotten how to take the bus?

“It’s too arduous? Why have I never heard you complain about that in the past? If you think taking the bus takes too long, then you can book a taxi. My Yu ‘Er is not feeling well. I won’t let her go fetch you. Go figure it out yourself!”

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With that, Mother Xiao hung up the phone.

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