Chapter 41: Secretary Wang

Chapter 41: Secretary Wang

The chef busied himself arranging a crate of vegetables and then ran off clutching the box.

Dr. Xiao Zhang’s face turned bright red. Seeing that the wild vegetables were in jeopardy and having not yet summoned the courage to find the right words, he grew agitated and charged straight into the office

"Director, I bought some more wild vegetables. Let's all go to the canteen for lunch—"

He choked up.

Because in the most prominent seat of this office sat a middle-aged man who was both familiar and unfamiliar to the people of this province.

The man looked at him and chuckled: "Is this a collective trip to the canteen for wild vegetables? Would it be convenient to include me and Secretary Wang?"

Whether this meal would be convenient or not, Dr. Xiao Zhang didn't know. He only knew that he felt as if he were floating on clouds; he didn't even know what he was eating for lunch.

Many people came to talk to him later, but he only remembered numbly sending out Song Tan's WeChat contact. After that, he was lost in a daze.

Fortunately, the chef was considerate. Seeing his absent-minded state, he packed a separate thermos of porridge for him.

Sitting in the department, Dr. Xiao Zhang rubbed his shoulder, thinking: *The leader patted me on the back!*

Then, he happily lifted the lid.

In that instant, a dominant, fresh aroma of vegetables permeated the entire department, wafting through the open door to be caught by passersby.

By the time the meal was over, even the patients could smell it.

...

Song Tan had no idea about the emotional rollercoaster Dr. Xiao Zhang had just experienced.

She only knew that from that afternoon onward, friend requests began pouring into her phone one after another, all with very strange remarks.

Some were named "Secretary Wang"—Good heavens, who sends a friend request that says, "Hello, I am Secretary Wang. May I ask if you are Ms. Song, the wild vegetable seller?"

Some were named "Bed 46."

Some she recognized—the requests included the prefix "Provincial People's Hospital," likely colleagues of Dr. Zhang Yuan.

However, Song Tan was busy working and had no time for deep thought, so she simply pulled them all into her vegetable sales group.

For a moment, no one spoke.

Only the man who had remarked himself as "Secretary Wang" sent three question marks, which he then quickly retracted.

But he was clearly the one with the most potential for consumption. He immediately messaged

"Hello, do you still have wild vegetables of the same quality you sent to Dr. Zhang? I want fifty jin."

As soon as he said this, he was besieged by the aunties in the group.

[Oh my, young man! Don't be so greedy. We only dare to buy ten jin at a time.]

[Wild vegetables aren't being sold anymore; only sainfoin is left. It's great for stir-frying, but a bit lacking for making buns. If you want to try it, just buy a jin or two for yourself; fifty jin is overkill.]

[Don't worry, the boss said there's plenty of sainfoin, no need to rush.]

Most of the aunties sent long voice messages. In the provincial government office, Secretary Wang listened to them one by one with patience, but the more he listened, the stranger it felt.

This vegetable seller... truly didn't take him seriously?

Hadn't he asked Dr. Zhang to introduce him? Why was the other party so indifferent?

Lost in thought, by the time he snapped back to reality, the group had already started sharing new recipes for shepherd's purse dumplings and purslane buns, followed by an auntie posting a photo of twice-cooked pork with chili and sainfoin...

It really was just a legitimate vegetable sales group.

He, Wang Qing, the Chief Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, was now going to camp out in this group to fight for vegetables?

Secretary Wang missed the meal he had at the hospital canteen at noon, feeling dazed once again—

Actually, if everything tasted like that, waiting in line in a group wouldn't be a bad idea!

Thinking of his leader's endless praise and repeated mentions, Secretary Wang gritted his teeth

[Boss, I want ten jin of sainfoin. Please ship it as soon as possible.]

Thank heavens, now that money was involved, the boss finally appeared

"Ten jin? Do you want it today?"

Secretary Wang was overjoyed: "Yes, today! The sooner the better!"

Song Tan was satisfied with this new big spender: "Alright, I'll go pick them in a bit and ship them this afternoon. But you'll have to cover the shipping costs!"

After a thought, she couldn't help but ask: "You are all colleagues of Dr. Zhang Yuan, right?" Dr. Xiao Zhang was a real pal! That twenty yuan worth of wild vegetables was well spent.

The group responded in unison.

The group size had now reached 61. Secretary Wang remained silent, and no one cared.

Song Tan glanced at the list of names requiring shipping. She couldn't tell what level of residential compound a certain "Family Compound" was, so she pushed the matter to the back of her mind.

...

Old Man Li's ox had officially stepped into the field. It ate the fresh sainfoin so greedily it could barely lift its head. If not for Old Man Li's firm tugging on the reins, the old ox would have wanted to sleep in the field that night.

After all, the feeling of being surrounded by a faint spiritual aura from all directions was truly wonderful.

Meanwhile, Qiaoqiao was picking vegetables on the side, while Song Tan filmed the old ox and Old Man Li, finally capturing a video full of pastoral atmosphere.

With this, although the sainfoin hadn't bloomed yet, she had gathered enough material for her first video.

Selling sainfoin from five or six fields through individual customers was tiring and inefficient. Furthermore, while Song Tan wanted to make money, she also enjoyed seeing people happy when they ate.

Therefore, she had been planning online sales for a long time.

Originally, she intended to wait for the sainfoin to bloom and film a beautiful video to go viral.

But sainfoin is only delicious when it is in the tender sprout stage; once it blooms, it becomes tough.

She had no choice but to edit together clips of herself picking and preparing wild vegetables, some footage from the market, and shots of the fields to warm up the audience.

In today's fast-paced and high-pressure life, more and more people were gravitating toward pastoral videos.

Although Song Tan's video was shot on a phone with simple filters and composition, its strength lay in the fact that her family was actually doing farm work. The freshness of the wild vegetables and the tenderness of the sainfoin seemed to leap out of the screen!

She added simple music and attached the link to her newly created Taobao store, with a direct and simple title

[Waiting for that nameless little wildflower from childhood memories—Sainfoin]

Small text below: "Fresh and tender sainfoin sprouts are about to hit the market. Free nationwide shipping during the promotion period! Live picking available!"

Free nationwide shipping was Song Tan's limit; therefore, the price remained unchanged at twenty yuan per jin.

She had put the sales link directly in her very first video. Looking across the entire internet, Song Tan saw no one else doing this. Her intention to make money was so obvious, she didn't know if anyone would actually buy.

However, one had to take things step by step.

The tender period for sainfoin only lasted about ten to fifteen days. She would sell as much as she could. If she couldn't sell it, she would simply plow the field and use it all as green manure—it would still be useful!

After all, they had planned to use the sainfoin as green manure from the very beginning! Selling the vegetables was just a bonus.

This was a case of not forgetting her original intention.

As for whether no one would buy online... she didn't know.

Song Tan believed that as long as someone tried it, she would definitely be able to keep them as returning customers!

That was her greatest advantage.