Chapter 43: What's So Good About This Dish, Anyway?

Chapter 43: What Exactly Is So Good About This Produce?

The sky grew brighter earlier, and the temperature gradually rose.

The peach and cherry trees at the entrance had begun to bud. The village was covered in a faint, budding green, with morning mist swirling around, making it exceptionally beautiful.

Song Tan had edited and posted her video last night, and she had refreshed the page a hundred times since then, yet she hadn't gained many views.

Her "cultivation" was quite unprofessional; at the very least, she hadn't mastered a peaceful mindset. Seeing such low view counts made her angry, so she eventually turned her grief and indignation into motivation and headed to the fields to pick Chinese milk vetch.

Regardless, she didn't have to worry about selling the vegetables. Making one trip a day guaranteed a steady income of a thousand or two thousand yuan.

However, today, only she and Qiaoqiao were doing the harvesting.

Her grandmother, Wang Lifen, wrapped a piece of plastic tarp around her waist, tied a basket to her hips, and grabbed a straw hat. She asked, "Tan Tan, I'm going to pick tea. Will you have enough time to pack the vegetables over here?"

After a moment's thought, she added, "Maybe I should stay. They hired four people to pick tea on the mountain; they don't need me."

Wulan quickly interjected, "It's fine, Mom. I've got things under control here. Go pick the tea. It's better to have someone there to make sure they don't slack off."

In reality, they were all villagers, and the people Wulan had hired were hardworking; even just for the sake of face, no one would idle around.

However, upon hearing this reason, Wang Lifen hurried up the mountain anyway.

Song Tan had just brought back the harvested milk vetch. Together with Qiaoqiao, the family of three was busy tidying up. Hearing this, Song Tan hesitated

"Picking tea is hard work, standing in the fields all day. It might be better to have Grandma help with the packing at home."

Wulan shook her head. "Working at home isn't much easier, but if I offer money, your grandparents won't take it. A day or two is fine, but if it goes on too long, your eldest uncle will feel uneasy in his heart."

The elderly support funds were contributed by both sides of the family, so why should the elders only work for the younger son?

It wasn't a matter of being petty; it was a matter of fairness.

Their family was currently harmonious precisely because they were very particular about these matters.

"Picking tea is different. We pay them 150 yuan a day. If your grandmother goes to pick tea, she's willing to take that money."

Although she used the excuse of being old and not picking much—arguing her way down until she only agreed to take 100—she was still taking it.

Song Tan nodded, feeling a sense of irony once again—this was a completely different mindset from when she was farming for her own cultivation!

There were too many emotions to manage.

Wulan carefully sorted through the picked milk vetch, feeling a bit pained by the labor costs

"We only have that one tea garden; usually, hiring one or two people is enough. Who knew the tea would grow this well this year? You insisted on hiring two more... Now, including your grandma, the daily labor cost is 700 yuan."

For some reason, the tea this year was growing exceptionally well. Much like the milk vetch in the fields, it was covered in dense, tender tips; one could tell just by looking that the quality would be very high.

But as she did the math: "The tea is lush. One person can definitely pick four catties of premium tips a day. With your grandmother, let's count it as five catties of dried tea per day."

"Labor costs are 700, plus we have fertilizer and other things, and we have to hire someone to roast it... If we don't sell it for at least 300 yuan per catty, we'll definitely lose money."

As Wulan calculated, she grew a bit anxious. "Our mountain tea isn't famous at all. Will it work if we sell it at a high price?"

Song Tan could only promise her a hundred times: "Mom, don't worry! If all else fails, look at these baskets full of wild vegetables. We can make twenty or thirty thousand yuan just by selling these for half a month."

"Besides me, who else has this kind of skill?"

Her daughter was bragging again!

Wulan glared at her. "Is that your skill? It's because our land is hardworking and grows good vegetables!"

She muttered under her breath, "We've been farming for decades, yet we've been overtaken by someone who doesn't know the first thing about it..."

Her words were a mix of pride and a hint of envy.

Meanwhile, they were stacking the bundles of milk vetch into plastic storage crates, not forgetting to give instructions

"Remember to set aside two or three catties of milk vetch for your uncle and your aunt. Last time we said we'd send some wild vegetables, but we were too busy the next day and forgot, and now the vegetables have gone old."

"It's been a month since you started selling vegetables. If you don't send some this time, it won't be appropriate."

Song Tan nodded. "Okay, I won't forget this time."

When they went to the market again, there were even more aunties waiting by the roadside.

Some people even helped carry the baskets just to be able to buy the vegetables quickly. Qiaoqiao, following a practiced routine, pulled out his QR code and stuck it to his chest, then stood ready with plastic bags!

He had become very good at counting lately, so the aunties were happy to let him handle the vegetables. For a moment, Qiaoqiao was the star of the show, acting with great enthusiasm.

"Young lady, people from out of town can place pre-orders and have them delivered. Why can't we do pre-orders here? I can just tell you on WeChat, and then I can just come and pick up the vegetables. It's so simple."

Song Tan smiled, revealing a dimple, looking both obedient and sweet

"Auntie, those people pay for shipping. It costs dozens of yuan every time they ship."

"Besides, people from out of town can't eat good things like ours. Not like you, Auntie, with your discerning eye, recognizing the quality instantly."

"Oh my! You little girl, you certainly know how to talk..."

The aunties happily paid their money and walked away satisfied, carrying bundles of vegetables.

In truth, it wasn't about the shipping costs; it was that the process of collecting pre-order payments was very cumbersome and prone to errors.

Since the volume wasn't large yet and they only had this one type of crop, it wasn't worth developing a mini-program for it.

Song Tan was busy enough at home every day; there was no need for such complexity.

While they were bustling and lively over there, the people in the market had grown used to it.

A young girl with a silly little brother, driving a pickup truck every day to set up a stall to sell vegetables—selling them at high prices, yet selling them incredibly fast!

The people in the market had been watching this for more than a day or two. Not only were the nearby vendors asking about it, but even the customers couldn't help but join in the curiosity

"Sister, you buy vegetables from this stall every day. Are you part of some group-buying scheme?"

"No, we're not!" the auntie replied righteously.

How could she manage those group-buying things on a phone? She had been buying vegetables in markets her whole life.

"This girl's vegetables are good. We watch her group to see what time she arrives, and we wait for her in advance."

Looking at the vegetable stall behind her: "Only two baskets left? They'll probably be sold out in half an hour."

Even though everyone knew the pattern, they were still shocked by the efficiency—

This wasn't the busiest time of the morning market; it was mid-morning, around nine or ten o'clock! At this hour, selling such tender leafy vegetables at this speed?

"What exactly is so good about this produce? They'll pay twenty yuan for it, and a family must spend a hundred or so a day on this."

The neighboring vegetable vendor had long wanted to ask; this way of eating was far too extravagant.

And as for this lady, he watched her coldly—she came every single day, and she never seemed satisfied unless she spent a hundred yuan or so. Just how rich was this family?