Chapter 29: 29 The Issue of Relatives

Chapter 29: The Relative Problem

Looking at the lush green wild vegetables covering the ground, Wulan still felt a pang of regret. "Are you really not selling them?"

By this time, Song Tan had grown accustomed to picking wild vegetables. "No, I'm not selling them."

She was giving the wild vegetables a chance at survival. The spiritual energy had mostly been absorbed; if she kept selling them, the flavor would no longer meet her standards.

As a side benefit, she was also teasing her precious 28 group members.

"They're twenty yuan a jin!" Wulan was still not giving up.

"Twenty yuan a jin!" Qiaoqiao, the parrot, mimicked her.

Song Tan put down her shovel. "Mom, look at me. I graduated from university and I work in Ningcheng. Does that give you face?"

Wulan's lips curled slightly. "Why are you saying that? Life isn't lived on 'face'—but, well, it's alright. A college graduate... there aren't many in our village."

"Then look at it this way: if I didn't come back to farm instead of working, would the villagers gossip? When we visit Grandma and my uncles, will they talk? Will they try to advise me? Will they say you don't know how to raise a child?"

Wulan's expression gradually darkened. "On what grounds! My daughter earns one or two thousand just by selling wild vegetables. Do you think they have that kind of luck?"

Song Tan:...It didn't necessarily have to be emphasized as luck; it was actually true skill.

But for now, she only said, "Wild vegetables grow every year, so why haven't others sold them at this price? If you say I make a lot of money, they'll definitely think you're just being stubborn. Our wild vegetables grow well, so we have to let them taste it to shut them up."

"Shut them up!" Qiaoqiao, the repeater, spoke up again.

Wulan glanced at him. "You silly child, what do you know—but, Tandan, you're right!"

"They love pointing fingers. I have to let them know that my daughter went to university and is even better at farming than they are!"

"Come on, Qiaoqiao, pick more!"

Song Tan pursed her lips and smiled secretly, hiding her triumph.

In truth, the relatives in her family were quite harmonious, with no major conflicts.

However, seeing Qiaoqiao like this, Wulan had actually swallowed many tears in the past due to her pride.

There used to be "silly children" in the village too. Raising a child with disabilities required immense effort, education, and careful care...

In short, those with some self-care abilities were mostly handed over to agencies to be sent to factories, going wherever the wages were highest.

Those with little to no self-care ability were given to local construction teams to do manual labor, with food, drink, and lodging provided... which also relieved the family's burden.

Because of Qiaoqiao, it was as if Wulan had done something wrong, and any relative could offer a few words of criticism. It wasn't always with bad intentions, but it was heart-stabbing nonetheless.

Now that a perfectly fine college graduate had suddenly returned to farm, the relatives were likely wondering what to make of it.

By letting them taste these wild vegetables, Wulan could hold her head higher.

Thinking this way, Wulan no longer cared about the twenty yuan.

While the mother and son worked feverishly, Song Tan's phone kept ringing. Opening it, she saw the [Rural Wild Vegetables] group was buzzing with questions

[Boss, when are you coming back?]

[Girl, bring more shepherd's purse next time; it's great for dumplings and stays fresh. I couldn't grab any last time.]

[Bring more wild scallions! They are delicious in pork buns!]

[Boss, your vegetables are beyond reproach, but they are just too expensive. My son spends a hundred yuan in one meal; if you calculate the food costs, it's huge!]

[Exactly, girl. It's warmer now and there are more wild vegetables, when will you lower the price a bit?]

Song Tan thought for a moment and took a "click" photo of the vegetable picking.

[Dear customers, wild vegetables are currently in their growing season, and they are becoming more common in the markets, so it is difficult to maintain the price of twenty yuan per jin. Additionally, the vegetables in this patch grew early and are gradually getting old. To ensure quality, I won't be selling wild vegetables for the rest of the year.]

As soon as these words were posted, the group exploded.

[Oh, girl, we were just chatting about the price, we didn't say you had to lower it. Twenty is fine, I just love yours.]

[Yeah, Boss, don't stop selling! Don't worry, yours is the only stall I trust in the whole market.]

[What do you mean the vegetables are old? Look how green and tender they are, they look no different from the ones usually bought... Boss, aren't you picking them right now?]

Song Tan replied to them one by one

[I plan to save the last batch of wild vegetables for my relatives. Sorry, they aren't for sale!]

[However, a heads-up: in three days, the Chinese milk vetch in the fields can be picked. There will be plenty, and the flavor is intense. See you at the market then. If you like them, you can prepare in advance; the price is also 20 yuan per jin.]

This sudden news left everyone stunned.

Before they could even mourn the loss of the wild vegetables, how were they moving on to milk vetch?

Besides, wasn't milk vetch originally used in the fields as fertilizer? To feed cows, sheep, or pigs? People locally didn't eat much of it.

Since it's self-grown and milk vetch grows so easily, why is it still twenty yuan a jin? That's too expensive.

The group fell silent for a moment.

Only one group member, who had never bought vegetables before, spoke up

[I was strolling through the market with my girlfriend and accidentally discovered this stall. I've always wanted to try wild vegetables but never managed to buy any. Now that I'm back in my hometown—Boss, is the taste of milk vetch as good as the wild vegetables? If so, please give me five jin. Can you ship it via express?]

Oh boy!

Finally, an online customer.

Song Tan agreed very readily

[Sure, but since these vegetables are best eaten fresh and tender, they need to be shipped in ice. Shipping is pay-on-delivery.]

The other party seemed to have missed out many times before, so upon seeing that they could pre-order and have it shipped, they didn't hesitate

"Deal!"

With someone leading the way, everyone began to imagine the taste of those wild vegetables, and they became active again

[Alright then, what day of the week is it in three days? I'll definitely head to your stall then!]

[Xiufen, I'm going too, let's go together.]

[Don't worry, girl, as long as the taste doesn't change, I'll keep buying.]

Song Tan thought about it; milk vetch wasn't just a "wild vegetable"—she had planted over ten acres of it, so the yield would be massive.

And although she hadn't provided much spiritual energy, she had been slowly cultivating it since the seeding stage. The flavor would definitely be excellent, perhaps even sweeter and more refreshing than the wild vegetables.

Out of her seven fields, she only needed to leave one for the old cows; the rest could all be sold.

Relying solely on her twenty-eight group members wouldn't be enough!

Therefore, she needed to be more diligent with her market stall, and she also needed to edit some videos for proper promotion. Regardless, every single initial customer counted.

Although the high unit price might mean low transaction volume at first, she could guarantee repeat customers—it was about steady, long-term growth.

So, she added another sentence: [Please help spread the word. Otherwise, if not many people buy them, I'll have to go to Ningcheng to see if any suppliers need them, and then I won't be selling them individually.]

The aunties who were doing "underground secret work" all felt guilty and didn't dare to speak up.

It wasn't that there were few wild vegetables; they were just afraid of not being able to grab any, so they kept it a secret!

Even so, sometimes they were bought out by people just browsing the market.

But since this milk vetch was said to be plentiful and filling, why not help the Boss bring in a few more people? Otherwise, if this continued, what would they do when they couldn't get the good stuff in the future?

Everyone began doing their own little mental math.

(End of Chapter)

It's hard to even post anything.

Once again, there are nucleic acid tests... eight in the neighboring county just ten minutes away...

And as for me, staying at home this whole month, every time I go out is just to get a nucleic acid test.