Li Dama’s place is the closest to the village entrance, just a few steps away. Ji Yuchen handed over the basket and some peanuts to her. Li Dama accepted them with a smile and invited them in to sit.
Xu Xiaohui probably had nothing much to do. Ji Yuchen heard that her husband was the one taking care of the bees, while she just wandered around the village all day. Since she showed no intention of leaving, Ji Yuchen couldn’t just ask her to go, so he sat there with a polite smile.
Their conversation drifted from topic to topic, and within half an hour, Ji Yuchen received the most intense gossip session since he arrived: about the daughter-in-law of the Zhang family, the child of the Wang family, and how Li Er Gou at the end of the village still hadn’t found a partner. Ji Yuchen’s eyebrows kept raising as he listened, and he was amazed to find that Xu Xiaohui even knew how many eggs the hen next door to Zhang Daye laid yesterday. He couldn’t help but admire her; it was a skill to gather information like that.
He was thinking about when he could steer the conversation to the main topic when Li Dama brought over some washed peaches. Xu Xiaohui quickly waved her hand, loudly exclaiming, “No more, no more! I’ve been eating your peaches for half a month, and I’m sick of them. They’re delicious, but you can’t eat them every day, right?”
Her words had a teasing tone, and Ji Yuchen couldn’t help but roll his eyes, thinking, “You sure have a nerve, complaining about free stuff.”
Li Dama sighed at her words, saying that the peaches on the tree would probably rot on the ground since she couldn’t pick them all by herself. It was a pity.
Xu Xiaohui continued peeling peanuts, ignoring Li Dama’s complaints, as if she didn’t want to engage in that topic.
Ji Yuchen seized the opportunity to ask, “Dama, how many pounds of peaches do you have in total, including the ones on the tree?”
Li Dama counted on her fingers and said at least two to three thousand pounds. Ji Yuchen asked her how much she would sell them for if he could find a buyer for her.
He spoke quietly, so Xu Xiaohui didn’t hear and leaned over to ask what they were talking about. Ji Yuchen exchanged a glance with Li Dama, who understood and said, “Xiaohui, you’ve been out for a while. Shouldn’t you check on your child at home?”
Xu Xiaohui had her second child earlier this year. Her older child and husband were taking care of the bees, while the younger one was still nursing. Xu Xiaohui usually had to go back to check on the kids after wandering around in the morning. Li Dama reminded her, “Don’t let the child go hungry. It’s about time they woke up…”
Hearing this, the woman glanced at the sun, put down the peanuts, and said she had to go back. Before leaving, she didn’t forget to take two peaches, saying they were for her husband and child. Ji Yuchen snorted lightly, thinking he had never seen someone so eager to take advantage.
After making sure Xu Xiaohui wasn’t coming back, Ji Yuchen seriously discussed with Li Dama about going to town to see if there was a market for the peaches and help her sell the thousands of pounds.
Li Dama was quite surprised and asked, “Do you have connections?”
Ji Yuchen shook his head, “I’ve never done it before, but I want to try.”
He was honest because he wasn’t sure about the market situation, and whether he could help sell the peaches was uncertain.
Li Dama’s eyes, which had just lit up, dimmed again, and she sighed with some disappointment, “It’s not that easy. The fruit stalls and wholesale markets in town have their own suppliers. They don’t source from us, and many families grow their own. It’s not as simple as you think…”
She waved her hand, comforting Ji Yuchen, “But thank you anyway. You’re a good kid, just like Dali.”
Ji Yuchen lowered his eyes and licked his lips, thinking that what Li Dama said made sense. He had considered that things might not be that simple, but giving up without trying always left a bitter taste. So he insisted, “Just give me a price. Whether I can sell them or not, you won’t lose anything. If I find a buyer and sell them for more, we’ll split the extra fifty-fifty.”
He thought about how hard Xu Chuang worked to earn money, and he couldn’t just sit idly by. Plus, he still needed to rescue Humming, so Ji Yuchen really needed the money.
Seeing his stubbornness, Li Dama didn’t hesitate. After all, if they couldn’t sell, the peaches would just rot on the tree. She readily gave him a price, saying that if he could sell them for more, he could keep the extra.
Ji Yuchen sweetly praised the peaches and even asked Li Dama for tips on growing peach trees. The old lady beamed with joy and gave him a lot of peaches to take with him, saying it didn’t matter if he could sell them or not.
Even though she said that, when Ji Yuchen looked back, he could still see the hope in Li Dama’s eyes. He knew that no farmer wanted to see their hard-grown crops rot in the field. They knew the value of their labor and cherished it the most.
After returning from the village entrance, Ji Yuchen went to the field. Xu Chuang was harvesting the last batch of corn, tossing them into a basket. Ji Yuchen approached from behind, peeking over his shoulder, startling Xu Chuang, who turned around and asked, “Finished chatting?”
Ji Yuchen nodded listlessly, then hugged a corn cob and squatted on the field ridge.
He didn’t look too happy, so Xu Chuang asked how the conversation went.
Ji Yuchen recounted what had happened, feeling a bit reckless for not doing any market research and having unrealistic ideas.
Xu Chuang said, “You didn’t make any promises, right? You just said you’d try.”
Ji Yuchen pouted, admitting that saying “try” was just an excuse. He didn’t want to waste his efforts, especially since going to town would cost money, not just for the fare, but food was also more expensive than at home.
He borrowed Xu Chuang’s phone and squatted to look up information, getting a rough idea of how much the mountain-grown peaches sold for in town and what the market was like. Xu Chuang finished picking the remaining corn, shook the basket to even out the contents, and hoisted it onto his shoulder.
With the corn harvest done, the autumn harvest was over. The next step was to burn the stalks to improve soil fertility, preparing for spring planting next year. Xu Chuang pulled Ji Yuchen up, saying they could discuss it after lunch. Ji Yuchen wasn’t very enthusiastic, his mind elsewhere for half the night.
He was torn about whether to make the trip, as it seemed more likely to be a losing venture. Xu Chuang made the decision for him: they would go to town tomorrow, and he could also get his arm checked.
The next day, the two took a motorcycle taxi to the bus station. This time, Xu Chuang specifically asked the driver to go slow because Xiao Jiu’er got carsick.
The driver gave an “OK” gesture and avoided the potholes along the way. Although it was slower, it was at least less uncomfortable.
They arrived in town just in time for the morning market. The fruit and vegetable wholesale market was bustling, with vendors selling vegetables, fruits, and even butchering pigs and fish. They first had breakfast at a fried cake stall. Ji Yuchen looked around, observing each stall. He skipped those selling their own produce and focused on those that seemed like merchants sourcing from elsewhere, planning to approach them one by one.
He prepared his pitch and started promoting their peaches, offering samples for the stall owners to taste.
The samples were sponsored by Li Dama yesterday, meant for him and Xu Chuang to enjoy, but now they came in handy and received quite a few compliments.
Ji Yuchen thought he had a chance, especially when one stall owner praised the peaches, saying they had never tasted such sweet and juicy ones. This variety was rare and hard to grow, truly a delicacy.
Ji Yuchen eagerly introduced that their peach trees were naturally grown without chemical fertilizers, and he had nearly three thousand pounds available, with negotiable prices, ready to be delivered in the next couple of days.
The owner waved it off, saying no need. Ji Yuchen was puzzled and asked anxiously, “Why not? You just said the peaches were delicious and would sell well!”
His attitude was good, so the owner didn’t rush him away, honestly explaining that they already had a fixed supplier.
Ji Yuchen pressed, “But if my price is lower, you wouldn’t lose out, right?”
Perhaps it was the “don’t hit a smiling face” principle, but the owner was willing to explain further. He said, “Young man, it’s not just about whether your product is good or cheap. Sometimes, doing business isn’t just about these things… Look at my stall, with people coming and going every day, and even city stores sourcing from here. Your three thousand pounds would sell out in a day. But what about after that? Can you keep supplying me? How much land do you have?”
Ji Yuchen was at a loss. He wasn’t familiar with the unit “mu,” only knowing that the peach orchard wasn’t large, and the yield was limited each year.
The owner said, “See, I guessed right, didn’t I? You don’t have a large or stable supply. If I take your goods today, it’s a one-time deal. Sure, if you sell it cheap, I can make a small profit, but if I spoil my customers with this taste, and they keep asking for these peaches, where will I get them? It would make it harder for me to sell in the future.”
He finished and shrugged, kindly advising, “If you don’t believe me, you can try other stalls, but I doubt anyone will take your peaches…”
The owner hummed a tune and went inside, leaving Ji Yuchen standing in front of the fruit stall, dazed. He thought the owner made some valid points, but it was hard to accept that such good peaches had no takers. Ji Yuchen was determined to try.
He went around the market, finding that, as Li Dama said, every stall had fixed suppliers, without exception. Although some were interested in his peaches, as the owner mentioned, once they asked about the quantity and stability of supply, and Ji Yuchen explained the situation, the conversation ended.
He squatted by the roadside, pondering how Li Dama’s husband found a way to sell thousands of pounds to small supermarkets last year, while he couldn’t manage it.
Ji Yuchen sat there, lost in thought, when Xu Chuang came over and squatted beside him, holding a plastic bag. He took out a snack and offered it.
“Hungry? Try this.”
Xu Chuang handed him a piece of red bean cake, carefully bringing it to his mouth. Ji Yuchen touched his stomach, realizing he was hungry again, even though he had just had breakfast.
He took the red bean cake and started eating, feeling as wilted as a frostbitten eggplant, mumbling, “It seems like there’s really no hope. Maybe that owner was right; they all don’t want our goods.”
Xu Chuang patted the little guy’s head, offering simple comfort, “You did your best. If it doesn’t sell, there’s nothing you can do.”
He wasn’t skilled in business, and during times like these, he felt useless. Last time, when he and Jiu’er went to the neighboring village market, Xu Chuang noticed that Jiu’er was particularly charming when dealing with people, always taking the lead in talking and attracting business, while he was left to pack and collect money.
Xu Chuang had also asked many vendors earlier, but it didn’t yield any substantial results. He wanted to find a way to comfort him, and seeing a stall selling red bean cakes, knowing Jiu’er liked sweets, he thought it might cheer him up.
The two squatted by the roadside for a while. Ji Yuchen’s legs went numb, so he stood up, leaning against the wall to regain feeling. Nearby, a woman at a fruit stall started cursing, launching into a tirade:
“Wxxxxxx! What did you promise before?! You said you’d deliver two thousand pounds of peaches by tomorrow, and I gave you a deposit, right? What do you mean by selling them to someone else? This is a scam!”
[Author’s Note]
Ji Yuchen: Making money is serious business!