"So this is Lin Xian Village. You know, the environment here is really nice."
"Look, the three words on that plaque are really something. Strong and powerful, yet fluid and smooth."
Lin Feng watched the group of elderly men and women. They had come to buy Jade Grapes, and even though he’d told them they were sold out, they still insisted on coming up to have a look.
"Everyone, I’m Lin Feng, the developer of Lin Xian Village. The Jade Grapes you want to buy are already sold out."
"Sold out! How can they be sold out? Boss, didn’t you save any? Don’t worry, we’ll pay. We’ll pay a high price!"
"Boss, weren’t they 888 a bunch? We’ll pay 1888 a bunch. Just sell us some."
"..."
Lin Feng looked at the seniors, feeling a headache coming on.
"They’re really all gone. There was a little left, but someone bought them right before you arrived."
Hearing Lin Feng say they were truly gone, they looked disappointed but didn’t press him any further.
"Then when will the next season’s grapes be ready? We’ll pre-order them now."
"The next batch will be in three months. Let’s forget about pre-orders for now; it’s a bit too far out."
The seniors wouldn’t have it. For something this good, if they didn’t pre-order, they’d definitely miss out later.
Not only did they want to pre-order, but seeing Lin Feng’s reluctance, they even offered to pay more to do so.
"Grandpa, what are you guys doing here?" Zhao Shiyun’s voice was a lifeline for Lin Feng.
She had heard the commotion and came over to see what was happening, only to spot her grandfather in the crowd at a glance.
Elder Zhao had been discussing the possibility of a high-priced pre-order with Lin Feng. When he heard his granddaughter’s voice, he immediately turned to look.
"Shiyun, what are you doing here?"
Lin Feng tried to give Zhao Shiyun a meaningful look, but she didn’t see it at all. ’If you let it slip that you bought grapes,’ he thought, ’then I guess it’s just my bad luck.’
"I came with Hu Xia to shoot a video and bought some grapes while I was at it."
"Oh, shooting a... wait, you bought grapes?!"
Zhao Shiyun nodded and asked, a little confused, "Grandpa, I bought grapes. What’s wrong?"
Zhao Jianshe noticed the other old folks looking over and quickly pulled his granddaughter aside.
"How many did you buy? Can you spare some for Grandpa?"
Zhao Shiyun was instantly on guard. "Grandpa, I didn’t buy that many."
Even if it was her own grandfather, when it came to food, taking something from her hands was like snatching food from a tiger’s mouth.
"Shiyun, Grandpa’s always so good to you, and besides, this was a mission your grandma gave me."
Looking at her grandfather’s pitiful expression, Zhao Shiyun’s iron-clad heart softened just a fraction, and she hesitated.
"Eating these grapes is good for seniors’ health. You haven’t seen the change in Zhou Zhenhai and Liang Hong. They look several years younger."
"Is it really that good for you?"
"I guarantee it. If you don’t believe me, I’ll take you to see them when we get back."
"Then I’ll give you three hundred bunches for you and Grandma to eat," Zhao Shiyun said happily.
Zhao Jianshe was a little surprised. "How many did you buy? I only need a hundred bunches. And send a hundred to your maternal grandparents."
"I only bought three hundred bunches, and Hu Xia bought a lot too. I heard someone ordered a lot from the boss."
’It must be someone from Zhou Zhenhai’s family,’ Zhao Jianshe quickly figured out who ordered them.
"In a bit, I’ll go over and hold off those old guys. You take my car and get the grapes home first. Go quietly, and don’t let anyone see you."
Zhao Shiyun nodded. She was usually a bit absent-minded and didn’t like to overthink things, but when it came to food, it was a completely different story.
After understanding her grandfather’s plan, she headed back into the village once he left, telling Hu Xia about the situation along the way.
Hu Xia, who was in the village filming her video, immediately pulled her brother aside the moment she saw the message.
"There’s a group of old men at the foot of the mountain who came to buy grapes. They’re probably going to target ours. You need to head down the mountain and take the grapes home first."
Hu Zhiming said in astonishment, "Huh? Sis, it can’t be that serious, can it?"
"They’re all with Elder Zhao from the Zhao Family. Think about it. They want grapes, the boss doesn’t have any, so what do you think they’ll do if they find out I do?"
’If it really is that group of old men, we really wouldn’t be able to refuse them,’ Hu Zhiming sobered up instantly.
By the time he headed down the mountain, he found that Zhao Shiyun had already left. Luckily, his family’s grapes were already in the car.
Before the seniors could react, the kid snuck out of the village and drove straight down the mountain.
Meanwhile, when the seniors found out what had happened, they immediately surrounded Zhao Jianshe.
"Old Zhao, I never took you for this kind of person. I fully supported you and your work back when you were in office, you know."
"Old Zhao, we’ve been old neighbors for years. You have to spare some for me."
Zhao Jianshe waved his hand. "Don’t even start. That guy Old Zhou ordered a ton, too. I only have a little bit; it’ll be gone in a flash if I start splitting it."
"Oh, right. That girl from the Hu Family bought a lot, too. If any of you have connections, you could try that route."
He had no choice. With so many people eyeing him, his only option was to divert their attention elsewhere.
Lin Feng thought that would be the end of it, but he didn’t expect the seniors to end up surrounding him again.
This time, it wasn’t about buying grapes, but about pre-ordering the next batch. They were even willing to pay a premium.
The eight seniors joined forces to pre-order 960 bunches of grapes, paying a 30% deposit on the spot without even signing a contract.
If Lin Feng hadn’t already promised some to others, they would have tried to pre-order the entire harvest.
Hu Xia hid on the mountain, not daring to come down, thinking she could escape the whole ordeal.
But in the end, she couldn’t escape. They went right over her head and called her father, which she never saw coming.
Because this group of old men pulled all sorts of strings for the grapes, the legend of the Jade Grapes exploded throughout Wuyuan County in a single day.
Once word of the Jade Grapes’ effects spread, Lin Feng and Lin Xian Village instantly became a hot topic in Wuyuan County.
Everyone, whether they wanted to buy grapes or had other ideas in mind, was trying to find out more about the Jade Grapes.
"Xiaofeng, what’s going on? So many people called me today asking about your Jade Grapes."
"Dad, a group of old men came today. They must be influential figures in Wuyuan County. They’re probably the ones who spread the word about the grapes’ effects."
Lin Dongyue said with some concern, "All sorts of people are asking around now. You have to be extremely careful over there. Don’t let anyone steal the grapes."
"Dad, don’t worry. No one can steal them. There are security cameras and a big iron gate. People can’t get in."
Lin Feng glanced at the signal tower under construction not far away. ’This thing already has a warning function. I’ll add an alarm system to it later.’
[Signal Tower (Level 1): Monitors for hostile presence, detects enemies, and transmits information.]
Hu Xia, who was planning to film the starry sky at night, came down from the mountain looking none too pleased.
"Boss Lin, are you really out of grapes?"
"They’re gone. You saw for yourself, the vineyard is only so big, and I can’t transplant them yet."
Hu Xia said with a pained expression, "Sigh, of my 300 bunches of grapes, I only have 50 left. For the next batch, can’t I order a few more?"
"No can do. I’ve already made promises to others. Getting you a quota of 150 bunches is already pretty good. Those seniors only ordered 120 bunches each."
"Fine. But you should still figure out a way to expand the vineyard soon. This small amount of grapes really isn’t enough to go around."
Right now, it was just people from Wuyuan County scrambling for them. Once the news spread further, even more people would come rushing to buy them.
’I want to, believe me,’ Lin Feng thought. ’But I have to wait for the village to level up. It might be more practical to hope for a second specialty product to appear.’