The neighboring stall owners turned away at the remark. Out of sight, out of mind... but why did their hearts ache so much?
Forty bunches for 35,520 yuan. Anyone who said they weren’t jealous was full of it. Some were already scheming about how to get their hands on these grapevines.
"Daddy, I love you~"
Zhou Yueyue was so happy her eyes crinkled into a pair of smiling crescents.
"And just a moment ago, you were calling me a bad daddy."
Zhou Cheng patted her head, his gaze turning to Lin Feng with a hint of curiosity.
’888 for a bunch of grapes. If this guy isn’t a con artist, he must have some serious skills.’
’Clearly, this vendor is the real deal. At the very least, the taste and effects of these grapes are genuinely impressive.’
The two exchanged no words. Zhou Cheng paid and left with his daughter.
For the next hour, Lin Feng’s grapes once again went unsold.
The other stall owners felt a flicker of secret delight. ’Finally, no more customers,’ they thought. ’Guess not everyone is a fool with more money than sense.’
They didn’t exchange a single word, but their glances said it all.
But when they remembered that his earnings from a single sale were more than what they made in several months, their hearts still ached.
It was almost nine o’clock, and Lin Feng was getting ready to pack up when several people came running over.
"This has to be the place, right?"
"Over there, over there! I see it!"
"Come on, hurry! He’s about to pack up!"
The four of them moved quickly, rushing to Lin Feng’s stall. One of them bent over, hands on his knees, gasping for breath.
"Hold on, boss... *huff, huff*... don’t pack up. Just... let me catch my breath."
"Move it. It was only 400 meters, and you’re wheezing like that? You’re not even in college yet and you’re already this brittle."
A boy next to him, only slightly out of breath, pushed him aside.
"Boss, are these the Jade Grapes that Sister Hu, the ’big spender,’ bought yesterday?"
"I don’t know any ’big spender,’ but yes, I was selling grapes here yesterday."
"Ah, we mean Sister Hu! The streamer from yesterday."
"So it is these grapes. 888 a bunch."
"Hold on, we need to talk this over."
The four of them stepped aside. They weren’t rich kids from wealthy families; 888 yuan for a single bunch of grapes was a steep price for them.
"So, what’s the verdict? Are we buying or not?"
"We’re buying! It’s 222 each. If you guys are short, I’ve got over a hundred extra."
"Okay, it’s a deal. The four of us will split it evenly."
"Xiao Lu, get your phone and start recording."
Once they had a plan, the sturdiest of the boys walked over, phone in hand, and announced, "Boss, one bunch of your 888-yuan Jade Grapes!"
’Just one bunch?’ Lin Feng thought. ’From the way he said it, you’d think he was buying out my entire stock.’
"Here you go. All the bunches are the same quality and have the same number of grapes. There’s a scale here if you’d like to weigh it yourself."
The boy didn’t bother weighing it, but he did compare the bunch in his hand to the others on the stall.
"Boss, could you rinse these for us?"
Lin Feng rinsed the grapes for them with some water.
Then, the four of them stood to the side, dividing the grapes. The sight was a little heartbreaking.
"Hello, everyone! We’re high school students from Wuyuan County, and we’re big fans of Sister Hu."
"The four of us are just poor students, so we could only afford one bunch. We’ll let you know what they’re really like after we try them.
These grapes have a faint, fruity fragrance—a very unique scent. Just smelling it gives you the feeling that this fruit has to be delicious. Sister Hu wasn’t lying to everyone."
"That’s right. When we were walking over, we could smell it from forty or fifty meters away.
That means the scent travels really far. It’s strange, though—up close, the aroma isn’t overpowering. It’s still just a faint, fruity fragrance.
I wonder if there are any physics experts in the fan group who can explain the science behind this."
"Okay, enough talk. Let’s dig in."
"Whoa! These grapes are amazing! The moment you bite through the skin, the juice just bursts in your mouth, and the sweetness and aroma instantly fill everything."
"These are the best grapes I’ve ever had. The sweetness is perfect, and that aroma is so unique. It just makes you want to keep eating them."
"I’m not sure about the ’revitalizing’ part yet, but it definitely helps with fatigue. See? I’m barely out of breath anymore, and I don’t feel so exhausted."
In the time it took to say all that, the four of them had already finished every last grape.
They were left wanting more, but sadly, their wallets disagreed. Otherwise, they would have bought ten more bunches and eaten to their hearts’ content.
After a moment, one of them spoke to the phone again. "Looks like Sister Hu didn’t get ripped off this time. For wealthy people, these grapes are more than worth the price.
For regular folks like us, the feeling after eating them is a mix of heartache and craving more. It all comes down to being poor."
"Yeah, the only downside to these grapes is the price!"
The four of them gazed at the grapes on Lin Feng’s stall, craving more, but their wallets were empty.
Lin Feng saw the looks in their eyes and couldn’t just stand by and watch.
"Here," Lin Feng said. "I’ve eaten a few from this bunch. If you don’t mind, take it as a thank you for the free advertising."
"Oh, thank you, but we’re not streamers. We just came to shoot a video for Sister Hu’s fans."
"Just take it. Can’t have you running all this way for nothing. Go on, I need to pack up."
The boy who had been speaking took the bunch of grapes. They really did want another taste; their first experience was like "Zhu Bajie eating the ginseng fruit"—gone before they could even savor it.
After sending the four students on their way, Lin Feng quickly packed everything up. He still had a lot to do today.
The items he’d ordered online could only be delivered to the local town, so he had to go pick them up himself.
He also needed to buy a batch of materials to take back for the Farmland.
’I have a lot of land now,’ he thought. ’Maybe I can try using different items and see which ones grant the best attributes.’
Ideas began to form: fertilizers, insulation materials, and small tools like plows, rakes, and hoes.
’As for adding large equipment like rotary tillers or seed drills, that feels a bit inappropriate for now.’
’Even if they could automate tilling and planting, it doesn’t seem very convenient for me to use them. It’d be better to add effects that increase yield or improve product quality.’
’Besides, operating the machinery myself is part of the fun. If I ever get into agro-tourism, it could even be an activity for visitors.’
He went to a specialty market in the county town and bought all the materials he needed. He also picked up some water pipes, planning to seal the wellhead and set up a running water system.
With his shopping done, he headed for town.
"Mo Yu, get in the car. Let’s go."
"WOOF, WOOF!"
Mo Yu’s little legs gave a small hop, and he looked up at Lin Feng as if to say, ’I can’t make it up there.’
"Haha! You’d better grow up fast. I’ll need you to guard the house someday."
That morning, he’d looked at Mo Yu’s status panel and discovered that the little guy gained 10 experience points with every meal, capped at three times a day.
’There are probably other ways for him to gain experience, like hunting or guarding the house, but it’s a shame Mo Yu is still too small.’
...
After taking his daughter home and having breakfast, Zhou Cheng took some of the grapes and went to visit Wang Fuxiang, the head of the water company.
"Younger Brother Zhou, you’re here! You didn’t have to bring a gift."
"Brother Wang, my wife bought these local specialty Jade Grapes yesterday. They’re incredible. I ended up eating ten bunches myself last night, so I brought some over for you to try."
"These grapes really do look like jade," Wang Fuxiang remarked, setting them aside. "Are the pipes ready on your end?"
"They’re ready. As soon as you guys break ground, I’ll have the pipes delivered."
"We’re close. We should be starting in about a week."
"Brother Wang, I heard that zinc-copper-aluminum mining company is planning to move into our county."
"Just rumors. I’m not clear on the specifics myself.
But don’t you worry, Younger Brother Zhou. It won’t be that easy for them to get in."
Seeing that he couldn’t pry any more information out of him, Zhou Cheng switched the topic to their business collaboration.
After work, Wang Fuxiang brought the bag of grapes home with him, intending to let his family try them.
"Ranran didn’t come over today?"
"Her mom picked her up."
Ma Yanyan had also just gotten home from work. Without their child around, the house felt quiet.
"What’s that?"
"Grapes from Zhou Cheng. He said they’re a local specialty. Go rinse some and give them a try."
"I’ll wash two bunches then."
The grapes were washed in no time.
"Old Wang, come out here! These grapes are delicious, you have to try them."
Wang Fuxiang came out of the study and saw his wife eating nonstop.
"Are they really that good?"
"They taste amazing, and they smell wonderful too. Ask where he bought them tomorrow, will you?"
"You can ask Zhou Cheng’s wife yourself. She’s the one who bought them.
Hey, these are actually really good. Better than any of those imported fruits."
"Fine, I’ll ask her later. I’m going to go wash a few more bunches."
Two bunches were clearly not enough. The two of them ended up finishing ten bunches, only stopping when their housekeeper called them for dinner.