This year, the peaches from Yangtoubu were selling exceptionally well. There were large orders of thousands of pounds, and many were self-pickup, meaning Li Sangyue didn’t need to arrange cold-chain trucks for delivery. Payments were settled on the spot, saving her a lot of trouble. The fruit farmers in the village were finally seeing a return on their investment. Everyone was overjoyed; even though they had been working until midnight these past few days and were exhausted, it was all worth it.
Yangtoubu wasn’t the only place in Taining that grew peaches, so why were people so eager to buy theirs? While the live streams certainly played a part, the sheer level of popularity made Li Sangyue suspect that someone was helping her.
Her account, in particular, had been getting incredible traffic lately. Every video hit the “trending” list, her popularity soared, and even official state media had reposted her content. The fame brought a non-stop stream of orders. The best-selling yellow peaches and flat peaches had to be taken off the shelves early. Previously, hiring two or three villagers was enough to handle the warehouse packing; now, even twenty people weren’t enough.
She wasn’t sure if she had just struck it lucky or if a benefactor was assisting her. Unable to find a clue, Li Sangyue decided not to overthink it. Focusing on the tasks at hand was the most important thing. Since they were short-staffed, she and her mother had been coming to the small warehouse to help out. Her own family’s peach harvest was small and already finished, so they were currently helping the other villagers sell theirs.
However, there were a few households whose peaches Li Sangyue refused to let Sister Tuan and the others collect. These belonged to the “long-tongued” neighborhood gossips who used to badmouth her family. Back when she started filming videos, these people had constantly discouraged her. She was not a saint and could not simply let bygones be bygones, so she would not take the initiative to collect their fruit. If they hauled the peaches over themselves and the quality was excellent, she might take a small amount.
But as for those overripe yellow peaches from this afternoon, she would not take them no matter what.
“The peaches are overripe; they won’t survive the express delivery. I can’t take them,” she said. Her mother had gone home for the afternoon. If her mother had been here, these women would not have dared to come. They were afraid of her mother, who had lectured them many times in the past.
Several women surrounded Li Sangyue at the warehouse entrance, blocking her path. “Xiaoyue, help your aunts out. You know so many big bosses; just make a phone call and ask them to buy our peaches. It is pocket change to them! We heard those big bosses spend over a hundred thousand on a single meal. Just ask them to do a good deed, okay? If you are too embarrassed to ask, invite them to your house and we will talk to them ourselves. We definitely won’t make things difficult for you, alright? Xiaoyue, your aunt is truly at her wits’ end. Peaches are not selling well this year, and our whole family is counting on this orchard.”
Did they really think she was a pushover? Li Sangyue gave a forced smile. “Auntie, I really cannot help. I do not know any ‘big bosses.’ If I did, I would not have spent all these years growing fruit in the village; I would have gone out to make a career with them long ago.”
Having reached this point in the conversation, the women felt a bit awkward and stood there silently.
The warehouse was busy, and Li Sangyue did not have time to deal with them. “There is a market in town tomorrow. You should take them there, or to the county seat, or the city. If the price is low enough, I am sure plenty of people will buy them. It is busy inside, so I cannot chat. I have to get back to work. Come by my house for a visit when you are free, Auntie.”
The town market would not sell much. Each of their families had over ten thousand pounds of peaches. In the past, peaches were always hard to sell, but back then the whole village was in the same boat. If theirs did not sell, no one else’s did either. Now it was different. Everyone else’s peaches were being sold through Li Sangyue’s live stream at good prices, while theirs were left to rot in the fields.
“Xiaoyue.” Li Ningjun arrived on her electric scooter, her eyes sweeping over the group at the door. Were they bullying her daughter again?
“Haha, Ningjun is here. Well, Xiaoyue, we will be heading off now.” They did not dare provoke Li Ningjun.
The daughter of Li Shuang and Yang Hehua was a force to be reckoned with. She was so fierce that she had even beaten her own paternal aunt, Li Yuan. With her reputation, they preferred to keep their distance. No one wanted Li Ningjun showing up at their door in the middle of the night wielding a kitchen knife.
“Mom, I thought you went home? Why are you back?” Li Sangyue felt much better now that it was quiet.
However, Li Ningjun was not in a good mood because an uninvited guest had arrived at the house and was refusing to leave. She could not kick the person out because the two old ladies in the house were extremely fond of this person surnamed Qin, and they had pressured her to come and bring Xiaoyue back.
Qin Nian had come specifically to see Li Sangyue and Taiyang, and she had prepared gifts for everyone in the Li family.
For the two elders, she brought two boxes of high-end nutritional supplements. For Li Ningjun, she brought a real silk scarf. For Li Sangyue, she brought a type of foreign-made suppressant.
This specific suppressant was hard to find domestically and carried an exorbitant price tag even abroad. Its effectiveness was over ten times that of a regular suppressant. For the current Li Sangyue, this was an urgently needed item. This gift truly touched the hearts of the entire Li family.
Even Li Ningjun suppressed her anger. She knew about this suppressant. In the past, she could have bought it easily, but not anymore. Suppressants were categorized into “standard” and “luxury” versions, and the luxury ones required a membership status, not just money.
“Xiao Qin, do not bring things next time you visit.”
It was clear that the grandmother liked Qin Nian very much. She pulled her onto the sofa to chat for a long time. She knew Qin Nian was not short on money, but money did not grow on trees, and bringing gifts every time was expensive.
Only later did the grandmother learn that the two people who came to the birthday feast were sent by Qin Nian to deliver gifts. Her husband loved that bracelet. He was too afraid to wear it, so he tucked it away with his gold rings and jade Buddha, taking it out occasionally to admire it with a blissful expression.
“Grandmother, I just bought these on the way; they are very common items. Last time Xiaoyue sent me so much fruit and would not take any money. I would be embarrassed to show up empty-handed.”
The grandmother was mending clothes, and Qin Nian wanted to be helpful, so she tried to thread the needle. But she had never done such work before. She struggled for a long time, unable to get the thread through. Even Taiyang, who was sitting across from her with her arms crossed, huffing and refusing to come near, could not take it anymore. This auntie was so silly; she could not even thread a needle.
“Give it to me, I will do it,” Taiyang said, snatching the needle and thread with a look of disdain. “You are too slow. My mom and grandmother can do it in one go.”
Children are blunt, especially toward people they do not like.
The grandmother felt quite awkward. “Taiyang, do not talk to Auntie like that. It is rude. Quickly, say you are sorry.”
Taiyang was the only little one in the house and was usually pampered, but she was still expected to learn proper manners.
Taiyang was usually a polite and well-behaved child. For some reason, the moment Qin Nian arrived, she became stubborn. She refused to greet her and kept her face puffed up in a pout.
Furthermore, even though she clearly liked the puppy Qin Nian brought her, she pretended not to. She told her great-grandmother to take it outside, claiming it would get the living room dirty, and then proceeded to glare at Qin Nian while secretly scooting toward the door to peek at the dog.
After threading the needle for her grandmother, Taiyang turned her chubby face away, refusing to apologize.
“This child,” the grandmother thought, finding it strange.
Qin Nian was also curious as to why Taiyang harbored such hostility toward her. They had not even spoken during their first encounter at the courtyard gate. Later, when she went to Yangtoubu to find Li Sangyue, Taiyang had been at school. This was only their second meeting. From the moment the grandmother invited her inside, Taiyang had been glaring at her.
“Hmph!” Taiyang crossed her arms and turned her back completely, leaving Qin Nian with a grumpy little silhouette.
Qin Nian bit her lip to hide a smile, then stood up and squatted in front of Taiyang. “Did I do something to upset you?”
Taiyang rolled her eyes like dark grapes and pouted, but she did not dare look her in the eye. Perhaps she realized she was being unreasonable.
“Would you like to tell Auntie what I did? Is it because you do not like the gift?”
Taiyang knitted her small brows. The puppy was very cute and she did like it, so she shook her head.
Qin Nian became even more curious. “Then why?”
Taiyang’s pout grew so heavy you could have hung an oil bottle from it. Unwillingly, she muttered, “I just do not like you.”
Her intuition told her that this auntie was going to steal her mother away, so she did not like her. But she could not say that out loud.
Qin Nian picked her up and placed her on the sofa. Taiyang did not refuse; she even sniffed the air slightly, trying to catch the scent of Qin Nian’s pheromones.
Seeing that Qin Nian was not angry, the grandmother felt relieved.
“Shall Auntie take you outside to see the puppy?”
She had specifically asked a friend to buy a high-quality little yellow dog from Guangxi. It was chubby and cute, with a steady, honest temperament—perfect as a companion dog. She had brought it in the car today. Because it was for Taiyang, even though she was actually afraid of dogs, she endured it and successfully delivered the puppy to the girl.
Taiyang fidgeted with her fingers and nodded reluctantly.
Qin Nian immediately lifted her up, cradling her steadily in her arms, walked to the door, set her down, and opened the dog crate.
Being in a new home, the puppy was shy and did not dare leave the crate, its small, bead-like eyes full of anxiety.
Taiyang squatted in front of the crate, eager to pet it. “It is so small.”
“The puppy is only two months old and does not have a name yet. Would Taiyang like to give it one?”
After its arrival, the puppy had been cleaned and disinfected by a professional, so it was safe to touch. However, Qin Nian was worried about the puppy becoming stressed in a new environment, so she did not let Taiyang pet it immediately. She let her watch from the crate until the puppy felt comfortable enough to run out on its own.
Bajiao, the family’s fat cat, was full of curiosity and circled the crate several times. He was quite friendly toward the new member.
After deep thought, Taiyang finally came up with a name.
“Stewed Meat?” When Li Sangyue returned home and heard the name, she felt like the world was ending. Even “Wangcai” would have been better.
Taiyang’s logic was simple: Grandmother usually put star anise, or Bajiao, in the pot when stewing meat. Since the cat was named Bajiao, the dog should naturally be called Stewed Meat. It was perfectly logical. To her, it sounded great and suited the puppy perfectly since it was so chubby and meaty.
In the end, however, the dog was named Wangcai. Li Sangyue had to promise Taiyang five yuan in pocket money to get her to agree to the name change.
“Wangcai!”
The puppy had adapted to its new surroundings and was playing with Taiyang in the yard.
Li Sangyue stood at the door watching for a while. Seeing the child, the dog, and the fat cat playing well together, she finally felt at ease and went inside. When her eyes met Qin Nian’s gaze, her heart skipped a beat.