stingy landlady

Chapter 224 Harvesting the Vegetables (2)

The village chief asked Guizhi with a puzzled look:

"Guizhi! Is there any other way for the villagers to sell it for more money?"

Guizhi smiled:

"Grandpa Village Chief! People in our village can learn to do business! If you're interested, you can come and sell vegetables with my people!"

Our village grows a lot of vegetables now, so the more people there are to sell them, the faster they'll sell. Plus, the price you get for selling them yourself will definitely be higher than the price I get for buying them.

The only requirement is that the price can't be lowered arbitrarily. We're all from our village; growing vegetables isn't easy, and we don't want to risk losing our own people before we've even made any money. We can't let those uncooperative, disunited people turn against us!

"Grandpa Village Chief! Grandpa! Dad! We can sell not only cucumbers and green beans, but also sweet potato leaves! Later, when the sweet potatoes grow bigger, we can sell them raw, or we can roast them and sell them roasted!"

The village chief and the old man looked at each other, and the old man asked Guizhi:

"Is Guizhi planning to take the villagers to town to sell vegetables?"

Dazhu chimed in:

“They can also be sold in town, but not in such large quantities! Guizhi, you need to think this through. If everyone in our village were to pick vegetables all at once, it would be quite a lot!”

Guizhi thought about it carefully before saying:

"Yes! It would be even better if someone had a sales channel in town, so they could sell it themselves."

If there's no other way, I'm planning to rent a piece of land in the county town and build a shed.

Guizhi then said to Dazhu and the old man:

"Grandpa! Dad! If we could build a simple shed similar to Caomujian in the county town, so that all the villagers could gather there to sell vegetables, that would be great!"

At least we'll have somewhere to shelter from the wind and rain. We can also slaughter pigs and sell meat there, as well as chickens, ducks, and geese.

There are vendors selling vegetables and meat. Hmm! They have everything; I reckon it'll attract people to buy some!

In that case, my only responsibility is to bring them to the location; whether they sell well or poorly, and whether I make a profit or not, is none of my concern!

The village chief thought about it seriously and said:

"Guizhi's idea is good. If I were to go grocery shopping, I wouldn't want to run around to different places. It would be so much more convenient to buy everything in one place!"

The old man asked worriedly:

"Ah! Guizhi! Isn't that quite troublesome? It's quite far. Food is easy to manage; we can just bring some dry rations from home to make do with a meal! But how do we solve the problem of accommodation?"

Going and coming back on the same day would be too rushed; I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to sell all the vegetables, and it would take another day!"

"Grandpa Village Chief! Grandpa! I just have this idea, but if we really want to enter this market, we definitely need everyone to brainstorm and come up with a solution together!"

There's one more thing, Grandpa Village Chief! People say that if you want to get rich, you must first build roads! The main roads in our village should ideally be paved with small stones and sand.

"To prevent our vegetable carts from getting in and out when it rains. The muddy roads cause delays! This requires the villagers to work together to repair the road."

The village chief nodded:

"We farmers have plenty of strength! When the time comes, those with strength can contribute their strength, and those with money can contribute money instead of labor!"

Guizhi thought for a moment and said to Dazhu:

"Father! After we finish harvesting the wheat, let's have the farmhands come and work! Of course, we'll still pay them! Hmm! I'll have Ping'an bring out three hundred taels of silver, Grandpa Village Chief!"

If you really don't have enough manpower at home, don't force them! If you have extra laborers at home who are willing to come and repair the road, then give them money!

"Both men and women should give money! I'll have my family deliver it safely later! Grandpa Village Chief, please arrange it! Getting the road repaired is the most important thing, no matter what!"

The village chief was pleased and said to Guizhi:

"Guizhi! Your kind-hearted village chief grandfather knows! This season, Guizhi will send someone to harvest the vegetables for the time being! Guizhi will decide how many copper coins to pay! Whatever you give is what you get!"

Guizhi is thoughtful; once the shed is set up in the county town, she'll notify the villagers to go and take a look. Since it's a self-financing arrangement, she'll send a few more people to check it out later if anyone wants to!

Whether we make a profit or a loss, it's the villagers' own choice! Guizhi, you've already done so much and so well!

Guizhi simply smiled and said to the village chief:

"Grandpa Village Chief! I was born and raised in our village! My family and I all hope that our village will get better and better!"

We'll live comfortably in the village from now on!

Anyone can say nice things. Guizhi's words, however, made the village chief and the old man beam with joy!

"Grandpa Village Chief! Let's do it the first way! If anyone in the village picks cucumbers, green beans, tomatoes, or peppers, bring them to my house first, and Grandpa Zhou will weigh them!"

But Grandpa Village Chief, let me make this clear from the start! We need to be respectable with these cucumbers and green beans! Don't bring out cucumbers with rotten ends or green beans infested with worms and force Grandpa Zhou to accept them; otherwise, I won't be polite!

The village chief nodded hurriedly:

"Of course, of course! If you're worried, Grandpa Village Chief can help you check it out? I don't have anything else to do anyway!"

Dazhu then happily said:

"Oh! We'd love for Uncle Village Chief to go and oversee things! With more people, you'll encounter all sorts of people and all sorts of things. Guizhi is sometimes busy, and I'm really worried about running into that shrew. We can't exactly lay a hand on her, can we?"

Village Chief Dou Dazhu:

"I don't know if others are afraid! Dazhu! I heard you have several women, including wives and concubines! If you really run into an unreasonable shrew, release your beautiful wives and concubines!"

Even the fiercest shrew has to fear them! Two fists can't fight four hands! Huh? Hahaha!

Dazhu scratched his head.

"The village chief is making fun of me too! It's all my wife's fault, sigh! But it's not entirely her fault! It's all because we don't have a son!"

The old man also came to Dazhu's rescue:

"The village chief knows that if a family like ours doesn't have a son to support it, people will laugh at us! Luckily, Guizhi's mother is very generous!"

This was a last resort, that's why they had to find Dazhu two concubines! His first concubine was already pregnant, but they were worried it would be a girl. Before Dazhu's wife even gave birth, they quickly found him two more!

He just wanted to make sure he had a boy! Sigh! Village chief, I've already talked to him about it! He's young and inexperienced. Even though Dazhu has some money now, he can't keep up with this kind of extravagance!

The village chief certainly knew what to say to avoid offending anyone; he just needed to dodge the question and it would be over!

"Dazhu is young and promising, with a limitless future! Brother Wang, please don't worry! Besides, you have such a capable daughter as Guizhi, Brother Wang is truly blessed!"

The old man was very proud.

"Hahaha! Village Chief! My granddaughters in Dazhu's family are all very capable and filial! That's really true!"

After discussing the vegetable harvest, the old man and the village chief talked about the wheat harvest.

"Brother Wang! This year's wheat harvest is extra, which means many families will be able to fill their stomachs. They won't have to tighten their belts and go hungry anymore! This is all thanks to your ideas!"

"Village chief! That's what they say, but there aren't many people who can actually plant this season's worth. Many are unwilling to spend money on manure, and many can't afford seeds! I'm willing but unable to help!"