North and South groceries

After the time entered the eighth month of the lunar calendar, the sultry air that had shrouded Chang'an City for more than two months finally dissipated a little. The weather gradually became a little dry, and it was quite cool in the morning and evening, even though the sun was still strong during the day.

The peppers that Luo used to grow in cooperation with others earlier have basically been collected by this time.Most of this batch of peppers this year are hired to dry in the sun, and then the pepper skins and seeds are sold separately.

Pepper skins are cheap, and North and South groceries have been sold for more than a month, and you can buy a large pack for a few pennies.The chili seeds have not yet been sold. Someone asked about it, and Luo Yong also said that it will be on the shelves of North and South Grocery at some point. As for the price, he did not mention it.

This year, Luo Yong cooperated with others to plant so many peppers, and dried all these peppers to get their seeds. The amount of accumulated pepper seeds is naturally very considerable.

How can so many chili seeds be sold out within a few months, and the price should not be too low? In order to achieve this goal, Luo Yong felt that it was necessary to increase the publicity in this regard.

It's just that the tiger is in power in autumn, and the weather is hot and dry. This season is not suitable for the promotion of peppers.

After much deliberation, Luo Yong decided to take it easy and wait until the weather is cooler.

"Did you keep some chili seeds in your house?" This day was the day to buy the last batch of chili peppers, and Luo Yongxiumu happened to go out of the city himself.

"This..." These farmers have helped Luo Yong grow peppers for several months. Among other things, just picking a few rotten ones from the field and falling on the roadside is enough for them to save some pepper seeds at home. When Luo Yong asked them face to face, they didn't know how to answer them. It would be too fake to say no, and it seemed inappropriate to say yes.

"It doesn't matter." Luo Yong said with a smile: "I know that you are all trustworthy, you didn't hide chili at home, and you didn't sell chili to other people behind my back, and I naturally don't care about those bits and pieces. "

"Hey, there are those two or three that are left behind occasionally, and most of the villagers pick them up and save them for themselves." A villager answered carefully.

In the past few months, they helped Luo Yong grow peppers and earned a lot of money, because Luo Yong bought peppers from them at a high price.

The villagers are not out of their minds. They know that after the chili seeds are sold this year, the chili will not be so valuable in the next year. If the people in their village want to have a good income, the best way out is to follow Luo Yong has a long-term cooperation, and they will grow whatever Luo Yong wants. The things grown are sold directly to North and South groceries. There is no need to worry about it, and the income is more secure.

This Lishi Luo Sanlang is not an ordinary person. He used to plant eucommia trees in Lishi County, and now the eucommia trees are not ordinary valuables.

There is also the Champa rice they planted. Now there are people in the suburbs of Chang’an City. It can be planted twice a year without the need to plant it in paddy fields. It can be planted on ordinary slopes. Although the taste is not good, the yield is quite high. Fields, when the seeds of Champa rice were first introduced, the price was very expensive.

Now, with the addition of this pepper, in the eyes of these villagers in the suburbs of Chang'an, as long as it is planted by Lishi Luo Sanlang, there is no one that cannot be sold at a good price.

In order to maintain a good cooperative relationship with Luo Yong, the villagers will also supervise and restrain each other. This year's cooperative planting of peppers has also been carried out relatively smoothly. Although there must still be private possessions, the situation is not serious.

"It will take some time for me to start selling these chili seeds. Don't sell them for now, and sell them after they are put on the shelves in our shop, okay?" Luo Yong discussed with these people.

"Of course, Saburo can feel at ease!" the villagers agreed.Luo Yong hasn't started selling it yet, and if they sell it here first, isn't that a clear platform for dismantling Luo Yong?

"You have worked hard this year! I will come to your village again in the spring of next year." Luo Yong smiled and cupped his hands to everyone.

"Sanlang, what shall we plant next year?" Someone asked loudly.

"Next year, we should plant some cold melons." Luo Yong said with a smile.

"Winter melon?" Everyone was surprised.

The cold melon has only been brought over from the Western Regions in the past two years. It may have appeared in the manors of those aristocratic families before, but it is rare for folks to see it.

This summer, someone was selling cold melons in the West Market. The price was quite high, but the supply still exceeded the demand.

Luo Yong drove the donkey cart and returned to the city with the team transporting peppers, leaving behind a group of villagers, some feeling anxious and some full of expectations.

In the following days, as long as there were three or two people in these villages who got together to talk, they would not fail to mention the matter of planting cold melons.

Luo Yong here, in fact, he also knows that it is not so easy to grow watermelons in Chang'an City in this era.

Watermelons are native to Africa, and later spread to Persia and other places, and then spread to Xinjiang through the Silk Road. At the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, they were rare in the Central Plains. It was not until the Five Dynasties that all parts of the Central Plains began to be planted. At that time, watermelon was very common.

The reason why it takes so long for the spread and promotion of a species is, on the one hand, because of the extremely closed environment of this era, and on the other hand, it is probably because it often takes a long time for this species to adapt to a new land.

Luo Yong thinks that those who sell watermelons in the West Market this summer are not planted near Chang'an City, but not too far from Chang'an City, where the climate is drier. After harvesting, they are transported to Chang'an City sell.

Watermelon is better than other fruits. After picking it, put it for ten days and half a month. As long as it is stored properly, it is not easy to rot.It's just that the transportation cost is too high, and the watermelon is so heavy.

Luo Yong is now planning to grow watermelons on the outskirts of Chang'an, and he is also mentally prepared for not making money or even losing money in a short period of time.

And he also has a cheating tool. If someone else wants to grow watermelons near Chang'an City, it may take longer to explore and cultivate, but Luo used the space not only to have related agricultural books, but he even has a few packets of watermelon seeds. .

The heredity of watermelon seeds produced by seed companies like this is usually not stable. The first generation is fine, but after the seeds are saved and the second and third generations are planted, the traits often segregate, and the quality of the planted watermelons is greatly improved. decline.

But no matter how the traits are separated, those excellent genes will never disappear in vain. As long as the funds are in place and time is spent to slowly select and breed, if nothing else happens, a breed with relatively stable traits should be obtained after a few generations.

Luo Yong couldn't help but feel happy when he thought of the watermelons he had grown selling in North and South groceries.

In the hot summer, how can watermelon be missing to cool off the heat? A summer without watermelon is not a complete summer.

"Sister, I still want to eat cold melon."

In the afternoon of this day, Si Niang took Qiniang to Chonghuafang to find Aunt Luo. Aunt Luo was also very happy to see these two coming, and led them to the West Market to buy a small basket of grapes. Usually, the price is not cheap, Qiniang's girl was stuffing grapes into her mouth while thinking about eating watermelon.

"The winter melon is out of season this year. My sister will buy it from you next year. After a while, the autumn pears will come down. My sister will buy autumn pears for you to eat." Aunt Luo coaxed.

Mrs. Luo has done a good job in business in the past two years, and she has some money in her hands. The pressure of life is less, and she is much more generous to the younger ones than before.

"I want frozen pears!" Qiniang said happily.

"Okay, the shop here will collect some dates in a few days, and if I find suitable pears, I will buy them and send them to your yard." Aunt Luo smiled, it's just a few loads of pears, and it won't cost much .

There are more people growing fruit trees around Chang'an City than Lishi's. Every year when the pears come in season, the price is a bit cheaper than Lishi's.

They are next to the West Market, and many village hawkers like to sell fruits and vegetables here. If they come across something with a good price and a good price, everyone will pick and buy some.

Mrs. Luo often buys goods by whole trucks and loads, and she doesn’t keep the prices low. After a long time, when many people have goods to sell, they will go to her to ask first. Her supply of goods here is better than other places. better.

Si Niang and Qi Niang stayed here for half a day in Chonghuafang, ate a stomach full of grapes, and then carried a covered basket made of straw, carrying a few bunches of grapes to Taixue to wait for Luo Yong and Qiao Junlin , and went home with them in a donkey cart.

The donkey cart was not too spacious, and it was a bit crowded for four people to sit together. Qiniang was still young, so Luo Yong let her sit on his lap, and Siniang sat in the corner with a basket in her arms.

As the car was walking, Si Niang suddenly asked: "Brother, how is Mrs. Zheng doing now?"

Luo Yong replied: "Very good, she doesn't raise pigs now, I asked Xu Dalang and the others to arrange for her to cook at the cement workshop."

"My sister said that each of these baskets will cost a penny, so it's not as good as Zheng's." Si Niang muttered.

Luo Yong looked at his old sister, not sure whether this guy missed the Zheng family or their hometown in Lishi, why did he suddenly become sentimental? Could it be that he had reached puberty?

"I don't know what happened to the wheat green beans." After a while, the girl said again.

"The next time my brother-in-law comes over, I'll ask him to bring the wheat and green beans." When they set out to Chang'an, they originally planned to stay here for only one winter before going back, but they ended up staying here for a while. one year.

"When will brother-in-law come over?" Qiniang, the girl who had been quietly listening to her brothers and sisters, heard that Mai Qingdoulier would also come over, so she asked along with her.

"He won't come here until after the autumn harvest. I wrote to him in the past two days, asking him to bring the wheat and green beans." Luo Yong replied.

Entrusting this matter to Lin Wulang, Luo Yong couldn't be more relieved. According to Lin Wulang's temperament, in order to prevent accidents on the road, he would bring Mai Qingdouli to sleep with him in the house.

"Then Mrs. Zheng won't come?" Qiao Junlin asked.

"She still has a few children at home, so I'm afraid she won't be able to leave for a while." In addition to the eldest daughter who helps out at sister's restaurant, Mrs. Zheng also has three children to support.

The last time the people from North and South groceries came back to Lishi to deliver goods, just in time for Mrs. Zheng's youngest son to fall on his leg.

Mrs. Zheng went to Xu Erlang and asked him if he could take the children from the family and live in the two huts outside the courtyard of the Luo family. Xu Erlang agreed after thinking about it, and their mother and son lived there ever since. down.

Ever since Luo Yong left, he didn't add any piglets to those pigpens, and the big pigs were killed after a certain period of time. After a while, those pigpens were emptied, and Zheng's naturally There is no work to do.

Luo Yong thought of this a long time ago, and told his disciples to arrange for her to go to the cement workshop to cook for the workers.

Their family lived very economically, and when they had saved some money, they sent the two boys in the family to study in elementary schools in Xiaohe Village.

I heard that her eldest daughter, who works here in Chang'an, also asked someone to bring some copper coins back.

Luo Yong sat in the car and told his two little girls about the current situation of the Zheng family in detail.

Qiniang's girl was still young and didn't know how to think about it, but the more she heard it, the more surprised she became.

"Brother! Why did you even think of it?" She thought she was the only one who was concerned about Mrs. Zheng's recent situation.

After all, when they were at home, Si Niang had a lot of dealings with the Zheng family, and Er Niang and Peng Er. As for Luo Yong, he didn't seem to have spoken to the Zheng family a few times.

"Or do you think I can't think of anything?" Luo reached out and rubbed his old sister's loose hair.

He is the head of the family, if he can't think of these things, who else can he expect.

Luo Yong has always been watching the situation of the Zheng family.

To the Luo family, the Zheng family is just an employee, but to the Zheng family, Luo Yong is definitely not just an employer.

Although the excessive expectations of these people sometimes make Luo Yong feel a little tired, but he still let himself learn to cherish and value these expectations, and respond to them, which is not too difficult for him.