Beloved Plantation King

On this day, the shopkeepers of Changlong Grain Shop arrived early and put up the cloth pergola at the door.

Afterwards, they set up a long table under the awning, with chopping boards, kitchen knives and plates on it, and a trash basket beside it.

Today is the first day that watermelons are on the market. They are looking forward to, excited and a little nervous.

A waiter took out a display board and asked the shopkeeper: "Shopkeeper, Boss Yin and the others haven't come yet, do you want to put this board up now?"

The shopkeeper stretched his neck to look across the street, but he still didn't see Yin Peinan and the others, so he said, "Wait until they arrive."

Xiao Er also looked over there, and asked with some concern: "Shopkeeper, our watermelon is so expensive, can we sell it?"

The shopkeeper was actually a little worried, but he still believed in the bosses. He said: "Boss Zheng and Boss Yin set their prices so, it must be reasonable. And Boss Yin said that our pricing has taken everyone into consideration. The one, oh, purchasing power, it’s considered cheap after considering this. Think about it, we don’t have this watermelon here, and we haven’t seen it. People are greedy for freshness. Moreover, the taste is So good, don’t be afraid, someone will definitely buy it.”

Xiao Er thought of the big round watermelon brought by Boss Yin yesterday, and thought of the sweet taste, so he couldn't help swallowing again.

It's really delicious, and you can definitely buy it.

"Hey, Boss Yin and the others are here!" Xiaoer's sharp eyes saw Yin Peinan and the others in the distance.

The shopkeeper hurriedly said: "Hurry up, hurry up and pick it up."

The two mistresses hurried over to help push the cart.

Today, they brought three carts of watermelons, Yin Peinan's family had two carts, plus Xiaobao and Uncle Wang brought a carriage and loaded another cart.

Zheng Wenhao accompanied Ji Yuebai back to the door, but they haven't come back yet, but they left Xiaobao and the carriage behind for transfer in the shop.

After a while, three large carts of watermelons arrived at the door of the shop, and they moved all the watermelons down, weighed them one by one, and piled them on the ground specially surrounded by wooden boards at the door.

They bought it from Yin Peinan's house for a catty, and then sold it at the shop for twenty cents a catty.If someone comes to wholesale, they will also do so from the shop. Yin Peinan and the others don't sell to outsiders, they only supply to the shop.

The shopkeeper saw that it happened to be about the same time as their usual shop opening time, so he said to Yin Peinan: "Boss Yin, it's almost time, so shall we start selling now?"

Yin Peinan nodded: "Let's start."

The shopkeeper took out the display board and placed it in a conspicuous place, then hugged a watermelon in water drops to wash off the mud on the skin, then cut it into small triangular watermelon slices neatly, and placed them evenly on the plate.

A waiter took the gong to the door, stood on a chair, knocked three times, and successfully attracted the eyes of passers-by.

"Dear neighbors, uncles and aunts, young masters and ladies, don't miss it when you pass by. Our Changlong Grain Store has started to sell watermelons today! This watermelon is not available in Xinping County, even in Kangzhou City. Yes, it’s the first time to sell it, everyone, come and take a look! Check it out! Delicious watermelon..."

Passers-by heard, watermelon?What is it that Xinping County does not have, not even Kangzhou Prefecture?

"What watermelon?" "What is watermelon?"

Everyone became curious and surrounded them one after another, looking at them.

Seeing this, Xiao Er knocked again, beckoning everyone to be quiet and listen to him.

"You may not know what a watermelon is. Xiao Er, let me tell you. This watermelon is also a melon and fruit, just like our winter melon and pumpkin, but this watermelon is eaten raw. It is what you see now. Yes, the melon on this table is the one our little girl is cutting right now. It is edible. Look at it, the skin of this watermelon is green, the red part inside is the pulp, and the black part is the seed. this watermelon

, especially cool and refreshing, sweet, can be eaten by men, women and children. "

Everyone looked at the table in front, and there were two big and round "melons" on it?The turquoise skin has very clear lines on it.Next to it, a girl was cutting melons. The flesh of the melons on the plate was bright red. I don't know if they are really edible.

Someone asked: "This thing is so red, can it really be eaten?"

"Of course you can eat it. Look at it." Xiaoer jumped off the chair, took a piece and took a big bite and ate it, saying: "This is what this watermelon is like. The red one is delicious. If it is not red, then it is not good." Don't worry, everyone can definitely eat it, and it's not harmful to your body. If you can't eat it, our shop can't sell it, don't you think so? Besides, everyone knows that our shop is owned by Master Zheng and Boss Yin. People opened it, and they are not afraid to tell everyone that this watermelon is planted by Boss Yin himself, and he just picked it from the field in the morning. Look at the melon stalk, how fresh it is. So, everyone, don’t worry."

When everyone heard it, Boss Yin planted this thing himself, so they understood a little bit.

"Hey, I heard that Boss Yin's family has grown many new varieties of vegetables?"

"Yes, yes, his family planted the grain seeds first. His mother and the others often sell vegetables on the street, and I bought them. The taste is indeed much better than other people's vegetables."

"In this way, it makes sense to produce this kind of watermelon that we have never seen before."

"Yeah yeah."

Passers-by talked a lot, Xiaoer saw this, and started to popularize science for everyone.

"Listen to me, everyone. This watermelon didn't come out of nowhere. It was brought to our Dahui Dynasty from the west. It's so precious. Now it's only grown in a few places in the west. It's because it's so rare. The watermelon has been sealed as a tribute to the court. In the capital, it is said that even the rich can’t buy it, and only the nobles can eat it.”

When everyone heard this, they started discussing again.

"My God, the tribute!"

"It's a lie, if it's really a tribute from the west, how did Boss Yin grow it?"

"What's the matter? Isn't the yuba and salted duck eggs from Boss Yin's house also considered as tributes? We can also eat them."

"A tribute, such a good thing, I want to taste it too."

Xiaoer explained what should be explained, and then said: "Folks, the watermelon grown in the west was indeed conferred as a tribute by the imperial court. Everyone knows how precious this watermelon is. But our boss Yin got the seeds from the merchant and planted them too. It came out, so now we are lucky enough to taste the taste of this watermelon. What kind of taste is this, you can taste it first, ah, come, come, if you are interested, you can taste this taste."

As Xiao Er said, another Xiao Er behind him, as well as Xiao Bao and Wen Yi, all came out with plates for everyone to try.

Someone asked, "Is this free?"

Wen Yi nodded: "This is for tasting, no charge."

Hearing that there is no charge, everyone reached out to grab it, and the watermelon slices on the plate disappeared in the blink of an eye.

They took a bite out of curiosity. The melon flesh had a special fruity aroma and was sweet in the mouth. It felt cool just after eating it. Without chewing, the melon flesh turned into juice, which was sweet and refreshing.

"Hey, it's delicious!"

"As expected of a tribute, it's very sweet."

"It seems to quench my thirst."

"Delicious, but too little."

"This is for tasting, how much more do you want to eat, and you can buy it back if you want to eat."

"This is a tribute, I'm afraid it's not cheap."

……

A small piece of watermelon, two or three bites, will be eaten in a short while.

Everyone smacked their lips, the sweet taste was still lingering in their mouths, unfinished.

Someone asked: "Xiao Er, how do you sell this watermelon? How much is it per catty?"

Xiao Er smiled and replied, "It's very cheap, twenty Wen a catty."

"Wow—" everyone was in an uproar.

"It's so expensive, you still say it's cheap?"

"That's it."

Xiaoer said calmly: "Folks, twenty coins is still expensive? Do you know how much it sells in the capital? People in the capital can't buy it even if they have money. How many people want to eat a bite of watermelon this summer?" There is no place to buy it with money. That is, our Boss Yin planted this watermelon, so we can have a taste of it. Let me tell you, this watermelon is very good for relieving heat and reducing fire. Just now everyone After eating, you can also feel it, don’t you feel very cool after eating it?”

The aftertaste in the mouth is still there, and everyone can't say anything bad.

"That's too expensive. I can't afford it. I can buy a lot of meat."

"Yeah yeah."

Some people think it is expensive, but some people like to try new things, and some big families are not short of money.

During this discussion, two young brothers came to the front, one of them was better dressed, and the other was obviously a domestic servant.

The young master said, "Xiaoer, I'll buy one."

The other waiter hurried forward to say hello: "Hey, okay. Young master, which one do you want? The one on this table, and the one behind, you can choose."

The little young master walked to a pile of melons behind him and opened his eyes wide.But how could he choose? From the looks of it, every melon looks pretty much the same, only a little bigger and a little smaller.

The servant next to him said: "Young master, we don't know what kind of delicious food, why don't we let them choose it for us? Hey, look, Boss Yin is in the store, and he will definitely choose what he grows. "

The young master's eyes lit up, and he said: "It makes sense!" He then shouted into the shop: "Boss Yin, can you pick me a watermelon?"

Yin Peinan was calculating the total number of three carts of watermelons. Hearing this, she came out and said, "Okay. Do you want bigger ones or smaller ones?"

The young master replied: "The older one, I have a lot of family members!"

Yin Peinan picked a big one for him, and asked Xiaoer to weigh it.

"Eight catties and six taels, 170 taels. Go back and put it in Jingshuili, it's more delicious."

"Okay." The young master and the others counted the money neatly, and left with the watermelon in their arms.

Others saw it and sighed: "Wow, just such a melon costs more than 100 Wen."

"A tribute, it's delicious. Well, I want to buy one too, but I don't have that much money with me today."

"This one is too big."

Yin Peinan heard it, and said with a smile: "Folks, we can also cut and sell half of our watermelon. You can find someone who wants to buy half, and each person will ask for half. But if you cut it open, you can sell it in half when you get home." You have to eat it as soon as possible, and you must finish it today, otherwise the taste will not be good after a long time."

When everyone heard that it was still possible to buy in this way, they were all moved.

The two people just heard the words and looked at each other, and one of them said: "Brother, how about half of me and half of you?"

The other nodded and said, "Okay."

So, the two happily went to pick watermelons.

Not long after, news spread that Changlong Grain Shop sold a fresh fruit, and it was a watermelon that had been conferred as a tribute.

However, because watermelons are more expensive, Yin Peinan and the others did not sell many.

Near noon, as the news spread, those who really had purchasing power heard the news.

The purchasers or directors of these various prefectures, large and small, bought them back in twos and threes after tasting them. It didn't take long for the three carts of watermelons to be sold out.

Some people who came late stomped their feet and regretted that they didn't buy it, and they might be scolded by the master when they went back.

"Boss Yin, is it really gone? My wife ate a piece at someone else's house, and immediately ordered me to buy it when she came back. I didn't expect it to be too late."

Seeing that the business had improved, Yin Peinan and the others immediately decided to go back and tow two more cars.

Hearing what the little manager said at this time, he replied: "Let's go back and pick it.

Will get two more cars.If you are sure you want it, you can reserve the quantity with the shopkeeper first, and we will reserve it for you at that time. "

"Oh, that's really great! Then I want three, three big ones, I must keep them for me. When can you arrive? Can you arrive at Shenshi?"

Yin Peinan looked at the sky, it was about eleven o'clock, and he said: "It's about the same. You'd better come when you are applying for Zhengzheng, and there must be some by then."

"Okay, okay. Then I'll go to the shopkeeper and make an appointment."

After Yin Peinan instructed the shopkeeper to make an appointment, they went back immediately, had lunch, and went to the field to pick out two more carts.

Now these watermelons are the first batch of ripe ones, and not many are ripe yet, but they have seven acres of land, and a few carts can still be picked out.

In order to avoid picking unripe melons, Yin Peinan personally picked the watermelons, and picked the fully ripe ones with the ability to detect them, and other people were responsible for transporting them.

For the next two or three days, they would send out three or four carts of watermelons every day.

After delivering two more cars this afternoon, Yin Peinan asked the shopkeeper: "Is there anyone from other places asking about wholesale today?"

The shopkeeper shook his head: "Not yet."

"Not yet?" Yin Peinan frowned and said, "It stands to reason that it should be almost there."

In the past, before the watermelons were on the market, Yin Peinan and the others arranged for people to go to the neighboring counties, and also sent people to the two nearby prefectures to spread the news, saying that they had watermelons for sale here, in order to attract merchants there to wholesale them watermelon.

According to their plan, in terms of retail sales, Xinping County probably doesn't have that much spending power.

Therefore, when watermelons are ripe in large quantities, they should let others come to them to wholesale watermelons.Especially big cities like Fucheng are their main consumption places.In this way, they don't have to work hard to transport the watermelons out.

It stands to reason that after a few days, the businessmen from the neighboring counties should at least have come. How come no one has come to ask?

The shopkeeper said: "However, there were some from our local area before, and they probably wanted to sell them in other counties. I asked about them. Later, I might feel that the price is a bit expensive, so I went back."

Yin Peinan nodded, and said: "Well, you are in charge of this uncle, the minimum wholesale price cannot be lower than [-] cents. Also, pay more attention to this aspect these days, if you want to wholesale, let me know. "

Shopkeeper: "I see."

After Yin Peinan finished his explanation, he frowned and went to rest in the lounge, continuing to think about things.

In a few days, the watermelons will mature in large quantities. Now that no one comes to wholesale them, it will be difficult to handle.

Just as I was worrying, two people suddenly entered the lounge.

"Ah Nan! We're back!"

Yin Peinan looked up in surprise: "Brother Wen Hao? You are back!"

It was Zheng Wenhao and Ji Yuebai who came in, they came back from their mother's house, Ji Yuebai was still gnawing a piece of watermelon in his mouth.

"I'm back, I've worked hard for you these days." Zheng Wenhao went over and patted Yin Peinan on the shoulder.

Yin Peinan smiled and said: "It's okay, have you had a hard time traveling? Sit down and rest."

Ji Yuebai didn't sit down, and after a few mouthfuls of the melon in his hand, he asked, "My God, I finally ate a watermelon. I feel like I haven't eaten it in a lifetime! Didn't it say that there is a well water? Where is it?"

Yin Peinan smiled and said, "It's over there in the kitchen, I'll get it, you sit down."

"Okay, okay, then you go, I won't wipe my hands, I'll wait for you." Ji Yuebai put the melon rind on the table, twirled his fingers, and didn't want to wash it anymore.

"Wipe." Zheng Wenhao grabbed Ji Yuebai's hand, took out a handkerchief from his pocket, and wiped his hands.

"I still have to eat later, what are you going to wipe, don't you still have to get dirty?" Having said that, Ji Yuebai didn't move his hand away, letting Lao Gong wipe it.

Zheng Wenhao asked casually while wiping: "Fu Lang, have you eaten watermelon before?"

Ji Yuebo paused for a moment, and suddenly realized that watermelon is not so easy to eat here.He was in a bad mood, blinking his eyes and trying to get away with it: "...

…ah?What? "

Zheng Wenhao glanced at him and said, "You just said 'you feel like you haven't eaten in a few lifetimes', did you eat it before?"

Ji Yuebai opened his mouth and spoke slowly, but his mind was running fast trying to make an excuse: "...Uh, yes, I ate it once, at my cousin's house. Just that, his father went to Beijing once In the debriefing, the emperor rewarded him with two watermelons, and then I was lucky enough to eat them."

Zheng Wenhao looked at him in surprise: "Did you bring it back from the capital?"

Ji Yuebai's reaction was quick: "How could it be possible? If I brought it back from so far away from the capital, it would have broken down long ago. I just happened to go to Beijing with me at that time."

"Oh, that's how it is. Let me just say, it must be broken if it's been left for so long."

"...Hahaha, yes, watermelons have been transported to the capital from the west for a long time, and they can't be stored for that long." Ji Yuebai looked at Zheng Wenhao with a guilty conscience, but fortunately, Zheng Wenhao didn't ask any more questions.

It happened that Yin Peinan also came back with a melon, which had already been cut.

Ji Yuebai quickly changed the subject, and said, "Yin Peinan, we brought someone back from Qingzhou to wholesale watermelons. We negotiated a good price, [-] cents a catty."

Yin Peinan put down a plate of watermelon, and said pleasantly, "Really? That's great. I was still worrying, why haven't the wholesalers come over yet?"

Ji Yuebai took a piece of melon and handed it to Zheng Wenhao, and asked in surprise, "Not one?"

"Yeah, I'm wondering if they don't really believe that we have watermelons for sale?"

Ji Yuebai replied while eating melons: "It's possible. Besides, not many people know about watermelons. The person we brought back didn't believe it at first. If it wasn't because of my relatives, I probably wouldn't believe it either." .”

Yin Peinan: "Then we may have to think of another way."

Ji Yuebai thought for a while, and said: "It's okay, I said it before because the watermelon was not on the market, and they probably didn't believe it. Now that it's on the market, so many people have seen it, and those who have traveled far and wide to do business may have brought the news over. Well, you can wait another two days."

Yin Peinan asked him again: "Where is the boss? How much does he need?"

"Speaking to the shopkeeper outside. He has brought two carriages."

"Can't the carriage hold much?"

"In the four-person carriage, all the watermelons are put in the carriage, so it should be more loaded than the cart, right? The front is blocked by a railing, and it should be able to hold a lot. But you have to pick some that are not so ripe for him, so don't overcook them. It's rotten, and I have to go for a few days."

"I know this, don't worry."

After talking about this, Ji Yuebai asked again: "Where's An An?"

Yin Peinan said: "He is at home."

Ji Yuebai: "Are you coming to the shop every day these few days?"

"correct."

"Didn't you go to the melon field to keep vigil at night?"

"correct."

Ji Yuebai glared at him: "Come to the shop during the day, go to the melon field at night, don't you need to accompany An An?"

Yin Peinan rubbed her nose: "I want to accompany you too, isn't it busy these days?"

Ji Yuebai waved his hand: "Okay, okay, we're back, you go back and be with An An. You're pregnant with a baby, so spend more time with him."

Yin Peinan couldn't wait, and said: "That's fine, then I'll go back. When will the boss pick melons?"

"tomorrow morning."

"Okay, then I'll wait for him."

Early the next morning, Ji Yuebai and the others took the boss to Nanpo Village.

The boss ate watermelons yesterday afternoon, and after watching Yin Peinan's sales, he hired two more donkey carts to carry more watermelons back.

Yin Peinan picked some for him that need to be stored for two or three days before they are fully ripe. At that time, adding the storage period of the watermelon itself, it will be enough.

Two days later, businessmen from other places came to wholesale watermelons one after another.Yin Peinan and the others finally breathed a sigh of relief.

There is no need to worry about the road.