Gourd Farm

Chapter 19: Meeting with Childhood Friend

"Well, you know, your uncle's sudden move and all the expenses have left me a bit tight on cash lately. And as you already know, I like to gamble a bit. The real power is in your aunt's hands," he explained.

....

Now Yang Feng understood what was going on. It turned out that his uncle wanted to borrow money from him because he was tight on cash, and he knew that Yang Feng had recently made some money. Maybe seeing that Yang Feng hesitated, his uncle quickly said, "Don't worry, just lend me two hundred yuan. I'll pay you back in a few days."

Looking at his uncle's expression, Yang Feng knew that he couldn't trust him. If he lent the money, he might not get it back for a long time.

"I am not refusing to lend you money, but I don't have any at the moment. I already have debts to pay off from purchasing these things. I plan to ask Uncle Biao for some support in the next few days. Once I sell the watermelons, I'll give you the money."

Uncle Biao was just laughing and smiling a moment ago, but as soon as he heard Yang Feng say he wanted to borrow money, his expression changed immediately. He looked as though he didn't even know Yang Feng and left without saying a word.

"The old man is trying to trick me into giving him money."

It's almost noon now, and the shed outside is gradually filling up with people. I roughly counted and there are about a dozen tables.

Most of the cold dishes on the tables have already been served, and my second uncle arranged for me to distribute the drinks and beverages.

The banquet has already started. After distributing the drinks, I didn't have anything to do, so I found a chair and sat down.

Although it's not tiring, it's important to keep track of the amount of drinks and beverages, especially with so many children around."

"Yang Feng, why are you sitting here? Why don't you go sit at the banquet table?"

The person who spoke was Yang NaNa's cousin, Yang Shuang. We grew up playing together, and he's a pretty good guy.

"Oh, I just finished my work, so I'm taking a break here."

"I heard you're building some greenhouses recently. Why aren't you planning to go to work outside?"

"Well, for now, I'm just trying it out and seeing how it goes. It's a bit freer than working for someone else."

"That's true. I work twelve hours a day at that crappy electronics factory, and I only make three or four thousand yuan a month."

"That's about right. That salary is already good enough."

"I'm also planning to come back after this year's over and find something to do. You can never earn a lot of money working outside, and you're always at the mercy of others."

"If you're confident in coming back to do something, that's not a bad idea. If you do well, you can earn more than working for someone else."

"Yeah."

...

"Brother Feng, the wine on the table over there is not enough. Can you bring a bottle over?"

Yang NaNa shouted from not far away, and it seemed like she was busy too.

"Okay, I'll go."

It wasn't until after one o'clock in the afternoon that things finally settled down.

 Originally, there was a separate table set up for these relatives and friends who came to help to eat, but he still had to go back to the greenhouse, so he just quickly ate a bowl of rice and headed back.

Second Uncle felt a bit embarrassed and forcefully gave a few bags of sandpaper to Yang Feng before leaving.

Now the watermelon seedlings have begun to spread to the surrounding area, and some can vaguely see the flower buds of the fruits and the cucumbers are about to bloom.

This is the first time planting cucumbers and there is not much experience, so the elderly in the village advised to build a frame first. When the stems and leaves grow, they can climb up directly.

Today, he didn't attend the banquet so he could come back early and build the trellises for the watermelon vines and cucumber plants. If he doesn’t do it now, it will be too late, and it will affect the yield later on.

He brought down the bamboo poles of various lengths from his car, and also brought some pieces of cloth.

He found the two sides of each cucumber plant and crossed the bamboo poles to make a frame.

 He worked until it was dark until all the frames were finally completed.

Although the work didn't seem tiring, it was actually quite laborious. Plus, he had never done it before so his hands were scratched by the rough edges of the bamboo poles.

However, looking at the bamboo frames he had built with his own hands, row after row, he felt a sense of accomplishment.

"Work's done, let's go home!"

He felt exhausted after a day of work. That evening, Yang Nana came to invite him to have dinner again, but he firmly declined. He knew they would be drinking, and who knew how late it would go on for? Besides, he had to get up early the next day to set up his stall.

Thanks to his persistence, he was able to stand his ground and resist the temptation to join in the drinking. This made Yang Nana angry, and she even said that she would pretend she never knew Yang Feng. He guessed that she would forget about it in a few hours anyway.

Today, Yang Feng arrived quite early. When he got here, the sun had just risen. He found a place that sold fried dough sticks and decided to have a couple to fill his stomach. Otherwise, he would have to wait until noon to have a proper meal.

"Boss, give me two fried dough sticks and a bowl of soy milk."

"Sure thing, it'll be ready in a minute."

In no time, a steaming bowl of soy milk and crispy fried dough sticks were served to him.

Yang Feng usually likes to eat fried dough sticks. He takes a sip of soy milk, takes a bite of the fried dough stick, and adds some pickled radish and salted vegetables. It tastes delicious.

After eating their fill, there weren't many people on the road yet. Most were either going to work or taking their children to school.

Xia Ying, the watermelon girl next to him, rode her bike over. She was wearing a white dress today, which made her look even more gentle and simple.

The two smiled at each other, nodded, and considered it a greeting.

Now, he has some experience selling watermelons. he started by placing two at the top and, finally, make a cut around the fruit with a knife and then pull it apart with his hands. This way, the watermelon slices look even more appealing.

"Boss, this watermelon looks good. Can I try it before buying it?"

"Sure, no problem."

He then sliced a piece of the watermelon and handed it to the customer.

"Mmm, the flavor is really good."

"If I wanted to buy in bulk, how much would it cost per catty?"

"Hmm, aren't you buying it to eat?"

"I've been observing you for a few days, and your watermelon is the best seller in this area."

"I'm the owner of a supermarket over there, and I'm planning to buy some goods from you."

"Well, so far, I've only been doing retail. I haven't considered wholesaling at the moment."

"My current production capacity cannot meet the demand for wholesale. Moreover, if I start selling to nearby shop owners, it could negatively impact my stall business."

"Young man, everyone else is fighting to buy wholesale, and here you have someone coming to your doorstep to buy, and you still won't sell?"

"Mainly because my current production capacity cannot meet the demand. The next batch of watermelons is still flowering, and it will take some time for them to mature."

"Oh, I see. Then please weigh four of them for me. You don't have to give me a wholesale price, but please give me a little discount. I plan to use them for making fruit salad, so I need to make some profit."

Yang Feng shook his head. He had no problem selling his watermelons and didn't need to wholesale them. However, as a vendor, he understood the importance of bargaining and was willing to give a small discount.

"If you buy four, I can give you a discount of one cent per kilogram."

The boss furrowed his brow, feeling a bit annoyed. But since he was already there, he decided to buy one and see if there was anything special about it since the seller seemed to have good business.

It's not good for business to get angry over small things, so the boss said, "Weigh one for me and pick a ripe one. Otherwise, I'll come back and find you."