Song Tan's Notes

To be honest, Secretary Zhu didn't think highly of this matter.

This isn't simply about whether or not to sell products; selling products isn't about destroying your own foundation.

Sunshine Rose, a pure green Japanese grape variety with a firm, fleshy texture, has gone from being a wildly popular grape costing over 100 yuan per kilogram to now being sold for as low as 10 yuan for 3 kilograms even on the streets of Qingxi Town.

The market chaos and the shift in public acceptance are already evident.

Nowadays, when people mention Shine Muscat grapes, their first thought isn't "that sweet grape with a strong rose aroma," but rather "that grape that's cloyingly sweet and has no flavor at all, though it has a strangely nice name."

If Qiao Qiao were to promote this product, her reputation could be tarnished if she wasn't careful, and Song Tan wouldn't be willing to do that.

However, she didn't have the final say on this matter. Seeing that the leader remained silent, she eventually summoned Song Tan.

She placed the half-filled basket of peaches she had picked on the ground, and casually picked out two to hand to Lu Chuan: "These two are delicious, I want the pointed one."

Lu Chuan nodded, then glanced at Xiao Zhu's expression: "They probably need your help with something—you go first, I'll take a few more, wash them and bring them over."

Those people were too eager; they even scooped water directly from the dog's water bucket to wash the peaches. Given Lu Chuan's meticulous nature, that was absolutely unacceptable.

Song Tan walked over and asked with a smile, "Is there something you need?"

Secretary Wang spoke first: "Yes, we see that your Qiaoqiao has a strong ability to promote products. We would like to ask what the conditions are for hiring him to promote products?"

He was much younger than the leader and had naturally worked in live streaming before. He had heard that some top live streamers not only charged signing fees of hundreds of millions of yuan, but also took an extra cut from each order...

Honestly, if Song Tan sets these conditions, they have no choice but to give up.

Song Tan was taken aback, not expecting that she had been called here for this reason.

Secretary Zhu knew her personality; she wouldn't rashly agree to anything just because of a leader's position. However, at this moment, she still followed up promptly and explained the known information to her:
"Baiyu County... Sunshine Rose... Supplier breached contract..."

The leader listened quietly without interrupting, and even showed great sincerity:
“The issue of suppliers is not simply a matter of business.”

Actually, these young cadres are ambitious and ready to make their mark here. They've put in a lot of effort, hiring agricultural researchers and professional growers, even importing high-quality varieties at high prices, and implementing strict scientific management later on…

But his biggest mistake was that, in his eagerness to achieve political success, he contacted certain businessmen and entered into a collaboration...

Even the good prices written in the contract are often the result of several transactions going through the hands of several people.

The plan was excellent, and the farmers made money that year, so he received credit.

He will be transferred and promoted next year, and any subsequent developments will no longer be his responsibility.

But he didn't consider what would happen if things went wrong.

Or, if he does succeed, he will be transferred to another place and rise rapidly in his career. But what if these farmers who tasted success in the first year fail to recognize the market and instead increase their investment, leading more relatives and friends to plunge into this deep pit where no one will support them?

Young people might see them as greedy and that they deserve what they got.

However, this is human nature, regardless of whether one is a farmer or an elite.

How is the underlying logic of those who fall victim to fraud any different from this?

The only difference is that no one expected that the promising future planned by the government would soon crumble and vanish after such a grand spectacle.

In short, the farmers who were full of expectations have had their emotions and savings completely crushed in the fields.

The leader said earnestly:
“The local farmers are getting a little carried away. The grapes that have been scientifically managed with water and fertilizer are ripening and can’t be delayed any longer.”

These are local matters that he shouldn't normally concern himself with, but he happened to be there during his inspection last week. Seeing an elderly farmer squatting in the field with blank eyes, the leader took it all to heart.

At this moment, he solemnly said to Song Tan:

“I’ve tried the grapes there. They’re not as good as your peaches, and the quality is much worse. But I also bought grapes from both high-end supermarkets and street vendors.”

In comparison, they lost out because they weren't as sweet, but their rose aroma was exceptionally strong, far surpassing anything I'd ever tasted before.

Song Tan laughed when he heard this:
"Boss, actually, the lack of sweetness isn't a flaw anymore." It seems that at some point, the quality of all fruits was determined by their sweetness.

But in reality, with sugar readily available these days, people have become somewhat resistant to simple "sweetness".

The most popular and top-rated dessert description in recent years is "not too sweet," and the same applies to fruits.

"If that's really the case..." she hesitated for a moment:

"If we control the quality of all the grapes shipped out, we can give it a try with Qiaoqiao's live-streaming sales."

Party Secretary Xiao Zhu's eyes widened.

It shouldn’t be!

This isn't Song Tan's style.

Even the leader himself was somewhat surprised: "Are you sure?"

The leader could grasp most of the Song family's personalities after only a short interaction.

Even if Secretary Zhu hadn't stated so firmly beforehand that she would refuse, he didn't really have much hope.

But now, how come...

Song Tan laughed:

“Helping farmers is a good thing. He has the ability to do it, and if he is willing to do it, then let him do it.”

Essentially, this is similar to promoting local products to villagers.

She looked at Qiaoqiao, who was enthusiastically eating peaches in the live stream—a child will always have a childlike heart and will never have to understand the troubles of the world; that's good enough.

Now that the family is not short of money and Qiaoqiao is not short of happiness, Song Tan wants Qiaoqiao to do some more good deeds.

It's not for any other reason than that he had this opportunity, and his family had this opportunity, so it was only right that they did these things.

However, there are limits to good things.

She emphasized, "Jojo isn't cheap."

Money doesn't really matter to Qiao Qiao, but his fame is too high, and his fans can't afford such a drain.

Money is a huge hurdle.

"We young people call this kind of constant live-streaming sales 'harvesting leeks' (a Chinese idiom for exploiting consumers)."

If he offered it for free, then all the farmers' aid efforts from various places would seem so pitiful, so real, and they would all come knocking on his door...

"Qiao Qiao needs to sacrifice her fame and credibility, and fans need to give their trust and money. But the leadership..."

Song Tan spoke frankly: "As you know, the market for helping farmers is actually quite chaotic now."

Two years ago, she bought nuts from a farmers' charity, but the price was not cheap. When the nuts arrived, the rate of bad fruit was too high. After careful calculation, it was more expensive than the regular price in the supermarket.

However, the leader laughed:

"The fact that you can agree to this already demonstrates a stronger sense of social responsibility. As for the fees for promoting products, it's a business matter, so let's consider it from a business perspective."

As for the chaos...

If a village of a few hundred people can still fight and quarrel, then with a population of over a billion in the country, it can't be resolved overnight.

Things must be done step by step, and food must be eaten one bite at a time. If there is chaos, then we must rectify it; if there are difficulties, then we must find a solution!
"Haven't our lives developed step by step like this?" (End of Chapter)