Song Tan's Notes

After setting up the instruments and debugging the equipment, Yanran and his two companions arrived at the village office, drenched in sweat.

The air conditioning in the specially cleared room blew cold air, and goosebumps rose on my arms.

Tang Xiaodong asked, "We sell grapes here, but what about the peaches at home?"

Song Tan was a little puzzled: "Weren't the ones that were put on the shelves yesterday afternoon all taken away by Brother Zhang? Boss Chang wants them, and someone will be arranged to pick them in the early morning."

The peach picking season is quite long, and we can harvest more every now and then, so there's no problem with a steady supply.

Tang Xiaodong lamented, "I was thinking about when I could try my luck online..."

Peaches are delicious! They're also a rare find that's easy to transport, so it's a good opportunity for my family to try them and know that their agricultural work isn't for nothing.

Song Tan laughed: "You might not be able to snag a spot online, so don't take up any quota—or how about this, I won't give you any bonus for this field trip, but you'll get three boxes of peaches, each weighing five pounds. Would you be willing to do that?"

What the hell!

Such a good thing! Who wouldn't want that?

Not only Tang Xiaodong, but Qi Lin and Yan Ran also nodded vigorously.

Putting everything else aside, even Qi Lin, whose family is the poorest, is no longer short of money.

After all, with room and board included every month and a take-home pay of 8,000 yuan, there's absolutely no way to spend it!

The only major expense was that Qi Lin rented a house and leased a piece of land for his grandfather.

But ever since he started growing vegetables, the old man has happily given that money to his grandson. Now he walks with a spring in his step, just waiting for the right opportunity to get a flock of sheep to raise!

Just by doing the math, he's only been working for half a year, but he's already saved up tens of thousands of yuan in salary.

Furthermore, they receive subsidies for fieldwork, but two thousand yuan is the maximum they can get, right?

But those three boxes of peaches, if you're willing to sell them, just wait patiently, and you'll naturally find a high-priced buyer on Xianyu (a Chinese online marketplace).

Of course, no one would sell it—after all, there's a top seller in the village who's always willing to buy it!

In short, the boss has become more and more generous, and everyone is happy.

Meanwhile, in Baiyu County, several bunches of plump and perfect Sunshine Roses were freshly picked from the orchards of several large households, and a delicate white porcelain plate was brought out after rummaging through boxes and cabinets.

The freshly washed grapes are so juicy and tempting.

The village secretary, his old face tanned dark red by the sun, was making arrangements with a mixture of trepidation and enthusiasm:

"Try them, try them all! Our grapes are really good; it would be a huge loss to sell them so cheaply..."

Putting aside everything else, let's just talk about the production volume that is precisely controlled in order to ensure quality.

The Sunshine Rose grapes that sell for three yuan per kilogram in the market can easily yield over four thousand kilograms per mu (unit of land area).

where are they?
The yield per mu (a Chinese unit of area, approximately 0.067 hectares) never exceeded 2,000 jin (a Chinese unit of weight, approximately 0.067 hectares).

With such a large gap, if they all end up at the same price, it would really dampen everyone's spirits.

Lu Chuan stood up: "Please sit down too. We can't delay getting these grapes. Let's try them first, and discuss anything we need to say right here and now, without holding anything back."

This is good! This is good!
The Party Secretary's anxious heart seemed to calm down when he looked at his fair and noble face.

So he sat down quietly, looking at everyone with anticipation.

Seeing that no one was moving, Song Tan took the lead and popped a grape into her mouth.

Yanran then pulled up the whole string of fruit in front of her, weighed it in her hand, and casually placed it on the scale prepared next to her—three jin and one liang.

"The flesh is dense and firm, judging by its weight. It also looks good. From top to bottom, there are no overripe or underripe fruits. The berries are plump and round, without any blemishes or signs of insects or birds..."

Tang Xiaodong also picked one and tasted it. At this moment, his eyebrows twitched: "They weren't exaggerating. It tastes really good. It's not much different from the one that the teacher took us to eat last year."

Upon hearing this, the village secretary immediately perked up: "Our fruit is top-quality; it's incomparable to what you can find elsewhere!"

The food the teachers bring to the students is definitely not as good! The village secretary has heard this kind of price-cutting tactic too many times lately, to the point that it's become a conditioned reflex.

At that moment, Qiaoqiao, who was also chewing grapes with her mouth full, looked over:
"Uncle, don't rush me. Let me eat a few more before I tell you, okay?"

His words were childish, but his eyes were clear and bright.

In his panic, the Party Secretary didn't think too much about this somewhat incongruous contrast. He just looked at them—at Lu Chuan and the others, each of them seemed like a big-name internet celebrity who could make a lot of money. For a moment, he couldn't figure out who the main character was.

Such good grapes, Song Tan only ate one and then lost interest, turning to ask Lu Chuan, "Is it delicious?"

Lu Chuan savored the taste a couple of times, then didn't eat any more, simply nodding and saying:

"Compared to others on the market, it can be called a premium product. The rose fragrance is very strong."

It's truly rich; even after I've eaten the grapes, the lingering fragrance still fills my mouth.

At the same time, the sweetness is just right, refreshing and not cloying, and the flesh is both crisp and chewy, which is quite unique.

After Yanran and the others ate a few fruits, they each picked up some from the fruit platter in front of them:
“Let’s do some basic testing first—by the way, can we go to the orchard now? We need to randomly select some samples.”

What kind of test? What kind of sample?
The Party Secretary remembered the equipment the other party had brought, and immediately stood up:

"Yes! Yes! We can use biological pesticides here because we're not allowed to use pesticides indiscriminately."

So-called biological pesticides—the ones Old Song uses are mostly like this.

After all, although Song Tan can repel insects, he can't really do without any medicine at all—anyone would know that would be a big problem.

Biological agents are generally expensive, such as microbial pesticides like Bacillus subtilis, and plant-derived pesticides like azadirachtin.

Other products include animal-derived pesticides, sex pheromones, and insecticides containing natural enemies.

They can control pests and diseases, and are less likely to produce residues or resistance—the downside is that they are expensive if used in large quantities. (*)

The village party secretary warmly led the group to the door, then called to the younger generation waiting outside:
“Da Liang, they’re going to the garden to do random inspections. Take them all for a walk. They can go to any of their houses.”

This attitude was incredibly frank, but Yan Ran and the others took it all for granted.

When selling goods, not only do we have to conduct random inspections of each garden, but we also have to sample quite a few items from each garden. After all, even the slightest mistake could damage Qiaoqiao's reputation.

Fortunately, although the new batch of instruments has fewer functions, they produce results quickly, saving us from being delayed here any longer.

When the Party Secretary returned to the room, he saw the fairy-like Song Tan asking a family member beside her about the young man:

How are these grapes?

Qiaoqiao nodded: "It's not as good as the fruit from our family, but it's still delicious."

The Party Secretary, having observed the sincerity and nonchalance in his words, finally sensed something amiss and couldn't help but mutter to himself:
Why bring family members like that when discussing business...?

He felt a little awkward, but since he needed to ask for their help, he held back and didn't say anything.

In addition, there was also the disparaging treatment of the fruit by others—

He wasn't lying; he'd never tasted grapes this good before in his life, but the person in front of him kept saying they weren't as good as the ones from home...

Could it be that they grow grapes too?
There's no reason for us to travel thousands of miles to help them sell their goods; wouldn't that just increase our competition?
The Party Secretary's mind was racing with thoughts, while Song Tan had already examined the fruit—

Without the enhancement of spiritual energy, these flavors are indeed inferior to those at home.

However, in terms of taste and other aspects, it is indeed superior to the usual ones.

Putting everything else aside, at least it didn't taste bitter or have too many impurities when you ate it.

"The grapes are good." She noticed the sweat still beading on the other person's skin despite sitting in the air-conditioned room, and without further ado, she said directly:

"If the tests go well in all aspects, we're willing to do this promotion. However, besides the price, we have some other requirements for the promotion, and we'll see if you can meet them."

The Party Secretary breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly replied:
“Yes! Yes! Yes!”

But then I thought about how the young people were talking about how the legal departments in these companies were all very demanding, so I felt a little uneasy and changed my mind:

"There are many large grape growers in our village, why don't I invite them over to listen in?"

Song Tan nodded: "Of course, we can also discuss how much to price these grapes."

When the question was asked, the answer was Lu Chuan—who could blame him, since this man was rich and his family's vegetables and fruits were never cheap before?

Lu Chuan pondered, "I ate it for 120 yuan per catty in Beijing last year, but considering the huge price drop of Sunshine Rose tea across the country this year, plus the fact that we source directly from the base, this price should be discounted."

As for how much of a discount to offer, Song Tan checked his phone—the prices Yan Ran had gathered from alumni across the country indicated that for this quality, they estimated it to be between fifty and sixty yuan.

In this case……

"Qiaoqiao, we will also make a graded system, with three grades: 40, 30, and 20 per jin. We will not accept anything below 20 jin."

For items priced below 20, after this multi-layered screening process, the quantity isn't too large, making it relatively easy for villagers to operate whether they're setting up stalls, selling online, or supplying local premium supermarkets.

Furthermore, if they've already made a profit after selling all the previous tiers, they wouldn't lose money even if they sold the rest to other merchants.

It should be easy to negotiate.

"However, once the price is set, we also need to control after-sales service and shipping quality control—the goods are listed through our online store link, and we will also handle the after-sales service."

"However, the payment settlement period will be delayed until the final deadline for confirming receipt of goods—for example, half a month later. During this period, all after-sales compensation will be deducted from this period."

"We don't want the stall fee, because that's not how we make a living. But, Qiaoqiao, how about I give you five yuan for every pound we sell?"

Qiaoqiao doesn't understand.

But his sister was helping others with him, and he was willing to do it!

So he nodded and said, "Okay!"

Having explained the main points, the next step is to see if Baiyu County agrees.

If she agrees, she will immediately arrange for a few of the farm's security guards to come over—grape grading and quality control for shipments are things she feels comfortable with having her own people overseeing them.

When looking for someone locally, there's no guarantee they won't lower their standards for a little money.

This is the first time I've taken on a proper overseas order, mainly for Qiaoqiao.

Song Tan meticulously discussed all the details, and Lu Chuan even found a familiar lawyer to draft the contract...

After all the calculations, compared to our own situation, this really involves a lot of work and doesn't earn us much.

At this moment, the Party Secretary, who had conveyed this general message, was also surrounded by the crowd:
"Five yuan per pound? How can they be so greedy!"

"Exactly! I heard even that big internet celebrity didn't smoke this much..."

"What do you mean? Why shouldn't they use our online store for online sales? What if they don't pay us later?"

"Aren't we trying to build a brand? How can we build a brand without using the name of Baiyu County?"

"Holding that money in hand, the interest alone would amount to a fortune in just half a month. That's incredibly shrewd..."

"Then let them take responsibility for after-sales service. It's not their money, so they probably don't care. If one or two items are lost during delivery, they'll have to pay compensation. Wouldn't we be losing a lot of money then?"

To be honest, the Party Secretary also felt the pinch and was worried – after all, the other party had the money, and if they didn't give it to him, there was nothing he could do.

But after listening to several villagers asking all sorts of questions, he suddenly frowned:
"Something that costs tens of yuan per kilogram, if a few pieces are lost, that's several yuan worth. Why shouldn't we compensate for it?"

"They said they'd grade it, and sell the good stuff for 41 kilograms. With commission, we'll set it at 35 kilograms. Go look all over the world, who else is offering us that price these days?"

Some people disagreed, saying, "But we sold it for sixty last year."

"You're referring to last year too!"

The Party Secretary's voice was so loud it made the room buzz!
"What was the price of Shine Muscat grapes last year? What's the price this year? Could you buy three kilograms for ten yuan last year? Go check in the city this year!"

"Before grapes were grown, grain prices would be low even in years with a bumper harvest!"

The crowd fell silent for a moment.

A moment later, the Tao family, the largest grower in the county with a planting area of ​​100 mu, said, "I agree to all these conditions."

As soon as he agreed, everyone worried that the goods wouldn't sell and that only their own family would be left with them, so they all started talking at once.

Someone in the middle said, "Old Tao, you're not on our side. You should have negotiated the price more. Taking a five-yuan cut on this order is outrageous."

The Tao family remained calm: "I don't know if it's black or not, but I do know that if we don't agree, the grapes will just rot in the ground."

The key point is that they had previously offered a slot fee, but no one agreed to it.

He had previously predicted that grape prices would drop this year, and he would be satisfied if the highest grade grapes could fetch 30 yuan.

The Party Secretary's eyes were also fixed intently on that person—this guy! He was the one who raised the most of all the questions that had been nagging about before!

"If you think it's unethical, you don't have to participate. We don't need your few acres of land."

This person is a bigger follower than anyone else. When the county was promoting grape planting, the Tao family didn't promote it. They only said that if everyone rushed to plant grapes, the price would definitely drop drastically.

And what happened? This year, after the grapes went unsold, this man went to the Tao family in the village every day, speaking to them with a sarcastic and cutting tone…

In short, the Party Secretary also has his own principles.

The other person lowered his head, and after whispering to his wife for a while, he fell silent.

Just then, a young man held up his phone and said, "Uncle! You're wrong. The internet celebrities aren't that pretty couple, it's that boy!"

what?
The Party Secretary was dumbfounded.

That boy… his name is Qiaoqiao, right? He looked at him…

His face flushed red, and with so many people around, he simply couldn't bring himself to say those words.

But the young man was already so excited that his eyes were shining and his face was flushed:

"My family agrees! My family agrees!"

"I checked Qiaoqiao's live-streaming sales online, and there's never a problem with the products not selling! Plus, their products are much more expensive than ours!"

While scrolling through her phone, she said smugly, "It seems the big boss really meant it by coming; he's doing a good deed! He definitely won't care about the little money we make from selling fruit!"

That's a boastful statement, as if the estimated ten or twenty million yuan from selling fruit is nothing.

Everyone immediately looked over, even the Party Secretary was momentarily bewildered, then asked:
"How much are his grapes?"

The young man looked at his phone:

"His family didn't sell grapes this year, but they sold 500 orders of peaches yesterday—five pounds per box, only available to fans of a certain level or higher, at a special price of 499!"

hiss!
Everyone gasped in shock:
Peaches at 100 yuan per jin? Flat peaches?! How dare he ask for such a high price?!

Um, why is everyone planting grapes all over the country this year? Why aren't they planting peaches? Are grapes so cheap? (End of Chapter)