Song Tan's Notes

The villagers had their own plans.

They are shrewd; they are prepared to have two options.

Let's go talk to the manager first and see if we can add their goods to the list and sell them together.

Wasn't it because they thought the quantity was too small?

It's easier to add smaller orders. Just get a few orders from one company, and you're in.

Don't charge 50 yuan per jin, 30 yuan per jin is fine. They will pick the good and big ones, and won't rip you off.

The rest can be sold at stalls for 10 yuan for three jin.

If this buyer could raise the price a bit, I'd be happy to sell it to them!
It can only be said that those who can get along well share similar thoughts. Right now, everyone is exchanging glances, and they all have roughly the same idea.

The acquirer is still using smooth talk:
"We initially offered this price to get things done quickly, right? Now look what's happened, someone's trying to engage in malicious bidding, but it's not like we can't afford it—"

"How about this, we'll still charge 3 yuan for what they've already picked, and we won't fight over the rest, okay?"

Isn't that a coincidence? They had their own agenda.

The price difference between 3 yuan and 30 yuan seems huge, but by deliberately emphasizing that they are the leftovers, the price gap is blurred.

They figured that each of the villagers in front of them probably had tens of thousands of kilograms of leftovers.

Judging from the appearance of the products shown in the live stream, the quality is still quite good.

Then, after some tidying up, we can sell them in high-end supermarkets, where the profit margin will be extremely high.

It's better than them waiting here for three days and ending up with nothing, right?

After all, time has already been wasted, and we can't really sell grape stems.

Both sides were very tempted by the conditions offered by the other.

With the price of 30 yuan per kilogram set at the table, even if a family can only sell a couple hundred kilograms, that's still several thousand yuan.

They only grow a small amount of grapes and don't take care of them much, so the cost is pitifully low. They can't afford to miss out on these few thousand yuan.

The leader of the villagers pondered for a while:
"Okay, we've already agreed to have the grapes sold through a livestreamer, so we can't just back out now. Let's talk to the management first. If it works out, then we'll buy all the grapes from the vineyard, no matter what they look like, at 3 yuan per jin, okay?"

The buyer's smile froze.

Who in business isn't cunning and calculating?
They're offering 3 yuan, but if the grapes are really that good, shouldn't they raise the price to 10 or 8 yuan?

But the other party just agreed.

But thinking about how enthusiastically people were buying things in the live stream today, and how orders were skyrocketing, the three of them were still a bit overwhelmed. They gritted their teeth and nodded, "Okay!"

That's good.

The villagers were very satisfied, feeling they had found a reliable source of support, and so they once again marched proudly toward the family canteen.

Even after walking a distance, he whispered:
"We really need to have a serious talk with the leaders this time. It's not like there's no one else who wants to buy these grapes. They should make sure we get some."

"That's right. We can't just help the big farmers. We small farmers are the ones who need the money the most."

……

At the family canteen, Song Tan watched as the leaders ordered several extra meals, which she then portioned out in front of them, instructed someone to deliver them to the security guards, and invited Yan Ran and the others to join them...

They really did a great job being thoughtful and meticulous!

Now a large table is full of people, and they are pushing and shoving each other around who should sit at the head table, which makes Song Tan raise an eyebrow and get a little impatient.

The leaders of Baiyu County were very astute; seeing that they genuinely didn't care about this, they readily took their seats first.

"We've all had a long day, let's not waste time on formalities. Let's eat and drink to our hearts' content! There's no fancy meat and fish here, just some local specialties, so let's try something new."

Qiaoqiao knew that the adults liked to do this; it was common at village banquets, and he was used to it.

Seeing that everyone had finally taken their seats and someone had started eating, they immediately picked up their chopsticks and followed suit.

He'd had his fill of good food, so this was just something new and exciting, but he wasn't really craving it. He just ate his food slowly, thinking about how he could tell his seventh cousin about the local specialties later.

As for Yanran and others who eat in the cafeteria, although Chef Jiang's cooking is good, it's nice to try something different every now and then!

Wow! It's sweet and sour pork trotters! I don't know how they made it, but it's not greasy at all!

"Qiaoqiao, try this! I wonder if we're used to it where we're from? If it's good, I'll ask Chef Jiang to make it for us later."

The table was mostly filled with young people, who were now chattering excitedly about the dishes. The leader listened with great satisfaction.
"No wonder you're an expert, you have a good eye! This is our local specialty, it only has sweet vinegar in it, no other random seasonings..."

"This green pepper is extra spicy! It's perfect for stir-frying with sauce and serving with pan-fried flatbread..."

"And this, choose those plump, fleshy chilies, slowly roast them in a pan, then peel off the tough outer skin..."

People in Baiyu County are quite good at eating spicy food, and most of the dishes on this table are spicy.

Fortunately, the chili peppers from Song Tan's family are even more potent than this!

When the green pepper and beef sauce was being made, the entire factory floor was filled with a pungent smell as soon as the mixer started running.

Everyone was drooling and craving spicy food, and most of them had some tolerance for it.

Qiaoqiao followed the leader's introduction, trying each item one by one, showing considerable respect.

The people at the table watched him, looking like a sincere child, eating quietly but savoring every bite, and they were all happy.

There were no drinks served at the meal, only a sweet wine made from local old grapes, which the leader had ordered, with an alcohol content of less than 6%.

"Try this. It tastes good as a beverage and doesn't taste like alcohol."

Huh?
Song Tan became interested.

Lu Chuan also tried it, and said in a low voice, "The taste is closer to a beverage, it's really good. My mother was particularly obsessed with this for a few years, spending a lot of money every year to buy grapes and winemaking barrels..."

As for the results, it's best not to mention them. Anyway, they were eventually mixed into the compost bin to ferment into fertilizer, so it wasn't a waste.

Song Tan also tasted it. He couldn't say it was amazing, but in terms of palatability, it was about the same as the popular Guox oranges that are sold all over the country.

The difference is that this grape has a very rich and fragrant flavor, which gives it a nostalgic feel.

Seeing that they liked it, the leader could only feel happy:

"This old variety of grapes ripens early, and not many are grown in town anymore. The wine is newly made. If you like it, I'll pack up tomorrow and bring a few barrels back for us to try!"

Song Tan asked curiously, "This wine tastes really good. Does it have a long shelf life? Why hasn't it been developed into a beverage?"

This makes the leader feel awkward.

He came to take over a mess, and before he took over, he had no idea that the village's grapes would be so suitable for winemaking!

However, there was some truth to the previous leader's decision to change the product varieties—

This old variety of grape has large berries, which become very soft when ripe and tend to fall off easily.

If the production is small, it's not a problem to consume it locally.

However, with such a large production volume, it's impossible to transport the grapes to other places, and supermarkets don't like these grapes that fall to the ground easily and look soft, rotten, and not fresh.

What's the use of something good if it can't be transported out of this town?
But no one expected that the owner of the family canteen would be able to successfully ferment wine every year by using some overripe local grapes, and the taste would be really good!
Now, when asked about developing beverages...

Ugh!
The leaders are so ashamed they can't even lift their heads.

They previously encouraged planting Shine Muscat grapes, but now they're saying there's a market for beverages made from the old varieties—not only are they changing their policies constantly, but they also give the same answer every two or three years!
But planting plants requires costs and time! Farmers can't afford to go through that kind of ordeal.

It was truly a twist of fate, and now the responsibility rests entirely on my shoulders.

However, he didn't try to fob off the group of people in front of him. He simply said sincerely, "This wine is made by the owner himself. There's no strict standard for how it's made; it all depends on feel."

"If we put it on the production line, I really can't guarantee that we can maintain the same stable quality."

"In addition, beverage factories now require large investments, and competition from all over the country is fierce..."

For beverages with high national recognition, which one didn't have a series of TV commercials before it gradually entered thousands of households?

They want to set up small workshops, which is feasible, and local markets and supermarkets can accept it.

But boosting the economy of the entire village and town presents another challenge.

Just then, they suddenly heard a commotion outside.

The leader paused, and just as he was about to get up to check, the owner of the family-run canteen opened the door, brought in a plate of food, and casually reassured him:

"It's nothing. It's just those troublemakers from the village trying to pester us again, insisting that we sell grapes to them too."

Almost every household here grows grapes, including the canteen owner.

Because of its considerable size, it sold out even before Liang Er's family, and naturally, it couldn't stand this group of people.

The leader frowned: "Hasn't it already been made clear? The small-scale farmers whose products failed the spot checks are already..."

"Ouch."

The proprietress neatly arranged the dishes, then stood to the side wiping her hands. "If you tell them these things, they're just pretending not to understand."

I don't understand anything, I don't want to talk to you!
"You guys don't need to go out. I'll have my husband talk to you later."

Qiaoqiao, however, became interested and stopped eating, looking curiously outside.

"Boss lady, will talking to her help?"

This year, the family's grape harvest depended entirely on Qiaoqiao. The landlady adores him, and she's beaming with pride right now:
“He said if that doesn’t work either, I’ll go and talk to them too.”

He also gestured to Qiaoqiao, "This is the window over here, you can keep watch from here."

Then he went out with a proud and imposing air.

The situation outside is still ongoing.

The boss was stopping them: "What are you doing?! The streamer is exhausted today, and he hasn't shown enough kindness to our village. Why can't you even let him eat in peace?"

The villager who was in charge shouted loudly:

"I'm not going to talk to the streamer, I'm going to talk to our leaders! It's not easy for us ordinary people to get things done, can't we just complain to the leaders?"

"Is that what you call complaining?"

The boss also had a fiery temper, carrying a large ladle, his body covered in hard, muscular muscles.
"How much did my grapevines cost? How much did your grapevines cost? Besides buying seedlings, have you spent any money on anything else?"

"We're the ones spraying insecticides and pesticides, that's what we do. And you guys? You just spray a whole bottle of strong poison!"

They used a lot of fertilizer, and their yield was 2000 jin per mu. Their 1.3 mu of land was almost 4000 jin, right?
"This is what you expect, and you think you can put it with ours? Aren't you just ripping us off?"

"Who cheated us? Who cheated us?"

Shouts erupted from the crowd: "We're all from the same village, we see each other all the time, and you won't even give us this much face! How can you be so rude?"

"Exactly! My family only produces so much. I picked out the best pieces and shipped them all together. I didn't say I had to send yours. Look how impatient you are..."

"Where's the manager? I need to find the manager—"

Qiaoqiao stared intently, as if she were witnessing the same old Mrs. Zhou throwing a tantrum and acting unreasonable as before.

But the landlady wasn't one to be trifled with either; as soon as the door opened, she rushed out.

She had old-fashioned eyebrows and eyeliner tattooed, with traces of blue dye left from years ago under her eyeliner. Her hair was permed into small chestnut-brown curls, all fluffy and voluminous, making her look less like a lion and more like a teddy bear.

At that moment, those lips, painted with bright red lipstick, opened and closed:
"So, you deliberately choose to cause trouble when I'm doing business here?!"

"If you really do that, next time no matter what relatives or friends you bring, I'll expose all your dirty secrets! You still don't give me face... I won't give you face, so what!"

Wow!
She looks so powerful!
Qiaoqiao stared wide-eyed silently behind the window.

But when this is said, it's not as logical and well-founded as what the boss says; instead, it sounds a bit like sophistry.

The leaders frowned; they had already decided to go out.

To everyone's surprise, the group opposite them, who had been silent, paused again in a strange manner.

After a while, someone finally spoke up:
"If you do it this way, aren't you driving customers away? Who will bring people to eat here in the future? I'm not bringing any more."

The proprietress chuckled, "Bring it or not, it's up to you. Anyway, if you bring it, I'll ask you when you're going to pay the bill. Speaking of which, that meal we had last time included drinks, and it still costs over 300 yuan, right?"

"And you, you're always bringing your friends along, how impressive! So when you've had your fill of being impressive, you come here to ruin my business, huh?"

This name-calling silenced everyone instantly.

After a while, everyone frowned, and finally uttered a harsh remark in resentment:
"I knew it, the leaders just didn't want to see us—so what if they didn't want to see us! It's not like we can't find someone to buy grapes."

"Let me tell you, we originally wanted to negotiate a lower price with that streamer, and we could also offer him a higher commission. He doesn't appreciate the opportunity to make money, so forget about it!"

After uttering those harsh words, the group turned around angrily and quickly disappeared through the gate.

This is so new!
Even the leaders were somewhat surprised, and Qiaoqiao even rushed to the door:

"Auntie, why did they leave after you said those few words?"

Hey!
That sweet "Auntie Boss" made the proprietress incredibly happy.

Therefore, he did not hold back and spoke frankly:
"Qiaoqiao, you're young and don't understand some things! For these men, the poorer they are, the more they care about face and the more they like to show off in front of others."

"They're not afraid of anything; they can even brag about their cheating in front of you."

"But if you poke him in the face right in front of him, it's like stabbing him in the heart! It could take half his life!"

Qiaoqiao suddenly realized, then frowned in distress: "What if you have a conflict with them and he doesn't come to eat next time? Won't that affect business?"

Boss Chang said that doing business requires harmony to make money, and it's even worse to have conflicts with customers, as it will damage your reputation!

The proprietress, however, was even more disdainful: "They don't even have a car. Chartering a car from here to a restaurant in the city would cost at least one or two hundred yuan, wouldn't it?"

"Besides, everyone knows each other in the county town. If we bump into each other on the road, we'll just say hello."

"For those with a more outgoing personality, they can enthusiastically praise and cheer, which is very prestigious! The food is local farm-style cuisine, and it's not expensive at our restaurant. They can even pay the bill later."

Of course, this usually doesn't drag on for too long; you have to bring it up every time you meet each month. Because it's only a few hundred or five hundred, most people won't keep owing it indefinitely.

If that's the case, what will we say when we come to eat here again?

Feeling Qiaoqiao's eager gaze, the proprietress felt even more pleased and therefore shared everything without reservation:

“Our county town is small and poor. There are very few decent family canteens like ours. Many of them are old and dilapidated.”

"Then it's not appropriate to bring the invitation to a meal."

“If they don’t come here, they’ll have to go to the city. Not to mention they can’t afford the upscale places, even the slightly cheaper hot pot restaurants require reservations during holidays!”

As for going without an appointment and hoping for the best...

What if they can't host me when I get there? Wouldn't I lose face in front of my friends? It would make it seem like I haven't made a name for myself all these years.

Otherwise, if they really didn't plan to come back, why would they be afraid of the landlady's words that risked her reputation?
Qiaoqiao opened her mouth, thought for a long time, and finally said sincerely and in shock:

"Wow!" (End of Chapter)