After returning from my cultivation journey, I built a farm through fortune telling.

Chapter 122

Aunt Gui and Aunt Hua are known in the village for their diligence. They are quick and efficient, and never dawdle when they work.

Their arrival relieved Qin Xiu of a lot of pressure.

Every day before dawn, they arrive at the vegetable garden and begin their busy day.

After all, it's Uncle Bai delivering the vegetables now, so it's early.

Grandpa Bai couldn't stand him taking his older brother's salary and slacking off. It was absolutely impossible for him to deliver vegetables in the afternoon, or even at noon!
Moreover, older people need less sleep. Whatever Grandpa Bai gets up, Uncle Bai can only get up 15 minutes later at most.

Because it would take Grandpa Bai some time to get dressed and wash up before getting to Uncle Bai's house.

Uncle Bai dared not speak out against his anger. He got up earlier than the chickens every day, but Aunt Hua and Aunt Gui got up even earlier. Every time he came, most of the vegetables for that morning had already been harvested. With Uncle Bai's help, he could deliver the vegetables to Yangcheng before the eight o'clock morning market.

These days, the amount of food ordered is three times that of before. Bai Chen assigned tasks to Aunt Gui and Aunt Hua based on the orders placed before 6 p.m. the previous day. Once they completed the required number of orders, their daily task would be finished.

Even for something as simple as counting orders, Bai Chen wanted to outsource it.

It's not that he didn't work hard enough in his cultivation; it's just that there were always big and small chores at home that kept him from doing them, but he couldn't not do them. If he dared not do them, his mother's big slap would fall on him.

A kilowatt solar-powered light was erected high in the vegetable garden, illuminating the pitch-black night as bright as day.

Although it wasn't the first day they had come to pick vegetables, Aunt Gui still couldn't help but praise Aunt Hua.

"College students are college students, they can succeed at anything! Look at these kids from the Qin family, they've only just started learning to farm, and they're already doing a better job than us old hands who've been digging in the fields for decades. Look at these vegetables, they're so tender and plump! I don't know how they grew them, there isn't a single wormhole!"

—Aunt Gui and her colleagues have a biased view of college students.

The reason is naturally that there are not many college students in Dongshi Village, but the Baijiang family has two. Although they are not from prestigious universities, they still have the title of college students.

This has always been Bai Jiang and Qin Xiu's pride, and now it's even greater.

Thinking about the family's income every day, Qin Xiu could wake up smiling in her dreams—even though not a single penny of the money had reached her hands.

"These vegetables are not only grown well, but they also taste delicious! Last time, Xiao Qin gave me two bundles of vegetables, and wow, the taste was amazing! No wonder A Qiu's family shamelessly comes to pick vegetables from other people's fields every day!"

Aunt Hua cut a few bok choy and put them into the vegetable basket. She didn't dare to be as casual as she was with her own vegetables. After all, these vegetables were tender. If she held too much in her hand, she would damage the vegetables and ruin their appearance. What if she couldn't sell them for a good price?
Thirty yuan a pound!

If she picks a few pounds of bad fruit, she'll lose a day's wages!

Aunt Gui scoffed, "That guy is shameless! People grow vegetables to sell, but he thinks they're grown in a garden? Even if they were grown in a garden, he wouldn't give them to him. The whole family is lazy, they just lie around at home, and they won't even grow a small plot of land!"

The Bai family had a worse reputation in the village than the Bai Xiaoshu family; they were lazy, greedy, dirty, and loved to take advantage of others.

We never grow our own vegetables, but we have fresh vegetables to eat every day. We either go and pick vegetables from our brothers' or cousins' gardens, or we wander around in everyone's vegetable gardens. If we see someone in the garden, we'll strike up a conversation and ask for a meal. If no one is around, it's even easier—we'll just pick them first!
With so many vegetables growing at Bailu's house, how could he not be envious? He shamelessly begged for a few meals' worth.

The villagers didn't know the exact prices of the vegetables at first. Some people asked at first, but Bai Jiang and Qin Xiu brushed them off. Later, everyone wisely stopped asking, but they would gossip about them behind their backs. Some people told Qin Xiu about it, but she didn't care.

But what Qin Xiu couldn't stand the most was—

Everyone in the village knows that their vegetables are grown to sell, it's their livelihood. Ordinary people wouldn't dare to come and pick their vegetables, but every village has a few oddballs, like this Bai Qiu. This time he comes, the next time his wife comes, and the time after that his eldest son comes!
He's shameless, always coming over to freeload a few meals every now and then. Once he comes, he comes a second and a third time, because the food is so good! He no longer eats food from other places, he just keeps eyeing Bailu's.

Qin Xiu couldn't stand it.

It's one thing if they come once, they're neighbors, but you can't treat their vegetable patch as your own!
Thirty yuan a pound, you can take three or four pounds each time!

This is going to kill Qin Xiu!
So the news that Bai Jiang's vegetables were selling for thirty yuan a pound spread throughout the village, causing quite a stir!

The chirping of crickets behind us was even louder—

The Bai family is so heartless!
Are there really that many idiots out there?
Is money really that easy to make?
They make a profit too!
Many villagers began to have doubts, and the situation that Bai Lu had always wanted to avoid was about to occur.

But she didn't stop them from doing anything. Growing vegetables is their freedom, but if they want to sell them for 31 cents a pound like hers, that depends on their own abilities!
But that's all hindsight. Now, the Bai family can't even get a single vegetable leaf. They're shameless enough to try and appeal to Bai Jiang and Qin Xiu's emotions, saying things like, "We're making money off outsiders, and we're all related, so it's not appropriate for us to take their money!"

Grandpa Bai turned them away and made it clear that they could have the vegetables, but it would cost thirty yuan per pound, not a penny less!

Bai Qiu walked away, his face dark and cursing.

That night, Grandpa Bai called a family meeting. He knew that Bai Qiu was the most disgusting kind of person, and they couldn't afford to be careless. If he ruined their family's huge business, it would be a small matter if he went to jail, but it would be a big deal if it affected their family's ability to make money!

Aunt Gui was a chatterbox. While working, she would chat with Aunt Hua about the everyday life of the village, from the south to the north. She knew everything about other people's lives, from how many chickens they had in their yards to how many piglets were born in their pigsties. She even knew about the arguments between couples behind closed doors.

—I don't know how she found out.

But talking always makes time pass faster, and it can also distract you and reduce the drowsiness of waking up early.

The bok choy is pulled up by the roots, and only the best parts are taken. But the roots and yellow leaves that are discarded are absolutely not to be wasted. They are all collected and fed to the pigs and chickens!

For the past two days, Qin Xiu has been cursing the pigs—they eat a lot and get hungry quickly, but they just don't seem to gain any weight! It's not even mealtime yet, but their howling can be heard for miles around.

The only consolation is that I can collect about a hundred eggs every day!

Farm eggs are already expensive, but a single egg from a egret costs ten yuan!
Qin Xiu thought it was excessive, but the customers didn't mind the price!
Since they started selling vegetables, they've encountered a lot of wealthy customers. No matter what they buy or how expensive it is, people will buy it!

Customers who placed their orders while feeling heartbroken must be crying in the bathroom. It's not that they have money, it's just that they can't control their appetites and can't soothe their stomachs!
The cost of growing vegetables at Bailu's house is very low. Apart from labor, it only costs a little money for seeds. Pest control and weeding don't require any manpower. It's practically like picking up money!
Like bok choy, which can be harvested in the first, second, or even third crop, the cost is spread out even lower. The harvesting method is mainly cutting, but not cutting all the way down, leaving some stem. After a while, new buds will sprout, and the second crop can be harvested in about ten days!

Although they won't grow as robust as the first batch, the taste is absolutely guaranteed! The Gu family has become their loyal customers, ordering anywhere from 20 to over 100 jin (10 kg) of vegetables every day.

The deliveryman happily drives his little van to pick up packages every day.

Master Qingxu introduced Bailu to a five-star hotel—even lower-end hotels couldn't afford Bailu's price.

When he heard that it was selling for thirty yuan a pound, he was a little stunned, but he didn't ask any more questions.

He never expected it to be a spiritual plant!

First, spiritual plants are rare. In his knowledge, no one can sell spiritual plants by weight!
Secondly, no one in their right mind would sell spiritual plants so cheaply!
The hotel owner needed about 100 jin (50 kg) of various vegetables, but he didn't want such high-quality vegetables to go to waste, so he introduced Bailu to a shop that sold high-end vegetables and fruits, a place full of vegetable assassins that preyed on the wealthy.

You can't get a single cucumber out without spending at least twenty yuan!

The fruit is even more outrageous; a watermelon the size of a head can cost you 499 yuan!
Bailu doesn't worry about these things; having more customers means having more options, so she just needs to focus on supplying goods.

The supply was increasing day by day, and Aunt Gui and Aunt Hua were already too busy to handle it, so they hired two more people.

The Bailu family now employs four workers—no, five including Uncle Bai!

Qin Xiu never dreamed she'd have a day when she'd be a boss's wife, hahaha!

Everything was on track, and Bailu only needed to grasp the general direction, such as secretly spreading a magical rain in the dead of night.

Grandpa Bai and his family did all the work of building trellises for the melon vines, and the income was considerable. Qin Xiu was no longer so reluctant to hire people, and her smile seemed to be welded onto her face. She smiled so much that her eyes disappeared every day.

The egret was very happy to see its home becoming more and more prosperous.

Bai Chen and Bai Wei didn't have much to worry about, and under Bai Lu's supervision, they began to cultivate even more diligently.

Bai Lu promised them that once they broke through to the second level of Qi Refining, she would take them on a trip to the cultivation world!

The two of them were instantly energized, and they stopped sleeping altogether, spending every day on Mount Sanqing!

.........

My cousin Qin Xu, who lives in Shanghai, has been receiving a fresh produce package every day for a week now. Each package contains five pounds of fresh vegetables, and the vegetables are different every day.

Today it's bok choy, tomorrow it's Chinese cabbage, the day after tomorrow it's baby bok choy, then it's romaine lettuce, bracken, shepherd's purse, and toon sprouts!!!
The taste was absolutely amazing!

The three children ate two extra bowls of rice each!

Bailu can't forget her cousin. Ever since she started sending packages, she always saves a portion of whatever good food she has at home for him. To ensure the freshness of the vegetables, she sends one package a day. It's just a few dozen yuan in postage, which is nothing compared to her cousin's kindness!
As for my uncles and aunts, they all received their packages too!
Qin Xiu's family home is quite far away. Although it's in the same province, it's in a different city, and it takes three hours to drive there!

We keep in close contact, but we don't actually meet up often.

But the egret remembers all the help its family members have given it!

Qin Xu received another huge package that day, bigger than any other package he had received before. When he opened it, he found a whole box of eggs filled with rice husks!
Each one is plump and full!

In his memory, eggs in the countryside are generally small, about two sizes smaller than those laid by laying hens, especially the first eggs, which are even smaller.

But the eggs my aunt sent this time were different; they were a whole size bigger than the eggs laid by the hens!
"What nice things has my aunt sent this time?"

When her cousin-in-law Anlin saw Qin Xu carrying a large package home, she knew without a doubt that it was sent from her aunt's family!

Five pounds a day, that's thirty-five pounds in seven days. Even though we eat vegetables every day, it's impossible for a family of five to finish thirty-five pounds of vegetables in seven days, especially since the children don't eat lunch at home!
But thinking of the taste of those dishes, she still jogged over. Qin Xu handed her a chicken egg that was about the size of a duck egg, and An Lin's eyes lit up: "Wow, a duck egg!"

"Look carefully, duck eggs have blue shells, this egg has a white shell!"

An Lin took it and looked at it: "It really is! Could it be a goose egg? Such a small goose egg?"

"These are eggs!"

Qin Xu chuckled. An Lin had already guessed it was a goose egg, but she hadn't guessed it was a chicken egg, which showed just how ridiculously big this egg was!
"An egg?!" An Lin was genuinely shocked. "Did your aunt tell you it was an egg? No way! It's this big?"

I've never seen an egg this big before!
"My aunt really did say they were eggs! So many eggs, how long will it take to eat them all?" Qin Xu said, laughing and crying at the same time. "My aunt is really something, sending them all the way from so far away. The postage alone could buy two boxes of eggs. What a waste of money! I've told her so many times, but she won't listen!"

"Your aunt is thinking of you! Don't be ungrateful!" Anlin said. "Besides, where else can you buy an egg this big in the market!"

If I saw eggs this big outside, I would definitely keep my distance. Who knows what kind of new cutting-edge technology that is? But since they were sent by my aunt's family, I can definitely eat them with peace of mind. Homegrown products are definitely healthy. As for why they are bigger than the eggs I used to eat, it must be because these chickens are raised well!

"It's perfect for making breakfast for the kids in the morning. There are so many of us, and everyone gets at least one egg a day, so they're gone in no time! Plus, my aunt's eggs are so fragrant and delicious; no other store's eggs taste like this!"

"That's right!" Qin Xu said proudly, "My aunt's chickens are free-range. How can the eggs of free-range chickens compare to those of hormone-injected chickens? An'an, let's have oyster omelets today!"

Over the years, he has received things from his aunt every year, all of which are things they grow or raise themselves. If they are perishable, she will send them things; if they are dried goods or things that are not perishable, she will send them by mail.

His aunt had always been a master of the art of saving money, knowing exactly when to save and when to spend.

“Okay!” An Lin nodded and took out a few large eggs.

There's a reason why Qin Xu has been helping Bai Lu's family all these years.

(End of this chapter)