The next day, she picked vegetables from her own garden and cooked them for her grandson.
Who knew, as soon as her grandson put them in his mouth, he spat them out, saying they tasted awful.
She didn't know why. They were the same vegetables, yet the taste was so different.
Now, her grandson clamored every day for vegetables bought from outside.
So, for the past few days, she had been going to town every day to see if the young vegetable vendor had set up his stall.
Today, she finally waited for him, but she didn't expect the price of the vegetables to have doubled or tripled, which was simply unacceptable.
Yet, from the boss's demeanor, there was no room for negotiation.
Just as she was hesitating whether to buy, a middle-aged woman walked directly over.
"Boss, give me five catties of hollow-stemmed greens, six cucumbers, and three catties of long beans to take back and make braised long beans with noodles," the woman said, pointing to the vegetables on the ground.
Liu Yifeng didn't rush to weigh the vegetables for her but told her about the price increase.
In short, buy if you accept it, don't buy if you don't.
The woman was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, then smiled and said, "Boss, your vegetables really taste good. My child doesn't eat vegetables at all, but ever since eating your vegetables, he's been asking for them every day.
So, no matter the price per catty, just weigh them as I say."
Seeing the woman's straightforwardness, Liu Yifeng and Liu Chunsheng got busy. The total was eighty-eight yuan, and Liu Yifeng even gave her a tomato as a gift.
The woman said she would come again next time.
The old lady saw that this woman spent over eighty yuan on vegetables and truly was generous.
While she was still observing, more and more customers arrived.
Liu Yifeng was busy and happy, and Tongtong also handed out bags by his side.
In just half an hour, more than half of Liu Yifeng's vegetables were sold.
He knew that once these people tasted his vegetables, they would repurchase.
Adults might be reluctant to spend on themselves, but they were very generous with their children.
Their own vegetables not only solved the problem of children not eating vegetables but also allowed them to have balanced nutrition.
For the sake of their children's health, they were naturally willing to spend this money.
After all, it was going into their stomachs, which was better than buying toys.
The old lady watched the dwindling vegetables, and the image of her grandson clamoring for his vegetables came to mind.
She gritted her teeth and stamped her foot, buying two catties of tomatoes, three catties of hollow-stemmed greens, and finally two cucumbers, spending thirty-two yuan.
"Auntie, although our vegetables are expensive, they have high nutritional value. Buying them is a gain. Come again if they taste good!" Liu Yifeng said as he took the money from the old lady and handed her the vegetables.
"I'm an old customer, after all. You just gave gifts to many people, shouldn't you give me one too?" The old lady was still bothered by this.
If she hadn't seen it, she wouldn't have cared, but since she did, not receiving one made her feel unbalanced.
Liu Yifeng smiled somewhat helplessly, "Auntie, that's because they bought a lot, so I gave them a tomato.
However, since you've said so, I'll give you a tomato too." With that, he casually picked a tomato and gave it to the old lady.
The old lady then beamed and accepted it, "A boss should be like this. Being too stingy won't keep customers. I'll come back to buy your vegetables next time."
Watching the old lady leave, Liu Yifeng didn't say anything more and went on to serve other guests.
A tomato was not much to him; he was willing to give it. After all, one had to give to receive!
Most of the people who bought vegetables today were those who had bought before.
It was also because they tasted good that they specifically came to buy them today during the market day.
But there were also a few new customers. Seeing how popular his vegetables were, even with the high prices, they bought some to try out of curiosity.
People were like that; they liked to join the crowd and follow trends.
As a result, over three hundred catties of vegetables were completely sold out in just one hour.
After paying the stall fee, Liu Yifeng drove his father and Tongtong back.
Liu Chunsheng sat in the car, counting the money over and over. In just one hour, they had earned eighteen hundred yuan.
"I really didn't expect our family's vegetables to be so popular," Liu Chunsheng said, his smile reaching his ears.
"Dad, don't you look at who grew them," Liu Yifeng said excitedly, waiting for his father to praise him.
However, Liu Chunsheng rolled his eyes at him, "Your face is too thick. If it weren't for Tongtong's credit, whatever you planted would be malnourished, and the growth cycle wouldn't have been shortened so much."
"But I was the one who personally planted them!" Liu Yifeng pouted in dissatisfaction.
"You only know how to do manual labor. All other credit belongs to my eldest grandson. Don't try to snatch it."
Tongtong, sitting in the back, giggled.
"Dad, since our vegetables are so popular, I want to contract more land and build a greenhouse to grow various vegetables. What do you think?" Liu Yifeng voiced his thoughts.
"I think it's a good idea. Vegetables are so expensive in our small town, yet people buy them.
Later, we can expand our sales channels to the city, and the market will be even larger," Liu Chunsheng nodded in agreement.
"Yes, I plan to sell our vegetables to the city.
Originally, I thought of selling directly to Kai Chen's clients. If his hotel uses our vegetables as signature dishes, it will surely retain many customers.
But if he doesn't appreciate it, then I'll talk to Boss Du.
He should know quite a few hotel owners. We don't need to sell our vegetables by the catty anymore; selling directly to hotels will save a lot of trouble," Liu Yifeng added.
"Dad doesn't understand much about business matters. You handle it as you see fit.
But no matter what you do, Dad will support you," Liu Chunsheng could only offer his unreserved trust and support.
After all, he was getting old, and he didn't have as quick a mind as the younger generation, so he shouldn't try to dictate.
"Alright, I'll take Tongtong to look at some land this afternoon. If I find suitable land, I'll rent it directly," Liu Yifeng was also a man of action and didn't like to procrastinate when making decisions.
Moreover, this was about making money; time couldn't be wasted.
In the afternoon, Liu Yifeng took Tongtong to the fields in the village.
The hundreds of mu of land in this area belonged to the villagers.
More than twenty mu of this land were particularly suitable for growing vegetables, being close to the road and having a water channel.
If it were a dry season, irrigating would also be convenient.
Coincidentally, these pieces of land were all vacant and unused, so renting them now was perfect.
Most importantly, it had Tongtong's approval, which meant they could rent it.
Next, they would rent the land, then hire people to build a greenhouse, and then start planting, waiting for the harvest.
He planned to get the land sorted out tomorrow, otherwise, nothing else could proceed.
In the evening, Liu Yifeng went to the back mountain again and found that the watermelons had grown larger. However, they were not yet ripe. But looking at the situation, they should be ready for harvest in about four or five days.
Looking at the watermelon field, Liu Yifeng's eyes were filled with red banknotes.
His watermelons were not only large but also seedless, crisp, and sweet.
These watermelons would sell for at least five yuan per catty.
A watermelon could weigh between thirty to forty catties, so one watermelon would sell for at least one hundred and fifty yuan.
And he had tens of thousands of watermelons here. He couldn't even calculate how much money that would bring in.
Once the watermelons were sold, he would find a new plot of land and build a villa, even bigger and better than Xin Zhou's.
Then, no matter where his father went, he would attract envious glances, and he, as a son, would have fulfilled his filial duty.
He actually knew that his father had always wanted to build a house, even just a single story.
But he couldn't find a good job, and the money he earned was only enough for himself. His father farmed, and even working hard all year round only brought in about ten thousand yuan, which also had to cover living expenses. So, there was no way to save much money, let alone build a house.
Just as Liu Yifeng thought everything was developing in a good direction, trouble found its way to his doorstep.