“According to Li Shu, once we establish a company, things will change from before and surely become more regulated. We can't work outside and then return to farming later; we'd have to choose one path.”
“This…” Zhou Fugui’s face stiffened. He had hoped his son could join, or at least his son-in-law. But with Zhang Changhe’s words, if they couldn’t farm, what else would they do?
After the hard-won household responsibility system, they couldn’t just let the land lie fallow; it was their family’s.
What if they contracted it out? Wouldn’t that allow them to earn from two sources?
Just like Zhou Fugui, the other cadres also hesitated. If they wanted to earn money, no one would tend to their fields, which was indeed a difficult choice.
Meanwhile, Chen Li Shu, Chen Man Tun, and Gu Shou Fu went to the melon fields early in the morning. Based on Chen Man Tun’s observations, the fields could officially open today.
Melons were generally harvested in two to three stages: the first crop, the second, and the third. The first batch from the newly opened fields was the best, and thus priced higher. Chen Li Shu set the price at forty cents per jin. In about ten days to half a month, the second crop would be cheaper, possibly selling for only thirty cents.
As the first melon patch to open in the surrounding villages, there was no need for advertising. News was released around 8 AM, and by 10 AM, two or three customers had already arrived.
“Third Sister-in-law, we agreed earlier; you have to reserve two hundred jin for me first.” Gu Xing Ye had specifically brought his horse cart to be the first customer.
Few people grew melons, and they were scarce in the city. Melons bought for forty cents a jin could be sold for sixty to seventy cents at the train station.
Chen Li Shu smiled, “Don’t worry, Fourth Brother. While it’s not guaranteed for everyone, it is for you.”
“Li Shu, I don’t need that much; can I buy fifty jin first?” An elder from the village, clutching money, looked at the good quality melons. Tomorrow was the commune’s big market day. He paid the money now so he could pick the melons early tomorrow morning.
Another person wanted to buy fifty jin and pick them immediately to take to the town to sell.
“Third Sister-in-law, I can help you collect the money,” Gu Xing Ping said with a grin as everyone was about to start picking.
Li Xiu Lan replied, “With your clumsy nature, don’t make any mistakes with the money. Just do whatever you can; perhaps you can help pick melons.”
“Mom, I can’t tell if they’re ripe or not. I don’t want to be more of a hindrance than a help to Third Sister-in-law.”
Chen Li Shu smiled, “Xing Ping, you can be in charge of collecting the money and help me keep simple accounts.” Nowadays, there was no counterfeit currency, and the amounts were not large, so problems were unlikely.
“Okay,” Gu Xing Ping responded, taking the paper and pen Chen Li Shu handed her. She called out to everyone to come to her to pay and reserve their desired weight.
Meanwhile, Hu Si, Chen Man Tun, and Gu Shou Fu had already started picking melons in the fields.
“Li Shu, are you selling individual melons? They smell so good. I want to buy one for my little grandson to try,” a curious elderly woman, holding her child’s hand, said longingly, looking at the melon patch.
“Grandma, you can pick one for your child yourself.”
The old woman seemed a bit embarrassed. Melons were forty cents a jin, and these were not small. One melon might weigh half a jin. Spending twenty cents on a melon for her child felt a bit extravagant.
“Hey, Old Cai’s wife, why don’t you just say you want one? Everyone else is buying dozens of jin, and you only want one. Do you think Dong Zi’s wife will bother charging you twenty cents?” a man nearby quipped mockingly.
Hearing this, the woman, who had already taken a step, stopped hesitantly, unsure whether to go forward or not.
Seeing this, Chen Li Shu went and picked a melon, handing it to the child, “Here you go.”
The child was about to put it in his mouth without washing it. The woman quickly snatched it back, wiped it with her sleeve, and handed it to the child again.
“Eat it here obediently. I’m going to help pick melons,” the woman said, smiling at Chen Li Shu before entering the melon patch.
The man who had made the sarcastic remark, seeing Chen Li Shu’s easygoing nature, his eyes darted around. Smiling, he said, “Dong Zi’s wife, my two nephews also want to try this melon. I’ll pick two for them.”
As the man spoke, he bent down and picked two melons.
“Xing Ping, go weigh them for your Brother Da Hui. Since we live in the same village, let’s round down the change.”
Hearing Chen Li Shu’s words, the man paused, his hand holding the melons. “They’re for the children to eat. Dong Zi’s wife, why are you treating them differently?”
“Oh,” Chen Li Shu exclaimed with mock realization, “Brother Da Hui, you wanted two melons? Then why didn’t you say so clearly just now? I thought you were buying them.”
The man’s face flushed. With a sheepish smile, he obediently went to Gu Xing Ping to weigh the melons and pay.
Others who had similar thoughts of asking for two melons, seeing that Chen Li Shu was not easily fooled, abandoned their intentions.
Most villagers didn’t just stand by and watch. Since they lived in the same village and had nothing else to do, they enthusiastically helped pick melons.
In a short time, over six hundred jin were picked.
“Thank you all so much for today. Please take two melons home to try when you leave.”
“Oh, this is great! Li Shu, we won’t be polite then.” The helpers happily took the melons and left.
More people, hearing the news, came up the mountain. Everyone bought thirty or fifty jin. By the afternoon, the six hundred-plus jin of melons picked had been almost entirely sold.
In the evening, after dinner, the family chatted for a while before retiring to their respective rooms.
“Look at the excitement on the mountain today, selling melons. All 600 jin sold out, earning over 200 yuan in a single day. I work my fingers to the bone making clothes all month and earn only over 100 yuan. How is it possible that I earn less than them in a day?” Liu Yue Min sat on a stool, speaking indignantly.
Gu Xing Min looked up, “What’s wrong? Do you want to go grow melons too? It’s too late for that; we’ll have to wait until next year.”
Liu Yue Min shot him a glare, “What melons are you talking about? If those things aren’t tended properly, they won’t taste good. Besides, do you know how to grow them?”
Gu Xing Min lay down on the kang and truthfully replied, “I don’t.”
Seeing his unmotivated demeanor, Liu Yue Min became a little angry, “Fourth Brother knows to take melons to sell in town. Look at you; you’re like a boneless person all day, lying down if you can sit.”
“It’s not the busy farming season now. Besides, our own brother brought it up first; it wouldn’t be right for me to snatch his business.”
Liu Yue Min insisted, “No, Third Sister-in-law has contracted mountain land, and Fourth Brother’s family has contracted the supply and marketing cooperative. We can’t fall behind; we have to find a way to do something.”
“Isn’t it good enough now? Why are you causing trouble again?”
“I think opening a restaurant is a good idea. I went to town a few days ago, and Liu Yong’s restaurant has expanded; he rented a large storefront. I saw it was very crowded inside.”
Gu Xing Min disagreed, “They have the skills. Who among us knows how to cook?”
He felt their current life was quite good. They weren't short of money, and during the farming off-season, they could play cards. Opening a restaurant meant working from morning till night without a moment’s rest.
“Besides, if we open a restaurant, what about the land at home? Will we stop farming it?”