Lin Guangde was again sent by Tian Jing to the county town to fetch Ouyang Lei. This time, Ouyang Lei was needed to collect the vegetables.
The vegetables in the Li family's vegetable shed had ripened.
Ouyang Lei arrived quickly, having long awaited the vegetables from the Great Hero Tian.
He hadn't sold the vegetables from before the New Year; instead, he had given them away, opening up two channels.
Did he make a loss? Currently, he certainly had. The four hundred bags of cement he'd given to the Great Hero Tian alone cost several hundred yuan, not to mention the glass and bricks.
He had supplied all the materials for the Great Hero Tian's new house, except for the stones, costing over a thousand yuan.
However, the subsequent income from opening up the two channels was optimistic, and his close relationship with the Great Hero Tian was also highly beneficial.
Take the vegetables, for instance. At first, giving away the plastic sheeting for free, something worth several hundred yuan, made him ache a little.
But the Great Hero Tian had arranged a credit agreement for him. He hadn't paid much attention to it initially, but when those two channels requested vegetables and even subtly showed him favor, he knew he had profited from this agreement.
Therefore, as soon as he heard that the Great Hero Tian's vegetables had ripened, he immediately dropped what he was doing and called his subordinates to drive over.
He also brought some grain, as spring planting had just begun, and harvest was still two to three months away.
Tian Jing was very pleased with the grain Ouyang Lei brought. "Brother Lei truly is a man of great ambition, possessing both foresight and capability."
"Are you mocking me, sister?"
"It's praise. It seems the vegetables I gave you are very popular?"
"Sister, you are indeed formidable."
Ouyang Lei praised her with a thumbs-up. "I used them to pave the way. I managed to open up two channels, and I expected to grovel and beg people for favors. To my surprise, I was the one being sought after."
Tian Jing proudly lifted her chin. "Of course. The vegetables I grow are unique, offering considerable room for maneuver. Go to the vegetable shed and try eating the leaves directly. You'll understand."
Ouyang Lei's heart stirred. "Alright, I'll go and taste them."
Chen Suozhu led him to the vegetable shed.
Li Zhengguo asked with concern, "Tiantian, will there be any problems?"
"Impossible. Who would suspect me? At most, they might question the seedling cultivation techniques and the soil from the deep mountains. Worst case, they discover Mount Hot Spring, and soil with hot springs could indeed lead to mutations."
"If all else fails, we can collect the essence of ordinary wild grasses, dilute it with water, and claim it's a nutrient solution we developed. Let them study that."
Li Zhengguo took her hand. "You must be careful."
"I know. In the future, I'll try to control the energy output. Besides, can't you spin a yarn about the theory of pure green organic vegetables?"
"Right, right," Li Zhengguo relaxed. "We'll use organic and green to deceive them."
"You truly are something." Tian Jing smiled and swayed his arm. "You're just too nervous."
"For your safety, any amount of nervousness is warranted."
"Alright, I understand. Go quickly to the vegetable shed and see. Ouyang Lei still hasn't come out; is he stuffing himself with food?"
It was almost as if he was stuffing himself. Ouyang Lei pulled out a radish and, without washing it, peeled and ate it. He even ate the radish greens and then reached for another.
Chen Suozhu felt a pang of heartache but dared not speak.
It wasn't cowardice. With his eldest sister-in-law around, what was there to fear? What he feared was that if his eldest sister-in-law didn't care how much Brother Lei ate, his words might ruin her image. Moreover, Brother Lei had provided a substantial amount of building materials for the Li family.
When Ouyang Lei was pulling out the fourth radish, and he was about to intervene, he heard heavenly music.
"Brother Lei has a strong stomach. Don't the radish greens sting your throat? And you don't wash the radish greens?"
Ouyang Lei turned to look at Li Zhengguo, still chewing on the radish greens in his mouth.
"If it's not clean, eating it won't make you sick."
Li Zhengguo walked over. "Do you know what you look like right now?"
"What do I look like?" Ouyang Lei retorted, continuing to chew the radish greens.
"Like a rabbit, a grass-eating rabbit."
"I don't eat grass; I eat vegetables."
"Rabbits eat vegetables too. Alright, quickly call your men to collect this whole shed of vegetables. Half is yours, and half is to be sent to the supply and marketing cooperative on my behalf. Use the money to buy me a set of carpentry tools. The remaining money, along with the tools, should be delivered here."
"Aren't you giving me the money back?"
"Dream on. Your future income will be plentiful. We'd be lucky if we don't ask you for dividends."
"Alright, alright. A stingy man is not to be trifled with." Ouyang Lei turned and instructed the subordinates who had followed him, "Get moving, everyone! See what I'm doing?"
"Heh heh." Li Zhengguo chuckled twice. "Look at their boss turning vegetarian, becoming a rabbit."
"Hurry up and work!" Ouyang Lei roared at his subordinates, then instructed Lin Guangde, "Lin Guangde, next time I come to collect vegetables, you will be in charge of them. They are a bunch of clueless simpletons who don't know farming."
"Yes." Lin Guangde was excited. He had become a favored person in front of Brother Lei, hadn't he?
Exiting the vegetable shed, Ouyang Lei wiped his sweat. "It's really hot inside."
"You didn't seem to mind the heat earlier?"
"I was too busy eating to notice. But that radish was truly delicious, far better than meat."
"We call this organic green vegetable. You wouldn't understand, would you? Let me explain..."
Li Zhengguo had found his first victim to con.
Ouyang Lei listened intently. Pure natural, organic green—he didn't understand the terms, but they sounded profound. He wanted to hear the original words, to repeat them to the buyers.
A pyramid scheme structure was forming, wasn't it?
The vegetables from the Li family's vegetable shed were harvested.
The commune members busied themselves, putting down their work to watch the novelty.
Seeing cartload after cartload of vegetables, everyone was filled with envy and excitement.
"Suozhu, these vegetables are amazing. They make you want to take a bite just by looking at them."
"Yes, Suozhu, how are these vegetables grown?"
"Suozhu..."
"Suozhu..."
Chen Suozhu was surrounded.
"What are you doing? What are you doing?" Li Min's loud voice came out, rescuing the besieged Chen Suozhu.
The commune members turned. "Li Min, we just want to ask how these vegetables are grown. Our private plots should also be planted with vegetables."
"How are they grown? Aren't they grown just like yours? How many people in my family know how to farm? It was my elder brother and Brother Suozhu who weeded and watered them every day in this vegetable shed. Didn't you see?"
"This is a matter of character, you understand? If your character is bad and you're lazy, how can the vegetables grow well? Move aside, don't block the path."
Li Min, acting with borrowed authority, waved them away.
They moved aside, but they didn't leave.
"Li Min, what you said is correct. Everyone understands this principle, but without good seeds and agricultural knowledge, even the most diligent effort will yield half the results."
"My eldest sister-in-law doesn't have any agricultural knowledge." Li Min immediately defended her eldest sister-in-law.
Her eldest sister-in-law was a celestial being; with a wave of her hand, what couldn't be achieved?
"My eldest sister-in-law is just very good at cultivating seedlings. My eldest sister-in-law said it's impossible to help cultivate seedlings, but it's possible to buy them."
"A unified price of five fen per seedling. Each type of seedling is limited to twenty plants. However, selling to other villages is prohibited, or we will cut off supply. My eldest sister-in-law is very busy, and the seedlings in our family's vegetable shed are not even enough."
Buying seedlings? It was possible to buy seedlings?
The commune members' eyes twinkled. Although they were a bit expensive, if they grew them well and saved the seeds, it would be worth it.
"Alright, go home and think about it. Seedlings are always available; my eldest sister-in-law is continuously cultivating them."
The two eastern side rooms of their house had become entirely seedling rooms. Her elder brother and sister-in-law went in to operate them every day. She and their mother occasionally went in to look.
Rows upon rows of wooden racks, large bamboo sections split in half, and large wooden boxes—all contained vegetable seedlings. Their family's vegetable shed was replanted immediately after each harvest.
Hmph! The days of her family's prosperity were just around the corner. Fortunately, she had decided to stay home. Heh heh heh, this was a case of being foolish for a lifetime but wise for a moment.