Chapter 101: It Still Had to Be Repeat Customers
But after that, sales didn’t go quite as smoothly.
Jian Xingxia had priced the strawberries and blueberries at sixty yuan, the four-colored cherry tomatoes at ten yuan, and the snack cucumbers at six yuan.
Aside from the first two items, which weren’t available anywhere else in the market, the latter two were priced strictly according to the going market rates.
Jian Xingxia knew perfectly well that whether it was appearance, texture, or flavor, her four-colored cherry tomatoes were far superior to any other cherry tomatoes in the market.
But there was no helping it; this was peak season for tomatoes and cucumbers, and plenty of people were selling them.
She could only go with the flow on pricing.
A few people stopped by to ask about the price, but only one person bought half a catty of blueberries.
In the blink of an eye, it was six in the morning. Her good luck at the opening hadn’t lasted, and Jian Xingxia had only managed to make a few sales, totaling less than two hundred yuan.
With the goods unsold, Fangfang and Auntie Lu might come over to check on her in a bit. She would then have to spin a web of lies to explain how, after returning to the village for just over ten days, she had managed to harvest so many strawberries, blueberries, tomatoes, and cucumbers.
Just as she was fretting, an older auntie walked past the stall. After taking two steps past, she suddenly spun around and came right back.
“Oh? Aren’t you that young girl who was selling roasted chestnuts?”
Jian Xingxia quickly stood up. “Ah, yes! Did you buy my chestnuts before?”
The auntie slapped her thigh. “I bought them twice! Oh my, you really made me search far and wide for you! Why did you only sell them for two days and then stop?”
Both times Jian Xingxia sold chestnuts, she had only sold them for two days, taking a break for several days in between.
It had truly left the residents of the Jiahe Garden neighborhood filled with constant longing.
The auntie’s gaze skipped right past the strawberries, blueberries, and tomatoes, heading straight for the chestnuts. “Are these the same chestnuts from before?”
Jian Xingxia nodded and quickly lifted the quilt covering the large iron basin to show the auntie.
“They’re the same ones. I came out early today, and because I was afraid the chestnuts wouldn’t stay frozen, I covered them up.”
She had only put out one small basket of chestnuts on display.
Contrasted against the vibrantly colored fruits, they weren’t eye-catching at all.
The auntie hurriedly placed an order for the chestnuts. “Four catties—no, five catties, make it five catties! Anyway, this stuff can be eaten frozen.”
Jian Xingxia smiled and said, “Five catties total. I’ll charge you thirty yuan for four catties, and you can just pay seven and a half yuan for the remaining catty.”
Originally, buying them individually was eight yuan per catty.
The auntie paid the money with a beaming smile.
With the chestnuts secured, the auntie finally looked at the other items on the stall. “Are these fruits yours too?”
Jian Xingxia nodded. “Auntie, have a taste.”
The auntie sampled a cherry tomato, and the wrinkles on her face instantly smoothed out in delight. “These tomatoes are delicious! Why are they so sweet? It’s like taking a bite out of a pouch of sweet juice!”
What made the auntie even happier was her next realization: “This tastes exactly like the tomatoes we used to eat right from the fields when we were young! It’s so much better than the ones in supermarkets and vegetable markets!”
Jian Xingxia smiled and explained, “To guarantee supply and facilitate transport, supermarkets and vegetable markets have to prioritize varieties that store well and withstand bumps—those tend to be thick-fleshed and less juicy. For the things we eat ourselves, we don’t care about all that. We just like them sweet, juicy, and bursting with a rich tomato flavor.”
“Yes, exactly,” the auntie said happily. “How much are these tomatoes a catty? Let me have two catties.”
Upon learning they were ten yuan a catty, the auntie became a little hesitant. “They’re multi-colored and certainly look very pretty, but it’s a bit pricey.”
Jian Xingxia said, “Then why don’t you buy one catty to try first, Auntie? People don’t usually use these for cooking anyway; they’re eaten just like fruit. See if your family likes them. If they do, my pick-your-own greenhouse will be opening in a while, and you can go pick and eat them right there.”
Hearing this, the auntie cheered up again. “Good girl, then weigh out one catty for me!”
Before the auntie was even finished, she pulled out her phone, brought it close to her mouth, and called out loudly to the old sisters in her group chat.
“Old sisters! The girl who sold the chestnuts last time is at the morning market! Her family has also brought out new tomatoes, cucumbers, and even strawberries and blueberries! Come quickly, sisters!”
Jian Xingxia giggled at the sight. “Thank you for helping me spread the word, Auntie!”
The auntie simply adored young girls like Jian Xingxia, who were poised, quick to smile, sensible, and capable. “They’ll be here in a jiffy. We’re old and can’t sleep anyway, so we came as soon as the market opened. They’re wandering around elsewhere, just a few steps away!”
Almost as soon as the auntie’s voice faded, someone walked over.
“Sister Zhang!”
The auntie quickly waved them over. “Come here, quick!”
Another two catties of chestnuts were sold, and this time, they also took two catties of tomatoes and a catty of snack cucumbers.
Within a few minutes, the rest of the sisterhood arrived one after another.
“Oh my, it really is the Chestnut Older Sister! My Beibei talks about the Chestnut Older Sister every single day.”
Everyone began coaxing one particular older lady to buy the strawberries. “Your pension is high, you buy this! It’s bound to be delicious!”
The older lady looked at Jian Xingxia, feeling that sixty yuan was a bit expensive.
Jian Xingxia was quick-witted and nimble-handed. She whipped out a small fruit knife and gently sliced a strawberry into a few small pieces right on top of a plastic bag. “Aunties, give it a try.”
The members of the sisterhood each tried a piece.
Needless to say, everyone praised the flavor.
But as delicious as they were, sixty yuan a catty was still too expensive for these older ladies.
Even the older lady with the high pension, whom everyone was hyping up, showed signs of hesitation.
Jian Xingxia didn’t rush them either. The auntie group had already bought quite a lot of chestnuts and tomatoes just now. Let them deliberate for a while; having them crowd around the stall was great for drawing in a crowd anyway!
Just as she was thinking this, another group approached from ahead—this time, a sisterhood of younger women.
Jian Xingxia looked up and saw that the leader was none other than the woman from earlier. Like a tour guide, she brought her group straight to the stall.
“Right here! A student from a top-tier university! She specifically came back to develop her hometown. The strawberries I bought earlier were from here.”
Several of the woman’s friends called out to Jian Xingxia in unison, “Give me two catties!”
“I want two catties too!”
“I want one catty of strawberries and one catty of blueberries!”
These women seemed to have a bit of disposable income and cared about quality of life. They had come explicitly for Jian Xingxia’s reputation as an agricultural student from a prestigious university.
Jian Xingxia sliced a large strawberry and handed a small piece to each of them.
The group of women couldn’t wait. “We already tasted it earlier, just weigh it directly.”
Strawberries didn’t transport well and didn’t keep for long, so Jian Xingxia had only picked about ten catties in total.
At two catties per person, the basin emptied out in no time.
The older lady with the high pension from earlier couldn’t sit still anymore. “Hey, hey, hey, I got here first! I still want to buy some!”
The last woman in the younger group was startled. “You didn’t say you wanted to buy when we arrived. I was the first to say I wanted two catties!”
The pension auntie was filled with regret. She quickly held back the others and asked Jian Xingxia to weigh all the remaining strawberries for her. “Young girl, didn’t I get here first? This should go to me.”
Jian Xingxia looked at the remaining strawberries and estimated there were a bit over three catties left. “How about half each? That should give you about one and a half catties each.”
The leader of the younger group wasn’t thrilled, but she felt embarrassed to argue with an elder.
The auntie, on the other hand, thought one and a half catties was acceptable. “Then half each it is!”
The result was a bag for the left and a bag for the right, splitting it perfectly. One got one catty and six taels, while the other got one catty and seven taels.
The strawberries were completely sold out.
Word of mouth travels fast for good products. With the strawberries snatched up first, both the older auntie group and the younger women’s group set their sights on the remaining fruits.
Aside from the blueberries, which weren’t abundant, there were plenty of tomatoes and cucumbers.
The older aunties began stocking up. “Weigh some blueberries for me too, just half a catty will do.”
“Cucumbers are six yuan a catty? Give me three catties then.”
“I want three catties of tomatoes. Can I mix the colors?”
The younger women’s group was practically in a mood to clear the shelves. “Are your blueberries sixty yuan a catty too?”
Large blueberries the size of a thumb went for a hundred yuan a catty in the supermarket! Jian Xingxia’s price was practically a forty percent discount.
With the two groups crowding around the stall, passersby thought there was something exciting going on. When they peeked in and saw the high-quality produce, they quickly joined in to pick some out as well.
This time, the younger women’s group refused to back down. “Then we’ll take all the rest of the blueberries.”
This fruit was good for the eyes and rich in anthocyanins; it was a top-tier healthy fruit.
Not to mention, Jian Xingxia’s blueberries were all covered in a fresh bloom, sweet and tangy, and incredibly fragrant.
Fortunately, there were still tomatoes and cucumbers left. They weren’t expensive to begin with, and all the different colors gathered together were a feast for the eyes. Soon, they were sold out, with people buying three catties here and five catties there.
From five to six in the morning, she had made less than two hundred yuan in total.
But during the single hour from six to seven, Jian Xingxia checked and saw she had made nearly two thousand yuan. The strawberries alone accounted for nearly six hundred, and while blueberries didn’t weigh much, they brought in over three hundred.
The rest came from the high-volume, lower-priced tomatoes and cucumbers.
In the end, only a single cucumber remained. Because it had been pressed and snapped, Jian Xingxia took a bite out of the broken end, munching on it with a crisp crunch.
She hadn’t noticed while selling, but now, her stomach was rumbling so loudly it sounded like thunder!
“Where is Fangfang?” Why wasn’t she here yet…
“Sister Xiaxia! I’m over here!”
Turning around, she saw Fangfang holding three or four cups of drinks, with small plastic bags hanging off eight of her ten fingers, bringing over an assortment of breakfast items to feed her.
