Chapter 277: Seeing the Rewards
“Heh, this is something we grew ourselves. If you buy a whole cart, it’s two taels of silver per jin, but if you’re just buying one, it’ll be four taels per jin.”
Realizing the old man’s interest, Hu Liu immediately raised the price and grinned as he picked up a knife, slicing a small piece from the cut-open watermelon and offering it to the elder.
The old man had initially been irritated by the sudden price increase, but when the refreshing, juicy slice was placed in front of him, he couldn’t help but swallow his saliva.
The bright red flesh of the fruit made his already hot and parched body crave a bite.
He had only ever seen his master enjoy this fruit, and he had heard the family praise it endlessly. But as a mere steward, he had never had the fortune to try it himself.
Even though the piece of watermelon Hu Liu had cut was small, the old man only hesitated for a brief moment before taking a big bite.
The burst of sweet, cooling juice instantly refreshed him, making his eyes light up!
“So this is what cooling melon tastes like… No wonder our madam and young master always say it’s delicious!”
“If you like it so much, and since these melons aren’t always available, why not buy one for yourself and another for your madam?”
“I’ll pass on buying one for myself, but I’ll definitely take one for the madam. Pick a large and sweet one for me.”
The old man wasn’t stingy, and from his speech, Hu Liu could tell he was a steward of a wealthy household.
It wasn’t exactly the big buyer they were looking for, but securing any sale was better than none.
A short while later, Hu Liu selected a thirteen-jin watermelon for the old man. The steward handed over a fifty-tael silver ingot, and Hu Liu quickly gave him the change.
Seeing such a large silver ingot exchanged for a single watermelon, the other men watching from a distance had their eyes bulging!
“Zhang Guard, you really picked the right guys to sell these! Hu Liu and Wu Er have the smoothest tongues among us. I can’t believe it—our young lady set the price at two taels per jin, but Hu Liu just sold it for four!”
Hearing the remark, the previously anxious Zhang Hu finally relaxed, and a smile spread across his face.
After months of hard work growing these melons and tomatoes, enduring countless hardships, they were finally seeing the rewards—how could he not be happy?
“Hey, Uncle! Since you’re buying cooling melon, why not try our tomatoes? We’re brothers, so I can promise you—you’ve never seen a fruit like this before. The taste is absolutely incredible!”
As Wu Er spoke, he picked up a small, ripe tomato, wiped it on his sleeve, and eagerly offered it to the old man.
The steward had been curious about the vibrant red fruit at first, but upon seeing Wu Er’s dust-covered clothes, he immediately felt repulsed.
“Sir, don’t worry! I have some clean water here—I’ll wash it for you. Just give it a try, I guarantee you won’t regret it.”
Noticing the steward’s hesitation, Hu Liu quickly pulled out a water pouch, thoroughly rinsed the tomato, and handed it over.
By now, a growing crowd had gathered around the stall. Many were asking about prices, but upon hearing that cooling melon cost four taels per jin, they could only gasp and watch from a distance.
Surrounded by so many people, the old man reluctantly accepted the washed tomato and took a bite.
As soon as the mild sourness touched his tongue, it was quickly followed by a burst of natural sweetness, creating an entirely new taste experience. His eyes narrowed in delight, and he eagerly took another big bite.
“Mmm! Not bad! What is this fruit called? The texture is great—I think the madam and young ladies at home would love it!”
“Uncle, this fruit is called tomato. It’s an exotic variety from overseas! If you bring it back, your madam and the young ladies will definitely praise you! And let me tell you—eating tomatoes regularly helps maintain a slender figure and removes blemishes, making ladies even more beautiful.”
“Really? Then give me ten jin!”
Hearing about its health and beauty benefits, the steward was convinced.
If he could please the household, there would surely be rewards for him too!
“Of course! I’ll pack it right away.”
“Oh, by the way, how much does this fruit cost?”
As the steward handed over his basket, he suddenly realized he hadn’t even asked about the price.
“Three taels per jin. That’s thirty taels for ten jin. Uncle, I’ll also give you a special recipe sheet on how to cook with tomatoes! You can show it to your family’s chef—trust me, the entire household will love it!”
To promote tomatoes, Yu Luo had prepared recipe sheets in advance. Each manager had been given hundreds of copies to distribute.
Tomato scrambled eggs, tomato egg soup, tomato and potato stew, tomato fish soup—
The more the steward read, the more delighted he became!
“I never knew this fruit could be used in cooking too… Ten jin is too little—send a hundred jin to my household!”
“What?! So much? Uh, sir, how about this—you leave a one-hundred-tael deposit and pick up the tomatoes later. We’re short on manpower and can’t deliver.”
Wu Er quickly improvised, finding an excuse to secure the sale without the trouble of delivery.
Seeing that there were only two of them selling, the old man didn’t push the matter and immediately handed over a hundred taels.
“Alright, pack me ten jin to take home now, and I’ll send someone to pick up the rest later. My silver is running low—I assume you’re not going to run off?”
“Of course not! Uncle, that would be ridiculous—if you buy a hundred jin, I make three hundred taels. Running away with a mere hundred would be a huge loss!”
Hu Liu joked casually, making the steward chuckle and nod in agreement.
As soon as the steward left, the stall was swarmed again.
Some wealthier folks bought a few tomatoes to try, while those less fortunate could only look on with envy.
The high price of cooling melon discouraged many, but a few wealthy patrons came by and purchased more.
Despite this, Zhang Hu remained concerned.
“This isn’t going to work—we’re selling too slowly. If we keep this pace, how long will it take to sell all our goods? I need to get into the city and find someone to place a large order. Otherwise, we’ll never sell the tens of thousands of jin still in our fields.”
Hearing this, the group of ten men looked at him worriedly.
“Guard Zhang, be careful.”
“I will. Keep an eye on things here—if you get overwhelmed, call for help. And make sure nothing happens to those eight carts.”
“Understood!”
Zhang Hu picked up a watermelon, packed a bag of tomatoes, and set off.
However, instead of using the main gate, he scaled the city walls using light-footwork techniques to avoid trouble.
But not long after he left, something went wrong!
News of Hu Liu and Wu Er selling high-priced fruit quickly spread to the city guards, and soon, seven or eight soldiers arrived—surrounding their stall with weapons drawn!
