Chapter 222 - Break Off the Engagement?
Chapter 222: Break Off the Engagement?
Translator: Lonelytree
Xiao Wang brought the washed strawberries to Elder Gong and said with a smile, “Elder, the Xiao family has sent over another batch of strawberries!”
Grandfather Gong looked at the strawberries and thought of how Xiao Lingyu had told him that she could earn over a million from her yield.
At the time, Old Master Gong found the girl to be hilarious and confident. Other than care and planting techniques, growing strawberries also depended on the weather and geographical environment.
Xing Yin County was not a suitable place to plant strawberries. Therefore, he found it curious that the girl was so confident to make a profit.
However, now that the strawberries were placed before him, he knew he was wrong. He had tried the strawberries and the taste was unforgettable.
Old Master Gong picked up a strawberry and put it into his mouth. After chewing it twice, he swallowed it whole.
He smiled and asked, “Xiao Wang, do you know how Lingyu does her farming? She can grow delicious vegetables and now strawberries too!”
Xiao Wang smiled, “Elder, I heard the secret is because of her Little Cattle King. Didn’t you notice that every villagers have been going to her house to pick up the cow manure?
“Every crop that has been grown with the Little Cattle King’s cow dung are delicious and vibrant.
“I heard that many villagers want to grow vegetables and sell them, so they signed a contract with Xiao Lingyu. The vegetables they grow will be sold directly to Xiao Lingyu, and Xiao Lingyu will sell them to others.”
Hearing this, Old Master Gong’s eyes sparkled. He narrowed his eyes and said, “Xiao Wang, do you think something is wrong with Lingyu’s head?
“Why would she promise to help the villagers sell their vegetables? It’s fine if she turns a profit but if she doesn’t, she’ll have to be responsible. As a business person, one has to ensure that one doesn’t make a loss, right?”
Xiao Wang scratched his head and said in a simple and honest manner, “Old master, this means that Miss Xiao is a good person. Perhaps she just wants to help the villagers.”
Even for Xiao Wang who didn’t know business, he knew that Xiao Lingyu was not doing clever business.
“Besides, we’ve lived in the Taoyuan Village for a while already. We know Miss Xiao is not a dumb person. She must have some plans.” Xiao Wang analyzed straightforwardly, “Take this strawberry as an example. I heard that Xing Yin County can’t grow strawberries, but Miss Xiao has proven us wrong.
“The strawberries are huge. Even they haven’t fully matured, they are delicious. Moreover, the yield is large. Even if they don’t sell everything, she’ll at least get around four to five hundred thousand RMB, right?”
Old Master Gong thought about it and said, “But that is because of the Little Cattle King. Without it, could the girl grow these strawberries?”
Xiao Wang countered, “But Miss Xiao has the Little Cattle King!” That was the most convincing reason!
Xiao Wang continued, “It seems that the Little Cattle King and Miss Xiao are fated. When the cattle was at the Cow Village, no one thought it was anything special.
“However, it stopped Miss Xiao when its mother was about to be slaughtered. Then Miss Xiao bought it and it followed her to Taoyuan Village.
“Not long after, it was discovered that its excrement could actually make the things in the field grow better.
“Many people said that the Little Cattle King was grateful to Miss Xiao for saving its and its mother’s lives. Therefore, the God blessed it with magic and helped Miss Xiao grow her crops well.”
Xiao Wang said with great admiration, “This is Miss Xiao’s good karma, right?”
Old Master Gong hummed twice and picked up two strawberries. He ate them and then asked, “Hao ‘Er hasn’t tasted these strawberries, right?”
Xiao Wang was stunned and then said with some uncertainty, “I don’t know. I don’t think so.” The eldest young master flew abroad every day. He would have tasted strawberries abroad, but there was no way those would taste better than these strawberries.
“Hmph!” Old Master Gong said disdainfully, “I haven’t tasted such delicious strawberries before, so how could that brat have?” He was sure that his grandson hadn’t tasted these super-delicious strawberries.
Xiao Wang stood upright with a plate in his hand and didn’t make a sound.
Old Master Gong thought for a moment and said, “Go to Lingyu’s place and buy some strawberries and send them back to them to taste!” He was referring to Gong Tianhao, Li Yuanhang, and some old friends in the capital.
“Yes!” Xiao Wang replied after receiving the order.
After Xiao Wang left, Old Master Gong smiled and said, “Those fellows will get itchy with envy when they taste these wonderful strawberries!”
His days in Taoyuan Village had become more and more peaceful. Without the hustle and bustle of the big cities and the disturbance of some people, his body had recovered rapidly.
Seven days ago, when Doctor Huang came to examine his body, he miraculously discovered that the bullet near his heart had actually deviated from the edge. If it continued to move further, the bullet could be removed through surgery. Even his previous old injuries had shown signs of improving!
Doctor Huang was shocked and decreed this a miracle. “Taoyuan Village is really nurturing. I should move here too. Old Master, I’ll come to be your companion!”
Old Master Gong laughed. “I welcome you whole-heartedly!”
Old Master Gong was happy to know his body was recovering. After all, he had promised his grandson that he would live a long life.
The prerequisite for a long life was, of course, good health!
Doctor Huang was a famous doctor in the capital. He couldn’t uproot and leave just like that. It was a pity that he left a few days too early. If he had stayed, he would have the chance to taste the strawberries.
After a moment, Old Master Gong sighed heavily and said, “My body has recovered. However, my eldest grandson’s wife is nowhere to be seen, let alone my great grandson.
“If Little Peach didn’t like Lingyu, I’ll get Lingyu to be my granddaughter-in-law!
“But, I heard that Ol’ Jiang has arranged a marriage for Little Peach. If that’s really the case, then what about Lingyu?
“With Ol Jiang’s character, if he knew about Lingyu, he would harm her. No, I have to protect her.”
…
“Are these strawberries?” A customer saw the half-ripe strawberries and she commented, “Aren’t they too green? Won’t they be sour?”
Strawberries were placed on a shelf at the shop. They were arranged in rows and looked especially cute.
Their sharp ends were red, but the bottom was green. Those who knew strawberries knew that strawberries had to be fully red to taste good. Otherwise, they would taste very sour.
“Plus, they are so expensive. They cost 60 RMB per catty!”
“God, that’s a very high price! The market only sells them for 40 RMB per catty!”
“But the things here are pricier than the market. Still many people fight for them. So, it’s expected that the strawberries are slightly more expensive than normal. However, will they taste good since they’re so green?”
“They smell fragrant and sweet. They should be delicious.”
“They should taste good or else the boss would put them out for sale!”
“You’re right! The things here always have a high quality!”
At that moment, Liu Chunhua took out a plate of strawberries and said with a smile, “Dear customers, you can try these strawberries to tell for yourself if they are delicious or not. Our slogan has always been the same. Our crops always have a fair price!”
Hearing that there were samples, the customers quickly grabbed them. The shop always had good crops for sale. And who wouldn’t want to taste them for free?
Seeing so many people swarming over, Liu Chunhua shouted, “Please take just one each!” In the blink of an eye, the strawberries disappeared.
“Wow, these strawberries are really delicious!” These familiar words echoed around the shop.
“They are! They are a little sour, but the overwhelming taste is this fragrant sweetness.”
“I bet they’ll be even sweeter when they’re ripe!”
“But they’re still quite expensive.” Their daily salary was barely enough for a catty of strawberry. Who could afford that?
“Yes, but they’ll be special treats. We’ll get them once in a while. I’ll get half a catty.” The strawberries were huge. There would be several in half a catty. That was good enough.
“I’ll have half a catty too.”
“I want one catty!”
Those who had sampled the strawberries were immediately attracted. Unfortunately, they had to pay to taste more.
Soon, about ten catty of strawberries disappeared. Liu Chunhua was shocked. Then again, the strawberries were addictive. She would be willing to pay a high price for them too. Furthermore, the standard of living for Xiao Lingyu’s customers was generally higher than normal. They wouldn’t skimp to buy the wonderfully delicious strawberries.
After a customer weighed the strawberries, he asked with a smile, “Big Sister, where did you get this strawberry? Are they imported?”
Someone said, “If they are imported, then 60 RMB is really not that expensive.”
“That’s right. Imported strawberries often cost around a few hundred per catty. It’s because of the taxes and stuff.”
Liu Chunhua smiled and said, “We plant these strawberries ourselves. If you like it, you can go harvest them yourself. If you do that, you can get the strawberries at 45 RMB per catty.”
Many people couldn’t believe Liu Chunhua. “The strawberries are homegrown?”
“How can they be so delicious?”
“But I heard that Xing Yin County is not suitable for strawberries.”
“I heard the same thing. The farms tried to grow strawberries but they were small and tasted bitter. They didn’t taste like strawberries at all.”
“Big Sister, you’re not lying to us, right? Did you really grow these strawberries yourself?”
Liu Chunhua said, “Everything in this shop is grown at Taoyuan Village. We grow them locally.”
“You’re not lying when you say we can get the strawberries at 45 RMB per catty if we pick them ourselves?”
After all, the price difference was quite large.
Fourth Aunt Xiao smiled and said, “That’s what the boss said. So, dear customers, if you really like our strawberries, you’re welcome to pick them in our Taoyuan Village.”
The purpose of selling strawberries in the shop was mainly for publicity.
“Okay, we’ll definitely go and take a look when we have time.”
45 RMB per catty was not that expensive than the price of strawberries on the market. Other shops sold their strawberries at around 40 RMB per catty.
“I’ll be going too. I’ll take my children and have them experience the life in the countryside.”
“Right, the children are on vacation. They usually only stay at home and watch TV. They don’t want to go outside. Even if they go outside, someone must watch over them. Otherwise, how can we adults feel at ease?”
“This is the perfect opportunity!”
The parents discussed about going to Taoyuan Village to pick strawberries and how they’d look after each other.
…
Back at Beijing, two adults were conversing.
“What did you say?” Qin Yan looked at the man in disbelief. “You want me to break off the engagement?”
Jiang Tao nodded and said, “That’s right. Qin Yan, if I break off the engagement, it might cause a great damage to your reputation. So, I hope that you will be the one to propose the break off.”
“Why?” Qin Yan widened her beautiful eyes and asked with puzzlement. Her hands gripped her dress tightly.
She did not like Jiang Tao, but it was not up to her to decide on the matter of the marriage. However, she didn’t like that she was being rejected. This made her feel that she had suffered a great humiliation.
She was the number one socialite in the capital. However, Jiang Tao had come to ask her to break off the engagement. It meant that he had rejected her… like that man. Why?
She wanted the engagement to be annulled, but not on his suggestion! How could he dump her?