Chapter 52 - Melon Farmers Selling Melons
Chapter 52: Melon Farmers Selling Melons
Just as a few melon farmers were discussing Shi Lichun and his brothers’ watermelons enthusiastically, a melon farmer’s phone suddenly rang.
He picked up his phone and glanced at it. It was from an unidentified number.
He hung up without thinking and put it back in his pocket. With a look of disdain, he said, “Hmph, these calls are from scammers. They can dream on if they want to cheat me of my money.”
As soon as he finished speaking, another melon farmer’s phone rang.
Shi Xianlin picked up the call without looking at the caller ID.
“Hello, ah, Boss Liu, hello, hello. Yes, I’m Shi Xianlin. What? Is what you said true? Okay, okay, I’ll tell the others.” Shi Xianlin’s expression became more and more agitated.
After he hung up, the other melon farmers immediately asked curiously, “Shi Xianlin, looking at your happy expression, did you encounter something good?”
Shi Xianlin said excitedly, “That’s Boss Liu’s call. He said that he wants 30,000 catties of watermelon. My family has planted three acres of land. The ripe watermelons probably make up only 5,000 to 6,000 catties. In other words, we’re still short of 20,000 catties.”
When the other three melon farmers heard this, they were so shocked that they immediately stood up from the haystack they were sitting on. They also looked excited.
“Da Linzi, are you telling the truth? Did Boss Liu really say that? Is he a scammer?”
“Didn’t he just order 20,000 catties of watermelon from Shi Lichun’s family not long ago?”
“Shi Lichun said that their watermelons are not for sale anymore. If he sells them, can’t Boss Liu buy from others? I have more than 10,000 catties of watermelons in my land. I’ll pick them and sell them later.”
“No, if you sell more than 10,000 catties of watermelon, how can our family sell more than 5,000 catties of watermelon?”
More than 10,000 catties of watermelon was about 5,000 dollars.
If they didn’t sell it, they would all rot.
Now, they would even sell them at 30 cents per catty, let alone 40 cents.
“My family also has more than 10,000 catties. Am I allowed to sell it?”
“My watermelons are prettier and sweeter than yours.”
“Hehe, your watermelons are prettier and sweeter? Aren’t you afraid of biting your tongue when you say that? In Stoneback Village, other than the Shi brothers’ watermelons, everyone else’s watermelons are the same. No one is better than anyone else!”
“Alright, stop arguing. Boss Liu said that he’s already driving over. Let’s hurry up and pick watermelons in the fields. Boss Liu wants 30,000 watermelons. From my estimation, my family can supply 5,000 catties. You should all go to the fields and pick some.”
“The watermelons that our families can pick and sell are 30,000 catties. Are you sure Boss Liu wants 30,000 catties? What if he doesn’t want them after we pick them?”
As long as there was no deposit, such reneging happened in the countryside.
Shi Xianlin hesitated for a moment.
He said, “I’ll call and ask again. It won’t be too late for us to go to the field to pick watermelons after I ask. Also, we’ll definitely have to hire someone to pick watermelons.”
Even though there were not many watermelons in their fields, the young people had all gone out to work. They definitely could not handle it on their own. They had to hire some people.
At the thought that it would cost a few hundred dollars to hire someone, his heart ached.
The income yielded from 6,000 catties of watermelon was only 3,000 dollars. If the hire fee of a few hundred dollars was spent at once, his heart would really ache.
However, they had no choice. He and his wife could not pick 5,000 catties. Moreover, even if they could, Boss Liu would not be able to wait long. If Boss Liu did not want these watermelons in the end, they would not be able to cry hard enough.
Shi Xianlin called Boss Liu back. When the other party picked up, he asked nervously, “Boss Liu? Hello, hello, I’m Shi Xianlin. I called to confirm that you’re coming to our village to buy 30,000 catties of watermelon? Oh, okay, okay, I understand.”
A moment later, Shi Xianlin hung up.
Then, he said to the other three melon farmers, “Boss Liu is sure that he wants 30,000 catties of watermelon. The premise is that he has to go to the fields to take a look at the watermelons first. He definitely doesn’t want those in bad condition.”
“That must be it.”
The three melon farmers nodded in unison.
“Since it’s confirmed to be 30,000 catties from our four families, the number of ripe watermelons in the ground should be about right.”
“Then let’s hurry home and hire someone. We definitely can’t pick so many watermelons ourselves. We have to hire someone to choose and load the cart.”
“Go, go, go!”
As he walked, he said, “I didn’t expect Shi Lichun’s family to reject Boss Liu. We’ve benefited from it. Haha, after we sell the watermelons later, we won’t have to worry about not being able to sleep in the future.” The villager, Shi Bangliang, said, “Although the price this year is a little low, at least we don’t have to worry about it rotting in the ground and making a huge loss.”
Rural people relied on this income all year round.
However, if the items planted could not be sold, it would be equivalent to working for nothing for a year. The hard work would have been wasted.
“I don’t know what Shi Lichun is thinking. He listened to a little girl and said that he won’t sell it.” Shi Bangming smiled and mocked, “Will he regret it when the melons rot in the ground?”
“You don’t have to care if they sell their melons or not. Their family is living such a good life. Even if all the watermelons rot on the ground, they will only make a loss this year, but not lose a few years of savings. Their family still has a house, a car, and money.”
The villager, Shi Bangqing, said with envy, “Besides, that niece of his is Shi Yashu’s daughter. Their family is so rich and has connections. Perhaps their niece found a buyer and sold all their watermelons.”
Although he said that, he didn’t think that Shi Lichun’s niece would help sell them at all.
If she would help sell them, she would have started helping years ago, not now.
Just two years ago, it rained for half a year, making it difficult not to sell the watermelons. Only a small portion of the watermelons of the Shi brothers were sold, and most of them rotted.
If Shi Yashu’s family would help, would those watermelons have rotted and caused the brothers to suffer a huge loss?
“Sigh, this Shi Yashu is really too much. She clearly lives such a good life and is married to such a rich family, but she’s unwilling to help her family.”
“A married daughter is like spilled water. As expected, no matter how high a girl’s education level is, no matter how much she reads, it’s still for her in-laws.”
“I heard that Shi Yashu is married to a husband with a net worth of billions. Hehe, if she’s willing to help her maternal family, as long as a little of it leaks from her fingers, these brothers of her maternal family will lead a good life. Would they still need to farm at home all year round and do so much tiring work like us?”
“Alright, let’s hurry home and hire someone to pick the watermelons. Boss Liu will be here soon.”