My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 122 Su Su Sells Vegetables (Part 2)

As soon as Wang Susu finished speaking, the howls of wolves in the distance erupted like a pot boiling over, one after another, rising and falling.

"Awooo, awooo—"

Immediately afterwards, the barking of dogs in the village rang out, carrying from afar and echoing the howling of wolves.

"Susu, don't be afraid. The sound is coming from the hilltop west of our village, which is far away from us."

Chen Ling gently patted his wife's back to comfort her.

He was also frightened and didn't dare to breathe.

"Let's hurry up and leave. There are quite a few wolves on the mountain lately, and they all come out at night to look for food. If they smell human scent and come after us, we'll be in trouble."

Wang Susu was so frightened that her face turned pale. She hid in Chen Ling's arms and hugged him tightly.

She grew up in the mountains and often heard stories about wolves from her elders. She knew a lot about wolves and that they had a keen sense of smell and could smell prey from miles away at night. They could even tell how many prey there were. Now that there were only two of them, if they were spotted by a pack of wolves at night, it would be difficult for them to escape.

Even distances that seem very far to humans are nothing to wolves; once they set their sights on you, they can catch up very quickly.

"Okay, let's hurry on our way, it's alright."

As Chen Ling spoke, he glanced back in the direction of the village. Then he saw that the two dogs had also relaxed and were no longer as alert as before. He thought that there was probably a pack of wolves coming down the mountain from around the village.

I reckon that Little King Kong was the one warning the other dogs in the village.

However, this was too complicated to explain to Wang Susu, so he told the little white ox to speed up its journey.

This time, the little white calf behaved quite well. When it heard the wolf howl, it wasn't as timid as before, and didn't even show much fear. After mooing twice, it took off pulling the cart.

The mountain road was difficult to travel, and the oxcart bounced even more violently as the speed increased.

After crossing another mountain ridge, things got better, and Wang Susu breathed a sigh of relief, no longer as nervous as before.

"That was really scary. I won't go to the early market anymore unless it's absolutely necessary."

"Yes, the leftover vegetables can be kept for two or three days without any problem. I can take them out to the city twice a day and they'll be used up. I don't need to worry about it much."

Chen Ling wiped the cold sweat from his wife's face and comforted her with a smile.

The two had been hugging tightly, and Wang Susu was so frightened that she was covered in sweat.

At this point, the oxcart gradually slowed down, and they were about to arrive at the county town.

We set off at 3 a.m. and arrived at the farmers' market in the western suburbs at 4:15 a.m.

At this time of day, the market would normally be packed with people and brightly lit.

Now it is extremely deserted, the lights are not on, it is dark everywhere, only a few small stalls are set up every three or five steps, most of them are carrying loads on their shoulders or leaning against bicycles, selling some mountain products, wild fruits, mushrooms and the like.

There were no trucks transporting vegetables and fruits. In the past, these large trucks would come down from the city to collect fruits and vegetables, and they could make a lot of money in one trip, so they came very frequently.

I actually earn more now.

But after the flood, fruit and vegetable farmers suffered, and they had nothing to sell. When they came, they couldn't even fill their trucks, so it wasn't worth the trip. No one was willing to come anymore.

A few vendors strolled around with their hands behind their backs, occasionally walking up to the stalls to look at this one and that one.

If they reach an agreement, they weigh the item; if not, they stand in front of the stall and haggle back and forth.

At a time when everything was in short supply, there was no worry about selling anything.

For someone like Chen Ling, who was pulling a truck full of goods, it was already considered a big business.

As soon as they drove their cart through the market gate, they were spotted by sharp-eyed vendors who followed behind the oxcart, asking them all sorts of questions, and some even tried to reach out and touch it. As a result, two dogs suddenly appeared, scaring them half to death, and they dared not get any closer.

"Hey bro, what's in the truck?"

"vegetable."

What kinds of dishes are they?

"Half the truck was filled with chives, and the rest contained green beans, eggplants, tomatoes, and loofah..."

"What's the price?"

Chen Ling slowly parked the car in the open space and held out a hand.

"My goodness, five yuan a pound, you really dare to buy it."

As darkness fell, and the market had recently stopped turning on its lights, the vendors peered in and gasped, their eyes wide with shock.

The price shocked not only the vendor but also Wang Susu.

Chen Ling, however, remained calm and composed, smiling gently.

Asking exorbitant prices and trying to make money off others is a seller's market. It's not about whether others are willing to buy, but whether they are willing to sell.

"Give us a discount. As long as the quality is good, we'll each unload a few more bags for you."

Chen Ling shook his head and remained silent.

He simply took off his straw hat and handed it to Wang Susu, untied the rope of the oxcart, and unloaded the vegetables from the bags.

Then open the bag and show the vegetables inside.

He wasn't trying to make a quick buck during this special time; it was just that if he were too easy to lower his prices, these vendors wouldn't care about such things and would probably try to drive the price down even further.

At this moment, the vendors walked up and shone their flashlights over the bags of vegetables, their eyes lighting up.

"Young man, are you trying to raise prices while supplies are scarce?"

"Go ask around. The old man selling mushrooms over there only gave him 1.7 yuan. Even so, considering his age and how hard he works from dawn till dusk, I gave him an extra 2 mao."

"But you have a lot of stuff, and the vegetables are pretty good. If it's okay, I'll raise the price by another ten cents, to one dollar and eighty cents. We'll split it among ourselves and take it away for you."

"This way you'll have less trouble, and we'll have less trouble too. What do you think?"

Chen Ling remained silent. Last time he came to sell, he sold ordinary vegetables for two yuan a pound and people were still scrambling to buy them.

More than half a month has passed, and when I went to the early market, the prices had even dropped?

What a fool.

Thank goodness he asked for five yuan earlier, otherwise, I really don't know how low these vendors would have pushed the price.

"Let's not even talk about 1.85 yuan anymore, everyone be quick about it, I'll give you 1.9 yuan."

"This year we suffered a disaster, and everyone is poor with little money."

"At this price, we're still taking a risk. We have to travel to other places to sell it after we buy it. In the sweltering heat, the mountains are high and the roads are long. If we're not careful, we'll end up with nothing." These vendors surrounded Chen Ling, haggling over the price.

They were all seasoned veterans, very cunning, and quite in sync. They raised prices by pennies at a time, just to give Chen Ling the illusion that vegetable prices weren't too high at the moment.

In normal times, haggling over prices by a few cents or even a fraction of a cent is common, but that's when large transport trucks haul vegetables in bulk. This kind of situation became prevalent in later generations with inflation and a significant drop in the purchasing power of money. Tomatoes and oranges sold on the roadside for five dollars for seven or eight pounds, or ten dollars for fifteen or sixteen pounds, are usually bought for a few cents per pound, or even less. After deducting transportation costs, the cost is extremely low.

But now the situation is different; it's a time of shortage, so it's a different story.

The less they were willing to offer a price, the less Chen Ling would budge.

"Young man, can you sell it for 1.9 yuan? Give me a straight answer."

Street vendors best exemplify the saying "no merchant is honest," and Chen Ling understood that these people were the type to cheat whoever they could.

He was too lazy to say anything more. He sat down on the ground, still holding out that same hand, and replied indifferently, "Five yuan a pound, no less."

"Hey, you..."

The vendors were dumbfounded and furious.

Then he couldn't help but start shouting again.

"Five yuan a pound? That's highway robbery! Where else can you find that price?"

"Let's go, let's go. This young man doesn't know the market and is just asking for prices. How can you sell things like that? If you want to make money, this is not the way to do it."

"..."

But while they said they were going, no one actually moved.

No one would be willing to give up such a large load of goods, fearing that their competitors would beat them to it.

We just stared at each other, frozen in front of the oxcart.

Chen Ling found it amusing.

At this moment, Wang Susu also noticed something and was extremely surprised. Good heavens, they were asking for five yuan a pound, and these vendors were reluctant to leave. In other words, even if her own vegetables were not sold for five yuan, they would definitely be much higher than the one yuan and ninety cents they had offered before.

Seeing Chen Ling remain calm throughout, she suddenly stopped being so anxious.

So the young couple took turns drinking water from the kettle, occasionally teasing the two dogs, appearing very relaxed and carefree.

This frustrated the vendors greatly.

They thought Chen Ling and his wife were easy to deal with because they were young and unfamiliar faces.

Who knew they'd stick to five yuan a pound and refuse to budge? How could we possibly negotiate?

"Damn it, in this terrible year, those who have goods in hand are the masters, while we're all treated like servants."

"It's really not easy to make some money during this time."

"Yeah, it's not easy, but right now we're short of everything. It doesn't matter what it is or how good or bad it is, as long as we can get the goods, we can make a profit."

"That's true."

The vendors refused to leave, so they gathered a short distance away, discussing the matter while muttering curses under their breath.

There was no way around it; the sight of that oxcart full of vegetables was just too tempting.

There are several mines in the neighboring county to the north, and many wealthy people there can earn several times more by transporting fruits and vegetables over two mountains to sell them than they would locally.

In their eyes, this truckload of vegetables is a treasure.

"Young man, can you give us a discount? We're serious about buying it. Let's not play games. Can you give us a fair price?"

"Don't call it five yuan anymore, five yuan a pound is really killing me."

"Then let's make it one cent less, four dollars and ninety cents."

"Oh dear, you don't do things like that. How about I give you half price, two yuan and one jiao, okay?"

"No, no, that's too much! Where did you get that 2.1 yuan? It's 4.8 yuan."

"..."

They previously raised the price for Chen Ling by one cent, and now Chen Ling is counter-offering by one cent.

Anyway, it's not him who's in a hurry.

After a back-and-forth struggle, the price finally dropped to three yuan. The vendors refused to pay any more, and Chen Ling knew they had reached their bottom line.

Moreover, the price of three yuan per jin is excluding chives. The highest price for chives is two yuan and two jin, since nobody is stupid and knows that this stuff can't be stored for long.

After agreeing on the price, the next step was to weigh it.

Wang Susu followed closely behind Chen Ling like a little tail, carrying a floral cloth bag. After each vendor weighed her produce, she carefully wrote down the weight and price on paper. It was her first time selling vegetables like this, so she was extremely serious and had to calculate it several times on paper.

Finally, after confirming that everything was correct, the money was exchanged for the goods.

Chen Ling had informed Chen Yingqiang beforehand, and had the vendors carry the vegetables and bags away together.

We can just buy some new burlap sacks then.

After selling the vegetables, these new burlap sacks only brought in small change.

……

The vegetables were sold out, and the money was in hand.

The young couple drove the oxcart away from the market; it was already past five in the morning.

In summer, it gets light early, and by then you can see things clearly.

Wang Susu sat on the oxcart, carrying a floral cloth bag, leaning against Chen Ling's shoulder, constantly counting money.

After counting it over and over again, he excitedly said to Chen Ling, "Ling, it's six thousand seven hundred and eighty-four yuan, almost seven thousand yuan! Let's go deposit it."

Chen Ling smiled and pecked her on the cheek: "No rush, let's find a place to eat first."

There are fewer people around lately, and the food stalls in the market are all closed, making it inconvenient to find a place to eat.

"Okay, let's eat and then go buy some bags, a few feet of red cloth, and also some candy and firecrackers, we'll need them for building the new house."

Wang Susu was very happy. Seeing that no one was around, she didn't care about being shy and kissed him on the cheek. Then she happily counted on her fingers what she wanted to buy.

(End of this chapter)