1994: Vegetable farmers strike back

Chapter 16: The Sorrows of Plum Rains

Li Xiu opened the door early. It was hazy outside, with a drizzle as thin as needles. The vegetables after the rain were not green, but rather delicate.

squeak~
As soon as Bai Yan opened the door, she saw the figure next door. "Li Xiu, you're waiting for Jiazhi again. It's been raining all night, and the vegetable sellers are suffering too."

Li Xiu nodded, still looking at the intersection, "Sister Bai Yan, have you boiled the water? We need to let them take a hot shower when they come back."

"Yes, I almost forgot to boil water. Look at my memory. It's all thanks to you for reminding me." Bai Yan went to the back door to boil water again.

As the two of them were talking, noises began to be heard from other rooms. Some people went to boil water, while others opened the main door to see if anyone had returned.

I don’t know how long it took before a messy group of bicycles turned the intersection. Even though it was raining, it couldn’t stop the laughter and joy.

After crossing the intersection, Chen Jiazhi also saw Li Xiu flash by at the door of his house.

Before the bicycle even reached the dam, Qi Yongfeng shouted, "Huang Juan, I bought some pork belly. Make some stir-fried pork for me at noon!"

"You're screaming so loudly, you're going to die!"

Huang Juan is three years older than Qi Yongfeng. People in the vegetable market usually call her Aunt Juan. She is not fat, but her roar is full of energy. When she heard Qi Yongfeng's voice, she came out of the house.

"Just buy it. I'll make it for you at noon. It depends on how much you can eat!"

"Hehe, I can finish it by myself."

"Buy so much, I don't think you'll die if you eat all of it by yourself."

Aunt Juan took out the pork belly and vegetables she had bought from Qi Yongfeng's iron basket. The meat bought at the morning market would not be bad unless one had poor eyesight. After Aunt Juan took the meat and took a look at it, she cursed with a smile on her face.

The second sister Chen Jiafang, Guo Mancang's wife Zhou Yuqiong, and Li Mingkun's wife Bai Yan also came out one after another, laughing and scolding, and the vegetable market suddenly became lively.

At this time, Chen Jiazhi had already given the money to Li Xiu, took the clothes, filled the hot water and went to the bathroom. Only then did the others wake up from their dream.

"Yes, yes, the water is already boiling. Hurry up and get some hot water to take a shower."

"Jiazhi has already gone. I'll wait a little longer."

"It's already this late, why are you still being so pretentious? Don't catch a cold after being in the rain all night. We're all grown men, there's nothing to be afraid of!"

Yi Dinggan walked over with his head held high, carrying a bucket. "Bai Yan, you're right. Li Mingkun was just afraid the bird was too small, so he was embarrassed to wash it with Jiazhi and me."

"Bah~ You shameless thing!"

After a comparison of size, Chen Jiazhi walked out triumphantly, like a little rooster that had won a fight.

"Jiazhi, are the vegetables selling well today? How much did they sell for?"

Chen Jiazhi looked in the direction of the voice and saw that it was He Qiang, a vegetable farmer from the same county but different township. They usually had little interaction.

Although this group of vegetable farmers all came from Xichuan, they were divided into small groups. They were closer to those in the same village and were related to each other, and they did not necessarily sell their vegetables in the same wholesale market.

But when we encounter outsiders causing trouble, we deal with it together. In this place, if you don’t stick together, you will only be bullied.

At the same time, Yi Dinggan is familiar with everyone.

Chen Jiazhi nodded and said hello: "Vegetables are selling very well. The price has increased again today. Chinese cabbage sells for 1.3 yuan per catty. It's still raining, so it shouldn't be any worse today. It's best to pick up some vegetables to sell."

"Okay, thanks."

Now that it has come to this, no one is holding back anymore. Every day late in taking action could result in a significant loss.

After returning to the house, Chen Jiazhi found Li Xiu still counting money on the bed, and the money was neatly sorted according to denomination. His second sister was cooking breakfast at the back door.

"I've already finished my shower, and I haven't even finished counting yet." Li Xiu held a handful of one-yuan bills in her hand, unable to hide her smile. "Jiazhi, guess how much I sold last night?"

"I'm selling vegetables, so how could I not know?" Chen Jiazhi estimated and lowered his voice: "It should be more than 600."

"621.80 yuan." Li Xiu showed four fingers. "I counted four times, there must be no mistake."

Chen Jiazhi also sat down beside the bed. "Aren't you tired after counting so many times? Follow me from now on, and I'll make you count money until your hands cramp."

Li Xiu: "If you can sell it for that much, I'd be willing to count until my hands cramp."

"..."

Decades of experience have taught Chen Jiazhi that the thing vegetable farmers have the most in their lives is cash and change. He has a friend who is a vegetable farmer and can always take out a bag of cash and change when playing cards.

If all you are around are vegetable farmers, do you want to compete to see who has more change?

Chen Jiazhi felt that Li Xiu would have to count money until he got cramps and became numb in his life.

After a while, Yi Dinggan also came out of the bathroom in a heroic manner. He walked around his second sister for a few circles and only returned to the room after being scolded.

Chen Jiazhi: "Brother Yi, I need Ao Dehai and his wife today. I think you need to pick more vegetables today. Do you have enough people?"

Yi Dinggan waved his hand: "Go ahead, I have someone here. I need to collect more vegetables today. I just took a shower and walked around the stove twice and I'm sweating again. This weather is really unbearable. People can't stand it, let alone vegetables."

Chen Jiazhi: "This is what the plum rain season is like."

Yi Ding cursed, "I've been in Flower City for several years, and I've never seen it rain every day in late March or early April. Damn, this weather is really terrible!"

The temperature was around 20 or 30 degrees Celsius, and it was raining continuously. The air felt wet, as if water could be wrung out of it.

In this kind of weather, it would only take a day or two for the roots and leaves of leafy vegetables to rot and the stems to melt. However, it has been raining since yesterday, and the humidity in the air has become alarmingly high. The room has become damp and stuffy, and there is moisture on the walls and floor.

Sometimes the sun comes out for a few minutes to let you dry your clothes, but before you even reach the fields, it rains again...

While having breakfast, Chen Jiazhi heard a group of people complaining about the weather, or regretting not listening to him earlier and harvesting the vegetables earlier.

But at this time, Chen Jiazhi remained silent.

He has reminded everyone that he should have, so it's not his fault. In Qi Yongfeng's words, if he hadn't eaten meat every day and made people so greedy, he might not have harvested the vegetables until yesterday.

It was raining in the morning. Except for a few people who went to work in the rain, everyone was catching up on sleep at home. No one was playing cards. The atmosphere was as dead as the weather.

It was not until noon that the aroma of meat emanating from every household diluted the sadness.

The vegetable farmers who had meat to eat spoke much louder, as if they were afraid that others would not know.

Yi Dinggan bought some pork intestines today, and Chen Jiafang made a dish of stir-fried pork intestines, which was fragrant, delicious and tasty.

Qi Yongfeng, who ate twice-cooked pork at home, even brought a small bowl of twice-cooked pork to exchange, which made Chen Jiafang laugh and scold: "What are you exchanging? If you want to eat, come and eat. Can I not let you eat?"

Qi Yongfeng brought the most vegetables for Chen Jiazhi this morning and also helped deliver the vegetables at the market. Li Xiu asked Chen Jiazhi about this during the morning chat.

After all, there are so many vegetables and it’s raining, it’s hard for one person to handle it all in the market.

Chen Jiafang naturally heard it as well. After scolding Qi Yongfeng, Qi Yongfeng did not take the twice-cooked pork back, but could only give him a full bowl of pig intestines.

This afternoon, several families were filled with laughter and joy, but some homes were shrouded in gloom.

After lunch, Chen Jiazhi, who was staring at the rain in a daze, saw Liu Minghua and his wife going out early in the rain, carrying a basket of vegetables. It seemed that they were going to harvest the vegetables in the afternoon.

(End of this chapter)