Chapter 2

There are generally two channels for purchasing watermelons in Youcheng County.

One is to go to the fruit wholesale market, which is located at the other end of the logistics park, a bit of a distance away.

The other is to go to the surrounding villages and buy directly from the fruit farmers, which requires more effort.

Therefore, if the wholesale price is the same at 1.5 yuan, and the melons are better tasting and delivered to the door, there's no reason they won't be in demand.

As soon as Qin Lin posted the message, three people in the group responded.

"Turns out it's Little Qin."

"Is Little Qin switching to wholesale now?"

"Should I join in the fun too?"

Qin Lin knew all three people who messaged, as they all had shops near Market Street.

Seeing no one else in the group responding, Qin Lin arranged to meet these three at his shop.

At this moment.

Qin Lin also noticed a prompt in the game in his mind, indicating that the seeds needed their first watering.

He immediately used his mind to control the game character to go to the tool shed, fetch a watering can, fill it with water from the river, and water the seeds.

A short while later, the three people in the WeChat group arrived on their electric scooters.

Two middle-aged men, Liu Dasheng and Chen Dahhe, and a woman named Ai Quni.

Liu Dasheng, upon entering, said first, "Little Qin, where are your melons? Let's take a look!"

Qin Lin pointed to a pile of watermelons on the ground, "Brother Liu, Brother Chen, Sister Ai, take a look at these melons."

The three of them went over to inspect them.

Having been in the business for a long time, they could roughly tell if the melons were good.

Clear patterns, distinct colors...

The stems were still green, very fresh.

They sounded good when tapped.

These melons were clearly of high quality.

"Looks really good," Liu Dasheng said with a smile.

Chen Dahhe and Ai Quni also nodded.

However, there are too many unscrupulous wholesalers and fruit farmers these days, so they still needed to cut open a melon to taste it.

Qin Lin understood this and said to the three, "Feel free to pick one."

"Little Qin, let's go with this one!" Liu Dasheng randomly pointed to a watermelon.

Qin Lin nodded, picked up the watermelon, and cut it in half, revealing the fresh and appetizing flesh inside.

He then cut the two halves into smaller pieces and said to the three, "Brother Liu, Brother Chen, Sister Ai, try it!"

Liu Dasheng and the others didn't hesitate, each taking a piece to taste.

"Woof woof!"

It was the black dog barking again, seemingly having seen Qin Lin cutting the melons and quietly squatting at the shop entrance.

This dog was really persistent.

Qin Lin, seeing this, casually picked up a piece of melon and threw it to the dog.

Eating too much melon can cause diarrhea, which would teach the dog a lesson and make it stop hanging around.

With the attributes of deliciousness +1, sweetness +1, and texture +1, Liu Dasheng and the others only needed two bites for their eyes to light up.

"Great melons, much better than what I've bought before."

"Indeed, very sweet, and juicy."

"Little Qin, are you really delivering to the door?"

All three looked at Qin Lin. With such good-looking and better-tasting melons at the same wholesale price and delivered to the door, there was no reason not to buy them.

Qin Lin explained, "Of course, I'll definitely deliver to the door."

The three nodded and immediately decided to each take 30 melons to try, leaving a few for Qin Lin's own shop.

Their shops were not far away, so Qin Lin didn't ask for a deposit, agreeing to deliver the melons and collect payment upon delivery.

The reason he wanted to deliver to the door was to keep things confidential. Although his shop didn't have surveillance, the market street was full of cameras.

If he kept bringing melons out of his shop, it would attract attention, especially if it happened frequently.

After all, if melons kept coming out without being brought in, it could cause trouble.

Therefore, he needed to find a secret place outside in the future.

After Liu Dasheng and the others left, Qin Lin glanced at the black dog still munching on the melon outside the shop, ignored it, and pulled down the roller shutter. He then went to the parking area inside the market street, heading towards a rusty three-wheeled farm truck that no one would buy for 2000 yuan.

However, this truck could still carry about a ton of cargo as long as it didn't get a flat tire.

Qin Lin drove the three-wheeled truck to his shop, loaded the melons, closed the roller shutter again, and then drove to deliver the melons to Liu Dasheng and the others.

Liu Dasheng's shop was the closest, also on Market Street. After a short drive, he arrived at the shop called Dasheng Fruit Store.

Liu Dasheng was talking to a man holding a watermelon at the entrance. Seeing Qin Lin's truck stop, he pulled the man over and said, "Little Chen, come take a look at these newly delivered melons. They're definitely fresh and good. Pick one, and I'll cut it open for you to taste."

"Sure, Brother Liu." Little Chen nodded and went to the truck to pick a melon.

Liu Dasheng explained to Qin Lin, "Mr. Qin, this is Little Chen, my upstairs neighbor and a regular customer. He loves watermelons and usually buys several at a time. We'll settle the bill together."

"Alright." Qin Lin nodded.

Little Chen quickly picked a melon from Qin Lin's truck and handed it to Liu Dasheng to weigh.

"Little Qin, this melon weighs 11 pounds." Liu Dasheng weighed the melon, cut it open, and handed a piece to Little Chen.

Little Chen and Liu Dasheng were old acquaintances, so he naturally took a bite.

Soon, Little Chen exclaimed, "Brother Liu, this melon is very sweet and has a good texture. It's much better than what you've sold before. What's the price?"

Liu Dasheng smiled and said, "The same price, 2 yuan per pound. How many do you want?"

"Brother Liu, I'll take 4. Can you deliver them to me when you have time?" Little Chen said, picking 4 more melons from Qin Lin's truck for Liu Dasheng to weigh.

The 4 melons all weighed over 10 pounds, totaling 47 pounds.

Liu Dasheng said, "47 pounds, 94 yuan. Little Chen, make a note, and I'll deliver them when I have time."

"No need for a note. I trust you, Brother Liu. I'll transfer the money via WeChat." Little Chen waved his hand, took out his phone, and transferred the money to Liu Dasheng.

After Little Chen left, Liu Dasheng turned to Qin Lin, "Little Qin, it seems your relatives' melons are really good. Little Chen is usually very picky about watermelons."

Qin Lin was naturally pleased and started moving the melons into a basket from Liu Dasheng's shop.

Liu Dasheng selling 4 melons meant he helped Qin Lin earn over 70 yuan.

Including the 5 melons from before, Qin Lin loaded 25 melons into the basket for Liu Dasheng to weigh. The total weight was 287 pounds, plus the 47 pounds Little Chen bought, making it 334 pounds. At a wholesale price of 1.5 yuan, that was 501 yuan.

Liu Dasheng quickly transferred the money to Qin Lin via WeChat.

Qin Lin also gave Liu Dasheng a receipt, which was important for tax reporting for individual business owners.

"Brother Liu, if you need more, just let me know. I'll go deliver the melons to the other two now." Qin Lin smiled, as this single transaction earned him more than his fruit and vegetable shop did in a day of hard work.

Next, Qin Lin delivered 30 melons each to Chen Dahhe and Ai Quni.

Chen Dahhe's total was 360 pounds, at a wholesale price of 540 yuan. Ai Quni's was 328 pounds, at a wholesale price of 492 yuan.

Adding the 501 yuan from Liu Dasheng, the 90 melons earned him a total of 1533 yuan.

When he returned to his shop, Qin Lin found the black dog still at his shop door, lying comfortably with no signs of diarrhea.

This was unexpected.

By the time the sun had set, the remaining melons in Hu Qing's shop sold 4 more, adding up to 172 yuan.

Thus, the melons taken from the game netted him 1705 yuan.

Qin Lin couldn't help but clench his fists in excitement. Earning 1705 yuan a day meant 51150 yuan a month, which, even after taxes, was a high income in Youcheng County.

Thinking about this, the game in his mind showed another prompt, indicating that weeds had grown and needed to be removed immediately, or the watermelon seedlings might wither.

After weeding, Qin Lin checked the time. It was already completely dark. He got up, tidied up, and took some leftover vegetables home, then pulled down the roller shutter and rode the three-wheeled truck back to his home.

Usually, he needed to drive the truck early in the morning to restock his shop, but tomorrow he planned to use it only to transport melons.

Earning 1700 yuan a day meant he no longer needed to worry about the small profits from the fruit and vegetable shop. Even the tens of thousands of debt at home could be paid off quickly.

Qin Lin rode his bike back to an older neighborhood. After selling their house, they rented a two-bedroom apartment in this cheaper area.

He entered the building, went up to the third floor, and returned to the rented apartment to find his mother, Lin Fen, preparing dinner.

The apartment, though having two bedrooms, was very small and cramped, with daily items scattered around, making it even more narrow and dim.

But with the family's current situation and the tens of thousands of debt, there was no other choice.

Qin Lin said as he entered, "Mom, I told you to wait for me to make dinner."

"I can't do much, but I can still move around. Come and eat!" Lin Fen, who was in poor health and looked unwell, still spoke with a hint of stubbornness.

Having worked all her life, it was harder for her to do nothing.

"Ah." Qin Lin helplessly put the vegetables he brought back into the fridge.

Lin Fen served a bowl of rice to Qin Lin and asked, "How was business at the shop today?"

"Better than yesterday, and it will get even better." Qin Lin thought about the day's events and spoke with a newfound confidence.

Lin Fen sighed, "Xiao Lin, it's your parents who have let you down. Your peers all have their parents' support, with dowries and down payments for houses, but we left you with tens of thousands of debt."

"Mom, what are you saying? You and Dad raised me and sent me to school, which is the greatest kindness." Qin Lin had never blamed his parents. After all, he was healthy and had been well-cared for, which was better than many others.

The more he said this, the more Lin Fen felt useless and could only sigh, "Xiao Lin, how are things with Moqing? Don't blame her parents. Moqing is a good girl, and her parents have been very understanding, not asking for a dowry or a car, just a down payment for a small house, which we can't afford. This is our problem."

"Keep dating Moqing. When I'm better, I can help in the shop, and you can find a job. We'll work hard together to save for a down payment. If you and Moqing don't end up together, don't blame them."

Qin Lin paused in his eating at these words.

Moqing was indeed a good person. They were in neighboring classes in high school and saw each other only during the commute, but they officially met and started dating after being on the same train to the same university.

Fate was truly mysterious.

He had no right to blame Moqing's parents. In today's society, who would want their daughter to marry someone with no car, no house, and tens of thousands of debt?

He wouldn't want that either.

Moreover, her parents had already waived the dowry and the car, only asking for a down payment for a small house, which was more lenient than many other parents.

If they couldn't manage this, it was their problem, and any further complaints would be unreasonable.

"Mom, don't worry. We'll get a house, and Moqing will be your daughter-in-law. She won't run away." Qin Lin quickly finished his meal and went to his room, opening a drawer to reveal a marriage certificate.

The groom was Qin Lin, and the bride was Zhao Moqing.

He wasn't just saying this to his mother; it was all kept secret from both sets of parents.

When his girlfriend stole the household registration book to register their marriage, saying she had chosen him for life, the warmth in his heart could melt the entire Antarctic ice cap.

He knew how much courage Moqing had shown and was determined never to let her down.

He also knew that registering their marriage in such a situation was unfair to her and a deception to the Zhao family, but he was more afraid of losing the most precious thing in his life.

As he thought about this, the game in his mind showed some activity. He carefully put away the marriage certificate, locked the drawer, and looked at the game.

The watermelons in the fields had grown vines and would be ripe by morning, but pests had appeared on the vines and needed to be removed to avoid affecting the growth rate and yield of the watermelons.

Qin Lin used his mind to control the game character to take out a small net to remove the pests one by one.