Chapter 5

At around 5:30 in the morning, Wang Buping got up and went downstairs. His mother, knowing that her son was going to town, got up early to cook breakfast. While Wang Buping was eating, she reminded him to be careful on the road and pay attention to his safety.

Amidst his mother's nagging, Wang Buping set off. Walking along the mountain path, he clearly felt that his physical strength was much better than before. It usually took him three hours to walk the mountain path, but this time he finished in less than two hours. It seemed that his improved physical condition was quite noticeable!

When he arrived in town, Wang Buping thought he needed to find a buyer for his vegetables. No matter how good the vegetables were, no one would want them if he didn't find a buyer. With this in mind, he decided to use his current vegetables to open up a market. He knew his vegetables were delicious, and once he opened up the market, he wouldn't have to worry about no one buying them.

So, he headed to the best hotel in town, carrying the vegetables he had taken out from his spatial bag to see if the hotel would be interested.

At the hotel, when others heard that he was selling vegetables, they took him to the back kitchen. He took out the tomatoes, radishes, green peppers, and eggplants from his bag.

The head chef prepared the vegetables and tasted them. They were indeed delicious, but the price he offered was lower than what Wang Buping had in mind. Wang Buping knew that a hotel of this class couldn't offer a very high price.

After leaving the hotel, he thought for a moment and found a warehouse, renting it for two days. He put all the vegetables from his spatial bag, except for the corn, into the warehouse.

Then he headed straight to the bus station, planning to sell his vegetables in Qin Nan City. Upon arriving in Qin Nan City, he took a taxi and asked the driver to take him to the best hotel in the city. The driver took him to the Qin Nan Grand Hotel. Wang Buping remembered that this hotel was a five-star hotel. As soon as he arrived, someone greeted him.

"Sir, are you here to eat or to see someone?" a waiter asked Wang Buping.

"Neither. I'm here to sell vegetables. Is your manager in charge here?"

Hearing that he was selling vegetables, the waiter didn't look down on him but politely asked him to wait a moment and went to call the manager. After a while, a slightly overweight middle-aged man walked over.

First, he handed Wang Buping a business card and said, "I am the vegetable procurement manager of this hotel. My name is Zhu Ming. What vegetables are you selling, and do you have samples?"

Wang Buping, looking at the hotel manager, replied, "Hello, my name is Wang Buping, and I have brought samples."

He took out the prepared bag and showed the vegetables to Zhu Ming. Zhu Ming saw that the tomatoes, radishes, green peppers, watermelons, and eggplants in the bag were all very large. He took a closer look and thought they were quite good, so he asked Wang Buping to carry the vegetables and follow him.

Wang Buping followed Zhu Ming to the kitchen, where he saw many chefs busy at their stations. The manager walked over and spoke to an older chef.

After a while, the chef followed the manager over and asked Wang Buping to carry the vegetables and follow them to a private kitchen. The chef asked Wang Buping to put the vegetables on the table, opened the bag, and washed the vegetables in water. He then took out the watermelon, which weighed over ten pounds, and cut it open, giving a slice to the manager and taking a bite himself.

Wang Buping had already tasted the watermelon from his spatial bag and knew it was particularly delicious. The manager and the chef both felt that the watermelon was sweet, juicy, and had a refreshing taste. They exchanged a glance and silently decided that no matter what, they had to keep the watermelon.

The chef used the radishes, tomatoes, green peppers, and eggplants that Wang Buping brought to make a few small dishes. They tasted them and found them very delicious, even better than the special dishes in their hotel. They decided to secure the exclusive rights to these vegetables, as this would definitely improve their business.

They then took Wang Buping to the office to discuss the details. After negotiating with Zhu Ming, Wang Buping and Zhu Ming reached a verbal agreement. The hotel would buy the vegetables at prices ranging from 5 to 20 yuan, and the watermelon at 8 yuan per pound. Wang Buping agreed to sell the vegetables to the Qin Nan Grand Hotel at the same price before selling to others.

After settling these matters, Wang Buping told Zhu Ming that he had a batch of vegetables in town and would provide a batch of vegetables to the hotel every week, notifying him by phone when to pick them up. He also asked if the hotel would be interested in a slightly lower quality batch of vegetables in the future. Zhu Ming said yes but mentioned that the price would be discussed after tasting the vegetables.

Zhu Ming knew that Wang Buping needed to buy a hydroelectric generator, so he told him that he would deliver it in the afternoon. Wang Buping left the hotel and went to buy a computer and a mobile phone. He also chose two phone numbers, got a wireless signal receiver, and activated a wireless internet package. He then bought a hydroelectric generator and had it delivered to the hotel. Zhu Ming treated him to lunch.

In the afternoon, they drove to town, and Zhu Ming also came. They went to the warehouse where Wang Buping had stored the vegetables, loaded them onto the truck, and Wang Buping, holding over 90,000 yuan, believed he could definitely develop his hometown.

They discussed the future supply of vegetables, and Wang Buping, not knowing how to deliver the vegetables, told Zhu Ming he would notify him by phone.

Thinking he would return the next day, Wang Buping called his old friend Li Jun to catch up. Li Jun was Wang Buping's classmate from elementary to high school, but he didn't go to college and was already married. His wife, Liu Leilei, was also Wang Buping's high school classmate, and they ran a small store in town.

The call was answered, and a voice came through, "Hey, big talent, why are you calling me?"

"Why can't I call you? Are you at home? I'm in town and will come to your place later."

"You're in town! You're back home? I'm at home. Where are you? I'll come pick you up."

"No need to pick me up. I'll buy some things and come to your place later."

"Alright, come over later. Come to the store. Lei Lei and I live in the store now."

"Alright, I'll hang up and come over after I buy the things." Wang Buping hung up and prepared to buy things for the next day.

He went to a store that sold farming tools and bought what he needed. Since he bought a lot, he asked the store to deliver the items to the warehouse and put them with the generator.

He then went to a store and bought some gifts and headed to Li Jun's place.

At the door of Li Jun's store, Li Jun's wife, Lei Lei, saw Wang Buping and said, "Buping, come in quickly."

Inside, Li Jun seemed to have heard Wang Buping's arrival and hurried out. Wang Buping handed the gifts to Lei Lei and gave Li Jun a bear hug.

"Why are you back? Weren't you supposed to look for a job after graduation?" Li Jun asked.

"I couldn't find a job, so I decided to stay and work at home. I won't go out anymore."

Li Jun didn't say much after hearing Wang Buping's words but asked, "What are you planning to do at home? Do you need my help?"

"No, I plan to grow pollution-free vegetables at home."

Li Jun was a bit surprised to hear that Wang Buping wanted to grow vegetables at home, but considering the current job market, he didn't say anything.

Li Jun pulled Wang Buping into the inner room and asked his wife to buy some wine and dishes, planning to have a drink with his old friend.

That night, Wang Buping and Li Jun drank and talked about the past few years and the situations of their classmates.

Finally, Li Jun asked Wang Buping why he came back to grow vegetables instead of finding a job in a big city.

Wang Buping said, "It's hard to find a job outside, and the pay isn't good. You know the situation there. There's no pollution, and it's very suitable for growing vegetables. Now, city people want to eat green, pollution-free, healthy food, so I came back to grow pollution-free vegetables."

"But how will you transport them? There's no road there," Li Jun asked.

"Right now, we carry them by hand. In the future, I plan to build a cableway on the cliff, and we can also use small boats to transport them. For now, we don't grow much."

Li Jun didn't ask any more questions and chatted with Wang Buping about the people and events of the past few years. Suddenly, he thought of something.

He said to Wang Buping, "Our class president plans to have a reunion in October. Do you want to come?"

Wang Buping thought for a moment. He hadn't seen many classmates in years, and since he was at home, he decided to go. He told Li Jun, "Sure, let me know when it happens. I'm growing vegetables at home now and don't go out much, so I'll come and see the old classmates."

Wang Buping, a bit tipsy, stayed at Li Jun's place for the night.

The next morning, Wang Buping got up early. Li Jun and Lei Lei were also up, opening the store. After washing up, he told Li Jun that he had things to do and wouldn't stay longer.

After saying goodbye to Li Jun, Wang Buping found a small truck, went to the rented warehouse, and loaded his things onto the truck, planning to transport them to the dirt road and wait for his father to pick them up.

He told the warehouse manager that he no longer needed the warehouse and went with the truck to the dirt road.