Chapter 44

In the morning, a thin layer of mist always appears in Banship Village. Today, the mist was a light layer. The green mountains behind the house looked like a noblewoman draped in a thin veil, everything appearing hazy. The cheerful chirping of birds in the forest made the main character, Diaozhu,忍不住 also shout loudly:

"Get up, get up!"

"Damn Diaozhu, stop making noise!" Wang Han, still in his dream, was very unhappy with Diaozhu for disturbing his sleep.

"Get up quickly! We're going to the mountain to harvest jujubes soon. Brother Wang Yong said the buyer will come this morning. After we finish harvesting, we'll head back to Beijing. Hurry up! You're the only one still in bed, everyone else is already getting ready to go up the mountain." Wang Qian, while combing her hair in front of the mirror, said to Wang Han.

"Ah! I haven't slept enough yet." Wang Han pouted and unwillingly poked his head out from under the covers.

"You little lazy bug, hurry up! I'm going to eat breakfast first. Diaozhu, let's go, we're going to eat." Wang Qian stretched out her arm, waited for Diaozhu to fly up, and then turned and left the door.

At this moment, Brother Wang Yong and a few others had already finished breakfast and were preparing to go up the mountain. Seeing this, Wang Qian didn't even eat and directly followed them up the mountain.

By now, the sun rising from the eastern mountain had completely dispersed the thin morning mist. A few white clouds floated in the blue sky, constantly changing shape. Wang Gang looked at them for a long time but couldn't figure out what they looked like. Could it be that the descriptions of the red clouds in the textbooks were all made up by the authors? That shouldn't be the case! With this question in mind, Wang Gang followed the group towards the orchard on the mountain.

Xiaohei and Xiaobai, two lively guys, couldn't stop moving, running back and forth in front of and behind the group. Occasionally, they would rush into the grass and chase out a bunch of grasshoppers, which benefited the little pitiful one following behind them. Diaozhu, who was probably full, paid no attention to these grasshoppers. As the saying goes, grasshoppers in autumn don't last long. As the weather cooled, these creatures became fewer and fewer.

The group slowly walked to the area of the orchard with the jujube trees. Each tree, heavy with red jujubes, was bent under the weight. Unlike ordinary jujube trees, the jujubes in Brother Wang Yong's orchard were all uniformly ripe, with not a single green one, the whole tree a bright red, very pleasing to the eye.

"Let's get started! I can't wait anymore." Wang Gang, who had never done this before, was very excited, holding a wooden pole and eagerly suggesting.

"We still need to wait a bit. The buyer said they want to take some photos of the jujube trees for promotion. They should be here soon." Brother Wang Yong checked his phone, which showed it was already 7:52. They were supposed to arrive around 8:00, so it should be any minute now.

"Auntie, Auntie, I'm here!" Mingming broke free from his grandfather's hand and ran quickly towards Wang Qian.

"Kid, have you eaten?" Brother Wang Yong teased Mingming.

"Yes, I'm full."

Before Brother Wang Yong could say anything else, more people came up the mountain. This time, it was Gao Hui and a few of the young people who were still in the village. These guys were now doing just as well as those who had gone out to work. Every household had bought a large truck for transportation, earning over 100,000 yuan a year easily. Such a gathering like this was quite rare, probably due to the Mid-Autumn Festival.

"Brother, we're here to help. Give us a cigarette quickly." Gao Hui, relying on his brother Da Wei's close relationship with Brother Wang Yong, never treated Brother Wang Yong with formality.

Brother Wang Yong gave the kid a stern look, took out a pack of unopened hard Yuxi cigarettes from his pocket, and threw them to him. Then he said:

"We still need to wait a bit. They said they want to take some photos of the jujube trees for promotion." Just as Brother Wang Yong finished speaking, a black car and two box trucks were seen driving up the mountain.

"They're here, they're here! Finally, I've been waiting so long!" Wang Gang complained, his mind now set on the joy of harvesting. He kept gesturing with the wooden pole in his hand.

"They're here, they're here!" Diaozhu shouted while flying, even he was getting impatient. This caused everyone to burst into laughter.

The three vehicles stopped near the greenhouse at the foot of the mountain. The uncle at the greenhouse led about eight people up the mountain. When they got closer, Brother Wang Yong noticed that Li Jigang was also there, chatting with the uncle. Beside them was a middle-aged man in his forties, dressed in a suit and tie, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, looking like a successful businessman. Behind him were six people, probably the driver and workers.

"Brother Wang Yong, let me introduce you. This is Mr. Zhang Chunhui, the general manager of Beijing Shenghe Trading Company. Mr. Zhang, this is our mysterious supplier." Li Jigang introduced.

"Hello, Mr. Zhang, welcome to Banship Village!" Brother Wang Yong shook hands with Mr. Zhang and said.

"By the way, Mr. Zhang, Brother Wang Yong is the village chief." Li Jigang added.

"Young and capable! Not bad, really not bad!" Mr. Zhang remarked.

"Mr. Zhang, you flatter me. I just got lucky."

"This isn't just about luck. Timing, location, and people—all are essential. Take your greenhouse vegetables, for example. Now, eating vegetables at Old Li's restaurant in Beijing is a matter of pride. It's not easy to get a table there!"

"Ha ha, if Mr. Zhang likes them, you can pick some yourself when you leave and take them back to enjoy slowly."

"I won't be shy! With my status in Beijing, it's hard to get these vegetables. I'll definitely try them out." Mr. Zhang's first impression of Brother Wang Yong improved significantly. To offer such rare vegetables in Beijing was a rare act of generosity!

While they were chatting, one of the people Mr. Zhang brought started taking photos. The others were workers Mr. Zhang had specially brought to pick the jujubes. When they saw Wang Gang about to hit the jujube tree with the wooden pole, they quickly rushed over and took the pole away.

Seeing Brother Wang Yong's puzzled look, Mr. Zhang quickly explained:

"Usually, jujubes are harvested by hitting the trees with poles, but our jujubes are worth this much per pound," he held up three fingers, "such expensive items, if hit with poles, will get damaged and lose value."

Hearing this, Brother Wang Yong understood. Indeed, these jujubes were too valuable. It seemed they would need more people to help. He looked at the uncle, who also seemed to understand the situation. Seeing Brother Wang Yong's questioning look, he nodded and said, "I'll go down the mountain and make an announcement over the village loudspeaker, asking for help to pick the jujubes, and pay them for their work."

"Alright, let's pay 100 yuan per person. Call more people, finish the work quickly, and we can head back to Beijing sooner. What do you think?" Brother Wang Yong discussed with the uncle.

"Agreed, let's do it! You start working, I'll go find people in the village." The uncle hurriedly went down the mountain.

Everyone started picking the jujubes under the guidance of Mr. Zhang's workers. There were a total of eighteen jujube trees, the largest estimated to yield about 300 pounds, the smallest less than 100 pounds. According to Mr. Zhang's team, the total yield was estimated to be around 2,000 pounds. Jujube trees have thorns, so it was easy to get pricked, making the work quite slow.

The family members were responsible for picking the jujubes one by one from the trees, while Mr. Zhang's team would sort the picked jujubes into three grades. The grades were first, second, and third, with first being the best and third the worst. The main criteria were appearance, especially size.

"Mr. Zhang, these jujubes are really excellent. Most are first-grade, the rest are second-grade, and there are almost no third-grade ones. Look at the trees, not a single green jujube, all are bright red," a worker reported to Mr. Zhang.

"Alright, let's not pack the third-grade ones, just pack them into first and second-grade boxes," Mr. Zhang quickly decided. The quality of the jujubes hanging on the trees was clear to see. Moreover, what they were selling wasn't just the appearance but the special substances they contained.

Seeing Brother Wang Yong's interest in the packaging, Mr. Zhang explained the different types of packaging.

It turned out that all the agricultural products from Mr. Zhang's company were sold in three grades. The packaging design was the same, but the size of the boxes varied. The first-grade boxes were the smallest, holding about one kilogram. The second-grade boxes held about three kilograms, and the third-grade boxes held about ten kilograms. Today, they brought the inner packaging, and after returning to Beijing, they would use color-printed cardboard boxes for the final packaging.

Li Jigang followed behind the two, not saying a word, happily munching on an apple he had picked from the tree, named "Victory." Suddenly, he heard the village loudspeaker:

"Attention, villagers! Attention, villagers! Wang Yong's orchard is picking jujubes today and needs a lot of help. The pay is 100 yuan per person, paid immediately after the work is done. If you have nothing to do, come up the mountain to help pick jujubes, hurry up if you want to come!"

Wang Dahai repeated the announcement over the loudspeaker. Immediately, the previously quiet Banship Village came to life. First, a group of children ran up the mountain, followed by young and middle-aged adults, and then the elderly, some on motorcycles, electric scooters, bicycles, or on foot, all coming in a steady stream. In no time, the area around the jujube trees was crowded with people. The orchard quickly became lively.

Some children, seeing no space on the ground, climbed up the trees, picking jujubes and putting them in bags hanging from the branches, eating some as they worked. The laughter and scolding of the adults, the reminders to "be careful," the laughter of the young women, the shouts of the mischievous children chasing squirrels, and the calls of Diaozhu, all mixed together, creating a vivid picture of labor. The technician taking photos of the jujube trees kept clicking the shutter, capturing the joyful and bountiful scene. When these photos were later published, they caused a huge sensation and brought him unexpected success.

The elderly villagers were very familiar with this scene. In the past, before the implementation of the household responsibility system, they worked together in the fields and ate from the same pot, much like the scene before them. In those passionate times, people worked hard with full enthusiasm, fighting against nature, the land, and each other, all for the common goal of building a strong country. They had left their blood and sweat all over the mountains and fields. Now, in their old age, the country had truly become strong, and every household had some extra money. They lived in spacious, bright, and sturdy brick houses, and electric lights and telephones were no longer novelties. Many families even had cars. This was something they had never even dreamed of before! Seeing the next generation living better and better, they felt that all their hard work had been worth it, truly worth it!

Indeed, there is strength in numbers! By noon, the eighteen jujube trees had been completely picked, with only a few stragglers left hanging from the tips of the branches.

"185, 130, 180"...

"In total, we have 1,520 pounds of first-grade jujubes and 1,380 pounds of second-grade jujubes, rounding off the remainder." The uncle reported the heavy results.

"First-grade jujubes are 360 yuan per pound, totaling 547,200 yuan. Second-grade jujubes are 300 yuan per pound, totaling 414,000 yuan. Together, that's 969,200 yuan. Let's round it up to one million yuan!" Mr. Zhang was very generous, adding 30,000 yuan with just one sentence!

"No, no, there are a few scattered jujube trees in the orchard. I'll pick another 100 pounds for you." Without waiting for Mr. Zhang to refuse, he led a few young people from the village into the depths of the orchard. In less than half an hour, they returned with a full bag, definitely more than 100 pounds.

One million yuan in cash was packed in a large travel bag, which Mr. Zhang took out from the car's trunk. When he opened the zipper, the villagers were stunned. The one million yuan in red bills was neatly stacked in the bag.

"Old Li said that in the countryside, cash transactions are the norm, so I specifically went to the bank to withdraw one million yuan. All the bills are new and in consecutive serial numbers. You can count them if you want," Mr. Zhang said to Brother Wang Yong.

Brother Wang Yong smiled bitterly, feeling that Li Jigang had really put him in a difficult position. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, and he glared at him. Seeing that Li Jigang was giving him a meaningful look, he looked around, not understanding what he meant.

This look made Brother Wang Yong truly admire Li Jigang, who had a deep understanding of human nature. The surrounding villagers were all staring intently at the travel bag containing one million yuan, their eyes filled with envy, jealousy, and contemplation. When they looked at Brother Wang Yong, their eyes showed a sense of admiration. Li Jigang and Mr. Zhang had used one million yuan in cash to not only impress the villagers of Banship Village but also to significantly boost Brother Wang Yong's reputation in Banship Village and even the entire Liu Zhuang Township.

While there were many people in Liu Zhuang Township with a net worth of one million yuan, most of them had accumulated their wealth from all their assets combined. However, Brother Wang Yong had earned one million yuan in cash from selling just over 2,000 pounds of jujubes. This was a million yuan in cash, and everyone present had seen it with their own eyes, a large travel bag full of hundred-yuan bills.

From then on, the people of Banship Village started to hold their heads high in the township. When they encountered someone who was不服 (unconvinced), they would immediately say, "Not convinced? Then your village should also produce a national leader, or someone who can sell vegetables for 20 to 30 yuan per pound, an egg for 100 yuan, and jujubes for over 300 yuan per pound."

To thank the two for their thoughtful efforts in helping him establish his authority, Brother Wang Yong secretly picked some vegetables from the small world, telling them that these were specially selected premium vegetables, much better than the previous ones. The two were delighted, feeling they had really gotten a good deal!

After seeing them off, Brother Wang Yong, in front of everyone, opened the travel bag and, without regard for age, gave each person a hundred-yuan bill. Even his second uncle and second aunt, and the uncle, each received one.

Since his younger uncle's family was returning to Beijing in the afternoon, and Brother Wang Yong and Yuan Yuan were also going to Beijing, they had a lively lunch of dumplings together. As the old saying goes, "Dumplings for farewell, noodles for welcome."

Thank you for your support! This chapter is 4,000 words long.

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