"Really?" the village chief still seemed somewhat disbelieving.
Liu Yifeng nodded affirmatively. "Everything I've said is true. These watermelons all grew naturally.
As for why they grew so well, I think it might be because the soil in the back mountains is quite fertile!" He could only offer this explanation.
The village chief listened, half convinced, but said no more.
"Grandpa, I promised the villagers that if they let me plant watermelons in the back mountains, I would give each household two watermelons.
Now more than half the watermelons are ripe, so I want to ask you to help me find a few more people to pick them.
Then, the villagers can come to my house to register and collect their watermelons," Liu Yifeng stated his purpose.
"Since they get to eat your watermelons for free, helping to pick them is only right.
Alright, I'll go find people now and have them go to the back mountains with you to pick watermelons." After finishing the watermelon in his hand, the village chief went out to call people.
As the village chief, the villagers were quite willing to listen to him.
Before long, he had gathered over a dozen people and asked them to accompany Liu Yifeng to the back mountains to pick watermelons.
It was currently the season for digging peanuts, so gathering this many people was already quite an accomplishment.
The helpers heard that Liu Yifeng's watermelons were ripe and were also skeptical. How could watermelons be ripe so soon after planting?
But when they followed Liu Yifeng to his watermelon patch, everyone was stunned into silence, unable to believe their eyes.
Heavens, were they seeing things?
Such huge watermelons, were they really grown by Liu Yifeng?
In such a short time, the watermelons had grown so large, and there were so many of them; it was truly a bumper harvest!
Each vine had at least a dozen watermelons, with some even bearing over twenty.
And these watermelons, despite growing densely, hadn't suffered from a lack of nutrients and remained small.
On the contrary, these watermelons were all particularly large; any one picked was one to two times bigger than those found elsewhere.
"My goodness, such a big watermelon, how much will it sell for? Yifeng, you're going to get rich!" one person couldn't help but exclaim, his eyes filled with envy.
"Yifeng is already rich. He makes tens of thousands every day selling crayfish, and his planted vegetables are also starting to bring in money.
Now he can sell watermelons too, tsk tsk tsk. I believe it won't be long before he surpasses our Liu Family Village's wealthiest man, Liu Xincheng."
Liu Yifeng, seeing the villagers constantly praising him, smiled. "How can I compare to him? I'm just making a living.
Please, I'll trouble you all to help me pick the ripe watermelons. Afterwards, everyone is welcome to come to my house to eat watermelons.
By the way, do you know how to tell if a watermelon is ripe?"
"That's simple, just look if the stem has turned yellow."
Seeing that they all knew, Liu Yifeng said no more, and everyone began to busy themselves picking watermelons.
Work went fast with so many people. In just an hour, they had picked over two thousand watermelons.
Everyone was already sweating profusely. It was almost eleven o'clock; if they continued picking, they would surely suffer heatstroke.
Liu Yifeng quickly told everyone to rest and cut open a watermelon on the spot to quench their thirst.
"This watermelon is truly sweet, the sweetest I've ever tasted!" Liu Mang exclaimed between large mouthfuls.
Although the others didn't say anything, seeing their ravenous consumption of the watermelon, one could tell how delicious it was.
Because there were too many people, and over a dozen people shared one watermelon, they could barely taste it and were not satisfied.
So Liu Yifeng picked another large one. Since they were helping him for free, eating a few watermelons was only fitting.
"Yifeng, not only do your watermelons look good, but their taste is also exceptional. They should at least sell for a few more cents per jin than those in the market, otherwise, it would be a loss," Liu Mang said after finishing his watermelon, offering his suggestion.
"I haven't decided on the price per jin yet. I'll try selling them in the county town," Liu Yifeng replied. He didn't mention that he planned to sell them for six yuan per jin.
He feared that if he said it, these people would react like his father, thinking he was crazy for money.
Therefore, it was better to make a fortune quietly.
After resting for a while, everyone began loading the watermelons onto the vehicle. Since the car couldn't go up the mountain, they had to carry the watermelons down by hand.
This was arduous work, and it took over two hours of continuous effort to transport all the watermelons back home.
There were still tens of thousands of watermelons in the mountains. Carrying them down by hand was too time-consuming.
So Liu Yifeng thought about building a road to the watermelon patch. This way, the car could drive directly to the field, making loading much more convenient.
Although building even a small road would cost at least tens of thousands of yuan.
But as the saying goes, to get rich, first build roads. You can't catch a wolf without sacrificing your children.
He was willing to spend tens of thousands of yuan.
Seeing the watermelons piled up like a small mountain in the courtyard, Liu Chunsheng finally had to believe Yifeng's words; the watermelons grown at home were indeed very large.
"Everyone, thank you for your hard work today. Afterwards, please help to spread the word to the villagers to come and collect their watermelons, and let everyone have a taste."
As he spoke, Liu Yifeng handed out packs of Furongwang cigarettes to everyone, which were leftovers from the banquet he held for Tongtong last time.
Although he also smoked, he did so infrequently; a pack could last him a week, about one cigarette a day.
Now, it was perfect for thanking the villagers for helping him pick watermelons.
Everyone's clothes were soaked with sweat. Seeing Liu Yifeng give them cigarettes, they accepted them without politeness.
They also promised to inform others about collecting watermelons when they returned.
"Dad, our car can't go up the mountain, and the watermelons are so big. Carrying them down by hand is too tiring and too time-consuming.
So, I want to spend some money to pave a flat road." After everyone left, Liu Yifeng expressed his idea.
Liu Chunsheng had also walked the road to the back mountains several times. The road was narrow and bumpy. Even walking on it was easy to fall on rainy days, let alone driving a car.
He didn't object to building the road, but he was afraid that the money from selling the watermelons wouldn't even cover the cost of building the road, making it a losing proposition.
Upon learning of his father's concern, Liu Yifeng immediately assured him that the money from selling the watermelons would be enough to build the road, and they would still make a profit.
The main thing was that once the road was built, future watermelon cultivation would be permanently convenient.
Liu Chunsheng thought about it. It wasn't just a one-time watermelon harvest; they would continue to plant them in the future, and building the road was for future convenience.
Thus, he agreed to Liu Yifeng's proposal.
Meanwhile, while Liu Yifeng was busy picking watermelons, the vegetables at Longteng Grand Hotel were selling like hotcakes.
At noon today, they introduced new dishes to customers, priced similarly to the previous ones, at thirty-eight and forty-eight yuan per serving.
The main reason was that customers hadn't tasted the new dishes yet. Even if the taste was good, they were reluctant to try them if they felt they were overpaying.
Therefore, they decided to sell them cheaper today to let customers experience the flavor of the new dishes.
Only in this way would they understand how unique the taste of these vegetables was.
They had also informed the customers in advance that the price would at least double tomorrow.
So, even if they raised the prices tomorrow, customers wouldn't complain.
Furthermore, the customers who dined here were all well-off.
As long as the food was delicious and suited their taste, they were willing to spend.
Therefore, Wan Hui was very confident that once these customers tasted the vegetables grown by Liu Yifeng, they would become loyal fans.
As expected, under their strong recommendation, these customers ordered several of the new dishes.
Initially, the customers ordered them out of respect for the hotel and didn't have high expectations for the taste.
They even remarked that since the prices would increase tomorrow, they definitely wouldn't order them if they were raised.
Who would have thought that once they tasted it, they couldn't stop? The taste of the dishes was surprisingly good.
To be honest, those who could afford to dine at Longteng Grand Hotel had good financial standing.
They had tasted all sorts of delicacies and seen all kinds of rare ingredients.
However, it was the first time they had encountered ordinary, common vegetables prepared so deliciously.
Especially for customers who brought their children, they could clearly feel that children who normally disliked vegetables, after tasting a bite, couldn't stop eating.
They kept saying it was delicious. This scene had appeared in their dreams several times.
They never expected to see it in reality, and they were stunned on the spot.
The head chef of Longteng Grand Hotel was truly amazing; a few new dishes could solve their children's picky eating habits regarding vegetables.
Soon, an entire plate was finished, and everyone was still craving more.
So, they asked the hotel staff to quickly bring another plate and also to bring the other new dishes to try, to see if they were equally delicious.
As a result, all four new dishes had excellent flavors, belonging to the highest quality.
Finally, all four hundred-plus jin of vegetables were sold out.
Some customers wanted to order a second portion but found none, complaining about the hotel not preparing enough dishes for the new offerings.
Wan Hui told them to come back tomorrow, assuring them that the supply would still be insufficient.
This outcome far exceeded Wan Hui's expectations, proving that his decision to purchase Liu Yifeng's vegetables at a high price was wise.
As soon as the customers had mostly left, he immediately dialed Liu Yifeng's phone.