He came directly to Shen Xiaoyan's house. Upon seeing the strawberries growing in the ground, Lu Taobao was overjoyed.
From that day on, he would send a servant every day to buy a basket of fresh strawberries.
Shen Xiaoyan learned from the servant that Lu Taobao was the young master of the Lu Mansion in town.
The Lu Mansion was a prominent family in town. The head of the Lu Mansion was Lu Bing. The Lu family was primarily involved in business, with interests in tea, porcelain, and silk.
Knowing Lu Taobao's background, Shen Xiaoyan felt at ease about selling him strawberries every day for a small sum.
It seemed he wasn't buying the strawberries solely for Zheng Weicai's needs. Indeed, for their family, a few pounds of strawberries were not a substantial amount.
Time flew by, and it was already June. Shen Xiaoyan calculated that the income from selling strawberries in mid-May had amounted to over thirty taels of silver, which was a considerable sum.
By June, the striped watermelons in the field were also ripe.
Shen Xiaoyan picked a ripe striped watermelon and cut it after dinner. Both Shen Xiaoming and Zheng Wei ate it and declared it delicious.
Unlike strawberries, striped watermelons were the best for cooling down in the summer.
However, Shen Xiaoyan wasn't sure if she could bring the striped watermelons to town to sell, mainly because they lacked transportation.
If she used a handcart, the journey there and back would be too time-consuming, and a handcart could only carry a few watermelons.
When the Lu family's servant came to buy strawberries, Shen Xiaoyan asked him to take a few striped watermelons back. She told him that if Lu Taobao found them delicious, he should come over.
Lu Taobao was expected to come at least the next day, but he arrived that very afternoon.
As Shen Xiaoyan welcomed Lu Taobao into the yard, before Shen Xiaoyan or Zheng Wei could speak, Lu Taobao spoke first.
"Brother Zheng, I noticed the striped watermelons you planted when I came before. It was thoughtful of you to send some to me as soon as they were ripe."
Zheng Wei's lips curved upwards. "I didn't send them to you for free, did I?"
Lu Taobao smiled indifferently. "Do you expect me to pay for them?"
Before Zheng Wei could reply, Shen Xiaoyan chuckled, "We're not charging you for those few watermelons. However, we'd like to do some business with you."
"What kind of business?" Lu Taobao asked curiously.
"As you can see, we've grown quite a lot of striped watermelons. If I were to push them to town with your brother, it would be a difficult and unrewarding task. Doesn't your family have a shop? How about selling them to you directly, and then you can sell them?" Shen Xiaoyan finished speaking and looked at Lu Taobao, awaiting his answer.
Lu Taobao's eyes lit up at her words. "That would be great." Then, his gaze shifted, and he continued, "But if you sell them to me, regarding the price..."
Zheng Wei glanced at him, his lips curving into a wider smile. "Are you still trying to trick me? Since we're selling them to you, it will naturally be at wholesale prices. We can't have you working hard for nothing and not making a profit."
Lu Taobao immediately cupped his fists and bowed to Zheng Wei, saying, "I knew you were the best to me, big brother."
Shen Xiaoyan watched the two of them speak so formally, and her smile deepened.
She and Zheng Wei had already discussed it. Their manpower was limited, so selling to one major client who would handle the sales was ideal.
Who earned the money didn't matter, so finding Lu Taobao was a good option. As for the price, striped watermelons, unlike strawberries, had a high yield.
The striped watermelons Shen Xiaoyan grew had dark green, unpatterned skin. When cut open, the flesh was a beautiful red, dotted with black seeds, making them look like a painting.
Not only were they visually appealing, but they were also juicy and sweet. Each watermelon weighed over ten catties. Even at a lower wholesale price than retail, they would still earn a lot.
Once the deal was settled, Lu Taobao left, promising to send someone to pick up the striped watermelons the next day and to discuss the price then.
The next morning, just as Shen Xiaoyan and the other two finished breakfast, they heard the doorbell ring. Opening the small gate, they saw over a dozen horse-drawn carts outside, with a carriage at the very front.
As Shen Xiaoyan stepped out, Lu Taobao lifted the curtain of the carriage and got out.
Shen Xiaoyan was surprised. "Weren't you supposed to send someone? Why did you come again?"
Lu Taobao chuckled, "I was free, so I came."
Seeing him say this, Shen Xiaoyan didn't say anything more. She turned and walked back into the yard to open the main gate from the inside.
The dozen carts drove in through the main gate. After the last cart entered the yard, Shen Xiaoyan closed the gate again.
Their yard was not far from the main road. It was morning, and if the villagers saw so many carts in their yard, who knew what would happen. If news of them selling watermelons reached the Shen family, those people would likely cause trouble again.
The people Lu Taobao brought didn't know how to determine if the watermelons were ripe. Shen Xiaoyan led them carefully through the watermelon field.
Shen Xiaoyan possessed wood-elemental super abilities, allowing her to know the growth status of any crop. She could tell if a watermelon was ripe with a light touch.
It took about an hour to harvest all the ripe striped watermelons in the field.
Looking at the remaining watermelons in the field, Shen Xiaoyan estimated that another batch could be harvested in about half a month.
As she had told Lu Taobao the day before to bring large scales and baskets to weigh the produce, it didn't take long to weigh all the harvested striped watermelons.
The total weight of the striped watermelons was 8,000 catties. The price previously agreed upon with the boss Lu Taobao brought was 15 wen per catty, totaling 120 taels of silver.
After receiving the money, Shen Xiaoyan watched them load the watermelons onto the carts and leave before closing the main gate again.
Returning to the main house, she saw Shen Xiaoming staring blankly at the twelve silver ingots on the table and couldn't help but laugh.
Hearing Shen Xiaoyan's laughter, Shen Xiaoming and Zheng Wei turned to look at her. Zheng Wei raised an eyebrow. "What are you laughing about? So happy?"
Shen Xiaoyan walked over and sat down at the table, picking up a silver ingot and playing with it. "I'm happy because I earned money! This is much more than what you earn hunting, and it's not dangerous."
Zheng Wei couldn't help but chuckle at her words. Was this little woman implying he wasn't capable enough?
"Do you think I'm useless?" Zheng Wei thought this and asked aloud.
Shen Xiaoyan quickly waved her hands. "That's not what I meant. I meant that now that we have a way to earn money, you don't need to hunt anymore. It's dangerous and tiring."
As she spoke, Shen Xiaoyan looked at Zheng Wei anxiously, fearing that her words might have hurt his pride.
Zheng Wei's expression remained unchanged, but his heart felt a touch of sweetness. The little woman had said "we," which meant she already considered him part of the family.
Seeing that Zheng Wei wasn't angry, Shen Xiaoyan turned to Shen Xiaoming. "Xiaoming, next spring, Sister will be able to send you to school."