Chapter 184 - Strawberry Blooms
Chapter 184: Strawberry Blooms
Translator: Lonelytree
That night, Xiao Chengcai brought his family to Xiao Lingyu’s house.
Xiao Chengcai took out 400 RMB and handed it to Xiao Lingyu. He said sincerely, “Jun ‘Er got into trouble. Thank you for your help. I can’t imagine what would have happened to my Jun ‘Er if you didn’t help!”
Xiao Lingyu looked at the 400 RMB in her hand and frowned. “Uncle Cai, I only borrowed 300 RMB. Why the extra 100 RMB?”
Xiao Chengcai said, “It’s for the petrol fee! You’ve helped us so much. This is our token of appreciation.”
Xiao Lingyu took out the 100 RMB and returned it to Xiao Chengcai. She said, “Uncle Cheng, I helped Jun ‘Er as a favor, so I won’t charge any money. Please take this extra money back!” Then, she turned to Chen Guihua and said with a smile, “Auntie Chen, you are indeed very trustworthy.” However, the meaning of her tone was not clear.
Chen Guihua’s expression immediately became a little stiff. She pulled her face and said with a smile, “You have already helped us so much. We must pay you back as soon as possible.” However, she didn’t want to really pay back the money in the first place. If she weren’t forced by her husband and son, she wouldn’t be here!
Xiao Chengcai knew Xiao Lingyu was very smart.
As his son, Xiao Jun had said, Xiao Lingyu knew that his wife intended not to return the money, so she told the other villagers about her loan to Chen Guihua.
Thankfully, Xiao Chengcai heard about this from the villagers. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have known he had offended Xiao Lingyu.
Xiao Chengcai took back the 100 RM, but he still said sincerely, “Lingyu, since you are not willing to accept the money, I can’t force you, but I will remember your kindness. If you need my help in the future, just let me know as soon as possible. I will not decline.”
Xiao Lingyu didn’t refuse. She nodded and said, “Okay, I’ll remember Uncle Cai’s promise. I won’t hesitate to ask for help.”
Xiao Chengcai thanked Xiao Zhengyang and Chen Qiuying too before his family left.
After Xiao Chengcai’s family left, Chen Qiuying said, “Fortunately, Xiao Chengcai and Xiao Jun are sensible people. Otherwise, Chen Guihua, that petty person, would have offended countless people.” Then, she thought of something and said, “Yesterday, I heard from Auntie Chen that Xiao Chengcai had withdrawn all their family savings to pay the hospital bills. They should have enough money to pay the hospital, so why did he ask you to loan him money at the hospital?” Auntie Chen was Xiao Jun’s grandmother.
Xiao Lingyu just smiled and said, “Who knows? Maybe she was trying to look for a sucker.”
“Ah?” Mother Xiao was slightly surprised, but she immediately reacted. Her expression became ugly, “This Chen Guihua really treats people like fools! Fortunately, Xiao Chengcai is wise! Or else his wife would have brought tragedy to his whole family.”
The Xiao Family was richer than other villagers, but that didn’t mean they didn’t work hard for them.
Xiao Zhengyang nodded. “Yes. Thankfully, Xiao Jun is not influenced by Chen Guihua. He’s a clever child. Then again, Xiao Chengcai isn’t a muddle-headed person. He knew Chen Guihua’s character. He has been handling his son’s education since Xiao Jun was young.”
“This Chen Guihua is really ridiculous. Lingyu had already helped them by sending them to the hospital. She even dared to call and asked Yu ‘Er to drive them back. She thought Yu ‘Er is their chauffeur!” Mother Xiao was still angry when she thought about this. “How thick is her face to think of something like that?”
“Let it go. At least the husband and son are clever people. Don’t be angry anymore.” Xiao Zhengyang said.
“Thankfully, Xiao Chengcai is clever!”
At this point, Mother Xiao looked at the time. It was already past nine o’clock. She immediately said, “Yu ‘Er, it’s already so late. Pregnant women need to sleep more and rest well. Only then will their babies be smart and beautiful!”
Xiao Lingyu, “…” She had never heard that fetus needed beauty sleep. But she relented in the end.
…
With Xiao Lingyu and the village chief’s persuasion, Old Master Gong stop buying the flowers and plants. The plants were left to rot. Many villagers didn’t want the plants, so the flower fever died out.
The villagers gradually returned to peace. Only occasionally, children and elders would go up the mountains to try their luck.
…
“Did you see that? The strawberry seedlings of Lingyu’s family are growing very well. These strawberry flowers are white. There are so many flowers. This will be a large harvest!”
“I know. Two days ago, Xiao Lingyu noticed some bugs on the seedlings. She hired people to catch the bugs and had them feed the chickens the bugs! 20 people searched the six Mu of lands for bugs!”
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“Wouldn’t it be faster to use pesticides? Why catch them by hands? It’s so laborious!”
“What do you know? Lingyu said her strawberries will be fully organic and free from pesticides!”
“Pesticides aren’t harmful, right?” Someone asked doubtfully, “We use pesticides on our paddy, and we still eat the rice!”
“Lingyu has always been a good and hardworking child. She is a clever person. She works the land differently from us.”
“That’s right. We spray pesticides, but she hires people to catch bugs!”
“But, can the farm really produce strawberries?”
“I believe so. Don’t you see those clusters of white flowers? They’re blooming so well! Maybe they can produce strawberries!”
…
Xiao Lingyu and Mother Xiao carried two plastic buckets and came to the strawberry shed. They smiled with joy when they saw the green seedlings and the bunch of white flowers hanging on the branches.
Mother Xiao said, “Yu ‘Er, can we really produce strawberries?”
“Definitely!” Xiao Lingyu said with certainty, “Mom, don’t you see these flowers? Soon, they will definitely bear fruit!”
However, Mother Xiao was not as optimistic as Xiao Lingyu.
She said, “Yu ‘Er, I heard that our geography is not suitable for growing strawberries. Even if they can bear fruits, the fruits will be small and sour!”
Xiao Lingyu smiled. “Mom, don’t worry. Our berries will be very special. Mom, just wait and see!”
At this point, she looked at the bright green strawberry seedlings and continued, “Mom, these strawberries will definitely be sold for millions!”
“Yu ‘Er, how much did you say?” Mother Xiao thought she heard wrong. “Millions? With these strawberries?” Mother Xiao pointed around.
“Yes, it’s a rough calculation, but I estimate a profit about a million!” Xiao Lingyu said.
Mother Xiao’s mouth was wide open in shock. She assumed they would only get a few hundred thousand. After taking away the cost, their clean profit would be around forty thousand a year. However, her daughter told her that her projected profit was one million!
Thanks to the farming space, the cost for raising these strawberries had been greatly lowered.
Mother Xiao opened her mouth and said, “I hope these flowers will really bear fruits then.”
Xiao Lingyu smiled and said, “Mom, help me!”
The two of them came to the side of the pool. Xiao Lingyu placed two plastic buckets in the pool. From a distance, it would seem like Xiao Lingyu was scooping water from the pool into the buckets. But in reality, she was pouring the spring water into the buckets.
The two plastic buckets were filled to the brim in a moment.
Mother Xiao immediately bent down and took the buckets out. Then, she asked worriedly, “Yu ‘Er, are you okay?”
Xiao Lingyu nodded and said, “Mom, I’m Fine!” Then, she filled mineral bottles with the water from the buckets. She filled four bottles.
She handed two bottles to her mother and kept two for herself. “Mom, I’ve pierced a few small holes on the cap. We just need to sprinkle the water on the leaves.”
Mother Xiao asked with confusion. “Yu ‘Er, just the leaves? Not the roots?”
“No!” Xiao Lingyu shook her head. She had experimented with this before. If the water touched the root, it would become too big. But the effect would be less obvious if they only sprinkled the leaves. Plus, they didn’t need to bend down to water the soil.
As confused as Mother Xiao was, she followed the instructions. She held one bottle in each hand and poured water on the strawberries on both sides. Since they didn’t need to water the roots and only the leaves, the work was fast. Therefore, Xiao Lingyu didn’t hire anyone for this job.
She gently pressed the bottle, and the water would spill out on the leaves or flowers. It took little effort and time. They literally needed to walk around the farm. Soon, they finished their work.
“Yu ‘Er, are you tired? Do you want to rest for a while?” Mother Xiao asked with concern. She looked around and continued, “There’s not much left. Let me do it! You can rest here for a while.”
“Mom, I’m fine!” Xiao Lingyu said.
“No, you need to rest!” When she said this, Mother Xiao brought a bench over and let Xiao Lingyu sit down. She said, “Alright, you just sit here and rest well. I’ll water the rest!”
“Mom, apart from the strawberries, we also need to water the soybeans and peanuts. You can’t handle all of them alone!” Xiao Lingyu said.
Mother Xiao frowned. “You want to water the peanuts and soybeans? But they don’t even need water to grow!”
“It’s to make them taste special!” Xiao Lingyu said, “The tofu made from our soybeans and peanut oil extracted from our peanuts will be different!”
Mother Xiao was stunned. Then, she nodded. “Yu ‘Er, you’ve planned so far ahead?”
“That’s right!” Xiao Lingyu nodded. She grabbed the jade pendant around her neck to show her mother. She was hinting at the spring water. They were outside, so they needed to be careful. Mother Xiao narrowed her eyes and understood everything immediately. She sighed. “In that case, I’ll pull your father over this afternoon. This job isn’t tiring, so he should be able to do it!”
Xiao Lingyu did not object. “Okay!”
After the farming space was exposed, Xiao Lingyu had her parents bathe in the spring water and drink from the spring. However, in order to not attract attention, they only used a little every time. The water was good for their bodies. They could live healthily.
In the afternoon, Father Xiao came to join them. When he saw the strawberry blooms, he was happy, nervous, and a little afraid.
He was happy because the seedlings were growing well.
He was nervous because he had no idea if the flowers would breed fruits.
He was afraid because he feared the seedlings wouldn’t bear fruits, or that the fruits would be small and sour.
Ever since he knew the worth of the strawberries, Father Xiao would come to the field to look around every so often. Sometimes he would smile, and sometimes he would frown.
“Yu ‘Er, these strawberries are growing really well. The fruits will definitely be big and good!” Father Xiao said. Then again, he said that every day. Who wouldn’t want to make money? Everyone wanted good results.
Then, he frowned and asked, “How long it’ll take for the flowers to bear fruits?”
Xiao Lingyu shook her head and said, “I’m not sure either. Generally speaking, it takes about 30 days from flowering to ripening. However, our strawberries are special, so it probably won’t take long.”
“But how long will it take?” Father Xiao asked nervously.
“Maybe five days, or maybe ten days.” Xiao Lingyu shook his head and said, “Probably just three days!”
“Then, have we found a buyer?” Father Xiao said worriedly, “There are so many strawberries. Won’t they rot if we can’t have them sold?”
Xiao Lingyu thought for a moment and said, “Dad, that won’t happen. Did you forget about this?” She pointed to a jade pendant on her chest. “This can keep them fresh forever!”
“Oh, right!” Father Xiao patted his head.. “I forgot about that!” He was optimistic again.