Da Mao and A Shu are good children. The two little ones found a tree and obediently scurried up it, carefully picking the red ones and putting them into the little baskets around their necks.
As for Er Mao and San Mao, these two energetic girls would dart from tree to tree. The two sisters would even fight from time to time over the same tree or the bayberries. They didn't pick many bayberries, but they did waste quite a few.
But this is good, it scared away a lot of birds that came to eat and drink for free.
Before long, Gu Miaomiao had filled two baskets with bayberries. Er Mao and San Mao, seeing the few pitiful bayberries on their necks, picked some haphazardly to make up the numbers, finally filling the bottom of their small baskets with a layer. They then happily came to Shen Wuqiu to show off their success.
Shen Wuqiu was quite lenient with her own children, and she didn't criticize Er Mao and San Mao's work. Instead, she patted them on the head and praised them.
Duan Guodong was unaware of Zaizai's background. He was already quite impressed by Er Mao and San Mao's achievements, but when he saw that the baskets hanging around Da Mao and A Shu's necks were indeed full of large, dark red bayberries, he was even more amazed. "Damn, your cats can really help? How did they pick these bayberries?"
"They both have exceptional learning abilities." Shen Wuqiu, afraid that the cat might say something inappropriate again, quickly laughed it off. "By the way, I think these bayberries are quite ripe."
“With these quality, we could easily pick three to five hundred pounds today.” Uncle Duan straightened his back as he talked about the bayberries. “But since you don’t sell them retail, bayberries don’t keep well, so picking them would be a waste. It’s better to just leave them on the tree.”
Shen Wuqiu looked at the bayberries Gu Miaomiao had picked, lost in thought. Then he checked the time, went to the shed, and took out several baskets, handing them to Gu Miaomiao. "Since you have nothing to do anyway, go pick a few more baskets. Today is the Dragon Boat Festival, so send some to your relatives."
Duan Guodong clapped his hands, took the basket, and said, "Hey, we can handle this kind of thing. How can we let the boss's wife do it?"
Gu Miaomiao still liked being called "boss lady," and she hummed in agreement, popping a few more bayberries into her mouth. "I'll send you two baskets home later, okay?"
Duan Guodong smiled, took the basket, and left.
Just as Shen Wuqiu was about to mutter a few words about Gu Miaomiao, her phone rang. It was Shen Yan calling.
Shen Wuqiu guessed that he must have something to say, so she didn't avoid the call and answered it directly:
"Wuqiu, Secretary Cao just called to ask if the bayberries in your bayberry orchard are ripe yet?"
Shen Wuqiu found it quite strange. "Hmm? You're starting to get along. What's wrong?"
“Last year during the Dragon Boat Festival, when the town held the dragon boat race, didn’t you send a batch of bayberries to the town? Many people are still thinking about them this year, even Secretary Fang’s mother is thinking about them, so she asked me to come and ask.”
Shen Wuqiu was a little surprised, not expecting that last year's free publicity would have such a big impact. "The bayberries are only ripening now, since the Spring Festival Gala started this year. I'm at the bayberry orchard right now, so I'll pick a lot to take back later. You can come to my house to pick them up and deliver them to people."
"Okay, I'll call and ask first, and I'll call you back later."
"OK."
After hanging up the phone, Mr. Shen, who had only vaguely heard a few words, hurriedly asked her, "Was that Shen Yan calling you? What's up?"
"It's about the bayberries. Last year, we used the dragon boat race to get a batch of bayberries for publicity, right? Shen Yan said that many people still remember our bayberries, so I'm asking about them."
Uncle Zheng: "Hey, I told you, the bayberries we grow are so delicious that you'll want to keep eating them, they're so good you'll miss them."
Shen Wuqiu sighed and discussed with Uncle Zheng, "I'm afraid we'll have to pick all the ripe ones today. I wonder if we can find someone to help us."
"How much do you need to pick? It's probably too late to ask for help at this time, especially since it's a holiday. If it's not too much, we can manage on our own."
"It's not clear yet..." Just then, the phone rang again; it was Shen Yan calling.
"Wuqiu, I just asked. Secretary Cao and Secretary Fang are together. Anyway, they didn't come to see Boss Du's Gesang flower base. After the dragon boat race, they will come to the village. We can go and see the bayberry garden then."
That would save a lot of trouble. Shen Wuqiu nodded in agreement. After hanging up the phone, she discussed it with Uncle Zheng for a few minutes and then asked him to call Duan Guodong, who was picking bayberries, over. "Don't pick them yet, save them for this afternoon."
Duan Guodong asked him with a smile, "Did the boss receive an order?"
"Our bayberries are of high quality, and many people are interested in them. They say that several leaders in the town are also interested and will come to the bayberry orchard this afternoon to take a look."
"I always knew that no matter how many bayberries our orchard produces, we wouldn't have to worry about selling them..."
Since they would have to come back in the afternoon anyway, Shen Wuqiu didn't stay in the bayberry orchard for long. After putting the baskets of bayberries they had picked in the car, the family went home.
After coming down from Xishan, the roadside near the main intersection was already full of parked cars. Shen Wuqiu drove carefully, but when she got to the main intersection, it was jammed again.
Looking at the cars outside, Su Yunzhi sighed again, "I think people these days are just so bored, they have to go to all this trouble to join in the fun."
"They call it a lifestyle choice, you don't know anything about it."
"I don't understand, only you do..."
Shen Wuqiu, joking with the old couple, peeked outside.
As soon as she looked over, Old Du, who was at the ticket booth, spotted her and immediately came running over to them, asking, "Where did Boss Shen come from?"
"I originally wanted to go to town to watch the dragon boat races, but there was a traffic jam, so I just strolled around the bayberry orchard instead." Shen Wuqiu said, glancing at the long queue ahead, and joked, "Look at this scene, Boss Du is going to make a fortune this time."
Old Du wasn't modest at all. He took off his hat and wiped his sweat, saying, "This really exceeded my expectations. But your little darling also deserves a lot of credit."
As he spoke, Lao Du saw the white ball of Sanmao and immediately smiled even more sweetly, "Sanmao is really a lucky little darling. After this wave of popularity dies down, I'll come find you and calculate the advertising fee for Sanmao, my little darling."
Shen Wuqiu didn't quite understand the surge in popularity brought by Sanmao, but after listening to Stephen Chow praising the Red Cat effect of Sanmao for two days, he felt somewhat disgusted by Lao Du's behavior of using his own son to advertise.
However, hearing Lao Du's honest confession, her initial discomfort disappeared. She didn't care much about the advertising fees; what she cared about was his kindness and gratitude. "Boss Du is indeed honest."
"Businessmen are all about honesty." Boss Du teased Sanmao as he spoke, but when Sanmao ignored him, he didn't mind and went back to talking about business. "By the way, how's your bayberry business in Xishan? Have you contacted any sellers? Do you want me to introduce you to some options here?"
“Sure.” The more buyers the better, Shen Wuqiu said, pulling the car slightly to the side of the road and letting Gu Miaomiao get out to the trunk to get a basket of bayberries for Lao Du. “They’re starting to ripen recently, I just picked some, take some back and try them.”
Old Du waved his hands repeatedly, "I'm old, my teeth aren't good, I can't eat sour food."
Dad: "Don't worry, my bayberries aren't sour. I guarantee you'll want more after you try them."
Old Du thought they were just being polite and couldn't refuse their hospitality, so he accepted the bayberries that Gu Miaomiao brought.
The two chatted for a few more minutes, and just then the car in front started moving, so Shen Wuqiu stopped talking to him and drove home.
Meanwhile, Old Du, carrying the bayberries, went to the ticket booth again.
As soon as he passed by, many of the people in line set their sights on the bayberries in his hand.
"These bayberries look so fresh..."
"Boss, do you sell bayberries here?"
...
Even Min Qian couldn't help but take a moment to exclaim, "Wow, where did you buy these bayberries? They look so fresh!"
Min Qian was the person Lao Du hired to supervise, and she was also the daughter of one of his brothers from his clan.
"I didn't buy them, someone gave them to me." Seeing that they were too busy, Old Du decided to come and help, so he prepared to put the bayberries under the counter and help her tear up the tickets.
Min Qian had been working all morning and was already parched. Seeing the bayberries made her crave them. "They look delicious. Can I try a couple?"
Old Du smiled and moved the basket closer to her, saying, "You can have it."
Min Qian didn't care about hygiene. When she saw him coming to help, she immediately squatted down and ate two.
The moment she tasted the bayberry, its slightly sour and sweet flavor instantly refreshed her. She ate three in a row before standing up to continue her work, and then eagerly asked Old Du, "Uncle, where did you buy these bayberries? They're so delicious!"
"There's a bayberry orchard in this village." Seeing her exaggerated expression, Old Du teased her, "Are they really that delicious?"
"I'm going to buy 100 pounds of it later, it's sooooo delicious..."
Miss Ting, who was overhearing their conversation, also praised Shen Wuqiu, saying, "The bayberries that Wuqiu and his family grow taste pretty good. They just planted them last year, and the last batch of bayberries were quite delicious."
Old Du was somewhat tempted by their back-and-forth banter, and couldn't resist taking one himself. He carefully took a bite, then picked up his basket and said, "You guys go ahead with your work, I'll put the bayberries in the car first."
"..."
Chapter 158
Although Jingrong Village can be considered a large village, it is still just a village. When there are many people coming to see the flowers, the village becomes noisy and bustling, just like a vegetable market.
Furthermore, people have come all this way; they can't possibly be content with just looking at flowers for a day.
Especially for tourists lured from the city, who are used to seeing skyscrapers during the day and dazzling lights at night, seeing the rural scenery of green mountains and clear waters is naturally quite interesting, and they will inevitably want to wander around.
Just like Lao Du said, since people are already here, they should at least drink water and eat something, or at the very least, go to the toilet.
However, the scenic area was set up temporarily, and the supporting facilities were not in place at all.
As a result, tourists who came to see the flowers had no choice but to seek help from the nearest villagers.
Sure enough, the group wandered around aimlessly and somehow ended up on Huashan Mountain.
It was lunchtime, the weather was nice, and it was cool outside in the courtyard. The family was sitting around the stone table outside eating lunch. Seeing the uninvited group, Shen Wuqiu and the others were taken aback. They looked at each other, and after confirming they weren't acquaintances, Shen Wuqiu, as the head of the family, had no choice but to put down his chopsticks and greet them.
"Is there anything I can help you with?"
"Nothing's wrong." Standing at the head of the group was an elderly woman with silver hair, but she looked quite energetic. "I just came up to ask you for a bowl of water."
Shen Wuqiu secretly sized up the group. The men, women, and girls were all dressed elegantly, and they looked like people of high status and wealth. She guessed they were just people who came to see the flowers.
Shen Wuqiu wasn't too wary and politely invited them in.
The group was very polite and declined Shen Wuqiu's invitation to go to the living room, standing properly in the garden.
Seeing this, Su Yunzhi quickly got up and helped to greet them, finding bamboo chairs and benches inside and out, saying, "Old folks, come sit here."
"Thank you for your trouble." This time, the old lady didn't stand on ceremony. She went over and sat down, taking out a lotus-colored handkerchief from her exquisite handwoven bag to wipe her sweat. "It's cooler here."
"It's on higher ground here, and there's a mountain behind it, so it's naturally cooler," Mr. Shen said, striking up a conversation with them. "Grandpa, you've come to see the flowers too, right?"
The old lady nodded.
"Judging from your accent, you don't sound like someone from this area. I wonder where you're from?"
"They came from N City."
N City is about a four-hour drive from here, which isn't far, but it's outside the province.
"Oh, that's not close either."
"That's right, we set off before dawn today."
"I didn't disappoint you, did I?" Shen Wuqiu brought tea from inside the house and handed it to each of them.
"I'm just an old lady, I'm just going out for some fresh air." The old lady took a sip of tea, then deliberately reached out and tugged at the young girl standing next to her. "It's all because of my granddaughter. She said she saw something about a Gesang flower paradise online, and since it's the Dragon Boat Festival holiday, she insisted on coming to see it, so the whole family came to join in the fun. Xiaoyu, tell your sister, are you satisfied with these flowers...?"
Who knew that the young girl wasn't listening to her at all, but was only focused on staring at the cats eating on the high chairs by the stone table. Although the girl's manners told her that it was impolite to stare like that, she just couldn't help it—those cats eating were just too cute.
To allow the kittens to eat together at the same table, Zhao Jiujiu specially commissioned several small mahogany high chairs, made specifically for them. Today is the Dragon Boat Festival, and since there are no outsiders around, Daddy Shen specially moved the chairs outside for the kittens. Now, the furry little ones are each sitting in their own chairs, diligently licking the rose-flavored crucian carp paste from their bowls.
Yes, the kittens weren't squatting; they were sitting, just like people. Their bottoms were on the chairs, their two paws dangling off the chairs, and their two front paws were either lying on the table or fiddling with their bowls. Judging from their posture alone, the kittens looked just like little children sitting and eating.
Not receiving a reply for a while, the old lady finally noticed what her granddaughter was doing. The old lady was sitting, and when she looked straight ahead, she didn't see the kittens sitting around the table eating, because several fluffy little ones were sitting right opposite her, heads down eating, their food hidden by the large bowls on the table. All she could see was the food laid out on the table.
During the Dragon Boat Festival, the whole family gathers together, and the table is naturally set with delicious-looking, fragrant, and flavorful chicken, duck, fish, and meat. For those who have eaten dry food all day, these are sure to be a feast.
Not to mention delicate young girls who are tempted, even old ladies would drool a little when they see it.
The young girl only realized what was happening after the old lady pulled her a little. "Grandma, what did you just say?"