latelenovela Chapter 16: Experiment Success and the 3-Bomber
Chapter 16: Experiment Success and the 3-Bomber
Besides making clothes and working in the fields, Grandma Yufei has had another task lately: checking on her radishes several times a day.
When the radishes sprouted green shoots, Grandma Yufei happily weighed out half a pound of meat to celebrate.
Yufei felt bad about discouraging her grandmother, so she gently suggested that they taste the radishes after they matured to determine if it was a success.
While waiting for the white jade radishes to ripen, they took one day each week to go to the county town to deliver radishes to Zhu Xiangui.
Since Yufei sold the white jade radishes for those three days, they've become incredibly famous in the county, and people from neighboring counties have even come to inquire about them.
Of course, they didn't know that the white jade radish had even become popular in the upper echelons of Hong Kong society, all thanks to the white jade radish that Zhu Xiangui had given to that merchant in Hong Kong.
But by the time other people came specifically to buy the white jade radishes, Yufei was no longer selling them there.
Instead, Zhu Xiangui's restaurant became the only place in the county town selling white jade radishes, even though they were all pre-made.
As a result, the restaurant where Zhu Xiangui worked quickly rose to prominence thanks to the popularity of the white jade radish.
The white jade radishes that have arrived at the store are all sold in limited quantities and are already booked for next year.
Every time Zhu Xiangui delivered goods to Yufei, he would ask if production could be increased.
He can buy these white jade radishes for 5 cents a pound, but he needs at least one ton.
Yufei had no choice but to refuse, otherwise her earlier statement that production wouldn't increase immediately would be proven wrong. Moreover, providing such a large quantity of radishes would be problematic if someone investigated later.
So Yufei is waiting for the white radishes in her grandmother's vegetable garden to ripen.
Thirty days after the white jade seeds were sown, it was also the day Yufei's parents started their summer vacation.
The white jade radishes finally ripened, and the grandfather, grandfather, and grandson nervously tasted a white jade radish grown in the soil that Yufei had obtained from the black soil.
The three men's eyes lit up; it tasted exactly the same as the radishes they sold.
Then they tasted a white jade radish grown on the land where the black soil hadn't been added.
Grandpa and Grandma Yufei's eyes were bright, and they were about the same size.
Yufei frowned. Although it tasted much better than the ordinary radishes on the market, radishes grown in ordinary soil were still three points inferior to those grown in black soil. The taste and moisture were not as good.
However, radishes grown in black soil and those grown in open spaces taste and feel almost the same, so they can be grown, although they will require a lot of fertilizer.
Yufei shared her thoughts with her grandparents.
"No, I think it's no different from this white jade radish," Grandma said, pointing to the radish grown in the plot of land where black soil had been added during planting.
Yufei was extremely puzzled. It was really strange; although both radishes were delicious, there was still quite a difference between them.
It seems that being constantly exposed to such a wonderful environment has made her tongue extremely sensitive; she can now taste differences that most people can't.
In that case, when Uncle Zhu comes, we can discuss with him whether we should grade the White Jade Radishes. Although people with a sensitive palate like her are extremely rare, if there were such people, it would affect the brand of their White Jade Radishes.
"Oh! Maybe I was just imagining things, it's okay." However, Yufei felt there was no need to explain too much to her grandparents. After all, they weren't in the food industry and weren't that sensitive to taste; saying more wouldn't be of any use.
Another difference between radishes grown in fertilized soil and those grown in ordinary soil is that the white jade radishes grown in fertilized soil can produce seeds, while those grown in ordinary soil cannot.
This is good news for Yufei. Not only can her vegetable garden plan be implemented, but she also has no worries about the future!
Yufei's grandparents were also very excited, and they discussed it.
"Old man, since we can grow white jade radishes, let's switch to growing them in the vegetable garden."
Grandpa Yufei had absolutely no objections, but Yufei suggested that Grandma leave her a third of the land.
She said that Granny Chun gave her a packet of watermelon seeds a few days ago, saying it was a newly developed product.
She wanted to try various things, and had absolutely no complaints about Grandma Yufei; she even asked if she needed any help.
Yufei declined, saying she wanted to try making watermelons herself and would ask them for help if she had any questions later.
So the three of them went about their own business.
"Grandma~ I feel like I've forgotten something?" Yufei said, pointing to the watermelon plants in the loosened soil. She felt like she'd forgotten something.
Grandma and Grandpa Yufei stopped what they were doing, as if they were thinking about something.
"Oh no! Your parents told us a few days ago that they were coming back today!" After saying that, Yufei's grandmother hurriedly washed her hands and got Yufei into the car.
Grandpa drove his Feicai agricultural tricycle (commonly known as a three-wheeled vehicle) towards the ferry.
The three-wheeled vehicle was purchased a week ago after Yufei discussed it with her grandparents. It will make delivering goods and going to the market to buy groceries much more convenient in the future.
She used every trick in the book for Yufei.
Two weeks ago, Zhu Xiangui offered to provide him with one ton of [supply/quantity].
When he was willing to renegotiate the contract and raise the price of white jade radishes to 5 cents per pound
Yufei started thinking about this, so she talked to her grandparents about whether they could buy a car.
Granny Chun's production has increased, but because we've had a very pleasant working relationship with her, we're still letting her act as an intermediary for sales.
Once the white jade radish's various indicators stabilize, we'll give them a surprise.
Yufei told her grandparents that they needed to prepare a car so that it would be very convenient for them to travel and transport goods.
The reason why their white jade radishes are selling so well is because they have an exclusive right to them. Now, many people are asking where their white jade radishes come from, so they can't let Granny Chun deliver them directly to Uncle Zhu.
They still needed to keep it a secret, and then Yufei told her grandparents about Uncle Zhu.
Yufei's grandparents are now interested in buying a car.
But after they tallied up their money, starting from the first three days, Yufei, fearing her grandparents would become suspicious, symbolically collected 20 yuan, saying it was just the cost fee collected by Granny Chun.
All the other money they earn is theirs, so even after deducting the cost of the accommodation they have to provide, they can still make about a hundred yuan a week.
They calculated that they had earned about 500 yuan in the past two months, but that was still far from enough to buy a three-wheeled vehicle.
Yufei thought of taking out a loan. Back in 94, banks practically begged people to get loans; no one had ever applied for a bank loan before.
In the minds of Yufei's grandparents' generation, there was only the idea of earning interest from banks, not owing money to them.
So Yufei thought that bank loan interest rates must be very cheap now, and that she could get a loan, but Yufei's grandparents were very resistant when they heard this.
After much persuasion and analyzing the pros and cons with Yufei's grandparents, Yufei's grandfather finally decided to borrow the money.
Yufei had originally suggested a plan to ask Uncle Zhu for an advance on the money for the white jade radishes later.
But Yufei told her grandparents that money is easy to repay, but favors are hard to repay.
Grandpa Yufei agreed with Yufei, but buying a car definitely needs to be put on the agenda.
That's why the car arrived later. The success of the white jade radish experiment today finally relieved the old man who had been under pressure.
They're about to achieve "radish freedom" (meaning they can afford to eat whatever they want), and with the white jade radishes provided over there, the old man is already starting to look forward to the future.