His wife and son, who already had dinner, were snatching food at his second brother’s home. It was so embarrassing.
Xiao Mingyang entered the house and scolded, “What’s wrong with the two of you? Haven’t we already had dinner? Why are you stealing food from second brother’s family?”
Liu Chunhua didn’t stop eating. She glared at her husband. “That’s because you have no idea how good of a cook second sister-in-law is.” Xiao Xiaohui also lifted his head to add, “Dad, the food here is really delicious. It’s better than the egg pancakes this morning!”
Xiao Mingyang was immediately reminded of the delicious pancakes. He saw the dishes on the table, and he was tempted. “Is the food really that delicious?”
“Yes!” His wife and son responded with a fierce nod.
Xiao Mingyang surrendered to the temptation. He snatched the chopsticks from Xiao Xiaohui and grabbed the two pieces of meat on the plate. He put them into his mouth. The taste was indeed incomparably delicious.
Xiao Xiaohui glared at his father and complained, “Dad, you stole my chopsticks!”
Xiao Mingyang ignored his son. To his surprise, the vegetables tasted better than meat. His chopsticks moved quickly, and the vegetables disappeared into his mouth. Xiao Xiaohui knew he had to deploy an emergency tactic. He stretched to grab the plate of celery. He shielded it with his arms.
Seeing this, Xiao Mingyang was embarrassed. He scolded his son, “What are you doing? You’re acting like a barbarian. Put the plate back down!”
“I won’t!” Xiao Xiaohui didn’t back down. “If I do, you will steal it from me.”
Xiao Mingyang grabbed the last piece of cabbage, and his wife grabbed the last soybean. Then the couple turned to Xiao Xiaohui, who hid the last plate of celery. “Xiao Xiaohui, put the plate down!”
Liu Chunhua went for Xiao Xiaohui’s arm. Xiao Mingyang joined in. Xiao Xiaohui was attacked from both sides. He quickly lowered his head and sucked all the celery into his mouth. He was just a child, so he couldn’t win his parents. However, when they pried the plate loose, the celery was already in Xiao Xiaohui’s mouth. He munched and said, “It’s all gone!”
Xiao Mingyang and his wife sighed. They looked at the empty plates and put down their chopsticks. Xiao Mingyang had to admit the dishes were delicious. He turned to Mother Xiao, “Second sister-in-law, your cooking skill is amazing. You have to teach Chunhua.” Or his family might come to their house every day to scrounge for food. His second sister-in-law’s cooking was simply irresistible.
Mother Xiao smiled. “My cooking skill hasn’t changed. I’ve merely used better ingredients.” However, Mother Xiao was puzzled.
The vegetables tasted good because they were part of the big vegetable harvest. Yu ‘Er said she had used special fertilizer on them. The fertilizer helped remove impurities and enhance the taste.
However, why did the meat also taste better than before?
The answer was in the water barrel. Mother Xiao cooked with normal water mixed with spring water, so the dishes were more fragrant. Mother Xiao said, “If you want, you can come over to eat any time.”
Xiao Zhengming and his wife smiled and said, “Second Sister-in-law, how can we impose like that?”
“What are you saying? We’re brothers! You’re not imposing!” Father Xiao laughed.
“That’s right. We’re family.” Mother Xiao concurred.
“Second brother and sister, then I shall thank you in advance.” Xiao Mingyang said. It was too hard to refuse good food.
Then, Xiao Mingyang turned to Xiao Lingyu. He asked, “Yu ‘Er, what did you do in the county town today? Why did you come back so late?”
Xiao Lingyu admitted, “Fourth Uncle, I went to the county town city to look for a warehouse and buy a tricycle!”
Xiao Mingyang was confused, “Why do you need those things?”
Xiao Lingyu explained, “Fourth Uncle, I plan to be a vegetable vendor.”
“A vegetable vendor?” Xiao Mingyang and his wife were shocked. “Yu ‘Er, you’re not going back to the city?”
“No!” Xiao Lingyu shook her head. There was no point for her to return. She knew she was pregnant. It would be hard to find a job with a big belly. Plus, the city was not as peaceful as Taoyuan Village. Furthermore, she had to make use of the farming space.
Xiao Mingyang looked at his second brother and sister-in-law. He wanted to persuade Xiao Lingyu, but he swallowed his words. Xiao Lingyu must have thought this through before coming to this decision. His second brother and sister would have approved as well. So there was no point in him saying anything.
Therefore, Xiao Mingyang instead offered, “Yu ‘Er, if we can help you, don’t hesitate to ask!”
“Okay!” Xiao Lingyu nodded.
…
That night, Xiao Lingyu was about to enter the space when there was a knock on her door. Xiao Lingyu opened the door and saw her mother standing outside. “Mom!”
Mother Xiao walked in and asked, “Yu ‘Er, you said your friend will send the vegetables over tomorrow?”
Xiao Lingyu nodded, “Yes!”
“Then I’ll go to the county town with you tomorrow.” Mother Xiao’s tone didn’t allow for a refusal. Mother Xiao was worried about her daughter. It was one thing to go on a stroll in the county town. It was completely different to sell stuff there. She was worried about Xiao Lingyu going alone.
Xiao Lingyu had no choice but to nod. “Okay!”
“Then, you better go to bed now. You need to wake up early. Vegetables sell better in the morning. People will want the freshest vegetables!” Mother Xiao advised.
“Understood.”
After she confirmed Mother Xiao had left and wouldn’t return, Xiao Lingyu bolted the door and leaned against it. Soon she disappeared.
Once she arrived, her eyes brightened at the ripe fruits and vegetables. Her guess was correct. She would have a huge harvest that night.
She had planted spinach, eggplant, tomato, chili, and cabbage
The spinach was jade green, the eggplant bright purple, the tomato ruby red, the cabbage tender and white. The chili was the local long chili, they were green and cute.
Xiao Lingyu walked over and picked a tomato. She took a bite. In an instant, the fragrance filled up her every cell. The tomato was sweet and refreshing. She gasped, “This tomato is too delicious.”
She ate a few more tomatoes until she burped.
“I should sell them per unit, or people might fight over them. The vegetables and fruits are of the same size. There’s no difference to the naked eye. Moreover, I don’t need to worry about sales since they taste so good.”
With a thought, all the vegetables and fruits were harvested. They piled on the ground.
Xiao Lingyu bent down and counted. There were 186 tomatoes, 133 eggplants, and 35 cabbages. There were quite a lot of spinach and chilies, so she could sell by the catty.
Xiao Lingyu stood up and chanted, “Exit!” Xiao Lingyu reappeared in her room, so did the harvest.
“Enter!” The vegetables and fruits disappeared.
Xiao Lingyu lay in bed and thought about how to secretly produce this stuff without her mother finding out the next day.
Soon, Xiao Lingyu was shaken awake by Mother Xiao.
Xiao Lingyu rubbed her eyes, picked up her phone, and looked at the time. It was still four o’clock.
She replied lazily, “Mom, do we need to get up so early? It’s only four.”
“What do you mean early? A vegetable vendor has to wake up at 2 or 3 am to transport the fresh vegetables. It’s already 4.30 am. After some washing up, it’ll be 5 am. By the time we reach the county town, it’ll be at least 6 or 7. Our stall will probably be set up around 8 or 9 am. By then, most of the market-goers would have finished their purchase. Who would buy from us then?” Mother Xiao rambled on.
When Xiao Lingyu needed university tuition, Mother Xiao tried to sell vegetables. However, Taoyuan Village was very remote. Even a trip to sell vegetables at the county town was quite taxing.