Cui San'er repeatedly gave him a thumbs-up after hearing his words.
"Sir, you are right. These lowly folk don't deserve such good fruit. I'll take people to the county town first thing tomorrow."
Chen Xiaobei returned home full of confidence. During lunch, he posted a notice among the village guards, asking for five people to go up the mountain with him in the afternoon to carry some fruit. The payment would be either ten pounds of fruit or five copper coins.
Upon hearing this offer, everyone eagerly vied to go.
Chen Xiaobei treated the village guards equally, selecting five based on their sign-up order.
Each carrying basket could hold about seventy to eighty pounds. With six people, including himself, they could carry about five hundred pounds, which would be enough for the next day's sales.
After waking from his nap, Chen Xiaobei prepared to head up the mountain. Cui Hongyu once again offered to go with him, but Chen Xiaobei ruthlessly refused.
"No, you don't need to go up the mountain anymore. I'll take them."
"You..." Cui Hongyu wanted to say something but couldn't.
Looking at Cui Hongyu's apple-red cheeks, Chen Xiaobei suddenly understood.
"Ah, I'm so slow. But I've already chosen five people to go up the mountain today. If I want to experience that unity of heaven and man again, I'll have to wait for the next time."
Chen Xiaobei led the group, familiar with the path, and they returned before dark.
When Chen Sanqiu saw they had brought back so much fruit, he was actually happy. What did this signify? It meant the fruit had a market.
This was enough for him to gain a favor from Cui Da Na.
The next morning, Chen Xiaobei set off.
His first stop was Xiao Family Town, as it had the largest sales volume. Based on Feng Xiaoyue's estimate, Chen Xiaobei left about four hundred pounds for her.
Of course, Chen Xiaobei also arranged to settle the payment the next day when he delivered more goods.
This left a hundred pounds.
Chen Xiaobei then turned towards the county town. According to his plan, he would leave thirty to forty pounds for Old Wu for retail and then try to sell the rest to inns and restaurants.
The market was lively today, bustling with people.
Not far from Old Wu's stall, a crowd had gathered, making it impossible to see what was happening.
Chen Xiaobei smiled, dismounted his donkey cart, and greeted Old Wu.
"Old Wu, how's business today?"
Old Wu sighed softly. "You can still smile."
He pointed to the side. "They arrived early this morning, selling the same kind of fruit you brought."
What was this?
Chen Xiaobei handed the donkey's reins to Old Wu and hurried over.
Cui San, along with two long-term workers, was actively promoting the fruit in the crowd.
Cui San was also clever, slicing some of the apples into small pieces for people to taste.
Those who tasted them were intrigued and would buy some.
Chen Xiaobei recognized Cui San. Seeing that he was from Cui Family Village, Chen Xiaobei felt an inexplicable sense of disappointment.
Of course, on the other hand, he couldn't stop others from going to the mountain to pick fruit.
Returning to Old Wu's vegetable stall, Chen Xiaobei had come to terms with it. "Old Wu, there's nothing to be surprised about. It's like selling vegetables. If you sell them, others will too. He sells his, you sell yours. Sell as much as you can, and give me the money later."
Hearing Chen Xiaobei say this, Old Wu was finally relieved and said with a smile, "Alright, it shall be as you say."
After leaving thirty pounds of apples for Old Wu, Chen Xiaobei took the rest to the restaurants. Since there was competition, he needed to quickly capture the market in the restaurant sector.
Fortunately, he didn't bring much. After visiting a few restaurants, he sold them all. Chen Xiaobei then returned to the market to check on Old Wu's sales.
Seeing him from afar, Old Wu waved. "Brother, come quickly, come quickly."
Seeing Old Wu's excited expression, Chen Xiaobei knew this was promising. Indeed, half of the apples left with Old Wu had already been sold.
"Those people over there sold out. When I shouted, they all gathered around, and my sales naturally picked up quickly."
As they were talking, Chen Xiaobei didn't notice Cui San watching him from a distance with a grim expression.
After Cui San finished selling his fruit and was about to leave with his men, Old Wu suddenly started shouting that he also had fruit, even calling it 'apple'.
How could a vegetable seller have fruit from Qingniu Mountain?
Cui San hid in the shadows to observe. Coincidentally, he saw Chen Xiaobei talking animatedly with Old Wu.
So, this was how it was.
Understanding the truth, Cui San rushed back to report.
"Sir, the fruit sales are not a problem. The common people are willing to buy them for one coin a pound. But I discovered that Chen Xiaobei from the neighboring village has also brought fruit to the city to sell."
"Is that so?"
Cui Da Na frowned. "Is Chen Xiaobei that Cui Fugui's son-in-law?"
"Yes, yes, it's him!"
"Sir, it's strange. Ever since he married Cui Hongyu, this fellow has risen rapidly, becoming the village chief of Hetou Village."
"What's so strange about that? Hetou Village is full of commoners. If Cui Fugui so much as gives him a little, it would be enough for Chen Xiaobei to swagger around the village."
Hearing this, Cui San chuckled.
"Sir is right. His Cui Fugui only relies on his medical practice to accumulate some hard-earned money, how can he compare to you!"
Cui Da Na snorted. "Isn't Chen Xiaobei also eyeing that orchard? Tomorrow, call all the long-term workers. Oh, and find some short-term workers. Pick as much as you can."
"Pick all the fruit and bring it back as quickly as possible."
Cui San nodded repeatedly, readily agreeing.
"Sir, don't worry, you'll see tomorrow."
After lunch and a good nap, Chen Xiaobei once again found five people to accompany him up the mountain to carry apples.
Just as he was about to leave, he saw Chen Xiaowen supporting a white-haired old woman, walking towards him and calling out from a distance, "Village Chief, Village Chief, you must seek justice for me."
This was Chen Dayong's mother.
Chen Xiaobei quickly walked forward to meet them. "Elderly one, what's wrong?"
The old woman said tearfully, "Dayong went into the mountains two days ago and still hasn't returned. I don't know what happened."
Hearing this, Chen Xiaobei slapped his forehead. That's right, two days ago, he had arranged for Chen Dayong to accompany Xiong Fei and the others into the mountains.
"He still hasn't returned?"
"Yes, if something were to happen to him, how could I go on living?"
As she spoke, she grew more distressed and began to cry.
Calculating the time, Chen Dayong had only been gone for two days. If he had to go to the summit and return, this timeframe seemed too short.
Seeing Chen Xiaobei silent, the old woman suddenly knelt down with a thud.
Well, Chen Xiaobei knew he had no choice but to go into the mountains, even if he didn't want to. To reassure the old woman, he had to take people into the mountains immediately.
Chen Xiaobei asked the village guards to go up the mountain to pick fruit first, while he hurried to his building plot. Li Dong was building his house there.