Chapter 58: Watermelon at Eight Fen per Jin

Selling watermelons, wholesale 8 fen, retail 1 jiao!

Selling watermelons, wholesale 8 fen, retail 1 jiao!

Chen Yang had just driven out of Coiled Dragon Town when a little girl selling watermelons suddenly stopped him.

Chen Yang stopped his car and carefully examined the little girl blocking the road. She looked about eight or nine years old, with big eyes, her hair tied in braids, wearing a black‑spotted dress, holding a cardboard sign written in charcoal that read "watermelon wholesale 8 fen, retail 1 jiao." Behind her on the roadside stood a small wooden table with several slices of cut watermelon, and nearby a long line of green‑rind watermelons was stacked.

Little sis, why are you selling watermelons here by yourself? Where are your parents?

My mom went back to cook, and my dad is working in the field. The little girl pointed to the watermelon field behind her.

Chen Yang looked in the direction she pointed; about 400 meters away in the watermelon field, a man was bent over, working.

Uncle, do you want to buy watermelon? Our watermelons are sweet and cheap—don't believe me, try a piece. The little girl quickly picked up a piece and handed it to Chen Yang.

Chen Yang took a bite; it was sweet and crisp, indeed a good watermelon. He wondered how such a good watermelon could sell for only 1 mao per jin. You know, even the cheapest watermelons in Qingshui City sell for at least 6 mao per jin, and over in Xingcheng they go for more than 1 yuan.

Little sis, call your dad over; I want to buy more.

Okay, uncle, wait a moment. The little girl, afraid Chen Yang would drive off, quickly turned and called for her father.

The melon farmer working in the field heard his daughter's shout and quickly ran over. He was short, sturdy, about thirty years old, with exposed skin darkened by the sun.

Boss, how much watermelon do you want to buy?

Boss, may I ask? Why are your watermelons so cheap?

Ah! No one's buying them; if we don't sell cheap, they'll just rot in the ground.

Why isn't anyone buying? I see lots of watermelon vendors in the city, selling truckloads by the roadside.

Ah, this year many people planted watermelons; at the same price, vendors will surely choose the nearest to save costs.

Then you could rent a truck and bring them to the city to sell!

Boss, that's easier said than done. Renting a truck isn't free; from here to Clearwater County, the lowest shipping cost is 300 yuan. If you can't sell them in a day, you have to double the cost. Watermelons at 8 fen per jin, even five tons only bring in 800 yuan. Subtract the two‑day 600‑yuan expense leaves only 200 yuan. Then you still need food, sanitation fees, and the return trip fare—you'd end up with almost nothing.

Chen Yang recalled Lin Wei mentioning that large‑scale farmers get subsidies, so he asked: "Doesn't the government have any support policies or planting subsidies for you?"

Subsidy? What subsidy?

…, I've looked at the county government's list of assisted agricultural industries for Clearwater County, and it doesn't seem to include your watermelon field.

Boss, you're not in the know, huh? You need connections to get that. Our village planted a total of 500 mu of watermelons; the village will definitely prioritize those with connections and who've given gifts. My kids' school fees aren't even covered, so where would we get extra money to give presents? I hear those who gave gifts are still waiting in line…

Chen Yang fell silent. Xu Li's list included many watermelon production bases. He drove to Coiled Dragon Town and saw many watermelon fields along the way. In other words, besides the fields on the list, there are even more unknown watermelon‑growing areas. With such large‑scale planting, it's strange to expect a good market.

What's more crucial is that if the watermelons can't be sold at the source, market watermelons aren't much cheaper either. Either way, the vendors don't lose money; the losses fall on the blindly following melon farmers.

Boss, how many of your ripe watermelons are left?

There should be about ten‑plus tons.

How about this: you load me up with 300 jin to take back. Tomorrow, if I can get a truck, I'll come buy the rest." Chen Yang pulled thirty yuan from his pocket and handed it to the farmer.

He thanked him repeatedly. He packed the watermelons into four sacks, placing them in Chen Yang's back seat and trunk, then fished out six yuan in change from his pocket and gave it to Chen Yang.

Chen Yang refused, saying they'd calculate the wholesale price of 8 fen when a big truck came tomorrow to load the goods. The farmer disagreed, insisting on leaving the change on Chen Yang's passenger seat.

Unable to argue, seeing the sun about to set, Chen Yang bade farewell to the father and daughter, then drove back to Qingshui City.

Chen Yang called Lin Wei; hearing she was at home, he drove to the entrance of the Lin residence, carried up two bags of watermelons, and prepared to put the remaining two bags in the supermarket at Twin Forest Market to quench the thirst of the working staff.

Hearing that the watermelons cost only eight fen per jin, the Lin family were all shocked.

Lin Wei thought Chen Yang was joking. "Impossible! In my report, the cheapest wholesale price for watermelons in Clearwater County is two jiao per jin!"

Chen Yang said: "At two jiao per jin, they might have included shipping costs. Or it could be relatives of certain officials or households that gave gifts. Those overlooked farmers, unable to sell their watermelons and unwilling to let them rot, keep lowering prices. The hardest part is, even after lowering prices, they still might not sell."

Lin Wei fell silent at once. If Chen Yang wasn't lying, the problem of unsold agricultural produce in Qingshui is probably worse than imagined.

"Chen Yang, our supermarket's promotion plan doesn't include fruit. If you buy over ten tons of watermelons at once, what'll we do with them later?" Du Yue'e worried, since their existing warehouse slots are already allocated. The goods Chen Yang ordered from Coiled Dragon Town must be kept in cold storage at cost, and storing this many watermelons would raise the expense further.

Chen Yang thought it over and said: "We'll give each company and store employee 100 jin as an advance benefit. The rest we'll put in Twin Forest Market to sell. Others sell at six jiao, we'll sell at three jiao—we'll definitely move it."

Du Yue'e laughed: "Then this deal will lose money. That's not a good omen."

Chen Yang sighed: "I never intended to make a profit. My top priority on this return is to do charity."

Lin Wei kicked Chen Yang and warned: "Stop complaining in front of me. You're rich now, so you ought to have more social responsibility. Doing good deeds also accumulates virtue for future generations."

Chen Yang looked at Lin Wei with eager eyes: "Honey, when are you going to give me a big, fat son?"

Lin Wei's cheeks flushed slightly as she shoved a piece of watermelon into Chen Yang's mouth: "I'm busy now—no time for a baby. Just eat your watermelon."

Chen Yang chewed the watermelon in his mouth, silently sighing. Given Lin Wei's workaholic nature, he thought his father's wish would be hard to fulfill.