Chapter 72: Vegetable Vendor
The calf showed great filial piety, which was already better than most humans. Mother Xiao sighed, “Forget it then. We can keep the calf but the mother…” She didn’t know what to say.
Xiao Lingyu smiled, “Mom, believe me. The old cow will not die so soon.”
Mother Xiao shook her head helplessly and said, “Fine. Since you’ve bought them, you can make your own arrangement.”
“Thank you, Mom!” Xiao Lingyu thanked her happily.
After chatting with her parents for a while, Xiao Lingyu went back to her room.
Xiao Lingyu didn’t know her mother sighed once she entered her room. Mother Xiao turned to her husband. “Dear, don’t you think that your daughter has changed a lot?”
Their daughter was obedient and sensible. But now, she had also become more independent and headstrong. Such a girl would not make a good wife. She would butt heads with her future in-laws. Mother Xiao was worried.
However, Father Xiao was not. “Isn’t it a good thing for our children to be opinionated? That way, people won’t bully them! In any case, we can’t live their lives for them. It’s getting late. We should go rest too.” Father Xiao stood up and returned to his room. Mother Xiao thought about it and followed her husband.
Xiao Lingyu bolted the door once she was in her room. Then, she entered the farming space. She was greeted by a huge surprise. The space never stopped surprising her.
Some of the seeds sown yesterday were already flowering. The growth speed was incredible. A normal eggplant needs at least two months to grow and ripen. However, in this space, it only took two days. Xiao Lingyu studied them and believed the eggplants could be harvested tomorrow.
Normally, a tomato needs four months to mature and bear fruit. But Xiao Lingyu’s tomato plants were already flowering.
It was the same with the others.
“I should have a plentiful harvest tomorrow.” Xiao Lingyu stroked the branches.
‘Wait, harvest?’ Xiao Lingyu was shocked that she didn’t think of this sooner. ‘If I harvest the fruits and vegetables tomorrow, how am I suppose to transport them out? I can’t leave them here forever, can I?’
She paced back and forth in the ditch. She thought about selling them, but she had to explain their origins. She couldn’t tell people that the produce came from a magical space. Furthermore, where to sell the product was another problem.
Xiao Lingyu scratched her head in frustration. She was certain she couldn’t sell them in Xing An Town. There were too many people she knew. She wouldn’t be able to explain to them the origins of the plants.
‘How about the county town?’ Xiao Lingyu’s eyes lit up. ‘That’s right! I can go to the county town. I can go there to rent a warehouse. I’ll secretly deposit the harvest there. When asked, I’ll just tell them they are products given by a friend!’
But then Xiao Lingyu started to frown again. She had to give Mother Xiao an excuse if she was going to the county town again. If not, Mother Xiao would definitely stop her. She was a university student. Xiao Lingyu doubted her mother would allow her to go to the county town to sell vegetables.
Unless…
Xiao Lingyu could prove to her mother that she was serious about farming. Perhaps she could get her mother to taste her harvest, and Mother Xiao would change her mind. Xiao Lingyu believed that would work. At least she had to try.
Since most of the vegetables could be picked tomorrow, Xiao Lingyu didn’t plan to sow too many new seeds. She decided to wait.
Xiao Lingyu looked through her bags of seeds until she found the strawberry seeds. She muttered, “Sow!”
The seeds in her hand disappeared. A few small plots appeared on the previous empty land. They were where the strawberry seeds were planted.
Xiao Lingyu clapped her hands in satisfaction and said, “Done. I can finally go to sleep.” She disappeared and reappeared in her room. She stretched lazily and sighed, “Time to sleep!”
…
Early the next morning, Xiao Lingyu was woken by banging sounds.
Xiao Lingyu put on her clothes and headed outside. Mother and Father Xiao were building a cow pen. Since Xiao Lingyu planned to raise cattle, they had to have a cow pen.
Xiao Lingyu’s fourth uncle had a cow pen, but they couldn’t place the cattle with them forever.
Xiao Lingyu greeted her parents. “Good morning, mom and dad!”
Mother Xiao held a pillar for her husband. She looked up at Xiao Lingyu and said, “Why are you up so early? Did we wake you?”
Xiao Lingyu waved her hand and said, “No. I was already awake.” Xiao Lingyu went to brush her teeth and prepare breakfast.
After the water in the barrel was diluted, the food still tasted delicious, but it was not preposterously so. Xiao Lingyu thought about it and decided to make seaweed soup and egg pancakes.
After breakfast, she would go to her fourth uncle’s place to discuss with him about hiring Xiao Xiaohui to be her cow herder.
Xiao Lingyu found the flour and beat the egg. She looked around and found the leftover giant green onions. She chopped them up and mixed them into the flour. She added water and mixed them again. She put the mixture aside.
She grabbed the pot and washed it clean. Then, it was time to start making pancakes. Xiao Lingyu was used to doing these things, so she moved expertly.
The fragrance was arresting as she cooked. ‘The harvest from the space should be more delicious. Perhaps I can sell them for a higher price.’
However, there was something that puzzled Xiao Lingyu. She poured the spring water on the vegetables outside, and they grew so big. However, the vegetables she planted inside the space were only slightly bigger than average, even though they were also directly fed the spring water. It seemed like Xiao Lingyu needed to study the space further.
Xiao Lingyu’s actions were swift. She finished the pancakes and started on the soup. When she was done, she carried the soup and pancakes to the living room. She shouted, “Mom, Dad, why don’t you rest and have breakfast first?”
Father and Mother Xiao put down their work. In the past, they would have finished their work first before eating. However, their food was incredibly delicious recently. They couldn’t wait for mealtimes. The temptation was too strong.
Mother Xiao gasped when she saw the two large plates of egg pancakes. “Why did you make so many pancakes?”
Xiao Lingyu explained, “I’m going to find Xiaohui later and bring the extra pancakes to him.” They would work as the perfect bribe. Mother Xiao nodded.
During breakfast, Xiao Lingyu began. “Mom, I might need to go to the county town again today.”
Mother Xiao was confused. “Hmm? Haven’t you just gone yesterday? Why are you going again?”
Xiao Lingyu explained, “Before I came back from the city, I ran into a friend. He has an agricultural research facility. I noticed his products are of good quality, so I ordered some wholesale from him. I will sell them in the county town. His stock will come tomorrow, so I need to go ahead to rent a warehouse at the county town.”
Mother Xiao was baffled. “So you want to be a vegetable vendor?” Mother Xiao asked seriously, “Xiao Lingyu, what is really going through your mind? You are a university graduate. You can find a much better job. Why do you want to be a farmer and a vegetable vendor? People will laugh at you!”
Mother Xiao was worried for her daughter, that other’d criticize her.
Xiao Lingyu said, “Mom, the stock will come from that friend. Haven’t you tried his products? Don’t you think they will sell well?”
‘That friend?’ Mother Xiao was confused before it clicked. The friend that gave her daughter the secret formula. The friend at the Department of Agricultural Science had time to farm and sell products wholesale? Mother Xiao found it suspicious.
However, just going off on the product’s taste alone, Mother Xiao did have faith that they would sell like hotcakes. The harvest was too delicious.
Mother Xiao sighed. “You’re an adult now. I can’t control you anymore as long as you promise me, you know what you’re doing!”
In other words, she gave the permission.
“Thank you, Mom!” Xiao Lingyu said happily.