74, Chapter 74

Niu Da and Niu Da's wife came forward: "My wife is here."

Mrs. Niu said, "Don't worry. The head of the house sprinkled snake repellent powder on the manor early in the morning and took the children to check. There won't be any more snakes."

Yang Haiyan breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this: "That's great. Come on, let's go see the watermelons." If there are any ripe ones, it's best to cut them up and eat them on the spot.

Mrs. Niu said: "You have come all the way, do you want to rest for a while?"

Yang Haiyan said: "No need."

There were about 250 watermelons in half an acre of land when they were planted, but only 180 survived.

Yang Haiyan looked at the lush green watermelon field, her saliva was watering, but it just didn't come out. Not to mention, looking at the watermelons one by one, she was so excited that she wanted to cry. It’s really hard to live in ancient times.

Niu Da Dao: "These watermelons seem to be very big, but how do they count when they are ripe? Does your wife have any eggs?"

Yang Haiyan can't look at a watermelon, or in other words, she doesn't know how to tell whether a watermelon is ripe, but she can talk on paper. “When I first bought the seeds, I heard from a traveling dealer that there are several ways to tell whether a watermelon is ripe.

First: weigh the weight. ‌The more ripe the watermelon, the lighter its weight. Generally, for watermelons of the same size, the lighter ones are better, and the heavier ones are raw melons.

Second: listen to the sound. Hold the watermelon in your hands and tap it gently with your fingers. If it makes a crisp sound of "dong, dong", if the hand holding the watermelon feels a little trembling, it is a ripe melon; if it makes a "thud, thud" sound, it is a reflection of its relatively high maturity. ; If the melon makes a "pop, pop" sound, it is an overripe melon; if it makes a "tap, tap" sound, it is a raw melon.

Third: look at the appearance. The rind of raw melon is green and bright. When the melon is ripe, the color of the rind will become darker.

Fourth: Look at the melon navel. When the melon navel is ripe, it will be sunken. If you look at a ripe watermelon, you will understand the degree of sunkenness. Combined with the comprehensive judgment mentioned before, it is not difficult to know whether the melon is raw or ripe. "Actually, there are several ways to identify ‌, but Yang Haiyan can't remember it. "Niu Da, you just follow these four ‌ methods to choose. Don't worry, it doesn't matter even if you choose raw ones, just think of it as accumulating experience. "

Hearing what Yang Haiyan said, Niu Da felt relieved. He followed Yang Haiyan's instructions and selected four watermelons based on their weight, sound, appearance, and navel. "Madam, what do you think of these four?"

Yang Haiyan said: "Bring a knife and cut them all open."

The private guard brought a knife: "Will you cut all four?"

Yang Haiyan said: "Cut it open."

After cutting four of them open, two were found to be cooked and two of them were half-cooked.

Yang Haiyan said: "Slice the watermelon and divide it. Let everyone have a taste." She took out a spoon and ate half of it herself. When you take one bite, the sweet taste of watermelon is so refreshing, so you have to eat watermelon like this. "You all eat it. The big cow will cut it up for everyone."

Niu Da: "Yes. Can this half-cooked one be eaten?"

Yang Haiyan said: "It's edible, but it's not as sweet as the cooked ones."

Naturally, cows are not willing to be wasted, so they cut the half-cooked ones for the family to eat, and the cooked ones for Uncle Hong and others to eat.

Mrs. Niu: "Oh, this is so sweet. This raw melon won't be wasted." The sweetness is different from sugar, but the sweet taste is the same as sugar water.

Yang Haiyan smiled and said: "No. Niu Da, you can pick out the fifty melons that you think are ripe later, and I will take them away."

Niu Da: "Yes."

Based on his previous experience, Niu Da also made some judgments about whether the watermelon was ripe. Of the one hundred and eighty watermelon vines, he selected fifty watermelons.

These watermelons are from Xiaopin. Each one weighs about eight kilograms. Fifty watermelons are quite heavy to put on a carriage. In addition to watermelons, cauliflower and corn could also be harvested, so Yang Haiyan asked Niu Da to pick fifty more cauliflowers and fifty corns.

Cauliflower and broccoli are different. A broccoli plant can basically bear two to three fruits, but a cauliflower plant can only bear one fruit. Therefore, with the same half-acre of land and about 800 cauliflower plants, the yield is one-third of that of broccoli.

On the way back, Yang Haiyan kept thinking, how to sell watermelons? She thought of two sales channels, one was to slice it, and the other was to sell it whole.

When it comes to slicing, it costs two cents a piece, and a watermelon can be cut into about forty slices. If sold whole, it would cost seventy cents each. After deciding on the sales method, as soon as they arrived at the family room, Yang Haiyan asked Aunt Lian to go to the county town and bring 24 cauliflowers and 24 watermelons. The Hou Mansion and the General Mansion each gave two cauliflowers and two watermelons, and sent the rest to the restaurant.

The restaurant and Yang Haiyan were already familiar with each other because of the broccoli, so when Nanny Lian arrived, she went directly to the young shopkeeper.

The young shopkeeper was polite when he saw Aunt Lian: "Auntie is here?" The young shopkeeper went to Qianfu's house that day and met Aunt Lian, who was close to Mrs. Qin.

Aunt Lian said politely: "Hello, little shopkeeper, another batch of fresh vegetables are ripe from my wife's manor. I sent them here specially. In addition, I also received a batch of fruits. This fruit is called watermelon. I wonder if the restaurant is interested. Yes, but the price of this fruit is a little expensive, one fruit is seventy cents."

The shopkeeper was stunned: "Such an expensive fruit? What kind of fruit is this?" Apples and pears don't have to be so expensive.

Aunt Lian said: "This fruit is called watermelon. I have already asked people to move it in."

The private guard was carrying a basket with twenty watermelons in it.

The shopkeeper was considered an experienced person following the shopkeeper in the county town, but this fruit called watermelon was the first time he saw it, and it was so big. "How...how do you eat this?"

Mrs. Lian was very confident about watermelon. After eating watermelon with her wife, she liked this slightly sweet watermelon very much. So when the shopkeeper asked, she said confidently: "Do you have a knife?"

The shopkeeper asked someone to bring a knife.

Mrs. Lian cut the watermelon with one knife. Speaking of it, when the watermelon was cut, even if the shopkeeper had never eaten it, the shopkeeper felt a little dry in the mouth. The red fruit inside made people drool.

Then, Mrs. Lian cut it slice by slice. According to Yang Haiyan's instructions, a quarter of the watermelon can be cut into ten slices, so she cut a quarter of the watermelon: "Little shopkeeper, please taste it."

The shopkeeper picked up a slice and took a bite directly: "It's delicious." The sweetness and moisture are just right. He has never eaten such a delicious big fruit. Oh, this big fruit is called watermelon.

Madam Lian knew from the attitude of the shopkeeper: "This watermelon is priced at 70 wen each. It can be provided at 20 per day, just like cauliflower and broccoli. Do you agree?"

The shopkeeper said: "I will discuss this with my uncle." It was definitely agreed, but the price was a bit expensive, so he didn't dare to make the decision. "Madam, please wait a moment. I'll go call my uncle."

After a while, the shopkeeper called the shopkeeper, who was a middle-aged man. Just now, I heard the shopkeeper describe the fruit called watermelon in a exaggerated way. Now I saw the watermelon and the red fruit, and I was indeed a little surprised.

The shopkeeper: "Uncle, this is the watermelon I mentioned. The fruit in Mrs. Qin's farm is also cultivated from the seeds bought from the peddlers. Come and try it."

The shopkeeper glared at the shopkeeper, greeted Madam Lian first, then picked up a piece of watermelon and took a bite, and then... nothing happened. The shopkeeper said, "Mammy, isn't this price too expensive? We have no objection to broccoli and watermelon being four cents each, but this fruit... seventy cents, it's not something that ordinary people can afford."

Mammy Lian smiled and said, "This watermelon only lasts for a month, and it will be gone after a month. If you want to eat it again, you have to wait until next year. And the shopkeeper is too modest. The guests who come to your restaurant to eat are not ordinary people. What's more, in this month, the nobles in the county town order one every day, and I'm afraid twenty will not be enough to share."

The shopkeeper was a little bit surprised when he heard it. Twenty a day can be delivered directly to the nobles, why bother to sell it to other people? "It's the same as broccoli and cauliflower. We are the only family in the county town that has it?"

Mammy Lian: "Of course."

After leaving the restaurant, Mammy Lian went to the Marquis' Mansion and the General's Mansion. After delivering the cauliflower and watermelon to the Marquis' Mansion and the General's Mansion, Mammy Lian returned to the town.

However, just as Madam Lian left, the restaurant sent two watermelons to the Marquis's residence.

Family Room

Yang Haiyan was not surprised that watermelons could make money. In ancient times, fruits made money because they were rare and precious. Half an acre of watermelons can earn about 20 taels of silver. Add broccoli and cauliflower, and the vegetables alone can earn more than 30 taels, not to mention tomatoes.

"Madam..." Madam Lian called in the yard before she entered the house.

Yang Haiyan got up and walked to the door: "Madam, you look happy, it shows that the negotiation was very successful."

Madam Lian said: "That's right, the shopkeeper still wants to bargain, this is the silver collected from cauliflower and watermelon."

Yang Haiyan nodded, but didn't take it. Madam Lian was in charge of the silver in the family. Usually, Madam Lian was in charge of the monthly allowance and the harvest of the shop. She would calculate the profit every month.

Nanny Lian said, "Then the watermelons here may not be easy to sell. The town is not like the county. Most of the women are reluctant to spend 70 cents for a watermelon."

Yang Haiyan said, "Uncut watermelons will not go bad if left for two days, so the remaining ones can be delivered tomorrow. Moreover, the people in the town are not as rich as those in the county, but there are also those who are well-off and will buy them. There are 26 left. Each private guard will get a quarter, Uncle Hong and Aunt Hong will get a quarter, you, Aunt Fan, and Aunt Yu will get a quarter, and the remaining quarter will be delivered to Si Ya and Shou Xi." Exactly two.

Nanny Lian: "Yes, I will thank Madam on behalf of everyone."

Yang Haiyan said, "Take out another one and sink it in the well water. You can eat it when you come back from duty."

Nanny Lian: "Yes."