Her Cultivation Diary

F{h*F5/. V~3. What’s so good about this dish?_1

As the days grew brighter and earlier, the temperature also gradually rose.

The peach and cherry trees by the door began to bud, and the village was enveloped in a faint green of sprouting plants and morning mist, exceptionally beautiful.

Last night, Song Tan had finished editing her video and posted it, but after refreshing the page over a hundred and eighty times, she had hardly gained any views.

Her cultivation of an unflappable mind was far from professional. Seeing the low number of views made her angry, and she turned her frustration into motivation, heading to the fields to pick milk vetch.

After all, there was no worry about selling the crops; a trip a day, each trip a steady income of a thousand or two.

But today, it was just her and Qiaoqiao picking.

Grandma Wang Lifan wrapped a plastic tarp around her waist and tied the basket to her as well, then with a straw hat in hand, she asked, “Tantan, can you manage the vegetables on your own if I go pick tea?”

After a moment’s thought, she added, “Or maybe I should stay. We’ve hired four people to pick tea on the mountain, they won’t miss me.”

Wu Lan quickly said, “It’s okay, Mom, I’m here. Go pick the tea, it’s good to have someone up there, and it will keep people from slacking off.”

In reality, they were all villagers, and Wu Lan had hired hard workers. For the sake of pride alone, no one would dare slack off.

But hearing this reason, Wang Lifan hurried off to the mountain all the same.

Song Tan had just brought back the harvested milk vetch, and together with Qiaoqiao, the three of them bustled about tidying up. She hesitated at the words:

“Picking tea leaves in the field all day is quite strenuous; it might be better to ask Grandma to help out at home.”

Wu Lan shook her head, “Working at home isn’t much easier, but if I offer to pay, your grandparents will refuse outright—once or twice is okay, but if it goes on, your uncle is going to feel uncomfortable.”

Both families contributed to the elderly care expenses, so why should the grandparents only help their younger son with his work?

This wasn’t about being petty; issues arise not from scarcity but from inequity.

They lived harmoniously as a family precisely because they were careful about these matters.

It’s different with tea picking on the mountain; we pay people a hundred and fifty a day, and Grandma is willing to take that money for her work.”

Though she made excuses that she was old and didn’t pick much, only agreeing to take one hundred after much persuasion, she ultimately took it.

Song Tan nodded, once again reflecting that this attitude was completely different from when she cultivated through farming.

There were just too many emotions to consider.

Wu Lan meticulously sorted the milk vetch she had picked, and even the thought of wages made her heart ache:

“Just think, we only have that one tea garden, usually one or two hired hands sufficed. But who could have foreseen that the tea would also grow so well this year, and you insisted on hiring two more people… Now with Grandma included, we’re paying 700 in wages a day.”

This year, for some reason, the tea plants thrived, just like the densely packed, soft and tender milk vetch in the fields; one could tell at a glance that the quality would be excellent.

But doing the math, “With the tea plants flourishing, it’s certain one person can pick four catties of fresh tips a day, plus Grandma, let’s count five catties of dry tea a day.”

“Labor cost at 700, plus fertilizers and other expenses, not to mention paying for processing… Without 300 per catty, we’re sure to lose money.”

Wu Lan calculated and began to feel uneasy, “Our mountain tea isn’t famous at all, can we really sell it at a high price?”

Song Tan could only promise over and over, “Mom, don’t worry! If all else fails, just look at our basket full of wild vegetables, half a month’s sales could bring in twenty or thirty thousand.”

“Apart from me, who else has that skill?”

Her daughter was boasting again!

Wu Lan glared at her, “Is that your skill? That’s the merit of our land, growing such good vegetables!”

Mumbling to herself, “We’ve been farming for decades, yet you, who knows nothing, have caught up…”

Her words were tinged with both pride and a hint of envy.

While neatly stacking bundles of Milk Vetch into plastic storage baskets, she didn’t forget to instruct:

“Remember to leave two or three pounds of Milk Vetch for your uncle and auntie. I said I’d send them some wild greens last time, but I was so busy the next day I forgot, and now the wild greens have gone tough.”

“You’ve been selling vegetables for over a month now; if you don’t deliver this time, it wouldn’t be right.”

Song Tan nodded, “Okay, I definitely won’t forget this time.”

This time, when she went to the market, there were even more aunties waiting by the road.

They were even helping to carry the baskets, just to get their vegetables quicker. Qiaoqiao confidently took out the QR code and stuck it on his chest, then, with plastic bags in hand, he was ready to spring into action!

Lately, he had been counting so well, the aunties all preferred him to handle the vegetables. Qiaoqiao became momentarily unrivaled and extremely enthusiastic.

“Miss, you accept pre-orders and even deliver goods to people from out of town, so why not accept pre-orders from us? I’ll mention it on WeChat, and they can just come, pick up the veggies, and go. How simple is that?”

Song Tan smiled, revealing a dimple, sweet and obedient:

“Auntie, but they pay for shipping, and it costs dozens more every time they place an order.”

“Plus, people from out of town can’t get their hands on good stuff like this, unlike you, auntie, with your discerning eye, picking the best at first glance.”

“Oh my! You little girl sure have a way with words…”

The aunties, delighted, paid up and walked away contentedly with their bundles of vegetables.

Actually, it wasn’t really about the shipping cost. The truth was that the process of taking pre-orders and collecting payments was quite complicated, and it was easy to make mistakes without care.

At present, the volume wasn’t that large, and there was only this one crop. Therefore, it wasn’t worth developing a mini-app for it.

Song Tan was busy enough at home every day; there was no need to go through all that trouble.

Everyone here was bustling about, and people at the market had grown used to the sight.@@novelbin@@

A girl bringing her simple-minded brother, driving a pickup to the market every day to set up a stall and sell vegetables; expensive, yet they sold out incredibly fast!

The people at the market were no strangers to it, not a day or two’s observation. Not only were the nearby vendors inquiring, but also the shoppers couldn’t help being curious:

“Big sis, you guys always buy vegetables at this stall, are you doing some kind of group purchase?”

“Nope!” The auntie declared with confidence.

She hadn’t the slightest clue how to navigate those group purchases on the phone; she had been buying vegetables from the market her entire life:

“The girl’s veggies are great. We’ve seen in the group chat what time she’ll come, so we wait here in advance.”

Glancing at the stall behind her, “Only two baskets left? In another half an hour, I reckon they’ll all be gone.”

Despite everyone being aware of the usual speed, they couldn’t help but be astonished by the efficiency—

This wasn’t the busiest early morning rush; this was mid-morning, around nine or ten! To sell these fresh leafy greens at this hour, at this pace?

“So what’s so special about these vegetables? People are willing to pay twenty for them, a family could spend a hundred or more in a day.”

The neighboring vegetable vendor had been itching to ask; to him, this way of splurging seemed outrageous.

Then there was this big sister, he watched coldly as she came every day, unwilling to leave without spending a hundred and eighty—how wealthy must her family be?