Chapter 527: The Peasant Girl’s Splendid Manor
Chapter 527: Orchard Harvest (2)
She knew it was the result of the spiritual spring water. Otherwise, those pears, which used to be gritty, now were almost entirely juicy, with only a small amount of residue that went down smoothly with the juice.
Looking at the heavy pears and peaches hanging from the not particularly robust fruit trees, Mo Yan squinted and said with a smile, “Aunt Tong, these pears and peaches need to be picked. Go to the village and find people to do the picking. Pay them by the basket, two wen per basket. Even the younger kids can help. After picking, give each person two pears and two peaches to taste.”
“Alright, I’ll go right now! Those people have already asked about it and are just waiting for word!” Aunt Tong agreed eagerly and was about to leave for the village when she turned back to ask Mo Yan, “Young Mistress, the rare fruits in the other orchard are also ready to be picked. Do you want to include them?”
Mo Yan swallowed the last bite of pear, wiped her mouth, and replied, “No need. Someone will come to pick them in a couple of days. Aunt Tong, just make sure to have a few more baskets prepared. We want to sell them for a good price!”
Aunt Tong was delighted and quickly set off.
That afternoon, ten or so women and a few older children arrived at the orchard as scheduled, carrying bamboo baskets provided by Aunt Tong. They happily went to another orchard to pick the fruits.
Seeing the fresh and juicy fruits on the trees, the group couldn’t help but salivate. These fruits were just ordinary pears, peaches, and plums, but even ordinary fruits required silver to purchase.
Life in the village was tight, and every wen was counted, so buying fruits was a luxury only affordable to those with a bit more to spend.
When they saw so many fresh and tender fruits, it was no wonder they were so eager.
Aunt Tong, who came with them, said with a smile, “Pick the fruits first, and later everyone can take a few home to taste.”
The older children jumped up and down, shouting around the trees, while the women were more careful, trying not to damage the fruit skins, fearing that damaged fruits would lower the selling price and cause trouble for the Mo family.
This mountain only had half an orchard planted, and each tree bore only three to five fruits, so the picking went quickly. By evening, all the fruits were harvested.
The fruits were carried in baskets to the Mo family’s courtyard, filling about a third of the spacious front yard. After settling the payment, the workers thanked Mo Yan repeatedly before leaving, happily carrying their share of the fruits home.
Before dinner, Mo Yan, Aunt Tong, and Li Xiu worked together to weigh all the fruits. The final tally showed 700 pounds of pears, 580 pounds of peaches, and 450 pounds of plums, the smallest of which were still quite substantial.
This was only the first year, deliberately controlled by Mo Yan. By the same time next year, the yield would likely be four times more.
At prices of six wen per pound for pears, seven wen for peaches, and four wen for plums, selling all the fruits as fresh produce would yield about ten taels of silver. It seemed like a lot, much more than farming would earn, but Mo Yan knew that the fruits imbued with spiritual energy were worth far more than that.
Selling these fruits on the street wouldn’t fetch a good price, and Mo Yan didn’t have time to sell them by the pound. So, the next morning, she asked Li Zhong to relay a message to Shopkeeper Xing, informing him that the fruits tasted good and asking if he was interested.
Mo Yan expected Shopkeeper Xing to send someone to handle the matter, but unexpectedly, he arrived the next day in an incredibly luxurious golden carriage, accompanied by more than twenty guards, making a grand entrance into Liuyang Village.
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