Although he knew Li Long was strict about product quality, once Bai Xiuming entered the warehouse, untied a bag at random, and reached in for a handful of seeds, their size alone convinced him these flower sunflower seeds were worth buying!
Big. Truly big!
Big meant easy to crack, the same principle that made watermelon seeds easy to crack after flattening.
Not only were they big, they were plump. There were a dozen or so seeds in the handful, and Bai Xiuming examined them one by one. Not one was shriveled, not one had insect holes, and there was not a trace of debris.
Were only the seeds on top this clean?
Not quite believing it, he put the handful back into the bag and reached farther down.
Li Long handed him a grain probe of the kind used by the Grain Bureau.
"Manager Bai, use this."
Bai Xiuming took it, switched to another bag, and pushed it into the bottom before pulling it out again. He tipped the seeds from the probe into his hand and examined them closely.
Usually, debris, especially clods of dirt and pebbles, was heavier than the seeds and gradually settled to the bottom as the bags were moved.
Yet there was not a speck of debris among the seeds in his hand.
How remarkable!
He tested several more bags. Random samples from these dozens of bags all came back free of debris, and he found no insect holes.
Finally, he stopped testing and cracked open a seed. The kernel inside was just as plump and had a faint fragrance.
"Well, Manager Bai, what grade would you give these seeds?"
"Special grade, absolutely special grade!" After cracking a few more seeds, Bai Xiuming said firmly, "Comrade Li Long, I really never expected your flower sunflowers