Chapter 19

Di Caiyong sat beside the dining table and picked up a chopstickful of pickled water spinach stems.

As soon as he put them on his tongue, a pang of hunger rose in his stomach.

The pickled vegetables were remarkable: sour, fragrant, sweet and tender. The minced meat gave them a rich, meaty flavor that made his mouth water.

The sweetness in particular came from the vegetables themselves, not from added sugar. It was subtle enough not to overwhelm the other flavors, yet like the finishing touch on a painting, it gave the dish a character all its own.

Even though it was just a side dish to go with congee, Di Caiyong could already tell from it that Qing Mengzhu was no ordinary cook.

After finishing the pickled vegetables, Di Caiyong took a big mouthful of congee and praised Qing Mengzhu repeatedly. "You're a wonderful cook, and you've pickled this water spinach beautifully!"

Qing Mengzhu said, "It does make a nice change when you only have it once in a while."

Tan Wenlei also thought Qing Mengzhu's pickled water spinach was especially delicious. "I'd guess it's because your vegetables are so good that they taste so good pickled."

Then Tan Wenlei said to Di Caiyong, "I told you Mengzhu's vegetables were special, didn't I?"

Di Caiyong gave him a thumbs-up. "You were right! These are the best vegetables I've ever tasted."

After breakfast, Di Caiyong couldn't wait to discuss buying vegetables with Qing Mengzhu.

Tan Wenlei introduced him to Qing Mengzhu. "Caiyong's been running restaurants for years. He comes to us farmers to buy vegetables every year, and he never forces down prices or leaves payments outstanding. His reputation is excellent."

Di Caiyong hurriedly said, "Honesty is the foundation of business. It's only right."

Di Caiyong's family ran restaurants, with more than a dozen branches in Vine City. To save on costs, they had started buying vegetables in the countryside years ago.

As he put it, vegetables bought in the countryside were cheap and fresh, and tasted much better than greenhouse vegetables. It was a win all around.

Tan Wenlei had worked with his family for several years. This year, they had opened a few more restaurants and didn't have enough vegetables, so they needed new suppliers.

Qing Mengzhu listened patiently, but instead of agreeing, he said, "My vegetables are organic. The varieties, flavor and prices are a little different from other people's. Why don't you take some home and try them? Then we can talk."

Di Caiyong hadn't expected that response. Tan Wenlei had clearly told him that Qing Mengzhu grew the vegetables for his own family and hadn't started selling them yet.

Di Caiyong paused, then asked, "May I ask what you mean by different prices?"

Qing Mengzhu didn't beat around the bush. "On average, they cost a few yuan more per jin than ordinary vegetables, like the organic vegetables in supermarkets."

"I see," Di Caiyong said. "Then sorry to trouble you, but could you give me some samples to try?"

Qing Mengzhu readily nodded. "I can take you to pick them now."

The cucumbers, tomatoes, yardlong beans, snow peas and other vegetables in Qing Mengzhu's garden had begun to ripen, while the Chinese chives, amaranth, water spinach and others had been ready to eat for some time. He picked some of each for Di Caiyong to take home and taste.

Di Caiyong offered to pay, but Qing Mengzhu wouldn't let him. He simply said they were a gift, and they could discuss whether to do business later.

The two added each other on WeChat, and Di Caiyong loaded up the vegetables he had bought from Tan Wenlei and headed home.

After Di Caiyong left, Tan Wenlei turned to Qing Mengzhu and said, "He'll definitely come back to buy your vegetables."

Tan Wenlei had tasted Qing Mengzhu's vegetables and knew how good they were.

Qing Mengzhu said, "We'll see how fate decides. Even if we don't make a deal, it's nice to make a friend."

Of course, it would be best if he could earn some money. He couldn't rely entirely on the Star Coins from the Interstellar Mall to get by.

Tan Wenlei clapped Qing Mengzhu on the shoulder. "I love how open-minded you are."

Di Caiyong returned to Vine City and delivered vegetables to each branch. By the time he got back to the main restaurant, it was lunchtime.

Following his instructions, the chef used Qing Mengzhu's vegetables to prepare several dishes the restaurant regularly served and brought them to the table.

Di Caiyong and his family sat down to eat.

Di Caiyong hadn't mentioned bringing back new vegetables that day, but as soon as everyone started eating, they noticed the difference.

"Where did Caiyong get these vegetables? They actually taste like vegetables."

"They taste so fresh. I never knew water spinach with fermented bean curd could taste this fresh."

"The smashed cucumbers are delicious too. If I didn't know Old Yu made them, I'd have thought some master chef had come in. Even all that sour and spicy flavor hasn't drowned out the cucumber's fresh fragrance. That takes skill."

After his family had finished speaking, Di Caiyong said, "They're from a family in Pingkou Village. They said they were specially grown organic vegetables."

"These organic vegetables are the real deal. You can taste the quality."

"They're even better than the vegetables I ate as a child. Oh, they're all gone. Why don't we stir-fry another plate?"

"These vegetables are great. Is the family selling them? Hurry up and secure a supply. Even if there isn't much, we could keep them for ourselves."

"There's quite a lot," Di Caiyong said. "But he said he'd have to charge more, about a few yuan per jin above market price."

Di Caiyong shared his thoughts. "For restaurants like ours, a few extra yuan per jin makes the vegetables too expensive. We're not high-end places to begin with. And I'm worried the quality of his vegetables might not be consistent."

His family looked at one another, but most of them disagreed:

"Even five or six yuan more isn't that expensive. We could add another menu and list these specifically as organic dishes. Fifteen yuan for a plate of stir-fried greens, twenty-two for organic ones. Someone's bound to order them."

"Exactly. Taste is what matters most. As long as the vegetables are good, we don't have to worry about customers being unwilling to pay."

"Vegetables of this quality are hard to come by. Every day we can sell them is another day of profit, and they can help build our reputation. Even if we can't get vegetables of this quality later, some of the customers they attract will still stay."

"I think it's doable. The biggest worry when running a restaurant is having nothing distinctive. Once we have something special and advertise it, we won't have to worry about the business taking off."

Di Caiyong's family spoke one after another, and the more they discussed it, the more feasible it seemed.

In business, every bit of profit counted. They couldn't refuse to earn money now just because they were afraid they might not be able to earn it later.

Di Caiyong's father had the final say. "Go talk to him again and see if you can work out a deal. If you can, we'll buy some and test the waters first."

Seeing that everyone was willing, Di Caiyong agreed. "I'll ask him again after lunch."

Chapter 19

Di Caiyong wasted no time. That afternoon, he visited Qing Mengzhu.

This time, he came alone, without asking Tan Wenlei to accompany him.

Qing Mengzhu brought out snacks and tea for him, and the two sat down to discuss buying vegetables.

Di Caiyong spoke sincerely. "This partnership would be a trial run for our restaurants and for you too. We can give it a try. If it works, great. If it doesn't, we'll still gain some experience."

Qing Mengzhu nodded. "That's true."

Di Caiyong said, "We've given it some thought. How about using Hongda Supermarket's prices as a reference? We can pay two yuan more per jin for each vegetable than Hongda Supermarket's purchase price."

Qing Mengzhu said, "Two yuan is too low. Five."

Di Caiyong pulled a long face. "Five is far too high. How about three?"

Both wanted to work together, and after bargaining for a while, they settled on a price of 3.8 yuan per jin above Hongda Supermarket's for each vegetable. The two sides would agree on the types and quantities, with payment made daily.

Hongda Supermarket posted its daily vegetable purchase prices at the village entrance every day, so using them as a reference was easy enough.

After the two sides reached an agreement, Di Caiyong began buying vegetables from Qing Mengzhu the next day.

Di Caiyong already had to come to Pingkou Village to buy vegetables every day, so buying from one more household was no trouble.

Qing Mengzhu had invested so much in farming since returning home, and now he was finally starting to see a return, so he didn't mind the trouble either.

Since the arrangement was going well, Qing Mengzhu planted another half mu of land with vegetables including garlic, Chinese scallions and cabbage.

After selling vegetables for two days, Qing Mengzhu asked Di Caiyong one morning, "Uncle Caiyong, how are my vegetables? Are the customers willing to buy them?"

Di Caiyong had just transferred 1,235 yuan to Qing Mengzhu for that day's vegetables. Hearing the question, he beamed. "Of course! Everyone says your vegetables taste like the old varieties. It's only been a few days, and we already have regulars coming in every day just to order the organic vegetables."