Chapter 214: So Horrifying
While Deng Shirong's family was enjoying the Cinnamon Flavor lychees, Deng Changfu's family was also tasting the same variety on their own lychee orchard.
However, Deng Shirong's family ate to their heart's content, while Deng Changfu's family only sampled a few before stopping, still unsatisfied.
After all, these lychees could sell for fifty cents per pound. If their family indulged, they could easily consume ten pounds, costing several dollars. Given their current financial situation, they couldn't afford such luxury.
After eating more than a dozen lychees, Deng Shirong said to his eldest son, "Yuntai, go back and get three sacks. Pick two and send them to your second and third uncles."
Deng Yuntai responded, "Okay, Dad."
Deng Shirong then turned to his nephew and said, "Dashi, pick a bag and bring it back for your parents to try."
Bu Dashi quickly replied, "Uncle, I'll just bring a few pounds back for them to taste. We should keep the rest to sell!"
Bu Dafang chimed in, "Yes, Uncle. At fifty cents a pound, picking a whole bag would cost more than ten yuan. That's too wasteful!"
Deng Shirong smiled and said, "Don't worry about the cost. If you can't even enjoy the fruits of your own labor, what's the point of living? Listen to me, pick a bag and bring it back for your parents to taste."
Bu Dafang and his sister knew their uncle was always generous, so they didn't argue further.
Deng Yuntai said, "Then I'll go back and get the sacks now!"
Deng Shirong nodded and added, "Deliver them to your uncles today. Tomorrow morning, bring another sack and pick one to send to your father-in-law and mother-in-law."
Zhang Xiuping couldn't help but laugh. "My parents rarely had lychees to eat in previous years. If we send them this sack of Cinnamon Flavor lychees, they'll probably be the talk of the village for another ten days or half a month."
Everyone chuckled at this.
The lychee orchard wasn't far from home. A quick walk took about ten minutes round trip. Deng Yuntai rode his bicycle, making the journey even faster.
While picking lychees, Deng Yunzhen asked, "Dad, when will we sell our lychees?"
Deng Shirong replied, "The lychees aren't fully ripe yet. Let's sell them after May Day."
Deng Yunzhen looked at the red lychees covering the mountain and asked, "Dad, how many kilograms do you think these lychees weigh?"
Deng Shirong estimated, "About 2,800 to 3,100 kilograms."
Deng Yunzhen said happily, "Even if it's only 2,800 kilograms, we can still sell them for 1,400 yuan. In a few years, when the lychee trees mature, the yield could increase several times. By then, won't it be easy to make 5,000 or 6,000 yuan a year?"
Deng Shirong smiled and said, "It'll be more than 5,000 or 6,000. In a few years, the price of lychees will likely go up. Making 10,000 yuan a year won't be difficult."
Everyone gasped at this. In this era, a ten-thousand-yuan household was still highly prestigious. Earning ten thousand yuan annually was a significant achievement.
Deng Shirong squatted down and patted a large watermelon on the ground. "Although watermelons are much cheaper than lychees, their weight is incomparable. After the lychees are sold, the watermelons should be ready for sale. I believe we'll make a lot of money."
Zhang Xiuping smiled and said, "This watermelon harvest is all thanks to my cousin and her husband!"
Deng Shirong nodded. "Yes, Ah Hu and Da Fang, you've worked really hard this year."
Jiang Dehu waved his hands. "Uncle, we've been used to this kind of work since we were young. It's really not hard at all."
Bu Dafang, while helping to pick lychees, added, "Uncle, you pay us so well. Doing this kind of work isn't that hard. I don't know how many people in the village envy us!"
This wasn't an exaggeration. Since the couple started helping their uncle manage the orchard, even though they only earned 50 yuan a month combined, people in their village were envious. In this era, rural folks had few opportunities to earn money.
Over the past year, the couple had given their sister-in-law ten yuan a month to help care for their children and saved the rest.
Now, their savings had quietly exceeded 800 yuan, making them relatively wealthy in the countryside.
With such a generous income and the delicious food at their uncle's house, the couple was highly motivated.
Deng Shirong smiled and didn't say much, but he decided to give his niece a big red envelope at the end of the year. After all, growing watermelons wasn't just about planting seeds. Watering and fertilizing the watermelons on the mountain was a massive undertaking.
This year's bumper watermelon harvest was inseparable from the hard work of his niece and her husband, so it was only right to reward them.
Soon, everyone picked three sacks of lychees. Two were delivered by Deng Yuntai to his second and third uncles, and the remaining sack was taken home by Bu Dashi.
As for his nephew's husband's family, Deng Shirong had no intention of sending them any.
He was generous, but these Cinnamon Flavor lychees weren't cheap, and he wouldn't give them to just any relative. His niece's husband's parents didn't help care for the children, forcing his niece to spend ten yuan a month on her sister-in-law's help. For this reason alone, he wouldn't give them any lychees.
In addition to the three sacks for relatives, Deng Shirong also picked some extra lychees to take home for his children who were still in school. On the way home, he happened to meet Deng Changfu and his family, who were also returning from their lychee orchard.
Deng Yunqiang immediately asked, "Uncle Jiu, the lychees are starting to ripen. When do you plan to pick them and send them to the supply and marketing cooperative?"
Deng Shirong replied, "They're not fully ripe yet. It should be a few more days."
Deng Yunqiang said, "Uncle Jiu, let's pick them on the same day and have the supply and marketing cooperative send a truck to collect them."
Deng Shirong nodded. "Okay, have you prepared the bamboo baskets?"
Deng Yunqiang said, "Yes, I've woven seventy or eighty bamboo baskets. If you need any, Uncle Jiu, I can give some to you."
Deng Shirong waved his hand. "No need. I've already had people prepare them. We won't run short."
Deng Changfu interrupted, "Uncle Jiu, your watermelons are almost ripe, right? How's the yield?"
Deng Shirong smiled. "They're almost ready. I think after selling the lychees, we can start selling watermelons. As for the yield, I can't estimate exactly, but it should be tens of thousands of kilograms!"
Deng Changfu was shocked. "Tens of thousands of kilograms! My god, the watermelon yield is so high!"
Deng Yunqiang quickly calculated how much tens of thousands of kilograms of watermelons could sell for. When he signed the purchase contract with the supply and marketing cooperative, he knew the purchase price was eight cents per kilogram. Eighty cents for ten kilograms, eight yuan for a hundred kilograms, eight hundred yuan for ten thousand kilograms, and tens of thousands of kilograms would amount to several thousand yuan.
Hiss…
Didn't this mean that growing watermelons could yield more profit than growing lychees?
At this moment, Deng Yunqiang was stunned by the numbers he calculated!
At the same time, he secretly regretted not planting watermelons when Uncle Jiu's family did.
(End of this chapter)