BXBX NOVEL Chapter 369 - 369: Dealing With The Pickle
Jiang Xia looked at the crowd with earnestness, “Don’t worry. 1 am not like some who break their promises. When 1 say something, 1 mean it! The idea to collect wild vegetables from all of you was my parents’ idea. However, we don’t buy by weight like the co-op store; we buy based on the number of plants. We only want wild vegetables that are mature and lush green. We won’t buy the smaller sprouts. Why don’t you all go home today and come back in a couple of days with the vegetables to exchange for money?”
A little girl, not understanding, asked, “Sister Jiang Xia, what’s the difference between buying by weight and buying by plant?”
Wang Niu, fearing she might be at a disadvantage, interjected, “You’re not trying to underpay us, are you? Are you trying to buy our vegetables at a lower price than by weight and then sell them at a profit?”
The children all wore worried expressions. Trust between people is hard to establish because everyone is self-interested. Even when Jiang Chuan had helped them find wild vegetables and seeds, there were still those who gossiped and doubted him. Such rumors persisted even after he became the accountant.
Jiang Xia looked at her coldly, thinking that this girl was beyond help, her mind corroded by narrow-mindedness.
She calmly rebutted, “Only those who always seek to take advantage of others think everyone else is driven purely by profit. 1 can assure you that the price we offer per plant is definitely higher than the price per weight! On average, you can earn an extra two cents for every pound of wild vegetables. But we don’t have extra goods to exchange, so we can only buy with money.”
Upon hearing Jiang Xia’s assurance, the children finally felt relieved and stopped gathering the wild vegetables. They had heard from their families that Jiang Chuan’s household had been doing better and better since they separated from the main family, but they hadn’t realized the extent of it. The idea of buying vegetables with money was beyond the imagination of ordinary households, and the children looked on with envy.
A boy who was originally responsible for finding cicada shells tentatively asked, “Sister Jiang Xia, do you also buy cicada shells?”
Jiang Xia looked at the boy, his hands holding dried cicada shells and his eyes filled with hope, and shook her head regretfully.
Cicada shells can be used in medicine and are essential ingredients in pharmacies. However, those that have shed during the winter and stayed on trees for too long lose their medicinal value. Jiang Xia had no use for such shells, but she didn’t have the heart to tell the kids the truth. How sad they would be if they realized the cicada shells they’d spent the afternoon collecting were worthless.
She patted the slightly disappointed boy on the back and said to the children holding cicada shells, “Though cicada shells can’t be exchanged for money, you can give them to me. In return, I can offer some potatoes or radishes.”
While she didn’t have extra money, Jiang Xia did have an abundance of vegetables in her storage space. It wouldn’t hurt to indirectly gift some to them.
The children’s faces immediately lit up with smiles, their earlier disappointment forgotten.
In truth, Jiang Xia was very clear-headed. Her proposal to buy wild vegetables wasn’t solely to upset Wang Niu. Her family genuinely needed them.
Wild vegetables, along with other produce like cabbage, are primary ingredients for making pickled vegetables. Wanting to quickly find materials for Zhou Lan and make things easier, Jiang Xia came up with this idea.
Thinking of pickled vegetables, Jiang Xia had another thought. Preparing pickles wasn’t easy, and if she could collect all the pickled vegetables made in the villagers’ homes, wouldn’t that also help Zhou Lan?
With this in mind, she told the children, “A while ago, my father and I met a merchant in the city who specializes in buying pickled vegetables. If you have extra pickled vegetables at home, you can bring them to us for money.”
“How do you buy them?” a child asked.
“We exchange pickled vegetables in the city at the rate of one yuan for every pound. We’ll buy yours at the same rate.”
By her calculations, Jiang Xia was being very generous. With a pound of wild vegetables costing twenty cents, plus sugar, salt, and other seasonings, producing a pound of pickled vegetables would only cost around fifty cents. Jiang Xia was essentially offering them double..