Zhao Tiezhu had no idea how furious Wang Tianyang was, but he knew one thing for certain: he would never sell his produce to him.
He arrived at Taoyuan Restaurant with Qin Peiyao, noting that it wasn't far from Heping Market—no wonder she went there early in the morning to source her ingredients. The restaurant was an impressive three-story building that radiated an air of professional success. Zhao Tiezhu parked his tricycle at the entrance and secured it.
Qin Peiyao, having returned earlier, was waiting on the steps. She ushered him into the lobby and, with a look of genuine concern, said, "Listen, you’ve offended Wang Tianyang, and he won’t let this go. You must be careful!" She felt she had to warn him again; otherwise, she wouldn't be able to settle her conscience.
Zhao Tiezhu chuckled and replied, "Don’t worry. I’m just a farmer, and my home isn't in the city—he won’t be able to find me." He felt a sense of appreciation for Qin Peiyao; she was as kind-hearted as she was beautiful, and she didn't look down on a farmer like him.
Qin Peiyao shook her head slightly, lamenting his earnest nature, and decided she would do her best to protect him. Changing the subject to business, she said, "I tasted your cucumbers—they are absolutely superb. I feel their medicinal value is very high; is eighteen yuan per jin too cheap?" Because of the trouble with Wang Tianyang, she had decided to offer a bit more compensation.
Zhao Tiezhu felt a surge of pride; the Shennong Hundred Herb Liquid was truly remarkable. He smiled and said, "There's no need to call me 'Big Brother.' My name is Zhao Tiezhu, and I'm twenty-four. The vegetables are grown on our farm, so you tell me what a fair price is. I'd like to deliver them every day so I don't have to waste time setting up a stall at the market. Let's go with a wholesale price. What do you think?"
Relatively speaking, eighteen yuan was already an astronomical price—about the cost of a full box of medicine.
Qin Peiyao’s eyes lit up at his words, and a smile broke across her pretty face. "Do you have other vegetables? If you can bring them over, I’ll offer you high prices for those of similar quality!" Her restaurant was currently being hemmed in by the Dongrun Grand Hotel, and if she could leverage these unique vegetables to capture the market, she would certainly be able to break the deadlock.
Zhao Tiezhu thought for a moment before replying, "For now, I can only guarantee the quality of the cucumbers and tomatoes, maybe the chili peppers too. The rest of the vegetables are just standard village produce. They are certainly greener and more environmentally friendly than the out-of-season vegetables from greenhouses, and they have no pesticides, but they aren't quite the same. Actually, try the tomatoes—they’ll surprise you!"
He had his own internal calculations. If all his produce were of such extraordinary quality, it would inevitably attract unwanted attention. By limiting it to a few items, he could claim they were grown with a special fertilizer. He would only expand the range once he was truly strong enough. More importantly, the Shennong Cauldron was small; if he ran out of the Shennong Hundred Herb Liquid, his livelihood would be cut off. He couldn't afford to be short-sighted.
Upon hearing this, Qin Peiyao immediately recalled the wonderful taste of the cucumbers and headed outside. She brought back a tomato, washed it with fresh water, and took a bite. The full, rich juice flowed down her throat, offering a completely different experience. As it reached her stomach, a warm, glowing sensation spread through her, making her feel much better all over. Her eyes widened in surprise and delight.
"This is incredible! This also has medicinal value—it can dispel cold, warm the stomach, and treat anorexia. Good, this is excellent!" she exclaimed. "For these two items, supply me with two hundred jin each day. As for the other vegetables, we'll see as we go. I’ll pay you twenty yuan per jin. Shall we sign an agreement?" She could already foresee that with these two unique vegetables, Taoyuan Restaurant would break through the siege and return to the top tier.
After some thought, Zhao Tiezhu nodded. "Fine. But I’d like to be paid daily—whatever I bring, I want settled on the spot." Going back, he could simply plant tomatoes and cucumbers in all the spare space; they didn't require much room but produced fruit continuously.
"That's acceptable. Also, I want exclusive rights. You cannot supply these to any other restaurant besides Taoyuan Restaurant. Of course, if I go out of business and the restaurant closes, the agreement is automatically void."
"Agreed! I don’t like Wang Tianyang either, so I definitely won’t sell to him!" Zhao Tiezhu didn't have any grand ambitions; he just wanted to secure a stable sales channel to improve his family's life.
Qin Peiyao immediately had someone weigh the tomatoes and cucumbers and personally invited him to the manager's office to print the agreement. They wrote down all the terms they had discussed. Before finishing, Qin Peiyao asked, "How much should I set for the breach of contract penalty? I’ll write down one hundred thousand yuan as a formality—I suspect you’ll earn that much in just a few days anyway!"
"Fine by me!" Zhao Tiezhu didn't intend to break the contract, so he agreed immediately.
Two copies were printed. A chef walked in and said, "Boss, we have 221 jin of tomatoes and 208 jin of cucumbers! Here is the list." He placed the record on the desk and hurried away.
Qin Peiyao took the list, calculated the total on a computer, and said, "That's 429 jin in total. That comes to 8,580 yuan! Cash or transfer?"
"Cash, please!" Zhao Tiezhu felt a rush of excitement. A single day's income was worth two months of his previous wages. If his sister-in-law knew he could earn this much, she would be overjoyed. His future was looking brighter by the day.
Clutching the stack of bills and the supply agreement, Zhao Tiezhu bid her farewell. Qin Peiyao stood on the steps, watching him leave with her own sense of anticipation. She turned back inside, already thinking about how to launch the market for the tomatoes and cucumbers. She quickly organized her strategy and began by adjusting the menu prices.
Scrambled eggs with tomatoes: seventy-eight yuan a plate.
Tomatoes with sugar: one hundred and eight yuan a plate.
Tomato and egg soup: thirty-nine yuan a bowl!
Anything involving the tomatoes or cucumbers was marked up several times over. When the floor manager saw the price adjustment notice issued by Qin Peiyao, she rushed into the boss's office. "Boss, did you make a mistake with the prices?" She couldn't imagine how customers would react to such expensive dishes—she feared they would be furious.
Qin Peiyao smiled confidently. "Go ahead and recommend these two dishes today; trust my judgment. I’ll send out a message to our customer group!"
"You're the boss, you make the call!" Seeing her confident smile, the floor manager didn't dare say more. She knew that in the face of the siege from Dongrun Grand Hotel, Qin Peiyao hadn't had a good night's sleep in days.
The news of Taoyuan Restaurant’s "sky-high" prices quickly spread in a small circle, and several loyal regulars decided they wanted to try them. Taoyuan Restaurant had always been famous for the safety and high quality of its ingredients.
Zhao Tiezhu, unaware of Qin Peiyao's plan, returned to Heping Market with the thick stack of cash. He bought some pork and seafood to improve the quality of life for his sister-in-law, as they had grown tired of the vegetables they usually had in the village. He walked over to the middle-aged couple's stall, feeling like showing off a little.
However, he found Yao Si'er with a bruised and swollen face. He asked in surprise, "Yao Si'er, what happened? You got beaten up? Heh..."
Zhao Tiezhu truly didn't know the situation, but to Yao Si'er and his wife, the words sounded like biting sarcasm.
"Young man, what do you want?" the woman snapped. "Wang Tianyang got beaten by you, and he took his anger out on my old man—are you here to laugh at our misery?"
"Hmph, our vegetables won't sell, are you going to beat us up too?" The middle-aged woman’s voice was piercing.
Zhao Tiezhu curled his lip and walked away with a swagger. He thought to himself that Yao Si'er deserved it—he shouldn't have been so foul-mouthed earlier. He felt lucky he hadn't cooperated with Wang Tianyang, or who knew what kind of trouble it would have brought.
As he walked out of Heping Market and turned onto the small country road, a van and a BMW suddenly appeared, sandwiching him in the middle.