39: 39 This is not a truck (Happy National Day)
39: 39 This is not a truck (Happy National Day)
Qiu Dayong had about a dozen peach trees, which weren’t very big, as it was only the second year they bore fruit, but each branch was laden with heavy, appetizing peaches.
Qiu Ying brought out quite a few burlap sacks, and Qiu Ying and her son, as well as Su Dapeng, were in charge of picking while Su Xiaofeng selected on the side, sorting out those with some damage or less appealing appearances.
Every business has its standards, and purchasing fruit is no different, with a set range of acceptability.
Anything outside those standards certainly couldn’t be bought.
Damaged or undersized fruit, for instance, wouldn’t be considered for purchase.
The peaches, however, were quite uniform, with not too many bad or small fruits.
Mostly medium-sized, they looked both attractive and inviting, clearly showing that Uncle Qiu had managed them with care.
All the peaches were picked from the trees, and after excluding those on the ground that weren’t wanted, the total came to 530 jin, with an additional 100 jin of plums, making 630 jin in all.
“Uncle, do you have a large cart?
Help me take these peaches to the roadside where I’m waiting for my friend to come and pick them up,” Su Xiaofeng said, looking at the seven or eight burlap sacks beside her, her lips twitching at the thought of whether Doctor Cheng would regret giving her a lift when he saw this sight.
“Sure, just wait a bit.
I’ll get the cart,” said Qiu Dayong.
Carts are important agricultural tools, and nearly every household has one.
Soon after, Qiu Dayong pushed out a cart that was just big enough to carry all the peaches, though it was somewhat heavy and definitely couldn’t be pulled by one person alone.
Fortunately, Su Peng was strong, and while he pushed from behind, the task was manageable for the three of them assisting on the side.
“Miss Xiaofeng, how long before your friend arrives?
If there’s time, let Qiu Ying keep watch here for you.
You can go home, have breakfast, then return,” proposed Uncle Qiu, in a good mood since all the peaches had been sold.
Uncle Qiu, how about you wait till dusk for me to come and settle the final payment?
If you trust me, I’ll give you an extra 5 yuan as interest, okay?” Su Xiaofeng had no idea what time it was: “What time is it now?”
“It’s ten minutes to eight,” Qiu Dayong, who used to wear a watch regularly for work and continued the habit at home, replied.
“He should be here any minute,” Su Xiaofeng calculated a total on the paper and showed it to Qiu Dayong.
“Right, that’s 169,” confirmed Qiu Dayong, a straightforward man: “Minus the deposit from yesterday, just give me another 145.
We’re all friends here.”
Not having that much money on her, Su Xiaofeng took out fifty yuan in cash to hand over: “Uncle, if you trust me, is it okay if I come by before it gets dark to settle the remainder?
Here, I’ll give you an extra five yuan, let’s call it interest, alright?”
“I can see you’re an honest person, so alright, I’ll trust you this once,” Qiu Dayong was not difficult: “Don’t worry about the interest, I believe you.”
Listened to Qiu Yong’s words, Su Xiaofeng’s smile broadened: “Thank you, I’m definitely trustworthy.
Uncle, you can fully count on me.”
A black sedan slowly pulled up in front of Su Xiaofeng.
Ye Cheng rolled down the window, and indeed, he found Su Xiaofeng waiting for him by the roadside.
But the seven or eight burlap sacks by her side caused him a sense of foreboding.
“Doctor Ye,” Su Xiaofeng leaned forward slightly, smiling as she greeted Ye Cheng: “Good morning.”
Ye Cheng returned her smile and then glanced at the sacks beside her: “Su Xiaofeng, don’t tell me all these burlap sacks are yours?”
“Yes, I just bought some peaches in the nearby village to sell in Northern City.
These peaches are really sweet; try some,” Su Xiaofeng said as she stuffed a few peaches into Ye Cheng’s hands, while instructing Su Peng: “Brother, open the trunk.
Fit as many bags as you can, then put a few more on the back seats.”
As Ye Cheng listened to Su Xiaofeng arranging everything as if it were a given, the corner of his eye twitched.
Had he agreed to help her transport something?
With Su Peng already hefting the sacks into the trunk, Ye Cheng could only look at Su Xiaofeng with mournful eyes, berating himself for speaking too much the day before.
This Su Xiaofeng wasn’t just looking for a lift; she plainly intended to use his car as a delivery truck.
Reluctantly shoving in over six hundred pounds of peaches and plums, Ye Cheng looked at his van brimming with fruit, and at the back was another strong young man’s car, his expression somber.
It took a while before he spoke, somewhat grinding his teeth, “Su Xiaofeng, this isn’t a freight car.”
“I know that.” Su Xiaofeng certainly knew that Ye Cheng’s vehicle wasn’t a freight car: “It’s not that heavy, plus with me and Pengzi it’s still less than a thousand pounds.”
“Do you feel anything?”
“Don’t you feel that the car has become especially heavy?”
“Is it?” Su Xiaofeng stuck her head out the car window: “No, it doesn’t seem so, the tires aren’t even flat, it can still move.”
Forget it, it’s not too heavy, helping one person is the same as helping another, so he started the car and began their journey.
“How did you come up with the idea of selling peaches?
And you’re even going to the city to sell them.
If you hadn’t run into me, how were you planning to transport all these peaches there?” Ye Cheng found Su Xiaofeng’s behavior very erratic.
One day she’s going to a matchmaking date, the next she’s selling peaches.
“There are always buses.” Su Xiaofeng picked up a peach, ready to eat, when Ye Cheng handed her a bag: “Don’t eat peaches on an empty stomach.
My grandfather steamed some buns for me this morning; I brought a few, you eat.”
Su Xiaofeng threw away the peach and took out a bun, took a delicate bite; it was thin-skinned with plenty of filling and delicious: “Lao Liu can actually steam buns too, and they’re so tasty, who would have thought?”
Ye Cheng was a bit annoyed, “Have you ever seen my grandfather?”
Su Xiaofeng thought carefully for a moment, she had heard of Lao Liu’s name but had never seen him: “I guess not.”
“My grandfather is a great cook if he hadn’t become a doctor, he could have been a chef,” Ye Cheng explained simply.
“Feng, why do I smell meat?” Su Peng, who had started to doze off as soon as he got into the car, woke up to the smell of meat, thinking they had arrived in the county town, but opened his eyes to find the car still moving.
Su Xiaofeng passed Su Peng two large buns: “They’re made by Doctor Ye’s grandfather.”
Su Peng loved meat buns and gulped down the two large buns in a few bites.
“I need to find time to meet Lao Liu and see if I can get a meal.” Su Xiaofeng had heard that Lao Liu’s cooking was top-notch, and the glutton in her belly was itching again, “By the way, when are you going back, Ye?
I’ll treat you to lunch at noon.
If you don’t have time, I’ll just compensate you for the ride.”
Using someone’s car as a freight vehicle was a bit much, but Su Xiaofeng still knew the basic courtesies.
“Your peaches probably won’t be enough to pay for my car fare,” Ye Cheng didn’t think much of the peaches’ value and doubted they would fetch a good price in the city.
“That’s true, then let’s do lunch.” Su Xiaofeng propped her chin and looked at the road ahead: “Stop there at the Northern City apartment complex.”
“Everyone’s gone to work by now,” Ye Cheng decided to kindly remind Su Xiaofeng that the people living in the apartment complex were all steady job holders, at this time, who would be home?
They’ve all gone to work.
“No worries, there’s always someone who doesn’t work,” Su Xiaofeng was unconcerned.