Chapter 5: The Smell of Jujube
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“It may have failed.” w.a.n.g Yao said. He could tell that Li Xiaoyan was disinterested just by her last couple of words.
“Did you leave your phone number?”
“Yes.”
“So you two should try it out.”
…
“Xiaoyan, how was that guy?”
“Not good. He didn’t even have a formal job; he just plants herbs at home,” Li Xiaoyan pouted and said.
“Self-employed…so that’s good!”
“No! I heard that there was a recent graduate of a famous university who planted herbs at home and jumped into a river to commit suicide because he lost so much. Isn’t that him?”
“I heard about it too and I will search for more information for you. Don’t be stupid while in school!”
After seeing off these two women, w.a.n.g Yao went up to the hill. He cared nothing about the date since he was focused on the herbal field now. Watering, removing weeds and loosening the soil—the time just pa.s.sed day-by-day.
During those times, however, his mother pushed him to contact Li Xiaoyan several times. She was not that responsive, so he finally told his mom that she had no interest in him. Then it was finished.
…
September quickly came and the weather had become cooler.
With the watering of the ancient spring water, the less than two acres of sealwort grew up surprisingly well. They had luxuriant foliage and they were even taller than people.
“s.h.i.+t. It’s so high, this just doesn’t make sense!” w.a.n.g Yao said astonis.h.i.+ngly.
Not only had his sealwort grown, but so had the jujube trees. They grew wider and their leaves were bright and beautiful. The branches were also filled with fruit, all of them a dark red color. They were so big and full and the trees had the unique smell of jujube; it could be smelled from afar.
w.a.n.g Yao knocked several jujubes down and had a taste. They were so crispy and juicy. And what a delectable smell! He had never eaten such delicious jujubes. He quickly knocked some more of them and brought them to his parents to try.
Maybe I can sell them at the market?
When thinking about it, he took some of them and weighed them. They were more than 50 kilograms, but they were just less than one-third of the tree.
“How many jujubes can this tree bear?”
He brought the jujubes home and washed all of them so that his parents could eat them.
“It is so sweet! Where did you get them?” Zhang Xiuying said with surprise. She had been in the village for years and she had gone around the nearby hills many times. Still, she could not remember where such good jujube trees were!
“The jujube trees next to my house and I’m preparing to go to town to sell them.”
“Yes. Great. You should also go to confirm the job thing. It has already been more than 20 days, so why hasn’t the unit you mentioned last time replied yet?”
w.a.n.g Yao was shocked at that moment. It was just a lie that he made for his mom when he came back from town, but she still remembered it.
The next day, w.a.n.g Yao went to the hill to water the herbal field. The ancient spring given to him by the magic system was so special. It could not only promote the growth of plants, it could also benefit humans and animals too.
Having drunk the ancient spring in these twenty days, w.a.n.g Yao found that the attributes in the system had been changed.
Const.i.tution: 1.5, Power: 1.1, Sprite: 1.1, Agility: 1.1, Will: 1.2
The increase in const.i.tution was the most obvious.
He could also see that his parents became healthier and the fur of San Xian became brighter. San Xian also seemed to be larger and smarter. All the changes showed the specialty of the ancient spring kettle and it also implied that the system was indeed magical. But this was just the gift at the very beginning, so there must be better things in the future. w.a.n.g Yao started to have high expectations for the system.
What would he get in the future?
After he finished his work on the hill, w.a.n.g Yao left for town. He brought with him more than 50 kilograms of fresh jujubes, one folding stool, one campstool and several packs of bags.
He found a large wholesaler of fruit to take a look at his jujubes, but the counterpart only said one thing: “They’re worth 4 yuan for 1 kilogram.” He spoke with a cold att.i.tude, so w.a.n.g Yao was very angry.
“I’ll sell it at a higher price than that!”
He looked around for a place to set up and finally chose a place exclusively for fruits and vegetables. He put the bags that were used to pack the jujubes on the ground and he sat on the folding stool. He was too embarra.s.sed to yell out to customers so he just waited for buyers to come to him instead. However, the peddlers who sold fruits and vegetables next to him yelled loud and hard.
“How much are your jujubes?” Having waited for half a day, he finally got someone.
“20 yuan for 1 kilogram,” w.a.n.g Yao said.
“What? So expensive!” That one was astonished and then he just left.
“Hey, buddy. Is this your first time selling fruit? What is with your jujubes? Why are they so expensive? Others sell at 6 yuan and the highest is 10 yuan. But you dare to sell them for 20 yuan so directly! That’s so expensive. You must have no customers!” The kind middle-aged man taught him when he listened.
“My jujubes are really delicious.”
“It should not be that expensive even if they are delicious!”
“You can have a taste.” w.a.n.g Yao gave some of them to the man.
“Thank you. Hey! It really is good!”
That man ate all of it. He found that these jujubes were so full and they were dark red, unlike other jujubes that were green or light red. It was so rare to have such dark red jujubes. There was a unique smell to them. They were so crispy and juicy when he tasted them. There was a little bit of bitterness in the sweetness. Delicious and yummy!
“Yes, yes, yes!” He finally stopped eating after his fifth jujube.
“What do you think about them?”
“They’re so tasty. I have never eaten such good jujubes. Kid, you’re selling at too low a price. It should be 30 yuan for 1 kilogram!” the man said.
“Huh!?” w.a.n.g Yao was shocked.
“They are so delicious that someone must buy them. A thing is valued if it is rare. There are so many wealthy people in town, so you should listen to me.”
“Okay. You can have more jujubes since they are so delicious. Here is one more pack!”
“How can I take this?”
“How much are your jujubes?” During their conversation, someone came and asked for the price.
“30 yuan for 1 kilogram.”
“How much?!” The person dazed, and he thought he heard wrong.
“30 yuan, for 1 kilogram.”
“Why is it so expensive?!”
“You can try them and see whether they’re worth it or not.” w.a.n.g Yao pointed at the jujubes in the bag. The man took one of them and wiped it off. His eyes flashed in surprise when he ate it.
“So delicious. Give me 1 kilogram!”
“Okay!” w.a.n.g Yao quickly weighed 1 kilogram and pa.s.sed them to the buyer.
w.a.n.g Yao thought he should start to take his business more seriously. However, there were so many pedestrians that left when they asked for the price in the morning.
“So, what’s wrong? Should I reduce the price?”
One vehicle screeched to a halt at the side of the road. There were four people getting out of the vehicle—two men and two women. They were very neat and they directly walked to the booth of w.a.n.g Yao.