Chapter 5: Wholesale! Call Me President Zhang

Chapter 5: Chapter 5: Wholesale! Call Me President Zhang

It was no wonder Zhang Lin was wary of this old man. After all, his antics the day before had been outrageous—without a word, he had just flopped down in front of that vendor’s stall.

"Boss, are these water honey peaches a new variety, too? And 30 yuan a pound, too?" the old man asked as soon as he arrived at the stall.

’Even the slogan sounds familiar.’

Hearing the old man use the word "too" twice, Zhang Lin hurriedly grabbed a peach, washed it, and handed it to him. "Sir, please, try a sample first!"

The old man didn’t refuse. He took the peach and bit into it.

As the sweet, delicious flavor of the water honey peach exploded in his mouth, his eyes visibly lit up. Without another word, he kept eating, quickly devouring the entire peach.

The water honey peach was simply too delicious.

In all his years, he’d never eaten a water honey peach this delicious.

He understood now. Li Yuan Farm had truly developed a new variety. The vendor he’d met yesterday was an imposter, just a shameless opportunist trying to cash in.

"Sir, our new variety is delicious, isn’t it? It cost a lot of money to develop," Zhang Lin said, making sure to emphasize the "cost a lot of money" part.

He was hoping the old man would get the hint and, under no circumstances, lie down in front of his stall.

To his surprise, the old man nodded. Then he said magnanimously, "Boss, weigh me out a hundred pounds of these peaches. Yesterday, some rotten bastard pushed me, and I got 3,000 yuan in compensation. It’s just enough to buy some peaches to share with the neighbors!"

"..." Zhang Lin was stunned when he heard this.

’What in the world?’

Liu De, however, didn’t hesitate and had already started grabbing bags to pack the peaches.

A hundred pounds was no small amount, and the old man couldn’t carry it all by himself. He made a call, and two burly-looking men arrived.

When they saw the peaches were 30 yuan a pound and that the old man had bought a hundred pounds, they assumed he’d been scammed.

"Dad, why did you buy so many peaches?"

"Yeah, what kind of peaches cost 30 yuan a pound? You got swindled, didn’t you?"

The old man didn’t say a word. He just stuffed a peach into each of their hands.

The moment the two burly men took a bite, their expressions changed.

"Dad, you can’t eat this many peaches by yourself. I’ll take some home!"

"Dad, your grandson loves peaches!"

Zhang Lin only breathed a sigh of relief after the old man left with the two burly men, carrying the peaches.

’Looks like the old man isn’t unreasonable after all. That vendor from yesterday must have gotten what he deserved. Who told him to try and pull that same routine with regular peaches?’

As the loudspeaker blared, people coming out of the market were drawn over, just like yesterday. After trying a sample, nearly everyone bought some.

"Boss, weigh out ten pounds of water honey peaches for me," a young woman said, walking over on a man’s arm.

She didn’t ask for a sample. ’She looks familiar... I think she was one of the stylish young women from the first group of customers yesterday.’

Sure enough, the man smiled and complimented him. "Boss, your peaches are incredible. My wife brought some home yesterday, but it wasn’t nearly enough for everyone, so we made a special trip to buy more today."

In response to the compliment, Zhang Lin gave his customary sales pitch. "Sir, our Li Yuan Farm spent a great deal on research funds to cultivate this new variety. If they weren’t delicious, all our hard work would have been for nothing, wouldn’t it?"

Liu De had already silently weighed out ten pounds of peaches and handed them to the man.

As the man took the peaches, he had already completed the 300-yuan payment with WeChat Pay.

It wasn’t just the young woman. A short while later, a middle-aged woman appeared, leading several others. The leader was another familiar face—the same one who had bought thirty pounds of peaches all at once the day before.

As soon as she reached the stall, the woman announced, "This is where I bought the peaches. If you want more, you’ll have to buy your own. I already mailed mine to my son."

The other women immediately rushed forward:

"Boss, weigh out ten pounds for me!"

"I’ll take eight pounds."

"Boss, give me a bag, I’ll pick my own!" ℯℯ𝘭.

"..."

These women had obviously tasted the water honey peaches before, and their enthusiasm was contagious. This influenced the other people around, making Zhang Lin’s stall even more of a hotspot.

Good food speaks for itself.

A product that tastes better than anything else on the market—one that leaves people craving more—is bound to become a hit, provided no one is actively working against it.

Zhang Lin’s water honey peaches were exactly that kind of product.

As a result, he already had repeat customers on the second day, and sales were significantly hotter than on day one. By noon, all 500 pounds of water honey peaches had completely sold out.

Seeing this, Zhang Lin took Liu De to a restaurant for lunch, then hurried back to the farm. He loaded the remaining 500 pounds of peaches from the warehouse onto the truck and drove them back to the same spot to set up his stall again.

Not long after he switched the loudspeaker back on, the girl from yesterday in the No. 1 Middle School uniform arrived, bringing along several of her classmates, who were also in uniform.

Dressed in her school uniform, with her pure, pretty face and a ponytail, she was the very picture of vibrant youth.

Seeing the girl again, Zhang Lin was still taken aback.

’I don’t know why I’ve run into a high school girl who looks so much like my first love.’

The moment she and her friends got to the stall, the girl said, "Boss, I kept my promise! I brought my classmates to buy your peaches. I even split one peach among them to help you advertise."

Zhang Lin was taken aback. ’One peach for so many people? Was that really necessary?’

But hearing her words, he smiled and said, "Well then, let’s have your classmates try a proper sample."

As he spoke, he was already grabbing some peaches to wash.

"Boss, I already let them have a taste yesterday! And they’re only buying two each!" the girl said, waving her hands dismissively. To her, it was too embarrassing to take free samples when the peaches were so expensive and they were only buying a couple each.

Zhang Lin understood her reservations perfectly, but he just smiled. "Buying two is still buying. And since you brought them here, I have to let your classmates have a real taste, just to show you some respect!"

’Besides, even if it were a "buy two, get one free" deal, I’d still make a profit. She was nice enough to bring her friends here, so letting her look good in front of them might earn me some points, right?’

The girl was clearly pleased by his words. As Zhang Lin handed the washed peaches to her friends, she didn’t forget to add her own praise, "Go on, try them! The boss’s peaches are amazing. You have to eat a whole one to really enjoy it!"

In truth, she didn’t need to say a thing. The other girls were already devouring the peaches with such relish they were too absorbed to even speak.

Because they really were that delicious.

After the high school girls had each bought two peaches and left, Zhang Lin watched the lead girl’s retreating figure, an inexplicable feeling stirring within him. His mind drifted back to high school, to a memory of secretly going to a hotel with his first love.

’I know it’s kind of creepy to be looking at this girl and thinking about my first love, but sometimes your mind just goes where it wants.’

"Boss, do you have a thing for that little girl?" Liu De suddenly asked.

Zhang Lin shot Liu De a glare. "What nonsense are you talking about? She’s obviously a minor!"

"As long as you know, Boss!" Liu De said again.

"..." Zhang Lin was speechless for a moment.

’Still, it made me think of my old boss. He got himself a high school girlfriend who was twenty years younger than him. How could anyone do that?’

Seeing more customers arrive, he quickly snapped back to reality. ’Right now, making money is the most important thing.’

「Time passed.」

As the sun began to set, the remaining 500 pounds of peaches were nearly gone. Zhang Lin checked his balance, which had reached 32,136.42 yuan.

’If I sell off the rest of these, breaking 33,000 yuan will be no problem.’

Just as Zhang Lin was thinking this, a middle-aged man approached the stall and asked with a broad smile, "Boss, if you don’t mind me asking, this is a trial sale for Li Yuan Farm, right? Does the farm do wholesale?"

"Sir, are you looking to wholesale these water honey peaches?" Zhang Lin looked at the man with a knowing smile, seeing right through him.

’Running a pop-up stall was just to test the waters. The end goal has always been wholesale.’

After all, the quantity available for wholesale would only increase in the future, and that wasn’t something he could manage just by running a street stall.

Seeing that he’d been found out, the middle-aged man chuckled. "Well, I’ve seen how well you’re doing these past two days, and I thought I’d try wholesaling some myself. I was wondering if you could give me the phone number for Li Yuan Farm?"

He had indeed noticed these water honey peaches from the very beginning. After all, his shop was right next door, and with the loudspeaker blaring so loudly, it was hard not to notice.

Moreover, their sales figures for the past two days had truly astonished him.

’Especially today... they must have sold 1,000 pounds, right?’

So, he knew these peaches definitely had a market, and there was money to be made!

"Of course, giving you the number is no problem," Zhang Lin said with a smile, handing over his own phone number. He then added, "By the way, the contact’s surname is Zhang. Make sure to address him as President Zhang. You can give him a call right now to inquire."

"Thank you." The middle-aged man hadn’t expected to get the number so easily. He thanked him again and immediately dialed the number.

The next moment, Zhang Lin’s phone rang right on cue.

The middle-aged man instinctively glanced over at him.

Zhang Lin, however, simply grinned as he answered the call. "Hello," he said into the phone, "This is President Zhang of Li Yuan Farm, Zhang Lin speaking!"

"..." The middle-aged man listened, stunned, to the voice coming from his phone.