Chapter 1698 - 1638: Group Favorite Novel Counterpart 68

Sure, here is the translation for the provided text:

When Yang Baolin returned to the village, several days had already passed.

He looked terrible, dressed in tattered clothes, with scars on his face and body.

Seeing him in such a state really made Sun Jinhua’s heart ache.

Yang Baolin felt ashamed and stayed at home without going out for quite some time.

He claimed to be recovering from injuries but made Yang Baozhu serve him water and tea every day, even washing clothes for him in the winter. If Yang Baozhu refused, he’d scold her.

Yang Baoshan, for reasons unknown, also did not treat Yang Baozhu as well as he did before. When Yang Baolin bullied Yang Baozhu, Yang Baoshan acted as if he didn’t see it.

Only Sun Jinhua felt sorry for Yang Baozhu, occasionally advising Yang Baolin to treat Yang Baozhu better.

But Yang Baolin stiffened his neck and cursed, saying it was because of Yang Baozhu that he was beaten, and that she should serve him.

Yang Baozhu couldn’t tolerate such hostility or exhaustion and just a few days later, directly fought with Yang Baolin. As a result, both siblings got injured and were bedridden, moaning in pain.

As the lunar month arrived, Anning started leading the villagers to harvest vegetables.

Her standards were high regarding the quality of the vegetables, the type of box for packing; all incoming vegetables had to be sampled and inspected, and those unfit were to be sent back. Additionally, she increased production at the two factories she built to sell more goods during the festival so that employees could receive benefits for the New Year.

In Xiaxi Village, whether it was those who rented land from Anning or grew vegetables independently, everyone made money by year-end, with families counting their earnings and smiling, all planning to celebrate lavishly.

Only the Yang Family was troubled.

The Yang Family also grew greenhouse vegetables this year, but while other villagers used the nutrient liquid prepared by Anning for their crops—although it wasn’t free and had to be purchased—Sun Jinhua prohibited buying Anning’s nutrient liquid, saying it was her trick to con villagers’ money.

Yang Laoer couldn’t resist Sun Jinhua and didn’t use the nutrient liquid.

Their vegetables grew decently this year, but when collected and intended to sell to Anning by year-end, Anning sent them back.

Upon seeing the courtyard full of returned vegetables, Sun Jinhua flared up instantly.

She forgot her fear, forgot the feeling of Anning holding her and standing on the edge of the roof, and stood at the Pei Family’s door shouting, "Pei Anning, Fourth Son Pei, come out! Why won’t you accept our vegetables? What’s the meaning of sending them back? Come out and explain."

By this time, the villagers were free and upon hearing the commotion, came to watch the spectacle.

Truth be told, the Pei and Yang Families had become a spectacle in the village.

After shouting for a while, Yang Baozhu also came out.

She didn’t curse or shout, she just cried.

"Anning, I’m sorry, I know I was wrong, I lied, I’m sorry to my aunt but I really had no choice, I... I put in so much hard work, I really like him, I can’t let it go, I know I was wrong, if you want to hit or scold me, come at me, but please don’t retaliate against my parents, okay? Last year, our family suffered losses in vegetable farming, this year we dared not plant more and borrowed money to plant these very few crops. If you won’t accept them, we’ll really have no way out, I beg you to help us, we’ve lived in this village for so many years, we should have some connection, right? Are you really heartless enough to watch our family unable to make ends meet?"

Yang Baozhu’s tearful plea genuinely moved people, with many feeling so sympathetic they nearly shed tears themselves.

Some even stepped up to support Yang Baozhu: "Yeah, Anning, open the door and speak properly, Baozhu was wrong, but we’re all neighbors, you can’t just watch the Yang Family have nowhere to turn."

Anning was irritated by the noise interrupting her meal.

She ignored it and continued eating.

Liu Dalian couldn’t sit still: "I’m going to see what’s happening."

Anning reached out to stop her: "Finish your meal first, discuss it after eating."

By the time Anning was nearly done eating, Yang Baozhu was already kneeling at the Pei Family’s door: "I beg you, hit or scold me if you must, but spare my parents, they’re getting old now, and after working hard all winter on those vegetables, that’s their last hope."

Many in the village felt sorry for Yang Baozhu, involuntarily pleading on her behalf.

At this moment, the door of the Pei Family finally opened.

Anning stood at the entrance with a cold expression: "It’s not that I won’t accept your family’s vegetables; I can’t let your family ruin Shangxi Village’s reputation or harm the whole village’s interests."

Anning’s statement left many villagers dumbfounded.

Anning held two cucumbers in hand, showing them to the villagers: "Can you see the difference between these two cucumbers?"

Of course, the difference was obvious.

The cucumber in Anning’s left hand was larger and juicier, gleaming with blossoms and prickles, looking tempting to bite into.

The cucumber in her right hand also grew nicely but paled in comparison to the left one.

This one was grown with nutrient liquid, while this one wasn’t." Anning showed them to the crowd: "Not just the appearance; even the taste and nutritional value vary."

She let some people taste them: "Everyone can try, the one grown with nutrient liquid tastes much better and has higher nutritional value, whereas the one without doesn’t even compare to the regular cucumbers we grow in summer. Besides the Yang Family, every family in the village used nutrient liquid, and I can assure everyone that the vegetables we grow are unique, and once launched in the market, they’ll be very popular. After all, we had trials last year. I’ve investigated the market; last year, the vegetables from our house sold like hotcakes in the Provincial City and Capital. This year, although we planted more, the market is large, and we’re not afraid of market saturation, so we can sell at a high price, but the premise is we must be honest. Creating a brand and doing it well needs the entire village’s continuous effort; we must ensure our vegetables are better than others, taste good, smell good, and are more nutritious than others’. That’s how we can avoid being eliminated by the market."

At this moment, Xiao Yuan also came out.

Upon coming out, he stated loudly: "Anning put in a lot of effort; we traveled to the Provincial City, to the city, to the Capital. We begged and pleaded to open up the market, and we signed contracts with those buyers. If the vegetables don’t meet standards, we pay double to compensate for their losses. The Yang Family’s vegetables obviously don’t meet standards. If we tried to fool them with such vegetables, not only will we, Pei Family, pay compensation, it would ruin the village’s reputation. Is it easy to establish a brand so that people recognize that Xiaxi Village grows good vegetables? We have to be careful and cautious, it takes several years of hard work for our brand to be recognized nationwide. But if we mix in Yang Family’s vegetables for sale, sure, we’re helping the Yang Family as fellow folks, but if we make just one such mistake, our reputation is gone, and people will no longer trust Xiaxi Village’s vegetables. This doesn’t just harm our interests but primarily damages everyone’s interests."

An Xian agreed: "Why do we have product inspections, why do we work so hard to ensure the freshness of the vegetables? It’s because we want a sustainable business. If everyone just wants to earn money for one year and not grow vegetables next year, fine, I’ll have Anning accept the Yang Family’s vegetables, hypothetically. But if everyone wants to keep growing vegetables and selling at high prices continuously, leaving a big industry for their descendants, then we won’t accept Yang Family’s vegetables."

By this time, everyone had tasted the two types of vegetables and understood that the Yang Family’s crops were indeed inferior, and after listening to Anning and others analyze the gains and losses, no one sympathized with Yang Baozhu anymore.

When it comes to everyone’s interests and involves money, sympathy becomes useless. Why ruin one’s own meal ticket for Yang Baozhu? Who would be that foolish?