pjbooks Chapter 116 Picking Oranges
Chapter 116 Picking Oranges
After the initial reservation of the number of people, Xia Shiyu could arrange for harvesters, recruiting workers directly from the village to pick the oranges.
At most, you just need to pay attention to the details of harvesting.
"Everyone, please be careful not to damage the orange peel. If necessary, you can use scissors to pick it. It's best to leave some branches and leaves on it."
Orange peels are quite important. If you just casually pull them off like a passing child, the peels will be damaged, and the oranges won't last long.
After Xia Shiyu discussed with the others how many oranges the merchants wanted, he arranged for people to pick the oranges.
Many people in the village took on this job. After all, the weather is cold now, and there isn't much work to do in the fields. It's good to earn some extra money here.
Wang Xiu carefully cut the tangerines off the tree with scissors and placed them gently in her basket.
Looking at the big, plump orange, she couldn't help but exclaim, "This orange is really good! Every household here grows oranges, but I've never seen one this big and with such a beautiful appearance."
Jenny chimed in, “That’s right. Look how good these oranges are. I’ve picked from these trees and haven’t seen a single bad one.”
Her family's fishpond is well-stocked with manpower, so she decided to come and work there for a few days to join in the fun.
They can also chat with people, and of course, they don't neglect their work while chatting.
Wang Xiu nodded, "That's right. Otherwise, out of all the people in our village who come to do business, none of them can achieve the scale of Shi Yu's business."
After finishing her work on one tree, Yanni moved on to the next. "That's because they're so capable. Look how delicious Shi Yu's vegetables are. I'll have to buy some to take home later. Whether it's for entertaining guests during the New Year or just for our own family, it'll make my relatives look good too."
"That's right, that's right. It's just in time for the New Year, so the children will have good food when they come back."
Wang Xiu agreed with this point. Last time, she brought some dishes for her son and daughter-in-law, and they shared some with their colleagues, who all praised them.
The two were working diligently and chatting, while Xia Shiyu was also calculating the yield of a single tree.
Several villagers worked together to put the picked oranges onto the weighing scale and then calculated their weight.
"I've calculated it, it weighs a full 150 jin (75 catties)."
"Wow, this is amazing! The fruit on one of my trees is usually only about 100 jin (50 catties), but this one has 150 jin (75 catties)."
"Yes, yes, I wish our oranges could be like that too."
“I think we should just let Shi Yu plant fruit trees in the whole village. We can also develop a specialized orange industry.”
"Sigh, that can't be compared. It all comes down to ability, and we don't have that ability."
A group of people were chattering away. Xia Shiyu was also very happy to see the weight. Sure enough, even though she hadn't picked a special large-fruited variety, the tangerines were still bigger than usual, and tasted better than usual.
As for the idea of developing orange cultivation throughout the village, which other villagers have mentioned, she hasn't considered that far ahead yet. However, their village is indeed suitable for growing oranges, and she'll decide next year based on the situation. She was originally planning to expand the scale of her planting next year anyway.
Even now, this land is still not enough for her to cultivate; Xia Shiyu's passion for farming is burning brightly.
She waved for everyone to get back to work, while she contacted interested business owners to sell her products.
However, Yu Juan glanced at the oranges in front of her and suddenly said, "I feel that these fruits are more suitable for supermarkets or other retail stores. Of course, we can also sell them ourselves. Anyway, we don't have to worry about selling our fruits."
Xia Shiyu took these words to heart. Indeed, most of the shop owners and others who bought oranges from her were just trying to satisfy their own appetites, but very few were actually making a business out of it.
Hotels and hot pot restaurants only serve these as an add-on; they don't specifically set up stalls to sell them, and if they did, the price wouldn't be low. They're more like a main dish, so the consumption rate isn't that fast.
But if you leave it with a supermarket or other retail owner, the problem can be solved very quickly.
Xia Shiyu took this matter to heart and planned to discuss it further later.
"Mom, you're right. I'll ask around later. Let's just pick the oranges today."
"Okay, it's good to get the oranges sorted first."
The group then got back to picking oranges.
Xia Shiyu watched everyone picking oranges, and when it was time to go home for lunch, he talked to his family about the price of the oranges.
“I plan to order this batch of oranges at 15 yuan per jin. What do you think, Mom, Dad, Grandpa, and Grandma?”
Grandpa and Grandma shook their heads. "Xiaoyu, you decide on the price. We won't get involved."
Yu Juan hesitated for a moment, "I've never seen oranges that cost 15 yuan a pound before. In winter, they're usually 10 yuan for three pounds, or even 2 yuan a pound."
Xia Lihua thought for a moment, "Juan, let's try it first."
The two of them were busy working on the oranges, but they hadn't even tasted them yet; they would have to taste them before making a decision.
The two took out the oranges and broke them open. They didn't throw away the orange peels; Yu Juan said they could put them in the meat while cooking to add flavor.
The two of them took a bite, and their eyes couldn't help but squint after the first bite. Then, without saying a word, they finished the orange with gusto.
Then the two looked at Xia Shiyu and stopped talking about the high price. Xia Lihua even hesitated and asked, "Could the price be even higher?"
Xia Shiyu smiled and said, "Then this price is fine, after all, oranges are quite heavy."
In fact, the main reason is that Xia Shiyu's oranges this time are just ordinary varieties that are cold-resistant and taste good, without the obvious special abilities of other fruits, so she doesn't plan to raise the price too much for the time being.
However, the price will definitely rise again once blueberries and grapes come into season.
After agreeing on the price, Xia Shiyu went to talk to other business owners.
Among these business owners, hotels are the ones that need the most. Hot pot restaurants plan to buy some for their upcoming promotions, but not much, as more would increase costs.
Minghua took quite a lot, "It's perfect, I can not only eat it myself, but also give it to relatives and friends. I can ask Boss Xia to give it some nice packaging so it can be sent over as high-end fruit."
Xia Shiyu nodded, thinking about what happened this morning, and couldn't help but ask, "Mr. Ming, do you know any supermarket managers? Could you help me introduce them? I still want to put this batch of oranges on the supermarket shelves."