Chapter 94 — IAVD (QT) Chapter 94

In the world surrounded by endless flower walls lay natural scenery that had yet to be artificially modified.

Ji Xiu had no intention of fully developing Jingfeng Mountain. To avoid soil erosion and the risk of mudslides, he had only developed less than ten percent of the area. As a result, Jingfeng Mountain still maintained its original, unadorned appearance.

Old trees, barren hills, flowing water, fruit trees, strawberry fields…

And the geese.

【So many strawberries, I want to eat them.】

【What is that white thing over there? It moves. Is it a duck?】

【Looks like… a goose?】

The moment the words “goose” appeared in the barrage, the livestream room fell silent.

Even if you have never eaten pork, you have at least seen pigs walk.

Even if you have never seen a goose in person, that does not stop you from learning about the terror of geese through various channels.

At one point, the internet had even used geese as a unit of combat power.

1 otaku = 0.5 goose.

This meant that in a one on one situation, a goose could completely crush a physically weak, kidney deficient otaku.

Unfortunately, most of the viewers watching the Bilibili livestream were otaku men and women.

Goose = natural enemy.

Faced with geese, everyone felt fear deep down, a chill creeping up their spines, afraid that typing even one more word would draw the attention of the geese.

Only Cao Jian did not see the geese.

He knew he was here to promote strawberries, so his eyes were fixed firmly on the strawberries. Looking at the lush strawberry field with red fruits dotted everywhere, he swallowed and took two steps forward, reaching out his sinful hand toward the strawberries.

“Ga ga ga ga…”

The horn of the charge sounded. Dabai’s figure appeared behind Cao Jian, leading a group of underlings, lunging at his butt at lightning speed.

“Ao!!!”

Cao Jian clutched his butt and jumped up, his face twisted as he hopped around nonstop. He could not even care that his phone fell to the ground.

In the midst of the sharp pain, he glanced back. When he saw the terrifying look in the geese’s eyes, his face instantly turned pale. Screaming at the top of his lungs, he used the fastest speed of his life and ran madly toward Ji Xiu.

“Boss, save me!”

Dabai loved this kind of you run, I chase game the most. It let out excited ga ga cries and chased after Cao Jian.

Ji Xiu stood in front of it. “Dabai!”

Dabai froze, then immediately pretended nothing had happened, turning its head to patrol the territory as if the scene earlier had never occurred.

Ji Xiu knew it could hear him. “Dabai, I told you not to bite people casually.”

He raised geese only to deter the children in the village. He had no intention of letting them actually hurt anyone. That was why he had made an agreement with Dabai. If it encountered someone stealing strawberries, it could scare them a bit. Only if they refused to learn after repeated warnings could it take action.

But what was this supposed to mean?

Leaving aside the fact that this was Cao Jian’s first time on the mountain, far from the level of refusing to learn, Ji Xiu and Ji Jingyu had personally brought the guest up the mountain. With two such obvious figures, was it pretending not to see them?

Normally, it could spot Ji Jingyu from far away and would run over to ga ga and act cute toward her.

Pretending not to see? Too late.

Ji Xiu strode forward toward Dabai.

Dabai seemed to sense the change in the air behind it. It let out panicked ga ga cries, flapping its wings and desperately trying to accelerate and escape.

Ji Xiu grabbed it and lifted it up. “Run. Go on, keep running.”

Dabai cried out aggrievedly, stretching its neck to look desperately toward Ji Jingyu.

When Ji Jingyu met its pitiful little bean eyes that somehow looked especially pathetic, her heart softened immediately. How could an outsider compare to her Dabai? She could not help but plead for it.

Ji Xiu paused, then helplessly let go of Dabai. “Do not do this again.”

Dabai flapped its wings and ran to Ji Jingyu’s feet. With the little master backing it up, its confidence instantly rose. It shook its head and waddled around, ga ga calling.

Ji Xiu shook his head, picked up the livestream phone from the ground, and walked toward the still terrified Cao Jian. “Your phone. Sorry about that. The geese at home are ill mannered. When they see someone picking strawberries, they will bite. I did not explain it to you beforehand.”

Cao Jian was still shaken. He glanced toward Dabai and noticed that Dabai was staring straight at him, as if conveying a sense of threat. He hurriedly shook his head. “It is fine, it is fine. It was my own itchy hands. Besides, I am not really hurt. My butt just hurts a bit.”

Ji Xiu said, “Since that is the case, shall we continue discussing the promotion?”

Cao Jian nodded.

Ji Xiu smiled, turned around, and waved his long arm, his tone carrying faint dominance and pride. “This entire strawberry field belongs to my family. You can look however you want.”

For a moment, Cao Jian thought of those domineering CEOs who contracted fish ponds. The fruit farmer in front of him carried a similar kind of aura.

This was the first time Cao Jian had taken on a promotion, and he had run into such a strange combination. His feelings were complicated.

But as the saying went, since he was already here, he might as well go through with it.

He began to tour seriously, even going to look at the staff packing strawberries. He checked everything one by one and felt something was a bit odd.

“Boss, did you not say your strawberries lack sales channels? But you have already packed at least several hundred jin here. Where are you planning to ship them?”

Ji Xiu casually mentioned the matter with the provincial capital hotel.

Cao Jian looked shocked. “If I remember correctly, that hotel is a five star hotel, right? Boss, with a channel like that, how could you still be unable to sell your produce?”

“It is only one hotel. No matter how high the star rating is, the number of rooms and guests is limited. Consuming a thousand jin a day is already a lot. Any more and they cannot eat it all. I still need to find other sales channels.”

After hearing the explanation, Cao Jian thought about it and agreed. He calmed down.

With the five star hotel endorsement in front of him, he was reassured about the quality of the strawberries.

“Boss, do you mind letting me take a look at the delivery orders between you and the hotel?”

If he could confirm that this small farm was really doing business with the hotel, he would take this promotion immediately without thinking further.

Ji Xiu nodded and waved someone over. “Brother, where are the strawberry delivery orders? Bring them out for a look.”

Ji Qin, who was packing strawberries, stood up and took out a small notebook from his chest, looking puzzled. “What do you need this for?”

“Let him take a look.” Ji Xiu pointed at Cao Jian.

Cao Jian smiled awkwardly and was about to speak, but before he could open his mouth, Ji Qin stuffed the delivery order into his hands. “Here, take it. Look as much as you want.”

Cao Jian froze, feeling completely bewildered. It took him a long while to come back to his senses and lower his head to read the delivery order.

After reading it, he froze again.

The viewers in the livestream room were still discussing the earlier terrifying goose incident and had not paid attention to anything else. Seeing that he was stunned for too long, someone finally asked what was wrong.

Cao Jian glanced at the comments and explained with a strange expression. “N no, nothing. The delivery order is just a bit simpler than I imagined.”

Ji Xiu replied casually, “We are just a small farm. We do not have a dedicated accountant. As long as the money reaches our hands, that is enough.”

【Boss is an honest man. Yes, as long as the money reaches your hands.】

【Curious how crude it really is.】

Cao Jian let out a heavy sigh.

Ji Xiu patted his shoulder. Knowing what he was worried about, Ji Xiu took him to see the strawberry inspection reports, as well as the shop’s qualification certificates and other documents.

Only then did Cao Jian finally feel at ease. He said seriously, “Boss, I will take this promotion.”

No matter how much the promotion fee was, he would treat it as poverty alleviation, helping a poor fruit farmer who could not sell his produce.

Ji Xiu glanced at him and nodded. “Alright. Then let us go down the mountain to sign a contract.”

The three of them rode the tricycle down the mountain again. This time, Cao Jian had already relaxed toward Ji Xiu, and he turned off the livestream on the way.

But when he saw the contract, he realized he was still too naive.

What poverty alleviation? Why was no one alleviating his poverty?

Sixty yuan per jin of strawberries…

Ji Xiu raised his eyebrows. “That price is not expensive, right?”

“But boss, you do not even include shipping.”

“Shipping is too expensive. If I include shipping, I will have to raise the price.”

Cao Jian earnestly advised him. “No matter how much you raise it, you must include shipping. Really. Free shipping is king. Buyers might not mind the item being ten or so yuan more expensive, but the moment they see shipping fees, their hearts will ache.”

Ji Xiu was very good at accepting others’ opinions. He nodded. “Alright, then we will include shipping.”

He waved his hand and raised the strawberry price to eighty eight.

When Cao Jian saw this price, his heart skipped a beat. But he had to admit that after including shipping, it did look much more pleasing to the eye.

Wait.

Cao Jian rubbed his head and suddenly widened his eyes, feeling that what he had said earlier seemed to have missed the point.

Was the key really free shipping? Clearly, the price was too expensive.

But looking at Ji Xiu’s face, full of reluctance and dislike toward including shipping, Cao Jian felt that even if he suggested lowering the price, the boss would not agree.

With a lump in his throat, he pretended that nothing had happened.

Next came signing the contract.

Ji Xiu offered a five digit promotion fee, neither too much nor too little. Based on follower ratios, it was slightly higher than the market rate for Cao Jian at his current stage.

Cao Jian’s earlier inner complaints instantly vanished under the temptation of money. Satisfied, he put away the contract and deposit, patted the camera that had been working nonstop, and began to plan how to edit the video in his mind.

Ji Jingyu walked into the house carrying a basket of washed strawberries. Seeing that the contract had already been signed, she handed the strawberries to Cao Jian.

“Try one.”

Cao Jian accepted them gratefully. “I wanted to try them earlier, but that goose suddenly rushed out and scared me. Thank you, little sister.”

Ji Jingyu’s face turned red. “Who told you to pick strawberries without saying anything? Dabai did not mean to bite you either.”

Cao Jian hurriedly explained, nervous. “I did not mean it that way. I meant… anyway, thank you for the strawberries.”

He could not figure out how to properly explain his behavior, so he let the topic go and picked up a strawberry, stuffing it into his mouth in an attempt to shut himself up.

The strawberries on Jingfeng Mountain were irrigated with river water and absorbed faint spiritual spring essence. They grew fast and large, each one about the size of Ji Jingyu’s fist.

Cao Jian put the whole thing into his mouth and almost choked. After finally biting it open, sweet strawberry fragrance burst in his mouth. Before he could praise the strawberry, he froze on the spot.

Was this strawberry a bit too delicious?

The texture did not need much explanation. It was the refreshing texture of an ordinary strawberry. It looked firm, but when eaten, it was just right, with a slight crispness.

What was truly special was the flavor and aroma.

The strawberry was very sweet, but not sweet to the point of being cloying. There was also a faint hint of acidity. With one bite, the juice burst out, perfectly balancing the excessive sweetness, creating a wonderfully balanced sweet and sour taste.

It felt a bit like being in love, sour and sweet, but mostly sweet.

Of course, the most important part was the rich strawberry aroma.

Cao Jian was not particularly fond of strawberries, but when he was on the mountain, he had felt irresistibly tempted to pick one precisely because of this strong strawberry fragrance.

Now that it was in his mouth, the aroma was even more pronounced.

Compared to strawberries sold on the market, the fragrance of this one was several times stronger. Just smelling it made people drool, desperate to eat a second one immediately.

Cao Jian did not hesitate and reached into the basket for more strawberries.

They had been prepared for him anyway, and Ji Jingyu had no objections. Seeing how happily he ate, she even felt a bit proud.

These were all the result of her and her dad’s joint efforts.

After Cao Jian finished a small basket of strawberries, inspiration struck. He insisted on returning to the hotel immediately to edit the video.

Ji Xiu stood up and sent him to the town, then helped him take a taxi back to the hotel, telling him to focus on editing and notify him once it was done.

Cao Jian agreed to everything verbally and buried his head in editing.

The next afternoon, the video was finished and sent to Ji Xiu for review.

After Ji Xiu and Ji Jingyu watched it, they both felt it was fine and told him to publish it.

So Cao Jian quickly uploaded the video to his personal page.

After Ji Xiu confirmed it, he transferred the remaining payment to Cao Jian.

Cao Jian was very happy to receive the money, but he brought up another matter. “Boss, is there a hotel in your town?”

“There is one, but the conditions are not very good.” That was why Ji Xiu had booked a hotel in the city for him.

Cao Jian said, “Poor conditions are fine. I want to go to the town to eat breakfast and also buy some strawberries from you to take home.”

Eighty eight yuan strawberries. Just thinking about it made his heart ache. But when he recalled that taste, he suddenly felt that it was not that expensive after all.

Some things could not be described with words. Only by tasting them yourself could you understand how delicious Ji Xiu’s strawberries really were.

If it were not like this, he would not be unable to forget them. Ji Xiu would not be so confident, and the provincial capital hotel would not have ordered a thousand jin of supply in one go.

Ji Xiu was very calm about Cao Jian becoming a repeat customer.

Because as early as when Ji Jingyu handed the strawberries to Cao Jian, he had already seen through her sinister intentions.

She was planning to develop Cao Jian into a long term customer.

On the phone, he said he could help book the hotel and told Cao Jian to come over himself. Tomorrow, everyone could go eat breakfast beef rice noodles together.

Cao Jian happily thanked Ji Xiu, hung up the phone, packed his things, and rushed to Hetian Town.

After checking into the small hotel in Hetian Town, the next morning, under Ji Xiu’s lead, he went to a breakfast shop and ate two bowls of beef rice noodles and three baskets of xiaolongbao in one go.

Not to mention Ji Jingyu, even Ji Xiu was a bit shocked.

“There is really no need to do this. You can still eat tomorrow. Do not eat until you throw up.”

Cao Jian waved his hand. “No, I can still eat!”

He burped, froze for a moment, then said disappointedly, “Seems like I cannot eat anymore… forget it, I will stay here a few more days.”

Cao Jian stayed in Hetian Town for three days. On the third day, he set off for home with five jin of packed strawberries.

There was no choice. If he did not leave soon, the money he had finally earned from the promotion would soon all be returned to the boss because of strawberries and crayfish.

Who would have thought that the boss not only sold sixty yuan strawberries, but also sold one hundred and fifty yuan crayfish.

When Cao Jian went to Jingfeng Mountain for the livestream, he had seen Jingfeng River and lingered for a bit because the scenery was beautiful.

As a result, the nearby staff mentioned that there were crayfish in the river.

He had never experienced rural life before. Upon hearing about crayfish, his interest was immediately piqued. The viewers in the livestream room also encouraged him to try catching some, so he wanted to catch a few crayfish for fun.

The staff said, “You cannot fish them. These are Brother Ji’s to sell. Every afternoon, a batch has to be shipped to the city.”

The staff’s voice was a bit loud. Ji Xiu happened to be passing by with Dabai and a group of geese and casually said, “Cao Jian wants to eat crayfish? Then come eat at my place tonight. I want to eat too. I will cook a few jin tonight.”

So Cao Jian stayed and, at the Ji family home, ate the most sinful meal of his life.

Crayfish were just too delicious.

After eating, Cao Jian urged Ji Xiu to sell crayfish online as well, so that he could still eat such big crayfish after going home.

Then Ji Xiu stated the price. He immediately fell silent, and the livestream room also went quiet.

Wholesale was one hundred and fifty. Retail was two hundred.

Cao Jian had never seen such expensive crayfish in his life. He almost sprayed his food out on the spot. But looking at the pile of crayfish shells in front of him, he had to ask his conscience whether he would be willing to pay that price to eat them.

The answer was yes.

A favorite was priceless. What was two hundred yuan? No one lacked that two hundred yuan. At worst, he would smoke two fewer packs of cigarettes and save two hundred yuan.

Crayfish tasted much better than cigarettes.

On the first day, Cao Jian ate crayfish at Ji Xiu’s house and did not need to pay. Later, when he wanted to eat again, he had to pay.

He bought them twice and cooked them in the small hotel. Every night, his dreams were filled with fragrance.

But his wallet really could not withstand the spending. With no other choice, he dragged his luggage and escaped onto a train, leaving this sinful little village.

But he knew he would definitely come again.

This magical Jingfeng Mountain still had many vegetables and fruits waiting to mature.

Sooner or later, when he became a big uploader, he would come back here to eat again.

Of course, if possible, he would prefer that the boss still needed promotion and invited him back to inspect.

He could even forgo the promotion fee, as long as the boss gave him a discount when selling him things.

…

Cao Jian left Liuzhuang Village, but the impact he left behind remained.

With the release of his promotional video over the past two days, netizens who had already seen Jingfeng Mountain’s scenery in the livestream were the first to flood the comment section. Then, under his strong recommendation, a small number of well off viewers placed trial orders for strawberries.

Ji Xiu led the staff to ship out the first batch of goods.

After two or three days, feedback for this batch began to come in. Cao Jian’s video was filled with responses, everyone praising it.

At the same time, orders surged.

Ji Xiu’s strawberries finally started to go viral.