Space Farming: Traveling through Ancient Times to Do Business

Chapter 237 Picking Grapefruit

She couldn't help but taste a petal. The sweet taste instantly spread in her mouth, making her almost cry.

"Miss Jiang, why are you crying?" Her sudden emotion flustered the villagers of Taohua Village. They came up to her and asked with concern, "Is it not sweet?"

Jiang Xue shook her head. She excitedly grabbed Lin Lizheng's arm and said with a smile: "No, no, it's too sweet! So delicious!" Tears flashed in her eyes, tears of joy for the harvest.

"That's great!" The villagers cheered happily when they heard her affirmation.

They know that this means their hard work has paid off and they will be able to reap significant benefits from it.

However, in this joyous atmosphere, several villagers walked over with sad faces.

They grabbed Jiang Xue's sleeves, interrupting her joy, with worry on their faces.

"What's wrong?" Jiang Xue asked puzzledly, looking at the anxious villagers.

"Miss Jiang, this fruit is sweet, but the fruits in our field are not sweet!" A villager scratched his head in annoyance and pointed to his own pomelo orchard.

"How can it not be sweet? Let me try it." Jiang Xue felt a little puzzled, and she followed the villagers towards the pomelo grove.

"You are talking about grapefruit!" Jiang Xue looked at the tree full of grapefruits, which were heavy as if they carried the villagers' hard work for a year.

"Yes, it's this pomelo!" The villagers nodded one after another, their faces full of anxiety.

"I'll pick one and try." Jiang Xue said, and picked up a grapefruit that had turned golden yellow. She looked around and asked, "Who has a knife? I'll give it a try."

A villager quickly pulled out a knife from his waist and handed it to Jiang Xue.

Jiang Xue cut the pomelo skillfully, and a fresh fragrance immediately filled her nose.

She broke off a petal, put it in her mouth and tasted it, with a satisfied smile on her face: "It's very sweet!"

However, the villagers all shook their heads. One of them said anxiously, "Miss Jiang, you don't know that some grapefruits are sweet, but many are astringent. How can anyone buy these astringent grapefruits? How can you sell them at a good price?"

Jiang Xue suddenly realized what was going on. She patted her forehead and said self-reproachfully, "Oh, I forgot to tell you. This grapefruit can only be picked when it turns completely yellow. Moreover, this variety of grapefruit has a special feature, which is that it needs to be stored in a cool and dry place for about a month so that the starch can gradually be converted into sugar. After saccharification, the sweetness and moisture content of the grapefruit will increase significantly, and the taste will be sweeter."

The villagers looked at each other in surprise, wondering if there was such a rule.

Jiang Xue looked at the anxious faces of the villagers and felt a little guilty.

She comforted them, "Don't worry, I will teach you how to deal with these grapefruits. We can store the grapefruits in a cool and dry place and sell them after they are saccharified."

"Is this really possible?" The villagers were still a little skeptical.

"Of course!" Jiang Xue smiled confidently, "I have tried it myself and it works very well.

Don't worry, if you store it this way, the grapefruit will become sweeter and more delicious."

"That's great!" The villagers finally felt relieved and looked happy.

"Then Miss Jiang, when are we going to pick the fruits?" another villager asked anxiously.

"Fresh grapefruits will be available in the shops the day after tomorrow morning!" Jiang Xue replied, "So we have to hurry up. In the afternoon, everyone can start picking the fruits."

"Okay, we understand!" The villagers nodded in agreement.

"In addition, I have assigned you more than 50 oxcarts." Jiang Xue continued, "These carts will arrive at the village in the afternoon. Together with the original 20 oxcarts in your village, we will have more than 70 carts to transport grapefruit every day. In this way, we can ensure that the grapefruit can be delivered to the city in time, so that more people can taste the fruits of your hard work."

"Great!" The villagers cheered, they felt extremely excited and expectant.

"Let's go now! Those who are in the grape field, remember to bring scissors. I will show you how to do it later."

As these words came to the surface, everyone started to move. Before long, everyone arrived at the orchard one after another.

When you enter the orchard, the first thing that catches your eye is the tall and straight pomelo trees.

Most of the men were barefoot. Their soles were thick and hard. This was done so that they could climb up the tall pomelo trees quickly and steadily later.

At the same time, the women were not idle either. They carefully wrapped their headscarves to prevent their hair from being dirty by fallen leaves and tiny fruit fragments.

"Then let's get started!" Jiang Xue stood at the edge of the orchard, watching the crowd gradually gathering.

Obviously, she had made full preparations. When she gave the order, the whole orchard instantly became lively.

The young men in the village showed amazing skills, climbing up the pomelo trees as agilely as monkeys.

In the blink of an eye, they were among the tree canopies, picking grapefruits.

The women under the tree were holding strong coarse cloth, ready for battle.

Although the height of the pomelo tree is not exaggerated, the fruit may still be scratched or broken when it hits the ground when it falls, thus affecting the sales price.

Therefore, using these coarse cloths to catch the grapefruit can maximize the integrity of the fruit.

This job is indeed more suitable for those who have a partner to work with.

I saw the men climbing up to the treetops with nimbleness, carefully identifying the ripe grapefruits, and picking them carefully.

The women under the tree moved the thick cloth in perfect sync, skillfully adjusting its position to ensure that every grapefruit would fall into the cloth safely.

Witnessing these scenes of families helping each other, the entire orchard seemed to be shrouded in a warm, harmonious and cooperative atmosphere.

Jiang Xue smiled and looked around with satisfaction, secretly congratulating herself on having made a wise decision.

However, she also noticed that there are still some people who are unable to devote themselves to this work due to lack of partners or for some other reasons.

She couldn't help but sigh softly, shook her head, turned resolutely and walked towards the vineyard, choosing to start the work at hand alone and silently.

Halfway through the walk, Jiang Xue suddenly spoke up, "Village head, could you please run another errand? Go get some buckets and fetch some water for the cows to quench their thirst! After all, it's almost the end of September now, and the weather is so hot and muggy. I'm afraid these animals can't stand the heat after driving all the way from the city to Taohua Village."