Volume 1, Chapter 26: Drawn by Reputation

Xie Minmin was taken aback when she received the call; she had not expected such a situation. She knew her peaches were delicious, but she never imagined they would sell out so quickly, even at such a premium price.

There were very few peaches left in her hands. Fearing they would spoil if kept too long, she had distributed them in batches to various chain stores. Who could have foreseen this? As she listened to the supermarket manager on the phone, Xie Minmin began to fret. If it were only one store, she could have sent over her remaining stock to resolve the crisis. But now, every single chain store was reporting the same issue. There was simply no way to divide what little she had left.

Moreover, there was a strange phenomenon: even after being stored for several days, the peaches showed no signs of bruising or decay; they were as fresh as the moment they were picked from the tree.

"No, I have to go to Xiantao Village!"

When she had purchased the harvest, it seemed as if she had cleared the trees, but there were still some "imperfect" fruits left behind. Though not many, they were better than nothing. With this in mind, she immediately called Meng Xiaohan. Dealing with Meng Xiaohan for this matter was far better than calling Guo Dong directly.

"Hello, Xiaohan? I'm coming to your village in a bit. Oh, nothing major, I just remembered there were still some peaches left on the trees and thought I might as well collect them all. Don't hang up yet—I also wanted to ask, if I were to give Guo Dong a gift, what would be appropriate? Don't get me wrong, I just have business with him, and it wouldn't look good to show up empty-handed!"

After saying this, Xie Minmin let out a long breath. It was the first time she had felt this nervous, terrified that Meng Xiaohan might misunderstand.

"I see. That's fine. You can give him a heads-up and help me keep an eye on things—don't let anyone else pick the remaining peaches in the field. I'll be there in an hour."

Only when the dial tone echoed in her ear did Xie Minmin finally relax, and she hurriedly ordered her staff to prepare a gift.

Meanwhile, back in Xiantao Village, Meng Xiaohan, who was eating at home, suddenly burst into laughter. Seeing her daughter so happy, Meng Tianming asked with a smile, "Was that Guo Dong calling?"

"No, it was Sister Min."

"The supermarket manager from last time?"

"Exactly. She’s planning to come and collect all the remaining imperfect peaches from Guo Dong’s orchard."

Hearing this, Meng Tianming set down his chopsticks and said, "Is that really a good idea? They won't pass the quality check."

"Quality doesn't matter anymore. Sister Min said it's an emergency, and she can't be that picky."

"So, the price remains the same?"

"Yes, I don't think that will change!"

Meng Xiaohan was genuinely happy for Guo Dong. "She was so afraid he wouldn't sell them that she specifically asked me what kind of gift she should buy him."

"And what did you tell her?"

"What else could I say? A smartphone! Guo Dong has been using his current one for four or five years; apart from making calls, it can't do anything else."

Meng Tianming stared at his daughter. "Xiaohan, my phone is still an old-fashioned model. Why didn't you think of getting me a new one?"

Meng Xiaohan mimicked his gesture, setting her chopsticks down on the table with a huff. "Would you even know how to use a smartphone? If I were to give one as a gift, it would be for Mom. You wouldn't know how to use it anyway!"

Meng Tianming: "..."

Neither father nor daughter realized that Guo Dong, having just emerged from the mountains, was facing a headache of his own. Li Tianhu, who had left only a short while ago, had returned, bringing a man named Zhou Peng with him.

Zhou Peng wasn't very old, perhaps in his early thirties. Even in the sweltering heat, he was dressed in a suit, tie, and leather shoes. Didn't he feel hot?

"Hello, I am Zhou Peng, General Manager of Tianpeng Hotel. Here is my business card." He presented it formally with both hands.

Looking at the card, Guo Dong felt a brief spark of admiration. He looked like a truly successful person, far better off than a small-town bumpkin like himself.

"Hello, I'm Guo Dong." The two men shook hands firmly.

Zhou Peng got straight to the point, wasting no time. "I visited your orchard earlier. There should still be over a thousand pounds of peaches left, right?"

Guo Dong paused, guessing the man's intentions.

"They're just sitting in the field anyway. Why not sell them to us?" Zhou Peng said with confidence. "The price is negotiable. I heard you sold them for thirty yuan a pound; I’ll offer the same. I won't short you a cent. How about it?"

Zhou Peng seemed very sincere, and Li Tianhu, standing to the side, was rubbing his hands in excitement. It was free money! Those peaches in the orchard looked like twisted, shriveled things—they didn't even look appetizing. When Li had asked Guo Dong what to do with them, Guo Dong had replied: "Leave them on the trees. Anyone who wants them can pick a few," or "Give them to the neighbors to let them taste these high-priced peaches."

Now, it was all pure profit! If he could just sell the remaining peaches, his fish pond project would have a much better chance of success.

"Manager Zhou, is it? You've seen those peaches yourself. Their appearance isn't great—they’re just the leftovers others didn't want. It wouldn't be worth your money."

Hearing this, Li Tianhu felt like strangling Guo Dong. He had seen many people negotiate, but never like this.

"Hey, 'Guodong' (Guo Dong's nickname), I already took Manager Zhou to the orchard before we came here. He saw them and tasted them—he said there was no problem, which is why he's here to see you."

Li Tianhu pulled Guo Dong aside and lowered his voice. "Have you lost your mind? If those remaining peaches sell for thirty yuan a pound, that’s tens of thousands of yuan! He doesn't care about the quality, so why are you making such a fuss?"

"I grew these peaches. Whether I sell them or not is my business. Why are you getting so worked up?" Guo Dong didn't take Li Tianhu's words to heart at all.

"Do you even know what the Tianpeng Hotel is? Do you know how he found this place? You don't know anything, yet you're just selling things off. What if something goes wrong?"

Li Tianhu hissed, "Guodong, are you sick in the head? One wants to buy, one wants to sell—we’re doing business openly and legally! Who cares who he is as long as he pays?"

With that, Li Tianhu dragged Guo Dong back to Zhou Peng, tugging at his shirt the whole way, practically ready to agree on his behalf.

"I’d like to ask, Manager Zhou, how did you know we were growing peaches here? And that we were selling them for thirty yuan a pound? I haven't even been selling these for very long."

Zhou Peng smiled. "Mr. Guo, you are being overly cautious. I came here by reputation. You might not know it, but people all over Hongwu County are scrambling to buy this variety of peach. I just have good sources and heard about it."

Guo Dong nodded, struggling with the decision internally. Just as he was about to agree, his phone suddenly rang.

"Excuse me, I need to take this call."

For a moment, Zhou Peng’s expression darkened, but he still nodded with a smile.