Chapter 71: 71. Add-on and dog field_1
The expression on the face of the nursery owner was somewhat complex.
“You’ll take the Sichuan pepper trees, too? You guys really aren’t picky, are you?”
On second thought, picky people wouldn’t usually come to buy Golden Sakura, right? He had been swayed by the sales pitch from the medicinal herb company, thinking it had great potential and a hot market.
He hurriedly propagated a batch to test the waters, only to find that just as they started growing in scale, people became interested in the thornless varieties.
He had been growing them for three years, and this batch he propagated was the same batch he was still trying to sell off—his only Golden Sakura customers.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been forced to cash in the mother plants, too.
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So the owner tentatively added:
“I’ve got some red Sichuan pepper trees as well, about the same size as these green ones… want those too?”
Seeing Song Tan’s eyes light up, he suddenly got a jolt:
“You have to pay for them!”
“Boss, that’s not very fair of you!” Zhang Yanping draped an arm around his shoulders, handing him a cigarette, “Come on, let’s have a good chat. I’m telling you, the cost of the trip alone is a couple hundred…”
The two men walked off arm in arm, disappearing from view, while Song Tan had already started to think about which spices she might need…
And intercropping in the forest; there was nothing she particularly craved for the moment, so that required further consideration…
As she pondered this, she saw the owner and Zhang Yanping already carrying saplings back:
“Come on, let’s load them up and head back.”
The saplings were a lush green, clearly thriving well in the greenhouse. However, there was a layer of dust on the leaves, a sure sign they were part of the owner’s stock that had nearly been forgotten in some corner.
And indeed they were.
The owner, rubbing his head, said, “That… Yanping knows that I used to work in agricultural seedling cultivation. Later, because it wasn’t profitable, I switched to fresh flower potted plants. These are a few leftover plants…”
He tried to save face, putting on a confident demeanor:
“Don’t be fooled by their ordinary looks; five-year-old saplings like these usually go for a hundred and eighty each.”
The price was right, but Zhang Yanping’s purslane buns weren’t eaten for nothing, and with a cheerful response, he said:
“True, they’re all quite expensive, which is why Uncle Zhou saw that we came from far away and it wasn’t easy, so he gave us this red Sichuan pepper, this grafted Star Anise Tree, and also that green Sichuan pepper tree of yours, all to us.”
“Tantan, next time you need any trees or flowers, remember to come back to Uncle Zhou, okay?”
Song Tan smiled both sweetly and sincerely, “Sure! Thank you, Uncle Zhou!”
Owner Uncle Zhou sighed, “Next time you come, I’ll have to think more… If it’s not urgent, better to just ship next time. Dealing face-to-face is just too costly.”
…
The vehicle drove along the road, and everyone inside was happy.
Zhang Yanping felt he had demonstrated his skills, and although he had been homebound for two years, his capacity for networking had not diminished.
Song Tan was also happy.
The Golden Sakura had cost three thousand yuan, and the trip had been pretty exhausting, but the Sichuan pepper and Star Anise trees were mature saplings that could bear fruit this year, not bad at all.
If she hadn’t taken this trip, she might not have thought of it for quite some time! Otherwise, once she started raising her own grass carp, she might have been ready to make pickled fish soup only to find the spices lacking in flavor—wouldn’t that be a flaw in an otherwise perfect gem?
For a while, spirits were high.
Halfway through the trip, Zhang Yanping pointed to a side road:
“Go straight ahead until you reach a pond, then turn right, and you’ll see a big dog kennel.”
The area had a clear view and the road wasn’t complicated. Song Tan turned the steering wheel and quickly found the place he was talking about.
It was a square courtyard, completely enclosed with two-meter-tall wire mesh. A few bungalows were built in the middle, and the rest of the space was divided into different areas.
Now in spring, sparse green grass was poking out, a clear sign that people or animals moved around the area frequently.
In front of the big yard, a van and a pretty large SUV were parked. A man in a trench coat leaned despondently against the SUV door, silently smoking a cigarette.
Song Tan frowned:
“Is this guy the owner?” His aura doesn’t seem too good.
Zhang Yanping squinted and watched the approaching car before confirming, “No. He’s probably a customer who’s here to buy a dog.”
Then he pointed at a young man in the field who was walking to and fro with a dog:
“It’s him.”
As the two got out of the car and passed the SUV in front, Song Tan saw a huge, unidentifiable breed of dog lying silently in the back seat of the vehicle.
It lay motionless, its cheeks black and its fur a yellowish hue. Its mere presence filled the spacious SUV’s rear seat to the brim.
Looking at its size, it would stand taller than an adult man!
Both the man and the dog were silent, their moods somber.
It was at this moment that the dog farm’s owner noticed them:
“Yanping!”
Then, turning to Song Tan with an outstretched hand and a laugh:
“This must be our little sister! Boy, you’ve kept her well-hidden. She’s so pretty. Got a boyfriend yet?”
Song Tan also smiled, “What do I need a boyfriend for? Can a boyfriend help me guard the gate?”
Ha!
The owner laughed too.
“Our little sister has a sense of humor—I’m Sun Shouping, just call me Brother Sun. I’m good friends with your brother, pick whatever dog you want.”
“How should I address you?”
With the owner being so straightforward, Song Tan also enjoyed the ease: “Brother Sun, just call me Song Tan.”
And with that, the two were acquainted.
Then.
After Sun Shouping’s friendly and polite words were spoken, his expression suddenly became serious:
“But little sister, I have to speak plainly. If you take one of my dogs back and just tie it up at the door with a rope, and feed it a diet of vegetable soup with rice, letting it go hungry and full by turns, that just won’t do!”
Song Tan understood what he meant.
In rural areas nowadays, many people keep dogs tied up at the gate with a rope just one or two meters long, from puppyhood to old age, almost never untying them.
Moreover, with improved living standards, villagers are now willing to spoil their pets with bones, meat, and fish from time to time.
But at Sun Shouping’s place, all the dogs were large breeds. What if the owners found them too expensive to feed and just neglected them?
Clarifying these points in advance was good for both people and dogs. After all, large breeds like these could easily fall ill and would hardly meet the requirements for warding off intruders if fed such a diet for long.
Before Song Tan could speak, Zhang Yanping was already displeased.
“Would I bring someone like that?”
“My sister picked up three tiny stray pups and she’s been soaking milk powder for them every day! The dog she’s taking back is meant to watch over the mountaintop; how could it work if it’s not well-fed?”
Judging by this detail, Sun Shouping immediately felt at ease.
Without another word, he led them into the yard:
“Don’t think that just because I have only big dogs here that they’ll bite. They’re all well-trained, don’t be afraid!”
“Yanping said you wanted an adult dog to watch the mountains, right? That’s even more reason to pay attention to this matter. These days, if a dog bites someone, it’s troublesome and you might even have to compensate. Most importantly, the dog usually ends up with a pretty bad fate.”
“That’s why all of my dogs are trained, they won’t bite unless it’s absolutely necessary.”
Song Tan nodded, “That’s good.”
In a society governed by law, causing serious harm by biting can still be troublesome.