pertwk Chapter 5: Picking watermelons—a new quest has been triggered!
Chapter 5: Picking watermelons—a new quest has been triggered!
In the afternoon, Xu Ran sent two more employees to fertilize the tomatoes.
The fertilizer used was naturally the premium fertilizer awarded by the system.
The two of them always did whatever Xu Ran said without questioning him.
Xu Ran was playing with the little Border Collie in the yard.
The little guy is still adorable and doesn't seem to have changed much.
"Little Grey, sit down."
Xu Ran called out softly.
Little Grey immediately sat down.
"Roll around!"
Little Gray lay on the ground and rolled over.
"Say it three times!"
"Woof! Woof! Woof!"
"Hold my foot, right back foot!"
Xu Ran increased the difficulty by extending her hand with her palm facing upwards.
Little Grey approached Xu Ran's hand, turned its back to him, and then stretched out its right hind leg straight out for Xu Ran to hold.
If anyone saw this, they would definitely be able to help but make a comment:
You're insane!
Who shakes a puppy's paw?!
But the puppy actually did it!
This is absolutely outrageous! It's outrageous beyond belief!
"He's definitely become much smarter."
"I just don't know if I'll be able to let it herd sheep on its own in the future. When that happens, I'll get it a collar with a camera attached so I can keep track of everything."
Xu Ran had an idea.
The farm is currently short-staffed, and herding sheep takes up a lot of time every day.
Letting Border Collies graze sheep saves labor and can save a lot of money.
As a farmer, you still need to be careful with your money and make the most of the animals' remaining energy.
The Border Collie puppy has become smarter; the system's rewards are indeed reliable.
The little guy seemed completely oblivious to this, still looking adorably dazed.
Two adult Border Collies lay nearby, watching this scene with eyes full of satisfaction at their only son's good behavior.
Everything seemed relaxed.
It was summer, and the sun was blazing overhead.
After lunch, the farm staff and animals all found a cool place to rest.
The dogs lay in the shade under the eaves, panting slightly. Since this area was at the foot of the mountain, the terrain was flat and open, so the wind was quite strong, making it cool.
Xu Ran was taking a nap in her room. The fan was on level 3, and she was shaking her head as it blew back and forth.
"It's time to sell the watermelons this year. If I make any money, I'll buy a few air conditioners first."
"Summers are getting hotter and hotter these days, you really can't do without air conditioning."
Xu Ran thought to himself.
Next, he began to study the post-apocalyptic rancher system.
"System, how do I trigger the mission?"
Xu Ran asked the question that concerned him most.
Currently, the only function of the system is to complete tasks and obtain rewards, so how to trigger tasks is of utmost importance.
[System prompt: Current task level LV1, there are three types of tasks:]
[1. Long-term mission: Survival mission. Survival missions are long-term missions that offer continuous rewards.]
[2. Random Quests: Encountering rare species, rare plants, or rare events may trigger random quests.]
[3. Regular Tasks: A task related to farm construction will trigger every 3 days.]
The maximum number of tasks is 5.
Seeing the prompt on the panel, Xu Ran nodded.
The survival mission is always ongoing, and there is a regular mission every 3 days.
From this perspective, to get more rewards, you need to trigger more random tasks.
I reckon if I just wander around the mountains around the farm, I'll have more tasks.
However, the mountains are continuous and the terrain is complex, with a great variety of wild animals. Even the villagers are unwilling to go deep into the mountains, let alone go in alone.
In the afternoon, the weather cooled down a bit.
After Xu Ran woke up, she went out into the courtyard. Zhang Wen and Li Wu were already awake.
They fished a large watermelon out of the pool, cut it open, and handed Xu Ran the best piece.
"Boss, the watermelons in the field are almost ripe. I estimate they'll be ready for harvest in about a week."
Zhang Wen reminded him.
Watermelons are one of the farm's mainstays.
The greenhouse grows off-season watermelons that ripen in winter and sell very well, especially during the Chinese New Year. Every year, they can earn a lot of money from greenhouse watermelons.
There are also seasonal watermelons growing in the field, and they will be ripe soon, now in July.
At this time of year, the farm always has an endless supply of watermelons, and you basically have to eat one every day.
I can barely eat anymore.
Last year, when watermelons were cheap, the selling price couldn't even cover the transportation costs, so few people bought them. The farm smashed the watermelons to feed the pigs.
Unfortunately, the market can be quite ruthless sometimes; even with a large number of people planting, no one seems to make money.
The farm's watermelons are all top-quality seedless watermelons with a sandy texture and crisp flesh. They feel a bit hard when you eat them, but they're bursting with juice when you bite into them.
Xu Ran took the watermelon, sat on a small stool, and ate a slice of watermelon in a few bites.
"The watermelon market is doing quite well this year."
"We'll do a harvest in a couple of days, buying all the big ones. I'll hire some laborers from town and contact our partners to sell some of them first."
Xu Ran made the arrangements.
"Okay, bro, no problem!"
"Okay, boss."
Li Wu and Zhang Wen both responded.
It's time to make some money.
For Xu Ran, after investing so much money and working so hard for so long, the time to reap the rewards is often a time of both joy and pressure.
My biggest fear is that I won't be able to sell it for a good price.
But the price of watermelons is quite good this year, and Xu Ran's farm grows a variety of watermelons. This year, the buyers were able to offer a high price of 1.5 yuan per kilogram, which is quite good.
The deal to sell watermelons was settled.
Life proceeded smoothly and in an orderly manner.
Two days later.
Xu Ran hired several workers, and at the same time, his parents and his uncle's family came to the farm to help pick watermelons.
More people mean higher efficiency.
My uncle's family lives in the city and has a good relationship with Xu Ran's family. They are all relatives, so there aren't many troublesome things between them.
My uncle has a daughter named Xu Meng, who is currently a sophomore in college. She is a vibrant and energetic young woman.
Xu Meng was on summer vacation and had just returned from a trip with her classmates. Today, her uncle and his family were coming to help at the farm, so she went along.
The two had a very good relationship. Xu Meng's uncle's family often told her how well her brother was studying and encouraged her to learn from Xu Ran. So Xu Meng actually admired Xu Ran quite a bit.
After getting out of the car, Xu Meng immediately went to Xu Ran's side and greeted her:
"Brother, you were doing just fine in Beijing, why did you come back to run a farm?"
"Our little place isn't developing much. Big cities are so much better."
Xu Meng's words make a lot of sense and align with the thoughts of most people.
Xu Ran replied with a smile:
"The company I went to was too tiring, it was like I was going to die, and I only have a bachelor's degree, so I can't get into big companies or good foreign companies, I can only go to private companies."
"I think it's better to come back and inherit the farm."
"And I really want to start my own business so I can control the pace of things."
"I'm never very motivated to work for someone else; I feel like it's a waste of time."
Xu Meng felt it was a pity, "Brother, you've always been a good student. If you had gone on to graduate school, found a job, got a Beijing residency permit, and married a rich and beautiful woman in Beijing, wouldn't you have been a winner in life?"
"With your looks and qualifications, finding a rich man would be more than enough!"
Hearing Xu Meng's plans, Xu Ran couldn't help but laugh.
That's a wonderful idea.
To be fair, Xu Ran is indeed quite good-looking. He was very popular in college and had a very beautiful girlfriend.
However, after graduation, the girl decided to pursue a master's degree in Shanghai and stay in Shanghai. The two chose to break up peacefully because of their different future plans, so that they could each have a better future.
If Xu Ran stayed in Beijing, with his down-to-earth personality and good looks, a graduate of a 985 university, it wouldn't be difficult for him to find a partner once he got a Beijing residency permit.
Therefore, Xu Meng felt it was a waste for him to come back to run a farm with his qualifications, such as his looks and education.
Xu Ran's idea is simple: nothing is wasted. Life belongs to oneself, and one's strengths are not bargaining chips. One should choose which path to take.
"Let's eat some watermelon first. There's nothing wrong with running a farm. I like doing things myself and I feel like I can fully immerse myself in them."
"Once the farm is a bit more developed, we'll shoot some short videos, and maybe they'll go viral."
Xu Ran handed over a slice of watermelon.
"Brother, I believe in you. You'll definitely make the farm a success."
Xu Meng gave a thumbs up.
Xu Ran smiled and replied confidently, "That's definitely no problem."
Then, Xu Ran joined the melon-picking team.
Xu's father, uncle, and a group of strong men were picking melons in the field, while Xu's mother and aunt were cooking.
The summer sun shines on the watermelon field, and the emerald green vines are like a huge green carpet, with watermelons of dark and light green interspersed among the vines.
The scenery is beautiful.
Three Border Collies ran into the watermelon patch and played, running excitedly among the vines.
Several bees flew over and landed on the yellow watermelon blossoms to collect nectar, adding a touch of life to the watermelon patch.
The watermelon field covers a total of 20 mu (approximately 3.3 hectares). After a busy day, almost half of the large watermelons were harvested.
Xu Ran breathed a sigh of relief after picking the last watermelon.
Just then, the system panel suddenly appeared.
Upon seeing the panel, Xu Ran's expression brightened with joy.
This triggers a quest!