Her Cultivation Diary
Chapter 1015 - 995. Fugui River

Chapter 1015: 995. Fugui River

Song Tan gained a new understanding of Lun Chuan’s wealth.

Although he had previously sent home expensive liquor and cigarettes worth over ten thousand per box, Song Tan hadn’t given it much thought—she just knew he wasn’t short of money.

But spending over three thousand on a pair of shoes as a casual gift was a whole different matter.

Think about it—someone who loves gardening, casually uses a cashmere scarf worth thousands to wrap a watermelon, and gives away shoes worth thousands without hesitation—that proves this is just their normal standard of living.

That’s their consumption mindset.

Completely different from hers, where everything is judged by cost-effectiveness!

This reminded her of Wu Lan buying new clothes for her family—a cashmere sweater from Pinduoduo for 189 yuan. Whether Wu Lan really believed it or not, she didn’t buy it but still complained about how easily the material pilled...

Totally different, truly worlds apart.

Qiaoqiao suddenly grew disappointed: "Ah, only Imperial City sells it..."

He leaned over, trying to peek at Song Tan’s screen: "Where in Imperial City can you buy it?"

Song Tan quickly stuffed her phone into her pocket and pretended to urge him: "Let’s go, hurry up and set up the venue—if we’re late, we won’t make it."

The hotel was very close to the venue. After descending the stairs, Master Li was already waiting in the parking lot, and within twenty minutes, he had dropped them off.

Seeing the siblings get out of the car, he called out, "I’ll be here all day today. If you need me to run errands or buy anything, just let me know."

Then, he glanced into the exhibition hall with anticipation.

Song Tan was slightly stunned, but she quickly understood his thoughts and laughed: "We probably won’t have much to do during the day. Master Li, if you feel bored, you can also stroll around the pavilion. We’re all in the same area, and if there’s an urgent matter, I can call you—it won’t be a problem."

"Alright, alright."

Master Li was clearly pleased. As he watched the two enter the hall, he immediately checked the balance on his phone.

—Hmm, still over three thousand left. Today, he was determined to explore this exhibition thoroughly.

And to think, this Imperial City’s annual agricultural product expo—how did he never think to come here before? All the good stuff must’ve been silently bought by others!

If he hadn’t been serving this particular client, he might never have figured out why the vegetables in premium supermarkets could sell for dozens of yuan per kilo.

Expensive, yes, but genuinely worth the price.

It’s clear that rich people know how to enjoy life.

He parked the car in the lot and, full of eager anticipation, followed the crowd into the venue.

...

Meanwhile, Song Tan and Qiaoqiao had already followed the map directions to last night’s exhibition area.

Passing through the central zone, they saw that their South A66 Booth was nearly set up. Stacked gift boxes of oranges lined both sides of the booth, while the tasting table in the middle was draped with red velvet fabric, set with elegant forks and fruit platters.

Three attractive young men and women, wearing orange vests branded with "Mountain Fresh Oranges," were smiling brightly as they arranged and prepared, looking exceptionally professional.

Nearby, a man in workwear circled the booth twice, muttering louder and louder:

"...Last night, it was agreed in the group chat to free up a larger booth for coordination. We have so much stock that takes up space—why aren’t we being offered a better booth? Our reputation score is also an A!"

The staff next to him looked helpless:

"I’ve explained already: durians have their own designated area—they can’t be displayed here. Some people really can’t stand the smell of durian!"

"Besides, isn’t your spot in the durian area quite good?"

"My booth in the West Area can’t compare to this one! This place has so many people... Durian smells great; who does it bother?"

He cast a jealous glance at the large booth before snorting and wandering off toward another booth.

Qiaoqiao was intrigued and asked, "Sister, do durians really smell good? I’ve seen people online saying they stink."

The nearby staff overheard and couldn’t help glancing at him—a handsome young man. Amused, he smiled and said:

"You folks are exhibitors too, right? Oh! Booth 7—Director Qi assigned me to guide you! What a coincidence!"

Then he added: "Actually, there aren’t that many people in the morning. When it’s quiet, you can visit other nearby booths—the durian section is in C Zone. You can sample them one by one."

"Free samples?" Qiaoqiao’s eyes lit up.

"Yes!" The staff grinned. "Only the South Sub-Pavilion is for judging. At nine, they’ll set up barriers, and the customers participating in the public voting will be selected using tickets for the expo..."

He gestured toward a distant area:

"The stuff in the main expo area is pretty much free to taste."

"Wow!" Qiaoqiao exclaimed excitedly. "A self-serve fruit festival!"

The staff was momentarily stunned. He wanted to explain it wasn’t exactly like that but, after thinking it over, decided it wasn’t really wrong either.

So he chuckled and said, "Right, close enough."

Song Tan thought for a moment: "Our booth is small and there isn’t much to do. Later, you can come with me to the warehouse to pick up items and set them up; then, we can explore the exhibition ourselves."

After considering, she pulled out her phone again: "Do you have money left? If you see anything you like, you can buy it and have it sent here. We’ll load everything onto the car later."

"I’ve got money."

Qiaoqiao bounced twice, then rubbed his hands together:

"Sister, let’s move the stuff now!"

Song Tan nodded: "No rush. We can walk over and observe other booths along the way."

She might not mention it explicitly, but she had little idea about booth setup. A small booth couldn’t just pile everything together haphazardly—it had to look tidy and appealing. She needed to see how others had done it to learn from them.

As they walked, however, Song Tan began to feel puzzled. She looked up at the digital screen above and asked:

"This is definitely the Fruit and Vegetable Selection Area, right?"

Fruit and vegetables. As the name suggests, it should be both. But why did it seem that, along the way, there were far fewer vegetables and mostly fruits?

The staff paused for a moment and then glanced at them:

"That’s because you have to consider economic factors!"

"Fruits are items most households can afford. Once selected as Hou Ji Premium Products, the entire supply chain, from farmers to buyers, stands to benefit."

But vegetables are different.

Vegetables are daily necessities, meaning that if the price is too high, the market becomes limited, suitable only for premium supermarkets.

Moreover, many vegetables don’t store well, which adds costs.

"In recent years, many new vegetable varieties are cultivated directly by the Agricultural Research Institute and then sold to seed development companies. These companies work with partner farms to ensure stable traits and reliable sales..."

He gestured toward the various booths ahead: "You’ll see that the booths showcasing diverse vegetable varieties mostly come from R&D bases that collaborate with national agricultural research institutes."

For individuals to cultivate vegetables, achieve meaningful results, and make it through the initial selection process is truly challenging—it’s tough to achieve economic viability.

Song Tan nodded thoughtfully.