Chapter 134: Creating Our Own Brand

Upon hearing her son’s explanation, Wang Yuelan muttered, “If it’s not about the money, then what is it about? You’re just being difficult.”

She couldn’t be bothered with the issue and turned to play with her granddaughter, Mengmeng.

Cheng Xiaolin seemed to understand what was on her husband’s mind and said, “Honey, tell me everything that happened when you met with Zuo Le.”

“Sure!” Cao Shujie began recounting his meeting with Zuo Le.

After he finished, Cheng Xiaolin seemed to grasp the situation and asked, “Are you thinking about creating our own brand?”

Cao Shujie looked at his wife, a genuine smile spreading across his face. “Honey, you really understand me.”

He continued, “I wasn’t really concerned about this before. As long as we could sell the fruit and make a bit more money, that was enough. But after talking with Zuo Le today, I realized how hard it is to market our products and gain recognition.”

“Why is that?” he asked.

Cheng Xiaolin followed his train of thought, “Because you don’t have any reputation. No one is willing to pay for your products. It’s the same principle as running a business.”

“Exactly. The principle is simple, but executing it is tough,” Cao Shujie sighed.

If his fruit was already well-known, would Zuo Le have hesitated to offer a high price when he came to purchase today? Would he have been worried about the market acceptance and the risk of bearing losses himself?

Clearly, Cao Shujie currently had no reputation. Even though he previously sold his kiwi fruit at a high price of 28 yuan per jin , it was only recognized by a small group of customers and not by the industry at large.

As a result, Zuo Le, a middleman in the fruit trade, approached him only because the fruit tasted good, offering a price that was neither high nor low.

Cao Shujie understood Zuo Le’s perspective, but he was unwilling to sell cheaply. Or rather, he was unwilling to continue selling his fruit cheaply.

“Honey, think of a name. While we’re just starting, let’s register our own brand,” Cao Shujie said seriously to his wife, Cheng Xiaolin.

Cheng Xiaolin shook her head, “I’m terrible at naming things. You know that. How could I come up with a good name?”

“Give it a try. How will you know if you don’t try?” Cao Shujie coaxed her.

But Cheng Xiaolin frowned, unable to think of anything.

After a while, she said, “Why don’t you come up with one yourself?”

Cao Shujie scratched his head, “I’m even worse at naming things!”

As he pondered, he suddenly heard Daha’s signature howl from outside, followed by Erha and two German Shepherds joining in. His eyes lit up, and he said, “Honey, there’s a brand called ‘Three Squirrels.’ How about we call ours ‘Four Dogs’?”

“Give me a break!” Cheng Xiaolin scorned her husband. Was there a name more unreliable than that?

“Then you suggest one. Any name will do,” Cao Shujie said.

Realizing her husband was worse at naming than she was, Cheng Xiaolin knew it was up to her. She began to seriously consider it.

Mengmeng, having played outside with her grandmother for a while, ran in calling for her mother, “Mom, Mom, let’s play!”

“Mengmeng, wait a bit. Mommy has something important to do,” Cheng Xiaolin said softly.

“What is it?” Mengmeng asked curiously.

Cheng Xiaolin replied earnestly, “Mommy needs to come up with a nice name for the fruit your daddy grows. Once your daddy makes this name famous, our family’s fruit will sell for a lot of money.”

“Naming?” Mengmeng placed her hands on her little head, mimicking a famous cartoon character, twirling her hair in circles. Before long, a bright smile spread across her face, “Mommy, Mengmeng sounds nice.”

Cao Shujie hadn’t paid much attention initially, but hearing Mengmeng, he became intrigued.

He muttered, “Mengmeng? Xuemeng?”

Then he turned to his wife, “Honey, which one sounds better?”

Their daughter’s full name was Cao Xuemeng. Cheng Xiaolin, hearing this, said, “I think Mengmeng Fruits sounds nice.”

“Alright, let’s go with that,” Cao Shujie said, looking quite pleased.

He continued, “I’ll order some new packaging boxes and print some removable adhesive labels to stick on the apples. What do you think?”

“Do you mean those plastic labels?” Cheng Xiaolin asked.

Seeing her husband nod, Cheng Xiaolin agreed, “Sure, go ahead. I think it’s a good idea.”

Having resolved this matter, Cao Shujie couldn’t sit still. He wanted to head to the county town immediately to order a new batch of packaging boxes from the Packaging Box Factory.

He also planned to find an advertising company to design a trademark and print a batch of labels.

At that moment, he thought to himself that it was fortunate he hadn’t drunk at lunch; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to work in the afternoon.

By the time he returned from Pingyuan County Town, it was already dark.

Upon arriving home, he told his wife, “The trademark is ready. I used Mengmeng’s photo and had it cutely designed. It’s adorable.”

“Shujie, you’re really something!” Cheng Xiaolin didn’t know what to say about her husband’s laziness.

But Cao Shujie was defiant, insisting, “You all better believe it. I think it’s great.”

“Never mind that. What about the packaging boxes? When will they be ready?” Cheng Xiaolin asked.

Cao Shujie held up three fingers, “At the earliest, three days. At the latest, a week.”

He explained, “It’s the fruit harvesting season now. Everyone is busy with their fruit, and there’s a high demand for packaging boxes.”

This was true, and Cheng Xiaolin was aware of it.

She asked, “What about the deal with Zuo Le for our fruit?”

“I’ll talk to him tomorrow. We can lower the price a bit, but it must carry our own label,” Cao Shujie said.

He understood the business well. Some middlemen would repack the fruit with their own boxes and brand after purchasing.

Cheng Xiaolin bit her lip but said nothing.

The night passed unnoticed, and the next morning, after walking the four dogs along the Yellow River Dam, Cao Shujie drove to Qingshi Town.

He parked in front of the hotel where Zuo Le was staying. After getting out, he asked the receptionist, “Hello, has Mr. Zuo checked out yet?”

The receptionist checked and replied, “Sir, Mr. Zuo hasn’t checked out yet.”

Cao Shujie stood in place and called Zuo Le, inviting him to breakfast.

“Ah, Boss Cao, I’m sorry to trouble you with this,” Zuo Le said, feeling a bit embarrassed.

Cao Shujie chuckled, “No worries, I’ll wait for you at the hotel entrance.”

Ten minutes later, Zuo Le emerged, freshly washed and changed into a loose, light-colored tracksuit. He looked not only less bulky but also more energetic.

“Mr. Cao, you really didn’t have to come,” Zuo Le said.

He thought Cao Shujie had come specifically to invite him for a meal, but Cao Shujie didn’t explain further.

The two chatted as they left the hotel, with Cao Shujie driving them to a well-known fast-food restaurant in town for breakfast.

After the meal, Cao Shujie shared his thoughts, “Mr. Zuo, I can lower the price, but I have one condition.”

“Go on!” Zuo Le was pleased. He hadn’t thought of a solution yet, so he was surprised that Cao Shujie was the first to make a concession.

Cao Shujie continued, “I can agree to sell at 7 yuan, but it must be under my own brand and packaging.”

Zuo Le understood and asked, “So, Boss Cao, you want me to help sell your products?”

That was the crux of it.

Cao Shujie waited for Zuo Le’s response without saying more.

What Cao Shujie didn’t know was that for Zuo Le, it didn’t matter whose brand was used to sell the fruit. As long as he could sell premium fruit across the country, that was his main goal. Ultimately, he was in it for the money.

So when Cao Shujie made this request, Zuo Le, eager to avoid complications, agreed without haggling, “No problem, Boss Cao. When do we sign the contract? When do we start harvesting?”

“Let’s wait until after the National Day holiday. Let the apples stay on the trees a bit longer; they’ll taste sweeter and have a better texture,” Cao Shujie suggested.

Zuo Le nodded in agreement, knowing this to be true.

“No problem. I’ll use this time to scout the market and find buyers for these apples,” Zuo Le said.

Cao Shujie left it at that. After they discussed the details, they drafted a preliminary agreement, and Zuo Le departed.

He planned to visit Yiling City and the Provincial Capital, as wealthier people in big cities are more likely to accept the high prices of ‘premium fruit.’

If that didn’t work, he could try Beijing or Shanghai, where the cost of living is higher, and there are more affluent consumers willing to spend.

Zuo Le thought carefully about his strategy. Since Cao Shujie’s apples were not abundant, he understood the principle of scarcity and intended to sell them at a good price.

…

Three days later, the National Day holiday came to an end.

People who had been leisurely traveling returned to their jobs, ready for another round of busy work.

They knew the next break would be during the Spring Festival.

During these days, the drip irrigation system Chen Lei arranged was finally installed.

Cao Shujie tested it twice. Watching the nutrient solution mix evenly and output steadily, he admired the ingenuity behind the ‘drip irrigation technology.’

It was a pity he learned about it late. Otherwise, he would have installed it alongside the sprinkler system, avoiding the need for a second round of work.

Additionally, the automatic watering system in the livestock area, managed by Xia Changhong, was also completed.

When Cao Shujie tested it, he found it much easier for the calves to access water, which he appreciated.

Moreover, because the distance was short and fewer pipes were used, there was no need for deep burial. After Xia Changhong’s team finished the job, the cost for Cao Shujie was significantly reduced.

Now, the only tasks left were installing the wire mesh fence and paving some ground surfaces.

Even the road leading up and down the mountain to the north was nearly complete, though Tian Xinhua advised waiting a few more days before driving on it.

The northern road was designed for transporting cattle and sheep, so the turning platform was made larger than the one in the south.

Tian Xinhua also suggested leveling the small path outside the wire mesh fence and paving it to mountain road standards.

After some thought, Cao Shujie decided to create a 2.5-meter-wide mountain path to facilitate north-south passage and increase convenience.

This decision added to the road construction costs. Including the mountain road and the larger northern turning platform, along with the additional 2.5-meter-wide, nearly 1,000-meter-long road, the total cost was 183,000 yuan, 80,000 more than the southern road.

However, considering the future convenience, Cao Shujie felt the expense was worthwhile.

On the first day after the National Day holiday, Cao Shujie visited the county to check on the factory producing his packaging boxes. He found out that production was already scheduled, and making the boxes was straightforward.

Meanwhile, the ‘Keda Advertising Co., Ltd.’ he hired had completed the design of his trademark and labels. The first batch of 50,000 removable adhesive labels with the trademark was printed.

Since the trademark design was simple, the design and printing were straightforward, costing only 2,000 yuan.

The printed labels, at 0.07 yuan each, brought the total to 5,500 yuan.

Holding these items, Cao Shujie mused aloud, “These are all part of the cost!”

…

On the other side, Zuo Le’s efforts to promote the new apples in Yiling City and the Provincial Capital weren’t going smoothly.

Yiling City was relatively poorer. While some people were interested in the apples and appreciated their taste and sweetness, their offers were low.

Considering that Cao Shujie had only two acres of apples, yielding a few thousand jin , Zuo Le decided not to waste time in Yiling City and instead focused on the Provincial Capital, exploring potential markets there.

The Provincial Capital’s consumer power was indeed higher than Yiling City’s, making it easier for Zuo Le to target the market.

Some high-end fruit stores initially wanted to sell Zuo Le’s apples, but because these apples weren’t well-known and didn’t even have a recognized category, the owners of these premium fruit stores weren’t optimistic about them. They took the opportunity to drive the price down. Having dealt with such people often, Zuo Le could easily see through their intentions and simply ignored them.

With the remaining time, Zuo Le sought out other clients. By the end of the agreed week, he had signed contracts with three premium fruit stores. He prepared to return to Cao Family Village to transport the apples.

When Zuo Le met Cao Shujie, he found him busy attaching small round labels to the harvested apples.

These labels were reflective and not very large, featuring a cartoon of a little girl with four braids chasing four dogs. The scene was so cute that one could easily imagine its charm.

At first glance, it was particularly delightful.

“Mengmeng Fruits,” Zuo Le read the name and was at a loss for words.

It was obvious that the parents had been lazy in naming their fruit, directly using their daughter’s name.

However, after saying it a few times, the name turned out to be quite catchy.

“Boss Cao, have you weighed them yet? How many jin of apples are there in total?” Zuo Le asked.

Cao Shujie shook his head. “Not yet. I’ve been waiting for you to come so we can weigh them together.”

“Alright, let’s weigh them today,” Zuo Le said, looking at the freshly picked apples. He was eager to send them out.

“Okay!”

Cao Shujie found two more people in the village to help. After a busy afternoon, they finished weighing all the apples. Excluding the 400 jin that Cao Shujie kept, the rest were all there, totaling 7,219 jin.

The total yield from the two mu of land was slightly less than Cao Shujie had expected, but not by much, and it was within a reasonable range.

At the agreed price of 7 yuan per jin, Cao Shujie received 50,533 yuan from Zuo Le.

With this season’s fruit sales, Cao Shujie had sold everything.

Including the money from the previous kiwi fruit sales, he earned a total of 480,613 yuan. In the countryside, an annual income of nearly 500,000 yuan is considered quite high.

However, compared to Cao Shujie’s large investment and his loan of over 3 million yuan, this income wasn’t much.

After all, there’s only one income wave per year, and the rest of the time is spent investing.

Unless the newly planted 70 mu orchard also starts yielding a bumper harvest, only then will Cao Shujie truly have confidence.

The specific transaction figures were completed privately between Cao Shujie and Zuo Le, so the two workers helping Cao Shujie didn’t know how much he actually earned.

After weighing, they began packing the apples with the ‘Mengmeng Fruits’ labels into boxes.

During this time, Cao Shujie, Zuo Le, Cheng Xiaolin, Wang Yuelan, and Cao Jianguo all worked together, staying busy until nightfall without finishing.

That evening, after dinner at Cao Shujie’s house, Cao Shujie took Zuo Le to a hotel in town for the night.

The next morning, they continued packing, working non-stop until nearly noon before finishing.

Zuo Le asked Cao Shujie to help him find a truck to transport over 1,400 boxes of apples to the provincial capital, with Zuo Le covering the shipping costs.

“Boss Cao, see you next year,” Zuo Le said as he shook hands with Cao Shujie.

They wished each other well.

This farewell would last a year until they met again the following year.

…

After selling the apples, the orchard was completely cleared. Cao Shujie remembered the saying that to grow good fruit, one must first nourish the land. He spread the organic fertilizer they had prepared twice over the fields. Additionally, he poured two bottles of concentrated nutrient solution into the mixing tank, planning to replenish the nutrients the land and fruit trees lacked while they weren’t bearing fruit.

When the fruit trees still had fruit, Cao Shujie hadn’t realized the best use for his nutrient solution. Even in his past life, he focused on research projects with few practical opportunities.

At this moment, Cao Shujie realized that the ‘nutrient’ solution he developed should emphasize ‘nutrition.’

“This means there’s a huge market for this product. I should continue researching it further,” Cao Shujie thought to himself.

He believed that even if he didn’t focus on growing fruit trees or raising livestock, having this product would ensure a good future.

“But without strength, it’s futile. Even with the best product, I can’t protect it. I should take it slow,” Cao Shujie thought.

As time moved from early to mid-October, the temperature continued to drop.

The summer heat was gone.

At this time, more people were becoming idle again.

Many thought of finding some odd jobs at Cao Shujie’s orchard, but when they arrived, they found the orchard had changed.

A new road led to the foot of the mountain, and a two-meter-wide road between the two plots of land had been built, much better than the old dirt path.

On rainy days, the muddy road was nearly impassable.

After finally taking a break, with the orchard’s construction finished and the fruit sold, there wasn’t much work left. Hiring a couple of temporary workers to watch over things was enough. Feeling restless, Cao Shujie thought of taking his family on a trip.

But where to go?

He couldn’t think of a place right away.

That evening, after dinner, Cao Shujie discussed the idea of traveling with his wife. Cheng Xiaolin said, “Where can we go at this time? Why not find a place with mountains and water to enjoy?”

“That sounds good!” Cao Shujie agreed and asked his wife, “Honey, you pick a place.”

“Let me think!” Cheng Xiaolin seriously considered the question, thinking about where they could go next.

(End of Chapter)