Chapter 26: Beauty Like Jade

Li Youcai hesitated. If he handed the ledger over to Chen Dabao and Liu Fugui found out, Liu would definitely turn against him.

"What, you're unwilling?" Chen Dabao said coldly. "If you refuse, I’ll send the video to the village’s group chat right now and let everyone see just how wild you and Deng Hongyan really are!"

"I'm willing, I'm willing! I'll go get the ledger right now!"

Li Youcai gritted his teeth. If he handed the ledger to Chen Dabao, Liu Fugui would only be angry with him, but if Chen Dabao released that video, Liu Fugui would surely kill him.

Li Youcai rushed home and brought the ledger back. Chen Dabao deleted the video right in front of him, and only then did Li let out a sigh of relief and hurry away.

Looking at the ledger, Chen Dabao noticed that many pages had been torn out. It was clear that the old fox, Li Youcai, had kept many more accounts. Fearing that those records might fall into Chen Dabao’s hands, he had torn them all out.

"These records of Li Youcai’s will certainly be enough to bring Liu Fugui down!"

Chen Dabao rubbed his chin, a vague plan forming in his mind. He might be able to make these bastards turn on each other.

After pondering for a while, Chen Dabao tucked away the remaining pages, locked the door, and rode his motorcycle into town. Soon, he arrived at the flagship store of Xianxian Fruits.

The store was as large as five storefronts and decorated quite luxuriously, with several pretty young women working inside.

"Where is Manager Huo? I’m here to deliver the strawberries!" Chen Dabao parked his motorcycle and said to one of the young women.

"Are you from Taohua Village? Manager Huo has already instructed us. Just leave the strawberries here!" The young woman hurried out, smiling. "Manager Huo has some business today, she’ll be here in a little while!"

"Brother Dabao?"

Just then, a beautiful girl with dark hair, bright eyes, and exquisite features walked out, looking at Chen Dabao in astonishment.

"Xiaobai? Aren't you supposed to be in college? How are you here?"

Chen Dabao was even more surprised as he looked at the pure, beautiful girl with an elegant figure. Her name was Bai Yu, formerly a resident of Taohua Village and famous there as the "Tofu Beauty." Later, her family moved to town and opened a noodle shop. Before Chen Dabao had lost his wits, he had heard that Bai Yu had been accepted into college. She should be in school right now; why was she working as a sales clerk at Xianxian Fruits?

"I... I didn't go to college," Bai Yu said, her eyes dimming as she shook her head slightly.

"Handsome, please weigh the strawberries and sign here!" The previous young woman brought out a scale.

"Brother Dabao, I have to get back to work. We'll talk later!" Seeing a group of young people approaching, Bai Yu left him with those words and hurried over to assist them.

Chen Dabao guessed that something must have happened to Bai Yu’s family. Otherwise, given her high scores in the college entrance exam—she had supposedly been accepted into a top-tier university—she surely wouldn't have skipped out on her education.

"Exactly one hundred pounds!" Chen Dabao thought to himself as he placed the two large baskets of strawberries on the scale. After subtracting the weight of the baskets, it was exactly one hundred pounds, with a little extra.

"One hundred pounds. Mr. Chen, please sign here. We need to reconcile the accounts during inventory," the young woman said, holding a large ledger.

He wrote down "100 pounds of strawberries," signed his name, and had Chen Dabao sign as well. Then, she emptied the strawberries into a bin on the counter and placed a label on them.

"Heart-Melting Strawberries, 50 yuan per pound!"

Seeing the label, Chen Dabao thought that the name Huo Anni had chosen was quite good. Plus, 50 yuan a pound was neither too high nor too low; if they could open up the market, everyone would profit.

"What kind of strawberries are these, selling for 50 yuan a pound? Imported ones are only thirty-something now. Fifty is almost the price of white strawberries!" A middle-aged woman in stylish clothing questioned after seeing the price.

These strawberries looked good, but the price was too steep. Since it was the peak season for strawberries, the ones in typical supermarkets were only twenty-something yuan per pound; these were twice as expensive.

"Ma'am, these strawberries are even better than white ones. They have a great taste, excellent texture, and are rich in nutrients. Just try one and you’ll see. All fruits at Xianxian Fruits are quality-guaranteed!" The young woman picked up a strawberry and offered it to her.

The middle-aged woman frowned slightly. "Have these been washed?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, let me wash one for you!" The young woman quickly took a dozen strawberries and rinsed them with purified water. Only then did the middle-aged woman take one and have a taste.

Upon tasting it, her eyes lit up immediately.

"Delicious! The fruit fragrance is rich, and it has a natural sweetness. It doesn't taste like it’s been injected with sweeteners!" the woman exclaimed in surprise.

"Of course! Our fruits at Xianxian Fruits are strictly prohibited from using illegal pesticides," the young woman said with a radiant smile.

"Weigh me two pounds—no, five pounds!" The middle-aged woman did not hesitate. Her taste buds had been conquered by the Heart-Melting Strawberries.

"Certainly, please wait a moment!" The young woman immediately picked out five pounds of strawberries and collected 250 yuan.

Many customers were interested in the 50-yuan-a-pound strawberries. Furthermore, because the fruits at Xianxian Fruits were noticeably more expensive than other shops, those who shopped here generally had plenty of money.

Chen Dabao stood by for a while, and quite a few people came to taste and buy the strawberries. Some even recommended them to each other, claiming they had never eaten strawberries this good. The hundred pounds of strawberries were selling surprisingly fast.

Chen Dabao watched for a while, then prepared to ride his motorcycle back to deliver another batch. When he signed the contract, he had promised to provide two to three hundred pounds of strawberries a day.

He looked over at Bai Yu, intending to say goodbye before leaving. However, his brows furrowed when he noticed that she seemed to be in trouble. Three scruffy-looking young men had appeared in the store.

"Bai Yu, have you thought about what I told you yesterday?" One of the youths, who had dyed his hair yellow, leered at her. "Be my girlfriend, and I guarantee you'll live a life of luxury!"

"That's right, little beauty. Our Brother Yong is a big shot in this area. Following him comes with plenty of perks!" the other two chimed in with lewd grins.

These three were local thugs. Xianxian Fruits hired young, pretty girls, and Bai Yu was especially radiant—more beautiful than the campus belles of local schools. She had been targeted by these three hoodlums shortly after she started working here; this wasn't the first time they had come to harass her.

"I'm sorry, I already have a boyfriend," Bai Yu said uneasily.

"Having a boyfriend doesn't matter. We can all play together!" One of the thugs couldn't hold back and reached out to grab her.