Meeting for Discussion

A little distance away from the crowd, Alexander Hayes stood with Leonard Li and Sean Hayes.

Sean Hayes stared in shock at the throng of people, layer upon layer, and clicked his tongue. "My wife is truly incredible."

Alexander Hayes smiled faintly, his gaze lingering on Lily Evans from afar. "My wife is, of course, extraordinary."

Leonard Li rolled his eyes. "Come on, Your Highness Prince of Qin, give it a rest. Your future Princess of Qin, Princess Mira, is still in the palace right now. I heard she's been smitten with you for ages, totally head over heels. This marriage is about diplomatic ties between two nations. If you want to back out, it won't be that simple."

On stage, Lily Evans stood up, cleared her throat, and swept her clear gaze over the crowd. In the villagers’ faces, she saw their longing for a better life.

Who doesn’t want to eat well, dress warmly, and get rich?

"Folks, everyone knows my family’s vegetable patch can grow fresh produce even in winter. These veggies are rare now, and many families in Greenfield City want to buy them. But my family doesn’t have enough hands—we just can’t go door to door selling. So I was thinking, if any of you are interested in retailing vegetables, you can partner with us, join as retailers, and earn the price difference! Selling veggies might not make you rich overnight, but if you’re willing to work hard, you’ll have enough to eat, nice clothes, and meat on the table every day!" Lily said.

The villagers were thrilled—doing business with Lily could mean meat on the table every day! It was almost too good to be true.

"Lily, can we really have meat every day if we work with you!? My family hasn’t seen meat in half a year—I’m starting to forget what it tastes like!" shouted a young man in his twenties.

"Big Huai, is that you?" Lily recognized him and grinned. "I’d never lie to my neighbors. The path I’ve found for everyone is sure to work!"

Oakley scratched his head and called out, "Lily, if you say it’s doable, then it’s definitely doable! Your family was so poor last year you could barely scrape by, and now you live in a grand tile-roofed house. I’m convinced—count me in!"

The villagers, hearing this, all chimed in, one after another, eager to throw their lot in with Lily Evans.

Seeing the crowd’s enthusiasm, Lily Evans laid out the rules for joining the vegetable retail business:

"First: Anyone who wants to join must sign a contract and stick to every clause. If you break the rules, you’ll be facing the magistrate, not just me."

"Second: Everyone has to do business strictly within their assigned sales area. That way, everyone gets a fair shot at earning money."

"Third: You’ll need to put up a deposit to join. If you play by the rules, you’ll get it back in five years. But if you cause trouble or losses, it’ll be docked from your deposit."

"These three are the main rules," Lily stressed. "There are a few small details too, but I’ll explain those later."

As soon as the deposit was mentioned, quite a few villagers who’d been raring to go started to hesitate.

Oakley asked, "Lily, my family’s so poor we can barely keep the pot boiling—what if we don’t have money for a deposit?"

Doggie Lee piped up, "Same here! If you ask for a deposit, half of us won’t be able to join!"

Mrs. Warren, ever the sharp-tongued, added, "Lily, you’re rich now, but what about us common folk?"

Lily Evans smiled, her eyes twinkling, "Don’t worry, I’ll work out a plan for those who truly can’t afford the deposit. But you have to promise, no cheating and no trouble!"

The villagers, hearing this, breathed a collective sigh of relief, their faces lighting up with hope.

With the rules set and everyone reassured, Lily Evans began organizing the sign-up process for the vegetable retail venture.