Chapter 229 Tourists

Chapter 229 Tourists

Chapter 229 Tourists
May, hot Lingnan.

Under the scorching sun, the passenger flow at Shantou-Meizhou High-speed Railway Station has increased significantly with the arrival of the May Day Golden Week.

Another high-speed train stopped at the platform, and a large number of tourists poured out from the exit.

There is a huge Hailufeng service station at the exit. Several young interns saw passengers coming out of the exit and immediately ran out of the cool container service station.

"Welcome to Hailufeng, do you need any travel services?"

"Guest, please take a look at the Hailufeng tourism services..."

"Guest, we have a durian orchard. Do you want to go pick durian?"

There were several middle-aged people who seemed to be a group. One of them, wearing a pink T-shirt, asked, "Hey, do you still have durian?"

"Yes, it has just been put into mass production this year. If you are interested, we can arrange it."

The middle-aged man looked at his short-haired wife wearing sunglasses and said, "Wife, what about you?"

"Go ahead! Durian is my favorite."

"Ah Kun, Xiao Qing, where are you and your spouse?"

The long-haired middle-aged woman holding a parasol nodded: "Sure, we are here to travel anyway."

The slicked-back-haired A-Kun looked a little worried and whispered, "Brother Teng, is this a trick? Trying to get us to spend money or something?"

"This?" The middle-aged man with a pink face became a little worried when he heard what he said.

The tour guide had very sharp ears and explained, "Don't worry, everyone. Our company is also a very famous enterprise in the country. You know Hailufeng Company, right? This is our parent company."

"Hailufeng Company? The company that develops magic beans and sponge batteries?" A Kun asked in surprise.

"Yes, big brother, you are really knowledgeable." The tour guide quickly flattered him.

"Haha, I also heard about it from my friends. Then let's join your group!" A Kun burst into laughter.

This made Brother Teng, who was very considerate, speechless. He could only shake his head and said, "Okay!"

Several people were taken into the service station.

There are no vending machines or the like in this service station, which is converted from two containers. This is mainly because there are convenience stores inside the high-speed railway station, and they are not allowed to be set up at the platform exit. The physical business department did not force this.

The front desk clerk quickly asked, "Guest, welcome to the Hailufeng Tourism Service Station. How many days do you plan to stay here? We can arrange accommodation, meals, and routes."

Brother Teng was the first to speak: "We plan to stay here for three days."

"Three days? Okay, do you mind staying in a homestay?" the waiter asked again.

"Okay!" Brother Teng nodded.

"Okay, give me your ID card and I'll help you check in. We have single rooms, double rooms, and family rooms. The prices are 100 yuan per day, 150 yuan per day, and 200 yuan per day respectively. Which one do you want?"

"Two double rooms."

"Ok."

After a while, several people completed the check-in, and after payment, they received a card.

"This is the room card, as well as the bus card and consumption card. It contains a 50-yuan exclusive consumption red envelope given by our company. I wish you all a happy journey."

"Uh? Thank you." A Kun took the room card, on which was printed the scenery of a village's gate.

The tour guide got the secondary card, which was also a backup card for several people. He quickly reminded: "Dear guests, if you lose yours, please tell me immediately. I have a backup secondary card here. Please add my work WeChat."

"Your service is really good." Xiaoqing said with a smile.

"These are what we should do."

After a while, after adding WeChat, the tour guide had gathered 20 people. He smiled and clapped his hands: "Everyone, in order to facilitate the next trip, we will give each person two pieces of clothing. You can go to the next door to choose the size that suits you."

"And send clothes?"

"Go and have a look."

Several college students can't wait.

The container next door is filled with various cotton and linen T-shirts, all of which are printed with the Hailufeng Company's logo and various product information. However, the pattern designs are cartoon-like, with strong local characteristics and oil painting style. These are all specially designed patterns.

Soon, everyone changed their clothes, and at the same time, a cotton and linen T-shirt and their changed clothes were put into the linen bag.

The tour guide quickly introduced: "Dear guests, these clothes are all produced by our company. The raw materials come from Qiongzhou Farm. They are made of pure natural plant fibers and are very dry and breathable when worn in summer."

"linen?"

"It's a bit rough, but it's acceptable."

"I've bought some linen clothes before, and they felt rougher than this, so this is pretty good."

Several guests smiled and said that after all, it was a gift, so they were not too picky.

The tour guide brought 20 tourists to the roadside below the high-speed rail station and got directly on a blue-gray bus.

Seeing that everyone had come up, he smiled and raised the bus card in his hand, and continued to introduce: "Dear guests, the bus card in your hand has 50 yuan. This money can not only be used to buy things, but also to take the bus. Just swipe the card and pay after getting off at the stop. It depends on how much money you have. Just download a Hailufeng franchise store APP."

The bus started slowly.

However, the bus did not go to the core area of ​​the city, but came to Guizhuling Village in Hongcao Town.

The bus goes directly into the village.

We arrived at the gate of a homestay, which was a homestay converted from a self-built house. The property rights of the homestay belonged to the Guizhuling Village Cooperative.

To be precise, this area is managed by the village cooperative and includes 50 self-built houses used as homestays, 3 restaurants, 1 convenience store and 1 specialty store.

Restaurants, convenience stores, and specialty stores are all contracted out to villagers to run, and the cooperative collects rent and 10% of the profits.

These tourism service facilities are supervised by the physical business department of Hailufeng Company. Since these guests are attracted by Hailufeng Company, the company must be responsible for these guests.

Not only are charging standards stipulated, but random inspections of the food safety, product quality, and service attitude of these business projects are also required from time to time.

If a village's comprehensive service evaluation fails to meet the standards for three consecutive months, Hailufeng Company will cancel the designated cooperation.

After all, there are a total of 35 local villages included in the first batch of tourism cooperation.

Even though your village doesn't want to do it, other villages are very eager to get support from Hailufeng Company.

In order to ensure a steady stream of guests, the management of the cooperative attaches great importance to this and has given strict instructions to B&B waiters, restaurant, convenience store, and specialty store operators, requiring them to go to the ancestral hall and swear in front of the villagers and ancestors before operating their businesses to operate with integrity and abide by the rules.

These homestays are very nicely decorated.

Try to keep it as simple as possible to reduce the cost increase caused by complex decoration, while incorporating some local characteristics.

Of course, there will be no shortage of necessary supporting facilities.

The tour guide took everyone to check in directly.

Using the bus card to swipe and open the door, A Kun and Xiao Qing took a look at the layout of the room.

The entire room is about 50 square meters in size, with an indoor bathroom, a large balcony, two beds, and whitewashed walls. There is no suspended ceiling, which is also whitewashed, so the space appears to be very large.

On the wall, besides an old-fashioned wall clock, there are four Chinese paintings, namely bamboo, orchid, plum blossom and chrysanthemum.

The waiter took out the wrapped air-conditioning blanket and said with a smile: "Guest, if you want laundry service, you can put it in this basket and press this bell. It's ten dollars per basket."

Xiaoqing looked at the various buttons on the bedside table, which included "laundry", "fire", "first aid", "errands", "meal delivery", and "other". The buttons were protected by transparent covers, and there was a telephone head hanging on the wall on one side.

"Okay, thank you for your help." She took another look at the basket at the bathroom door. The basket was quite large, so it should be no problem to hold a day's worth of clothes for two people.

"You are welcome."

The waiter left the room.

Xiaoqing and Akun put their luggage in the cabinet.

I opened the sliding door and there was a table and two chairs on the balcony, and I breathed in some fresh air.

After draining the water, A Kun shouted, "Wife, let's go! Don't forget to take your phone."

"understood."

The group came to a big banyan tree again, where the tour guide was already waiting for them.

The tour guide pointed to the mountains behind the village and said, "The village you are in is one of our company's durian farms. A total of 4200 acres of durian are planted in this area. Now I will take you to pick durian. Let me explain first that we do not force consumption, and the price is clearly marked. One kilogram of durian with shell is 15 yuan."

"15 yuan per pound? So cheap?"

"Depend on!"

"Guide, hurry up..."

"I can't wait..." However, the tour guide still reminded: "If you have three highs, I suggest you control your durian intake, especially those with high blood sugar."

"Don't worry! I'm very healthy." A middle-aged man replied, patting his chest.

"Yeah! We have no problem."

The tour guide smiled and nodded, but the video camera on his collar recorded what he had just said and the tourists' answers, just in case and to protect the tour guide.

Led by the tour guide.

After walking along a village road for a while, they arrived at the entrance of the durian farm at the foot of the mountain.

There are already quite a few tourists from other groups here, and these tourists are tasting durian and taking photos in groups of three or five.

Brother Teng looked at the durian tree on the roadside, with five or six durian hanging from its branches: "It's really a durian!"

The tour guide quickly reminded: "Don't get close to the durian tree to avoid being hit by the durian."

Farm workers also came over and handed bamboo safety helmets to the tourists.

The tour guide once again used the loud speaker to say: "Everyone put on your helmets and follow the farm manager inside for a tour."

In the durian orchard.

In addition to the durian trees, there are also alfalfa under the trees and little bees flying around from time to time.

Everyone quickly took photos.

Brother Teng pulled the tour guide over and asked, "Guide, how much is the durian?"

"The farm staff will take you to choose. The ripe durians here have been picked by the guests in front. We need to go a little further." The tour guide pointed to the end of the terraced field and added, "You can also go to the service station at the door and buy the fresh fruits picked by the farm today."

Teng's wife, who was wearing sunglasses, shook her head and said, "Of course I have to pick them myself, otherwise why would I come here to play?"

"My wife is right." Brother Teng also nodded.

Soon the group followed the farm machinery road and came to an area where durians were grown and available for picking.

The farm worker called out, "The durians here are ready to be picked. Let me show you how ripe they are."

The farm worker came over with a stepladder, took out a stick and knocked on the shell of the durian. The tourists around watched with great curiosity.

The farm worker who heard the echo cut off the fruit stem directly and said: "This one is ripe, but it should be a dry bag."

"Dry bag? Give it to me, I want it." The middle-aged woman in sunglasses shouted happily.

Half an hour later, 20 tourists, each holding a durian, carried their durians down to the rest area at the entrance of the farm.

Many people did not open the durian, but bought drinks from the vending machine first and then went to the service counter to weigh the durian.

Brother Teng patted the durian he had paid for, and weighed it in his hand: "About 7.3 jin."

Ding! The number on the electronic scale is indeed 7.3 catties.

"The guest has a very accurate hand."

"Haha, I run a herbal medicine store. I can tell the weight just by picking it up."

"I see. Do you want it split? Or take it away?"

"Chop it open."

"Xiao Wu, split the durian for the guests."

"understood."

The durian, still with a hint of green, was quickly split open by Xiao Wu's fruit knife.

The woman in sunglasses carrying another durian, and Xiaoqing and A Kun came to a table in the rest area with the chopped durian.

As soon as she sat down, the woman in sunglasses took off her sunglasses, picked up a large piece of dried durian meat, and stuffed it into her mouth: "Wow... so delicious, it's really tree-ripened fruit... much better than those shipped by sea."

"Is this really the scent of the golden pillow? Such a strong floral fragrance." A Kun was also very surprised.

"Hmm, it smells good!" Xiaoqing also nodded.

The tour guide at the next table smiled and explained: "This bud of the golden pillow can actually be called the flower-scented golden pillow. All the durians in this area are flower-scented durians."

"Guide, give me a piece!" Brother Teng handed over a piece of durian meat.

The tour guide smiled and shook his head: "I have eaten too much these days, and now I don't feel like eating."

He was not lying. As durians have matured in the past few days, they, the tour guides, have been eating durians almost every day, but now they don't want to eat them anymore.

"You locals are really in for a treat." Brother Teng didn't force it and ate the piece of durian himself.

The woman in sunglasses burped: "Hiccup...Guide, how long will this durian last?"

"It will last until mid-July this year, but another batch of durians using new technology will mature at the end of the year, probably around November."

"I'm so envious! I love eating durian so much. I haven't dared to go to Southeast Asia in the past few years. Fortunately, you grow durian. I will come here to eat tree-ripened durian in the future." The girl in sunglasses was very happy.

The tour guide smiled and said, "I envy those of you who like to eat durian. I don't like it very much. Although I can eat one or two bites, if I eat more, I feel very sick."

"Guide, is the next durian season in November?" asked another table of tourists.

“Yes, to be precise, starting from November this year, durian can be supplied locally all year round.”

"Oh? Durian can be eaten all year round?" A Kun was very curious.

"In Southeast Asia, fruits can be harvested all year round, but we need to use new technology here."

Brother Teng wiped his mouth and said, "New technology? So powerful?"

"Do you see that durian tree?" The tour guide stood up and patted a durian tree next to the rest area. "The middle part is a genetically modified rootstock, which is specially used to supply nutrients to the old durian branches."

"Genetically modified? These durians are genetically modified?" Xiaoqing was shocked.

The tour guide shook his head and said: "It is the rootstock. The rootstock is genetically modified. The old branches that bear the fruit are native durian. It is equivalent to the genetically modified rootstock only providing nutrients, and the fruit is still native durian."

Several tourists also stood up and looked at the grafting location on the tree.

The tour guide took out a special brochure and handed it to the interested tourists. It specifically introduced how to grow durian in the Lingnan region and how to regulate the time when durian blooms and bears fruit.

After watching, the tourists got a general understanding of the new durian planting technology and felt more at ease.

Brother Teng didn't care about whether it was genetically modified or not. He looked at the durian trees around him and said, "Guide, are there too few durian fruits?"

"Because this is the first year of fruiting, in order to ensure quality, our farm will only keep a small portion of the fruits. Starting next year, the fruit will be much better, and one tree can produce 40 fruits."

"That's right!"

“It looks like durian will be very cheap next year.”

The tour guide shook his head and said: "Our company's unified retail price is 15 yuan per kilogram, and it will be the same price next year."

The woman in sunglasses was a little surprised: "Your durian is of very good quality! Much better than the ones in Siam. You are selling it so cheaply, aren't you losing money?"

"In their local area, Siamese durian is more than 10 yuan per kilogram if converted into Huayuan. The production areas are very cheap. Our company also has its own logistics system, so we will not lose money."

The woman in sunglasses nodded and said, "As long as we don't lose money, that's good. Then we consumers can eat cheap and delicious durian every year, and you can also make money."

"If you like it, you can make a reservation through our company's APP. If our company happens to have a franchise store in your city, we can deliver it directly to your door. The quality is guaranteed to be first-class."

"Thank you, I'll take a look later."

The tour guide went to other guests to sell the product, but he was very strategic in his sales pitch and didn't force anything on them. If the guests showed little interest, he would quickly go to other guests.

The durian farm in Guizhulin Village received more than 400 tourists in one morning.

Some tourists come to Shanmei specifically to eat durian after being introduced by the Hailufeng specialty store or APP.

Another part are guests brought in from the high-speed rail station.

Although one pound costs only 15 yuan, more than 3 durians were sold in one morning, and each durian weighs an average of 5 to kilograms.

In addition to selling beverages, durian ice cream, and alfalfa honey, this farm service station earned nearly 50,000 yuan in revenue in just one morning.

At present, Hailufeng Company has opened a total of 10 durian farm service stations in Shanmei that specialize in serving tourists.

The first batch of durian was not in large quantity, so the company gave priority to local sales through tourism services, and the rest were sent to specialty stores in the Pearl River Delta region for sale.

More than 1300 mu of durian trees are ready for harvest and are expected to produce 5.2 million durians, or almost tons.

Just enough for local consumption in Lingnan.

Other places have to wait for a new batch of plantations in Qiongzhou Farm and Shanmei. It is estimated that it will take until November this year before nationwide sales can be achieved.

(End of this chapter)