At night in the city, the night market is full of snacks, commodities and people, full of fireworks. However, in this rural night market beside the river in Mohei Town, Ning'er County, Yunnan Province, there are neither snacks nor diners, but it is also very lively. All people come here for small chilies, making it a unique "chili night market".

"In order to avoid the traffic jam when picking up children after school, everyone stood outside..." "What's the price today?..." It was the chili picking season. As long as the weather was fine, chili buyers and growers would gather on both sides of the street in the side village every evening, and the spacious street would inevitably become congested, Hu Guangmei, secretary of the General Party Branch of Biancun Village, and her colleagues will come to volunteer as facilitators. Hu Guangmei often asks about the market situation of the day while persuading merchants.

As the sky gets darker and darker, more and more villagers ride motorcycles or pick up trucks to deliver the harvest of the day, including local farmers in Bian Village, those from other villages in Ninger County, and those from nearby Mojiang County. The sound of cars and people is very lively. On the streets less than 1km away, street lights, headlights and other lights are dotted, which together outline the busy scene of the "Pepper Night Market".

"At the price, the boss told us to pay 14 yuan per kilogram, but we don't want to sell it. We will wait a moment." The reporter talked with Su Zhengfa, a pepper grower from Tongguan Town, Mojiang County, and several other villagers. During the talk, the villagers said they were not in a hurry to make a move, and the predicted price was still far behind.

On the one hand, there are "unmoved" growers, and on the other hand, there are more than ten purchasers who are eager to buy. The prices offered by purchasers are different between "one delay and one urgency". In addition to the changes in market conditions, the daily transaction price of the Biancun "Pepper Night Market" will not be known until the market opens on the same day.

"Today, I came down from Kunming to buy chili peppers. I received three or four tons of chili peppers. The price is between 13 yuan and 15 yuan per kilogram. The size and color of chili peppers are different, and the price is also different." According to the purchaser Yang Bin, the price of chili peppers is on the rise. The market is very good, and it is estimated that the price will rise again.

"Today, we have received about 10 tons of goods. At present, the purchase price is 15 yuan per kilogram. Some high-quality peppers are still behind. Farmers want to sell 16 yuan per kilogram. If the quality is good, we can also offer 16 yuan per kilogram. We will give good prices for good goods," said Yang Xiubing, a pepper buyer.

As time goes by, the price offered by the "Pepper Night Market" is also rising slowly, but most purchasers have a planned purchase volume every day. After reaching the purchase volume of the day, the price will fall back. The growers must seize the opportunity to sell their own peppers in time, so that they can get the best income from their work that day.

"Today, we picked 89 kilograms of chilies at a price of 15 yuan per kilogram, and sold a total of 1350 yuan. This is a bumper harvest," said Ma Kaiyun, a villager in Babian Village.

As the night wore on, the transaction of the day was drawing to a close. Buyers also needed to sort, pack and refrigerate the peppers and sell them to Jiangsu, Zhejiang and other places according to market demand. The Babian Village "Pepper Night Market" is increasingly becoming a regional distribution center of fresh pepper fruits because of its "fierceness", playing a driving role in helping farmers increase income.

"As far as I know, since this week, the price of each kilogram of pepper has been more than 10 yuan, the daily purchase volume has been about 80 tons, and the transaction volume has reached more than 1 million yuan, so people can get a good price at home." Hu Guangmei, secretary of the general party branch of Babian Village, said.

According to statistics, 8837.2 mu of pepper will be planted in Ning'er County in 2023, with an average yield of 1 ton per mu, and the expected output value is nearly 90 million yuan. As a traditional pepper planting village in Ninger, 92% of farmers in Babian Village have planted pepper, with a planting scale of more than 3000 mu. Pepper has become an important source of income for local people.

(Li Yingqing/Tao Ping, Gao Pingshun, Yang Tingrong and Wang Yue from China Daily Yunnan News Station)