The Fruit Man | Veselin Petrov
It is a foggy afternoon at the end of November. Veselin Petrov stands behind his counter, cuts the juicy oranges, and mixes them with grapefruit and lemon. He reaches the perfect proportion and neatly passes the bottle to Maria, one of his loyal and regular clients. When she takes a sip, Veselin can tell by the look in her eyes that he managed to deliver the flavor desired by her. After that, he measures a package with fragrant strawberries, exchanges some words about the difficult situation in the country at the moment, and wishes her a beautiful day.
“ If I want to allow my clients to drink from this aromatic, freshly made juice and the ability to offer them these savory tomatoes before Christmas, I wake up at 4 a.m. every morning and go to the biggest market before any other sellers. I choose the best and most ecological products and transport them to the shop. Every piece goes through my hands before reaching the showcase,” Veselin says.
Veselin is a 32 years old young man born in Pazardjik. His family owns orchards and vineyards, which he takes care of since a young age. This practice predetermines his future profession. Eight years ago, he came to Sofia, rented a small shop in the heart of the capital, and started to offer fruits and vegetables personally chosen by him.
A couple of days ago, after a long day at the shop, Veselin found out the great news that he is going to be a father of twins. This gift is an even bigger motive for him to survive and be profitable in these difficult times of the pandemic. He enlarges the specter of his products in the direction of healthy nutrition and starts to offer the so popular now smoothies.
“ I started to think more seriously about the future, now when I know that I am going to be a father. I want to expand my business. From the beginning of December, I am starting to make deliveries to the homes of my clients,” he explains, cruising through the alleys filled with luscious fruits and vegetables, and spraying them with fresh water.
“Every little thing needs love and care to look good and to feel good. This statement also applies to my products, “ Veselin continues, and his smile is rising on his warm face. Not by coincidence, he is the favorite of the neighborhood.
“An evidence that I am going in the right direction and a drive to develop more and keep going is the fact that I have clients coming to my shop from the most distant points of the city. They come exclusively to me and select from my products, “ he says.
Even though he doesn’t remember the last time when he had a break, the little amount of sleep that he gets, and the load of work, the smile never leaves his face. “When a person invests passion and emotion in what he is doing, the result is always positive and moral satisfaction is the gratitude in the looks of my pleased clients,” Veselin wraps up.
###
Vladimira Ivanova is a third-year student at the American University of Bulgaria and is majoring in Business Administration. From this story, she learned a lot about dedication.
