The American's slapstick-style YouTube clips see him using wooden clubs to pound pumpkins and eggplants, drawing more than a million hits as of Tuesday.

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Plumes of fine, brown dust puff up from each footstep as he makes his morning rounds through 100 acres of cucumbers, tomatoes and eggplants vegetables that won't grow much bigger if rain doesn't come.

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At the bustling Chaonei Nanxiaojie farmers market in Beijing, vendors complain the prices of eggplants, ginger and garlic have gone up at much as 30 percent in the past six months.

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It is often accompanied by fried eggplants or a potato omelet, and goes well with a glass of fine sherry.

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