Chapter 143

Opportunities are reserved for those who are prepared. Cai Wentao had been thinking about trading things after the road between the two provinces was opened. Now that Qin Huai and his team got a big order, he was even more eager to try. However, this matter had to be planned carefully, and he could now establish a good relationship with Qin Huai and his team, so that when he took the things to Kangyun, he would not be running around like a headless fly, because at least he would have a local acquaintance.

Qin Huai and his friends had quite a bit of money. Mu Nan had never felt secure with his money. He always felt that unless he could exchange it for supplies that could be stored at home, the money would not be secure. So he would spend all the money on things that could be bought with it, and then trade it for supplies when the money was gone.

There are many kinds of things in the market in Qinghe, including electronic products, books, some clothes and bedding, and even dried meat. However, it is impossible to tell what animal the meat is from. It is a black mass. Cai Wentao said that it is bamboo rat meat. If you soak it in boiling water and stir-fry it at home, it tastes very good.

But Mu Nan was sensitive to the word "rat". Even though he knew that bamboo rat meat was edible, it was still a little difficult for him to accept it physiologically.

Mu Nan asked, "Is there anyone selling live animals in the market? Chickens, ducks, etc?"

Cai Wentao smiled and said, "How can we possibly have that? Although we live off the land, we are also really short of food. Even though we can still sell meat at the market now, a bamboo rat, which is the length of an adult's forearm, costs twenty yuan. How much is a month's salary for working so hard? A hundred yuan is considered very good. Rent, water, electricity, rice, flour, grain and oil, all these become negative assets once they are used up. How can we afford to buy them? So don't think that everyone here has enough meat just because we have meat for sale. We still lack a lot. If we can really get the live chickens you want, we can only use our connections on the farm."

Mu Nan quickly turned to look at him: "So you can still buy it?"

Cai Wentao didn't try to boast: "I don't have such a channel. I only heard that there are some private channels, but they are in large orders, not just one or two. Nowadays, domesticated ones are more difficult to deal with than wild ones."

Qin Huai rubbed Mu Nan's hair: "Let's go around again. Do you have any specialties here?"

Cai Wentao said: "You may not be able to accept the local specialties. Do you eat bamboo worms?"

Mu Nan shuddered suddenly and shook his head repeatedly, exuding an aura of rejection from head to toe.

Qin Huai asked, "How does it taste?"

Cai Wentao smiled and said, "It can be described as extremely delicious. It must be fried in a lot of oil and sprinkled with a little salt. The meat aroma will be amazing. If you can add cumin or some spices to fry it, the taste will be even better. If you want it to be crispy and soft, fry it for a shorter time. If you want it to be crispy and fragrant, fry it for a longer time. You can also fry the bamboo worms until they are crispy. The oily aroma will be amazing when you take a bite."

Qin Huai asked, "How much are bamboo worms?"

Cai Wentao was not sure, because the price was different every day: "It depends on the situation. Nowadays, people have less food to eat. If they are too hungry, they can swallow live bamboo worms, not to mention fried bamboo worms. Before, this place was not developed, and it was close to the mountain. Many people had no food and were so hungry that they ate tree bark. The sun was so strong that even the big trees that had been rooted for hundreds of years were dying, not to mention other green plants. The whole mountain looked bare at a glance. Basically, everything that could be eaten had been eaten. There were too many poisonous insects in the deep forests, so no one went in. Otherwise, they would have been eaten up long ago. So if you are lucky, you can find one or two bamboo tubes, and you can get three to five for one or two yuan. If you are unlucky, you can get nothing, so the price will naturally go up, and you can only buy two or three for one or two yuan."

Although it seems that there are not many bamboo worms, the bamboo worms last year are obviously not as good as this year's. It seems that after a winter, the worms have absorbed enough nutrients and become fatter. In the past, the bamboo worms were about the thickness of an adult's finger, but this year we found quite a few bamboo worms. The smaller ones are two fingers thick, and the larger ones are as thick as half a palm. So although it seems that the price of each one is not cheap, judging from the size, just two of them can make a dish.

Seeing Qin Huai seemed somewhat moved, Mu Nan couldn't help but show fear in his eyes: "Brother, what do you want to do?" They are not short of meat, so there is really no need to cast their eyes on those bugs that can give people goose bumps at a glance.

Qin Huai stroked Mu Nan's back soothingly: "Take a look first. If there are any live insects and the price is right, you can have some."

Mu Nan was even more shocked: "Still, still alive?"

Qin Huai smiled and said, "People are already accepting of white grubs, so they will be more accepting of bamboo worms. Let's take a look at the price first. If the price is acceptable, we can bring some back. Then we can ask Jian Chu and Song Jia to set up a stall in the small square and fry and sell them on the spot."

With a goal in mind, they naturally wouldn't wander around the market. The three of them walked all the way to the back of the market before they saw someone selling bamboo worms at a turning point. Oil is very expensive now, and if they sold fried bamboo worms directly, it would be a big loss to charge three or five pieces for one or two yuan. After all, oil is also a scarce thing, so they usually sell live worms dug up from the mountains.

Mu Nan found it hard to accept the scene of all the stalls selling bamboo worms. Some were placed directly in woven baskets, and the fat white things kept wriggling, which was so disgusting. Others were placed in bamboo tubes, and each one was climbing on the wall of the tube. Just imagining it was enough to make your scalp numb, not to mention seeing it.

Mu Nan was unwilling to move forward, so Qin Huai had no choice but to let him wait outside: "Don't move, don't walk around, call me if you need anything."

Mu Nan nodded: "Hurry up, if you buy it, remember to wrap it tightly and don't let me see it."

Qin Huai chuckled, and he and Cai Wentao went straight into the circle of people selling bamboo worms.

Mu Nan had his back to that place and couldn't bear to even look at it from a distance, so he started to look at other people's stalls to divert his attention. Otherwise, even if he didn't look at it, it would be difficult to erase the image from his mind.

At first glance, I saw an old lady with silver hair selling cloth. The cloth was all solid color, a little gray. At first glance, it looked like cotton and linen, but upon closer inspection, it was very rough. For people who are used to wearing pure cotton clothes, this kind of cloth feels a little rough to the touch.

Mu Nan curiously asked about the price, but the old lady didn't want money. She wanted to exchange it for food. She whispered in the local dialect: "I don't understand those mobile phones. I don't know how to use them, and I don't know how to get the money in. I don't want money, just exchange it for food."

Mu Nan asked, "How do you exchange this cloth? I have instant noodles. Do you want some?"

He was carrying a bag. Although there was nothing in it, he could take it at any time. He had not touched the instant noodles that the government had subsidized before, not to mention that his brother had bought quite a lot, dozens of boxes. Thinking of instant noodles, he naturally thought of the rice that was distributed before, the vacuum-packed ones, a small bag weighing two kilograms, so he asked, "I have rice too. Want to exchange it?"

The old lady nodded repeatedly: "Exchange! This bundle is ten meters of cloth, three catties of rice for one bundle."

Qin Huai came out empty-handed, but saw Mu Nan standing there waiting for him with a pile of cloth, so he took the cloth from her and asked, "Why did you buy these cloths?"

Mu Nan said, "These fabrics are more breathable and sweat-absorbent than pure cotton. I can make some vests to wear at home. I thought the price was reasonable, so I changed some."

He asked for a lot, so I bargained a little. Two kilograms of rice gave me a ten-meter-long piece of cloth. It was obviously the homespun cloth he had woven himself, not the dirty cloth dug out from the ruins, so it was quite a bargain.

Qin Huai didn't ask how much it cost, he took the heavy cloth and said, "Go back."

Mu Nan looked at him and said, "Didn't you buy it?"

Qin Huai said, "I've bought them. They will be delivered at midnight the day after tomorrow. They will all be packed in bamboo tubes. We'll take them away when we get back. Otherwise, if they die now, it will be difficult to deal with them."

Mu Nan said "oh" and went back home with Qin Huai. Now they had a rough idea of ​​what was available in the market here, so they could go back and think about it. They had not exchanged the things they brought yet. They mainly wanted to exchange them for some chickens. If that didn't work, eggs that could hatch chicks would also be fine. If they still couldn't exchange them in the end, they would get some more bamboo worms and leather, at least to exchange the supplies that were available.

When you go back, you can take some rice out of the space and share it with your neighbors, as if they had bought it with their own money.

The three of them went to the neighborhood committee first. Qin Huai swiped his ID card, and the payment was collected and transferred to Cai Wentao's account. The leather and bamboo worms were all bought with money. After paying the bill together with the accommodation fee, they returned to Cai's house.

As soon as she saw the three of them, Aunt Yin said while fanning herself with a large cattail leaf fan, "I've been waiting for you to come back. I'll tell you something. I've asked around for you about buying chickens and found a private source. But the price is not cheap. If you want, I'll take you there now and you can negotiate on your own."

Qin Huai quickly responded: "Thank you for your help."

Mu Nan quickly put the cloth back into the room, and then followed Qin Huai. Although Cai Wentao was extremely sleepy, he still followed. He was also curious about the path his mother had found. If it was a path that could be developed in the long term, he might be able to make a lot of money in the future.

Aunt Yin took them to the back of a farm. They could smell chicken shit through the door, and heard all kinds of noisy sounds. Aunt Yin knocked on the door, and soon a skinny young man appeared. He glanced at the people Aunt Yin brought with her and said, "Are they the ones?"

Aunt Yin nodded: "You guys can talk among yourselves, we will go back first."

Cai Wentao wanted to stay and listen, and also to check out the market, but was pulled away by his mother. On the way back, he smiled and said, "I hope they can make a deal."

Cai Wentao reacted instantly: "Mom, are you still taking a cut?"

Aunt Yin glared at him and said, "I'm the one who found ways to connect people. What's wrong with taking a commission? I don't want much. Three percent is a little bit of hard work. It's so hot today, and I'm doing the work of finding channels for people to buy goods. It's only right that I make some money."

Cai Wentao didn't think there was anything wrong, he just muttered: "It's better to be frank about this matter, I still want to cooperate with them for a long time."

Aunt Yin turned around quickly, with a bad expression: "What cooperation? I won't agree to your transportation business. It's too dangerous. Just go to work honestly. We don't want to be rich, we just want to be safe!"

The talks at Qinhuai went very smoothly. Although it was a trade of goods, it was fine as long as neither side felt they were at a loss. Fifteen pounds of pumpkin, two pounds of grapefruit candy, plus twenty bars of soap, were exchanged for ten chickens. After much bargaining, the man was able to get six females and four males. When the time came, the man came directly with the chicken cage, handing over the chickens in one hand and taking the goods in the other.

There are pumpkins in Kangyun, but they are grown in some private farms. Because pumpkins can withstand high temperature storage and can be used as a staple food or a vegetable, many private farmers grow pumpkins. That is why Qin Huai would trade pumpkins. But in Qinghe, pumpkins are a scarce commodity and there are almost none on the market. So just exchanging a few big pumpkins for those chickens can make a profit, not to mention the soap. Anyway, the transaction between the two parties was very pleasant.

As Mu Nan followed Qin Huai slowly toward the Cai family, he sighed, "I hope my animal husbandry can develop well this time, and not die halfway again."

Qin Huai said, "No, we'll check them carefully tomorrow. As long as they're not sick, the electricity is running normally now, and we have a kang on the first floor. We've made some preparations for this winter, so I don't think it will be worse than last year. At worst, we can generate electricity and heat on the second floor, so we can always keep them alive. If it doesn't work out, we've brought back a lot of chickens this time, enough for several meals, and we also came out to see what's happening outside, so it's worth it."

The big heads that came this time were dealt with, and there was still some soap and a few rabbits left. Qin Huai directly told Aunt Yin that he wanted to exchange some rice or some grains, or sweet potatoes, potatoes, fresh or dried goods would be fine.

This was an easy matter. The residents in their area also had an owner group. Aunt Yin often helped others in the group to sell things, exchange or purchase things. As soon as the message was sent out, someone showed up in a moment and wanted to exchange millet for a few bars of soap.

Some people still have corn and red beans at home, but these are not suitable as staple foods. It won’t be a bad idea to exchange them for some soap or meat.

People came in groups of three or four, because they all lived nearby and the transaction took place at Aunt Yin's home, so some people who were familiar with each other were not afraid and just came with their own things.

Soon the soap and the little rabbit were exchanged for bags of rice, grains and dry goods. Even the last pound of grapefruit candy that Mu Nan had left was exchanged for several large bags of sealed dried sweet potatoes.

As for fresh sweet potatoes, they are not available yet. The dried sweet potatoes are also stocks from earlier, the sealed vacuum-packed ones. Qin Huai carefully checked the quality. They have been stored for almost three years, so they are probably well preserved. In addition, they are vacuum-packed, so the contents are pretty good, at least they are not moldy or discolored.

Seeing Qin Huai's careful inspection, the man hurriedly said, "Everything is fine. Yesterday, my family opened a bag of porridge and soaked it in water. The porridge was also sticky!"

Seeing that there was no problem, Qin Huai took the things and also took another sack of goods. At least he had transferred all the things in his hands.

They rested for another two days at Cai's house and went to the market for two consecutive days. When they came across some things they had not seen in Kangyun, they bought them with money. They did not stop until they had spent almost all their money. After successfully trading live chickens and bamboo worms, Qin Huai and Mu Nan left Cai's house in the early morning.

Looking at Uncle Cai and Cai Wentao who were seeing them off, Qin Huai said with a smile: "If I have a chance to come here again next time, I will rent a room in your house again."

Uncle Cai smiled cheerfully and said, "Sure, sure. Welcome back."

After staying for a few days, plus his wife's commission from selling chickens, they made nearly twenty yuan, not to mention that Qin Huai thanked them for helping with the shipment and gave them a bar of soap. This soap was a good thing for them, as they hadn't had a good bath for a long time.

On the way back, Mu Nan put all the things except the chickens and bamboo worms that could not be put into the space, trying to give these precious chickens a larger space to move around. Although it was impossible to let them out of the cages, the surroundings were less crowded and at least looked more spacious.

After tidying up the back seat, Mu Nan rubbed his neck and sat back in the passenger seat, fastening his seat belt: "I'm so tired. After this trip, I'm going to go back and sleep for three days."

Qin Huai said, "Aren't you going to sell bamboo worms?"

Mu Nan: "Sell it as soon as you get back?"

Qin Huai: "Of course. When we get to a place with signal, we will contact Jian Chu and Song Jia and ask them to prepare the boiler for the stall. We will put the fresh bamboo worms directly into the oil pan and sprinkle some cumin and chili powder on them. We will set up the stall in the small square before the sun comes out. Many people who just got off work will pass by there. It is the best time to sell things."

Seeing that Qin Huai had made a plan, Mu Nan of course followed his plan: "I hope we can sell them all at once. I feel like this thing has cast a shadow over our entire courtyard. But this trip went so smoothly. I thought we would encounter some uncontrollable situations."

Qin Huai smiled and said, "That's because we went to the richest Beishan. Not all places in Qinghe are as peaceful as Beishan. Many places are said to be very chaotic, with murders and kidnappings, and no one cares."

Mu Nan subconsciously touched his belly. It's not that no one is watching over him. Even if someone was, they wouldn't be so rampant as to rush into his shabby little house to rob and kill people. So no matter when, the world is divided, like the division between foreign countries and their country, the division between the poor and the rich, and even in the same region, there is a division between hell and heaven.

Qin Huai saw his actions and slowly slowed down the car: "What's wrong? Are you feeling uncomfortable in your stomach?"

Mu Nan came back to his senses, shook his head, and said quickly: "I'm hungry."

Qin Huai laughed: "I just ate before leaving. Are you hungry so soon?"

Mu Nan took a lollipop from the space: "Let me eat some candy. I won't be hungry if I have something in my mouth." He himself was not full, so he stuffed one into Qin Huai's mouth. Although he knew that Qin Huai didn't like sweets, he would eat one occasionally as a spice of life.

The way back was smooth. After all, it was the same road he had taken on the way here. Qin Huai almost drove at full speed along the way. There were almost no vehicles or people on the road, so there was naturally no need to control the speed. When he was almost on the highway, Qin Huai found a fork in the dense forest, and when he came out again, one car had turned into two.

The live chickens and insects were naturally in Qin Huai's car. Mu Nan drove his own car and took out all the things he had exchanged from Qing He. He also took some long-lasting vegetables and rice noodles from the space. He took more than 200 kilograms of cheap rice. It was not that they were reluctant to use too good rice, but that it was not suitable. There was basically no good white rice now, so they could only use broken rice or inferior rice with a yellowish color.

When the car drove to a place where the mobile phone could finally receive a signal, Mu Nan made a video call to Jian Chu.

They had been walking for four days and three nights. Jian Chu and his friends were quite worried, mainly because they were worried that it was chaotic and unsafe outside. Moreover, there were only two of them, and if they really encountered any dangerous situation, it would be difficult to deal with it. They had been worried all the time.

When Mu Nan's video message came, Jian Chu was already lying in bed. It happened that Yu Zibai had a day off today, so the two of them tidied up the planting area at home and did a thorough cleaning with the water that had been accumulated for two days. Just as they fell asleep, their cell phone rang. When they saw it was Mu Nan, Jian Chu sat up quickly.

"What's going on over there? Are you coming back?"

Mu Nan said as he drove, "We're almost back. The highway is almost finished. Call Song Jia. My brother got a batch of bamboo worms over there. He said we should set up a stall to sell them in the small square. Go to my kitchen on the second floor. The oil is in the cabinet below. The cabinet above is some seasonings. Prepare the five-spice powder, star anise, cumin, and chili powder. Remember to bring a bucket of water. Think about what else you need to bring. We'll meet in the small square."

A video call woke Jian Chu up from his sleepiness. He turned to look at Yu Zibai in confusion: "Bamboo worms?" What did they buy outside this time?

Qin Huai and Mu Nan went back home first. The chickens had to be left at home as it was not convenient to carry them in the car. Qin Huai drove the empty car to return it, and Mu Nan took the car full of things to the small square. Jian Chu, Song Jia, Yu Zibai and Wu Zheng were already there. They were a little surprised to see Mu Nan driving a new car.

Mu Nan said: "My brother got it outside. We will have a car in our yard from now on. We don't need to queue up to rent one when we need something."

Song Jia looked around and said, "This car is so new."

Mu Nan smiled and thought to himself, of course it’s new, because it was just bought. The old one couldn’t be stored away from the camera, so apart from the RV, this was the only off-road vehicle he bought with a loan.

Mu Nan said, "It's a rare opportunity. I got it by chance. Hurry up and get the bamboo worms. If you don't get them now, it will be dawn soon and the worms will die."

As for the rest, there is no need to say more. Anyway, no matter how much you imagine, it is impossible for you to imagine that there is space to prepare supplies in advance. You can only think that they have many ways. Maybe they have private ways to make this trip specifically. Sometimes it is more convenient not to say it.

Jian Chu was very resistant to this thing and didn't want to get close to it. Yu Zibai and the others were fine. When they saw the piles of bamboo tubes, they opened one at random. There were a dense pile of white worms. Even though they were mentally prepared, they were still nauseated by the shock.

Song Jia also hid far away and couldn't help but ask Mu Nan: "Why are you doing this disgusting thing? Are there a lot of bugs over there?"

Mu Nan shook his head. "Not much. We are very short of food. But we have a backer. Some of the meat sources are more than we have. My brother said that there must be a market for frying bamboo worms directly. I have discussed with my brother and set the price at 50 cents per piece. The retail price at Qinghe is about one dollar for three pieces. We bought them all and the purchase price is lower, about one dollar for five or six pieces. 50 cents per piece should not be a loss."

When Qin Huai came over, he saw that a corner of the small square was already surrounded by people. Wu Zheng was maintaining order, Yu Zibai was collecting money, and the one who was frying bamboo worms was actually Da Niu.

Mu Nan saw Qin Huai from a distance and waved at him. Qin Huai glanced at the stall, then looked at the three people sitting in a row and said, "Why is Daniu here?"

Mu Nan smiled and said, "Daniu was off work and happened to see us here, so we treated him to a freshly cooked bamboo worm. Daniu said he would help us, probably because he saw that we really didn't want to get close to those worms."

Qin Huai said, "Then you just sit here, I'll go wash the bugs for them."

Mu Nan couldn't help but ask the two people beside him: "Do you think we can sell them all in one go?"

Jian Chu said: "I don't know, it would be nice to have a small speaker."

Mu Nan thought about the space and said quickly: "Yes, we saw the toy trumpet at Qinghe's stall before, and I changed it. It's in the car. I'll go get it."

The man who was busy frying and selling insects was startled by the sound of a horn behind him. He turned around and saw Jian Chu standing on the stone platform with a horn shouting, "Fried bamboo worms, fresh and delicious bamboo worms, grown up eating bamboo, just dug out from Qinghe North Mountain, don't miss it if you pass by! Once this wave is sold out, there will be no more! A palm-sized piece of meat for 50 cents, three fresh bamboo worms for one dollar, and fried ones with ingredients for 50 cents each! Brother, give me some bamboo worms, you can choose cumin or chili powder, buy some for the children to take home to eat with meat, high-protein, clean and hygienic bamboo worms!"

Looking at Jian Chu who was shouting very enthusiastically with the loudspeaker, Song Jia couldn't help but say, "As long as it's about making money, it can revive him and awaken his vitality."

Mu Nan looked at Jian Chu, who was standing there with his hands on his hips and shouting excitedly, and nodded: "Yes." This is probably the charm of wealth.