Chapter 113

After agreeing on the terms, Hongli asked the guards to go to the warehouse and carry over five large bags of soybeans.

"Each bag weighs 100 kilograms. You can check it." said Hongli.

Tang Yu'an used his identification skills on each bag, and judged the value of the soybeans based on the identification fee that needed to be paid, and thus inferred the approximate weight.

Finally, he nodded to Zhou Qi.

Hongli saw the eye contact between the two boys.

She couldn't help but wonder, could it be that Xiao An's eyesight was so sharp that he could tell the weight of these goods just by looking at them?

After receiving Tang Yu'an's signal, Zhou Qi thought for a moment and said to Hong Li, "We will accept these 500 kilograms of soybeans as a deposit, and promise to deliver 50 kilograms of salt later."

Hongli felt something strange after hearing this, but couldn't tell what was wrong.

After thinking it over three times and making sure there was no language trap, she nodded and said, "Yes, that's right."

As soon as she finished speaking, Tang Yu'an received a prompt.

[Branch Manager "Zhou Qi" completed a profitable transaction with a regular customer, earning +12,500 points and +1 experience point]

Tang Yu'an couldn't help but clench his fists, and his breathing became faster.

One pound of soybeans and one pound of sea salt are both worth 25 points, so 500 pounds of soybeans are worth 12,500 points.

So, through his salesmanship, Brother Xiaoqi didn’t even have to pay for the cost of 50 kilograms of sea salt (1,250 points), and he earned more than 10,000 points!

It can be said that even if they changed their minds and left on the spot, they could still take away these 12,500 points.

But obviously, they can't do that.

Just as Hongli said just now, both parties are pursuing long-term cooperation.

"The salt is in the store, let's go back and get it." Zhou Qi said.

Hongli wanted to send guards to get the salt, but Zhou Qi refused. He said, "No one can get the salt except the two of us."

Thinking of the "salt merchant" who disappeared twice in public and the black bear who stayed behind after commanding the guards to carry soybeans, he couldn't help but nodded.

Hongli also realized this.

"Okay, then I'll trouble you to go there."

"No trouble."

Zhou Qi and Tang Yu'an left the guard post, and at Hongli's signal, Black Bear escorted them all the way to the store.

Seeing the black bear follow directly into the house, they did not try to stop it, but walked straight to the back room.

The black bear kept staring at them.

He was certain that no one had come in between the time the two teenagers left and when they returned—at least that was what his men assured him.

The two teenagers had no intention of avoiding him, but when they arrived at the back room, it would be difficult for Black Bear to follow them in.

He stood at the door and looked inside.

The room wasn't big, and the entire space was clear at a glance—there was nothing there.

"Hasn't the salt merchant arrived yet? Should we wait for him?" Black Bear couldn't help but ask.

"He's already here."

Tang Yu'an pointed to the corner of the room and said, "Look."

Black Bear was stunned for a moment and looked in the direction his finger pointed. When he looked at the corner, it was empty. There was nothing there?

He looked at Tang Yu'an hesitantly, and just as he was about to ask, he caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of his eye.

The black bear suddenly looked towards the corner and saw a heavy clay pot that had appeared there at some point.

There was clearly nothing just now!

He was horrified: "When did this happen... When did that person... come?"

"He's gone." Tang Yu'an said casually and walked towards the jar of salt.

This jar of salt was naturally placed here in front of the black bear by him using the teleportation skill. As for the clay pot, it was made in advance by Brother Xiaoqi.

Although the workmanship is a bit rough, the quality is still very good.

Tang Yu'an held the salt shaker and dragged it out with great effort.

Seeing this, the black bear recovered from his shock and quickly ran over and said, "I'm coming, don't get tired!"

After seeing so much salt, he became even more respectful towards the two young men.

"Thank you for your help."

"It's not a big deal." Black Bear picked up the pottery jar easily. "Let's go back to the guardhouse. The mountain master is still waiting for us."

"OK."

After returning to the garrison, Black Bear placed the 50 kilograms of salt in front of Red Carp, and whispered in her ear what had just happened.

Hongli's eyes lit up slightly. She looked at the jar of salt, then at Tang Yu'an and the others.

"That friend of yours... is truly capable!" she said. "If there's a chance in the future, could you please introduce him to someone?"

Tang Yu'an smiled and nodded, although he knew in his heart that it was unlikely.

"Sister Hongli, please check the salt too." He said, pointing to the salt shaker.

Hongli nodded and asked someone to pour out the salt.

These salts were traded by Tang Yu'an from Xiao Hailan. They had not been filtered or processed in any way. They were slightly yellow in color and contained a lot of impurities.

However, when the red carp saw the salt, he felt satisfied.

After all, the salt that Jinfu traded to the garrison was almost the same as the one that Tang Yu'an had.

"Okay, I'm very satisfied!" Hongli said, "I'll need five days to give you the remaining 500 kilograms."

"Yes, no problem." Tang Yu'an nodded.

Because he was the one who agreed to it, the system prompted him that he had made a loss-making deal and added 1 experience point.

At this time, Hongli looked at the five large bags of soybeans and said, "I have another request."

"You say." Zhou Qi said.

"Don't sell these soybeans to people in Jufeng Town for the time being," said Hongli.

Zhou Qi did not agree directly, but asked: "Can I know the reason?"

Hongli thought about it and didn't hide it.

"There are some people in town who don't like me. If the soybean seeds fall into their hands, it will be bad for me."

Tang Yu'an was surprised to hear such an explanation. He thought that the entire Jufeng Town was under the control of Hongli. It seemed that he did not know enough about Jufeng Town.

Zhou Qi nodded and said, "In other words, as long as the seeds don't leak out, soy products are still fine."

"Soy products?" Hongli showed an interested expression.

Tang Yu'an wanted to say something, but was stopped by Zhou Qi. The young man had a gentle smile on his face and said, "Knowledge also requires payment."

In the previous transaction, Zhou Qi knew that his price was too low, so he naturally didn't want to give away his experience for free.

Hongli raised an eyebrow, thought for a moment and nodded, "You're right."

Then she didn't continue the topic for a while. It was obvious that she didn't think much of soy products.

She is currently still trying to make sure her subordinates have enough to eat. As for eating well, she probably has to wait until the warehouse is full of food.

Zhou Qi also knew that it was not appropriate to say this now, so he calmed down.

Seeing that the atmosphere seemed a little silent, Tang Yu'an quickly said, "Sister Hongli, we are planning to open a store in Jufeng Town. Are there any procedures required?"

Hongli smiled again, "There's no need for such polite words between us."

She asked, "What are you going to sell?"

Tang Yu'an said truthfully: "For now, I'll just sell salt."

His answer surprised Hongli, "You still have salt?"

After trading her a hundred kilograms of salt, the two young men still had salt? And they were planning to sell it in Jufeng Town?

"Yes." Tang Yu'an nodded as a matter of course.

Of course, there are only a few pounds of the lowest quality sea salt left, and I need to trade with Xiao Hailan again, but there is still a barrel of higher quality coarse salt.

As for the refined salt that can be exchanged infinitely, there is no need to mention it.

Seeing Hongli's reaction, Zhou Qi's heart moved slightly. He thought for a moment and said, "In fact, trading once every two months is a bit too long for us."

He frowned and said seriously, "Our friend hopes to find a bigger buyer."

He said that if it weren't for the personal connection, the purchase volume of red carp would not meet their performance requirements.

The red carp couldn't help but widen their eyes.

Finally, she controlled her voice and asked, "So what is your desired trading frequency?"

"It's best to do it once a month." Zhou Qi said lightly.

If he could get 25,000 points and 1,000 kilograms of soybeans every month, then he would accept this offer.

Otherwise, he might raise the price after two months.

The red carp's breathing became noticeably faster.

One hundred kilograms of salt is enough to last for three months, and trading it once a month is a bit too frequent. But then again, for a strategic material like salt, who wouldn't want to stockpile more if conditions permit?

She didn't completely trust the two teenagers.

After all, this is only the first cooperation, and they don’t live in Jufeng Town. Who knows if they will come again in two months?

If she completely cuts off her connection with Jinfu because of this cooperation, and if there is a problem and she can't supply it in the future, she will be in trouble.

Who would have thought that people would complain that she didn’t buy enough!

Suddenly, Hongli thought of something and squinted his eyes and asked, "So you will look for other buyers?"

One hundred kilograms of salt can be supplied per month, but she can't finish it all. She must find someone who can eat it!

Zhou Qi showed an expectant expression and asked, "Sister Hongli, do you have any buyers you can recommend?"

Hongli felt a lump in his chest.

The only people in Jufeng Town who could eat so much salt at once were the thorns in her eyes, so it was naturally impossible for her to introduce it to them!

"I want this hundred kilograms of salt too!"

Finally, Hongli waved his hand and made the decision, "Our cooperation will be changed to once a month. That's it."

Exchanging 5 days of soybean production for salt every month is within an acceptable range and will not affect future development.

With more salt and food stored, she can expand her team and feed more people. Once she gets rid of those old guys, Jufeng Mountain will completely become her territory. Does Jin Fu still dare to take Qiao?

If the new salt merchant business is stable enough, she can even kill Jin Fu.

Hongli was in a good mood as he imagined the future.

When Tang Yu'an heard that the transaction would be once a month, he was so happy that he couldn't stop smiling.

I’m rich, I’m rich, from now on I’ll be able to earn more than 20,000 points every month!

However, although their points problem has been solved, the popularity of the store is still stuck and transactions with the residents of the town have to continue.

Thinking of this, Tang Yu'an reached into his backpack, actually took out four bundles of 100 black gold salt tickets from his portable warehouse and handed them to Hongli.

The red carp was a little surprised.

She stroked the salt ticket and couldn't help saying, "This material is very special."

"Yes, this is the salt stamp produced by our grocery store. It is not only wear-resistant, but also fireproof and waterproof."

After Tang Yu'an finished his introduction, he said, "You can use this salt ticket to exchange for salt in our grocery store. One ticket is worth one teaspoon. Each person is limited to three tickets before nightfall."

"Sister Hongli, can you help us deliver these salt tickets to the guards?"

He smiled and said, "This is considered an opening discount. I hope the guards can take good care of our shop."

It is both to increase points and popularity, and to do favors.

The guards treated them well because the mountain master ordered them to do so, and that was out of fear of Hongli. If they could win over the guards and make them treat them well sincerely, it would be more beneficial for them to do business in Jufeng Town.

Tang Yu'an learned this kind of social skills from childhood.

Hongli should have been alert after hearing his request, but looking at the boy's clear and clean eyes, she felt that she might have been overthinking.

Given the vision and resources of these two young men, it is unlikely that they would be interested in the power of Jufeng Town.

After all, this is just a small town.

"OK."

Hongli gave all four bundles of salt tickets to Hei Xiong and asked him to distribute them according to the number of people.

After Black Bear left, she couldn't help but ask, "Do you have any more of those salt tickets?"

After all, Hongli had never lived in the world before the disaster, so he was not as perceptive as Old Li and the others, and he did not immediately associate it with the banknotes.

She was mainly attracted by the material of the salt tickets.

It is not only strong and wear-resistant, but also fireproof and waterproof. Isn't it a waste to use such a good material to make salt tickets?

"Yes." Tang Yu'an said, "But you have to exchange it for something of equal value."

Hongli frowned strangely.

"So, if I exchange this salt ticket with you, I can use it to exchange for salt again?"

Tang Yu'an nodded.

"Then why should I go through this trick? Why not just change it for salt?" Hongli was puzzled.

"Of course there are benefits." Tang Yu'an said.

"For example, if someone harvested 20 wild vegetables today and still had half left to eat, and their family had enough salt for the time being, they could exchange these 10 wild vegetables for salt tickets."

"Salt tickets don't rot like wild vegetables, nor do they need to be protected from moisture like salt, so they can be preserved for a long time."

Hongli nodded, but this still couldn't convince her to use such good materials to make salt tickets.

Then she heard the young man continue, "If he doesn't need salt in the short term, he can use the salt ticket to exchange for other customers, such as pottery jars."

"Customers who have exchanged their clay pots for salt tickets can return to our shop to exchange them for salt. This way, they don't have to carry fragile clay pots around; they only need to bring the salt tickets."

Tang Yu'an's explanation made Hongli's eyes light up.

Although the things being exchanged have not changed, this process seems to save a lot of trouble!

"So if I have extra stuff, can I exchange it for salt tickets? Then I can come back to you to exchange it for real salt when I need it later?"

This type of salt ticket is indeed easier to store due to its material.

"Of course!" Tang Yu'an said with a smile, "Sister Hongli, do you want to change?"

Hongli was almost about to nod in agreement.

Fortunately, at the last moment, she regained some clarity and realized a key question: could she really exchange salt for salt using salt tickets? Another question was whether the exchange rate was stable in the long term.

At the moment, she could not fully trust these two young men, so naturally she could not hold too many of these salt tickets.

What if they run away midway?

so……

"Well, I'll exchange it for two bundles." Hongli said a number that was within the loss range. "I'll give them to the people below, and they can come to you to exchange them, right?"

"Sure!" Tang Yu'an said, "From now on, the exchange rule is two tickets minimum, and each person is limited to three exchanges per day."

"OK."

So Zhou Qi took out two bundles of 200 black gold salt tickets and gave them to Hongli, exchanging them for 60 wild vegetables.

[Branch Manager Zhou Qi completed a profitable transaction, gaining +400 points and +1 experience point]

Afterwards, Hongli ordered the guards to send five large bags of soybeans and 60 wild vegetables back to Tang Yu'an and the others.

This scene naturally attracted the attention of residents along the road.

However, under the protection of the guards, these people only dared to watch from afar, talking among themselves, and did not dare to get too close.

After the 500 kilograms of soybeans and 60 wild vegetables were moved into the back room and the guards were sent away, Tang Yu'an and Zhou Qi closed the door and then hid under the umbrella and laughed happily.

"Ahhh, great! My points balance is back to over 13,000! I've got all the points needed to unlock the Guardian Barrier function!"

Tang Yu'an jumped for joy, looking at Zhou Qi with starry eyes full of admiration.

"Brother Xiaoqi, you are really amazing!"

Infected by him, Zhou Qi also smiled slightly, but the corners of his mouth quickly turned down. He shook his head and said, "The price I asked for just now was too low. I should have been able to offer a little more."

"It doesn't matter. Small profits but quick turnover."

Seeing that he was unhappy, Tang Yu'an quickly comforted him, "Besides, this can also win Sister Hongli's friendship, and it will be easier for us to do business in Jufeng Town in the future."

Although they saved Chi Hao, in the final analysis, Hong Li had no direct relationship with this favor.

How long can we rely on such a fragile connection?

But now it’s different. They can cooperate with Hongli and achieve mutual benefit and maintain a long-term, stable and good relationship. It will only benefit them and not harm them.

"Sister Hongli is still in the initial stage."

Tang Yu'an continued to analyze, "Let's give her some concessions so that she can grow bigger and stronger quickly. That way, we can continue to cooperate with her in the future, and our business will grow bigger and bigger!"

"And this deal really solved our urgent problem." Tang Yu'an said happily.

Red Carp is still in its early stages, and so are they? Such a large sum of money is extremely important to them at this stage!

Moreover, in the wasteland, it is not easy to have such a long-term, stable and trustworthy partner.

Tang Yu'an, who had witnessed the darkness of the end of the world, realized this very clearly.

Although they had not been in contact with Hongli for a long time, the manager's style of doing things was very much to his liking.

Tang Yu'an felt that their cooperation with Hongli would definitely go smoothly!

Looking at the young man's cheerful expression, Zhou Qi, who was not very satisfied with the result of the first bulk transaction negotiation, slowly smiled again.

"You're right."

Zhou Qi put his hand on the boy's shoulder, his eyes filled with relief and tenderness, "We need to take a long-term view."

Tang Yu'an chuckled, "Speaking of this, I'm really glad that I didn't hire Sister Hongli as an employee."

If she had been hired as an employee, there would be no such deal today.

Zhou Qi nodded.

It is indeed not appropriate in Hongli's situation. Although she has more power and wealth, you can't ask her, a manager, to make transactions with her subordinates every day, right?

"What should we do with these soybeans?" Tang Yu'an looked at the 500 kilograms of soybeans. "Should we move them to the warehouse?"

Zhou Qi thought about it and nodded.

"When others ask, they just blame it on Uncle Tang."

Tang Yu'an laughed, "I don't know what Dad would think if he knew."

Having said this, the boy suddenly became quiet.

Zhou Qi sighed in his heart. Family members were still a topic that could not be discussed at the moment.

He rubbed the top of Tang Yu'an's head comfortingly, then transferred the five bags of soybeans to Ping'an Grocery Store. Tang Yu'an calmed down and put the 60 wild vegetables into his portable warehouse.

Just as they finished their work, there was a knock on the door.

Several people who looked like guards were standing outside. When they saw the two children, they smiled ingratiatingly.

"Captain Black Bear said this note can be exchanged for salt?"

Each of them held two black gold salt tickets in their hands, which were just distributed by Black Bear according to Red Carp's instructions.

There were more than a hundred guards in the garrison, and each ordinary guard was given two tickets. The remaining less than a few dozen tickets were divided among the guard captains.

Tang Yu'an quickly put on a smile and said, "Yes, but wait a moment, I need to find a table first."

"A table? How big do you need it? Let's get one!"

Soon, with the help of the guards, Tang Yu'an and Zhou Qi set up a table in front of the store and put a jar of salt on it.

"Please line up one by one."

Tang Yu'an maintained order, while Zhou Qi was responsible for trading with the guards.

The spoon he used to scoop salt was newly made. One spoonful was one gram, which was much more convenient than the 10-gram spoon.

Although the profit points from each transaction are small, it can quickly increase the popularity of the store.

Moreover, Tang Yu'an discovered that although these guards had been developed into regular customers by Xiaocao, No.1 Store could gain 2 points of popularity with each transaction.

One point was earned from profitable transactions, and the remaining one point should have come from their first “consumption” at No.1 Store.

By the time night fell, a total of 36 guards had arrived, which was exactly 6 guard teams. As for the other guards, they were unable to come because they had duty duties.

But for Tang Yu'an, Zhou Qi and others, this was enough.

Because these 36 guards brought a total of 72 points of popularity to No. 1 Store, which has met their requirements!

So, Tang Yu'an first upgraded the level of No. 1 Store.

The upgrade of a branch store is not as complicated as that of the main store, and there is no upgrade direction to choose from. After deducting 500 points, it will be upgraded to level 1.

After upgrading to level 1, new options are unlocked for the hardcover "floor" and "wall".

Tang Yu'an did not rush to study it, but opened the hardware upgrade interface of the protective barrier.

[Do you want to deduct 2000 points and 200 store popularity points to upgrade "Ping An Grocery Store No. 1 - Guardian Barrier" and unlock the function of inviting customers to stay overnight?]

Tang Yu'an clicked "Yes".

【Deduction successful! 】

[The function has been unlocked, and the "Overnight Stay List" section has been added. Details can be found on the homepage.]

Tang Yu'an quickly opened the interface and chose to enter the management panel of No. 1 Store. Two columns appeared on the page. The left side was empty, and the right side showed all the customers he had traded with so far.

Fortunately, there was a search function, so he quickly found the names of Granny Guo and Kang Kang and successfully added them to the overnight stay list of No. 1 Store.

He opened the 3D map of No. 1 Store and once again maximized the range of the protective barrier.

Following Tang Yu'an's actions, the barrier that originally only hid the top two floors of the No. 1 Store building far away in the deserted city expanded rapidly.

The building that originally stood there disappeared into the night along with the surrounding walls.

Outside Store No. 1.

A pair of blood-red eyes shone in the darkness, and the owner of the eyes was cautiously approaching the building in front.

It smelled the scent of flesh and blood coming from the building, and hunger made it salivate continuously. However, when it finally found a gap in the wall and wanted to enter, it found...

The building in front of me suddenly disappeared without a trace!

Just as it showed a confused expression, an arrow flew out from the void and hit its body accurately. It ran towards the direction of the arrow in pain, but ended up crashing into an invisible barrier.

"call out--"

Old Li shot another arrow at the beast whose outline he could only see, and at the same time wondered if this battle was too easy.

The author has something to say:

Old Li: Is there something wrong?