"Mom, Huahua brought a yellow-haired cat home. I'm going to fetch water now, and I'll take care of it when I get back."

Sheng Xiping dragged the pig into the house, called out to it, and then went out to fetch water.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Shuzhen put on her cotton-padded coat and got up. She looked at the dead yellow cat in the outer room and felt both happy and gratified.

Since Hua Hua was able to bring the wild boar back, it means that she and her two piglets can survive in the mountains without any problems, so we can rest assured.

After breakfast, Sheng Xiping quickly packed his things and took the commuter bus up the mountain.

Not long after arriving on the mountain, the phone at the dispatch camp rang. It was the headquarters calling, someone looking for Sheng Xiping, saying that he was Sheng Xiping's elder brother from the same clan.

Upon hearing this, Sheng Xiping immediately called back the phone number the other party had left.

It turns out that Sheng Xiyun had already loaded the apples onto the car and was about to leave. He would also be traveling with the car to Northeast China, and it would take about three days to arrive.

Sheng Xiping quickly instructed Sheng Xiyun that it was already very cold in Northeast China at this time of year, and that the apples should be covered with straw bags or something to prevent them from freezing.

Also, tell Sheng Xiyun to wear more clothes, it's cold here, don't catch a cold.

Afterwards, the two agreed that Sheng Xiping would wait at Songjianghe Railway Station and unload the apples that the Forestry Bureau wanted.

After hanging up the phone, Sheng Xiping quickly called Zhou Mingyuan to tell him that the apples would arrive soon.

Zhou Mingyuan said that everything had been arranged over there, and that Sheng Xiping could rest assured.

Two days later, Sheng Xiping asked the forest farm for leave and took a car to Songjianghe.

I picked up Sheng Xiyun and his two sons, Sheng Xincheng and Sheng Xinyue, at Songjianghe Railway Station.

Sheng Xincheng is three years older than Sheng Xiping, and Sheng Xinyue is one year older than Sheng Xiping. Both of them have to call Sheng Xiping "uncle".

When relatives meet, they inevitably exchange a few pleasantries. Of course, the truck can't stay at the station indefinitely; it needs to unload the cargo as quickly as possible.

So, Sheng Xiping contacted Director Guo, who was in charge of logistics and procurement at the Forestry Bureau, and went to the station to inspect the goods first.

Back then, apples weren't packaged in corrugated cardboard boxes; they were packaged in flower baskets woven from willow or cottonwood twigs.

The baskets were lined with straw and other materials, so even during long-distance transport, the apples were not squeezed or bumped.

Sheng Xiyun knew it was cold in Northeast China, so before coming, he specially prepared straw mats and covered each carriage with several layers to keep it warm.

So these apples arrived very fresh. Each one was rosy and juicy; one bite and they were sweet and sour, incredibly delicious.

Director Guo took a couple of bites of the apple and nodded repeatedly. "Hmm, hmm, it's good, the quality is fine."

After confirming that the apples were of top quality, Director Guo called for trucks from Banshihe Forest Farm and Donggang Forest Farm. The apples were loaded onto the trucks one basket at a time and temporarily transported to the large warehouse.

In a few days, they will be distributed to various units and then to individuals.

The baskets for the apples weren't very big; each basket, after peeling, weighed a little over 100 jin (50 kg). The Songjianghe Forestry Bureau ordered 100,000 jin (50,000 kg) of apples, which were packed into 1,000 baskets.

Sheng Xiyun pulled Sheng Xiping aside, and the two whispered a few words to each other. Then, Sheng Xiping walked over to Director Guo and offered him a cigarette.

"Brother Guo, my brother said he'd give us another twenty baskets."

Looking back, Brother Guo, could you do me a favor and deliver these to the homes of the leaders in the bureau? It's just a small token of our appreciation.

"Brother, keep one basket for yourself." Sheng Xiping said in a low voice as he lit a cigarette for Director Guo.

Upon hearing this, Director Guo immediately burst into laughter.

"Oh my, as expected of Director Zhou's son-in-law, he knows how to get things done. Alright, leave this to your brother, he'll handle it beautifully."

After transporting all the apples to the large warehouse and verifying the quantity, Sheng Xincheng and Sheng Xinyue were left to watch over the truck.

Director Guo led Sheng Xiyun and Sheng Xiping directly to the bureau's finance office, where they issued invoices and counted the money according to the previously agreed-upon prices.

Sheng Xiyun buys apples in Yantai, usually for 18 to 20 cents a pound. The Forestry Bureau wants 100,000 pounds, such a large quantity, so the price can't be too high, so it's 26 cents a pound.

In other words, the gross profit from a pound of apples is only six cents. After deducting packaging, shipping, and other expenses, you don't actually make much money.

Sheng Xiyun took advantage of the company's need to haul coal, where the freight was low, to make a little extra money. Otherwise, the price wouldn't be so low.

These are top-quality apples; they're generally not available in Fusong, and even if they were, the wholesale price would be four or five cents.

After Sheng Xiping and his group finished calculating the accounts, took the money, and returned to the station, the supply and marketing cooperatives of Donggang and Songjianghe also received the news and came over.

The Donggang Supply and Marketing Cooperative transported fifty baskets, and the Songjianghe Supply and Marketing Cooperative transported one hundred baskets, both charged at 26 cents per pound.

No matter how many, every unit sold earns an extra unit of money.

"Brother, what do we do next? You said the county needs another 100,000 jin, how are we going to deliver it there?" Sheng Xiyun was not familiar with this area, so he could only ask Sheng Xiping.

"Oh, I've already contacted them. We'll park the truck at Xianrenqiao Railway Station, which is close to the county town."

Zhou Mingyuan had arranged and contacted everything in advance, and Sheng Xiping had also confirmed it with the other party.

So, the group went to the train station, spoke with the person in charge, and confirmed the departure time.

Afterwards, Sheng Xiping used the train station phone to call the county and arrange a time with them.

"Comrade, could we rent a warehouse at the station?"

"I'd like to leave some fruit here, and we'll come back in a couple of days to pick it up," Sheng Xiyun said to the station manager.

"Brother, what are you doing using someone else's warehouse?" Sheng Xiping was stunned, not understanding what Sheng Xiyun was going to do.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!