Chapter 59 Setting up a trucking fleet: another business deal

On July 16, after the second flood peak passed through the provincial capital and then successfully entered the sea, the raging floodwaters finally gradually stabilized.

The mainstream of society has gradually shifted from emergency rescue to disaster relief.

Newspapers, radio, and television have reported that today's college entrance examination essay topic is "On the Same Land," and that this year's college entrance examination mathematics is the most difficult in history, with few people able to answer the last three major questions.

As the college entrance examination results were released, bringing joy to some and sorrow to others, the news began to call for donations to the disaster area every day.

The Young Pioneers also organized primary school students on summer vacation to sell newspapers on the street for charity, which was featured on television news.

Even farmers near Zhimen scooped out the water from their fields and started replanting rice.

The floods seem to be really over.

Although the river blocked by the dike is still turbid, and you can still see dead fish and chickens floating on it from time to time, and even winter melons, eggplants and watermelons; at least the water flow is gentle.

The little boy was incredibly daring; he used the bathtub to reach for the watermelon.

After scooping it out, they chopped it in half with a knife, but screamed in pain. The juice oozing from the watermelon was black and yellow, emitting a strong, foul odor.

This melon has been spoiled for a long time.

The adults who were busy in the fields saw this and started yelling and cursing from afar.

The children quickly lifted their bathtubs and scurried away along the paddy field ridges.

The adults could only curse at their retreating backs before continuing their work in the fields.

Of course, since the paddy fields had been flooded long ago, it would take time to replant the seedlings, so the farmers directly sowed the germinated rice seeds.

Wang Xiao doubted whether the rice would have enough time to grow.

It seems that the rice needs to be harvested before the first frost.

There are only three months left until the Frost's Descent solar term. Will the rice be ripe by then?

If it were her, she would definitely give up growing rice and switch to growing cash crops.

For example, watercress is quite expensive now, but once it hits the market before the Spring Festival, we should be able to make a lot of money.

After all, the main production area of ​​Artemisia argyi in the provincial capital is Jiangxinzhou.

The geographical features of Jiangxinzhou mean that even without flooding, it will be submerged if the heavy rain lasts for a slightly longer period.

Besides, with this year's massive flooding, it's still submerged in water.

When will we see the light of day again? Only God knows.

It takes time for the floodwaters to recede, and it takes even longer for the water level to drop.

This precious time is a golden opportunity to plant artemisia in Zhimen and seize the market.

If you seize the opportunity, six months of planting can be equivalent to more than three to five years of ordinary farming.

The college students couldn't believe it; was it really that exaggerated?

They knew about watercress; it grows on the riverbank and is just a wild vegetable that people dig up and stir-fry with dried fruit during the first month of the lunar calendar.

The flavor is unique, but not particularly outstanding.

Tang Yicheng didn't doubt it and nodded in agreement with the boss: "Of course, do you know how expensive a plate of stir-fried watercress is in a big restaurant? Twenty-two yuan!"

He was stunned when he saw it.

Because a plate of salted goose only costs twenty yuan.

It can actually sell for more than salted goose.

The college students exclaimed in surprise, "22 yuan! These are the privileged students! They can't even afford a plate of stir-fried watercress with their monthly allowance!"

Of course, the presence of a large hotel also contributed to this effect.

Let alone them, even ordinary workers can't afford to eat at the Jinning Grand Hotel.

However, watercress is indeed a very special vegetable. Its price has never been low, and even as the scale of cultivation has grown larger and larger, it has not affected its superior status.

Growing artemisia now, while not making you rich, will definitely earn you more than growing rice.

After all, every era has its limitations.

If you imagine thirty years from now, rice grown organically without pesticides or chemical fertilizers, selling for twenty yuan a kilogram, would still have a large market.

Anyway, in thirty years, there will be plenty of non-staple foods. Even if rice costs 20 yuan per kilogram, buying 10 kilograms will only cost 200 yuan, which will be enough for the old couple to eat for a month. There won't be any major expenses at all.

That won't work now. Now, even if you sell rice for 10 or 5 yuan a pound, let alone 20 yuan a pound, nobody will pay attention to you.

Planting water celery is a different story. It has plenty of moisture, and its yield per acre will definitely far exceed that of rice, and the price per unit will also be higher.

The college students, who had just received their diplomas a few days earlier, were all thrilled and deeply admired their boss.

Those who are good at making money are indeed good at making money.

Farmers are worried because their fields have been flooded and they don't have time to plant rice.

She, a native of the provincial capital, actually managed to think of a way to make money from it.

One of the girls couldn't help but ask, "Can you really make money growing reeds?"

“Of course.” Wang Xiao said casually, “The market won’t disappear just because suppliers suddenly stop supplying goods. Without Butcher Zhang, people won’t eat pigs with hair on. Only when the market stops slaughtering any pigs will customers be able to eat mutton or beef.”

These college students have not yet been assigned specific positions; they are learning as reserve cadres.

Wang Xiao was generous in taking them along.

Only by bringing people out can she be freed and go make more money.

To be honest, the International Trade City in Zhimen is too small for her.

She's someone who's planning to bloom everywhere.

What she wants to teach them now is that every crisis is an opportunity.

This flood is a disaster for those who experience it, but if managed properly, it can be a ladder to heaven.

Planting reeds is a trivial matter.

Those contractors who handle post-disaster reconstruction are the ones making the most money.

However, those matters involved too much rent-seeking and were too complicated, so she wouldn't tell them about them today.

The province's energetic young people are led astray from the very beginning, forgetting what the right path is.

Even with such a simple matter, some newcomers still raised questions: "Will planting watercress guarantee a good profit? Are there any unforeseen circumstances, such as..."

Sigh, I can't go on.

After all, the classrooms are a bit far from the fields. Some of them study philosophy, some study physics, and some study Chinese literature, but no one studies agronomy.

Fortunately, their boss was knowledgeable and took over the conversation: "For example, changes in climate conditions may make it unsuitable for the growth of water celery. Or, suddenly everyone thinks that growing water celery is profitable, and everyone rushes to do it. When the market becomes saturated, the water celery can't be sold and will just rot in the fields."

Everyone felt that the scene was terrible, comparable to the devastation of a wheat field submerged in floodwaters.

“All of these are possible,” Wang Xiao continued. “But so what? Even gods don’t have a 100% guarantee when doing business. If there’s a 50% chance of making money, then you can take action.”

The girl who had asked the question earlier became anxious and asked with wide eyes, "But what if we lose money?"

Wang Xiao laughed, unconcerned: "So what if we lose money? It's not like we can't afford to lose."

The college students fell silent. One of them whispered, "Farmers can't afford to lose money."

I estimate they will continue to grow rice.

At least there should be a minimum guarantee, right?

Well, judging from this, there are probably very few farmers who would actually use their land to grow reeds.

The probability of a sudden surge in planting water celery, leading to severe market saturation and the water celery simply rotting in the ground, is probably very small.

Ultimately, it's because farmers lack confidence, so only people like bosses can make big money.

Wang Xiao was both amused and exasperated: "Why are they so lacking in confidence? It's hard to say about other places, but they can definitely give it a try here in Jiangzhimen. From June until now, not to mention selling wine and renting out houses, the villagers have earned as much as they did in a year just by transporting goods for middlemen."

That's no exaggeration.

The middlemen and middlemen have a large demand for goods, and villagers can earn twenty or thirty yuan for each trip.

Some people can earn several thousand yuan a month.

Since we've already met our KPIs ahead of schedule, why not push for even greater achievements?

The more money you earn, the more secure your life will be.

Do you think that by following the established routine, you can live a peaceful and stable life?

Isn't that a bit too optimistic? Even state-owned factories have times when they have to stop production and can't pay wages.

Everyone's life is like rowing against the current; if you don't move forward, you fall behind.

What was said without malice may have been taken to heart by the listener.

Qian Xuemei, who was selling clothes nearby, was tempted.

They were lucky in Zhouzhen; the dikes didn't break and the town wasn't flooded.

So once the railway resumed operation and the highway was open to traffic, the garments from the clothing factory were continuously transported to Jiangzhimen.

But at the same time, their luck wasn't exactly good either.

At the very least, their own 3.6 mu of land was ruined; only half of the wheat and rapeseed were harvested, and the rest rotted in the ground.

There's simply not enough time to plant rice now; the town's agricultural science station has suggested planting dryland rice.

The yield of dryland rice is generally 100-200 jin lower than that of paddy rice.

Instead of going through all that trouble, why not just plant water celery instead?

Xiaoxiao is right, it's not like their family can't afford to lose money.

As soon as Qian Xuemei expressed her opinion, the people around her started to urge Wang Xiao, saying, "Boss, why don't you also lease some land to grow vegetables?"

Wang Xiao really didn't care.

As long as she doesn't have to personally hoe the fields under the scorching sun, sweat dripping onto the soil, then contracting a little land would be quite interesting.

Hehe, people from China have a bit of a vegetable-growing trait about them.

She even grew vegetables on her balcony before she read the book, perfectly achieving self-sufficiency in vegetables during the pandemic.

This also gives her the opportunity to show the newlyweds how to turn business opportunities into reality.

Moreover, she has unique advantages in growing artemisia, cough cough, of course, not that her planting skills are particularly superb.

Growing vegetables on a balcony and growing vegetables in a field are two completely different concepts.

Her strength lies in sales.

For delicate, emerging high-end vegetables like watercress to fetch a good price, reliable sales channels are essential, such as establishing long-term relationships with restaurants.

That's perfect, she knows the big hotels well.

She wasn't worried about not having a place to sell the reeds she grew.

The cheers from the surrounding crowd grew louder, and a group of young men and women, fresh out of school, were all incredibly excited: "Boss, plant more! Plant a hundred acres!"

What's a hundred acres? Wang Xiao didn't care at all.

She nodded casually, then guided everyone to think further: "I want to plant watercress, but I don't want it to rot in the ground. What should I do?"

These are college students from the 90s, after all. Even though they've never been to the fields, they still reacted very quickly to this problem.

The fact that the boss asked this question indicates that it's a business competition.

Yes, we need to take down our competitors.

Lower the price? Use a high price to leave the other party with nowhere to escape?

Hey, back when the major shopping malls in the provincial capital were having a price war, it was quite a spectacle.

As everyone was chatting animatedly, they finally realized the boss was silent. So, belatedly, they shut up too.

Wang Xiao wanted to sigh.

Isn't it said that doing business on campus is very popular now? Why do the college students he hired seem to have no business sense?

Why are you engaging in a price war?

Do you think the watercress you're selling is some kind of iron watercress? And you're even waging a price war!

Is it really necessary to stab yourself in the back like this?

Xiang Dong couldn't stand it anymore. He was from a rural background and had farmed before: "Shouldn't we check how much stock is available in the market? At least we should know how many families grow reeds."

Wang Xiao nodded and added, "This is called a wormwood broker, used for market research. The worst thing you can do in agricultural production is to rush into things. If industrial products can't be sold immediately, they can be stored in the warehouse. Maybe there will be an opportunity to ship them in large quantities later. But the nature of agricultural products dictates that they must be sold in the short term; they can't be stored indefinitely."

The college students then realized what was going on and nodded in agreement. Things are valued for their scarcity; if too many people grow them, they become less unusual.

However, this survey seems to be quite difficult and troublesome; it will cost you a lot of money and time.

Sigh, there are so many things to do just to plant a hundred acres of reeds.

“Making money is never easy,” Wang Xiao reminded them. “Let’s not talk about reed brokers for now. That’s a profession that emerged after a regional industry had developed and reached a certain scale, in order to expand their competitive advantage. Let’s talk about 100 acres of reeds. What if we can’t do research and don’t know how many people are growing reeds?”

The group looked at each other, and then fell silent again.

Wang Xiao was utterly helpless.

She realized that university students in this era had their tuition covered by the state and received living allowances, so they probably really lived in an ivory tower and lacked a strong desire to earn money.

She had no choice but to answer her own question: "So, to get the ball rolling, let me offer a simple answer: 'I'd rather have one fresh peach than a basket of rotten apricots.' What does that mean?"

"Be innovative, not clichés."

After the college students shouted it out, someone suddenly realized: "We want the freshest stuff, the pointed ones!"

What does that mean?

When a type of food first comes onto the market, its price is the highest.

Once it's available in large quantities, the price will drop.

Take, for example, the toon shoots that have been particularly popular in the last two years. When they first came on the market, they were incredibly expensive.

The price then continued to fall.

Oh, I understand.

If you want watercress to sell well, you have to be on the market earlier than others.

Wang Xiao nodded and added, "Staggered peak season, staggered peak sales. To achieve this goal, we need to ensure that watercress is available at different times—early, normal, and delayed. This way, your sales channels will remain uninterrupted. Now, there's a new problem: how do we achieve this?"

Someone raised their hand, indicating they wanted to seek technical guidance.

He had seen artificially cultivated artemisia at the market, which was longer and thicker than the wild kind, showing that artificial cultivation requires technology, and off-peak cultivation requires even more technology.

Where can I find technical guidance?

Yes, a vegetable research institute or an agricultural college would be fine.

It's still summer vacation, so the teachers in the agricultural college should be free.

By the way, you can also buy high-quality seedlings from them.

Wang Xiao did not comment, but instead asked, "And then?"

The newlyweds looked bewildered. "Isn't there guidance already? What else is there?"

Xiang Dong couldn't stand it anymore: "Who's going to take care of it?"

These guys don't actually think that planting a single grain in spring will yield a thousand in autumn, or that it's just a matter of scattering a handful of seeds in the field.

It's reasonable that growing vegetables is more profitable than growing crops, because the former requires far more time and effort than the latter.

oh.

Everyone finally realized that they needed to hire someone to manage it.

That's easy, just hire a few people from the village.

Tang Yicheng is a typical young man from a county town, with some connection to both rural and urban areas.

His reaction to the suggestion was to shake his head directly: "The villagers won't be happy to stay and tend the fields."

There are no fools in the world.

The International Trade City is now thriving, with planes taking off one after another at the airport. Villagers are helping middlemen transport goods, setting up stalls to sell food, and making a fortune from the Russians.

Why would they choose to toil in the fields instead of earning easy money?

Aside from stubborn old men who are afraid of new things and cling to outdated ideas, he couldn't imagine anyone else who would be willing to do this job.

Of course, Wang Xiao could offer high wages to attract employees.

But a mu of reeds only earns a few thousand yuan. If she were to pay someone a monthly salary of a thousand yuan to do the work, she would be crazy.

Upon hearing this, everyone thought, "Hey, it seems that's really the case."

The farmers in Zhimen have seen their value skyrocket, and now they rarely look down on small gains.

In fact, right now, the people busy draining the water from the fields to prepare for planting rice are mostly elderly people from each household.

Young adults, especially young people, either went to wait for work next to the warehouse or set up stalls to sell cold noodles, cold rice noodles, cold rice jelly, and ice cream.

Oh, right, there are also people selling steamed buns. They're made with sprouted wheat, without any added sugar, and they're sweet, but they're dark and don't look very appealing.

In short, they have all demonstrated through their actions that they intend to break away from agricultural production and directly pursue industrial and commercial development.

The recent college graduates became increasingly desperate. They couldn't even rely on farmers, so how could they possibly hire people from the Air Force to grow vegetables?

Hey, is this feasible?

It doesn't seem impossible.

The military needs to make money too.

Seeing that the topic had gone a bit off track, Wang Xiao had to speak up and steer it back on track: "Think about it again, who else is more suitable for this job?"

The newlyweds fell silent.

The uncle selling watermelons next to me was fanning himself while listening to the radio: "We must boost morale, strengthen our confidence, restore production, rebuild our homes, and win the battle against floods and disaster relief."

Suddenly, someone had a flash of inspiration: "The farmers on Jiangxinzhou Island! Jiangxinzhou Island is still flooded, and they can't go home. Land is the farmers' basic means of production. They don't have land now, so working as hired laborers is their best option."

“Yes, yes, yes.” The others chimed in, “They know how to grow reeds and how to manage them.”

The person who first made the suggestion continued his analysis at length: "Jiangxinzhou is not far from here, only about an hour by bus. They are either provided with accommodation by the government or staying with relatives and friends. So if we hire them to work, they can eat with us, and we don't need to worry about their accommodation."

That's the difference between temporary and permanent employees.

For example, the company is building dormitories for them. Each person has their own room with a bathroom and kitchen, which is better than the housing provided by many other companies.

Then everyone started to think outside the box, elevating the act of hiring farmers from Jiangxinzhou to the level of work relief.

This isn't just about providing one person with a job; it's about saving a family.

Wang Xiao quickly called for a stop.

Can you please not be so greasy at such a young age?

Everyone should be talking business; isn't it exhausting to keep pushing things to such an extreme?

Laughter rang out from the side: "How is this an exaggeration? This is just the truth."

Wang Xiao turned his head and was immediately shocked. He quickly stepped forward and said, "Oh dear, leader, how could you launch a surprise attack?"

The college students were still confused and looked at each other blankly.

Who is this?

He's supposed to be a leader, but he doesn't have a large entourage.

There were only two or three people, dressed very simply, in polyester shirts, ordinary cloth pants, and their shoes were covered in mud.

To put it bluntly, the young farmers in Zhimen Village are now dressed more fashionably and stylishly than they are.

Furthermore, shouldn't leaders be notified in advance before they inspect work? Even if it's not a grand celebration with gongs, drums, and firecrackers, they should at least be greeted with a welcoming ceremony.

Feng Zhonglin muttered, "This is Deputy Secretary Cao from the province."

To save these greenhorns from being ignorant and embarrassing themselves for nothing.

Wang Xiao grasped Deputy Secretary Cao's hand and repeatedly said, "Oh, Secretary, you should have at least told me in advance. The road here is not easy to travel."

With the torrential rains stopped and the threat of flooding eliminated, construction companies naturally had to start working overtime.

Honestly, right now, Jiangzhimen is a huge construction site.

Deputy Secretary Cao smiled and said, "It's not like you can't leave. I'm worried and have been wanting to come and see you, but I just can't get away."

Wang Xiao quickly replied, "Thank you for your hard work, leader. We will always remember your care and support for our International Trade City and Wuzhou Company."

She spoke from the heart.

If it weren't for Deputy Secretary Cao's intervention to protect Jiangzhimen, they might still be submerged in water like Jiangxinzhou.

"Of course, the province has always attached great importance to trade." Deputy Secretary Cao asked with great concern, "How is it now? What are the foreign investors' sentiments? Has their business volume been affected?"

"Thanks to your help, Deputy Secretary Cao, the approved air route allowed us to maintain our supply volume after cargo was airlifted from Jiangbei Province. The foreign businessmen are very satisfied."

Wang Xiao walked forward with the person so that the leader could clearly see how the commercial city was operating.

Just then, a passenger plane landed at the airport, and more than a hundred middlemen and traders rushed to the trade city, quickly starting their shopping spree.

Wang Xiao explained from the side, "There are two passenger flights every day now, with about 300 foreign businessmen coming. Some arrive in the morning and leave in the afternoon. Others stay for a day, arriving in the afternoon and leaving the next morning."

"Can the cargo plane be fully loaded?"

"Yes," Wang Xiao nodded. "We basically returned with a full load."

She is currently planning to build her own transport fleet, consisting entirely of large trucks.

Relying solely on manufacturers for delivery is simply inconvenient. Each factory has a limited number of large trucks, and given the one-to-many relationship, it's difficult to deliver goods promptly.

International middlemen choose the expensive air freight method to save time and increase overall profits through frequent transshipment.

Therefore, they simply don't have the patience to wait; every minute is money to them.

To meet customer needs, the logistics of the International Trade City must be guaranteed.

As for how the trucks came about, they used a barter system, exchanging them directly from the Soviet Union.

In the Sino-Soviet border trade, it was commonplace in Heihe to exchange light industrial products for trucks and tractors.

However, large trucks certainly cannot be transported by air; they can only be transported by sea.

But this is a bit troublesome; Ivanov is still pulling strings.

But this matter needs to be done quickly; wasting time means wasting money.

After accompanying Deputy Secretary Cao on his inspection of the commercial city and airport, Wang Xiao planned to call Ivanov to ask how things were going with the truck arrangement.

Their most important standard right now is: fast, even faster!

Deputy Secretary Cao was very satisfied after touring the bustling commercial city.

As the group headed towards the airport, two Russian men nearby started chatting happily.

The bearded man excitedly emphasized to his companion, "You see? She has powerful connections; she's the underground queen here. Doing business with her is worry-free."

Those present who could understand Russian all wore subtle expressions.

Well, speaking of this, it's actually a bit...emmm.

Previously, due to the impact of torrential rain and floods, and the dispatch of cargo planes to support disaster relief, the actual transportation capacity in Jiangdong was only a maximum of 10 cargo planes per day.

When the weather is bad, this number will be discounted even further.

Logically speaking, international traders should be very unhappy.

I wouldn't say I'm too lazy to come back, but I'm certainly not very satisfied.

As soon as flights resumed, they showed tremendous enthusiasm. Tickets to Moscow were in high demand.

Why would the middlemen and women react this way?

Because they felt that Wang Xiao was extremely capable and an absolute big shot.

She was not only able to communicate directly with high-ranking military officials, but also to have provincial leaders serve her.

You don't have to worry about getting arrested suddenly when buying things from someone like that.

Who said the Soviets were reserved?

The bearded man emphasized in an exaggerated tone: "This is the second-in-command of their province. Provinces in China are very powerful. Jiangdong Province has 68 million people, which is almost half the population of our Russian Federation. Look how powerful she is, even the second-in-command of the province has to serve her."

Wang Xiao thought they were even more impressive.

She was practically begging to kneel before these older brothers and sisters.

The spread of rumors is indeed a phenomenon that transcends time and place.

With such imaginative abilities, they could totally write their own novels.

Hurry up, hurry up, please don't let them stop us, and then ask the sales assistant to help translate.

She really needs to dig a hole and crawl into it.

Unexpectedly, Deputy Secretary Cao laughed out loud and readily stated, "They're not wrong. The government is meant to serve the people. Our mission is to serve the people and the market."

Wang Xiao was taken aback.

She didn't even care about the embarrassment of Deputy Secretary Cao speaking Russian.

What she was more concerned about was that it was the summer of 1991, and there were still six months until the spring of 1992.

As a high-ranking leader in the provincial government, she actually said directly that she wanted to serve the market!

Deputy Secretary Cao said meaningfully, "Go ahead and do it boldly. Our goal is to do a good job in construction."

She then took the initiative to greet the two resellers, asking them about their shopping experience in Russian with slightly awkward pronunciation and fairly precise grammar, and what they hoped the Jiangdong Provincial Government could do for them.

These two men were quite nonchalant; they showed no embarrassment whatsoever and simply stated that they needed more planes.

"Even if it's a hundred planes, a hundred planes a day, we can fill the planes."

However, this was clearly beyond Deputy Secretary Cao's capabilities. She could only promise to further optimize the market environment and ensure the supply of goods so that everyone could come with high expectations and leave with a full load.

The two shook hands amiably and then said goodbye.

The main force continued forward.

This time it was even more lively up front, with even some noisy chatter coming from there.

Wang Xiao gave Dong a wink.

The latter quickly ran off to deal with the emergency.

When he went over to ask, he was utterly speechless.

Why are these people making such a fuss?

People in the provincial capital heard that they could exchange their old clothes, bedding, and even unused tables and chairs for color TVs.

The employees of the International Trade City were already numb.

What happened to the saying that rumors stop with the wise? The sun is up in the sky, so why doesn't the light of wisdom shine on the earth?!

They've gone mad.

Previously, they called on every household to hand over their inventory, which they exchanged for color TVs to sell to middlemen for profit.

What are you doing bringing all these old clothes here? Selling them as junk?

Sorry, this is not a scrap metal recycling station!

But the residents of the provincial capital who had rushed over excitedly were unhappy. "We went through so much trouble to move our things over here, and you just say you don't want them anymore? Aren't you just messing with us?"

Tang Yicheng, who had followed along, was also speechless with disbelief: "Who said that? Who said we collect used clothes? We never said that. Why would we need used clothes?"

“You wanted these before,” someone said confidently. “I saw you sorting through the old clothes with my own eyes, washing and drying them.”

Oh, he was referring to the luggage that passengers had abandoned and that they had dragged back from the train station that day.

"That's what we brought to donate to the disaster victims," ​​Xiang Dong said bluntly. "Do you want to donate it?"

The group looked at each other, wondering what they should donate. They had also been trapped by the flood for a month.

Besides, if you want to donate to the disaster area, you don't need to make a special trip to Jiangzhimen to donate.

Wang Xiao and her group had already arrived. She stepped forward and asked a couple of questions, then decisively said, "How about this, we'll take these, by weight. Large coats are five yuan per jin, sweaters are three yuan per jin, outerwear is two yuan per jin, and shirts and pants are one yuan per jin. As for tables and chairs, an old table is ten yuan, a large stool is three yuan, and a small stool is one yuan."

The citizens were unhappy.

They emptied their house to replace the main door with a color TV.

This meager amount is barely enough to feed a beggar.

“These are all old, and we can’t possibly sell them. They’re all donated to disaster victims,” Wang Xiao said calmly. “If you’re not happy about it, you can donate them yourselves.”

She's rich, and she spends money lavishly.

But she wasn't easily fooled; no one, not even cats, dogs, or scoundrels, would try to extort money from her.

Dream on!

Go stay somewhere cool.

The group looked at each other in bewilderment, and those who had come as a family began whispering among themselves.

Hey!

Tables and benches are also bought at flea markets; you can sell them there.

As for the clothes, let's just sell them to them.

Are there any used clothes for sale on the market right now? Yes, of course there are. They've been around since the 1980s and are called "second-hand goods."

However, the clothes displayed for sale are from Hong Kong, Taiwan, and overseas. People there change their clothes frequently, wearing them a few times and then discarding them, so the clothes look almost brand new.

But the clothes they brought over to exchange for color TVs were different; they were mostly worn out and the styles were outdated.

Never mind.

If we don't sell them to the International Trade City, the old clothes at home can only be used as rags or mops, besides being given to poor relatives.

Why not exchange some money for a few dozen yuan? At least you can buy some foreign candies and chocolates to take home. If you're lucky, you might even get your hands on roller skates, an electric shaver, and Western-style cutlery.

Oh, no, the clothes they carried back weighed over a hundred pounds, which cost several hundred yuan!

Everyone cheered again and happily went to sort the clothes.

Wang Xiao emphasized, "Don't accept clothes that are unwearable. We are donating clothes to the disaster victims, not giving them rags."

Everyone around laughed and repeatedly assured, "Absolutely, they're all good clothes. We went through a lot of trouble to buy them, asking around and finding tickets."

It is precisely because this point has been taken into account, and to be honest, the clothes of this era, as long as they are not counterfeit or shoddy products, are indeed of good quality.

Even after being stored for more than ten years, they are still wearable.

Otherwise, why would Wang Xiao pay such a high price?

You should know that before she entered the book, the market price for recycling old clothes was less than one yuan, only fifty cents.

Some people were too lazy to take the tables, chairs, benches, pots, pans and dishes home again (heaven knows how they think, some even brought spatulas!), and asked them to be recycled as well.

It's definitely more expensive than selling it as scrap, and it's all usable.

Wang Xiao nodded and accepted it as well.

Even Deputy Secretary Cao thought the girl was too honest.

Clothes are manageable, but how will these other items get to the disaster victims?

It's so troublesome to transport.

Wang Xiao said in a serious tone, "Didn't Xujiawei and Qinghewei in our provincial capital sacrifice their own interests for the greater good? The local people suffered heavy losses. After our company collects old clothes, cleans and disinfects them, we deliver them to designated locations to ensure that the affected people have clothes to wear. The same goes for pots, pans, tables, chairs, and benches, to ensure everyone's daily life as much as possible."

Her noble character drove Chen Yu, the newly appointed accountant, crazy.

Boss, this won't do. Why are you always donating?

If we keep making money like this, we won't even earn enough to donate.

Wang Xiao tried to reassure the capable people she was training: "It's okay, it's okay, you can earn money again."

She assured Deputy Secretary Cao, "If the disaster-stricken people over there want to find work, we need people here to build houses."

She keeps her word.

She promised to fully support the people in the flood-affected areas in rebuilding their homes, and now she is determined not to renege on her promise.

As for why she didn't donate food, it's because she knew the grain reserves had already been used, and the disaster victims wouldn't go hungry.

Deputy Secretary Cao remarked with deep emotion, "This is the kind of entrepreneur our socialism truly needs—one who is full of social responsibility."

The factory manager of Hongxing TV Factory has been frequently visiting the International Trade City lately to check on the sales of his color TVs—well, the exchange situation.

He then chimed in, "Our factory is also preparing to go and offer discounts to ensure the quality of life for the disaster-stricken people."

Donating is out of the question.

Their factory can't compare to the wealth and power of the International Trade City.

If they hadn't gotten on someone else's fast track and sold nearly 30,000 color TVs in one go, their factory wouldn't have been able to solve its debt problem.

Hey! From now on, they'll be like Huang Shiren, chasing Yang Bailao for debts every day.

He was finally able to hold his head high.

Deputy Secretary Cao, being unable to read minds, had no idea what the television factory director was thinking. He could only express his appreciation: "As long as we unite as one, I believe that our post-disaster reconstruction will definitely not be a problem."

A nearby resident shouted, "Hey, didn't we agree to exchange it for a color TV?"

The factory manager immediately rushed over with a lithe gait that belied his bear-like physique, wishing he could cover the man's mouth.

Are you kidding me?

Currently, color TV retail is all under a franchise system.

You've already gotten a good deal, so shut up. Why keep nagging in front of local government leaders, as if you're afraid of getting arrested?

Deputy Secretary Cao acted as if he hadn't heard a thing, displaying a remarkable "I can't be a father-in-law if I'm not deaf and dumb" spirit.

After inspecting the airport and inquiring about the installation process, she prepared to take her leave.

A car from the provincial government also drove up, and a middle-aged man who looked like a secretary got out to report to her.

Relief supplies from other provinces have begun to arrive one after another. The next step is to ensure that the supplies and relief funds are delivered to the disaster victims.

"The Northeast has provided soybeans as aid, and they are still waiting for train cars."

When one place is in trouble, help comes from all sides. Now the biggest problem has become insufficient transportation capacity.

Originally, due to the disruption of transportation caused by the floods, many organizations were in a hurry to complete their original transportation plans after the disaster, and there were already not enough transportation vehicles.

Now, with the addition of aid supplies, the transportation department is overwhelmed.

Xiang Dong, who came from a self-employed background, was extremely wary of all cadres.

He quietly walked up to Wang Xiao and whispered, "They won't requisition our planes, will they?"

What a joke! Don't even think about it.

They don't even have enough planes of their own right now.

Wang Xiao's eyes lit up, and he stepped forward, volunteering, "Secretary Cao, if the goods can't be transported over, I can give it a try."

Xiang Dong really wanted to pull Wang Xiao back.

This is insane.

Previously, in order to smoothly transfer light industrial products from Jiangbei to meet the needs of traders, they had already proactively dispatched half of their aircraft.

At least there was a legitimate reason to persuade Ivanov.

Are you trying to be a saint or a sucker? Traffic has already returned to normal, why are you rushing to do this?

Tang Yicheng tugged at his arm, calmly saying, "It's alright, she must have her reasons."

There are two things he particularly trusts about Wang Xiao.

One thing is that she's really good at making money.

Another point is that no matter what she does, her ultimate goal is still to make money.

As expected, Wang Xiao immediately said, "To meet the needs of our trade city, we imported one hundred trucks from the Soviet Union, which will come from Suifenhe. The trucks are empty; whatever supplies you have, you can bring them directly with the trucks. Our company will only charge the cost price for transportation."

This left not only Xiang Dong, but also Tang Yi, who had been so confident in Wang Xiao, completely stunned.

Um, no, shouldn't those hundred trucks be shipped over by sea?

Just drive right over here!

Good heavens, that must have used up so much oil.

Oh, it's okay, oil is ridiculously cheap in Russia.

But it's also very far.

The key question is: who will drive all 100 trucks here?

Tang Yicheng's eyes widened suddenly. No... could it be?

Is she planning to get people started ahead of schedule?

That's right.

That's what Wang Xiao thought.

When she was planning to form a trucking fleet, she had her sights set on the military.

It wasn't that she had any military complex; she simply found the map useful.

Well, how should I put it?

The driver was once one of the eight most prestigious officials, and even in the 1990s when the other officials gradually declined, his status and position remained extraordinary.

People who can drive are a minority in society, and finding a hundred truck drivers is not an easy task.

But the military is different; the military has truck drivers. Demobilized or retired truck drivers can be used directly.

Being able to stay in the provincial capital and work as a driver is a good job for them.

Given the current poor economic situation, companies are reluctant to hire. Returning to one's hometown after military service doesn't guarantee job placement.

Besides this, Wang Xiao chose retired truck drivers as her first choice because she considered that the social order in this era was really not good.

Last year there was a crackdown, but who knows how long it can last.

Truck driving is both a high-paying and high-risk profession in this era. Truck drivers who have been robbed are almost embarrassed to admit they work in this line of work.

Send in veterans; they've been trained, they're young and strong, and with two of them in a car, it shouldn't be easy for ordinary criminals to take them down.

Besides.

The military profession is quite fascinating.

When they are considered as individuals, their character is not necessarily reliable. There are plenty of soldiers and veterans whose homes have collapsed.

But when they become a whole, their moral standards and discipline are quite high.

Managing it is naturally less of a hassle.

Hehe, with this method, there's no need to find a sea vessel for transportation; we can just drive the car back directly.

Moreover, with the label of transporting aid supplies, they might even save on bridge and road tolls.

Tang Yicheng and Xiang Dong exchanged a glance.

Good heavens, is there anyone who saves money like this?

Not only does she not intend to spend a single penny on shipping, she also wants to take the opportunity to make another sale.

————————

Haha, although it sounds a bit unbelievable, in the early to mid-1990s, watercress could sell for more than ten yuan per kilogram. Later, the planting area expanded, and in 2002 and 2004, when the spring was warm, watercress grew wildly, and the market price dropped to 15 to 20 cents per kilogram.

The above information comes from page A07 of the Xinhua Daily on November 18, 2008.

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