"Since we're already here, and since this business deal was negotiated between you and me, it's safer to have your guarantee, don't you think?"

Zhao Youcai said with a smile, looking completely harmless.

The textile factory manager's face twitched violently, and his eyes suddenly became more wary as he looked at Zhao Youcai.

Why did he suddenly feel that the old man delivering vegetables in front of him was not so simple?

Isn't it said that rural people are quite honest and kind? How come this Zhao Youcai is full of cunning and scheming?

Zhao Youcai sneered, "Or is it that Director Ma has no intention of cooperating at all, and just wants to trick this old man into supplying vegetables for a few days, and then kick me aside after the visiting leaders leave?"

Seeing Zhao Youcai's face grow increasingly serious, Factory Director Ma felt his scalp tingling with anxiety.

Before Zhao Youcai could withdraw his hand, he snatched the paper and pen and began copying Liang Dayang's paper.

Meanwhile, the steel mill manager, Mr. Niu, continued his tirade, "You're supposed to be the head of a factory, how come you're as stingy as your purchasing manager? If I were you, I'd give Brother Zhao an even bigger reward! After all, your factory was in the wrong first."

At this point, Director Niu suddenly slapped his forehead.

"Xiao Feng! I still have a bicycle ticket in my office. Go to my drawer and get it for Brother Zhao. If it weren't for his vegetables, our factory wouldn't have been able to serve those leaders so well."

Factory Director Ma was stunned for a moment, his hands moving so fast they left afterimages.

The leaders visited the steel plant first, which put us at a disadvantage. If they ate at the steel plant and then visited our textile factory, we'd be in real trouble.

Therefore, he must invite Zhao Youcai, this great Buddha, back today.

Factory Director Ma cursed under his breath, thinking, "This nemesis was definitely born to bring me bad luck!"

Before he could even appease the man, his arch-enemy waved his hand and, without a word, gifted Zhao Youcai a bicycle ticket.

Everyone knows that steel mills have plenty of other things, but they have tons of invoices and receipts related to steel and other materials!

Those were all gifts from their partner manufacturers!

They had more receipts than the supply and marketing cooperatives and production brigades, including bicycle tickets, radio tickets, and TV tickets!

What do their textile factories have?

That's all!

After all, textile machines and the like can only be purchased in large quantities with funding and invoices from higher authorities!

Factory Director Niu gave away bicycle tickets out of his own pocket, so what else could he give away?

Money was definitely out of the question; every expense at the textile factory had to be transparent, so the only thing they could offer was cloth.

Factory Director Ma was heartbroken, but he could only suppress his anger and, with great reluctance, add another clause to the original guarantee—

Each month, up to thirty bolts of high-quality fabric can be sold to Zhao Youcai at an employee benefit price. (This is done without affecting the purchase of fabric for the supply and marketing cooperative and garment factories.)

After Zhao Youcai took it, he nodded in satisfaction. This addition was very good.

In this way, when the tailor shop in Happy Town is upgraded in the future, he will have a legitimate reason to sell higher-grade fabrics.

Moreover, it seems that the items in Happy Town are quite in line with the current era.

Even the fabrics in the tailor shops, in terms of both material and color, are the same as the fabrics most commonly used by people in this era.

After the textile factory's Director Ma finally finished writing the guarantee and affixed the personal seals of the textile factory's purchasing department and the director, Director Niu and Director Zhao from the steel factory also came to join in the fun, ostensibly to act as witnesses.

A guarantee document bearing four official seals was freshly printed, and Zhao Youcai couldn't suppress the smile on his face.

He didn't mention that he was tired from traveling to town early in the morning to sell vegetables. Instead, he got up, put his arm around Liang Dayang, the still bewildered purchasing director of the textile factory, and the two walked outside like good buddies.

Now that the cooperation agreement has been reached, he's off to collect the cloth and return to the village to earn the price difference.

As for the vegetables, of course they'll be delivered tomorrow.

Zhao Youcai had stock in his farm warehouse and was determined not to take any out today.

The reason is simple: things that are hard to obtain are more cherished by the other party.

Only when Director Ma of the textile factory realizes that Zhao Youcai is not someone who can be easily manipulated will he have more confidence to cooperate with the textile factory in the future.

In addition, Zhao Youcai also had his own selfish motives, wanting to make these people anxious for a while longer.

They dared to challenge Zhao Youcai, and even dared to put on such an humiliating face. If he didn't seize the opportunity to retaliate, that wouldn't be his style.

Fortunately, it would be fine to deliver it tomorrow, so the textile factory manager didn't say anything. He just repeatedly reminded Zhao Youcai not to forget tomorrow before having someone take the cloth to Zhao Youcai and leave.

Zhao Youcai's return home this time was truly a fruitful one.

To make it easier to transport the fabric, the textile factory even lent him a handcart.

Zhao Youcai's return to the village this time can only be described as "sensational".

He returned just as everyone was taking a break and returning from the fields to the production team canteen for lunch.

They watched in as Zhao Youcai pushed a cart full of fabrics of various colors home, each one more shocked than the last.

"Look! That old bastard Zhao Youcai has somehow gotten a handcart, and it's loaded with a whole cart of cloth!"

"A truckload of cloth? My God! Last time I went to the textile factory to exchange some cloth, I couldn't even get inside. How did Zhao Youcai manage to get it?"

"Could Zhao Youcai have stolen the cloth from somewhere?"

"Do you think an old man like him has that kind of ability?"

...

The villagers gathered around Zhao Youcai, looking at the pair of fabrics in front of him and chattering amongst themselves.

However, Zhao Youcai did not explain further, only saying:

"If you fellow villagers want to buy cloth, just bring some money and come to my house after work in the evening. It's all entrusted to me by the textile factory to be brought back and sold. I won't ask for much from you, fellow villagers."

"This... this is actually fabric that leaked from a textile factory!"

"I didn't expect Zhao Youcai to have this kind of connection?"

...

Upon hearing this, another gasp of surprise rippled through the crowd.

Only then did everyone realize that the fabric in Zhao Youcai's hand had some problems with the dyeing process; the color was not uniform, and it should be a substandard product rejected by the textile factory.

No wonder he was able to bring it back to sell.

However, even such cloth was a rare and precious resource in this era of scarcity.

Many families don't even have this kind of fabric, and haven't bought new clothes for many years.

Now that Zhao Youcai said that this batch of cloth could be sold to them for money without cloth coupons, many people's minds started to stir.

Someone even shouted, "Uncle Cai, you have to save me a piece of this cloth! I'll go back and talk to my husband about it and then go buy some."

"Yes, yes, this fabric is wonderful! It can be easily altered to make clothes. Please save me a few feet!"

"Me too!"

...