Before the old man finished speaking, the carriage stopped.
"We're here, kid." Old Yuantou jumped off the carriage and patted Chen Changyuan on the shoulder. "Follow me closely, don't get lost."
Chen Changyuan followed Lao Yuantou into the city.
After several twists and turns, Lao Yuantou brought Chen Changyuan to an inconspicuous shop.
The shop sign was a little mottled, with four big characters "Futai Leather" written on it.
"This is it." Old Yuantou pushed open the door of the shop, and a strong smell of fur hit his nose.
The shop was dimly lit, the shelves were piled high with all kinds of animal skins, and the air was filled with the pungent smell of animals.
A white-haired old man was dozing off behind the counter. When he heard the noise, he raised his head and squinted his eyes to look at the person who came.
"Hey, old man, what brings you here? Long time no see!"
The fur shop owner greeted him with a smile, revealing his yellow teeth.
"Old Li, you're still the same. How's your business?" Old Yuan responded with a smile.
"Oh, don't mention it. Business has been bad recently."
Old Li sighed, "A new 'Treasure Pavilion' has opened. It's very wealthy and has taken away all our business."
"Treasure Pavilion?" Old Yuan frowned, "I've never heard of it."
"New here, the background is tough."
Old Li lowered his voice and spoke mysteriously.
"I heard there's someone backing us up. How can a small business like ours compete with them?"
"That's right. I think in two days, Old Li, you will have to close the shop and go home to take care of your children!" Old Yuantou joked.
When Old Li heard this, he immediately blew his beard and glared, "Go to hell, old Yuan, are you cursing me? I've been doing business for decades, I've seen all sorts of storms and waves. How can I be defeated by a new kid?"
"Hey, Old Li, don't be so unconvinced. This Jubao Pavilion has quite a reputation. I heard their goods are shipped directly from the northern grasslands. They're of high quality and cheap. How can your little shop compete with them?"
"Humph, what's wrong with coming from the north? Are leathers from the north necessarily better? I, Old Li, have carefully selected all these leathers. The quality is definitely not inferior to theirs!" Old Li said unyieldingly. "Besides, I have the tanning technique passed down from my ancestors. How can they compare?"
Old Yuan laughed heartily. "Come on, Old Li, just keep boasting! Don't I know your skill in tanning leather? You can only fool the laymen."
"What do you know? My skills..."
The two laughed for a while, and Lao Yuan turned to Chen Changyuan and said, "Boy, take out the wolf skin."
Chen Changyuan quickly took out the wolf skin from the sack and unfolded it carefully.
The wolf fur is shiny black and the leather is thick, and it is obviously high-quality stuff at first glance.
Old Li picked up the wolf skin and examined it carefully, praising it:
"What great leather! This quality and texture are so rare!"
Chen Changyuan was secretly happy, thinking that this wolf skin could be sold for a good price.
"What do you think, Old Li? Give me an offer." Old Yuantou rubbed his hands, looking expectant.
Old Li pondered for a moment, then held up two fingers and said, "Two hundred and fifty, how about that?"
"Two hundred and fifty?"
Old Yuan's eyes widened. "Old Li, what's wrong with you today? Such good leather, and you only give me 250? That's too unfair!"
Old Li spread his hands helplessly:
"Old Yuan, you know business is tough right now. 'Treasure Pavilion' is undercutting prices so much that small shops like us can't make any money at all."
The old man still shook his head:
"No, the price is too low. This is top-quality wolf skin, I have to..."
Old Li interrupted him:
"Okay, old man, stop beating around the bush with me. Just give me a price, and be straightforward."
Old Yuan rolled his eyes, leaned close to Old Li's ear, stretched out his arm, and quietly put his hand into Old Li's sleeve.
The two of them groped for a while, their fingers moving back and forth in their sleeves, as if they were performing some mysterious ritual.
Chen Changyuan stood aside, looking confused, not knowing what the two old men were up to.
After a long while, the two finally pulled their hands away. Old Li smiled and said, "Deal!"
"Six hundred, one price." Old Yuan said with a smile.
Chen Changyuan was shocked. He didn't expect that the wolf skin was sold for six hundred yuan!
This was one month’s salary in his previous life!
Old Li counted out six hundred yuan and handed it to Old Yuan. Old Yuan took the money and put it into Chen Changyuan's hand:
"Here, boy, you deserve it."
Chen Changyuan was holding a thick stack of money, his hands trembling with excitement.
Chen Changyuan weighed the thick stack of money in his hand and calculated silently in his mind.
Six hundred yuan was not a small sum in the 1970s, equivalent to two years' salary for an ordinary worker.
Although this black wolf skin is hard to come by, the price is reasonable.
In his previous life, he had been working in the mountains and forests for many years and had some knowledge of the fur market.
Old Li looked at Chen Changyuan's excited expression and turned to ask Old Yuan:
"Old man, who is this young man? He looks unfamiliar."
Old Yuan put his arm around Chen Changyuan's shoulders and patted them vigorously, as if showing off a masterpiece:
"This is a kid from our village, named Chen Changyuan. He's a great hunter! He's amazing! A while ago, when there was a wolf disaster, it was this kid who killed three wolves by himself and saved many people in the village!"
Old Li's eyes lit up when he heard this. He looked Chen Changyuan up and down, and exclaimed in amazement:
"Oh, the young are really formidable! When I was young, I was chased all over the mountain by a wolf, and was finally bitten on the heel. I still have the scar!"
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