Zhao Dayong quickly tried to mediate, saying he would come again in the next day or two, which calmed the dispute down. Those who didn't get any braised food insisted that he reserve a certain amount for them.
“No problem, I’ll reserve my share until 11 a.m. tomorrow. But if they don’t come by then, I’ll sell it to someone else.” Zhao Dayong readily agreed.
This shows that braised food is in high demand and there's no problem in reserving some for customers.
"Okay, I will definitely be there before eleven o'clock."
In less than an hour, the braised meat was sold out as the last spoonful of broth was served to the customer.
Ah Rong, who was in charge of collecting the money, had a large pile of small bills in his hand, along with a reservation slip for 3 jin of meat and 5 jin of vegetables.
His eyes lit up with excitement: "Dayong, we're rich!"
"Hehe, let's go, let's go back and tell the boss." Zhao Dayong was also very happy, and quickly packed his things and returned to the stronghold.
Qi Tai was not surprised at all after hearing Zhao Dayong's words. "Let's officially cooperate at the price you discussed."
From then on, Xie Yuyao and Yang Shumei made braised meat every day, and money kept flowing in.
Zhao Honghui handled the matter of fine grains very efficiently.
That night, Zhao Honghui took Yao Yao and borrowed a truck from his workplace to go to the county train station.
At a secluded spot along the way, Zhao Honghui stopped the truck to keep watch, while Xie Yuyao jumped onto the truck and moved the flour and rice that had been prepared beforehand into the cargo compartment.
"alright."
Zhao Honghui turned to look at the cargo compartment, his pupils constricting as he saw bags of grain neatly stacked inside.
Even with Yao Yao's tacit approval, he was still speechless with shock at the sudden appearance of these supplies.
He was so excited that he picked up Yao Yao and spun her around, exclaiming, "Yao Yao, you are truly God's favorite daughter!"
"Hehe, so you have to listen to me. I'll treat you to all the good food and drink, and I'll make sure you never have to worry about food or drink again." With Zhao Honghui as her confidant, Xie Yuyao felt elated.
Zhao Honghui narrowed his eyes, his tone threatening: "Sister?"
"Hey!" Xie Yuyao replied with a laugh, broke free from him, and turned to run away.
He hadn't run more than a few steps when Zhao Honghui caught him and confined him, and punishment followed...
*
Upon arriving at the train station, the two jumped off the train. Zhao Honghui picked up several kilograms of flour that he had prepared beforehand and gave them to the old soldier who guarded the railway.
Since they had borrowed someone else's place, they should express their gratitude. He and Yao Yao waited for the soldiers.
Before long, the quartermaster of the Fifth Regiment arrived with his men in two military vehicles.
One truck was loaded with tens of thousands of kilograms of old grain, and another hundred kilograms of crushed soybean residue.
Another vehicle carried a dozen or so soldiers.
Upon arrival, the quartermaster jumped out of the car and exchanged pleasantries with Zhao Honghui and Xie Yuyao.
Others began unloading and loading. The exchange was done between the two parties without any inspection required.
The quartermaster, who looked to be in his forties or fifties, was full of energy: "Brother, don't worry, the people here are very discreet. Everyone knows that this grain is for saving lives. If we weren't really desperate, no one would want to eat this."
Zhao Honghui chuckled. Indeed, many people in the forest farm were struggling to survive on empty stomachs, and this batch of coarse grains would be just the right amount to solve their winter problem.
The quartermaster, a man of keen insight into the ways of the world, spoke sincerely: "These days, everyone has it tough. I'm counting on you to find ways to get some more refined grains in the future."
Despite the large quantity, their army corps has tens of thousands of soldiers, so it's simply not enough to go around.
“We’ll exchange partners once a month, and I’ll try to do as much as possible. But there are people from the grain station involved, so you absolutely mustn’t be tight-lipped,” Zhao Honghui warned.
With Ye Xingchang acting as guarantor, they can cooperate in the long term, but the important points still need to be emphasized.
"Don't worry, the families of soldiers are all counting on your fine grains, so they'll keep their mouths shut. Besides, these days, anyone who can smuggle fine grains out of the grain station must hold a high position, so we won't cause any trouble."
As the quartermaster spoke, he handed Zhao Honghui a cigarette. "Brother, can you get some brown sugar? Our regiment's family members who are in confinement after childbirth can't even get a bowl of brown sugar and egg water."
Zhao Honghui, a former soldier, was very familiar with the situation in the military. Seeing Yao Yao nod slightly, he immediately agreed: "I'll find a way to get it for you."
Xie Yuyao stood to the side with a faint smile. She had a considerable amount of brown sugar stored in her spatial storage, which was needed by the quartermaster. If they were to run out, the process of turning sugarcane into brown sugar was not complicated, and she could grow sugarcane to make a supplement.
The quartermaster then pointed to the different packages of tofu residue, "This bag of stuff is horse feed. I had someone pick out some edible parts from it and bring them here."
The beans are all good, just accidentally crushed. They're not included in the exchange quota; you can give them to poor families, and they'll at least provide for a few days' worth of food.
The two chatted for quite a while before the quartermaster finally parted ways and drove away with his subordinates.
Xie Yuyao watched the departing car and exclaimed, "What a kind person!"
Zhao Honghui laughed when he heard this and told her to get on the bus and leave the station.
On the way, he talked about his time in the army: "Every winter, when heavy snow blocked the mountains, people in the surrounding villages would freeze or starve to death. The army would allocate a portion of the soldiers' rations to help them get through the winter."
"That must have been very tough," Xie Yuyao said sadly.
Zhao Honghui laughed and said, "It's all in the past."
The car stopped at a secluded courtyard on the outskirts of the county. Zhao Honghui said, "The transaction with the Corps will be held at the train station to create a smokescreen. This is Qi Tai's warehouse; just hand over the coarse grains to him."
After getting off the bus, Zhao Honghui knocked on the door, and Qi Tai, who had been waiting for a long time, immediately opened the door. Behind him were about a dozen men.
Following Qi Tai's instructions, they went directly to the truck to unload coarse grains.
Qi Tai welcomed the two into the living room and asked with concern, "Was it smooth sailing?"
"Well, the quartermaster sent an extra hundred pounds of crushed soybeans. Since it's cold and I can't travel easily, you can distribute them to the poor and needy."
Qi Tai agreed without hesitation: "Don't worry, I will deliver it to those who urgently need it in the name of the Fifth Regiment."
Zhao Honghui trusted his character completely. Although he was involved in the black market, he was a righteous and principled person with a broad perspective.
That's why Zhao Honghui, Ye Xingchang, and Qi Tai joined forces to do this business of exchanging grain for meat.
Zhao Honghui was in charge of refined grains and specifically liaised with the Fifth Regiment. The cost of refined grains was calculated at 50 cents per pound at the market price, with an additional 20% profit share.
Qi Tai was in charge of transactions with the forest farm and the sale of meat to end consumers, receiving 70% of the profits.
Ye Xingchang, on the other hand, used his family background and personal strength to safeguard this business, receiving a 10% share of the profits.
From a profit perspective, Ye Xingchang left this income to Qi Tai as capital for purchasing gold. As long as nothing went wrong, he would essentially get gold for free.
Qi Tai may have suffered a loss, but he solved the problem of finding a difficult grain supply channel and also connected with Ye Xingchang and Zhao Honghui, which brought him a lot of resources and convenience for his future business ventures.
Zhao Honghui not only sold the fine grains at the market price, but also made a considerable extra profit.
It can be described as a powerful alliance and resource integration.
Based on this collaboration alone, Xie Yuyao and her partner's monthly income never fell below one thousand for a long period afterward.
Just when her wealth was flowing in and she no longer lacked money, a letter from Beijing shattered her peace.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
