A courtyard in a county town.
Qi Tai sat on the sofa, head down in thought, looking utterly depressed.
A man in a gray cotton-padded coat stood in front of him, remorseful and blaming himself: "Boss, it's all my fault. If I hadn't insisted on shipping the goods that day, this wouldn't have happened."
“Now is not the time to assign blame; let’s solve the supply problem first. For now, it seems we can only get supplies from Master Zheng to get through this difficult time,” said the bald man sitting next to Qi Tai.
Uncle Qian, the steward who was making tea, frowned and said, "But Master Zheng is taking advantage of our misfortune and is offering us a price that is higher than their retail price on the black market."
"There's nothing we can do. It's too late to send people south to develop new channels now. Apart from Master Zheng, no one else in the county has any goods." The bald man said helplessly.
Master Zheng is another major black market boss in the county. They have been entrenched in this area for many years and follow the law of the jungle.
Seeing that Qi Tai was in crisis, they, as his mortal enemies, would not let this opportunity pass and wanted to take a big bite out of him.
At this moment, Qi Tai knew very well that if there were no new sources of goods, he would have no choice but to purchase goods from Master Zheng.
Financial loss is a minor issue; it can be earned back. The real concern is that the other party may have other tricks up their sleeve and take advantage of the situation.
Suddenly, a thought struck him: Zhao Honghui and Xie Yuyao were able to obtain fine grains, which are also agricultural products, so could they also have access to fruits and vegetables?
"Contact Zhao Dayong immediately and have him come over," Qi Tai ordered immediately. But as soon as he finished speaking, he changed his mind, "No, I'll go to Hongqi Commune. We'll talk about this when I get back."
He had just stepped out of the courtyard when he saw Zhao Dayong, who had rushed over, looking travel-worn.
*
In the former educated youth compound, several former educated youth gathered in the main room for a study and discussion session.
Under the deliberate guidance of Xie Yuyao and Yang Sumei, most of the educated youth picked up their textbooks again and rekindled their interest in learning. During this leisurely winter, they spent their days reading or writing, a completely different experience from previous winters.
Xie Yuyao got up late today and didn't go to the clinic, so she joined them instead.
When Qi Tai arrived at the educated youth compound, he heard discussions inside, seemingly about a physics experiment.
"Xie Zhiqing, are you there?" Zhao Dayong shouted.
"Here!" Xie Yuyao lifted the curtain of the main room and saw Zhao Dayong and Qi Tai at the gate of the courtyard. Zhao Dayong was carrying a gift box.
It was somewhat unexpected, yet also quite reasonable.
"Comrade Qi, hello!" Xie Yuyao knew his purpose and led them to her residence in the backyard.
Enter, take a seat, and have tea served.
Qi Tai explained his purpose for coming: "Xie Zhiqing, do you have a way to get some fruits and vegetables?"
Xie Yuyao hadn't discussed it with Zhao Honghui yet, but since they already had a grain and meat cooperation agreement, this was a good option. So, she made up an excuse: "I have a friend who runs a fruit and vegetable business and has channels for transporting goods from the south to the north, but he doesn't have a sales channel in our county yet. If you need it, I'll try to ask him if he can send a batch of goods over."
When Xie Yuyao mentioned that her friend had connections, Qi Tai's heart began to race. Although he had established himself in the county town over the years, sourcing goods from other places inevitably involved taking risks.
Over the years, many of his brothers have been arrested in other places, and he has to take care of their relatives, resulting in him losing both money and his family.
To break out of his predicament, he needs more high-quality goods to meet the material needs of wealthy people. He needs to seize market share and expand his business.
Price wars involving lowering commodity prices have been used by other black market organizations in their attempts to seize territory. However, this approach proved short-sighted, disrupting the entire county's black market and resulting in heavy losses for everyone involved.
What Xie Yuyao said was tantamount to providing him with the fruits and vegetables he needed most, without him having to send anyone to transport them from other places. As long as the handover was done within the county, he was confident that nothing would go wrong.
"How much can he adjust?" Qi Tai asked, his voice dry and tense.
Xie Yuyao didn't answer, but instead asked, "How much do you need?"
Qi Tai stared at Xie Yuyao, and from her relaxed and smiling expression, it seemed as if she could provide as much as he needed.
"If your friend still has goods, I'd like 5,000 catties of each. If not, whatever you have is fine." Qi Tai lost 3,000 catties of fruits and vegetables this time. Since Xie Yuyao didn't make things difficult for him, he raised the price a bit. He wouldn't have to worry about selling them during the New Year.
Xie Yuyao said casually, "Okay, I'll ask him. From what I know of him, there shouldn't be any major problems. By the way, since it's inconvenient for him to come forward, I'll deliver the goods to you from now on."
She could have 50,000 jin, let alone 5,000 jin. The only problem was concealing the source of the goods.
After hearing what she said, Qi Tai took a deep breath.
That's a weight of 10,000 jin! They're cracking down so hard these days, they even check portable items like radios and watches, let alone perishable crops like fruits and vegetables.
I wonder what kind of background Xie Yuyao's friend has. He probably has connections to the highest levels of society. No wonder he can't show up in person.
"No problem. Please help me convey that I would like to cooperate with him long-term."
Qi Tai's words were exactly what she wanted to hear, but business is business, "Okay, but according to his usual practice, the quantity and type of the next batch of goods need to be confirmed ten to fifteen months in advance."
In this way, if her stockpile is running low, she can arrange for planting in advance. But what she can offer for trade will inevitably be seasonal fruits and vegetables.
Qi Tai nodded and then asked, "Do you know anything about the price?"
Finally, when it came to the price, Xie Yuyao didn't quote a price first: "As far as I know, prices aren't uniform from place to place. Give me a price first, and we'll see if it works out."
"Around the Spring Festival, all vegetables are 50 cents a pound, and fruits are 1.5 yuan a pound. We'll discuss the price after the Spring Festival." Qi Tai urgently needed this batch of goods and, with the aim of long-term cooperation, quoted a very attractive price.
Xie Yuyao was very satisfied with the price he quoted. For fruit, it was much higher than the price she had previously paid for it on the black market, which showed his sincerity.
Of course, Qi Tai won't lose money either. Recently, many people have started buying New Year's goods, and the prices of various food supplies are rising. With the freshness and deliciousness of her fruits and vegetables, she will definitely be able to sell them for a good price.
"Then please contact me as soon as possible. I urgently need the first batch of goods." After saying that, Qi Tai took out a notebook from his briefcase, tore out a page, and handed it to Xie Yuyao.
Xie Yuyao took the paper and looked at the varieties written on it in blue pen. The fruits included apples, pears, kumquats, navel oranges, and sugarcane, while the vegetables included lotus root, yam, radish, and cabbage. They were all in season.
"All the varieties you need are listed here. If some are not available, just replace them with others."
Xie Yuyao nodded and took out a pen. "I'll write down the quantity."
The matter was quickly settled.
What she didn't expect was that this collaboration would kick off a massive struggle between black market forces in the county.
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