Chapter 286 Gold for Food
In 2013, the annual domestic production of natural musk was only more than 500 kilograms, and this was based on breeding data.
Due to animal protection laws, wild natural musk has almost become extinct and has no market.
To repeat, in 1960, the number of wild musk deer and red musk deer may have been in the millions, widely distributed in provinces such as Xizang, Sichuan, Yunnan, Xinjiang, Qinghai, Gansu, Shaanxi, and Anhui, and was far from becoming a protected species.
Therefore, although the quantity of Lin Sanqi needed is large, it is not a big problem to organize a group of people to capture and collect musk.
As for bezoar, the output is even greater. To put it simply, it is the gallstones of cows. I don’t know how our ancestors discovered that this thing can be used as medicine, and it has become a precious Chinese medicine.
10,000 wild ginsengs, 2,000 kilograms of musk and 2,000 kilograms of bezoar, Lin Sanqi's request is indeed a bit too much.
By 2013, the value of these medicinal materials would be at least tens of billions, and even tens of billions would not be impossible. The key is that there is no need to worry about selling them and they can be easily converted into cash.
Lin Sanqi has made up his mind to collect as many Chinese medicinal materials as possible before the storm comes, and he wants to collect as many as he can. It would be best if he could monopolize the entire production of precious Chinese medicinal materials in the country in the next four or five years.
This way, you won’t have to worry about running out of raw materials in the future.
Dean Liu thought about it for a while and agreed without hesitation.
Although he is a Western medicine doctor, he has heard of the names of these three Chinese medicinal herbs, especially the 10,000 wild ginseng, which is definitely a huge number.
"Comrade Xiaolin, I need to ask my superiors for help. Please wait for a moment."
Lin Sanqi nodded, "Okay."
Dean Liu showed his ID and came to the confidential room of Tianjin Port, where there was a red telephone.
The phone was connected, and a majestic old man's voice came:
"I'm Jing Qisheng."
"Leader, I'm Liu Shengli."
"Oh, Xiao Liu, how are things going? Have you seen the goods? Are those machines really what we urgently need?"
"Leader, I've checked the machines. Although they're all second-hand, they're all state-of-the-art overseas and are very much needed for our scientific research and clinical practice. I've never even seen some of them. It's obvious that we've been so isolated and ignorant.
I did some preliminary calculations and found that this equipment is enough for us to set up dozens of laboratories, and we could even build two or three virus laboratories. So, in my opinion, the equipment Comrade Lin Sanqi has obtained is absolutely worth purchasing."
On the other end of the phone, Leader Jing was silent for a while, and then the voice continued:
"How much do you estimate the equipment is worth?"
Liu Shengli had already made a judgment in his heart:
"These devices are all foreign products that are unwilling to be sold to us. If we were to import them through Hong Kong, we would probably have to pay at least US$5 or 6 million, and that's without overcharging us."
If you smuggle it in from Hong Kong, you might get ripped off. How could an intermediary who has handled it sell it to you for free with zero profit?
People take risks and manage relationships with people from all walks of life, naturally for the purpose of making money. Otherwise, how did Tycoon H get his position as one of the four richest people?
Tycoon H is just the most conscientious of the many smugglers, and he doesn't charge much.
However, he has additional compensation provided by the state, which is an advantage that others do not have.
For example, Tycoon H monopolized all building materials and sand and stone businesses in Hong Kong. Anyone who wanted to build a house had to go through him, allowing him to make huge profits, and no one dared to touch him.
If anyone touches him, he will not give them sand and gravel, and then they will not be able to build houses and speculate in real estate. But Hong Kong has a deformed urban economy that is supported by real estate.
I can only say that China treats its foreign friends, or the wealthy people in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, with everything they ask for, and never treats them unfairly. In the end, it became a case of "a little bit of kindness, a peck of rice, a grudge", which is really wrong.
When Leader Jing heard this, he smiled bitterly and said:
"Do you know how much foreign exchange reserves we have right now? We can't come up with $5 million even if we kill ourselves. Since these devices are so valuable, what do they want from us in exchange? Gold?"
Liu Shengli squeezed the phone in his hand and quickly explained:
"Comrade Lin Sanqi's intention is the same as before: a large quantity of Chinese medicinal materials. He doesn't want gold or US dollars. He just needs a larger quantity: 10,000 wild ginseng, 2,000 kilograms of musk, and 2,000 kilograms of bezoar. I wonder if our inventory will be sufficient?"
When Leader Jing heard this, a smile appeared on his face:
"Haha, no gold or foreign exchange, that's good. This means this guy, or the organization behind him, is a pure smuggling organization. They only care about making money and don't involve politics or sensitive materials.
As for the quantity of Chinese medicinal herbs they want, it's not a big problem. You don't know, the Chinese medicinal herbs purchased over the years are piled up in our warehouse like a mountain. We can't export them, and we can't sell them domestically. It's so hard to get a customer, so we naturally can't miss it."
(In a planned economy, factories have plans for how much product to produce each year, farmers have plans for what crops to grow, and ginseng farmers also have plans for how much ginseng to purchase. Even if they can't sell it, the plan won't change, so inventory keeps piling up.)
Liu Shengli also felt relieved and dared to make a little joke:
"Old leader, I think Comrade Lin Sanqi is quite good. This time, he not only obtained a large amount of equipment, but also gave us an additional 20,000 units of penicillin, 800,000 units. This will alleviate our current shortage of antibiotics."
One bottle of penicillin worth 800,000 yuan can be distributed to several wounded soldiers. How many lives can be saved by 20,000 bottles of penicillin?
When Leader Jing heard this, he was silent again, and finally sighed:
"Comrades investigating his smuggling routes, please withdraw. Since he's been expressing goodwill and the food and medicine he's smuggled in are our emergency food and medicine, we should just ignore him. If we really push him into a corner and he just runs away, we'll get nothing."
If I say I won’t investigate you, does that mean I really won’t investigate you?
Sometimes I don’t touch you because you are still useful to me.
If they really think you are of no use or have crossed the red line, what awaits you is a thundering blow.
"Understood. Please rest assured, leader. I promise to complete the task."
In the warehouse:
While Dean Liu was out on the phone and Dean Tu was still drooling over the equipment not far away, Dean Shen quietly asked Lin Sanqi:
"You were reckless this time. How could you get so much equipment at once? Even if you wanted to sell it, you should have taken it out bit by bit. You took it out all at once and shipped it back to China. What if your superiors ordered it all to be confiscated? Do you think you can get it back?"
Dean Shen still has a clear understanding and does not blindly trust anyone or any organization.
Lin Sanqi smiled and whispered:
"Uncle Shen, there's nothing to worry about. Just having machines is useless. Experiments also require a lot of consumables, such as chemical reagents, biological reagents, culture dishes, culture plates, staining consumables, blotting membranes, etc. Without these materials, the machine can't be started.
These can't be produced domestically yet, so they'll need to buy from me later. We're all smart people, and they won't kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. Use what you taught me before. As long as I'm still useful, there's nothing to worry about."
Dean Shen looked at the warehouse full of equipment and felt a little worried:
"If you do it once in a while, it's not a big deal, but if the quantity is large and the frequency is high, the nature of the matter will change. What if one day they want you to help them get some of the most advanced machine tools, hammer forging equipment, heat treatment equipment, etc., what should you do?
Even if you are safe in China, you will be targeted by security agencies abroad. Can the smuggling organization behind you guarantee your absolute safety? So after this incident, you should behave yourself for a while and don't let the Chinese become dependent on you.
Lin Sanqi chuckled, "Uncle Shen, I thought you would advise me to serve the country wholeheartedly. I will give it whatever the country wants, even if it means sacrificing my own life."
Dean Shen looked left and right, then whispered:
"There is nothing wrong with helping the country, and this is the obligation of every one of us, but we must help the country within our capabilities. If the country asks us to provide help, it must be within our capabilities. If it exceeds our capabilities, such sacrifice is meaningless."
Lin Sanqi thought that for someone as clear-headed as Dean Shen, his future would definitely not be easy...
At this time, the warehouse door opened a crack and Liu Shengli slipped in.
Seeing the smile on his face, Lin Sanqi knew that the deal was successful. Although he asked for a lot, he believed that there must be enough stock in the country to pay for it.
"Xiao Lin, I've already made the request, and my superiors have agreed to your request."
Lin Sanqi thought that as long as his superiors were not stupid, they would know that they made a lot of money from this deal, because the things he provided could not be produced domestically and were irreplaceable.
What's more, there are 20,000 doses of 800,000 units of penicillin, which cannot be produced domestically. It is extremely valuable and can save many lives.
If you could exchange 20 bottles of penicillin for 1 piece of ginseng, would you do it?
Of course I changed it.
Ginseng is used for health preservation, while penicillin is used for saving lives. We know clearly which is more important.
Then these 20,000 bottles of penicillin alone can be exchanged for 1,000 wild ginsengs. This transaction is a sure win.
In the following days, Lin Sanqi stayed in the guesthouse at Tianjin Port. After all the equipment was moved away, all the Chinese medicinal materials needed by Lin Sanqi were transported to the warehouse.
As soon as Lin Sanqi entered the warehouse, he quickly closed and locked the door.
Then a strong smell hit me in the face, which contained the unique medicinal scent of ginseng and the fishy smell of natural musk.
Lin Sanqi came from a family of traditional Chinese medicine practitioners in both generations, and he immediately realized that it was very easy for these precious medicinal materials to mix their flavors if they were randomly piled together, which would change the medicinal properties and was a taboo in traditional Chinese medicine.
Although the "space channel" can keep food fresh, it cannot guarantee that there will be no cross-flavoring, so it still needs to be sorted out in time.
So Lin Sanqi didn't care about being ecstatic about making a fortune again. He quickly took out some sealed plastic boxes, put all the musk in them, and sealed them for storage.
Next is natural bezoar. The taste of Nianhuang is not very strong. Instead, natural bezoar has a light fragrance and will not have any other smells.
April 1960.
The streets of the capital are still bustling with people.
But every passerby had a pale face, looked yellow and hungry, and even his steps were unsteady.
Many people leaned against the wall to catch their breath while walking; some people were like walking on cotton, with one foot deep and one foot shallow; and some people suddenly fell to the side of the road while walking, causing a burst of exclamations.
In the past, April should be a time of spring, but this year the willow branches along the Ring River are still bare.
Don’t ask why. The answer is that all the tender willow leaves were picked by the citizens to fill their stomachs.
There was no snow or rain throughout the winter, and the drought in the north became even more severe, especially in April, when there was a shortage of food, making food supply even more difficult.
Many people envy city dwellers, thinking that they can eat public grain and have rations.
But in difficult times, life in the city is actually more difficult.
Because people in rural areas or mountains can at least dig some wild vegetables and locust flowers in spring, and catch some fish, shrimps and loaches. If all else fails, they can even cut some elm bark to eat.
There are also some brave mountain people who secretly plant some crops in the deep mountains and forests, or go to hunt some wild game to satisfy their hunger. A living person cannot be suffocated to death by urine.
But apart from the food supply, the people in the city really have nothing.
Or you can go to the black market, but the problem is that you have to have something to trade in the black market. If you have nothing, money alone won’t work. How many kilograms of corn flour can you buy with your monthly salary?
Some people were hungry, their lives were hard, and they could barely walk.
Some people, however, are full of joy, humming little tunes, driving jeeps through the streets and alleys of the old city, looking like playboys. Who wouldn't hate them?
The people have seen it with their own eyes and remembered it in their hearts. In a few years, how can these people escape the reckoning?
For example, a Chinese medicine hospital employee named Lin...
Lin Sanqi was driving the jeep with one hand, feeling very happy. He had made tens of billions in one business deal, so how could he not be happy? He even drove in a very stylish manner.
He drifted into Dongsi Ertiao Hutong and knocked on the door of Fu Zuo's house. If you didn't know, you would think he was banging on the door.
The knocking must not be quiet. The Fu family's mansion was once the prince's residence, and there is no doorman now. If you knock too softly, the people in the main house will not be able to hear it.
"Old man, open the door, the community is here to send warmth~~~"
Mr. Fu was sweeping the dust in the yard. When he heard someone knocking on the door, he hurried out. He was happy to see that it was Lin Sanqi.
"Hey, Xiaoqi, why are you here?"
After Lin Sanqi drove the jeep into the garage, Mr. Fu quickly closed the door.
"I'm in town on a business trip today, so I brought you some food. Seeing how pale you look, I guess your family is running out of food again. I wonder how you and your family can eat so much?"
Lin Sanqi often sent food and meat to the Fu family. Combined with their original rations, they should have no worries about food and drink. How could they still look like they were starving?
Fu Zuo and Lin Sanqi are now close friends, regardless of age difference, and they no longer hide anything from each other:
"I have so many relatives at home. Today one comes to ask for money, tomorrow another comes to complain about being poor. I can't just shut myself up and take care of myself, not caring about other people's lives or even helping them, right? So, hehe."
Lin Sanqi thought, what kind of year is it now? Of course, everyone should take care of their own business. How dare they help their relatives?
If you dare to save a relative today, countless relatives will come to you tomorrow. Other families may not have many relatives, but the Aisin Gioro family may not have many other relatives, but they have a lot of relatives, such as this Beile and that Duke.
Lin Sanqi took the two bags of flour off the cart and complained:
"Old man, I can't help my relatives anymore. You're putting me in a difficult position. Should I watch you starve to death or not? If I don't watch you starve to death, then won't I have to fill your bottomless pit?"
When Fu Zuo heard this, his face turned red. Come to think of it, Lin Sanqi gave him food, but he gave it to others. This was quite unkind.
Isn't this a trap for Lin Sanqi?
"Haha, you just got here. I have an idea, but I wonder if it's convenient for you?"
Lin Sanqi took another piece of fat meat from the car and replied casually:
"What is it? Tell me."
"I've also thought about it. The food you gave me was a favor. If I keep asking for more, it would consume the favor we have. Over time, the favor would be gone, and we would go our separate ways. For me, it wouldn't be worth it.
So I'm thinking, if you really have a way to get food, can you sell it to my relatives and friends? They have to be self-reliant and can't always rely on an old man like me. What do you think of my idea?
Lin Sanqi's eyes suddenly lit up.
I thought that these royal relatives had a lot of valuable treasures, and it would be nice to get some antiques for myself to play with. Anyway, they would be burned in a few years.
The key is that this group of people has something that Lin Sanqi particularly needs now: gold.
Lin Sanqi wants gold, and a large amount of gold is a preparation for both situations.
One is that if he suddenly lost the golden finger of time travel, and there were still relatives and loved ones in this world, then leaving a few boxes of gold would also help them through the difficult times.
Secondly, if their family wants to flee to Hong Kong or overseas in a few years, gold is the best hard currency, whether for living needs or for setting up a factory.
Since we can't get gold from the government, isn't it okay to get some from private individuals?
Anyway, the antiques, calligraphy and paintings, gold and real estate in the hands of these Manchu remnants will definitely not be able to be kept in the end. It is better to save money for themselves than to save money for others.
"Old man, you know I'm not interested in money. I'm just a doctor in a hospital, why would I need so much money? Haha, but since you and I are close friends regardless of age, I must help you."
Mr. Fu high-fived him and said, "Well, little brother Lin is really generous."
Lin Sanqi waved his hand. "But are you sure your relatives are willing to exchange their treasures for food? What if they're here for money over their lives?"
This possibility is very high. The real playboy prince would have squandered his family's wealth during the Republic of China.
Since they were able to keep their family property until the founding of New China, it means that these people must have many schemes. It would be extremely difficult to get good things from them.
When Mr. Fu heard this, he smiled bitterly:
"If it were the past, these misers would really not want to exchange for food, but the times have changed. Xiaoqi, think about it. My family is supported by you, and we still have to worry about the next meal. Others don't have this blessing, and their lives are even worse. Only after experiencing hunger and hardship do they realize the value of food."
Lin Sanqi thought so too. The food crisis actually started in 1958.
In 1958, everyone thought the crisis would soon be over, but in 1959 the crisis worsened.
But people definitely don’t give up, thinking that as long as they can get through this year, everything will be fine next year.
My goodness, the food crisis of the 1960s was getting worse and worse. How could these former nobles, who had already been starving for two years, have ever experienced such hardship? Their psychological defenses had long since collapsed.
"Okay, old man, you arrange it. Anyone who wants to exchange for food should prepare their things. Let me make it clear first: I only want fine antiques; no common goods. Also, I need gold, and I can take any amount.
I don't understand antiques, and it's hard to quote a price for them unless they're rare. The price of gold is clear, and I won't overcharge them. I'll just exchange it for grain at the black market price in Beijing. What do you think?"
Mr. Fu thought for a moment, turned around and went back into the house, then took out two gold bars, one large and one small.
"Xiao Qi, here are a large yellow croaker and a small yellow croaker. Tell me first, how are you going to exchange them for food? I can also explain this to others."
Big yellow croaker refers to a gold bar weighing ten taels, while small yellow croaker refers to a gold bar weighing one tael.
According to the weight standard of the Republic of China, 1 jin is 16 liang, which is equal to 500 grams, so 1 liang is equivalent to 31.25 grams.
This means that the weight of the large yellow croaker gold bar is 312.5 grams, while the weight of the small yellow croaker gold bar is 31.25 grams. It was the favorite of the Guo Army and the Japanese Osaka Legion at that time.
Lin Sanqi thought, this old man has quite a lot of stuff in his house, how could he just take out two gold bars so easily?
"Old man, the current market price of a small yellow croaker is 240 yuan, and a large yellow croaker is 2,400 yuan. For rice or flour, we'll just use the black market price of 5 yuan per pound.
One small yellow croaker is equivalent to 50 jin of fine grain, and one large yellow croaker is 500 jin of fine grain. Don't worry, the rice is definitely this year's new grain, and the flour is pure white wheat. Also, if you want to exchange it for cooking oil or pork, you can do so at the black market price."
Anyone with a discerning eye could see that Lin Sanqi was extorting money. He collected gold from people at the fair market price, and sold grain to them at the black market price.
But the same thing goes, you can’t buy food even if you have money now.
If you go to the black market and expect to exchange a small yellow croaker for 50 kilograms of rice, the possibility of this happening is very small.
Gold is actually of little use in troubled times. Just like in the movies, when people are fleeing, they exchange a gold ring for two steamed buns. Who would pay you the market price?
Food can save lives, and gold is only valuable in prosperous times.
Lin Sanqi is not a saint. The gold in the hands of this group of old people was obtained by exploiting the working people. He felt at ease in killing him with this knife. It can be regarded as robbing the rich to help the poor in another sense, right?
Mr. Fu weighed the gold in his hand and sighed heavily:
"Back in the Republic of China, this small yellow croaker could be exchanged for 480 kilograms of rice. Back then, wealthy families kept gold in their homes, and even accepted only gold as gifts, believing that it would maintain its value even more. But, well, gold has become as cheap as cabbage."
Lin Sanqi laughed out loud:
"Thirty years in the east, thirty years in the west. This gold will always be valuable in the future, but the process may be ten, twenty, or thirty years. If you can hold on to it, you win. If not, you might as well cherish what you have now."
Old Man Fu also laughed: "Survival is the most important thing right now..."
(End of this chapter)
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