If there is any advantage in Shen Xiao, Qiao Changhai appreciates it the most.
It wasn’t his superior family conditions, nor was it his status as a battalion commander, but that his biological mother died early and his biological father and stepmother lived far away. After Qiao Baozhu got married, there was no conflict between her and her mother-in-law. This is a blessing that cannot be exchanged for any amount of money.
"Hey, Xiao Xiao, don't worry. Eat eggs. Your mom specially fried them for you."
Qiao Changhai realized that he had made a slip of the tongue and quickly changed the subject.
"Here's three hundred and sixty dollars. Take it with you when you go back."
Seeing the money his father-in-law put on the table, Shen Xiao couldn't help himself. When he came over, his mother-in-law specially fried a plate of eggs for him, and his father-in-law gave him so much money.
He is a son-in-law, not an exploitative landlord. How can he eat and take so much?
"Dad, I can't take this money. Both of us can earn money, and our salaries are not low. This is your retirement money, keep it for your own use."
Shen Xiao thought to himself that if he dared to take the money home, his wife would immediately cry in front of him. He didn't want to make his wife angry. An angry wife was harder to catch than a pig during the Chinese New Year.
Qiao Changhai had no idea that his daughter and son-in-law had had a quarrel last night, and he just thought that Shen Xiao was being filial to him.
I was so happy that I couldn't stop smiling. Even without drinking, I felt dizzy with joy.
"I know you two have high salaries, so there's no need for me and your mom to subsidize you. This money is the first money I earned from selling coal."
Shen Xiao was slightly stunned, a little bit unbelieving: "It's sold out so quickly? But I see there is still a lot of coal in the west room."
Qiao Changhai smiled and waved his hand, leaning forward, lowering his voice and saying mysteriously: "This is the price for four tons. The two tons in the yard will be taken away, and the rest will be kept in our house."
Shen Xiao looked at Qiao Changhai in disbelief. Four tons of coal were sold for more than three hundred yuan? !
The price of coal in the market is uniform, selling at 1.05 yuan per hundred kilograms, which is equivalent to 21 yuan per ton.
They took advantage of the centralized purchasing by the Logistics Department and bought 15 tons of coal at a unit price of 18 yuan per ton. Including the 20 yuan "invoice supplement fee" paid to the buyer, the total amount was only 290 yuan.
But in the hands of my father-in-law, a ton of coal was sold at a sky-high price of ninety yuan.
What kind of family would be willing to spend so much money on coal?
Qiao Changhai understood Shen Xiao’s confusion and explained with a smile in his eyes.
"This winter, the snow is heavy and the weather is much colder than in previous years. There is not much coal burning in the countryside, so firewood is everywhere. On the way home from work, I pick up some dry branches, and the bean and corn stalks left over from the autumn harvest, which can get me through the winter."
"But it's not possible in the city. There aren't that many branches for people to pick up! Those who don't have money can only go and pick up coal cores. If they can't pick any, they can only buy wooden boxes and buy coal to burn."
"The price of coal on the black market has reached 4.8 yuan. I would never have dared to think about it before."
Qiao Changhai saw with his own eyes his colleagues in the repair shop taking leave to grab coal, and knew that the price of coal on the black market was ridiculously high. Only then did he realize how powerful his daughter and son-in-law were.
However, Qiao Changhai was not just thinking about making money. He thought about his mentor, Master Liang, who must be short of coal at home.
He borrowed a bicycle and took advantage of the dark hours when there were few people around to load 100 kilograms of coal and deliver it to Master Liang's house.
Master Liang and his wife were happy and touched to see that Qiao Changhai had obtained so much coal. Thinking about this disabled apprentice with poor legs and feet, I wonder how many days he had to eat pickles in order to save so much coal.
He took out the money and asked Qiao Changhai to take it back, and even gave him half of the coal.
Seeing that Master Liang was so concerned about him, Qiao Changhai had no choice but to tell him the truth and said that his daughter had gotten several tons of coal for him to sell on the black market.
Before he had the chance to go to the black market, he sent it to his master first. The old couple was relieved and decided to order four tons of coal from Qiao Changhai right away.
The old couple lived with their two sons, and four tons of coal was not a lot for a large family. But because the price of coal is so outrageous, the family can only buy this much after pooling their money together.
"My own master buys coal, and the price is a little cheaper than on the black market. I only charge 4.5 yuan for a hundred pounds, so a ton is 90 yuan."
Qiao Changhai felt guilty about the price. In fact, if they sold it to the master for two dollars, they would make a profit and the master would also save some money.
But he couldn't do that, because human nature should never be underestimated.
The Liang family bought four tons of coal at a price half that of the black market. The news spread like wildfire to the Liang family's relatives and the wives' families within one night.
Those who have no money would use Master Liang’s name and beg him to sell to them at a low price. If he disagrees, he will be a sinner and may even be reported by someone who holds a grudge against him.
If he agrees to a low price, people with better conditions will take the opportunity to buy more, and then sell them on the black market and make a profit from the difference.
No matter what he does, Qiao Changhai will offend the big guys with backgrounds in the black market because of malicious competition.
The final consequence was the destruction of the family and the demise of the daughter and son-in-law's future.
Even considering the interests involved, Qiao Changhai insisted that the cost price of this batch of coal blocks was four dollars and fifty cents.
"I told them that my daughter and son-in-law used a lot of connections to get these ten tons of coal. They wanted to take advantage of the high coal prices and make a hundred or eighty yuan."
"My master has been very kind to me, so I definitely cannot make money from him. At most, the price of the remaining six tons will go up a few yuan, and I can make up for the difference."
Qiao Changhai looks honest and simple. He works diligently both in learning skills and at work. The Liang family believes in what he says.
Because in the eyes of the Liang family, Qiao Changhai is a poor and cowardly waste who only relies on Old Man Liang to become a temporary worker.
The lame man who had been a coward all his life suddenly dared to engage in business speculation. Even a fool could guess that Qiao Changhai was just running errands for his son-in-law.
Mr. Liang was grateful to Qiao Changhai for his timely help and promised to introduce rich people to buy the coal in Qiao Changhai's hands.
The old man is a well-known technical expert in the city. During the Anti-Japanese War, he was an underground radio operator. Not only do you have to be able to send messages, you also have to be able to repair various radio communication equipment.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Mr. Liang, who had half of his leg blown off, stayed in the Huaguang Repair Shop as a senior maintenance worker.
People of that era all had broad minds. Especially those who have experienced life and death several times, have no pursuit of fame, wealth and power, and just want to live a simple and stable life.
On the surface, Mr. Liang is an ordinary and stubborn old man, but in fact, he has life-and-death friendships with many important people.
The old man never told his family about his glorious past. One time, the old man got drunk and pulled Qiao Changhai aside to talk about the past all night.
Qiao Changhai had always wondered why Mr. Liang would always be drunk whenever he went to the leader’s house to repair something. After a long time, it turned out that his master was not going to repair the radio, but to reminisce with old comrades.
From then on, Qiao Changhai held on to his master's thighs and refused to let go. He is a useless man and is incapable of supporting his daughter. He needs to find a noble person to help his daughter at the critical moment.
Soon, this noble man appeared...
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