Dongqing can now buy goods on credit from the factory, but in two years he may have to pay cash to pick them up and buy cars. Even if they want to do it, they need the courage and capital. This alone is enough to deter many people.
It was the early 1980s, after all. Doing business required courage and intelligence. Dongqing was someone who had come from a previous life, and he understood the development situation very well.
After 1986, things started to go wrong. People gradually became more aware of the situation, and some business-minded individuals had money in their pockets. They dared to borrow money to start their own businesses. In their view, the business could be sustained for two years without much trouble, and it wouldn't collapse all at once, but the profits would gradually decline.
After all, it's not like setting up a fruit stand where anyone can start a business; this kind of business transition takes time.
Everything has a saturation point. Each household uses only so much of the daily necessities, and once saturation occurs, business will naturally slow down. At that point, not only will goods be difficult to sell, but prices won't be high either. Scarcity drives up prices; anything in excess becomes worthless. It's not that simply having more money in the future will guarantee a good price.
Dong Qing's business is exploiting loopholes. Once the market is saturated, any product will become unsellable and unprofitable. Scarce goods will always be valuable, regardless of the era. Doing business is all about finding opportunities; if you can't find good opportunities, you won't make money even if you work yourself to death.
The business world is like a battlefield. There is an old saying that goes, "An incompetent general can cause the death of a thousand soldiers."
The same applies to doing business. If you have no business acumen and only courage, you will work yourself to death and still not make money. You might even lose money. Losing money in business is nothing new. Sometimes, even if you have competitors, you may not share the same profits. It mainly depends on your intelligence. If you have a good mind, you will make money. Often, making the right decision is the most important thing.
Li Yuzhu said, "I understand all of this. Will we pay cash for the next order?"
Dong Qing reached out and flicked his finger on his wife's nose, laughing, "My silly wife, isn't giving cash next time obviously a blatant attempt to cover up the truth? It's obvious that you can earn at least ten thousand yuan per trip. What does ten thousand yuan mean these days? It symbolizes the birth of a ten-thousand-yuan household."
In our village, there are hardly any households with ten thousand yuan, let alone those with a thousand. Ten thousand yuan could buy two tractors like ours. Within a month, others followed suit. Not only did they stop paying cash on the next trip, but we were also never allowed to pay cash before switching to this new line of work. We had to pay for everything upfront, and then pay for the entire truckload when we got back. If anyone asked, we could only say we weren't making any money, that it was better than working for someone else, otherwise someone would take our jobs.
Business people are selfish. To be honest, unless you don't want to do the business anymore, even if others don't think of it, wouldn't they follow suit?
Li Yuzhu was surprised by her husband's words. Sometimes she couldn't believe that the husband she was sharing a bed with now was the same husband who used to be a good-for-nothing. After their son was born, he seemed to have become a different person, and she almost didn't recognize him anymore.
Li Yuzhu said, "I really can't believe that the man sleeping next to me at night is my former husband who was a good-for-nothing gambler."
Looking at his wife's dazed expression, Dong Qing said, "Don't worry, I'm still the husband you used to have a family to take care of. People change, and I can't live like this forever. Let's go out for a meal and then come back and get some sleep!"
The couple went out for lunch, and when they returned to their room, Dongqing took off his clothes and went to bed.
To allow her husband to get a good night's sleep, Li Yuzhu took off her clothes and slept on another bed, avoiding sleeping with him and disturbing his sleep.
Li Yuzhu slept until evening. When she woke up, she saw that her husband was still fast asleep. She didn't want to disturb him. He was too tired from driving all night and just wanted him to sleep a little longer.
But things weren't as wonderful as he'd imagined. Not long after she woke up, she heard a knock at the door. Li Yuzhu asked, "Is something wrong?"
A woman outside the door asked, "When are you leaving? We're about to get off work?"
Li Yuzhu said, "Let's go right away."
After Li Yuzhu finished speaking, she looked at her husband, Dong Qing, who had been awakened by their conversation.
Dong Qing got out of bed and dressed, while Li Yuzhu put on her own clothes.
The couple picked up their purses and left the guest room, closing the door behind them.
The couple walked to the front of the storefront. Dongqing went inside and left the key with the clerk, who then opened the door.
The couple got into the car with the money, and Dongqing inserted the car key into the lock, started the tractor, and drove out of the local products company gate.
We drove directly to the county oil depot, filled up the tank, had dinner at a restaurant, and then set off on our return journey.
Later that night, Li Yuzhu woke up from her sleeper berth in the back. She sat up and said, "Honey, the roads are quieter later in the night, let me drive?"
Dong Qing said, "Okay."
Dong Qing turned the steering wheel and pulled over to the side of the road. He stood up and let his wife sit down to drive, while he lay down on the sleeper berth to rest. Li Yuzhu started the tractor and continued driving.
Lying on the back berth, watching his wife drive away, he thought of his wife from his past life.
After they got married in their previous life, one night Dongqing returned home from gambling outside, took off his clothes, got into bed, and lay down next to his wife.
With tears in her eyes, Li Yuzhu said, "Dongqing, if you keep gambling like this, our family will be ruined by you sooner or later. Stop gambling and find some work, okay? I just want to live a peaceful life with you."
Dongqing asked, "What kind of work can I find? I'm not doing anything that will earn me two yuan a day even if I work myself to the bone!"
Li Yuzhu sat up and cried, "Are you going to stay with us or not? If not, you should have told me sooner. After the divorce, what you do gambling is none of my business."
They had only been married for four months. It was summer, and in that sweltering heat, Dongqing really didn't want to do any work. He said, "Don't threaten me with divorce, okay? Tell me, what kind of work do you want to do?"
"Do you think I want to bring up divorce? Can't you live without gambling?" Li Yuzhu wiped away her tears and continued, "I really don't want to argue with you. Many people in our village work at the brick factory. One person can earn more than ten yuan a day by making bricks. Can we try it for a few days? You really can't go on like this."
The brick factory has fast kilns; bricks are fired in the front and unloaded in the back. The temperature inside is so high it could kill a person. Dongqing said after hearing this, "In this sweltering heat, you want me to crawl into the kiln to unload bricks? Are you trying to kill me with the heat? No way!"
Li Yuzhu cried and said, "Fine, how could I have met a man like you in my life? People don't die from the heat while others are working on bricklaying, and you just stay home gambling. I'll work tomorrow to support you, okay? Just wait to stay home and live off your wife?"
After Li Yuzhu finished speaking, she got up and went to sleep in the outer room. This was the first time they had slept in separate beds since their marriage, and Dong Qing didn't stop her. "Do whatever you want."
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