Ma Yunfei asked in confusion, "Something's not right here. Since that woman went into the room with the crew cut, she must be involved in that kind of business. Why would she be shouting for help? That's strange."
The young widow chuckled and explained in a low voice, "Last night, I went to Xiaowangzhuang and hired a prostitute. I gave her fifty yuan and told her to call for help."
Ma Yunfei finally understood.
"Sister Meng, you...you want to help me eliminate my competitors."
“What else can we do? If the guy with the buzz cut goes head-to-head with you, and you raise your prices, he raises his too. If you keep fighting like this, won’t you both end up losing? I don’t want to see my little brother fall into a fire pit.”
"Sister Meng, you are truly resourceful."
Ma Yunfei never dreamed that the young widow would have this trick up her sleeve.
"Hehe... Little brother, now you can rest easy."
"Thank you, Sister Meng."
After thinking about it for a while, Ma Yunfei went to the town government.
He went directly to the mayor's office.
Gu Le was looking at documents when he saw Ma Yunfei arrive. He asked, "Little Ma, why did you come so early in the morning? Did something happen?"
“Godfather, I heard that a merchant who buys yams was arrested last night. I’d like you to talk to the police station and ask them to release him if he sells the yams he bought to the sales station for 40 cents a pound.”
Gu Le asked in surprise, "Xiao Ma, is someone competing with you for the yam business?"
"Yes, I sell yams for 40 cents a pound, and my profit margin is already very thin. But he actually bought yams for 45 cents a pound in cash, stealing all my business. It's a pity, he bullied a woman last night and got into trouble."
Gu Le pondered for a moment and said, "This guy is actually trying to steal your business, he deserves to suffer."
“Godfather, I think if he’s willing to sell me the yams he’s acquired, we should let him off the hook. As the saying goes, ‘Mountains don’t move, but water does; water doesn’t move, but roads do.’ We’re in business, and we might do business together in the future.”
When Ma Yunfei heard that this man with the crew cut was a businessman from City B, he thought to himself: We can't always do business with people from City A; we also need to broaden our channels and open up sales avenues in City B.
"Alright, Xiao Ma, since you've forgiven him, what else can I say?"
Gu Le immediately called the police station and said, "Make the guy we arrested at the Dongfeng Hotel last night sell all the yams to the sales station at 40 cents a pound. If he agrees to this, we'll release him."
Ma Yunfei bid farewell to his godfather and returned to the yam sales station.
Just after lunch, I saw the man with the crew cut arrive at the yam sales station with more than a dozen small carts.
The man with the crew cut asked, "Do you still buy yams here?"
Ma Yunfei replied, "We are just a reseller here. We buy at four cents a pound. For now, we can only give you an IOU. We will settle the payment after the yams are sold."
Xiaopingtou sold all 30,000 jin of yams he had acquired to Ma Yunfei.
Ma Yunfei pretended to be confused and asked, "Which village are you from?"
The man with the crew cut sighed and replied, "Brother, don't even mention it. I'm a businessman from B City. I came here to visit relatives and saw that your yam distribution station was buying yams at 40 cents a pound. I thought it was profitable, so I started buying them at 45 cents a pound. Alas! I can only blame myself for being too fickle. Last night I slept with a woman, but unexpectedly, she suddenly screamed for help and accused me of forcing her. You tell me, isn't this like having a toothache even when drinking cold water? Never mind, consider it my bad luck."
Ma Yunfei continued to feign ignorance, saying, "Brother, you buy yams at 45 cents a pound, but sell them to me at 40 cents a pound. Aren't you losing out?"
“I have no choice. The police said I was engaging in unfair competition and told me to sell the yams I bought to you for 40 cents a pound. Otherwise, they would hand over my case and say I would be sentenced. Tell me, am I wronged?”
"Brother, how about this, since you bought it at 45 cents a pound, I'll buy it from you at 45 cents a pound too."
"No! That won't do. The police told me that I have to sell it to you for 40 cents a pound. I don't want any more trouble."
"Brother, I can only give you an IOU. You can come back for the money in a few days after I sell my yams."
The man with the crew cut took out a pen, wrote down a bank card number and his own name, and said, "Brother, once you've sold the yams, transfer the money to my bank card. I... I dare not come to Qinglong Town again."
It turns out this guy with the buzz cut is named Du Fei.
"Brother, are you also in the agricultural products business in B City?"
"Yes, I'm a wholesaler. I've been in business for ten years, and I never expected to fail so miserably."
"Brother, what's the retail price of yams in City B?"
Du Fei lowered his voice and said, "The price a couple of days ago was 1.2 yuan. If I were to buy it here for 0.4 yuan a pound, wouldn't I make a fortune? It's a pity I'm not destined for that."
"Brother, I have to pay storage fees, transportation fees, and wages for so many people, so I don't earn much."
Du Fei looked at Ma Yunfei and asked, "Are you the accountant for this sales station?"
“I’m just a worker. I get sixty yuan a month, plus a small commission.”
Du Fei shook his head and said regretfully, "Brother, it's a pity this is a government business. If it were a private business, it would be incredibly lucrative."
Ma Yunfei asked, "Brother, how about I transport this batch of yams to City B and sell them all to you?"
“Sure, I’ll buy them at 1.2 yuan each, as many as you bring in. Brother, I think you’re a pretty good guy. To tell you the truth, the yam business is booming this year. I heard that some people are shipping yams overseas and selling them for even higher prices.”
"Brother, it's settled then. I'll be shipping this batch of yams to City B in a couple of days. You can't stand me up, can you?"
"Brother, I'm a man who makes repeat customers, and I keep my word."
Du Fei took out a business card from his pocket and respectfully handed it to Ma Yunfei.
Ma Yunfei was overjoyed. He hadn't expected that the purchase price of yams in City B would be two cents higher than in City A. Don't underestimate those two cents; they represent a huge profit.
"Brother, let me treat you to dinner."
At noon, Ma Yunfei invited Du Fei to lunch at Baixing Restaurant.
The young widow greeted Du Fei with a smile: "Handsome, why are your eyes so dark? Didn't you sleep well last night?"
“Boss lady, it’s all my fault for being so obedient and not listening to what you said. Yesterday, you told me that there was a crackdown on prostitution in town, but I didn’t take it to heart. Last night, a prostitute came in, and before I even got into bed with her, she suddenly screamed for help. The police arrested me, and I didn’t sleep a wink all night.”
"Handsome, as the saying goes, if you stand by the river long enough, you're bound to get your shoes wet. If a man is too lustful, he'll eventually fall into trouble. You should just settle down and live a good life with your wife."
Du Fei said dejectedly, "Boss lady, you're right. This is what they call honest advice being hard to hear and good medicine being bitter. It seems I'll have to change this bad habit from now on."
Ma Yunfei ordered six dishes and a bottle of baijiu (Chinese liquor). He and Du Fei drank and chatted, and the two became good friends.
That afternoon, Du Fei left Qinglong Town.
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