Seeing Liu Gang trotting towards him, Li Xu said doubtfully:
"Uncle Liu, what's the matter that you're calling me so urgently?"
"Well, I just received a notice that I have to help the plastic products factory transport a batch of goods to the city railway station tomorrow. You will escort the truck."
Li Xu was even more confused: "Plastic products factory? Why would we help a plastic products factory transport goods?"
Liu Gang explained, "There's nothing we can do. We only have a few vehicles in our county. Usually, any unit that urgently needs a vehicle to transport goods will ask for help. This time, we happened to have time, so they came to our leader for help, and the leader just approved it."
"Huh? Why doesn't their factory have a fleet of cars?"
Liu Gang was speechless and said, "Do you think it's that easy to get a fleet of cars? Not to mention that cars are so scarce right now, even if we could get them to buy one, how many units could come up with so much money?"
Li Xu also understood and chuckled, "Uncle Liu, is there any benefit in going?"
Liu Gang laughed and scolded, "You little bastard, stop talking nonsense. What good is that?"
Seeing Li Xu looking at him with disbelief, Liu Gang continued, "We usually get a 60-cent subsidy a day for short-distance running, but this time they gave us one yuan."
"That's it?"
"That's it."
Li Xu, who got the answer, said: "Okay then! I thought there would be some other benefits."
Liu Gang was also at a loss for words. He pulled Li Xu aside and whispered, "What are you thinking about? Actually, we're not helping them for nothing. At the end of each year, each factory will send us some unplanned or defective items. We don't need tickets, we just need to pay for them."
And if we meet someone who wants to take a ride on the road, we can take them with us, and everything we earn is ours. We can also take some local things that don't require a ticket, which is all hidden income."
Now, the materials exchanged between factories are basically based on unplanned production. They are all in short supply anyway, so there will always be people who want them no matter what they are.
Especially for items with defects, there is actually no big problem. For example, the clothes worn by Li Xu's family in summer are made of defective linen produced by Li Jiakang's factory.
They are said to be defects, but in fact they are just not dyed properly, but the quality is intact. However, such products still cannot be sold to customers, so some of them will be exchanged for supplies or rewarded to factory workers.
Li Jiakang and his two companions also received many rewards. The summer clothes of their family were basically made of this linen, which was comfortable and breathable. The cloth coupons saved were enough for them to wear good clothes in winter.
Li Xu was also a little excited when he thought of this, and asked again: "Uncle Liu, is there anything in the city that doesn't require a ticket?"
Liu Gang coughed twice in a pretentious manner, without saying anything, just looking at Li Xu with a smile on his face.
Li Xu understood immediately, took out a Daqianmen cigarette from his pocket and handed it to Liu Gang. After seeing Liu Gang put the cigarette in his mouth, he took out a match and helped him light it.
Almost everyone in the car team is a heavy smoker, otherwise no one can stand driving on the road all day without smoking to keep themselves alert.
Li Xu is not addicted to smoking, but he will smoke one if he feels bored. The main reason he carries cigarettes in his pocket is to build a good relationship with Liu Gang.
After taking a few puffs, Liu Gang whispered to Li Xu, "Think of any local specialties in the city?"
Li Xu was puzzled at this time. "We basically have all the local specialties that don't require tickets in the city. What other specialties could there be?"
Li Xu guessed several things, but Liu Gang shook his head. Finally, he said directly, "It can't be tea, right?"
You should know that during this period, tea was also purchased and sold by the state, and the price of tea in the market was also very high. Only people over the age of 16 could afford one or two taels of tea per season.
Some people may not know how expensive tea is nowadays.
To put it simply, the cheapest tea now is 6 yuan per pound...
You also need a ticket to purchase it.
Even Li Xu's family had to smoke tea with great care when drinking it. Li Jiakang had to count the amount carefully every time he made tea, for fear of accidentally putting too much.
Otherwise, why do so many people drink "Gao Mo" now? Isn't it because they can't afford tea?
But who would have thought that after hearing this, Liu Gang actually looked at Li Xu with a half-smile.
Li Xu seemed to understand what he meant and asked in disbelief, "It's not really tea, is it?"
Liu Gang also asked in return, "Why can't it be tea?"
Li Xu didn't answer, but instead replied, "I can't even afford tea."
Well, Liu Gang can afford it with his salary.
Liu Gang chuckled and said, "Don't tell me you can't afford legitimate tea. Even if I could, I wouldn't be able to drink it."
"So what should we buy, Gao Mo?"
"What are you thinking? Can I take you to buy Gaomo? You know, this city is a famous tea-growing and production area. Just like everything else, some tea leaves don't meet the quality standards. In fact, it's because the tea leaves have been damaged or their appearance has been damaged during the production or growth process. These tea leaves cannot be sold on the market, but they will be sold secretly by the tea factories."
Li Xu understood immediately. This kind of tea was just a defective product. It was just that the tea leaves were not complete, and there was no other problem. "So, what's the price of this tea?"
"It depends. Generally, the lowest quality ones on the market cost two yuan per kilogram, and the better ones are relatively more expensive."
“It’s still a bit expensive.”
Liu Gang glanced at him and said, "What are you thinking? Even if it's more expensive, it's still much cheaper than the market price. And most importantly, you don't need a ticket."
Li Xu thought about it and laughed, "That's right, I was greedy. By the way, Uncle Liu, do I need to bring a lunch box tomorrow?"
"Take it with you. That's all. It's getting late and I have to go back." After saying that, he said goodbye to Li Xu and left.
Li Xu walked to the gate, chatted with Uncle Xu for a few words, and then went home.
On the way back, Li Xu was still thinking about tea. He thought that it was really hard to swallow plain water every day. If possible, he would buy more this time and strive to achieve tea freedom.
With that, Li Xu returned home. After dinner, he played with Li Ju for a while before going back to the house to rest.
Early in the morning, Li Xu was still a little excited when he went to work after breakfast.
After all, it was the first time to transport by truck.
The most important thing is that I have never left the county in such a long time.
After arriving at the motorcade, Li Xu greeted Liu Gang and went to the logistics department together to get guns and bullets.
After everyone arrived, several cars in the motorcade set off together.
After driving for only a few minutes, the convoy entered a factory.
Li Xu saw the words "Plastic Products Factory" written on the factory door.
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