Although Lu Yuan had already made up his mind, he didn't immediately agree. Instead, he asked, "What kind of fabric can the factory offer in exchange?"
Zhong Weiming took out several samples from the room.
"The main fabrics are gabardine, corduroy, and cotton. The cotton fabrics include two types: combed cotton and fine cotton."
Lu Yuan nodded; these were the most common types available on the market.
"Director Zhong, I'd like to ask if you only want to exchange for fruit, or if other things are fine too, such as dried rabbit."
Don't be fooled by the fact that fruit is hard to get; it's much cheaper than meat. A thousand or two thousand yuan worth of fruit can't buy much fabric.
The Zhong brothers exchanged a glance, both of them pleasantly surprised.
"Do you have dried rabbit?" Zhong Weiming asked.
"I can try to make it, it just depends on how much you need."
"Our factory has a total of 1,893 workers. Even if we only need 1,900, can we really get that many?" Zhong Jianping asked uncertainly.
"You can give it a try."
The Zhong brothers were overjoyed; this meant there was no problem. Zhong Weiming immediately said, "Then let's round it up and get 2000, is that alright?"
"Sure, would you like some more fruit? Like the tangerines I brought today."
"Yes, yes, yes!" Zhong Jianping exclaimed excitedly.
If he can get meat and oranges for the factory, his position as deputy director will be secure.
"But I have to make it clear beforehand that these oranges are of the best quality. You can try them. With shipping, the price will be 40 cents. If you can accept that, I'll try to get some for you."
Zhong Weiming immediately took out oranges and gave one to everyone. After tasting them, they exclaimed that they were absolutely delicious.
"Wow, there are such delicious oranges!" Grandma Zhong squinted her eyes.
The Zhong brothers were full of praise and immediately placed an order for 4,000 jin (2,000 catties).
"Okay, but I have one condition: the procurement channels must be kept confidential. If anyone asks, it can't implicate me. Our local supply is already insufficient; it wouldn't be fair to give it back to you."
"Don't worry about that. We won't tell anyone about our supply channels. We're worried that if others find out, they'll snatch our resources."
"Alright, I'll give you the supplies in half a month. Prepare the fabrics. I want all three types of fabrics you mentioned, but please provide a smaller amount of corduroy."
And just like that, the two reached an agreement in the time it takes to eat a meal. Sanbao listened the whole time and was very happy to see that his father had agreed to exchange fabrics. He was sitting on his father's lap and bouncing around, clapping his little hands enthusiastically.
On the way back, Wen Muxue said, "Have you noticed that Sanbao has changed a lot since he entered the space? He used to be so gloomy, but now he's become lively."
"Really? Aren't all kids like that?"
After saying that, he felt that Sanbao did seem more active than before, and added, "I guess he spent the night in the space with the little tiger king and the wolf cubs, which also aroused his animalistic nature."
Sanbao's little body stiffened: You're the one with beastly instincts!
Wen Moxue glared at her husband, "How can you talk about your own son like that?"
Lu Yuan chuckled and didn't argue.
The couple didn't go straight home to their apartment building. Instead, they decided to go buy furniture since they were out. They drove to the department store, only to find that they didn't have furniture vouchers. They could buy furniture with industrial coupons, and they had some, but Lu Yuan didn't want to use industrial coupons to buy furniture.
"Let's go back first and ask our parents if they have any."
As the family of three was about to leave, they heard a woman suddenly shout, "They're hitting someone! Oh, they're killing someone!"
"Hey, Yuan-ge, something's going on! Let's go see what's happening!"
Wen Moxue pulled Lu Yuan and ran towards the bustling center, but they were a step too late. By the time they arrived, the area was already crowded with people. It was the weekend, and there were quite a few people shopping at the department store. Soon, the area became completely packed.
Judging from the whispers around me, I roughly knew that this was a fabric counter, and it seemed that an old lady had come to buy fabric and had been hit by the salesperson for some reason.
However, in those days, it was common for sales clerks to beat customers. Many supply and marketing cooperatives and department stores, besides displaying signs saying "Serve the People," also had a prominent sign that read: "No one shall beat customers without cause!"
At that moment, the old woman screamed so pitifully that it sounded like she was about to kill someone.
"Was it a serious fight? Was anyone injured?" Wen Muxue asked the person next to her.
"I don't know, but judging from the sound, the injury is probably quite serious," a woman nearby replied.
Lu Yuan found it amusing; the little girl had probably asked the wrong person. If they couldn't see what was happening inside, then naturally the people around her couldn't see it either.
"Wife, how about I hold you while you watch?" Lu Yuan said.
Wen Moxue refused; with so many people around, she felt embarrassed. Besides, in this day and age, hugging and lifting someone up in public would attract gossip and might even be seen as indecent.
But the next second they heard a familiar voice, "Hey, you old woman, when did I hit you? I told you not to touch the fabric, but your hands were dirty and you wouldn't listen. Look what you've done to the fabric now. I just slapped your dirty hands to tell you to take them away, and you started rolling on the ground yelling that you were hit. What are you doing, trying to extort money from me?"
The couple exchanged a glance, and that voice...
"It looks like my sister-in-law. Quick, Yuan, lift me up and see if it's her."
Lu Yuan handed the three babies to her and easily lifted them up.
With their head-higher eye level, they could easily see what was happening in the center of the commotion. However, this also made them stand out. Qu Wenjing, who was arguing fiercely with the old woman, looked up and was immediately dumbfounded.
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