Zheng Zhong and Zheng Xi lived in Peach Blossom Village and were cousins from the same clan.
Zheng Xi's family was originally very wealthy, but because he was the only son, his parents spoiled him excessively.
As he grew older, he began to develop spoiled habits and associated with a group of like-minded scoundrels.
He spent his days in cockfighting, dog racing, eating, drinking, and merrymaking, and later became addicted to gambling.
His parents tried to reason with him, but he never changed his ways.
In order to calm Zheng Xi down, they arranged a wife for him.
Who would have thought that he would lose so much money gambling that he would pawn his wife to get away with it.
His parents were so angry when they found out about this that they died of grief.
From then on, Zheng Xi completely let himself go, squandering his family fortune and becoming a notorious rogue in Peach Blossom Village.
He idles away his days, doing nothing.
He eats at one house here, mooches at another, steals chickens and dogs, and never does anything good.
As long as I have a little money, I'm guaranteed to gamble, and I won't leave until I've lost everything...
Ever since Zheng Zhong took several thousand kilograms of sugar beets north, he has become a wealthy household in Peach Blossom Village. Zheng Xi is extremely envious and goes to Zheng Zhong every few days to beg him to help him get rich.
Zheng Zhong didn't want to get involved, but the kid pleaded with him and swore to mend his ways.
Reluctantly, out of consideration for our kinship, I allowed him to invest in the company before the Lunar New Year last year.
Not long after, Zheng Zhong wanted to test whether Zheng Xi had truly repented, so he gave him his share of the money.
He repeatedly warned him not to gamble again, and that if he did, he would sever all ties with him.
Zheng Xi swore oaths repeatedly, but when asked to invest in the purchase of sugar beets after the New Year, he lost all his money again.
Zheng Zhong saw that he was a hopeless case and stopped associating with him.
Later, Zheng Xi approached him several more times, but he politely declined each time. Who knew that this kid was quite cunning and actually followed his fleet to sneak over.
Well, as long as he can turn over a new leaf, it's a good thing...
Zheng Zhong snapped out of his thoughts and said calmly, "Zheng Xi, everyone has their own skills in business. How could I possibly cause you trouble? However, out of consideration for being from the same village and clan, I advise you to do business honestly and not to try to take shortcuts that will harm both yourself and others."
Zheng Xi didn't appreciate it at all, and glanced at Zheng Zhong with utter contempt, "What are you trying to do with your good intentions? Who do you think you are, trying to meddle in my business!"
Seeing that he was stubborn, Zheng Zhong ignored him and looked at Chen Qingqing with a smile, "I'm sorry, Miss Chen, I'm really sorry to have made you laugh."
Chen Qingqing shook her head. "Uncle Zheng, you're being too polite. We've been working together for so long, I trust your character."
"Thank you for your trust, Miss Chen."
"If anyone should be thanking you, it should be me thanking you. You don't care about profits and put integrity first. It's rare to find a businessman like you who can uphold his principles, and I'm so lucky to have met you."
After exchanging a few polite words, Chen Qingqing got straight to the point.
“Uncle Zheng, we’ve been working together for so long, I certainly won’t let you do a losing business. If you buy them, the transportation costs will increase, and the price of beets will definitely rise accordingly. If that happens, you must communicate with me in time to set a reasonable price so that we can both benefit.”
"Okay, okay, I won't do a losing business."
Zheng Zhong agreed and gestured for Chen Qingqing to speak privately. He then briefly recounted Zheng Xi's situation to her.
Chen Qingqing knew that Zheng Xi was unlikely to achieve anything great, so she ignored him.
She told Zheng Zhong about Tangfang's plan to expand, and they finalized an agreement to increase the beet order to 20,000 jin starting next month.
Zheng Zhong smiled and nodded in agreement.
With everything settled, Da Bao also drove over in his oxcart, which was loaded with a cartload of beets...
Liang, sitting in the corner, frowned and said with a sullen face, "No way! They buy the raw materials for three coins, why should we have to spend four coins? That's just stupid!"
“Yes, wife, I also feel a bit cheated by this money, but if we don’t buy the raw materials, how are we going to make sugar? And how am I going to explain this to Manager Li?” Liang Fugui was so eager to make a fortune that he didn’t care about the extra penny.
Madam Liang was more astute; she narrowed her eyes.
“Fugui, you can’t act rashly. This isn’t just a little bit; it’s more than ten taels of silver short. Listen to me, go talk to that skinny monkey and stick to the price of three copper coins a pound. In this hot weather, if we don’t sell, the fruit will rot in a few days. Let’s see who’s in a hurry.”
"Will this work? What if someone actually buys it? We'll have worked for nothing."
"You seem to have lost your mind. Don't forget, no one outside of Nanshan Village knows how to make sugar. As long as you do as I say, these sweet vegetables will definitely be ours."
After Liang finished speaking, she raised an eyebrow, her face full of calculation.
“If we buy this 10,000 catties of beets, we can save one copper coin per catty, which is ten taels of silver. Just tell Manager Li that we bought them for four copper coins, and the ten taels of silver we saved will go into our pockets.”
"Yes, yes, wife, you're so smart. We'll do as you say." Liang Fugui nodded repeatedly.
After discussing it, the two came over.
Zheng Xi quickly asked, "So, have you two decided whether you want the beets or not?"
Liang Fugui shook his head. "Brother, I'll give you three coins a pound. If you can sell it, we'll talk. If you can't, we won't force you."
"That's right. To be honest, this is the first time we've ever made sugar from beets. We don't have much experience, and we really wouldn't dare buy it if it were too expensive."
No sooner had Mrs. Liang finished speaking than Liang Fugui quickly added,
"That's right, the girl and I are from the same village. She bought it for three coins a pound, and we paid four coins. If the villagers knew, they would laugh at us for being country bumpkins!"
Zheng Xi had never been a merchant before; the four-copper coin he asked for was just a price they offered because they were eager to get him to pay.
They intended to take advantage of the situation, but unexpectedly, the two changed their minds after discussing it.
Three copper coins a pound is quite a lot, considering that the beets he buys are all the substandard goods that Zheng Zhong rejected.
He only spent two taels of silver on these ten thousand catties. Even with the food, drink and other expenses along the way, he could still save more than twenty taels of silver if he sold them for thirty taels.
With this money, he could pay off the high-interest loans and still have a lot left over. He could come back next month and repeat the cycle until he became rich.
Suppressing his joy, fearing the business might fall through, he quickly nodded in agreement, "Okay, three coins it is. We can cooperate long-term."
Liang Fugui thought he would have to spend a lot of time persuading her, but he didn't expect that they could reach an agreement in just a few words. It seems that his wife is indeed shrewd.
"Alright, in that case, hurry up and find someone to unload the boat, and then transport the beets to Nanshan Village."
“Sure, no problem.” Zheng Xi put on a generous air. Anyone could follow suit; just do as Zheng Zhong does…
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