Zhao Xiangdong smiled and said softly:
"Old Liu, your team can take a ride if they want."
Captain Liu's eyes became more alert, the sudden change must be a trap.
He started by asking, "What conditions or requirements do you have? Tell me."
Zhao Xiangdong smiled brightly and looked at Captain Li next to him.
"Old Li, you can also listen."
Captain Li was thinking the same thing and moved closer. "Okay, I want to listen too."
Zhao Xiangdong looked at the two of them and began to speak:
"You can take the bus, but our brigade will charge a fee. This is also our brigade's revenue. The fare is 0.15 cents per ride. When the time comes, you will not only take us to our brigade, but also be taken to your brigade office. If your brigade wants to borrow a tractor to work, the price is negotiable. When the time comes, we will give you a clear price list to ensure that it is worth the money and neither side will lose money."
Looking at the two people's solemn expressions, Zhao Xiangdong continued:
"Or the second option is that your team will pay work points, welfare benefits, and food to thank Comrade Gu for his hard work, and then pay for the tractor's oil, maintenance, and other things. In this way, you don't have to pay. Which one do you choose?"
The two looked at each other.
They really want to say that they don’t want to choose any of them and just want to get it for free.
But there is no need to think too much about it. Their teams are close to each other, and there will definitely be times in the future when they will need tractors, whether for riding or working.
The two men weighed the options in their minds and felt that only the first option of paying money was the best way. Choosing the second option would be a complete hassle, and it would also pass all the expenses on to the brigade, and their brigade didn't have the money to afford it.
"Okay, our team will choose the first option. I will tell all the team members when I get back."
Captain Liu had some objections to the price and said:
"But, Lao Zhao, isn't the 1.5 cents fare inappropriate? Our team has a shorter distance to travel, but Lao Li and his team have a longer distance to travel than your team. It's not fair to our team to pay us 1.5 cents!"
Old Li, who was farther away, heard this and glared at Captain Liu next to him.
The look in his eyes said: Brother, aren’t we on the same side? Why backstab?
Captain Liu avoided the gaze. If he didn't fight for his team now, when would he fight? The interests of the members were no longer one-sided.
He turned sideways a little, turned his back to Captain Li and continued:
"And Lao Zhao, isn't 1.5 cents a bit expensive? We members don't have that much money to take the bus. We only make a few dollars a year. Please give us a discount. We are all from the same village, we are one family."
"The price is negotiable, but since you are just a team, I don't plan to start this team-side business."
Zhao Xiangdong looked at Captain Li.
"What do you think, Lao Li?"
"No, there's money to be made." Captain Liu was anxious and touched Captain Li's hand with his elbow. "Old Li, tell me what you think."
Hey, now they know to listen to him. That temporary group that just betrayed them, forget it, he is a good person, so don’t bother about it.
Yang Mumu saw Captain Li clear his throat, sit up straight, glance at the two captains, and there seemed to be a little pride on his face.
"Our team is willing to join us and choose the first option, but we need to discuss the price of the ride, it's a bit expensive."
Captain Liu was relieved, a faint smile appeared on his face, and he agreed to join.
Zhao Xiangdong also smiled and clapped his hands: "Okay, since both of your teams are willing, then our team will do this sideline business. Let's discuss the price now and give you two teams a preferential price."
"How much discount?"
Captain Liu asked anxiously, and Captain Li next to him said the same thing. The two of them stared at Zhao Xiangdong without blinking.
Although I didn't get the tractor back to the brigade, it was a good thing to bring back good news. It didn't mean I returned empty-handed, and I had an explanation.
Yang Mumu's mouth curled up, and it was obvious that the two captains were moved. Already following the captain's lead.
Zhao Xiangdong pretended to think, then looked at Captain Liu and said after two seconds:
"Lao Liu, your team is close to town, so let's do this. I'll pay 10 cents for a round trip, which is equivalent to going from 10 cents per trip to 5 cents per trip. Isn't that a good deal?"
"That's great. Okay, okay." Captain Liu nodded with a smile.
Zhao Xiangdong added:
"But, you also know that this car consumes a lot of gas, so this price can only be achieved if you take our tractor both the way there and back. You have to pay 1.5 cents on the way there, and you can just ride it on the way back. But if you only take a one-way trip, you have to pay 1 cent each time. Even if we give you a discount, our team's gas fee is not enough."
Captain Liu thought about it and could accept it. After all, riding a tractor was really fast, and he could also take things to the supply and marketing cooperative to sell.
"That's fine, this is the price for the ride."
"What about our team? What do they say?" Captain Li asked impatiently.
Zhao Xiangdong looked at him and said, "Your team is relatively far away, much farther, so your team charges 1.9 cents for a round trip and 1.4 cents for a one-way trip. The discount is the same as above."
Mu Mu said that the last digit 9 is very good. If you say 20 cents, it will seem very expensive, but if you say 1.9 cents, it will give people a feeling of discount.
He verified it and looked at Captain Li.
"What do you think?"
Captain Li thought about it for a moment, made up his mind and nodded: "Okay, I agree."
It is just as Mu Mu said, haha, this method is really useful.
"Okay, the price of the ride is settled. You can go back and talk to the members. If you want to borrow a tractor to plow the land or anything else, the price is negotiable. I will go back and discuss a price with the team."
Zhao Xiangdong stretched out his hands in front of the two captains.
"Come on, high five. It's happily decided."
The two captains also showed a slight smile on their tense faces and stretched out their hands to high-five him.
The matter was settled, and Captain Liu relaxed. He glanced at Gu Xingzhou, then looked at Yang Mumu and said with a smile:
"Comrade, your captain's twists and turns were your idea, right? Today's style is not like your captain's. Great, comrade."
Yang Mumu didn't admit it, nor did she deny it. She just politely replied, "Captain Liu, you are joking. Our captain is very capable."
He knew that Lao Zhao couldn't think of these things.
He looked at Zhao Xiangdong again, shook his head and sighed:
"I have to say, the young guys in your team are amazing. One is your military advisor, and the other is your team's technical staff. How come they are in your team?"
"Yeah, why isn't one assigned to our team? It would be great if the young guys in our team could have half of them." Captain Li was envious.
After hearing what the two said, Zhao Xiangdong started to show off again.
"Haha, who made us lucky? They are the educated youth from our brigade and were assigned to our brigade. You can't be envious of them. Who told you that you are unlucky?"
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