Pingchuan, the provincial capital of Jiangbei.
In his previous life, Li Dong had lived in this city for twelve years. Four years in university and eight years in the workforce.
Almost half of his thirty years of life had been spent in this city. Pingchuan was his second home.
Dongping County was about two hundred kilometers away from Pingchuan. It would take about three hours to get there by car.
Li Dong caught the morning bus and once again set foot on this familiar land at around nine o 'clock.
Feeling the remaining change in his pocket, Li Dong secretly rejoiced. Fortunately, the fare hadn't increased yet. It was just enough for him to go back and forth. Otherwise, he wouldn't even have the money to take a bus.
He threw a coin and got on the bus to the nearest market. Li Dong's gaze swept across the familiar yet strange scenery outside the window.
…
No matter where he went, the market was always noisy. The mixture of smells made people frown.
Li Dong was already used to this scene. When he was young, his parents were busy. Most of the time, they would bring Li Dong to the market for him to play alone. Sometimes, he would stay there for an entire day.
Following the crowd, Li Dong quickly found the aquatic area. The South Gate Market was much larger than the one in Dongping County. There were also more vendors.
The aquatic area was also different from the stalls in Dongping County. The aquatic area here was a storefront. It was much cleaner than the messy and dirty small markets.
Li Dong glanced around. The red lobsters were easy to see. There were many vendors selling them.
Although it wasn't the season for lobsters to be officially launched, the people of Pingchuan were enthusiastic about lobsters.
With a sigh of relief in his heart, Li Dong wandered around and stopped at a slightly larger store.
"Boss, how much are the lobsters?"
The busy shopkeeper didn't even raise his head. He shouted, "The small ones are 8 RMB, the big ones are 10 RMB."
Li Dong squatted down to take a look. They were all red lobsters. Not to mention the small ones, the big ones were almost two kilograms.
After estimating for a moment, Li Dong relaxed. The market price wasn't low. Compared to his own profit ratio, the purchase price was about five or six RMB per catty.
He didn't say anything else. Li Dong waited until the bearded shopkeeper finished his work before he stood up to talk.
"Boss, it's only April. Are lobsters selling well?"
"It's alright. The weather is hot this year, so there are quite a lot of people eating here. It's mainly the food stalls and barbecue stalls that want it. You can buy some when you go back and have a taste. It tastes pretty good. "
Li Dong took out a pack of Yuxi cigarettes from his pocket. This was bought by his father during the Chinese New Year as a decoration. Li Dong couldn't bear to smoke it, so he took it with him when he left in the morning.
He handed a cigarette to the boss. The bearded boss wiped his hands, took the cigarette, and lit it. He smiled and said, "Little brother, you look unfamiliar. Do you own a shop?"
Li Dong took a puff of his cigarette and shook his head. "My family has a few hundred acres of land in the southern suburbs. There are quite a lot of lobsters this year, so I'm thinking of ways to sell them. The price offered by the traffickers was a little low, so I came out to take a look myself. "
"Oh!"
The boss nodded in understanding. This kind of thing was very common.
The fishmongers who came to buy the fish were desperately trying to lower the price. Some of the fish farmers were unwilling to give up and went out to find their own way.
There were many lakes in the southern suburbs of Pingchuan, and many of them were privately owned. Most of the aquatic products in Pingchuan came from there.
"Little brother, have you taken a fancy to my place?"
The bearded man smiled ferociously and said, "Don't be fooled by my high price. In fact, I can't sell much in a day. Besides, it's cheaper to sell to those restaurants. If little brother has the goods, it won't be a problem for me to eat some here … "
Those who could succeed in business were all shrewd people. Before Li Dong even said anything, the other party understood what he meant and began to lower the price.
"Don't, Boss Chen is too humble. I just took a look. I'm afraid you've sold no less than a hundred catties."
"Little brother, you know me?"
The bearded man was a little surprised that Li Dong had called out his surname. As for how much he had sold, Li Dong had seen it just now. There was no need to deny it.
Li Dong smiled and pointed to the shop's signboard. The boss's surname and phone number were written on it.
The bearded man smiled and turned around to signal his wife to receive the customer. He pulled Li Dong to the side and said, "To be honest, I haven't seen the goods yet, so I don't know how they are. Besides, I'm buying from people I know. Not only is it convenient, it's also cheap. If I don't have enough goods, there's no point in saying all this. Business is about long-term, isn't it? "
Li Dong nodded. No matter what kind of business it was, it was about long-term convenience. Li Dong's family was in this business, so he naturally understood.
However, making money was the truth. As long as he was slightly cheaper than the wholesalers, these people would definitely be begging him.
"Boss Chen, let's not be polite. This time, I'm just here to ask around. Name a price. If it's acceptable, I'll give you ten thousand catties a day. "
"Hehe, you must be joking. I can't eat that much. One thousand catties a day. Three small pieces, five large pieces. "
Li Dong turned around and left. What profit could he make by lowering the price of one thousand catties of lobsters? He might as well go to a food stall to sell.
"Don't be in such a hurry, little brother. Name a price?"
The bearded man quickly pulled Li Dong back. This was a small business negotiation, not a negotiation with a big company. Face and rules were not as important as money.
"Mix and match. Six RMB per catty. Most of the large ones." Li Dong had seen the lobster market in Dong Ping in the morning. There were only green and red shells.
"Six RMB! That's too expensive. Even when I get the goods from others, it's not so expensive! "The bearded man exclaimed. He couldn't accept it.
As for the mix and match, he didn't have a problem with it. In fact, all the goods he bought were mixed and matched. It was just that when it came to the market, the merchants would divide it among themselves.
"You're asking for too little. If it's too cheap, it's not worth it for me to send the goods over. It's better to just give it to the fishmonger."
Li Dong shrugged. He had no choice. Anyway, he wasn't the only one in the market. Even if he couldn't do it here, there were many other markets in Pingchuan. He didn't have to worry about the negotiation failing.
The bearded man hesitated for a moment and said, "How about this. If I can eat more, how much cheaper can you get?"
"How much?"
"Ten thousand catties a day!"
Li Dong frowned. That much was too much for the bearded man's shop to handle. He didn't want to stop selling in a few days. Not only would it be troublesome, but it would also be a waste of his time.
The bearded man saw through Li Dong's suspicion. He smiled and said in a low voice, "I won't hide it from you. The other lobsters in Nanping's market are all from my family. If I can't do it alone, then five or six of them will be enough."
Li Dong rolled his eyes. Another family monopoly.
This kind of thing was very common. His dad was one. The other seafood sellers in the market were all brothers or cousins.
These guys ganged up to suppress others. They would often rather not earn money than run others.
Only when they made others unable to continue doing business would they raise the price together. When there were no outsiders, they would have the final say in the price increase.
At the beginning, his family's stall was almost forced to close down. Fortunately, his parents were very resilient. They gritted their teeth and continued to do it. Finally, they had a foothold.
However, Li Dong was not in the mood to fight for the injustice of others. This was society. If you didn't have the ability, you had to work honestly. If you wanted to do business, you had to be prepared to lose money.
"That's fine. If you sell ten thousand catties a day, I'll give you a discount of fifty cents a catty …"
"Don't. I won't let you suffer a loss. Five dollars a catty. Cash payment. As long as it's not dead, I won't be picky!"
Glancing at the bearded man, Li Dong estimated that this was about the bearded man's bottom line.
After comparing in his heart, the bearded man should get about six or seven dollars from the wholesaler. However, he had to take less risk because he bought less.
Now, the risk of selling ten thousand catties a day was huge. If the price was higher, he would not be willing.
After hesitating for a moment, he nodded and said, "That's fine. I'll send you the first batch of goods the day after tomorrow. Take a look at the quality. If it's acceptable, we'll continue. If it's not, we'll have to accept the first business. What do you think?"
This time, it was the bearded man's turn to hesitate. Ten thousand catties was not a small amount. That was fifty thousand dollars. In 2004, fifty thousand dollars could buy a small house in the suburbs of Pingchuan.
He gritted his teeth and said, "Then let's write a note. The dead can't exceed five hundred catties. The ones less than one and a half catties can't exceed half!"
Li Dong heaved a sigh of relief. Although he knew that the written note did not have any legal effect, it was something that small businesses liked.
Thinking about it, he nodded and said, "That's fine. However, Boss Chen, it's not enough to just write a note. If you really don't want it when I deliver it, I can't do anything about it. I'm not familiar with this place. If I can't sell the lobsters, who will I go to? Why don't you make a payment first … "
Seeing the bearded man's hesitation, Li Dong hurriedly said, "I'll also leave my ID with you. This way, both you and I can rest assured. Is that okay?"
"That's fine. How about five hundred?"
Li Dong rolled his eyes. "This is fifty thousand dollars worth of goods. Boss Chen, five hundred isn't even enough for my transportation and gas. It's even more than the labor."
"Haha, I'm being stingy. Then I'll give you three thousand first. I'll deduct it from the payment later." The bearded man laughed. He was obviously in a good mood.
He did not think that Li Dong would cheat him of three thousand dollars and run away. A businessman still had some standards in judging people.
Moreover, the conditions for a family monopoly in the provincial capital's market were not bad. Even if he was cheated of three thousand dollars, it would not be a big deal.
With Li Dong's ID, he did not believe that he could not get it back. When the time came, he would make this kid suffer.
The two of them quickly finished writing the note. Li Dong also received three thousand dollars in advance. He was even happier.
He left his ID with the bearded man and agreed to deliver the goods the day after tomorrow. As for the address on the ID, the two of them did not care. Not everyone who worked in the provincial capital was from Pingchuan.
…
When he left the market, Li Dong's stomach was rumbling with hunger and he was sweating profusely.
Li Dong randomly found a stall and ate something. Only then did he feel better. He remembered that the goods would be delivered the day after tomorrow. He had to find someone to get the lobsters first. He still had work to do.
He wanted to contact Old Wang, but it was a pity that he did not have a cell phone. Nowadays, cell phones were still a luxury for ordinary people. It would be troublesome without a cell phone.
After thinking about it, Li Dong stood up and walked to a place that sold second-hand goods. Cell phones were replaced quickly. It was not worthwhile to buy a new one now.
Moreover, he had an urgent need for three thousand dollars, so he could not waste it.
It was fine as long as he could make a call for second-hand goods. If he wanted a better one, he could wait until he earned some money.
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