hotmtlnovel Chapter 162 The bold get rich, the timid starve.
Chapter 162 The bold get rich, the timid starve.
Qin Rushan flung open the curtain and strode out with a dark expression. He exuded a murderous aura of unfulfilled desire, which made Yang Dong shrink back, nearly dropping the wrench he was holding.
"Brother Qin, I didn't mean to cause trouble."
Yang Dong wiped the sweat from his brow and lowered his voice, "A young woman came up ahead, specifically asking for Captain Xu. She said she has a big deal to do, tens of thousands of kilograms of goods, and needs someone in charge. I noticed Captain Xu isn't here, and besides you, no one else can handle this."
"Tens of thousands of kilograms?" Qin Rushan raised an eyebrow.
These days, individual businesses are just emerging, and most of them are small-scale operations, selling three or five pounds of eggs by carrying a basket or trading a hundred or so pounds of vegetables by pulling a cart.
They're asking for tens of thousands of kilograms right off the bat. That's quite a business. If they do it right, the team's fuel costs and bonuses for the month will be covered.
"Have someone wait in the office. I'll be right there." Qin Rushan waved his hand.
Yang Dong felt as if he had been granted a pardon and ran back to the motorcade compound in a flash.
Qin Rushan turned around and looked at Li Xianglian, who had just come out of the kitchen.
Li Xianglian was straightening her crumpled polyester shirt, her face still flushed, when she glared at him: "Still looking? Get back to business! Since they've come to us for business, don't waste time. Business comes first."
"Business is important, but this 'personal matter' is not yet finished."
Qin Rushan took a long stride, leaned forward, and kissed Li Xianglian heavily on the forehead. His voice was hoarse as he said, "Stay home and wait for me. If this deal goes through, I'll have to ask for a good reward when I get back tonight."
"Pah! You're so improper." Li Xianglian's pretty face turned even redder, and she pushed his back to lead him out. "Hurry up and go, don't keep them waiting."
Qin Rushan laughed heartily, opened the courtyard gate, and went out.
Inside the county transportation team office.
Li Xiaotao was standing by the window, looking at the several imposing Liberation trucks in the yard.
This was the hardest currency in the 80s. To drive one of these, you not only had to be rich, but you also had to have connections in both the legitimate and underworld circles.
Hearing the sound of leather shoes on the cement floor, Li Xiaotao turned around abruptly.
The man who entered was as tall as a small mountain, wearing a loose white shirt with the collar open, revealing his bronze skin.
Those eyes were as sharp as an eagle's, and the oppressive aura emanating from them made Li Xiaotao's heart skip a beat.
Is this Qin Rushan?
Just as rumored, he's a tough nut to crack, a real troublemaker.
"You want to do business with Xu Yuecheng?"
Qin Rushan sat imposingly in the rattan chair behind his desk, not even inviting Li Xiaotao to sit down. He casually pulled out a box of Daqianmen cigarettes from his pocket, struck a match, and lit it.
Li Xiaotao didn't stand on ceremony. She pulled up a wooden stool and sat down, getting straight to the point: "Captain Xu isn't here, so it's the same if I ask you. I have tens of thousands of kilograms of watermelons ready to be shipped out of the village. Do you think the transport team would dare to take this job?"
Qin Rushan exhaled a smoke ring, his eyes scrutinizing the excessively young woman before him with amusement.
This young woman looked to be only in her early twenties. She was beautiful, but had a fiery spirit between her brows.
In this area, there aren't many women who dare to look him directly in the eye.
This woman is something else.
"We'd be willing to take the job, but it depends on whether you can afford the price."
Qin Rushan tapped the table with his finger, "Tens of thousands of kilograms, that would require at least three Jiefang trucks. The fuel costs and labor involved in each trip, plus loading and unloading, it's no small sum. Do you have a license? Where do you get your goods? If you're just speculating, I won't give my truck any room for dirty stuff."
Li Xiaotao pulled a certificate stamped with a large red official seal from her pocket.
"This is a certificate issued by the village committee to assist farmers in marketing their produce. I am Li Xiaotao from Lijia Village. The melons grown in our village are grown cleanly and honestly in socialist soil. We want to revitalize the economy so that our fellow villagers can have meat to eat. This is called responding to policy, not speculation."
Qin Rushan held the piece of paper stamped with the bright red official seal of the village committee, rubbing his thumb twice on the rough surface.
"Helping farmers with their sales and marketing?" Qin Rushan's lips curled into a half-smile, his eyes sharp as knives, as if he wanted to see through Li Xiaotao's skin.
That woman has some nerve.
"Young lady, you're quite the expert at making a big deal out of nothing. This thing might impress people in the village, but to me, it's just toilet paper."
Amidst the swirling smoke, he lightly flicked the paper back onto the table.
"Tens of thousands of kilograms of goods, requiring three large Jiefang trucks, plus the cost of drivers and fuel. If we lose money, should I pawn you here to pay off the debt, or should I tear down the temple in your Li Family Village?"
Full of oppression.
An ordinary rural woman would probably be so intimidated by Qin Rushan's aura that her legs would go weak and she would be unable to speak properly.
Li Xiaotao didn't even blink.
She reached out and pressed the paper down, but instead of pulling it back, she tapped it lightly twice on the table.
"Captain Qin, let's speak frankly."
Li Xiaotao leaned forward slightly, her gaze intense. "This piece of paper is worthless, but the information behind it is valuable."
Do you know what the price of melons is right here in the fields?
Qin Rushan exhaled a smoke ring, didn't respond, and waited for her to continue.
"That middleman named Zhan Laosan offered the villagers three cents a pound."
Li Xiaotao held up three fingers and shook them. "This is it? And you still have this condescending attitude. Take it or leave it."
"Do you know how much these melons can sell for now in the town, the county, or even further afield in Huaicheng or the provincial capital?"
Before Qin Rushan could answer, Li Xiaotao revealed her trump card: "It sells for ten cents retail in town, and six cents wholesale in the county. If you take it to a big city like the provincial capital, where it's unbearably hot in the summer and state-owned factories and mines provide high-temperature benefits, this pound of melons can easily sell for at least twelve cents, or even fifteen cents!"
Qin Rushan's eyes narrowed slightly, and the fingers holding the cigarette paused in mid-air.
He drives long distances, so he's naturally sensitive to prices in different places.
But he usually deals in tobacco, alcohol, sugar, tea, or in-demand industrial products. He had never calculated the meager profits from these agricultural products before.
Now that Li Xiaotao has exposed it, this problem is swirling in his mind like wildfire.
Buy it for three cents, sell it for fifteen cents.
That's quite a big price difference.
"As for how much profit is involved, Captain Qin, you probably have a better grasp of it than I do," Li Xiaotao said, seeing the change in his expression and knowing that the fish had taken the bait. Her tone became even more certain.
"But Zhan Laosan wanted to keep all the money for himself. He took advantage of the fact that the villagers had no cars and no connections, so they could only sell the gold nuggets like rotten cabbages."
Li Xiaotao suddenly stood up, placed her hands on the edge of the desk, and stared directly at Qin Rushan: "Captain Qin, your transport team has vehicles and men, but what you lack is cargo and an excuse. Now I'm delivering cargo to your doorstep, and I'm also delivering the road—that is, this agricultural assistance certificate—to your doorstep. Do you dare to take this deal?"
Qin Rushan stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray and sat up straighter.
"How do I connect it?"
Qin Rushan wasn't blinded by this seemingly irresistible offer. "You want me to haul the goods for you? How's the freight? What if these tens of thousands of pounds of melons rot on the way, or can't be sold when they arrive? Who's going to cover the losses?"
"Shipping costs not included."
Li Xiaotao made a surprising statement: "Let's not talk about shipping costs, let's talk about revenue sharing."