PNB Chapter 219 Shanghai Merchants Visit
Chapter 219 Shanghai Merchants Visit
Younger generations will surely find it unbelievable that wooden cabinets weren't bought back then. The answer is simple: social constraints meant they weren't available for sale. Even if they were, they would be expensive, and ordinary families wouldn't buy them. Those skilled in carpentry would typically make them themselves, while those who weren't would hire someone to do it.
Li Ju'an paid the first installment to Foreman Chen, agreed on the construction blueprints, and said that construction would begin at the end of the month. Then he left.
As soon as he stepped outside, he saw a man and a woman walking out of the guesthouse.
The man appeared to be around forty, dressed smartly and exuding the air of a successful businessman. The woman beside him was of above-average looks, but possessed a captivating charm. Despite the cold winter weather, she wore a thick down coat, looking quite fashionable. Even the heavy coat couldn't conceal her feminine allure. Judging from their conversation, the woman was the man's secretary.
Li Ju'an glanced at him; he really was a secretary in that field. Tsk, this man is what you call a successful person.
Upon seeing that he was a local, the man immediately asked if he sold farm-style vegetables, specifically tomatoes, and preferably a basket of eggs as well. The woman wanted to eat scrambled eggs with tomatoes.
Upon hearing this, Li Ju'an was immediately furious. Where did this big boss come from, coming all the way to Xing'anling in the dead of winter to buy tomatoes? All winter long, he ate mostly sauerkraut and cabbage. Let alone tomatoes, even cucumbers were incredibly expensive at the city markets.
"Tomatoes, 8 yuan a pound, is that acceptable?"
The man wasn't picky at all; he borrowed a very old hook scale from the guesthouse and was going to ask Li Ju'an to buy it from his house.
Li Ju'an, wearing mittens and with his hands in his pockets, was almost laughing in exasperation. Tomatoes cost 5 yuan a pound in the county town, but he raised the price to 8 yuan, and some idiots actually bought them. He then thought to himself, why can't I shake this habit of buying and selling for profit? I always think about becoming a middleman.
At this moment, Sun Weimin arrived at the guesthouse.
When Sun Weimin saw that Li Ju'an was already standing there and talking to the man, he exclaimed, "I was wondering why my right eyelid was twitching before I left home. Turns out I ran into Li the Cannon."
Li Ju'an, quick to speak, said, "I heard from Lu Zhiqiang that you took a 10-yuan job and went to Xiaolingtun to hunt wild boars. What happened? Did a big wild boar pick your balls and you ran back with your crotch between your legs?"
Sun Weimin's face changed, and he pointed at him and started cursing: "Bullshit! I knew it, nothing good ever comes of running into you. Lu Zhiqiang already told me that you also borrowed money from that Xiaolingtun loan. So, the people there offered you 50 yuan, but you only offered me 10 yuan?"
Li Ju'an grinned inwardly. So this was why Sun Weimin's face had fallen today. The two of them had both taken jobs in Xiaoling Village, but the prices differed by 40 yuan—that's how he was behaving.
"Li Ju'an, where are you going?"
Sun Weimin was unhappy, but he knew Li Ju'an had connections and could even get information from the big boss from Shanghai. This man was a businessman from Shanghai who had come to the Xing'an Mountains with Lu's father's friend. However, Lu's father's friend had brought White Rabbit milk candy specifically to visit his old comrade-in-arms. He practically lived at Lu's house, ate there, and reminisced with Lu's father about their past before his discharge from the army.
But Mr. Wang came all the way from Shanghai to see if there was any business to be done, and he even brought along a gentle and considerate female secretary.
Li Ju'an pulled Sun Weimin aside and whispered, "Whether you want to do business or not, I'll pay you 3 yuan for one of your dishes."
What dish?
"Tomato scrambled eggs."
Upon hearing this, Sun Weimin grinned from ear to ear. His family frequently traveled to the county town, and since it was the New Year, Sun Quande actually asked someone to go to the city to buy fresh cucumbers, tomatoes, and some other vegetables that were unavailable in winter, just to show off to his relatives.
Three yuan for a plate of scrambled eggs with tomatoes—that'd all go into his pocket. Sun Weimin grinned from ear to ear, waving his hand generously and shouting, "Alright, it's just a dish, come to my house to eat." He rubbed his hands slyly and told Li Ju'an to bring the money over first.
"Three yuan, not a penny less."
"Look at your attitude, here you go."
Li Ju'an took out three yuan from his pocket and gave it to Sun Weimin. Sun Weimin was then overjoyed and said, "The transaction is complete. Just you wait and see, don't regret it later if you feel you've been cheated."
Boss Wang was very satisfied, as was the beautiful female secretary, and they went to the Sun family with Li Ju'an.
Throughout the meal, Sun Weimin's eyes never left his beautiful female secretary.
He called to his aunt that a friend had come to visit him. His aunt started cooking and prepared a variety of delicious dishes, including scrambled eggs with tomatoes and smashed cucumber with minced garlic. Mr. Wang's eyes lit up when he saw them.
He hadn't eaten or stayed well on his journey north. He had hoped to buy things cheaply before the New Year, but he was delayed on the road and only arrived right after the New Year. As a result, everyone in the village was busy having their New Year's Eve dinner and no one paid any attention to him. Even his friends who came with him stayed at Lu's house and caught up with their comrades.
The tomato and egg stir-fry he ate in Shanghai was sweet. Li Ju'an had specifically requested that it be sweet. This made Boss Wang extremely excited. He slapped the table and praised Li Ju'an profusely, then gave him a large sum of money, 2 yuan more than the agreed-upon 8 yuan, saying, "Boss Li, thank you for your hospitality. I'll be eating here every day for the next few days. Please arrange it for me."
Sun Weimin stared at the ten yuan on the table, his eyes practically popping out of their sockets, and shouted, "Li Ju'an, you bastard, you cheated me!"
He took three yuan from Li Ju'an, but Boss Wang gave Li Ju'an ten yuan instead.
Damn! He did make money, but seeing Li Ju'an make even more money was more painful than him losing money.
"Li Ju'an, this was brought by the Great Unity."
Sun Weimin's short temper flared up instantly. His aunt turned around and, in a fit of anger, grabbed a large ladle and chased after him, yelling, "You still say you're a friend from the South? I'll tell your mother if I don't! You've fooled us all! You owe me my eggs!"
Sun Weimin screamed and ran away, covering his head. If his mother, who was playing mahjong, heard him, he'd be beaten by both his parents. Those three yuan were a real loss.
……
Li Ju'an invited Boss Wang and his female secretary to come to his house for a visit.
Both men were full and couldn't eat anything else, so they started chatting with Li Ju'an. Li Ju'an learned from him that Boss Wang was a businessman in Shanghai.
Boss Wang looked very superior and generous, spending 4 yuan to buy a jumping cat from Li Ju'an, saying he would have braised rabbit at his house that night.
A juvenile catfish only costs 40 cents a pound at the market. This juvenile catfish weighed about 6 pounds, but after skinning and deboning, it weighed less than 4 pounds, and the whole thing cost 1.6 yuan. Li Ju'an was overjoyed to be able to sell it for 4 yuan.
This is the information gap between the North and the South.
Song Lanhua, the mother, stewed rabbit meat. Li Ju'an instructed her to add white sugar to make it sweet, and to add more dark soy sauce. The mother asked in surprise, "Why add sugar? Isn't it too sweet?"
"Mom, just sprinkle some, no need to put in so much. The boss likes it sweet."
The people of Xinganling Village are always very hospitable. As the host, they will wholeheartedly treat their guests.
The pretty secretary glanced around the house with some disdain and told Mr. Wang to go back to the guesthouse. Mr. Wang patted the secretary, signaling her to calm down; in this godforsaken corner, it was already difficult enough to find hot food to his liking.
Li Ju'an took in the superiority complex of the two men and found it amusing. These days, businessmen are so great, huh? "Businessmen of color," he thought. In this era, businessmen, whether white or red, have to keep a low profile.