Chapter 64

At around seven in the morning, Zhao Bingnan and Li Yifeng came to the hotel to find Xiao Yuanhang. Xiao Yuanhang had already washed his face, while Wang Dahai, though awake, was still lying in bed, hugging the quilt, unwilling to get up. Seeing that they had come to look for him, he had no choice but to get up, dress, and wash his face. He had drunk too much the night before, but fortunately, he hadn't vomited; otherwise, Xiao Yuanhang wouldn't have been able to sleep at all.

The four of them went to a small restaurant for breakfast. At the table, Li Yifeng said, "Brother Xiao, didn't you say that two 1-ton containers could hold 3,000 pounds of pine nuts? I thought about it after we got back. If we use a mix of burlap and woven bags instead of just burlap, we can save space effectively and should be able to fit 4,000 pounds. That way, you can earn more by carrying more!"

This was the power of money! Xiao Yuanhang couldn't help but marvel at it. With money, they would think of ways to help you! Xiao Yuanhang had just imagined that 3,000 pounds could fit, but Li Yifeng was an expert in this field. If he said that a mix of burlap and woven bags could hold 4,000 pounds, it must be true!

Xiao Yuanhang smiled and said, "Thank you, Brother Li, for thinking of me. Of course, I'll load more if I can. As you said, the more I load, the more I earn."

Li Yifeng smiled and said, "Brother Xiao, don't be so formal. I benefit so much from this, so of course, I'll think of you. You need to earn money to come back and transport more goods, and I'll earn more too, right?"

"Very well said!" Li Yifeng's words were sincere, and Xiao Yuanhang couldn't help but give him a thumbs up!

Li Yifeng said, "I'm on duty today. After I accompany you to see the pine nuts, I'll have to go back. If the goods are ready, I'll find a truck to deliver the two containers to you. After you load them and seal the containers, bring them back to the freight yard. I'll say I've already inspected them. Since the containers aren't weighed, the freight is charged per container, so no one will notice. After completing the transport procedures, I'll have them load the truck directly."

Xiao Yuanhang was very pleased to see how thoughtful Li Yifeng was, but he couldn't help but worry that cars were scarce, and it would be even harder to find one in the small town of Linquan. He said, "Brother Li, is it easy to find a car? If not, I can pay to hire one."

Li Yifeng said, "It's easy. You don't need to spend money. There are many trucks from various companies that come to our freight yard to deliver and pick up goods. I just need to ask them to make a trip, and it's a simple matter to use their trucks!"

After finishing breakfast, the four of them headed to the mountain goods market at the east end of town, where they were supposed to meet Li Bin the next day. Passing by a general store, Xiao Yuanhang went in to inquire and found that they indeed had Liangyou cigarettes. He bought two cartons, opened one, and took out four packs, giving one to Zhao Bingnan, Li Yifeng, and Wang Dahai each, keeping one for himself, and putting the rest in his backpack.

When they arrived at the mountain goods market, it was nothing like what Xiao Yuanhang had imagined—a large, organized market. It was just a street market with stalls on both sides, without any rain shelters. If it rained, the market would have to disperse. Fortunately, the weather was nice today.

There were many vendors selling pine nuts, but they were scattered and in small quantities. The larger stalls had one or two burlap bags, and the smaller ones had half a woven bag, which looked to be about 30 to 40 pounds. Xiao Yuanhang couldn't help but worry; at this rate, how long would it take to collect 4,000 pounds?

Li Bin hadn't arrived yet. The four of them wandered around, asking about prices. The quality of the pine nuts here was good—pure red pine nuts from Changbai Mountain, large and full, with few empty shells. After asking several vendors, most were selling at around 3.3 to 3.4 yuan per pound. Wang Dahai had already told him that in Guhe, good red pine nuts had risen to 5.5 to 5.6 yuan per pound and were still rising. Even at this price, they would make a good profit on this trip!

At that moment, Li Bin, dressed in a business administration uniform, hurried over from one end of the market. The vendors greeted him with smiles. He greeted them while looking around, and when he saw Xiao Yuanhang and the others, he quickly walked over.

Xiao Yuanhang was negotiating with a vendor at a stall. The vendor had about 200 pounds of pine nuts and was asking 3.4 yuan per pound. Xiao Yuanhang asked how much it would cost to buy all of them, and the vendor said he couldn't lower the price much, at most 10 cents per pound.

Li Bin walked over and asked, "Old Wang, how much are your pine nuts per pound?"

Old Wang, seeing it was Li Bin, quickly smiled and said, "It's you, Mr. Li. If you want them, I'll give them to you for free."

Li Bin, impatient, said, "Don't give me that. This is my friend. How much are you selling them for?"

Old Wang, seeing that Xiao Yuanhang was Li Bin's friend, hesitated for a while before saying, "Since you're Mr. Li's friend, I'll give you 3.2 yuan per pound."

Li Bin got angry and said, "Nonsense! You want 3.2 yuan for these lousy pine nuts? Keep them yourself!" He threw the handful of pine nuts he had been examining back into the bag and pulled Xiao Yuanhang, saying, "Brother Xiao, let's go. I'll find you a cheaper one."

As Xiao Yuanhang followed Li Bin, he took out a Liangyou cigarette and offered it to him, lighting it for him. Then, he took out the whole carton from his backpack and handed it to Li Bin, saying, "Brother Li, take this carton of cigarettes!"

Li Bin, seeing that Xiao Yuanhang was offering a whole carton, quickly blocked him with his hand and said, "Brother Xiao, you're making me feel awkward. Brother Zhao's friend is my friend. Helping a friend is no big deal."

Zhao Bingnan, standing nearby, said, "Li Bin, take it. Don't be so formal."

Li Bin, hearing Zhao Bingnan's words, reluctantly took the cigarettes and said, "Since Brother Zhao said so, I'll take them. Brother Xiao, I won't be named Li if I don't get you the cheapest pine nuts today!"

Xiao Yuanhang said, "Brother Li, the quality of the pine nuts in the market is good, but the quantity is too small, making it very troublesome to collect."

Li Bin asked, "How much do you need this time?"

Xiao Yuanhang said, "At least 4,000 pounds!"

"Ah!" Li Bin was also surprised. He hadn't expected Xiao Yuanhang to need so much. At 4,000 pounds, it would cost at least 10,000 yuan. No wonder Xiao Yuanhang had offered a whole carton of Liangyou. This young man was really wealthy!

Li Bin thought for a moment and said, "Since you need so much, the market won't work. Let's go to Zhang Dashan's place. He owns the mountain, and most of the pine nuts in the market come from him."

Li Yifeng, hearing that Li Bin was taking Xiao Yuanhang to Zhang Dashan's place, looked at his watch and said, "Brother Xiao, I need to go back to work. If you buy the pine nuts, send someone to the freight yard to let me know."

"Sure, go ahead and work," Xiao Yuanhang said. Seeing that Li Yifeng didn't want to say more, he understood that he didn't want Li Bin to know, so he didn't press the issue.

Xiao Yuanhang and Li Bin walked for about 20 minutes and arrived at a small village at the foot of the mountain. Li Bin led them to a house at the west end of the village with a large courtyard. When they pushed open the gate, they saw a pile of pine cones on one side and a plastic sheet on the other, covered with a thick layer of already shelled pine nuts!

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PS: I had to work overtime today, so the update is a bit late. Sorry!

Thank you to the readers "Long Shao LL1," "Wei Ke," and "Pipi Zhu Hao Hao" for your support!