Era: Life's Big Winner

Chapter 74 Prepare for a rainy day, various opportunities emerge

Had dinner in the evening.

Liu Hongchang and He Wenhui first sent Gao Junling home, and then returned to Nanluoguxiang.

It was still early and the weather was hot, and there were many people in the alley enjoying the cool air and chatting, while some children were playing and laughing.

Seeing Liu Hongchang and his wife, many people greeted them.

Generally speaking, except for the people living in Hongxing Courtyard, most of the neighbors nearby are normal.

As long as there is no conflict of interest, neighbors get along with each other in a friendly manner and there aren't too many troubles.

In the yard, Wang Cuilan, Liu Yunchang and Wu Xiaoying were all enjoying the cool air under the eaves. The Fang family members were also there, talking and laughing.

After a round of greetings, He Wenhui went to take a shower first, while Liu Hongchang sat down and chatted with everyone.

"Hong Chang, is there anything wrong with your mother-in-law?" Wang Cuilan asked with concern.

Liu Hongchang shook his head and said, "Nothing, just go over and have a meal."

What happened today was not very glorious, so there is no need to tell everyone about it, and at the same time avoid making my family worry.

"By the way, Wenhui's sister Wenyuan wants to go to college. She will move in for a while tomorrow and let Wenhui help with her homework."

Wang Cuilan asked in confusion: "Why didn't you invite my mother-in-law and her family to stay for a few days?"

"Wenhui said her mother is not used to living in someone else's home." Liu Hongchang shook his head and smiled at Fang Tianxin.

"Tianxin, Wenyuan is here to stay. When your sister Wenhui and I are at work, please help tutor her."

Fang Yongfu smiled and continued, "This is a piece of cake. Tianxin, please pay more attention to it."

"I got it, Dad. Brother Hongchang, how about we wait for her to come over and take a look at her academic progress before making any decision?" Fang Tianxin said with a smile.

"That's what you should do." Liu Hongchang nodded and asked Fang Yongfu, "Uncle Fang, I heard that the noodle shop business is not doing well?"

Fang Yongfu sighed, nodded and said, "It's really not good. I'm also looking for the reasons and thinking of various solutions."

"Take your time. If you need help, please feel free to ask. We will help if we can." Liu Hongchang said with a smile.

Fang Yongfu raised his eyebrows and smiled: "Don't mention it, you can really help."

"Oh, you said." Liu Hongchang said with a smile.

Fang Yongfu pondered and said, "Tonight, Sister Wang sent us a plate of pickles to try. They tasted very good."

"I heard from Sister Wang that the pickles were made by you, Hong Chang. Is that true?"

Liu Hongchang nodded and said, "That's true. I just brought some back to eat this morning."

"Can you give some to me? The pickles are appetizing and delicious. I want to get some to the noodle shop to attract customers." Fang Yongfu negotiated.

"This really stumps me." Liu Hongchang hesitated and said, "Uncle Fang, I made the pickles for my own consumption. The quantity is small and the cost is high."

"If you want to eat it yourself, I can give you a few cans, but if you want to use pickles to attract customers, a little bit won't be enough. Why don't you just go to Liubiju to buy it? It's affordable and it's a time-honored brand."

Fang Yongfu shook his head and said, "I actually have pickles in my shop, which I bought from Liubiju. They are not as delicious as yours."

"Actually, when I heard Sister Wang say that you made the pickles, I knew the cost would be very high. After all, home use and commercial use are indeed different."

"Well, you name a price and I'll buy it directly. Don't be shy. I'm a businessman and I use it every day. The price should be whatever it is. If it's really too expensive, I won't buy it at most. There's no loss. Is that right?"

Liu Hongchang hesitated for a moment, then stretched out his hand and raised three fingers.

“Thirty cents a pound, that’s not much more expensive than Liubiju!” Fang Yongfu breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile.

Seeing Liu Hongchang shaking his head again, Fang Yongfu was stunned for a moment, his eyes widened in surprise and asked: "Hongchang, you mean three dollars?"

The others nearby were also surprised and looked at Liu Hongchang, wanting to hear his explanation.

"Yes, three yuan is just the cost, I didn't make a cent." Liu Hongchang said seriously, "In fact, the dishes are not expensive, it's mainly the sauce. A lot of precious Chinese herbs are added during the production process. This stuff is very expensive, otherwise how can it be better than Liubiju's?"

This price is really outrageous, considering that prices were quite low in that era.

For example, a sesame pancake is 3 cents, a fried dough stick is 4 cents, a meat bun is 1 cent, a bowl of plain noodles is 8 cents, pork is 8 cents per pound, salt is 5 cents per pound, hairy crabs are 8 cents per pound, shrimps are 4 cents per pound, and so on. The units are all fen and jiao.

Even if you go to a mid-range restaurant, you can eat very well for five or six dollars for five people.

The pickles in the cafeteria are only two cents per serving, and a pound is just over twenty cents. State-owned items are indeed cheap.

Even so, when Liu Hongchang asked for pickles at three yuan per pound, Fang Tianfu and others present were really shocked.

Wang Cuilan smacked her lips and said, "No wonder I felt so good after eating the pickles today. How could I not feel good after eating such expensive pickles?"

"My mother at least gave me half a pound this morning, right? It costs more than one dollar?" Wu Xiaoying was also stunned and surprised.

Liu Yunchang was heartless and said with a smile: "It's rare for me to take advantage of Hongchang, but today I made a profit."

"This price is really not worth it if it is sold in a store." Fang Tianfu exhaled lightly, shook his head and smiled bitterly. As for Liu Hongchang saying that Chinese medicinal materials were added, he was not surprised, because many sauces do need to add Chinese medicinal materials, and even when cooking, those spices are also Chinese medicinal materials.

Liu Hongchang said with a smile: "Uncle Fang, if you dare to sell it, I dare not give it to you. This thing is so expensive. Once it is on the market, it will definitely cause a sensation and cause a lot of unnecessary trouble."

"If I hear that there are such expensive pickles somewhere, even if I don't buy them, I will go and see the fun," said Wang Cuilan with a smile.

Fang Tianfu was moved when he heard this, and smiled, "Hong Chang, after hearing what Sister Wang said, I really want to buy some pickles from you and bring them to the store. I'm not afraid of too many people watching the fun, I'm just afraid of no customers coming."

"Don't worry, I won't say that the dish was bought from you. I'll just say that I made it myself. I'll take care of any trouble myself."

Wang Cuilan was afraid of implicating her son, so she laughed dryly and said, "Lao Fang, would you like to think about this again? Don't get carried away."

"Don't think about it, Hongchang, please help me with this." Fang Tianfu said with anticipation.

"How about this, let's weigh the pickles first and settle the price at the end of the month. Before that, there will be no monetary transaction. Just think of those pickles as something I borrowed from you."

"The price of pickles is entirely my idea, and you are all unaware of it, so if there is a problem, it has nothing to do with you. How about that?"

Hearing him say this, Wang Cuilan said, "Hongchang, I think this is fine. We are neighbors. Now the noodle shop in the old house can't continue to operate. We should help if we can."

"Okay! Let's do as Uncle Fang says. I'll borrow a tricycle and go to the canteen to bring back the pickles." Liu Hongchang nodded.

Fang Tianfu smiled happily and said, "I bought a new one, so I don't have to borrow one from anyone else."

"That's great, I'll be back soon." Liu Hongchang said with a smile.

After taking the tricycle from Fang's house, Liu Hongchang left the yard and disappeared into the night.

When he got to a deserted place, he slipped in to take a shower. After coming out, he went straight to the courtyard where He Guixiang was.

As for going to the cafeteria to get pickles, it was just an excuse. He did have some pickles there, but they were just ordinary pickles.

Although the taste is delicious, it is still far from the pickles in the space.

After a while, they arrived at He Guixiang's house. Liu Hongchang suddenly came over. She was indescribably happy, and the two of them immediately started fighting.

After the storm subsided, He Guixiang was sweating all over, her long hair was loose, her face was full of afterglow, her cheeks were rosy, and she looked very charming.

"I didn't expect you to come here. Do you know how happy I am?" She lay on her back on the bed, her whole body relaxed, her eyes as gentle as water, and let Liu Hongchang massage her.

Because it is summer, Liu Hongchang uses peppermint oil during massage, which can cool and calm the muscles, and has anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory and odor-removing effects.

He Guixiang had some fat on her belly, so Liu Hongchang used his hands to massage and absorb the fat, slowly transferring it to her chest.

"Is there something bothering you?" Liu Hongchang asked softly.

"You can tell now?" He Guixiang smiled gently, nodded slightly, and sighed:
"It's my brother's business. He's been selling melon seeds secretly. He can't find the source of supply recently and he's as anxious as an ant on a hot pot. I'm also anxious."

Liu Hongchang asked curiously, "How much do they buy raw melon seeds for per pound? How much do they sell them for per pound?"

"My brother told me that raw melon seeds are bought at 50 or 60 cents per pound, and after being fried they can be sold at 2.4 yuan per pound," He Guixiang whispered.

He also warned: "I'm only telling you this, don't tell anyone. The profit is too big, so my brother and others are also very scared."

"Awesome, I can make more than one yuan per pound of melon seeds, and the supply is still insufficient to meet the demand. The profit is worth the risk." Liu Hongchang said with a sigh.

After thinking for a while, he asked, "How much can your brother and his family sell every year?"

"It's hard to say, sometimes more, sometimes less. Even though making money is risky, there are still many people doing it." He Guixiang replied with pursed lips.

"My brother has been able to sell tens of thousands of kilograms of melon seeds every year in the past few years. However, this year, many people in the south have been secretly buying up raw melon seeds. My brother was slow to react, resulting in the loss of the supply. A bunch of his men are waiting for a meal. If they delay any further, they will have to break up. Sigh..."

"Can each person sell tens of thousands of kilograms every year?" Liu Hongchang asked.

He Guixiang nodded and said, "About the same! Some greedy people can sell hundreds of thousands or even millions of kilograms of rice every year."

"I heard there's a melon seed tycoon in the south who has opened a processing factory with more than a hundred workers. That's really bold."

Unlike previous years, the environment has become much more relaxed after the reform and opening up, and no one cares about private factories as long as the number of workers does not exceed 20.

Liu Hongchang also knew about the story of Guazi King. A private enterprise with more than a hundred people was definitely an outlier in that era.

The money earned was in the millions, and such huge profits naturally aroused envy. It was also expected that there would be twists and turns in the following years.

Liu Hongchang thought for a moment and said, "Your brother is idle now, right? Ask him to come find me tomorrow."

"Can you find a way to get some melon seeds?" He Guixiang's eyes lit up.

Liu Hongchang shook his head and said, "That's not the case. I have other business to discuss with him."

He Guixiang's brother has been doing business secretly for so many years and nothing has ever happened, which shows that he is a brave and careful person.

Moreover, he has a group of people under him. Liu Hongchang is really eyeing such a sales team.

(End of this chapter)