ryethenovel Chapter 81 Failing
Chapter 81 Failing
Zhang Dequan became increasingly confused, completely unable to understand what Zhang Beichuan was thinking.
"Youngest brother, if he collects as much as possible, then we won't have anything to collect!"
Looking at their confused and anxious expressions, Zhang Beichuan couldn't help but feel a pang of pity.
"Third brother, sister-in-law, what do you think Shi Jun and the others are doing collecting eels?"
Lan Xiuying blurted out, "Of course we'll transport them to the city to sell!"
"Yes." Zhang Beichuan nodded. "But do they know where to sell the eels? Do they know any buyers in the city?"
The two questions stumped everyone.
Lan Baohong scratched his head. "Brother Xiao Chuan, you mean... they can't sell them at all?"
Lan Xiuying and Zhang Dequan fell silent. Suddenly, Zhang Dequan remembered what he had heard some familiar villagers say that morning.
"Youngest brother, I heard from the villagers that they saw Shi Qiang leave early this morning. Since these two are working together, and Shi Qiang hasn't been around all day, he must have gone to look for connections, right?"
"Third Brother, even if he goes to the city, it won't make a difference." Zhang Beichuan chuckled. "Ordinary seafood shops and companies offer very low prices or simply won't accept them. Only my friend accepts them, and he only accepts goods from my shop."
"Doesn't that mean that the more Shi Jun collects, the more he loses, and he can't possibly get anything done?" Lan Xiuying said.
Everyone was relieved to see Zhang Beichuan nod.
Emotions are a unique business; not just anyone can do it.
"Baohong, you two should make a trip to the county town first and transport the eels back," Zhang Beichuan said.
Lan Baohong nodded, then turned and poured some water on the eels in the car with her companion before heading towards the county town.
Meanwhile, Shi Tiezhu, who was quite angry with Shi Jun, left Shi Qiang's house in a sullen mood and headed straight for Zhang Dequan's house. He still had to clean up the mess.
He doesn't object to these young men with his surname wanting to start their own eel business.
However, people like Shi Qiang and Shi Jun, who hadn't figured out which way the city's connections were opening up or how to handle transportation, were too reckless in trying to buy goods at low prices in the village.
If anything goes wrong, Zhang Beichuan might take his anger out on it and refuse to accept the eels sent by the villager surnamed Shi.
At that time, not to mention the rest of the village, the spittle of most of the villagers with the surname Shi would be enough to drown those two brats.
What made him even more uneasy was that although Zhang Beichuan was young, he was very meticulous in his words and actions.
Not only did he open a department store in the county town, but he also has connections in the city and has been living in the provincial capital for so many years. It's hard to say that he doesn't have some tricks up his sleeve.
If things escalate, it might not be a good thing for anyone.
As soon as he arrived at the gate, he saw Zhang Beichuan and Zhang Dequan chatting and smiling, which surprised him.
Shi Tiezhu cleared his throat. "Ahem... Xiao Chuan is back?"
Upon seeing who it was, Zhang Beichuan stood up first, took out a cigarette from his pocket, and handed it over.
"Yes, Party Secretary, please have a seat inside."
Shi Tiezhu took the cigarette, lit it with the light Zhang Beichuan offered, took a deep drag, and then tentatively spoke.
"Xiao Chuan, do you know what happened?"
"Yes, I heard it from my third brother and sister-in-law." Zhang Beichuan said calmly, even smiling. "It's a good thing that young people want to make money."
These words were spoken lightly, but Shi Tiezhu's heart skipped a beat when he heard them.
Either Zhang Beichuan is truly magnanimous and doesn't care about Shi Qiang and Shi Jun's actions, or he already has a solution.
But based on the events that occurred after Zhang Beichuan returned to the village, he figured that Zhang Beichuan was more like the latter than the former.
"Sigh, I'm getting old, I can't control them anymore. Those two brats are completely unreasonable." Shi Tiezhu said politely at first, then continued, "What they're doing is really dishonest. Even if they wanted to do this business, they should have consulted you first, and we could have discussed it together..."
Zhang Beichuan smiled, knowing that Shi Tiezhu was trying to smooth things over again.
I can understand it. After all, he represents the interests of the majority of people with the surname Shi, so naturally he would be happy to see people with the surname Shi stand up for themselves.
"Secretary, what are you saying? Since they want to do it, I can't stop them. It's a market economy; everyone should rely on their own abilities."
Shi Tiezhu sensed the distance in his words, and his heart sank even further.
He glanced at Zhang Dequan, who seemed hesitant to speak, and sighed.
"Xiao Chuan, there are more than 300 households in our Shihe Village, and more than half of them are surnamed Shi. Most of the villagers still remember your kindness and the favor you did for helping them make money."
He paused, lowering his voice slightly.
"I came here today for two reasons: first, to apologize on behalf of those two bastards; and second, to hope that you can be magnanimous and not hold a grudge against the villagers. They just wanted to make more money... that's all."
Regardless of the outcome of Shi Qiang's trip to the city, he had to plan ahead.
Even after leaving Shihe Village, Zhang Beichuan had enough money to buy eels anywhere.
It's best to avoid making enemies if possible, to prevent trouble from arising and ultimately having to clean up the mess yourself.
Zhang Beichuan scoffed at Shi Tiezhu's claims.
So, he played the good guy?
However, considering that his grandparents would definitely not agree to abandon the village land and go to the county town in the short term, he couldn't afford to offend them too much.
But some people's actions really annoyed him.
Minor punishments are necessary to serve as a warning, otherwise everyone will take advantage of us.
"Secretary, business is about mutual consent. Since they've chosen this path, let them try it out. If it works, I'll admire them. If it doesn't..."
He paused, his tone still calm, "We'll see when the time comes."
Shi Tiezhu's heart skipped a beat. He had a bad feeling about Shi Qiang's trip to the city, but he couldn't figure out why.
Since they had already said so much, he couldn't say anything more and could only walk back with a belly full of complaints.
Zhang Dequan watched the sullen Party Secretary leave, and felt a little worried.
"Youngest brother... we don't need to hold a grudge against others, right? After all, you still need to keep your eel business going."
"Third Brother, think about it. Why are these people able to make money?"
Zhang Beichuan paused, then continued, "Without me, they're nothing but unwanted trash. We feed them, and they try to sabotage us, they've become so spoiled! Do they really think I can't function without them?"
After hearing what he said, Zhang Dequan understood.
"Sigh... alright then."
Meanwhile, Shi Qiang, who had gone to the city, was pale and extremely anxious.
I spent the whole day running around the city, asking around everywhere.
Eels are either unwanted or only sold at a wholesale price of a few cents per pound, and the quantity required is very small.
He kept getting distracted while riding his bicycle and fell into a ditch. Ignoring the sharp pain in his knee, he quickly got up and hurried home.
They secretly hoped that Shi Jun wouldn't act too quickly, or that there would be fewer people willing to sell.
Otherwise, in just one day, we'd lose everything, even our underwear!