Chapter 241: Big Profits
Chapter 241: Big Profits
Capital City.
Near Dongfeng Market.
After discussing with Zhou Shengli, Deng Shirong rented a temporary warehouse of about 200 square meters, located about a kilometer away from Dongfeng Market.
In the afternoon, Deng Shirong returned to Ruyi Fresh Fruit Shop.
Zhou Shengli, who had been eagerly waiting, greeted Deng Shirong with a warm smile and led him to the back warehouse. He couldn't wait to say, "Mr. Deng, I have the money ready. When can we go and pick up the longans?"
Deng Shirong, impressed by the local merchant's network, replied, "The longans will likely arrive in the capital by midnight. Meet me here at seven o'clock tomorrow morning with the money, and I'll take you to pick them up."
Zhou Shengli asked, "Mr. Deng, will the longans be as fresh as the ones you showed me this morning?"
Deng Shirong smiled, "Rest assured, they will be as fresh as if they were just picked."
Zhou Shengli inquired further, "Mr. Deng, the exact weight of the longans is 63 tons and a few hundred kilograms. Do you include the bamboo baskets used to transport the longans? If you do, I'll take them. If not, we'll need to prepare something else to carry the longans, and you'll have to leave the baskets behind."
Considering the massive sum of over 250,000, Zhou Shengli didn't mind the extra 1,500 for the baskets and said, "I'll take the baskets."
Deng Shirong nodded and said, "In business, we must be fair to all. Although the longans have been weighed before transportation, we'll weigh them again before the sale. Make sure to bring a scale tomorrow."
Zhou Shengli replied, "That's no problem. My fruit shop has a scale."
With the business settled, Deng Shirong stood up, extended his hand, and said with a smile, "Mr. Zhou, it's a pleasure doing business with you!"
Zhou Shengli stood up as well, shook Deng Shirong's hand, and said with excitement, "Mr. Deng, it's a pleasure!"
...
7:30 PM.
Bobei Maternity and Child Health Hospital.
Ou Guofang gave birth to a healthy baby boy, and mother and son were both doing well.
Upon learning that her daughter-in-law had given birth to a boy, Changdong's mother was overjoyed, her eyes nearly squinting shut from the smile.
While the gender of the first child didn't matter, having a boy was certainly a cause for celebration.
Zhang Xiuping, also delighted for her friend, said to Changdong's mother, "Sister Yunfeng, congratulations on the new grandson!"
Changdong's mother, beaming with joy, replied, "Thank you, Sister Aiping. I appreciate your care these past days. We'll be heading back tomorrow, and if you can spare some time, please come for the full moon celebration."
Zhang Xiuping smiled, "I'll definitely come for the full moon celebration."
...
The Next Day.
Capital City.
Deng Shirong woke up particularly early, arriving at Dongfeng Market just after six in the morning.
He enjoyed a hearty and authentic breakfast at a popular local eatery before leisurely making his way to Ruyi Fresh Fruit Shop.
Despite the agreed meeting time of seven in the morning, Zhou Shengli, Wang Dagan, and Tian Chunzhi were already waiting anxiously.
In addition to the three of them, Zhou Shengli's three children were also present.
Seeing Deng Shirong approach, Zhou Shengli greeted him with a broad smile, "Mr. Deng, good morning!"
Deng Shirong returned the greeting, "Mr. Zhou, good morning!"
Zhou Shengli introduced the others, "Mr. Deng, let me introduce you to Mr. Wang, who deals in hardware, and Mr. Tian, who deals in clothing. They are my good friends. These three are my children."
"Good morning, Mr. Deng!"
"Good morning, Mr. Wang and Mr. Tian!"
After the introductions, Zhou Shengli asked, "Mr. Deng, have you had breakfast?"
Deng Shirong replied, "Yes, have you all eaten?"
Zhou Shengli smiled, "We have all eaten!"
Deng Shirong said with a smile, "Since we've all eaten, shall we go pick up the goods now?"
Zhou Shengli, Wang Dagan, and Tian Chunzhi all nodded eagerly.
Zhou Shengli asked, "Mr. Deng, how far is the goods? If it's far, I'll send a car. If it's close, we can ride bicycles."
Deng Shirong replied, "It's not far, just a kilometer or so. We can ride bicycles."
"Alright, then we'll trouble you to lead the way on your bicycle!"
"Sure, follow me!"
...
A few minutes later.
Deng Shirong led Zhou Shengli and his group to the temporary warehouse he had rented the previous day.
After parking the bicycles, Deng Shirong took out the key and, before opening the door, used the system space to transfer all the longans into the warehouse. The once-empty warehouse was now filled with over 1,200 baskets of longans.
Zhou Shengli and the others watched with excitement as Deng Shirong opened the warehouse door. The sight of the 63 tons of longans left them all in awe.
While they knew the weight in numbers, the visual impact was far more impressive.
Deng Shirong gestured with a smile, "Mr. Zhou, Mr. Wang, Mr. Tian, here are the 63 tons of longans. Please come in, take a look, and try them. I guarantee their freshness will satisfy you."
Zhou Shengli and the others couldn’t stand still, all of them excitedly walking in to inspect and sample the fruit.
Then, cries of astonishment began to ring out.
Although the few people present rarely dealt with longans, anyone could tell at a glance if fruit was fresh or not. After thorough inspection and tasting, Zhou Shengli and the others were absolutely certain that these longans were as fresh as if they had just been picked.
Despite the incredible nature of this, and not knowing how Deng Shirong managed it, the evidence was right before their eyes, and they had no choice but to believe it.
Zhou Shengli checked over a dozen baskets of longans and tasted each one before approaching Deng Shirong, praising him, “Mr. Deng, your transportation and preservation methods are truly impressive. Let’s not waste any more time. Shall we weigh them now?”
Deng Shirong smiled, “Since you’re satisfied, let’s weigh them!”
Zhou Shengli’s children then took down the scales from their bicycles, Tian Chunzhi brought out paper and a pen, and Wang Daban brought out an abacus. They divided the tasks and began weighing the longans basket by basket.
As for Deng Shirong, he stood by and watched Tian Chunzhi record the numbers.
This busy work continued until around noon, when they had finally weighed all the longans. The total came to 126,832 pounds, which was only a mere 5 pounds off from the calculation done by the Bai Ping Farm, making it a very precise result.
After the tallying was complete, Tian Chunzhi reported the total to Deng Shirong, asking, “Mr. Deng, does this number look right to you?”
Deng Shirong nodded and smiled, “You’ve been very thorough. With such a large quantity, only a few pounds off is quite impressive.”
Hearing this, Zhou Shengli untied a sack he had brought along and began to pull out bundles of 10-yuan notes, saying, “Mr. Deng, since the numbers are correct, let’s settle the payment now.”
It was no wonder Zhou Shengli was eager to settle the payment. Preserving fresh fruit like longans was no easy task, and completing the transaction early would allow them to start selling the fruit sooner. Time was of the essence, and they naturally wanted to act quickly.
Receiving the payment early was also beneficial for Deng Shirong, so he had no objections.
Thus, the next step was to count the money.
126,832 pounds of longans at 2 yuan per pound amounted to 253,664 yuan. Adding the 1,500 yuan for the bamboo baskets, the total came to 255,164 yuan.
In this era, the largest denomination of the Chinese yuan was 10 yuan, so 255,164 yuan in cash was equivalent to over 2.55 million yuan in modern terms. The sight of so much cash was quite impressive.
Of course, the people present were no strangers to large sums of money.
Zhou Shengli, Wang Daban, and Tian Chunzhi were all experienced merchants who had handled substantial amounts of cash before.
And Deng Shirong had previously taken out an 800,000 yuan loan from the credit union, which was more than three times the amount of cash they were dealing with now.
So, seeing this pile of cash, both sides remained remarkably calm.
Counting the money took about ten minutes. Once he received his due, Deng Shirong was quite pleased.
For this transaction, his total cost was 37,782.7 yuan, including transportation and expenses in the capital, as well as renting the temporary warehouse, which brought the total to around 37,950 yuan. Now, he had received 255,164 yuan, making a profit of 217,214 yuan.
This rate of earning was faster than robbing a bank.
Originally, the 800,000 yuan loan from the credit union had been used to buy a siheyuan in the capital and build the Sui Feng Restaurant in the county, costing nearly 640,000 yuan. The remaining cash, along with the income from the brick factory and the orchard, left him with around 175,000 yuan in liquid assets.
Now, with the addition of 217,214 yuan, his total cash holdings had soared to 392,214 yuan.
After putting the money into the sack, Deng Shirong handed the warehouse key to Zhou Shengli, smiling, “Mr. Zhou, here’s the key. I rented this warehouse for a week, so feel free to use it. After a week, I’ll come by your fruit shop to pick it up.”
“Thank you, Mr. Deng. You really think of everything.”
“No problem. I won’t disturb you further. I wish you all the best in selling the longans. If everything goes well, we can continue our cooperation next year.”
Zhou Shengli, Wang Daban, and Tian Chunzhi all felt a sense of urgency. They understood the underlying message in Deng Shirong’s words. If they could successfully sell the longans this year, they would have the opportunity to continue working with him next year.
If they failed, not only would they lose money, but they would also lose the chance to work with Deng Shirong in the future.
In essence, this longan sale was a test and an opportunity for them to prove their capabilities.
With this in mind, Zhou Shengli responded solemnly, “Please rest assured, Mr. Deng. We will do our utmost to sell these longans successfully. If there’s another opportunity like this next year, please consider us.”
Wang Daban and Tian Chunzhi also expressed their confidence.
This exclusive business opportunity to make a fortune was something they would hold onto tightly. Missing it would surely be a regret they would carry for the rest of their lives.
Today’s 6,000-word update is complete!
(End of Chapter)
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