Chapter 272: When Luck Strikes, It's Unstoppable [6000 Words]

Chapter 272: When Luck Strikes, It’s Unstoppable [6000 Words]



“Honey, look what I bought for you!”

“Wow, longans! They’re selling longans in the capital again?”

“They just arrived today. Look, they’re still fresh!”

“Bring them over, I want to try them. I was just talking to Aunt Zhang about this the other day. I didn’t expect to be able to eat them so soon.”

“Here, take them and enjoy them at your leisure!”

“Mmm, they taste just as good as I remember. So delicious, truly delicious!”

...

“My dear, why did you buy so many longans? Are we not living within our means?”

“I bought them because I know you love them!”

“Then why didn’t you buy less? Did the price go up this year?”

“It went up by twenty cents.”

“Phew, these fruit sellers are really ruthless!”

“Well, it’s not that bad. After all, they have to transport the longans from thousands of miles away to our capital. The cost is indeed high. If they sold them too cheaply, the merchants would lose money!”

“You have a point, but it’s still too expensive. Three yuan and twenty cents per pound, it hurts to spend so much!”

“But we only get to enjoy them once a year. Think of it as a special treat for the New Year!”

“Oh, they’re so sweet! Have one, dear.”

“...”

...

“Auntie, I have some news. The longans you like are back on sale at XX. Go and get some quickly!”

“Really? Are they the same as last year’s?”

“Yes, they taste just like last year’s. There are already many people queuing up to buy them. If you want to get some, go now before they run out!”

“Then I’ll go right away. My daughter-in-law mentioned the other day that she wanted to eat longans. I’ll buy a bit extra for her.”

“Alright, Auntie, go ahead. I’ll head home now!”

...

The capital is vast, and Zhou Shengli and his team couldn’t possibly supply nearly ten million people with longans. However, even covering a million people, the purchasing power of these customers was undeniable.

After all, the capital is the capital. Whether in this era or in the future, its economy ranks among the best in the country. At three yuan and twenty cents per pound, longans are expensive, but they’re not like apples, which are available all year round. Longans are only available for a few days, and missing them means waiting until next year.

Therefore, many families were willing to indulge a bit and buy some, even if just to keep up with the neighbors. It would be too embarrassing if everyone else was enjoying longans while your family had none, especially if you had children at home.

Zhou Shengli and his team were surprised to find that, despite the higher price, the sales of longans this year were much faster than last year. In less than four days, they sold all 64 tons of longans.

When the three of them gathered to divide the money, they couldn’t hide their excitement.

128,511 pounds of longans were sold, with Zhou Shengli keeping 40 pounds for his family and friends, and Wang Daman and Tian Chunzhi each keeping 30 pounds.

So, they sold 128,411 pounds of longans at 3.2 yuan per pound, totaling 410,915 yuan.

After using 915 yuan to cover the costs of the trucks and labor, they were left with 410,000 yuan.

Zhou Shengli, who took 40%, received 164,000 yuan, minus the 117,202 yuan cost, netting him 46,798 yuan.

Wang Daman and Tian Chunzhi, each taking 30%, received 123,000 yuan, minus their 87,901.5 yuan cost, netting them 35,098.5 yuan each.

In less than four days, they earned more than they would in a year running their store. This left them both excited and somewhat disheartened. As the saying goes, no comparison, no hurt. After experiencing such "gold-rushing" days, their regular business seemed mundane.

This is why many people who have tasted success find it hard to go back to ordinary jobs.

...

While longans were selling like hotcakes in the capital, Deng Yunheng and his classmates returned to Peking University.

As a local from the capital, Tang Mingjie didn’t go straight to the university like the other students. Instead, he took the bus from the train station back to his home.

Upon arriving, Tang Mingjie called out to a middle-aged woman, “Mom, I’m home!”

Tang’s mother, looking delighted, said, “I thought you’d be back these days. The journey must have been tiring, right?”

Tang Mingjie put down his luggage and nodded. “The journey was indeed exhausting. I was on the train for days and nights, it was almost unbearable!”

His mother, looking concerned, said, “You look so tired. I told you the journey would be tough, but you didn’t listen. Now you’re suffering, aren’t you?”

Tang Mingjie couldn’t help but laugh. “While the journey was tough, compared to the trip to Guangxi, it was nothing.”

His mother, surprised, said, “From what you’re saying, you must have had a great time at your classmate’s home in Guangxi?”

Tang Mingjie sighed, “More than great. This was the most enjoyable summer I’ve had in my life!”

Hearing this, Tang’s mother was genuinely surprised. She picked up a basket of fresh longans from the table and placed it in front of her son. “Here, have some longans to refresh yourself. Then tell me all about your month in Guangxi with your classmate.”

Tang Mingjie looked at the basket of longans. In previous years, he would have started eating them right away, not stopping until he had his fill. But this time, he waved his hand and said, "Forget the longans. I've been eating so much of them at my classmate's place that I've lost my appetite. Mom, you and Dad and the others can have them!"

Tang's mother was taken aback for a moment, then nodded. "You're right. You went to Guangxi, one of the main provinces for longan cultivation. It’s no surprise you’ve had your fill."

Recalling his month-long stay in Guangxi, Tang Mingjie said, "Mom, it wasn't just longans. The variety of fruits I ate at my classmate's place is probably more than I've eaten my whole life. Especially the lychees—oh, they were incredible!"

His mother's interest was piqued, and she urged him, "Tell me more about your trip to Guangxi."

Tang Mingjie nodded and began to vividly recount his journey. "When we arrived at Yunheng's place, we greeted Uncle Deng, and he had Yunheng take us straight to the orchard to eat lychees.

"Uncle Deng has a thousand lychee trees and several thousand pounds of watermelons in his orchard. Knowing we were coming for the summer, he kept a lot of lychees and watermelons aside just for us, so we could eat our fill every day.

"Uncle Deng is also an excellent cook. He changed the menu every day, serving us all sorts of dishes—chicken, duck, fish, and even seafood. I gained a few pounds from all that delicious food.

"Besides lychees and watermelons, there were also jackfruits, star fruits, wax apples, yellow plums, and longans. We had as much as we wanted.

"And more..."

Tang Mingjie’s face lit up as he recounted every detail of his trip to his mother. He talked about everything—from the food and accommodation to the various amusing incidents in the countryside. His mother listened with wide eyes, amazed by his tales.

"Xiaojie, from what you’ve said, it sounds like your classmate Yunheng’s family went to great lengths to entertain you and your friends."

"Uncle Deng did spend a lot of money. Besides the daily feasts of meat and fruit, he even bought fans and bicycles for our visit. While they might use these things later, it was the thought that counted."

"Your classmate Yunheng is from the countryside, yet his family seems to be quite well-off. What does his father do?"

"Uncle Deng runs a brick and tile factory in the village with a partner. The business is doing well, and he also manages the orchard. Just from selling lychees and watermelons, he makes several thousand yuan each year. But the most impressive thing is that he owns a large restaurant in the county town."

At this, Tang Mingjie’s face was filled with admiration. "It’s a genuine large restaurant, covering over a thousand square meters, with three floors. Even though only the first floor is currently in use, it can still accommodate six or seven hundred guests at once.

"Right now, the restaurant is run by my classmate’s older brother, his wife, and his sister. I heard Uncle Deng invested over 300,000 yuan to build it!"

Tang’s mother was amazed. "Impressive! Your classmate’s father is a capable man. To have achieved so much in the early stages of the reform and opening up, it’s hard to predict what heights he might reach in the future!"

Tang Mingjie nodded. "Uncle Deng is indeed impressive. When we saw the large restaurant at Yunheng’s place, we were all stunned!"

Tang’s mother thought for a moment and said, "Xiaojie, when your father comes back, I’ll discuss it with him. We should invite your classmate over for a visit. You’ve been treated so well by his family for over a month, and now that you’re back in Beijing, we should return the favor."

Tang Mingjie replied happily, "Sure, let me know when you find a good time, and I’ll invite Yunheng over."

...

Sometimes, luck can be unpredictable.

When you’re lucky, you might find money on the street or win the lottery with a random ticket.

When you’re unlucky, you might step in dog poop as soon as you leave the house, or even get a piece of food stuck in your teeth while drinking water.

In his previous life, Deng Shirong had been quite unlucky. His wife died of illness before he turned forty, leaving him a bachelor for decades.

His eldest son died in an accident during his prime, causing him to bury his child before his own time.

His filial eldest daughter married a man who was beyond help, leading to a life of hardship.

His most intelligent second son went astray and became a professional gambler, leading to a complete estrangement from the family.

His third son, though the most successful, married a woman who brought more trouble than peace, making his life worse than an average person’s.

His fourth and youngest sons each had their own struggles, and none of them lived happily.

Perhaps it was because his previous life was so unlucky that he was given a second chance at life.

After being reborn, Deng Shirong’s luck was significantly better than in his previous life.

For instance, when he and his daughter went to Longtan Commune, they simply stopped at a noodle stall for a quick meal. By sheer luck, he met his future eldest daughter-in-law there. She was a true virtuous wife and mother, having been married into the family for two and a half years. She got along well with everyone in the family and had the demeanor of an elder sister.

Even though the other daughters-in-law hadn’t been married yet, Deng Shirong was confident that even if they made some mistakes, under the guidance of his eldest daughter-in-law, there would be no repeat of the past conflicts between sisters-in-law.

Today, while casually wandering around, Deng Shirong unexpectedly stumbled upon two people trading stamps. These weren’t just any stamps; they were the famous Monkey Stamps of the future.

In his previous life, Deng Shirong was just an old rural man. He only knew about the Monkey Stamps because he had read a lot of novels.

After being reborn, he didn’t initially think about collecting such items. By the time he remembered, he was too lazy to go through the trouble. By then, the post office had already sold all the Monkey Stamps, and collecting them would require a lot of time and effort to gather them from the public.

This wasn’t something that could be profitable in the short term. If he had the energy to go through all that trouble, he might as well buy another courtyard house in Beijing to keep.

However, while Deng Shirong was unwilling to put in the effort, he didn’t mind buying some Monkey Stamps if they were right in front of him. Even if he never sold them, they would be great to pass down to his descendants as a status symbol.

So, when he saw a man buy eight sheets of Monkey Stamps from another person, he waited until the seller walked away and then asked, “Comrade, could you sell me those stamps?”

The man buying the stamps was a middle-aged man in his forties. He looked Deng Shirong over and asked, “Comrade, you like these Monkey Stamps too?”

Deng Shirong nodded. “Yes, I do. The monkeys are so lifelike. I’d like to buy some for my collection.”

The middle-aged man smiled. “I didn’t expect you to be a collector too. We’re kindred spirits. I can share some with you, but I sell them in full sheets, not individual stamps.”

Deng Shirong said, “I was thinking of buying all the Monkey Stamps you have. Would you be willing to part with them?”

The middle-aged man was surprised. “You want all of them?”

Deng Shirong nodded. “Yes, if you’re willing to part with them, I’ll take them all!”

The middle-aged man said, “I can sell them all to you, but the price for a single stamp is different from the price for a full sheet. You understand that, right?”

Deng Shirong smiled. “I understand. How much do you want for them?”

The middle-aged man thought for a moment and said, “I’m sure you saw that I bought them from my friend for 200 yuan per sheet, which was already a friend’s price. If you really want them, I’ll sell them to you for 220 yuan per sheet.”

Deng Shirong didn’t haggle. He said, “Alright, 220 yuan per sheet. I’ll take all eight sheets, which would be 1,760 yuan. Is that correct?”

The value of a single sheet of Monkey Stamps would skyrocket to over a million yuan in the future. At this price, it was a huge profit, and there was no need to haggle, as he was essentially taking someone else’s opportunity.

The middle-aged man saw that Deng Shirong wasn’t haggling and couldn’t help but smile. He had bought the stamps for 200 yuan per sheet and was now selling them for 220 yuan per sheet, making a profit of 160 yuan on the eight sheets. Anyone would be happy with such a deal.

Although the price of the Monkey Stamps had already risen from 8 fen per stamp in 1980 to 2 yuan per stamp now, a significant increase, they were still not as rare as they would be in the future. It was still relatively easy to acquire more.

So, selling them at 220 yuan per sheet made the middle-aged man very happy.

After agreeing on the price, they exchanged money for the stamps.

Once the transaction was complete, the middle-aged man bid farewell and left with a smile, pocketing the money.

As he watched the man leave, Deng Shirong carefully examined the eight sheets of Monkey Stamps in his hands.

Since they were full sheets, they had been well-preserved, looking as good as new. If he hadn’t been reborn from the future, he would have found it hard to believe that these stamps would be so valuable.

If priced by their future value, this chance encounter had created over ten million yuan in wealth.

Of course, by the time they were worth that much, he probably wouldn’t need the money anymore.

...

Two days later.

In a private room at Donglai Shun, Zhou Shengli, Wang Dagan, and Tian Chunzhi invited Deng Shirong for a meal.

After the pleasantries and thanks, once the meal was nearly finished, Zhou Shengli said, “Mr. Deng, the market in Beijing is still very large. Last year and this year, we only sold the longan in one area. There are several other areas we haven’t explored yet!

Next year, could you bring more longan? We can guarantee to sell all of it.”

This was a business that could bring in a fortune every day. After trying it out, anyone would be eager to repeat it. Zhou Shengli wanted to see if he could get more stock from Mr. Deng next year to make more money.

Wang Daren and Tian Chunzhi’s eyes also lit up with anticipation; they too wanted to make more money.

Deng Shirong had naturally considered this issue. Historically, lychees and longans were the most widely cultivated fruits in Bobai, earning it the nickname of "the land of longans." Therefore, it wasn’t just the Bai Ping Farm that grew longans; many other parts of the county did as well. Procuring more longans wouldn’t be a problem.

However, after some thought, Deng Shirong decided to abandon this tempting idea.

After all, he was using the system space to transport the longans, and this had to remain a secret. Currently, just a few dozen tons of longans were being transported, covering only about one-tenth of the population in the capital. Even if a leader noticed, they wouldn’t pay too much attention, at most just being curious about how the merchant managed to keep the fruits so fresh.

But if the quantity increased to a hundred tons or even more, covering the entire population of the capital, the impact would be too significant. It could attract unnecessary trouble.

So, Deng Shirong firmly declined, "Mr. Zhou, everyone wants to make money, but with our current capabilities, transporting this much fresh longan is already our limit. If we increase the quantity, we can’t guarantee the freshness, and that would result in a huge loss. So, I’m sorry, but the quantity will remain as it is. Unless there’s a significant breakthrough in preservation technology, we won’t be able to increase it in the short term."

Zhou Shengli was a bit disappointed but understood. He quickly adjusted his mindset and said, "We were too greedy and overlooked the challenges of preservation."

Deng Shirong pondered for a moment and said, "We can’t increase the quantity of longans, but if you’re interested in pineapples, I can transport some next year. Pineapples are one of the four famous fruits of Lingnan, with a much longer shelf life than longans. I’m just not sure if the people in the capital will enjoy the taste of pineapples."

Longans couldn’t be transported in larger quantities, but pineapples, with their longer shelf life, could be transported to the capital through normal channels. The reason no one did this was likely the fear of potential losses.

After all, transporting from the south incurred significant costs, and the selling price in the capital wouldn’t be cheap. Whether the people in the capital would buy them was uncertain, so why take the risk?

Selling them in nearby cities was quicker, easier, and equally profitable. Why not do that?

Wang Daren, looking puzzled, asked, "Mr. Deng, what kind of fruit is a pineapple?"

Zhou Shengli, being a fruit merchant who had visited the south, knew most of the fruits there. He immediately explained to his friend, "In biology, pineapples and ananas are considered the same fruit, just different varieties. Pineapples have 'internal thorns' that need to be removed after peeling, while ananas don’t. That’s the main difference."

Wang Daren nodded in realization, "So pineapples are ananas!"

Tian Chunzhi, showing interest, said, "I think ananas taste great!"

Zhou Shengli had tried pineapples before and found them acceptable. He was now intrigued and said, "Mr. Deng, could you transport a batch of pineapples next year? We can test the market. If customers accept them, we can increase our orders. What do you think?"

Deng Shirong nodded and smiled, "Sure, tell me how much you want, and I’ll bring it over."

Zhou Shengli silently calculated and asked, "Mr. Deng, can I ask about the price?"

Deng Shirong replied, "Since preservation isn’t a major issue, the main costs are in acquisition and transportation. So, the price is relatively low, just 60 to 70 cents per pound."

Zhou Shengli’s eyes brightened. While 60 to 70 cents per pound wasn’t cheap for fruits, considering these were southern fruits and not common northern fruits, the price was quite reasonable.

Without consulting his friends, Zhou Shengli decided, "Mr. Deng, if the price is that low, let’s start with thirty tons to test the market. If it works, we’ll increase our orders."

At 70 cents per pound, thirty tons would cost just 42,000 yuan. Even if he took on the entire batch himself, it wouldn’t be a burden. Even if all the pineapples didn’t sell, the profit from the longans would cover any losses.

If he made a profit, it would be a new and lucrative business opportunity.

"Alright, I’ll bring you thirty tons of pineapples next year."

"Wang, Tian, let’s raise a glass to Mr. Deng for providing us with another business opportunity."

"Mr. Zhou, you’re too kind. This is a win-win situation. Let’s all raise our glasses!"

"To win-win cooperation, cheers!"

"Cheers!"

PS: Dear readers, if you haven’t voted with your monthly votes, are you planning to save them for the New Year? ^_^

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end