Chapter 1309
Let's hear the price first
And so, Wang An held the two children and interacted with them, while listening to Wang Li and Mu Xueli recount their experiences and observations during their trip to Yi Province to everyone in the room.
To be honest, Wang Li and Mu Xueli's storytelling was so well-coordinated that it sounded like a stand-up comedy routine, and it was actually quite serious and interesting.
Meanwhile, the people inside listened to Wang Li and Mu Xueli bragging while enjoying the various snacks and treats that Wang An and the others had brought back. Occasionally, they would ask Wang An to verify whether what the two were saying was true or false.
Of course, this verification was not to question what Mu Xueli and Wang Li said, but simply to deepen my surprise and shock after hearing these things.
After chatting for a while longer, Mu Xueli and Wang Li finally finished recounting the events of their trip to Yi Province. Only then did Wang An address Wang Daliang, Mu Hua, and the others:
"After we finish eating, Xue Li, Lao Wu, and I will have to go to the county. Before we came back this time, a pharmacy from Anguo came with us to buy bear bile and bezoar. The pharmacy offered a really high price. So the three of us discussed it and decided to sell all the bear bile and other things from our three families to him in a little while."
No sooner had Wang An finished speaking than Wang Daliang eagerly asked:
"What prices do they offer for these things in Yi Province?"
After Wang Daliang finished asking his question, the others immediately turned their gazes toward Wang An.
As people from the mountains, we are very concerned about the prices of things like bear bile and ginseng. If someone accidentally comes across a ginseng while picking mushrooms or digging for wild vegetables in the mountains, who wouldn't want to sell it for a high price and improve their miserable life?
Upon hearing this, Wang An turned to Wang Li and said:
"Fifth brother, go to my bag and take out that ledger. Oh, and take out the medicinal herb purchase price list that Boss Han gave you as well."
Back in Anguo, Wang An had discussed with Wang Li and Mu Xueli that they would start collecting bear bile, bezoar, ginseng, and other items once they returned home.
The purpose of collecting these things was partly to make money, but mainly to get revenge on the supply and marketing cooperative.
You should know that Wang An had sold a lot of bear bile to the supply and marketing cooperative before, but the price was really infuriating, and he lost a lot of money.
As for the price list, Wang An asked Han Xiaomin for it on his own initiative, because in Wang An's view, many medicinal herbs in the mountains were being wasted.
Although supply and marketing cooperatives and medicinal herb purchasing stations also buy some medicinal herbs, their prices are ridiculously low, and they have many requirements for the medicinal herbs they purchase.
Of course, even so, many villagers still go to the mountains to dig up medicinal herbs that can be sold to supplement their household income during the off-season.
So if there is an opportunity in the future, Wang An will also find someone to partner with to purchase medicinal herbs, because Wang An knows that as the policies become more and more relaxed, there will be more and more people buying medicinal herbs in the future, and at that time, the medicinal herbs in the mountains will become in short supply.
However, Wang An will not be researching these things in the short term. The profit is too low and the risk is too high. It is really not worth it to deal with ordinary medicinal materials now.
Upon hearing this, Wang Li agreed and got up to take the account book from Wang An's bag.
Just as Wang Li was about to hand the ledger to Wang An, Wang An said again:
"Just read out the price of bear bile so everyone can hear it. Then we can discuss what price is appropriate for us to buy bear bile."
As soon as Wang An finished speaking, Liu Guilan immediately said:
"Why would we need that stuff? What if they call the police and arrest us?"
Wang Dazhu also said with a worried expression:
"Yeah, arresting them is one thing, but those things are ridiculously expensive. How much capital do we have to invest in them? What if by the time we get them, the price of bear bile and stuff has dropped? Wouldn't we lose a fortune?"
To be fair, what Wang Dazhu said actually made a lot of sense. However, Wang An, as a reborn person, knew very well that the prices of bear bile and bezoar would only continue to rise, eventually becoming ridiculously high, and a price reduction was absolutely out of the question. Wang An didn't rush to argue, but instead said with a smile:
"Listen to the price first, then we can discuss buying bear bile."
After Wang An finished speaking, Wang Li began to read aloud.
There weren't many words in total, so Wang Li quickly finished reading the price.
But when everyone heard the price, they were immediately stunned and their expressions became quite varied.
After a long pause to process it, Liu Guilan said with a sigh:
"Oh my goodness, the supply and marketing cooperative here is really ripping people off. The price is almost half again as high."
Second Aunt Yao Ping also said:
"Exactly! How can there be such a big difference? How can those guys at the supply and marketing cooperatives be so corrupt?"
Immediately afterwards, Wang Dazhu, Mu Hua, and others echoed his sentiments.
After everyone had finished speaking, Wang An then said:
"Now you know why the three of us were thinking of collecting bear bile, right? There's a huge gap in this business."
"Besides, most of the bear bile from our family was sold to the supply and marketing cooperative. You do the math, how much money did we lose? If we don't get revenge, I won't be able to sit still."
Turning his head, Wang An said to Wang Dazhu:
“Dad, let me tell you, bears are different from wild boars. The more you hunt them, the fewer there will be. But, the demand for bear bile from pharmaceutical factories and pharmacies is actually increasing. With these two opposing forces, how can the price of bear bile possibly drop?”
Wang Dazhu didn't speak, but simply nodded in agreement.
As time went by, not only did wild animals like bears decrease in number, but fewer and fewer people also went hunting in the mountains.
After all, hunting in the mountains is a high-risk, low-return profession. Most importantly, compared to farming, many people cannot endure the hardships of hunting in the mountains.
After a while of discussion, Wang An glanced at his watch and said to Liu Guilan:
"Mom, could you please decide what to cook? The man who's collecting bear bile means he'll be heading back to Yi Province after he finishes collecting it, and then the three of us will have to eat before he leaves."
Liu Guilan agreed and turned to walk towards the kitchen at the back, while Huang Li, Shen Wei, and Erniang Yao Ping followed her in.
With the four of them working hard, a table full of food was quickly prepared.
Because they were going to the county town to sell bear bile later, Wang An, Mu Xueli, and Wang Li didn't drink much; each of them only drank a little over 1ml of liquor.
After finishing their meal, the three of them didn't wait for everyone else to finish eating. They took the bear bile, bezoar, pig gallstones, and the small balance scale they had bought in Anguo on their way back, and went out together.
However, because Zhang Shuya's car needed to be returned, Wang An and the other two drove two cars; Wang An's GAZ was driven by Wang Li. (End of Chapter)