Chapter 1316
Family is family, money is money
Upon hearing this, Wang An chuckled and said:
“No way. When I asked that day, his dad said that a good amount of wild boar stomach would normally cost between eighty and one hundred yuan. But this time, it seems they needed to treat someone’s stomach ailment and were in urgent need of this good amount of wild boar stomach, so they gave me a price of 200 yuan.”
Upon hearing this, Feng Chengmin, still somewhat excited, said:
“Eighty to one hundred is not a small amount. The wild boar king that the three of us killed last time had a belly that was quite big, about the same size as the one you’re selling. The boils on it, I think, were even more than the one you’re selling, and the supply and marketing cooperative only gave me 32 yuan.”
As he spoke, Feng Chengmin added with a displeased expression:
"Let's say it's eighty yuan. That's still a huge shortfall. Oh my god, that's more than 50 yuan less! More than 50 yuan! Damn it, the more I think about it, the angrier I get."
Admittedly, this feeling is unbearable for anyone.
Being angry and feeling humiliated together makes you feel humiliated!
The reason I feel so helpless is that even though I know the price is low and the difference is huge, I am completely powerless and can't do anything to the supply and marketing cooperative and the medicinal herb purchasing station.
Wang An comforted him with a smile:
"Alright, Uncle, you've been selling like this all these years. If you ask me, why don't you come and collect bear bile with us? You've already learned how to test for bear bile and bezoar, so just sit at home and start collecting. After you've collected it, resell it. You can make money and get back at the supply and marketing cooperative and the purchasing station. Wouldn't that be great?"
Due to underdeveloped transportation and limited access to information, this significant price difference is actually common in various places.
This is why a unique industry emerged in this era: "speculators".
Just as Wang An said, making a fortune by taking advantage of such a huge price difference would be an absolutely exhilarating thing.
After Wang An finished speaking, Feng Chengmin pondered for a long time before gritting his teeth and saying:
"Then let's do it! I have to make back all the money I've lost over the years. Damn it, I don't even dare to do the math. If we did, the three of us brothers would have lost tens of thousands of yuan over the years."
Feng Chengmin's words were not an exaggeration at all, because with the hunting skills of the three brothers, plus the vast resources left by their father, their annual harvest from the mountains was definitely not a small amount.
Upon hearing this, Wang An chuckled and said:
"There's nothing we can do about selling it for less money. It's your own fault for just staying cooped up in this mountain valley all day and never going out for a stroll."
Feng Chengmin sighed and said helplessly:
"It takes at least ten days to half a month to go out here. Who would have thought that there would be such a big difference between the outside world and our place!"
At this moment, Feng Chengmin's face was filled with annoyance, regret, and frustration.
Wang An smiled again:
"Alright, Uncle Ang, stop thinking about it. This time, we'll just collect all the bear bile and bezoar from this whole area, and then all the money that should be going to the supply and marketing cooperative will end up in our pockets, hahahaha!"
Wang An smiled, and Wang Li and Mu Xueli followed suit. Under the influence of these three, Feng Chengmin's expression also softened considerably.
After Feng Chengmin agreed to join, the four of them sat in the car and discussed some details.
For example, collecting bear bile, bezoar, pig stomach, pig gall, and other such items must never be done openly. After all, this kind of behavior is going against the government, and if discovered, there will definitely be bad consequences. Therefore, one can only approach hunters one-on-one. Anyway, there are only so many hunters in the surrounding area, and everyone knows each other to some extent, or at least has heard of each other.
It is believed that, tempted by the high prices, no hunter will sell bear bile to supply and marketing cooperatives and purchasing stations anymore.
For example, the acquisition price must be uniform. It is absolutely unacceptable for Wang An and the other two to offer one price while Feng Chengmin offers another.
Another crucial issue is profit distribution.
As the old saying goes, "Relatives are relatives, and money is money," and "Even close brothers should keep clear accounts," so this point must be made clear in advance.
Wang An's original idea was to partner with Wang Li and Mu Xueli, with him providing the capital and the other two handling the work, which involved contacting the hunters. The three of them would then split the profits according to the old rules.
As for the goods that Feng Chengmin collected, Wang An and the other two simply helped him sell them when they went to Yi Province to sell their own goods. In any case, no matter how much goods Feng Chengmin collected, the money he earned would belong to Feng Chengmin, while Wang An and the other two would only take the extra 10%.
After all, live-streaming e-commerce carries risks in this era, and significant ones at that. So while the 10% commission that Wang An and his two companions asked for was not a small amount, it wasn't too much compared to the risks involved.
However, after Wang An finished speaking, Feng Chengmin said to Wang An:
"Family matters are family matters, and money matters are money matters. If we do things this way, you'll definitely be the one who loses out the most. You're the one who found the way and built the connections. Without you, this whole thing would be impossible. Not to mention anything else, just the fact that you're carrying a gun on the train is a huge problem. If something goes wrong, you'll be in jail."
Wang An was taken aback upon hearing this and said:
"So, what are your thoughts, Uncle?"
Feng Chengmin said:
"I'll just work with you like Lao Wu and Xue Li, that's all. Let me tell you, I've been running around in the mountains for so many years, I know pretty much all those gunners and old mountain dogs. My word carries a lot more weight than yours."
Before Wang An could speak, Feng Chengmin said somewhat embarrassedly:
"Besides, tinkering with these things is too expensive. To be honest, I don't have that much money in my pocket."
As an experienced mountain hunter, Feng Chengmin and his two brothers had a considerable harvest from hunting every year, so it would be wrong to say that he was poor; at the very least, he was much wealthier than the average farmer.
But compared to the expensive medicinal materials like bear bile and bezoar that cost hundreds or even thousands of yuan to resell, the money he had was probably not enough.
Wang An clicked his tongue and said:
"You must have some of those thirty or twenty thousand, Uncle-in-law, right?"
Feng Chengmin nodded and said:
"If we include the 3,000 or so we got this time, it should be around 25,000 or 26,000."
After Feng Chengmin finished speaking, Wang Li said in disbelief:
"No, Uncle, you started hunting in the mountains before you were even 20. How come you've only saved up so little money in all these years?"
Upon hearing this, Feng Chengmin said in an annoyed tone:
"25,000 or 26,000 is too little? Go and ask around the entire Xing'an Commune, or even the entire DJ County, including those ginseng-carrying gangs. How many of them can come up with 20,000?" (End of Chapter)