Chen Lan also followed suit, taking out a large piece of fatty meat wrapped in oil paper from her large backpack, and a bottle of rapeseed oil in a wine bottle, and placed them on the table.
Brother Hu looked at the meat Chen Lan took out, its thick fat glistening with oil, the kind of fatty meat that was perfect for selling. He could even smell the fragrance of rapeseed from the oil through the glass bottle.
Brother Hu motioned to the lean youth with a hint of vigilance to open the cloth bag. The lean youth obediently stepped forward and opened the bag. To his surprise, he exclaimed, "This is... Fuqiang flour, such white Fuqiang flour! Brother Hu, it's really Fuqiang flour." He then handed the Fuqiang flour in the bag to Brother Hu. Seeing Brother Hu nod, he opened another cloth bag. Upon opening it, he exclaimed again, "What white, plump, and uniform rice!"
Hearing the lean youth's exclamation, and looking at the plump, white rice in the bag, Brother Hu's mouth twitched, but he tried his best to maintain a calm expression. Inwardly, however, he was already in turmoil.
He considered himself well-connected and influential in Harbin, but he never imagined that even with his connections, he couldn't get such good stuff. Yet, as the saying goes, they had casually asked him how much he wanted. My goodness! Didn't that imply they had as much of this good stuff as he wanted? It truly made one feel inadequate in comparison!
And what did this signify? It meant they not only had wide channels but also strong connections. Wasn't it clearly telling him, "I have people above me"? He should just stick to his black market business and not inquire too much. He shouldn't think about unnecessary things; as long as there was profit to be made, he should be content with earning money. Besides, he had a group of brothers to look after. He didn't want to drag them down and lose their lives.
Chen Lan was unaware of Brother Hu's inner thoughts. She hadn't expected him to have conjured up so many elaborate scenarios in such a short time. Even if she had known, she might have just smiled it off.
Brother Hu silently told himself not to show any weakness, or this deal would be at a disadvantage.
So, Brother Hu steadied his nerves and immediately, with a warm smile, instructed, "Monkey, what are you doing? Why haven't you arranged for these distinguished guests to sit down yet?"
At this moment, the lean youth named Monkey also underwent a dramatic change in demeanor. He exaggeratedly patted his head and explained with a fawning smile, "Look at me, it's just that I saw our esteemed guests! I got so happy that I forgot to get chairs for them. Esteemed guest, please don't be offended! Please don't be offended!"
Unexpectedly, Jia Yao coolly replied with two words: "No trouble."
After Monkey finished speaking, he scurried out and quickly brought back a grand official's chair, placing it opposite Brother Hu's table.
Seeing Jia Yao sit down steadily, Brother Hu then spoke, asking in a very respectful tone, "May I ask what price you can offer?"
At this, Jia Yao turned to look at Chen Lan. Chen Lan, with perfect tacit understanding, said, "If you have coupons, the oil and Fuqiang flour are both one yuan per jin, and the rice is one yuan two jiao. If you don't have coupons, the oil and Fuqiang flour are both one yuan five jiao per jin, and the rice is one yuan seven jiao per jin. For meat, with coupons, it's one yuan five jiao per jin, plus six liang of meat coupons. Without coupons, it's two yuan per jin."
Brother Hu heard that the prices were indeed quite reasonable. He could tell that the prices Chen Lan and the others offered were fair and showed genuine sincerity.
However, Brother Hu was ultimately a businessman, and the merchant's nature was inherent in him. Although he felt some awe towards Chen Lan and the others, even though the prices Chen Lan quoted were not high, he habitually began to bargain with Jia Yao. He smiled and asked Jia Yao, "Brother, can the price be a little lower? You see, I have to support a bunch of brothers, and I'm ordering quite a large quantity this time. Can you give me a wholesale price?"
Jia Yao's face was stern and indifferent as he asked, "How much are you prepared to take?"
His words were concise and to the point, truly a poker face. Chen Lan, standing behind Jia Yao, found it rather amusing. She imagined that Jia Yao would probably maintain this cool demeanor when he grew up and became a father.
Hearing that there was room for negotiation, Brother Hu's face lit up with a smile, and he replied, "If your goods are all of this quality, I'll take five thousand jin of rice and five thousand jin of Fuqiang flour, two thousand jin of oil. Since the weather is hot and meat doesn't keep well, I'll take less meat, just two hundred jin. None of these items require coupons; they will all be settled in cash."
Jia Yao, with his poker face, turned to look at Chen Lan again. Then, he coolly nodded, signaling Chen Lan to continue. Chen Lan, suppressing a smile, said, "Brother Hu, you've already seen the quality of the goods. It's also our first time dealing with you, and we understand that you might have some concerns. We can understand that. But given your reputation in the Harbin black market, I believe no one would dare to deceive you. Don't you agree? So you can rest assured, the quality of the goods is absolutely guaranteed. The goods you receive will be exactly the same as what you see now."
Having said that, Chen Lan paused and observed Brother Hu's expression. Seeing how pleased he was with her compliment, she continued, "For the quantity you mentioned earlier, since this is our first dealing with you, Brother Hu, and we wish to befriend you! How about this: we'll only charge for travel expenses and the hard work of our brothers. We'll reduce the price by two mao per jin for each item. The total cost for all the goods you requested earlier is sixteen thousand nine hundred and sixty yuan. If you round it up to seventeen thousand yuan, we'll do cash on delivery. As I said before, given your reputation in Harbin, Brother Hu, we trust you and will not ask for a deposit." Su Dan Novel Network
Brother Hu was surprised that Chen Lan not only calculated so quickly but was also so straightforward in her business dealings. A reduction of two mao per jin was not a small amount. It seemed they genuinely wanted to befriend him. After doing some calculations with his pen on paper, he thought that since they were so agreeable, he wouldn't quibble over the extra forty yuan. Moreover, he was in urgent need of these goods. So, he asked eagerly, "When can you deliver the goods?"
At this moment, Jia Yao said in a deep voice, "We can deliver anytime. Where should we send them?"
Brother Hu then asked, "Can you deliver now? The place isn't far, it's the Northern Mansion in Nangang District. I've rented a small warehouse there that they aren't using."