Novel Bin Chapter 360 - 360: Negotiations
Liu Xing sat down by the coal basin, his palms close to the newly risen flames. The gentle fire warmed his pale, frostbitten hands, and the ice in his hair slowly melted under the heat.
Once warmed up, Liu Xing turned to Xiao Li, “Brother Xiao Li, why are you here again today?”
In this freezing weather, many roads were icy and slippery. A trip to the town now took twice as long as usual, if not more. In winter, there were barely any people even going to the cooperative store to exchange goods.
Xiao Li had come the day before, trading half a cart of wild vegetables and pickles for a few kilograms of flour. Liu Xing thought he wouldn’t see him again for at least half a month, but here he was the very next day.
Xiao Wu had been called away by the village chief for other chores, and with Xiao Wu’s wife having just given birth and still in confinement, Xiao Wu couldn’t leave the village. Therefore, all the town’s business fell to Xiao Li.
Every half month, Xiao Li would gather wild vegetables others had brought and take them to the cooperative store in the town to exchange them for grains, meat, etc. Then he would return to the village and distribute them among the households according to their shares. It was a commendable task, and he did it with enthusiasm.
A little shy, Xiao Li licked his lips which had been moistened by warm water and said, “Didn’t you mention yesterday that there’s a large demand for pickled vegetables? After 1 went back, I discussed with Third Brother Jiang to see if we can cooperate with the cooperative store. Both our families can take on this task, streamline the process, and make things easier for both of us. See, representatives from both our families are here.”
Jiang Chuan had taught Xiao Li this speech. He had practiced it all the way and now recited it word for word.
He even patted Jiang Xia, sitting beside him. She immediately sat up straight and looked at Liu Xing.
Liu Xing looked at the young “representative” and couldn’t help but laugh heartily, teasing her, “Hello, young representative.”
Jiang Xia didn’t quite understand why adults always liked to tease children.
Wanting to get straight to the point, she said, “Uncle Liu, how much pickled vegetables does the cooperative store need when you say a large amount?”
To make it easy for Jiang Xia to understand, Liu Xing used his hands to illustrate. He made the shape of a big jar in front of his chest, “A jar this big, we need ten of them every month. But, you need to provide five every half month. I can’t wait a whole month.”
Jiang Xia was taken aback. This truly was a large amount!
Normally, Zhou Lan made meat sauce in small bottles. One bottle was enough for a family of four for three days. In terms of the jars, one jar of pickled vegetables, once prepared, lasted seven days and was enough for four people. But the size Liu Xing demonstrated was three times that of the jars they had at home, with one jar weighing at least twenty to thirty kilograms.
Ten jars of pickled vegetables could feed an entire village!
It seemed the pickles collected by the cooperative store were sent to the neighboring village.
What was so special about that village that it received such attention from the government, with both grain and vegetables being sent? Why didn’t Pushan Village receive the same treatment?
Jiang Xia contemplated. She’d have to ask her father to inquire from Chen Xing, who was after all the son-in-law of the neighboring village and must know their situation.
First, the main issue at hand.
They could produce pickled vegetables, but where would the ingredients come from?
Vegetables were not a problem, as Jiang Xia’s interspace was full of radishes and greens which she had been worrying about how to consume. Using them for pickles was perfect.
However, making pickles also required a lot of salt for curing and sugar for flavor enhancement. Where would these come from?
Moreover, they didn’t have such large jars at home.
Such jars couldn’t be easily found at factories like their usual pots and pans, and couldn’t be bought with money. This was really challenging!
Xiao Li also realized the difficulty. He hadn’t considered all these details previously, thinking only of the profit. Now, he realized this was nearly an impossible task.
Seeing the two of them in a dilemma, Liu Xing thought they were about to back out and asked, “Xiao Li, do you still want to take up the pickle business?”
Xiao Li immediately shook his head.
He was an honest man. Not being able to sell the pickles was secondary. The main worry was that if he promised and couldn’t deliver, he would feel very guilty.
Although Xiao Li had given up, Jiang Xia hadn’t.. She calmly retorted, “Uncle Liu, which normal household has such big jars? Isn’t this a bit unreasonable of you to ask?”