Sail across the sea

Chapter 358 was not very interesting.

"Fatty, is everything written in the newspaper true?"

In a small shop on the main street of Cangyuan County, Yuxi City, the shop owner, Ma Jin, refilled the teacups of two guests who had come from afar, and asked the one who was burly.

Outside the small shop hangs a sign that reads "Cangyuan County Xiaoma Cleaning Service Center".

This cleaning service center is one of more than one hundred private chemical cleaning agencies that Canghua Science and Trade has promoted and established throughout the province. Some of these agencies are called cleaning service stations, some are called cleaning companies, and others have all sorts of other strange names.

Their common characteristic was that they used chemical cleaning agents developed by Canghua Science and Trade, undertaking building cleaning services for government agencies and enterprises within a specific area. As their reputation gradually grew, some families would also hire them to help clean their kitchens and bathrooms. Of course, in those days, only the wealthy and powerful had bathrooms at home, and they wouldn't mind spending a few dollars to hire someone for a thorough cleaning.

The two customers sitting in Ma Jin's shop were Ning Mo and Gao Fan. Ning Mo could be considered Ma Jin's mentor. Later, Ma Jin opened a cleaning shop and would purchase cleaning agents from Canghua Science and Trade every now and then. Sometimes he would go to Cangtang to pick up the goods himself, and sometimes Canghua Science and Trade would send a car to deliver them to him. Because of this, he had met Ning Mo many times.

Ning Mo was honest and kind, and got along well with people from all walks of life, especially unemployed young men like Ma Jin who had little education. Ning Mo and Ma Jin were particularly close. When Ning Mo delivered goods to Ma Jin, Ma Jin treated him to a meal, and they even drank together. This was the fifth of the four great bonds of friendship.

This time, Ning Mo brought Gao Fan specifically to visit Ma Jin. After chatting for a while, Gao Fan brought up the article in the newspaper.

The newspaper was brought by Gao Fan. Ma Jin's small shop wouldn't possibly subscribe to a provincial newspaper; they might have a radio and television guide, but Gao Fan couldn't advertise in it.

When Gao Fan handed him a newspaper, Ma Jin was a little confused. However, after looking at the headline, he understood a bit. He knew the relationship between Canghua Science and Trade and Canghai Fertilizer Plant. The newspaper praised Canghai Fertilizer Plant, so it was understandable that people from Canghua Science and Trade would show off with the newspaper.

After reading two paragraphs out of consideration for saving face, Ma Jin suddenly had a thought and realized that the other party's intention in letting him read this newspaper was not limited to showing off.

"What's written in the newspaper can't be false, right?" Ning Mo replied somewhat discontentedly.

Ma Jin wasn't entirely without social experience; he knew newspapers were full of exaggerated claims, and it was always wise to take things with a grain of salt. However, what he was most concerned about at the moment wasn't the newspaper's integrity, but rather the news of a bumper early rice harvest in several counties of Luping City.

“Everyone knows that urea is more potent than ammonium bicarbonate. However, I have some doubts about whether it can be this much stronger,” Ma Jin said tactfully.

Gao Fan asked, "Brother Ma, do you have any relatives who farm?"

Ma Jin said, "Of course. Both my parents came from the countryside. My eldest uncle and my two maternal uncles all farm in the countryside."

"Haven't they ever used urea?"

“That’s for sure. I heard them say that the whole county can only get a few dozen tons of urea a year. The county and township officials distribute it all at once. My family doesn’t have any strong connections, so where would we get urea?”

"If I could get my hands on it, would you want it?" Gao Fan asked. Ning Mo pointed at Gao Fan: "His father is the factory director of our factory, the one written here, Gao Yiping, that's his father."

"Oh, so Manager Gao is..." Ma Jin quickly feigned some fear to show respect.

When the two arrived, Ning Mo had already introduced Gao Fan as the manager of Canghua Science and Trade. Judging from Gao Fan's age, Ma Jin figured the manager title was probably just a figurehead. After all, this fat guy claimed to be the company's administrative supervisor, but when he was drunk, he just crawled under the table with him.

Now, hearing Ning Mo say that Gao Fan was actually the factory director's son, Ma Jin realized that this manager was probably no ordinary person. At the same time, he also thought of some other unspeakable things.

"What did Manager Gao mean when he said he could get urea?" Ma Jin asked tentatively.

Gao Fan smiled faintly: "It means exactly what it says. I can get urea at the factory price, 420 per ton. You'll need to go to Cangtang to pick it up yourselves. Brother Ma, are you interested?"

Currently, the ex-factory price of urea in Maolin Province is 400 yuan per ton, and the retail price is 510 yuan per ton. Gao Fan said 420 yuan per ton to create the impression in front of Ma Jin that he was making a profit by reselling urea. The transportation cost for one ton of urea from Cangtang to Cangyuan is about 30 yuan, which means that Ma Jin's net price is 450 yuan. He can make a profit of 60 yuan with each resale, which can be considered a huge profit.

Agricultural production materials are state-monopolized. The price difference between wholesale and retail, after deducting transportation costs, is the gross profit of the agricultural input companies. These companies employ a large number of people, and this price difference is barely enough to cover their wages.

However, if these supplies are handed over to private individuals for management, the profits can be substantial. Private operators don't need managers or deputy managers, nor do they need accounting or human resources departments. They would prefer to do everything themselves, including loading and unloading, and pocket all the wholesale and retail price differences.

In fact, in this era, there were already some well-connected people who were privately dealing in materials. It was quite common for people like Gao Fan to get fertilizer from the factory at the ex-factory price and then resell it to private operators.

In a few years, the government will remove its intervention in factory and retail prices, allowing the market to regulate them. For goods in short supply, manufacturers can raise factory prices to earn more profits. At that time, there will be no more opportunities to profit from price differences through connections.

Ma Jin didn't know the current price of urea, but now wasn't the time to verify that. He only needed to know one thing: Gao Fan was the factory director's son, and he could get urea at the factory price, which was definitely much lower than the retail price, making it absolutely profitable.

"How much can Manager Gao get?" Ma Jin asked in a low voice.

Gao Fan smiled and said, "At most 50 tons, my old man can't handle any more than that."

“50 tons is no problem,” Ma Jin replied. “Just from my uncle’s and maternal uncle’s villages, 20 or 30 tons would be more than enough. People from other villages will definitely come to buy as well.”

Gao Fan smiled and said, "If Brother Ma is planning to sell it like this, it's not very interesting. Urea is in high demand right now. If I could just find a few farmers to sell it to, why would I have come all the way here with Fatty?"

(End of this chapter)