Back in the 1980s, hiking in the mountains was also a way of life

The main issue is that Wang An and his two companions' acquisition of bear bile was clearly a large-scale act of speculation and profiteering.

If the investment office takes this seriously, Wang An and his two companions will really be in deep trouble.

Although Zhang Shuya and Wu Dong certainly couldn't let anything happen to Wang An and the other two, resolving the situation would definitely be quite troublesome.

Wang An had absolutely no reason to hide anything from Zhang Shuya, so he told her the truth:

"Pretty much. The three of us did collect quite a lot this year. Most of the people hunting in the area west of the county town sold their bear bile to us."

Zhang Shuya sighed, rolled her eyes at Wang An with a helpless expression, and said:

"You always give me endless worries. Let's put things calm down before the New Year and stop all the acquisitions for now. We can talk about it again after the New Year when the new documents come out."

Wang An smiled and said:

"Okay, I'll listen to my older sister, hehehe."

After Wang An finished speaking, Zhang Shuya added:

"Don't take it too seriously. We've been a bit slow in opening up the sector to individual businesses, but there are still some policies in place. It's just that everyone in charge is hesitant and worried that any changes to the policies might affect them."

Wang An, as a reborn person, had experienced all of Zhang Shuya's experiences, so he knew them all.

After all, it has only been a few years since the policy was relaxed, and the definitions of many things are still quite vague. Therefore, it is a common phenomenon that local leaders are always hesitant about private business dealings.

Most importantly, Wang An and his two companions, along with Feng Chengmin, went a bit too far, and their actions have begun to affect the actual business of the supply and marketing cooperative and the medicinal herb purchasing station. Otherwise, no one would have bothered with this matter.

Wang An nodded and spoke truthfully:
"Yeah, even without us, their purchase volume would definitely decline year by year. Their purchase price is too low. Compared with Yi Province, it's almost half as low. They always treat the people like fools. I don't know what they're thinking."

After a pause, Wang An shook his head and said:

"Besides, there are plenty of peddlers riding beat-up bicycles coming to the village to buy bear bile and fur these days. If they want to keep buying at such low prices, they're just dreaming."

For those who travel from village to village to do business, the locals call them "peddlers" in a different way than in other places. Of course, they are also called "traveling merchants" or "border merchants".

However, relatively speaking, the latter two are larger in scale, so fewer people use this term.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Shuya frowned and said:

"Is everything down here this crazy? Is it the same in your village?"

Wang An said noncommittally:
"What do you mean 'our village is like this'? It means every village is like this. If it weren't for these peddlers who are always on the go, we would be collecting far more goods than this."

At this point, Wang An's spirits suddenly lifted, and he subconsciously thought of a very apt possibility regarding the poisoning incident that had been troubling him these past few days.

That means the person who poisoned it was most likely a peddler!
Because everyone was doing the same thing, and Wang An and his two companions' extravagant spending when collecting goods not only affected the purchasing tasks of the supply and marketing cooperative and the purchasing station, but also affected the peddlers who relied on this for a living.

Putting everything else aside, just take those musk sachets for example. If someone hadn't deliberately inflated the price, Wang An wouldn't have had such a hard time acquiring them.

Of course, on the other hand, if Wang An hadn't raised the price from the normal private transaction price of 5 yuan per piece to 6 yuan per piece, those peddlers would have bought them for 5 yuan each. So, in truth, it was Wang An who ruined their business.

However, that's how business works. Wang An's channels are in Yi Province, so he can still make a good profit even with a purchase price of 6 yuan.

But those peddlers wouldn't travel that far to Yi Province; they would normally sell their medicines at the wholesale market in Bingcheng.

Wang An knew all too well what kind of unscrupulous herbal medicine merchants in Bingcheng were like; it was unlikely they would offer the peddlers 6,000 yuan per herb, at most 5,500 yuan.

So the peddlers raised the price but didn't actually buy the musk deer, which forced those who specialized in catching musk deer to turn to Wang An again.

However, after Wang An bought the musk sachets for 6, the peddlers not only couldn't get any more goods, but also offended the group that caught musk deer because they were arbitrarily raising prices without paying. Naturally, they would hold a grudge against Wang An.

As the saying goes, "blocking someone's path to wealth is like killing their parents," so you can imagine how much those peddlers hated Wang An.

When a person hates to the extreme, they will inevitably lose their rationality, and all sorts of wicked or malicious thoughts will instantly fill their mind. Poisoning Wang Anjia would then become a natural thing to do.

With this in mind, Wang An's thoughts instantly became clear, and he immediately had a direction to investigate.

Just as Wang An was pondering where to begin without alerting the enemy, he heard Zhang Shuya say:
"Okay, I understand. You three shouldn't collect those things before the New Year. In the meantime, I'll send someone to work with the anti-smuggling office to deal with those peddlers. You can resume collecting after the New Year."

To be honest, Zhang Shuya was too protective of her own. When it came to matters involving Wang An and others, she had to inform Wang An in advance and also help him get rid of his competitors.

It's no exaggeration to say that a sworn sister like Zhang Shuya is extremely rare in this world.

Wang An nodded with a smile and said:

"Okay, I'll listen to you, big sister. When I get back, I'll tell my uncle not to accept it yet, hehe."

After finishing their business, Sun Nian blinked her bright, almond-shaped eyes and rolled her eyes at Wang An, saying:

"What are you doing here today? You've been gone for so long. I thought you'd been slapped by that big paw again."

On the surface, Sun Nian seemed to be joking and chatting as a friend, but Wang An could clearly see that Sun Nian's peach blossom eyes, which were full of springtime charm, were now filled with resentment and bitterness, making her look like a resentful woman in her boudoir.

The main issue is that it has been almost a year since Wang An was injured, and in all this time, have Wang An and Sun Nian ever been affectionate or intimate?

For Sun Nian, a woman with such strong desires, one can only imagine how intense the discomfort must have been.

It's important to understand that while men may like women, women also need men. However, Sun Nian's status and perspective dictate that she would never and could not easily find a lover.

Wang An smiled and said:

"I just had some free time, so I came to see you all, hehehe."

As he spoke, Wang An opened the cloth bag in his hand, took out a bottle containing the blood of a hanging sheep, and then said with a face full of pride:
"We went into the mountains yesterday and finally caught a ram. We bled them this morning, so I came here to bring you some ram blood. You two each have three bottles to drink first. I'll bring you more if I catch another ram." (End of Chapter)