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

For a hunter who spends most of his time in the mountains, having a reliable buyer who offers high prices is extremely important.

The main problem was that in those days of limited information access, when even a long journey required a letter of introduction, it was extremely difficult to obtain information on the purchase prices of medicinal herbs in other regions.

The key issue is that even if you know the prices in other places, transportation remains a major challenge.

Even Wang An, a reborn individual, would have been forced to travel all the way to Yi Province because of the pharmaceutical factory issue. Otherwise, the bear bile he collected in the mountains would have been sold at a low price to the supply and marketing cooperative or purchasing station.

Buyers like Wang An, who have families and businesses, live locally, and don't nitpick about goods or deliberately drive down prices, are undoubtedly the most popular among hunters in the surrounding area.

So it's no exaggeration to say that no matter which village in the western townships of DJ County Wang An and Feng Chengmin visit, they will always be treated as honored guests by those hunters.

There was no other way; when Wang An and Feng Chengmin and the other three were buying goods, they not only offered high prices, but also never extended credit, no matter how high the price or how large the amount. They always paid in cash upfront.

And when there are odd numbers, just round it up to 5, or round it up to the next digit.

The "rounding up to 5" mentioned here, and the "rounding up to the next digit" rule, actually means that if the last digit is less than 5, it is directly calculated as 5 yuan; if the last digit is greater than 5, it is rounded up to the next digit and calculated as 10 yuan.

Therefore, with the emergence of local strongmen like Wang An who could offer high prices, these hunters would inevitably develop a sense of disgust towards peddlers who were more mobile, had extremely unstable purchase prices, and liked to play tricks.

Of course, Peng Zhiyong's actions at this time were not without an element of performance; his main goal was to curry favor with Wang An and build a closer relationship with him.

Wang An listened with a smile to Peng Zhiyong's tirade against the peddler named Song Ping, then suddenly asked Peng Zhiyong:

"Brother Peng, do you know where this Song Ping you mentioned lives?"

Before Peng Zhiyong could answer, Wang An continued speaking to himself:
“I was thinking of having a chat with him. If they could do what we do in the future, that is, give you a high price and then make less profit for themselves, and not arbitrarily raise prices, then it would be good for everyone to just collect their own.”

Upon hearing this, Peng Zhiyong's face lit up with joy. If Wang An's suggestion was followed, it would be a very good thing for the group of hunters.

However, Peng Zhiyong still shook his head and said:

“Those guys, ugh! They’re all liars and bastards. I don’t think this thing will ever work.”

After a pause, Peng Zhiyong continued:

"In the early years, in order to gain the trust of the hunting crew, Song Ping did mention where his hometown was. It was somewhere in Shuangqiao Commune under LQ County, and then there was a place called Anfu Village."

In those days, if a stranger entered a village, it would definitely arouse the vigilance of the entire village.

Therefore, the normal procedure is to first establish connections, that is, introduce oneself and claim kinship. Only by gaining the trust of the villagers can one proceed to the next step.

After Peng Zhiyong finished speaking, Wang An pondered for a long time but couldn't recall what kind of place Anfutun was. In other words, Wang An had never even heard of it.

However, Wang An did have a vague recollection of this peddler named Song Ping, because the old fellow was very diligent in traveling from village to village, making a trip to Kaoshantun every few days. So, Wang An asked again:
"Then he never said where to find him if I want to sell my goods?"

As soon as Wang An finished speaking, Peng Zhiyong immediately said:
“He did tell me. He said that on the 5th, 15th, and 25th of every month, he stays in Shuangqiao Commune. He said his house is the third house from the east, the second one behind the Shuangqiao Supply and Marketing Cooperative. If he doesn’t come here, go look for him there.”

Upon hearing this, Wang An's eyes lit up. With such precise information, Wang An felt that it would become much easier to kill this old bastard named Song Ping.

Of course, Wang An wouldn't kill innocent people indiscriminately; he had to find out whether the person who poisoned the body was indeed this Song Ping.

Having obtained the information he wanted, Wang An prepared to take his leave.

However, before leaving, Wang An told Peng Zhiyong that someone would be coming to investigate the peddler's speculation and profiteering during this period.

Therefore, Wang An and others stopped buying goods before the Lunar New Year. If Peng Zhiyong and others had goods, they should try not to sell them to peddlers. After the Lunar New Year, Wang An would continue to buy goods on the 6th day of each month.

The "6th" mentioned here refers to the 6th, 16th, and 26th of each month.

During this year, in order to prevent the hunters from selling their goods to him too in a scattered manner, Wang An decided to conduct a unified inspection and purchase of the goods on the 6th of each month.

Therefore, in the summer, Wang An also asked Wang Dazhu to gather people and build a simple gatehouse of more than 70 square meters with red bricks at the entrance of the courtyard, specifically to receive people who came to sell goods.

This gatehouse is divided into two rooms, an outer and a smaller one. The outer room is for visitors to rest and chat, while the inner room is the place for inspecting goods and making transactions.

After all, many people don't want others to know what they're selling or how much they're selling for, so this room inside is quite necessary.

Those who come to sell their goods can enjoy free tea and cigarettes, as well as a free lunch.

This treatment was considered very humane for that era, so Wang Anjia's good reputation quickly spread throughout the hunting community and various ginseng gangs.

This is why Wang An's family received more and more goods, eventually spending all the cash in their house.

Of course, the people who came to sell their goods were mostly hunters from the surrounding villages, and they all had guns.

So every month on the 6th, which is the day for inspection and purchase, Wang Li, Mu Xueli, and Huang Zhong would all have someone standing there holding a Type 56 assault rifle.

The sole purpose of doing this is to deter some people from harboring malicious intentions and to force them to keep their inappropriate thoughts to themselves.

Peng Zhiyong was terrified when he heard that an investigation into speculation and profiteering was in progress.

After all, there were strict regulations in the early years.

That means when hunters catch prey or ginseng diggers find ginseng, and even the grain people have must be sold to supply and marketing cooperatives, purchasing stations, or grain depots; private transactions are absolutely prohibited. (End of Chapter)