A doctor who travels through two eras

Chapter 154: One pound of rice for two abalones
Mao thought about it and realized that if Lin Sanqi was not interested and did not plan to stay longer, he would definitely pay the money, take the herbs and leave. Who would have the time to visit the abalone warehouse?
But Lin Sanqi knew that there were many rules and troubles in this era, so he must not speak first if he wanted to purchase these dried abalone.

If I were to be suspected by the locals and sent to the police station, I would be unable to withstand scrutiny.

So you need to guide and let the other person speak first.

Director Li's motives are not pure, and Lin Sanqi's motives are not pure either. It's just an old fox versus a young fox.

So Lin Sanqi intentionally or unintentionally turned the topic around abalone, and even deliberately tried to slip Director Li's mind.

Sure enough, Director Li was about to cry when he heard this, not to mention the bitter smile:
"Oh my, Comrade Lin, you people in the capital don't know the hardships we islanders have to endure.

The dried abalone you see was indeed a tribute in the Qing Dynasty. The officials loved it very much, so there was no problem with sales. Later, the Qing Dynasty fell, but the warlords and capitalists were still there, so there was no problem with sales.

But, but…"

Director Li was about to complain when he suddenly thought of something and stopped talking.

In fact, how could Lin Sanqi not understand? After the liberation, the officials, capitalists, and warlords of all sizes were gone, and these people happened to be the largest consumers of Nanri abalone.

Now the consumers are gone. Except for a few time-honored brands, basically all restaurants of all sizes across the country have closed down. So who can we sell dried abalone to?
Director Li saw that there was no one around, so he sighed and continued to complain:

"Now our abalone is mainly purchased in small quantities by the supply and marketing cooperatives. But Comrade Lin, you also know that our country has been hit by natural disasters in recent years. Ordinary people can't even afford to eat. Who has money to eat abalone?"

Lin Sanqi This is a bit strange:

"That's not right. I had Buddha Jumps Over the Wall in Xiamen a few days ago, and it cost me 20 yuan for one bowl. It's super expensive. You guys should sell your abalone at a high price."

Director Li shook his head slightly:
"Buddha Jumps Over the Wall is a famous dish in our Hujian Province, right? But there are only three restaurants in the province that can make Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, and they only sell a few servings a day. How much do you think the consumption of abalone can be?"

Another reason why abalone cannot be consumed is the restriction on consumption areas.

In China, abalone is mainly consumed in coastal provinces, such as Dongguan and Hujian. The northern and inland regions have no tradition of eating abalone due to limited transportation and economic conditions.

For example, the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall mentioned earlier is only popular in several southern provinces.

Another major consumer region for abalone is South Korea and Japan. Unfortunately, my country’s relations with these countries were not very good in 1959, so there was no need to think about exporting.

There is no market for domestic sales and no way to export them. No matter how good the abalone from Nanri Island is, it can only be piled up in the warehouse and rot.

But the fishermen need to eat, and the island does not produce grain. This contradiction is very real and very acute.

The high-end goods became backlog goods, which was a catastrophe for the people of Nanri Island, but it was great news for the time traveler Lin Sanqi.

Lin Sanqi listened to Director Li for a long time, then pretended not to understand and sighed:

"Yes, what can we do? The people of Nanri Island have a hard life. They are so poor that they can only eat sea cucumbers and abalone every day."

Director Li had been laying the groundwork for quite some time, and now he decided to reveal his true intentions:

"Well, Comrade Lin, you are a great doctor, expert, and leader from the capital. You should know that abalone is not only a food, but also has very high medicinal value. It can nourish yin and kidney, nourish liver and improve eyesight.

So, hey, Comrade Lin, can you tell your unit about our actual difficulties and help purchase some abalone? I believe the people of the capital will definitely welcome this precious medicinal material."

After hearing this, Lin Sanqi suddenly burst out laughing. Well, in order to promote abalone, seafood has been directly turned into a medicinal ingredient.

At the same time, Lin Sanqi was secretly happy in his heart. He finally waited for the other party to say this. Whether Hu Jian’s trip could make money and monetize the traffic depended on how he performed next.

So Lin Sanqi pretended to be surprised and embarrassed, and his acting skills soared:

"Ah, Director Li, you want me to buy dried abalone? Well, our unit has no instructions."

Director Li quickly continued to cry poor:
"Comrade Lin, you are from a big hospital in the capital, but you don't know how hard it is for the people in our area. Look at this good dried abalone, it is very nutritious. It can also be used as a tonic and medicine. If it doesn't work, you can give it to the employees as welfare. Brother Lin, I beg you."

Lin Sanqi continued to be embarrassed:
"Director Li, this... this... I am just an ordinary buyer. This, this is inappropriate..."

Director Li also risked everything to sell the dried abalone:

"Brother Lin, can you please ask your dean for help, or if you have any other friends in the capital, can you help me buy some for me? The price is negotiable. For such a big abalone, I will only charge 5 cents. Or you can give me a pound of rice."

Brother Lin, there is really nothing we can do. You see, abalone grow on the bottom of the sea. Our fishermen have to risk their lives to go to the bottom of the sea to pick them up one by one. A few of them die every year. Even if they don’t die, the fishermen are sick from working in the sea for a long time.

The key is that food is too difficult to come by on the island. People eat fish, crabs, and abalone every day. Everyone is malnourished. It's too difficult, too difficult." Lin Sanqi pretended to empathize with him, his eyes reddened:
"We are all class brothers, and we are all one family. We will help you if we can. So, Director Li, I still have some connections in the capital, but I have to send a telegram to ask if they have any needs. I will let you know when I have the result."

When Director Li heard that this young man from the capital was really easy to please, he took the initiative to help sell the product after just a few words.

"That's great, Brother Lin. If the abalone can be sold, you will be the benefactor of our Nanri Island. Let's go, let's go. We are a poor place in the countryside and only have seafood. Let's go eat a meal first."

Lin Sanqi doesn't want to waste time. Of course, making money comes first and putting the money in pocket is the best thing to do. However, he still has to put on a show.

"Director Li, there's no rush to eat. I'll go back to the mainland first and find the post office in the county to send a telegram to the capital to ask which unit is interested in abalone. If I have an answer, I'll tell you tomorrow."

Director Li was delighted when he heard this: "Okay, okay, then I'll wait for your good news, Brother Lin."

The Nanri Island Abalone Cooperative specially sent a boat, and Director Li personally drove the boat to take Lin Sanqi back to the mainland dock.

It is called a port, but in fact it is just a wasteland by the sea. There are still some people moving around during the day, but it is pitch dark at night and there is not even a ghost.

When Director Li saw that Lin Sanqi came in a car, he felt even more confident about the capital's senior officials.

"Director Li, I'll leave first. I'll let you know if there's any news tomorrow."

"Okay, okay, Brother Lin, I'll be waiting for your good news at the pier early tomorrow morning."

Director Li was really impatient. If Lin Sanqi hadn't objected, he would have wanted to go to the county with them.

The next day, when Lin Sanqi returned to the dock, he saw Director Li standing by the dock, craning his neck and waiting for him.

When Director Li saw the jeep coming, he ran so fast that his shoes almost fell off.

"Brother Lin, how is it going? Do you have a solution?"

After Lin Sanqi turned off the engine, he whispered in Director Li's ear:

"I used my family's connections and finally found a company that wanted to purchase your dried abalone. However, this company is quite special and I cannot reveal its name."

Director Li nodded repeatedly, thinking that who could drive a car these days was a simple person?
As for matters in the capital area, the confidentiality level is definitely high, and he can understand that. Director Li Weihua wants to sell the abalone, and he doesn't care who he sells it to. If you have the ability, go sell it to Xiao Zi.

"Brother Lin, I know the rules. Now is an extraordinary period. It will be bad for anyone to buy abalone."

Lin Sanqi thought, this Director Li is quite sensible, that's fine, I can continue to fool people:

"Director Li, I have also negotiated a favorable condition for you. The other party agrees to exchange one kilogram of rice for one kilogram of dried abalone, but the requirement is that it must be two-headed abalone or one-headed abalone. The minimum cannot be more than three-headed abalone. Any smaller will be rejected."

Look, is this human language? One pound of rice for two abalones.

In fact, Lin Sanqi was moved by this condition. He also saw that the islanders were living a very difficult life. Although giving them money was safer and more convenient, the islanders might not be able to buy food even if they had money.

In 59, grain was more precious than gold. So Lin Sanqi was also prepared to do his best to send the Buddha to the West and give them rice directly.

Sure enough, Director Li jumped up excitedly after hearing this:
"Really? Give us rice? That's great. This will save more than 2,000 people in Nanri Township. We will change it right away."

Lin Sanqi signaled Director Li to keep quiet and said in a low voice:
"Hush, Director Li, you also know how precious food is now. Think about it, if a large amount of food appeared at the dock now, wouldn't your county come to grab it? Wouldn't the region come to grab it? Would it be your turn in the small Nanri Township?"

Upon hearing this, Director Li immediately realized the seriousness of the problem and nodded repeatedly:
"Brother Lin, you are right. This matter must be kept strictly confidential and no one can be told. If people knew that we got food on Nanri Island, I am afraid that fishermen from several surrounding islands would come to grab the food."

Do you really think that the Japanese pirates lived a simple life? In fact, most of the Japanese pirates were disguised as ordinary people from coastal areas like Nanri Island, and robbing them was a tradition.

Lin Sanqi then asked the question that concerned him the most: "Director Li, how many kilograms of dried abalone do you have for sale?"

Director Li calculated in his mind, and then said with certainty:

"Single-headed abalone is rare, and with double-headed and triple-headed abalone, there are a total of 30000 kilograms."

Lin Sanqi thought that the quantity was not much, only more than 10 tons.

By 2023, the abalone production of Nanri Island will reach more than 7000 tons, which is indeed a large output.

But now it is 1959, and all abalone is pure wild. 15 tons of high-quality abalone is already very good. According to the swelling ratio, fishermen have to go to the sea to catch at least 150 tons of fresh abalone with their bare hands. Every grain of abalone is really hard work...

(End of this chapter)