A doctor who travels through two eras

Chapter 155: Beware of the Scammers

The two parties agreed on the time and place of the transaction and left the dock to begin preparations.

Is Nanri Island losing money?

From an economic point of view, exchanging one pound of rice for one pound of abalone is a loss for Romania, as abalone is, after all, a top-grade food.

But from a sociological perspective, Nanri Island made a lot of money.

Abalone is wild and has no breeding cost. It does require some effort to dive to the bottom of the sea to catch it, and then dry it in the sun.

But for fishermen, what they have the most is strength, so for Nanri Island, the cost is almost zero.

The key point is that, for normal people, no one would eat abalone as a meal. If you eat too much, not only will your body not be able to bear it, but you will also not be able to eat it psychologically. You may even vomit after eating it.

Therefore, in years of famine, if you can exchange the unsold surplus goods for pure rice, you will definitely make a lot of money.

If Lin Sanqi was more ruthless, the price could be even cheaper.

As for what to do next year when abalone is replaced with rice? Just go to the sea and fish again next year. It is such a simple thing. The sea is inexhaustible.

(Everyone thought so at that time, otherwise the yellow croaker would not have been fished to near extinction in just a few years)
As for whether Lin Sanqi suffered a loss or not?

The wholesale price of a pound of rice, grain and oil in the market is less than 2 yuan, and a pound of top-quality Nanri abalone can be sold for several thousand yuan. This business is more profitable than dentistry and is almost like robbery. It is almost like money falling from the sky.

That evening, the windbreak near the small pier by the sea.

Lin Sanqi sat on a pile of rice, his hands shaking with exhaustion. Even though there was a small forklift to help with loading and unloading, 15 tons of rice still made him exhausted.

However, the motivation of money, like love, can enable people to unleash unlimited potential.

Just when Lin Sanqi was getting annoyed by the mosquito bites, a flashlight suddenly appeared on the sea and started circling.

Lin Sanqi also quickly stood up and drew circles with his flashlight. The two sides had made contact.

After receiving the signal, Director Li immediately arranged for the small wooden boat to dock on the beach. Then more than 30 strong men jumped off and began to move the bags of abalone from the boat to the land.

The scene seemed very quiet.

In order to maintain confidentiality, Nanri Island deliberately did not use a diesel boat this time. Otherwise, the rattling sound of the motor late at night would easily attract the attention of interested parties.

Although the small wooden boat has a light load, it is concealed and flexible, and can easily escape even if someone is chasing or robbing it on the sea at night.

After all, if the fishermen from other islands knew that Nanri Island had obtained more than ten tons of rice, there would definitely be a world war the next day.

It was Lin Sanqi who reminded them of this. In fact, Lin Sanqi didn't care whether the fishermen lived or died. He was afraid that he would be exposed.

Director Li called softly into the darkness: "Brother Lin, Brother Lin?"

Lin Sanqi ran out quickly, holding a submachine gun given by Director Fang of Qinghai People's Hospital, but it was wrapped in cloth with the safety on.

It was out in the wilderness, the other side had a large number of people and they were tough fishermen, so Lin Sanqi had to be on guard against them trying to rob him.

"Brother Li, I'm here."

Director Li felt relieved when he heard this. He had never thought of robbing his fellow thieves. He was just afraid that Lin Sanqi would break his promise, which would mean his happiness would be in vain.

"Brother Lin, you are here, hurry up, our abalone has been delivered, where should we put it for you?"

Lin Sanqi thought that if he moved 15 tons of abalone by himself, he would not be able to finish moving them until dawn, so he pointed to the windbreak forest not far from the beach and said:
"Pile the abalone over there, and next to it is the rice, a total of 15 tons, so you can come back empty-handed."

Director Li and the fishermen were overjoyed when they heard this. No one dared to make any noise. They carried the abalone on their backs and walked quickly towards the windbreak. When they came back, they had bags of rice on their shoulders.

More than 30 strong fishermen worked quickly, and the abalone on the shore were piled up like a small mountain. Lin Sanqi smelled the fragrance of the seafood and felt very happy.

Director Li was also very happy. He was quietly checking the rice in each sack on the boat. He took out a handful, put it in his mouth, chewed it for a few times, and then tears filled his eyes.

"Okay, okay, the comrades from the capital really are trustworthy."

A fisherman nearby was anxious: "Brother San, how is this rice? Is it a scam?"

Director Li laughed:
"Don't worry, this is all top-quality rice, not stale, and not mixed with sand or gravel. Comrade Lin from the capital is much more trustworthy than the landlords. We are lucky to have met a noble man."

After hearing what Director Li said, the fishermen quietly put the axes, sickles and chains back on the boat, and then laughed foolishly together.

15 tons of rice is really not much for the 10 fishermen on Nanri Island, and each person can only get more than kilograms.

But if you cook seafood porridge, abalone porridge, or kelp porridge, it can last for quite a while.

If there were smarter fishermen who took the rice to the city to exchange for some coarse grains such as sweet potatoes and potatoes, the exchange rate would be one to five. Although the coarse grains were not tasty, they could still keep people alive.

At this time, Lin Sanqi was also secretly checking the quality of abalone.

The price of abalone varies greatly depending on its size. Lin Sanqi had agreed to buy more than three abalones. If dried small abalones were mixed in, it would be a big loss. Fortunately, the fishermen were trustworthy, which made Lin Sanqi feel relieved and ready to count the money happily.

The transaction was completed, and both Lin Sanqi and Nanri Island were very satisfied.

"Brother Lin, you have helped me a lot. Haha, it would be even better if you could give me more food."

Lin Sanqi was in a good mood, and began to brag as usual:

"Hey, you just don't have enough abalone. If you have enough, or if you have other shark fins and sea cucumbers, it won't be a big deal to give you more food. The company I found has a strong background."

"Shark fin?"

Director Li suddenly had an idea: "Brother Lin, do you mean you want shark fin too?"

Lin Sanqi blinked and nodded: "Of course I want the shark fin. It will be delicious if I use it to make soup with vermicelli."
Director Li suddenly lowered his voice and asked, "Brother Lin, if I can get shark fins, how much rice can you give me per pound?"

Lin Sanqi thought, aren't shark fins imported? How can these fishermen in remote areas get them? Are they trying to trick me with real fans?

In 2023, nearly 90% of shark fins in China were imported, among which Dongguan Province and Hujian Province were the top two main forces in shark fin consumption, which shows the popularity of shark fins in these two provinces.

If we can really get shark fin, that will be another wave of traffic that can make money.

"Brother Li, wait a minute, aren't shark fins produced overseas? Do you have a way to get them from abroad?"

Director Li burst into laughter after hearing this:

"Brother Lin, do we need to import shark fins from abroad to eat them? Look at what this is. This is the sea. We Hujian people have a tradition of killing sharks and making shark fins. The "Eight Delicacies" of Hujian are: abalone, scallops, jellyfish, shark fins, squid, crucian carp, sea cucumber, and fish maw. Look, there is shark fin."

Lin Sanqi then nodded thoughtfully, and he seemed to have figured it out.

By 2023, due to coastal pollution and fishermen's frenzied fishing, there are no fish to catch along the coast of my country, including sharks.

But in 1959, there were almost no large fishing boats in the country, and industrial pollution was even a legend, so the fishery resources along the coast were quite abundant.

The more sharks there are, the more shark fins there are. It's a simple truth.

Lin Sanqi decided to catch two dates first, whether there was a pole or not:
"Brother Li, let me help you collect all the shark fins you have, and I can make the decision. No matter how many shark fins you get, I will give you 2 kilograms of rice for every kilogram of shark fins. How about that?"

Director Li was delighted when he heard this. "Okay, Brother Lin, come to our Nanri Island tomorrow and wait for me for two days. I will definitely give you a satisfactory answer."

"Okay, then we have a deal."

More than a dozen small wooden boats from Nanri Island, loaded with rice, quickly left the beach and disappeared into the vast ocean.

A fisherman on the wooden boat asked curiously:

"Third brother, our Nanri Island has been producing abalone since ancient times. We also have shark fins, but the quantity is not large. How are you going to trade with that comrade from the capital?"

Director Li replied with a smile while rowing the boat:

"Isn't this simple? We don't have shark fins on Nanri Island, but there are plenty on our neighboring Pingtan Island. The people of Pingtan have been making shark fins since ancient times. Now they are just like us, unable to sell shark fins.

Do you think that if I give them one pound of rice for one pound of shark fin, will they agree? If they don’t agree, the shark fins will all rot in the warehouse. If they agree, we can earn one pound of rice for free. So I will go there in person tomorrow.”

Several fishermen on the boat gave thumbs up:
"Third brother, you are amazing. You can even think of this method."

Li Weihua chuckled and did not answer. He was already thinking about how to fool the Pingtan people.

Hu Jianren is not only adventurous and willing to endure hardships, but also good at business, with a keen business mind. He also has a strong sense of crisis and self-help spirit and will never sit and wait for death.

Director Li Weihua didn't know what he was doing? Did he not know the consequences of being discovered?
But for the survival of his fellow tribesmen, he was willing to take the risk and was even willing to be Lin Sanqi's agent to run errands.

If successful, the whole village will be well fed; if unsuccessful, they will flee overseas.

Three days later, using the same transaction method and at the same location, Lin Sanqi exchanged 20 tons of rice for 10 tons of shark fins.

Moreover, the quality of shark fins is very good. Some of them are top-grade ones such as Tianjiuchi, Haihu and Jingou, which are very popular and loved by the wealthy.

When Lin Sanqi drove the jeep away from Putian, his harvest was quite huge. Not only did he successfully complete the task of purchasing "Shijueming", but he also made a huge profit from dried abalone and shark fins.

Perhaps some readers in the north and inland areas will be dismissive and think that the author is writing nonsense again: How dare the Hujian people be so bold? Dare to trade grain privately? Aren't they afraid of being caught?
I guess readers in coastal areas such as Zhejiang, Hujian, Dongguan, and Hainan all smiled after seeing this.

That's it?

What other business are the people along the coast afraid to do?
In another 20 years, people from these four provinces will let people all over the country know what true courage means.

What's a little bit of food?
As for the maritime trade in the 1980s and 1990s, ahem, I can’t say more. If I say too much, I’ll be killed…

(End of this chapter)