Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Chapter 1218 A group came to buy a car, isn't that amazing!

Mr. Liu got off to a good start. In the following days, he received a dozen or twenty calls every day, inquiring about cars, and a few calls were for cotton-padded leather shoes and leather coats.

However, most of the callers are small workshops with only a few, a dozen, or a few dozen pieces on hand, which is not a large quantity.

Li Long wrote down the phone number and address, saying he would drive his truck over when he had time, and if the price and quality were suitable, he would buy them.

The next day, Mr. Wang didn't come over, which surprised Li Long. He didn't call Mr. Liu, since he wasn't worried about selling cars anyway. The Hongguang Leather Factory was also producing them. If what Mr. Wang said was false, he wouldn't have to worry about not having enough stock, although the quantity might be limited.

On the third day, Mr. Wang still didn't come, but an unexpected boss arrived in a truck.

"You said you came from Shicheng?" Li Long looked at the man from eastern Henan with thick eyebrows and big eyes with some surprise. "I advertised on Beiting TV and Beiting Daily. How did you find out?"

It was already snowing outside. Hou Junxin, holding a mug of hot tea in the reception room, said with a smile, "I didn't see it either. A friend of mine in the Sixth Agricultural Division saw it and called me. That's how I found out you were looking for this kind of thing. Look, I just brought it over. A whole truckload of overcoats, four hundred of them!"

"Are there factories like this in Shicheng?" Li Long asked, somewhat surprised. "How come I didn't know about them?"

"These weren't produced in the factory; they were issued to our production and construction corps. They just sat in the supply and marketing cooperative for too long, so they wanted to get rid of them and put them in my hands," Hou Junxin said with some pride. "They were in my hands for less than six months... and then I just happened to run into you."

Li Long slapped his head, realizing he was truly blind to his own shortcomings!
Shicheng, as the site of the first plowing of the military reclamation, holds a special position within the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps.

I can clearly receive Channel 9 TV broadcast from Shicheng, so why didn't I think of advertising in Shicheng?
"How much is that leather coat?" Li Long asked, looking through the samples Hou Junxin had brought over.

“I have four hundred items on hand right now. If you want them all, I won’t ask for more. How about two hundred each?” Hou Junxin said.

"No, it's too expensive." Li Long waved his hand. "I got a batch from a factory that's similar to yours, with polyester twill on the outside and sheepskin on the inside. They gave me 160 yuan a piece, and you're asking 200 for your leftover stock?"

"That's impossible. I couldn't possibly get such a low price from the supply and marketing cooperative..." Hou Junxin's eyes glazed over as he listened to Li Long's words, before he retorted, "It's definitely impossible."

“Why not? It’s stockpiled inventory. Who would want to wear it now except for the elderly? Besides, even the elderly might not be able to fit into it.” Li Long picked up the coat and put it down again. “It must weigh at least five kilograms, right? I bet you got it from the supply and marketing cooperative for a maximum of 150 yuan, maybe not even 150 yuan.”

"How could that be? Hehe." Hou Junxin vehemently denied it, but Li Long thought it was probably true.

“One hundred and sixty yuan a piece,” Li Long said. “I’ll take them all, so you won’t have to run around asking people for their goods. I guess I’m the only one in the entire Northern Xinjiang who can take this much of your goods at once.”

Hou Junxin was still hesitating when Liang Shuangcheng shouted, "Brother Long, it's Boss Wang from Beiting calling. He said the cotton-padded shoes and leather coats he's bringing have already set off and will arrive this morning."

Hou Junxin is in Shicheng, which is relatively close to Ma County, so he can get there quickly.

Mr. Wang called, so he probably needs the truck loaded this morning. It will take at least an hour for it to arrive here.

"Okay, I understand," Li Long replied.

After listening, Hou Junxin asked:

"Mr. Li, are there other people coming to sell you leather shoes and leather coats?"

“Yes, a trading company owner in Beiting. He not only sold me a leather coat, but he also wants to buy a car from me.” Li Long pointed outside and said, “A Volga.”

"That's not cheap," Hou Junxin remarked, knowing the business. "This Mr. Wang is quite wealthy. By the way, Mr. Li, those trucks of yours, are they 60,000 yuan each?"

"Hmm, the vehicle is in good condition, better than the one you brought over to haul goods," Li Long said. "As you can see, it's practically new, hardly used, and the tires aren't worn much. It was imported from abroad and had all the necessary checks done before it came in."

Hou Junxin gritted his teeth and said:
"Mr. Li, add a little more, ten yuan more per item, and I'll buy a truck from you..."

"Okay," Li Long readily agreed. "Should we look at the trucks first or inspect these leather coats?"

"Let's look at the leather coat first," Hou Junxin thought, wanting to secure the money. If the truck was worth 60,000 yuan, he could still have some money left over after selling the leather coat.

As for buying a truck, it's naturally for hauling goods and making money. Now that transportation is more convenient, trucks can generate a good amount of freight revenue.

Of the four hundred leather coats, about ten have been infested with insects, but they are still wearable; the insects have only gnawed a few holes in the sheepskin.

Li Long didn't make things difficult for Hou Junxin; he simply explained the situation and settled the account.

This made Hou Junxin, who had originally wanted to negotiate the price of the truck, feel embarrassed. He chose a GAZ-66 truck, gave it a try, and then went back with the truck that had come to haul goods – although he didn't bring back much money, he was happy to have an extra truck.

Boss Wang's car and Hou Junxin's car arrived one after the other, one leaving and the other arriving almost simultaneously.

"I brought five hundred pairs of cotton-soled rubber shoes and five hundred leather coats this time," said Boss Wang. "Let's calculate the equivalent value of the goods first, and we'll refund any overpayment or collect any underpayment."

After saying this to Li Long, he hurriedly went to look at the Volga sedan he had been looking at earlier.

Li Long followed him, watching him drive the car as he said:
"A leather coat costs 160 yuan, 500 coats would cost 80,000 yuan. 500 pairs of cotton-padded rubber shoes, at 15 yuan per pair, would cost 7,500 yuan, so that's 87,500 yuan..."

"A leather coat would cost at least 180 yuan, and cotton-padded shoes would be 20 yuan." Boss Wang readily rejected the prices quoted by Li Long, "Boss Li, you're really ruthless in trying to drive down the price."

After a long back-and-forth, Li Long agreed to the price of the cotton-padded shoes at 20 yuan, while the leather coat would only cost a maximum of 165 yuan.

Although he is now worth millions, when it comes to calculating accounts with others, he is not exactly meticulous, but he still haggles over every little bit.

A luxury Volga costs 100,000. The items Mr. Wang brought are worth 92,500. Therefore, Mr. Wang still owes Li Long 7,500.

Because it was agreed with Boss Liu that he would receive a 5% commission for referring someone, after a phone conversation, Boss Wang was to pay an additional 2,500 yuan, and Boss Liu would give the remaining 5,000 yuan to Boss Wang, and that would settle the matter—of course, a written agreement was still necessary. At that time, the phone didn't have a recording function, so this was the only way.

After the handover was completed, it was lunchtime. Li Long wanted to treat Boss Wang to lunch, but Boss Wang declined, saying he couldn't wait to drive the Volga back to show his friends.

Li Long understood Mr. Wang's feelings, so he didn't say anything more.

There was no business for the next two days, but then in mid-November, a group of people suddenly came to the purchasing station wanting to buy cars.

Everyone should buy a car!
Li Long asked around and learned that these nine people all grew vegetables in greenhouses around Wucheng and lived in the same village.

"In the past two years, vegetable farming in our village has really taken off. Especially in winter, Wucheng needs a lot of vegetables, and the fresh vegetables in the greenhouses sell out really fast. City people have money," an old man said with a smile.

His hands were covered in cracks, but he didn't seem to feel any pain. His clothes didn't fit very well; it was hard to tell if they were a hastily bought suit or something he had left over from before.

But the smile on his face was genuine; it couldn't be faked.

"We saw on TV that your cars are nice and cheap, so we came to take a look. Actually, we were thinking of saving up for another two years to buy a Santana, those cars are really expensive!"

"The cars are right here in the yard, you can see them," Li Long said with a smile. "They all have driver's licenses, right?"

"Yes, yes, yes, dare to come and buy a car without a driver's license?" one of the younger men, not yet thirty, said proudly.

They surged out again and began to comment on the parked cars.

What surprised Li Long the most was that the older folks liked GAZ trucks, saying that they could carry a lot, were military green, and looked impressive.

Younger people tend to enjoy watching Volga and Lada.

Especially the Volga; those luxurious Volga trucks immediately attracted their attention. They first whispered among themselves, then said to Li Long:
"Mr. Li, is such a nice car really only going for 100,000? Is there something wrong with it?"

"The car contains all the necessary paperwork, approved by customs and stamped with a seal, guaranteeing its authenticity. You can also take it for a spin and experience it for yourselves... Since you have driver's licenses, it means you've driven before, so you can definitely tell whether the car is good or not."

Li Long simply gave a brief explanation and didn't say much more.

At this point, they might not believe anything if we say too much; it's better to let them see for themselves.

Several people stood around the car, some of them trying to open the door, but they couldn't.

Li Long went over and put the key up, saying:
"Be careful. I don't know if you're actually going to buy it or not, but although the price isn't high, it's a good car."

"Understood, understood!" the people immediately replied.

There wasn't much going on in front of the purchasing station, so Liang Shuangcheng and Sun Jiaqiang helped out. Having worked with the cars for so long, they knew a lot and could answer most questions.

Soon, people got on the bus and started testing it.

The backyard is quite spacious. Although there are excavators and some trucks parked there now, there is still room for a car to turn around.

Sun Jiaqiang followed the car, while Liang Shuangcheng organized those who wanted to test drive the car to line up and take a test drive, telling them not to rush.

The youngest one, who was at the end of the line, simply walked over to Li Long and started chatting with him.

"This car is really nice, I think it's prettier than the Santana." This man, Huang Tiesheng, said with admiration, "And it's cheap too. If it drives well later, I'll buy it."

"Wow, you guys are something else! An entire village is building vegetable greenhouses? Is this what you call collective wealth creation?"

“Yes, most people in the village do this. They do make some money, but to be honest, it’s harder than farming,” Huang Tiesheng said. “Farming means you don’t have to worry about winter, but we’re busy all year round and never have a moment to rest.”

Li Long nodded, agreeing.

"This must require quite a bit of skill, right?" He thought of his greenhouse, which he only tended to use sporadically. Although he had planted some things in it this winter, they weren't growing very well.

I feel like I've been slacking off lately?

As they tested each car, Li Long watched as the fourth car suddenly lurched forward. His heart leaped into his throat, and he rushed over. Fortunately, the driver managed to brake in time and bring the car to a stop.

"What's going on?" Li Long walked up and opened the car door to ask.

"Hehe, sorry, I didn't step on the right spot..."

"Get out first." Li Long didn't stand on ceremony; he didn't want to crash the car during the test drive.

"Okay, okay." The other person didn't argue or contradict, and hurriedly got out of the car.

Li Long parked the car back in its original spot, got out, and said to the remaining people with a serious expression:

"I trusted you, I asked if you had driver's licenses, and let you test drive. Now give me the truth: if your driving skills aren't up to par, then don't test drive. Otherwise, we'll both be unhappy if we crash."

If you really want to buy it and want to see the car's condition, have someone with good driving skills test drive it. Don't let someone with poor driving skills use the car as an experiment.

Li wasn't angry; his words were quite reasonable.

Some people didn't look well, but most could understand what was being said.

"Okay, okay, boss, don't be angry. We're just a little excited. To be honest, this car drives really well." An older man came over and explained a few words to Li Long, and even offered him a cigarette.

Li Long took the cigarette, and the other person breathed a sigh of relief, taking out a lighter to light it for Li Long. Li Long taking the cigarette meant he wasn't angry, and the matter was considered closed.

Things went much more smoothly from then on.

Of the nine people who came, seven bought cars in the end—two people didn't place an order, it's unclear whether it was because they didn't have enough money, didn't like the cars, or had other reasons.

Overall, it's very good.

They drove these cars back themselves. Li Long noticed that the person who had previously driven the wrong way had bought a car but hadn't driven it, so someone else drove it back for him.

Four Volga trucks—two luxury models and two standard models—that's 360,000 yuan. Three GAZ trucks, that's 105,000 yuan. And two Lada trucks, that's 60,000 yuan.

Five hundred and twenty-five thousand yuan.

That's a considerable sum of money.

These people were carrying cash, and it took them quite a while to count the money.

If calculated using the black market exchange rate, the profit from these cars is roughly 50/50, meaning Li Long currently has a profit of 260,000.

He gave his father 10,000 yuan, Sun Jiaqiang and Liang Shuangcheng each 200 yuan in bonuses, and used the rest to pay taxes before depositing it in the bank.

There was no further activity the next day, but on the third day, another group of people arrived—Huang Tiesheng drove his Volga, which he had bought, with six other people.

“They were hesitant at first, but they actually had some money on hand,” Huang Tiesheng explained to Li Long. “But when we drove this car back, they got envious. There was an open space outside our village, and we practiced driving there for two days. They followed us around, drove around once, calculated the price, and then begged me to bring it over and buy it.”

"Welcome, welcome!" Li Long said with a smile. "Come, come, take a look at the car."

Liang Shuangcheng and Sun Jiaqiang received their bonuses a couple of days ago and were very enthusiastic. They immediately stepped forward to introduce the car's performance and price.

Huang Tiesheng didn't step forward, but continued chatting with Li Long.

Today's transaction went more smoothly than the other day. The test driver was very well-behaved and proactively stated that he had a driver's license and how long he had been practicing.

Besides Huang Tiesheng, four of the remaining six people test drove the cars, and one person test drove two.

In the end, they bought two ordinary Volga and two Ladas. Li Long guessed that two of the men were there to drive the cars for the buyers.

After receiving the money, while these people were checking the paperwork, Li Long called Huang Tiesheng aside, slipped him two thousand yuan, and said it was the brokerage fee for introducing him to buy the car.

Huang Tiesheng was a little stunned and hadn't reacted yet when Li Long had already stuffed the money into his pocket.

“If anyone in your village wants to buy a car in the future, you can refer them to me, and I'll even give you a referral fee. Let me tell you, the cars are definitely not a problem, it's just that even if I advertise, I might not be able to attract many people. If you buy a car, just let me know when others ask about it, consider it as helping me advertise, and this money can be considered an advertising fee.”

Li Long's explanation was very flexible, and Huang Tiesheng understood.

He was a little embarrassed, so Li Long patted him on the shoulder and went back to looking at the paperwork.

With 280,000 in hand, plus what I had before, I now have 800,000.

Li Long hadn't expected the TV and newspaper ads to be so effective.

Such good fortune didn't repeat itself, but people still came to buy cars every day or two. Some bought small cars, others bought large ones. Three of the trucks that Liu Gaolou and his men brought were also sold.

To Li Long's surprise, someone actually inquired about the high-horsepower tractor.

Fortunately, Li Long was very familiar with the situation of high-horsepower vehicles, and he could talk about their performance and supporting facilities in detail.

The other party asked about the price at the end, and then disappeared.

Li Long didn't expect the other party to buy it. After all, even if he sold it, a high-horsepower tractor would cost at least 200,000 to 300,000 yuan, and the price he set for the other party was 300,000 yuan.

Did it scare you away?

But Li Long had no choice; this high-horsepower John Deere tractor, which was a complete import, wasn't cheap when it came from the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic.

He went through all that trouble to bring it here, and if he doesn't earn enough, it wouldn't be worth the travel expenses.

Of course, he doesn't feel guilty about not having any stock right now.

When Liu Gaolou called to say that another batch of goods had arrived and was ready to come over, Li Long's purchasing station, which originally had quite a few cars, had only a few left.

Li Long also drove his truck to collect the leather shoes and coats that had been ordered by phone, bringing the total to over a hundred pieces.

That should be enough for Liu Gaolou to take away.

Li Long was actually looking forward to Liu Gaolou's arrival this time, otherwise he wouldn't have enough cars to sell.

(End of this chapter)