I was married off to a disabled hero in lieu of marriage; my in-laws doted on me and I aspired to gr

In the past, business trips were always handled by Zhao Jintao and Gu Quan.

Quan followed Zhou Zhonghai to Huailin, and the business trip was handed over to Qiu Zhongyou.

Qiu Zhongyou worked at the Agricultural Information Department for most of his life, but apart from a small salary, he had no other income.

Don't be fooled by the fact that it's a provincial-level unit; with the Ministry of Agriculture in such a mess, it's a miracle they can even pay salaries.

Of course, the salary was not paid by the Ministry of Agriculture, but by state funding.

Qiu Zhongyou was overjoyed to receive a 100 yuan subsidy for his first business trip.

This time, three large truckloads of agricultural products were delivered to the Shanghai Municipal Procurement Department. Accompanying them were the head of the supply and marketing cooperative and the head of the furniture supply and marketing point.

The supply and marketing cooperative doesn't need that many vehicles. The furniture company wants to get some new furniture, but they don't have any connections. This time, they're going with Zhao Jintao to see if the comrades in the Shanghai purchasing department can help them.

Supply and marketing cooperatives and furniture sales outlets are wealthy entities; any good stuff they put out will be snapped up.

The last time I bought bicycles in Shanghai, they were five yuan cheaper each. Wow, there were so many people pulling strings!

Unfortunately, only those with tickets can buy a car, which means many people can't get one.

Everyone says they're poor, everyone says they can't get enough to eat, but there are still many rich people.

Zhao Jintao also had personal matters to attend to this time. Zhou Wenhui sent him money and entrusted him to buy a 28-inch bicycle and a Butterfly brand sewing machine to take back to Dashui Village and give to Qiaoqiao's parents.

Two large items would cost nearly 200 yuan to buy in the city center, and you'd also need to get a receipt.

Buy it from the manufacturer in Shanghai for less than 100 yuan, and you don't need an invoice.

It took a day and a night to drive to Shanghai. The handover of the crops went smoothly, thanks to Zhou Zhonghai's prior arrangements.

The crops were delivered, and Shanghai had to accept them regardless of whether it needed them or not.

After the handover was completed and I received the check, the remaining three days were spent accompanying the head of the supply and marketing cooperative to purchase the items they needed.

With connections, things get done easily. The furniture factory quickly connected with a furniture processing plant in Shanghai, and all sorts of new furniture were presented. The person in charge of the furniture factory was dazzled and exclaimed that he hadn't brought enough money.

Previously, with cash transactions, Zhao Jintao could misappropriate public funds; now, with checks, he can only sell as much as the available funds.

Zhao Jintao had visited Shanghai many times, but remained unmoved by the dazzling world before him. Qiu Zhongyou, however, was quite something. He wanted to take a set of cabinets back with him, but upon inquiring, he found that the cost price was over three hundred yuan, so he had to give up.

Zhao Jintao was very interested in the garment factory. The garment factories in Shanghai were completely different from those in Fenglin. The most fashionable coats, skirts, and Zhongshan suits in the country were all in Shanghai.

The factory manager led the heads of the supply and marketing cooperative on inspection tours, giving priority to the styles they liked.

Zhao Jintao followed behind them and saw workers stuffing a large pile of white, black, and red sweaters into woven bags. He couldn't help but ask, "Factory manager, won't those clothes get wrinkled and look bad if you stuff them like that?"

The factory manager turned his head and glanced at them, saying, "Oh, those sweaters are all defective and can't be sold. Our factory focuses on brand and quality; if defective products enter the supply and marketing cooperative, we'll be criticized."

Zhao Jintao was taken aback and asked, "Factory manager, what should we do with those sweaters?"

"We're selling them at a reduced price. They don't have our factory's logo on them. Some employees' family members want to buy a few as gifts for relatives and friends, so we're selling them to them at a discount. It's also a benefit provided by the company."

"Then, is there any extra?"

"What, you want it?"

"Yes, but I don't want just one or two items, I want a lot."

"You want to sell it privately?" the factory manager asked suspiciously.

"My wife also works in a garment factory, but the clothes in her workplace are very limited. Her girlfriends also like pretty clothes. These worn-out sweaters, after being repaired, are highly sought after."

"Oh, is that so? Jin Tao, we're old acquaintances. There are a few sacks of sweaters left over from the workers in the warehouse. They're quite stylish. If you like them, I'll sell them to you for one yuan per kilogram. I'll only ask for a few cents."

"Yes, I want it. Thank you, factory manager."

"Okay, I'll ask an older lady to take you there. It's best to buy everything; yarn gets useless if it's stored for too long."

"Okay, I'll take them both."

Zhao Jintao was overjoyed. In his mind, buying clothes by weight would definitely be the most cost-effective.

Fenglin buys fabric by weight at her workplace, and after sorting it, she makes it into hair ties and colorful underwear, which she can sell for more than ten yuan a month.

If you take good care of these sweaters, you can definitely make a fortune.

I followed an older woman to a corner of the clothing warehouse.

The older woman said, "Look, these dozen or so bags are scrap; the better ones have already been picked over by the employees."

Zhao Jintao picked up a sweater casually; it was wrinkled but very soft and comfortable. Several loose threads were showing on the back of the sweater, and if it wasn't repaired, the whole sweater would fall apart.

"The quality is good. These are the parts where the workers didn't check carefully during their shifts. They didn't notice the broken stitches or missing a few threads, and that's how they became defective products. If someone is skilled, they can repair them and iron them out, and they can still sell them for three or four yuan each. Our genuine products, on the other hand, cost more than ten yuan each," the woman enthusiastically explained.

Zhao Jintao was too lazy to check them one by one, so he said to the older woman, "Give them all to me, and you can weigh them."

"You want so many?"

Even though it was just in one corner, there were more than a dozen bags.

"Yes, I want them all."

Instead of letting Fenglin make hair ties at home to sell, it would be better to mend sweaters; he could earn a few yuan per sweater.

The older sister said happily, "Okay, Comrade Zhao, I'll give you a bag of slightly better ones, just one bag, to keep for the employees."

"Okay, thank you, sis."

All the defective sweaters weighed a total of 335 jin (165 kg), but the factory manager waved his hand and said, "Count it as 300 jin (150 kg)."

Three hundred jin equals three hundred yuan. Zhao Jintao only had one hundred yuan for travel expenses, and the other one hundred yuan was given to him by Zhou Wenhui to buy a bicycle and a sewing machine.

None of his companions had money to lend him; they were all eager to borrow more from others and bring back some rare items.

Qiu Zhongyou wished he had another three or five hundred; he wanted to buy whatever he saw.

With just one phone call, Yang Zheng arrived with the money.

"When you're done with work, I'll take you to the cafeteria so we can have a proper chat," Yang Zheng said, handing Zhao Jintao two hundred yuan.

"Take your time and pick out a sweater you like. I'll have Fenglin repair it and send it to you," Zhao Jintao said, pointing to several large bags of sweaters.

"Whatever, I'll like anything you give me," Yang Zheng said casually.

"Haha, okay, I can't afford the genuine product, so don't complain about the defective one."

"What do we have to complain about? My only sweater was bought for me by Qiaomei. I've never worn a sweater before."

Yang Zheng smiled and urged, "Hurry up and pay the money, load the goods onto the truck, and let's go eat."

"Okay, you wait for me."

Two childhood friends who grew up together, no matter how successful they are in their respective fields, will still be inseparable when they meet again.

(Can two men be described as childhood sweethearts?)