Reborn in the 1980s: Nine Stunning Beauties Get Pregnant Before Marriage

Chen Yongqiang then went to the town's medicinal herb purchasing station alone.

Upon entering, he said to the staff behind the counter, "Comrade, I have some yam herbs here and would like to inquire about this year's purchase price."

The staff member pointed to a large blackboard hanging on the wall: "The types and grades of medicinal herbs we purchase, along with their prices, are all written on here. The specific price depends on the quality of your goods; it's negotiated based on quality."

Chen Yongqiang looked up and saw several rows of prices listed in chalk on the blackboard:

First-grade Codonopsis pilosula, 2.8 yuan per jin (500g).

First-grade astragalus root, 2.2 yuan per jin (500g).

First-grade Schisandra chinensis, 1.5 yuan per jin (500g).

……

"Last year I collected about 800 yuan worth of medicinal herbs in bits and pieces. If I sell them all at this price, I'll only make a profit of 500 or 600 yuan at most."

The profit was a bit low, so Chen Yongqiang didn't even take the samples out of the bag before turning around and leaving the counter.

State-run purchasing stations set fixed prices and strictly controlled the quality of goods. They always operated strictly by the book, and you couldn't negotiate anything no matter how much you talked.

As Chen Yongqiang left the purchasing station, a middle-aged man in a dark blue Zhongshan suit carrying a briefcase called out to him, "Comrade, please wait."

The man pointed to the several cloth bags in Chen Yongqiang's hands: "So, you have medicinal herbs you want to sell?"

Chen Yongqiang stopped and looked the other person up and down: "Yes, there are some."

The man introduced himself: "I'm a purchasing agent from the provincial medicinal materials company, my surname is Zheng. If it's convenient, may I take a look at the goods you have? The price is negotiable."

When Chen Yongqiang heard that the person was a purchasing agent from the provincial capital, he thought that this might be an opportunity to sell at a good price.

He then opened the bag a little: "Comrade Zheng, please take a look."

As Zheng Dequan examined the medicinal herbs, he struck up a conversation with Chen Yongqiang, trying to build rapport: "Fellow villager, what do you do for a living? How come you have so many good-quality medicinal herbs?"

"I'm a hunter who runs in the mountains. When I go hunting, if I see any medicinal herbs in the mountains, I just dig some up and bring them back," Chen Yongqiang said, half-truthfully.

"Is that all?" Zheng Dequan asked, looking up.

"There are still several hundred kilograms left at home," Chen Yongqiang gave a rough estimate.

Upon hearing that it weighed several hundred kilograms, Zheng Dequan's tone became even more enthusiastic: "Oh? There's that much? Then we'll have to have a proper talk."

"What price can you offer?" Chen Yongqiang was more concerned about the price.

Zheng Dequan glanced at the gate of the state-owned purchasing station next door: "It's not convenient to talk here. How about this, could you take me to see the remaining medicinal herbs? As long as their quality is as good as these samples, I'll definitely offer a higher price than the purchasing station."

"Okay." Chen Yongqiang knew that without seeing the entire batch of goods, they couldn't negotiate the actual price.

He drove the tractor, carrying Zheng Dequan, towards Wang Guixiang's house.

Zheng Dequan was a little surprised to see that Chen Yongqiang had driven a tractor, but being from the provincial capital, he was more worldly and didn't pay much attention: "Fellow villager, how much further to the destination?"

"It's not far, just ahead," Chen Yongqiang replied.

Not long after, the tractor stopped at the entrance of an alley.

Chen Yongqiang led Zheng Dequan to the small courtyard where Wang Guixiang rented.

"Comrade Zheng, this is Wang Guixiang, my sister-in-law. The medicinal herbs are temporarily stored with her," Chen Yongqiang introduced briefly.

Zheng Dequan's eyes lit up when he saw several large sacks of medicinal herbs piled up in the yard. He squatted down to examine them closely.

Wang Guixiang poured two bowls of water from the side, without saying much. She naturally left this matter to Chen Yongqiang to decide.

Zheng Dequan, holding a handful of Codonopsis pilosula, said, "Here's what I'll do: I'll give you Codonopsis pilosula for three yuan a pound, two mao more than the purchasing station. Astragalus membranaceus is two yuan forty cents, and Schisandra chinensis is one yuan for seventy cents. This price isn't low."

Chen Yongqiang refused: "As you can see, I picked these trees one by one from the mountains. For this quality, two cents isn't enough. I'll add at least five cents."

The price issue was debated for quite a while, because there were several hundred kilograms of the goods, and every slight increase in price would mean paying a lot more money.

Zheng Dequan looked troubled: "Five cents... I need to ask the company about this. Fellow villager, are you still able to find medicinal herbs of this quality this year?"

"As long as you go into the mountains, of course you can." Chen Yongqiang was waiting for a big customer.

"Okay then, I'll go back and apply for the price. But there's one condition: from now on, you have to sell your medicinal herbs to me first, and I'll never shortchange you on the price." Zheng Dequan couldn't possibly go door-to-door collecting them bit by bit.

"Comrade Zheng, we haven't even completed our first order yet. As you can see, I have my own tractor, which can run and haul goods."

"If you can't give me a definite answer, I'll take it to the county town myself tomorrow. I'm sure I can find someone who knows its value." Chen Yongqiang naturally wanted to maximize his own interests.

"Okay, I'll reply to you tomorrow." Zheng Dequan needed to find a place to make a phone call and report this to the company as soon as possible.

After seeing Zheng Dequan off, Wang Guixiang, who hadn't said much until now, finally spoke up: "Yongqiang, isn't your offer too high? It's more than a dollar higher than the acquisition price. Will that person agree to it?"

"Didn't I tell you before? Stockpiling these medicinal herbs will definitely make you money."

"If that person doesn't want it, I can take it to the county, and someone else will buy it." What Chen Yongqiang values ​​right now is this long-term sales channel.

Moreover, the price hasn't reached Chen Yongqiang's expectations yet; otherwise, he would have already taken it out to sell himself.

"As long as you know what you're doing, that's fine." Seeing how confident he was, Wang Guixiang didn't say anything more.

Zheng Dequan's offer just now was enough to make several hundred yuan. If it were her, she probably would have agreed long ago.

Chen Yongqiang followed Wang Guixiang into the inner room, naturally putting his arm around her and stroking her pregnant belly with his large hand: "Has the little one been behaving well lately?"

"Just like you, how well-behaved can you be?" Wang Guixiang said this with a hint of reproach, but she couldn't hide the smile on her face. She was very happy inside.

Chen Yongqiang smiled and leaned down to kiss her on the cheek: "It's good to be like me; you'll be successful in the future."

Unexpectedly, Wang Guixiang's body went limp after his kiss, and she returned the kiss. The two embraced and shared a deep kiss.

Chen Yongqiang hadn't visited Wang Guixiang for a while. She was pregnant, and her daughter was at home, so it wasn't very convenient for her.

He could sense that Wang Guixiang needed him from the bottom of her heart. This warmed Chen Yongqiang's heart as well.

The two approached the kang (a heated brick bed) and were about to take things further when Wang Guixiang suddenly cried out "Ouch!" and clutched her stomach.

"What's wrong?" Chen Yongqiang immediately stopped what he was doing.

"The little guy... kicked my stomach!" Wang Guixiang said, both frowning and laughing.

"Is it alright?" Chen Yongqiang asked anxiously.

"It's okay, you'll be fine after a rest. Feel it, it's not moving anymore now." Wang Guixiang pulled his hand and placed it on his stomach.

"Looks like the little guy isn't welcoming me today," Chen Yongqiang joked.

After sitting with Wang Guixiang for a while, Chen Yongqiang got up to prepare to go back.

"I'll come see you again tomorrow. If Zheng Dequan replies, it's time to sell these medicinal herbs that have been stockpiled for more than half a year."