Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Chapter 1011 Sun Benchuan also came prepared: Information asymmetry is the only way to make big money

At the guesthouse, Luo Liwei brought hot water for Sun Benchuan and brewed him some of the finest tea, asking as he brewed it:

"Mr. Sun, do you think Li Long will agree to your suggestion and sell that jade?"

"Yes, it will." Sun Benchuan was no longer as modest and cautious as he had been in Li Long's courtyard. He sat down, took the tea that Luo Liwei had brewed, took a small sip, and exclaimed, "This is real tea. The tea we drank at that purchasing station was practically muddy water."

He took another sip, put down his teacup, and continued:
"With so much beef and mutton, Li Long simply can't handle it all with his own connections. But we shouldn't let our guard down. It'll take at most a week for that matter to reach us here."

I gave Li Long a day to think it over, which was meant to put pressure on him and make him panic. Once he panicked, our opportunity would arrive.

At this point, Sun Benchuan thought of the jade stone and exclaimed in admiration:

"I've seen so many exquisite jade stones, including many naturally shaped and beautiful ones, but none of them can compare to this one! I must have it!"

Luo Liwei subtly pursed his lips. He didn't know why his boss was so obsessed with jade and antiques. In his opinion, if you had money, buying houses, villas, Simmons mattresses, cameras, and cars was the real business.

He even felt how unfair the world was when he heard that Li Long owned a Jeep. He, a college graduate, was not as good as a farmer who hadn't even finished junior high school!

Sun Benchuan owns a car, a Crown sedan. But he only earns a little over a hundred yuan a month. At current car prices, even if he didn't eat or drink, it would take him ten years to buy a minivan, let alone a sedan!
Luo Liwei was very jealous of Li Long because of this. He hoped that Sun Benchuan could achieve his goal and make Li Long lose something he loved. If Li Long suffered, Luo Liwei would feel better.

"I'll go ask the front desk if Li Long called," Luo Liwei said after thinking for a moment. "Maybe he called but didn't answer."

“No, it won’t happen.” Sun Benchuan shook his head. “When I came back yesterday, I told the front desk to come find me as soon as they received my call. They haven’t called yet, which means that Li Long is quite persistent.”

"Should I go and urge them to hurry up?" Luo Liwei asked.

"No need. We saw it at the purchasing station yesterday. He's receiving over a hundred cattle and sheep every day now. With such a large quantity, he's under a lot of pressure, both in terms of cash flow and inventory. What I suggested is probably the only way he can possibly resolve his difficulties."

If he doesn't want these cattle and sheep to rot in the warehouse, then he has no choice but to listen to me... Of course, that's assuming he doesn't know that news. I think it's unlikely he knows that kind of news.”

However, Sun Benchuan hadn't received a call from Li Long by noon. The phone rang intermittently at the hotel, but every time Sun Benchuan and Luo Liwei listened intently, they heard the waiter calling from other rooms.

As lunchtime approached, Luo Liwei couldn't resist any longer and went to the service desk to ask. The waiter was very polite and showed him the phone number registration, confirming that no one had indeed contacted them.

"Is Li Long really so stubborn in refusing to contact us? Does he even care about the cattle and sheep that can't be sold?" Luo Liwei said to Sun Benchuan.

"Don't worry, there's still an afternoon left." Sun Benchuan was getting a little anxious himself, but he had to remain calm and composed in front of Luo Liwei, appearing to be in complete control. "He should call by tomorrow morning at the latest. It's fine if he doesn't call. Let's go out for a walk and try some local delicacies."

The two men got dressed and left. As they left, Luo Liwei specifically told the receptionist to keep an eye out for any phone calls looking for them and to write down the numbers so he could call them back when he returned.

Sun Benchuan expressed his satisfaction with Luo Liwei's thoughtfulness and attentiveness.

They asked around before going out, and then walked to Tuanfenglou for a meal.

When the food was served, Sun Benchuan asked the waiter if he knew Li Long. To his surprise, the waiter did know him and had a very high opinion of him.

After the waiter left, Sun Benchuan shook his head and said:
"It seems that Li Long has a good following. It won't be easy to get him to give in. I've decided that if he doesn't call me by tomorrow morning, I will take the initiative to go to him and then raise the purchase price a bit."

"Is it going up again? Twenty thousand US dollars!" Luo Liwei was a little frantic. Twenty thousand US dollars, according to the current black market exchange rate, could probably be exchanged for more than 100,000 yuan. It felt like he could never earn that much in his entire life!
“If I get my hands on this jade, with a little manipulation, I could sell it for at least $100,000—don’t you find Jia Tianlong’s story very appealing?”

Luo Liwei is not married yet, but he is confident in his abilities, so he does not think having children is a problem.

Therefore, I didn't find the story particularly appealing.

But since Sun Benchuan has already made his decision, it would be inappropriate for him to try to stop him.

While they were eating at Tuanfenglou, Li Long and his group were also eating in the courtyard.

After hearing Li Long's account of the phone call, Gu Boyuan breathed a sigh of relief and said with sudden realization:
"No wonder this guy was so fearless, it turns out it was all going so smoothly! He really wants to make money off us, get your jade, and also gain a favor!"

"So, making money really depends on information asymmetry. Look, I bet this Sun Benchuan knew about this news a long time ago, which is why he came over. On the surface, he's helping me solve my problems, but in reality, he just wants to take advantage of this information asymmetry to make money off me. And before I get the definite news, I might even have to thank him for helping me solve my troubles."

"What a scoundrel!" Gu Xiaoxia said angrily. "I hate people who have eight hundred schemes in their heads but don't use them for good."

Now that things have taken a turn for the better, the whole family is relaxed, and the food tastes much better than before.

The whole family was happy, and no one doubted the source of the information.

After all, the call came from over there.

After lunch, Gu Boyuan returned to the purchasing station and began collecting beef and mutton. He used to be picky, but now he doesn't care at all. He buys any lamb slaughtered recently, regardless of age, though the price will vary – that's a given.

Whether it was Sun Jiaqiang, Liang Shuangcheng, or the middlemen who came to sell cattle and sheep, they all sensed the change in Gu Boyuan's attitude towards buying cattle and sheep. Although they didn't know the reason and didn't dare to ask, they were all quite happy.

This means things have taken a turn for the better.

The matter was easily resolved, and Li Long spent the afternoon playing in the snow with Mingming and Haohao in the yard. When the knocking sounded, Li Long was being attacked with snowballs by Mingming and Haohao. Every now and then, he would deliberately pretend to be clumsy and get hit by the snowballs to satisfy the two children's sense of accomplishment.

"Come in!" Li Long called out. "The door's unlocked."

He Yuqing and Meng Hai entered.

Li Long then realized that he had vaguely heard the sound of a tractor outside, which must have been them driving over.

He was playing with Mingming and Haohao, so he didn't pay attention.

After all, it's been quite a few years since the reform and opening up, and more and more people in Ma County can afford tractors. It's not uncommon to see tractors on the streets in the dead of winter. It would be quite rare to see a car honking its horn instead.

"Comrade Li Long, are you playing with the children?" Meng Hai said with a smile. "We came to see you. Here are some chickens and fish that we prepared this morning."

"You're here, why bring anything?" Li Long said with a smile. "Come on in, let's have some tea."

"Okay." Meng Hai and He Yuqing followed Li Long into the house. Mingming and Hao Hao hadn't had enough fun yet, and with Li Long gone, the two of them became tyrants, grabbing small snowballs and attacking the dogs and lambs in the yard.

Xiao Hei and the newborn lambs were also excited to compete with Mingming and Haohao. In their small minds, they knew these two children were their masters and they couldn't hurt them, or they would be doomed.

"Comrade Li Long, we heard that you've bought a lot of beef and mutton here. We're thinking of buying some from you since the New Year is coming soon. What do you think?"

Upon hearing He Yuqing's explanation, Li Long immediately understood.

He smiled and said:

"Did you hear something and come to my rescue? Hahaha, don't worry, no need. I can handle these beef and mutton. If I really can't, I'll come to you."

Li Long guessed correctly. Meng Hai and He Yuqing had heard that Li Long had purchased a large amount of beef and mutton. Someone came to their village to buy hides, and the trader told them about it as gossip. Then the hide seller told Meng Hai. According to the trader, Li Long's purchasing station initially bought beef and mutton to solve the herders' problems, but they hadn't expected so much meat to arrive. The purchasing station couldn't refuse it, so they could only try to lower the price and find fault with the meat.

But the dealers could tell that the purchasing stations were storing more and more beef and mutton, and that it was clearly only taking in and not giving out.

This means that the beef and mutton they collected couldn't be sold.

The dealers didn't care whether Li Long could dispose of the beef and mutton; they only cared whether the purchasing station would still buy beef and mutton. If it did, they would naturally buy it from the herders and resell it to Li Long. If it didn't, they would mainly buy the hides.

In fact, collecting hides is more profitable, but the competition is greater, and many hunters already know that Li Long's purchasing station offers high prices for hides, so they prefer to sell their hides to the purchasing station themselves.

The situation is different with cattle and sheep. Most herders don't like to actively deal with purchasing stations; they prefer dealers to come to their door to buy their livestock. They prefer to be the passive party.

After learning that Li Long was in trouble, Meng Hai immediately went to find He Yuqing.

Although He Yuqing rarely appeared in the road construction project organized by Li Long, he was very clear about Li Long's contributions to Qingshuihe Village.

So the two of them discussed it and decided to come to Li Long's place to buy some sheep, even if it was just a dozen or so, it would be a way to support Li Long.

They actually planned to buy directly from Gu Boyuan, but Gu Boyuan saw through their plan and told them to come directly to Li Long.

Li Long, of course, saw through it and then said those words.

"Can it really be solved? You're not kidding us, are you?" Meng Hai was still a little skeptical. "Comrade Li Long, we really are planning to buy some sheep to take back. The New Year is coming soon..."

“It really can be solved,” Li Long said with a smile. “Don’t worry, I didn’t expect the solution to be like that either. Of course, you’ll probably find out in a few days, but I can’t say for sure right now.”

Since the problem could really be solved, Meng Hai and He Yuqing stopped talking. After chatting for a while, they were about to leave. Li Long then took them to the purchasing station and gave each of them a sheep.

Meng Hai and He Yuqing refused, so Li Long simply picked up a sheep in each hand and threw them into the tractor's cargo bed, laughing as he said:

"Go back and have a good New Year. We still need to work on road repairs next spring. Consider this a deposit."

Meng Hai and He Yuqing had no choice but to drive the tractor back. On the way, they complained to each other that they hadn't been able to help and had instead gotten a free ride.

"We'll just do our job well when we're building the road," Meng Hai said after thinking for a moment. "We'll send more people and try to get the road completed as soon as possible."

Li Long returned to the courtyard from the purchasing station, and soon after, he received a call from his elder brother.

"I heard you've bought too many cattle and sheep lately and can't handle them all? A lot of people in our team said they want to eat meat for the New Year, and they told me to ask you to bring some back to sell to the team members, which would help solve some of the problem. By the way, do you have enough money? If not, I have some here, you can take it first."

Li Long smiled. Although he didn't need the money or the help, he was really happy that everyone remembered him during his difficult time and wanted to help him with their meager efforts.

"Brother, no need. These cattle and sheep have a place to go, so don't worry. Besides, the team needs cattle and sheep, right? I'll find someone to slaughter a batch of cattle and sheep from Old Ma's place. Those cattle and sheep are quite fat, and the team likes to eat them."

The cattle and sheep I collected are all very thin; I have other uses for them.

"No need? Someone has already bought those cattle and sheep? Really? You're not lying to us, are you? Xiaolong, if there's any trouble, you have to tell us. We're family, we can overcome any difficulties together."

“Brother, it’s really alright. I received news today that someone is buying these cattle and sheep, and they’re not cheap. Not only will I not lose money, I can even make a profit,” Li Long said. “Don’t worry.”

"Alright, my parents didn't sleep well when they found out about this. They asked me to call you and see how things were going. My dad said he still has a lot of money left for his funeral, and he can take some out to help you..."

"Hey, big brother, tell Dad, it's not that serious." Li Long didn't expect his father to say that. He thought to himself that he was far from being bankrupt or broke. It was just that some beef and mutton were hard to deal with. It wouldn't even cause him any serious damage, let alone a huge financial loss.

Li Long was still touched by his family's concern. He comforted his older brother and said that he might go back soon to deal with the sheep slaughtering, before hanging up the phone.

Perhaps his luck was too good, or perhaps what Li Long had done in the past was indeed very popular. Before long, he received another call from Gu Boyuan, who was calling from the acquisition station.

"Section Chief Hu from the sugar factory called and said he needs a batch of beef and mutton, purebred sirloin. He needs two hundred sheep and twenty cows this year, and he wants you to prepare in advance. Oh, and he also said he needs four male sika deer, preferably strong ones, and that you know all about it."

"I know, I know, I'll prepare it for him in the next couple of days," Li Long said with a smile. "Did he say what kind of meat he wanted?"

“He said he heard you’ve bought a lot of beef and mutton recently, which is why he wants it now.”

Li Long understood; Section Chief Hu had come to help him.

So this is ah.

Li Long was still quite excited until dinner time. His family, relatives, friends, and business partners were all supporting him, and with that information in hand, he was truly not afraid of anything.

He ate dinner peacefully and happily. Meanwhile, at the guesthouse, Sun Benchuan, however, had little appetite.

Li Long hasn't made a phone call yet. This afternoon, he passed by the purchasing station under the pretext of going out for a stroll and saw a constant stream of people coming in to sell beef and mutton. Everyone went in excitedly and came out happily, obviously having sold their meat at a good price.

For a moment, Sun Benchuan even wondered if Li Long had already received that news, which was why he continued to buy up beef and mutton on a large scale, and that the reason he hadn't come to him was because of this news.

After all, private individuals can now get telephones, so theoretically, making a call from Yanjing shouldn't be difficult.

But Sun Benchuan still didn't believe this speculation, after all, he got this information from his superiors, and this one piece of information alone cost him a considerable amount of money.

Of course, the main reason was still that piece of jade. Giving that jade to Li Long would be a complete waste!
Thinking of that piece of jade, Sun Benchuan trembled slightly. What a fine piece of jade! Why doesn't his hometown produce something so exquisite and precious?
He was determined to get his hands on the jade!

Sun Benchuan ultimately restrained himself from taking the initiative to find Li Long. He unilaterally extended the deadline he gave Li Long to tomorrow morning. If Li Long still didn't call by tomorrow morning, then he would come directly to find Li Long.

As Luo Liwei had suggested, we should raise the price with Li Long; no matter what, we must get our hands on that jade.

He believed that the reason Li Long hadn't sold the jade was because his offer wasn't high enough. In his eyes, everything had a price tag; if you couldn't buy it, it was simply because the price wasn't right.

Luo Liwei had actually guessed Sun Benchuan's thoughts. Although he didn't know what was so good about that piece of jade that made Sun Benchuan so determined to get it, as his assistant, he only needed to do his job.

Neither of them slept well that night. Sun Benchuan was thinking about how to take the initiative in his conversation with Li Long the next day; Luo Liwei, on the other hand, was thinking about whether to find an official connection to put some pressure on Li Long.

He had done this more than once, and it had always been effective.

However, he doesn't have any connections in the northern frontier, so he needs to find connections in Yanjing and then transfer them back. He doesn't know if it's worth it.

After all, you'll owe someone a favor.

The next day, after breakfast, Sun Benchuan still hadn't received a call from Li Long. Helpless, he had no choice but to visit Li Long again with a polite smile.

(End of this chapter)