Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Chapter 1169 Wu Yongbo's Unwillingness and Old Gu's Full Confidence
Li Long had anticipated Wu Yongbo's state of mind. He was ambitious and wanted to make some money to open a purchasing station in Yili, which was why he came to Li Long to learn from his experience.

Unexpectedly, before he had saved enough money, Li Long took advantage of his vulnerability and went to investigate.

Actually, there's no need to investigate at all. That area is a blue ocean right now. There aren't any private buying stations. There are plenty of middlemen, but basically none of them have the financial resources to set up a buying station.

Those with the financial means wouldn't be interested in this; they're already engaged in transit trade.

So if Lao Gu is going to go, he's definitely going to open a business there; that's Wu Yongbo's opinion.

"Old Wu, let me ask you, given your current situation, how long will it take you to open a purchasing station?" Li Long felt that he had better be able to persuade Wu Yongbo.

Although Wu Yongbo currently relies on Liu Gaolou for his livelihood and seems inferior to them, he has great ambitions. As long as he can hold onto his base in Yili and take the lead, he is certain to make money and become a big boss.

Even if Gu Boyuan didn't have to deal with Wu Yongbo, it would still be quite unpleasant for him to be disgusted by Wu Yongbo, since Wu Yongbo was a local tyrant.

"Six months, I guess." Wu Yongbo's expectation was a year, but he felt he couldn't show weakness. If it were a year, Li Long's purchasing stations would probably have already been opened, and they would most likely have already broken even.

"Assuming you're investing for six months, how much money do you plan to invest, and where do you plan to open the business?" Li Long asked again.

He knew that opening a purchasing station in six months was probably a bit of a stretch, but he didn't take it too seriously. The key now was to persuade the other party, not to argue with them.

"100,000, planning to..." Wu Yongbo certainly wanted to open a purchasing station directly in Yining, but his personal connections were not in Yining, but in Huocheng.

Although I occasionally go to Yining to sell or buy goods, it's basically just a transit point; most of my connections aren't there.

Li Long had indeed been to Yili, and with Liu Gaolou present, Wu Yongbo, even if he were to boast, would have reservations and ultimately told the truth:
"Huo Cheng, I haven't decided yet whether to go to the county town or Qingshui."

Qingshuihe Town, which locals call Qingshui.

“That’s right. My father-in-law is going to open a business in Yining, targeting the entire Ili River Valley.” Li Long smiled. “My initial investment is planned at 500,000…”

Upon hearing that Li Long was going to invest 500,000 yuan, Wu Yongbo's eyes widened immediately.

"so much?"

"How much? Actually, not much." Li Long shook his head. "If it were three or five years ago, 100,000 would have been enough. But in the last two years, the prices of leather and fritillaria have been rising. If you don't have enough capital to open a purchasing station, you can easily be forced to stop purchasing."

You should have experienced this before. Think about it: although the market doesn't seem very prosperous now, herders and ordinary people still have a lot of hides and medicinal herbs in their homes.

Once they know that a kilogram of dried fritillaria bulbs can sell for tens of yuan, do you think they'll all go to the mountains to dig for them in May? There are fritillaria bulbs in the mountains of Chahar, Gongliu, Nileke, and Yining counties in Ili, right?

Wu Yongbo nodded slowly.

“Do you know? Last year in Guangma County, I collected nearly 10 tons (10,000 kilograms) of fritillaria. At the current price of tens of yuan per kilogram for ordinary fritillaria, that’s 600,000 to 700,000 yuan in purchase money.”

Wu Yongbo's eyes widened in disbelief!

"This is just one county's purchasing station. What about the Ili River Valley? There are at least six counties that can get fritillaria, right? Even if each county doesn't have as much as Ma County, what about all of them combined?"

Li Long was actually using a fallacy; the fritillaria he was buying wasn't just from Ma County. Because his purchasing station was well-known, middlemen and herb farmers from nearby counties and cities would also come to sell their medicinal herbs.

There's no need to explain to Wu Yongbo.

"Don't think you're safe just because you're located in Qingshui or Huocheng. If your purchase price is good enough for those middlemen to make a profit, do you think they won't buy things from other places and resell them to you?"

Think about it, even if it's the furthest from Zhaosu or Xinyuan to Qingshui, how much is the fare? The money earned from just one hide is enough to cover the fare, so the rest is pure profit, right?
If you really gain a reputation, how many hides can your buying station collect with 100,000 yuan? If you can't collect them all, won't you have to close down? If you close down twice, your reputation will be ruined..."

Although Wu Yongbo understood that Li Long was right, he was still clearly a little unconvinced.

"Do you think I'm exaggerating to scare you? You can go to Beiting and ask around. Just last year, no fewer than five purchasing stations opened there, and now only one is still operating," Li Long said with a smile.
"I support this family that survived."

His words, a mix of truth and falsehood, actually fooled Wu Yongbo.

"Besides, if my father-in-law opens a purchasing station in Yining, it won't have any impact on you if you're not in Qingshui but in Yining. After all, my father-in-law buys goods from the entire valley, and you can sell the goods you collect to him."

Of course, my idea is that cooperation would be best if possible, with equity participation based on investment ratios. You and my father-in-law could cooperate, and with your support as a local, the acquisition station would operate more smoothly.

Wu Yongbo looked hesitant.

"Of course, it's fine if we don't cooperate. The valley is so big that it can accommodate several purchasing stations. With Boss Liu around, I think my father-in-law can open a station there without any problems."

It would have been better if he hadn't said anything; once he did, Wu Yongbo immediately shook his head:

"Then let's not cooperate. Your father-in-law can run his business, and I'll run mine. I'll set up this purchasing station in Qingshui. It's near the mountains, there are plenty of resources nearby, and transportation is convenient."

Li Long never expected that his negotiation would lead Wu Yongbo to the point where he was about to close down and terminate the cooperation.

Li Long didn't know what Wu Yongbo was thinking, but he could tell that Wu Yongbo's pent-up anger had been scared away by the numbers Li Long had mentioned.

Also.

Three to five years ago, opening a purchasing station wouldn't have required so much capital, since prices weren't as high then. But things are different now. Both fritillaria and leather are increasing in price, and you can get tens or hundreds of dollars for a single kilogram, which ties up a lot of money.

It's only because Li Long has made a lot of money over the years from these few things that he might not have been able to handle the large quantities of hides that Liu Gaolou brought over each time.

Of course, there was another reason why he was sure he could persuade Wu Yongbo: Wu Yongbo's main sales channel was with him, and he didn't have a mature sales channel yet.

Easy to handle.

Who would turn down money? Even if Wu Yongbo doesn't cooperate, the goods he collects will most likely still be sold through Li Long. After all, he can earn 10,000 yuan from 500 hides. Only a fool wouldn't do that.

That's about it. After sorting the hides, Li Long discovered that the hides Wu Yongbo brought over had a surprisingly high percentage of whole hides, with nearly two hundred out of five hundred being whole hides.

Based on this calculation, his net profit was higher than expected, exceeding ten thousand yuan.

Wu Yongbo signed the confirmation and was quite excited when he received the money.

Although he wasn't as excited as before, having been somewhat dampened by Li Long revealing that Gu Boyuan was going to conduct an inspection, he was still quite happy to have the cash in hand.

Even if we don't run a recycling station, making money like this every time is still pretty good.

After unloading the truck, it was already dark. Li Long treated Liu Gaolou and the others to dinner at Tuanfenglou Restaurant, where they arranged to pick up sugar the next day. Then Liu Gaolou and the others went home.

After returning from Tuanfenglou, Li Long went to the purchasing station. Li Qingxia and Gu Boyuan had already eaten and were sitting in the front yard, smoking and chatting.

“Then I’ll drive your GAZ truck there tomorrow,” Gu Boyuan said.

His car was a minivan, which he drove to Yili for an inspection, but it wasn't very impressive, so he thought of Li Long's GAZ truck.

“Why drive a GAZ?” Li Long said with a smile. “If you’re going to drive one, drive a Volga. You can drive the Volga in my yard.”

"No, no, no," Gu Boyuan waved his hand, "That new car, if I drive it there and back, it'll probably look terrible. My driving skills are so-so, I'd better not ruin a nice car."

“Then drive this Volga from the yard over there,” Li Long said. “A jeep is never as prestigious as a sedan. You’re going to do some research, and you’ll be in contact with officials there. They’ll definitely welcome you opening a station, but if you want the right policies, you need to have some strength; otherwise, they won’t be willing to give them to you.”

Luxury cars do represent power at certain times, a point Li Long wouldn't deny.

That's just how reality is.

Gu Boyuan was still hesitating when Li Qingxia spoke up:

“Go ahead, go ahead. It’s not right for a boss to still be driving a Jeep. Even if you’re going to drive a Jeep, drive a 212. That GAZ-69 is like a truck, it’s not good.”

It's probably because Li Qingxia has been looking at too many GAZ vehicles these days that she thinks that way.

"Okay, I'll drive this one then." Gu Boyuan nodded, then sighed:

"Before, let alone a car, you had to borrow even a bicycle. Now it's great, I can choose which car to drive. I can drive three or four cars... I'm living a good life now."

He turned to Li Qingxia and said:

"My dear in-law, you have a fine son."

Li Qingxia gave a simple, honest smile. Li Long then said:
"Dad, you should practice when you have free time. When you're resting, you can drive back to the Fourth Team and take Mom around for a spin."

"Hehe, sure." Li Qingxia had already planned this.

“But with your father-in-law gone, I’m a little unsure about handling the goods myself,” Li Qingxia said frankly. “It’s hard to say how it will turn out.”

"What are you afraid of? With Xiaolong covering for us, even if we make a mistake, how much money can we lose?" Gu Boyuan waved his hand. "A good eye is something you develop through practice. If you don't do it, you'll never develop it."

“That makes sense.” Li Qingxia nodded slowly.

Seeing that it was getting late, Li Long said goodbye to his father and father-in-law and got up to go back.

Gu Xiaoxia had already put the two children to sleep. When she saw Li Longcai return, she asked him if he had been drinking with Liu Gaolou and the others.

“They didn’t drink. They were all tired and didn’t want to drink. After I came back from dinner, I went to the purchasing station and chatted with your dad and your father. I told your father that he would drive there in a car to make a good impression.”

"What did my dad say?" Having accepted the fact that her father was going to Yili, Gu Xiaoxia was at peace with the situation and asked, "Is he not going?"

"Well, I told him to drive our new car, but he didn't want to. He wanted to drive this '69' car. I said that the '69' car doesn't look very prestigious. When you go to the station, you need to deal with officials. People will recognize you if you drive a sedan."

"What about the end?"

"Finally, your dad drove that Volga at the recycling station. Although it was a bit old, it wasn't conspicuous from the outside, and it had been inspected before being brought back, so there was nothing wrong with it."

"That's fine then. Besides, if anything happens while I'm with Liu Gaolou and the others, they should be able to look out for me."

“That’s right,” Li Long said. “I told him to keep a close eye on Uncle Gu and to call us immediately if anything happens. He said he’ll have Buick, his uncle’s bodyguard and translator, accompany Uncle Gu, so I can rest assured.”

Gu Xiaoxia was relieved.

The next day, after breakfast, Li Long went to the purchasing station. Gu Boyuan was no longer at the counter, and Li Qingxia was actually a little nervous sitting in front of the counter.

"It's alright, Dad. You've been collecting them for a few days now. Name your price," Li Long reassured his father.

"Go to the backyard and see your father-in-law; he's wiping the car," Li Qingxia pointed to the back.

Li Long went to the backyard and saw Gu Boyuan and Liang Shuangcheng wiping down the Volga.

Li Long handed over the keys, and Gu Boyuan took them, saying, "I haven't driven it much yet, so today is a good day to get familiar with it."

Li Long saw the black bag on the back of the car and figured it must be his father-in-law's luggage.

"You test drive first, I'll go find Liu Gaolou and the others, and bring the sugar over here first."

“Okay.” Gu Boyuan got into the car and started the engine, intending to test drive the car and familiarize himself with it to avoid making a fool of himself.

Liu Gaolou and the others were already up and eating breakfast.

"Where is your father-in-law?" Liu Gaolou asked as he saw Li Long finish his porridge.

“He’s going to drive there, and he’s practicing driving now,” Li Long said. “He usually drives a minivan, but this time he’ll be driving a Volga so he can get used to it.”

"Hey, I guess so." Liu Gaolou nodded. At that time, people weren't sensitive about driver's licenses. As long as you could drive, you could drive on the road with tacit approval, and no one would have any objections.

After breakfast, Liu Gaolou didn't stop. He called his driver, and they drove to the sugar factory.

Li Long went to find Section Chief Hu, but he wasn't there. Li Long had been a bit careless. Section Chief Hu was almost always there before; he hadn't expected him to be absent this time.

But the convoy had already arrived, and Li Long could no longer back down, so he gritted his teeth and went to find the factory manager.

I hadn't planned on dealing with him before, but I didn't expect the factory manager to know him so well. After Li Long finished explaining the situation, the factory manager smiled and said:
"Section Chief Hu is out on business. This is simple. Our two companies have always had a good working relationship, so we will supply the sugar as usual, and you can pay according to the old rules."

"Good good."

The factory manager then asked someone to take Li Long to complete the formalities.

Li Long thought it made sense. Since the sugar factory had a need, it was a win-win situation for both parties, so theoretically, it was the same to talk to Section Chief Hu or the factory director.

Of course, he was used to going to Section Chief Hu, after all, the factory director's rank was not low, and he was not used to it.

Fortunately, everything went well.

After paying the money and receiving the receipt, I went to pick up the goods and loaded them onto the truck.

Li Long went to the office and borrowed a phone to call the purchasing station, asking Gu Boyuan to drive over directly so the convoy wouldn't have to go back to pick him up.

Gu Boyuan had actually made preparations long ago. As soon as Li Long called, he said goodbye to Li Qingxia, Sun Jiaqiang, and Liang Shuangcheng, and drove his Volga westward with a bit of excitement.

When they arrived at the sugar factory, Li Long and his group had already come out. A long convoy of cars was parked on the side of the road, and Li Long, Liu Gaolou, Wu Yongbo, and the others were standing in front of the convoy chatting and smoking.

By this time, Wu Yongbo was no longer angry. He knew that getting angry was useless; he wasn't strong enough to contend with them. Besides, he still needed Liu Gaolou's help, and Liu Gaolou was clearly closer to Li Long.

No matter what, I have to back down. Rather than holding my breath, I might as well admit defeat and focus on making the money first.

He also agreed with Li Long, saying that the Yili River Valley was such a large area that one or two purchasing stations were simply not enough; ten or eight would not be too many.

So now he's acting like nothing's wrong, chatting with Li Long and the others.

He also inquired about the price of sugar, wondering if he could make a profit if he followed Liu Gaolou and got a truckload of sugar.
It's profitable, but firstly, it's too troublesome and difficult to wholesale, and secondly, the profit isn't much.

He made over ten thousand yuan on this trip, which boosted his ambition. He felt that earning less was meaningless and that it would be more satisfying to earn more at once.

As soon as Gu Boyuan's car arrived, Liu Gaolou said to Li Long:
"Don't worry, Uncle Gu will be fine with us. Maybe when we come back, everything will be ready and they'll be open for business."

"Hey, thanks for your kind words," Li Long said with a smile.

Gu Boyuan and Li Long nodded, then said to Liu Gaolou:

"Then I'll have to trouble you with the journey, Mr. Liu."

"Don't mention it," Liu Gaolou said with a smile. "Li Long and I have been friends for a long time. You are my elder, so it's just what I should do. Don't be so polite."

The convoy moved forward, led by Liu Gaolou's Volga, followed by Gu Boyuan's car, and then the trucks carrying white sugar.

Li Long watched the convoy leave, then drove back to the county.

When they arrived at the purchasing station, Li Qingxia was inspecting the goods at the counter, with Liang Shuangcheng helping her. Seeing his father looking quite professional through the crowd, Li Long didn't disturb him and went to the backyard to help Sun Jiaqiang collect the hides.

The two thousand hides that Liu Gaolou brought over needed to be separated into whole hides and scraped hides. Sun Jiaqiang and Liang Shuangcheng would also process the hides in their spare time, combing the fur and scraping off the oil.

Li Long was in charge of sorting the leather.

There was one person who was dissatisfied with the price of the grade that Li Qingxia had determined. Li Qingxia thought that it was her son's shop and tried to make money peacefully. When the other party saw that it was not Gu Boyuan and that someone else had been replaced, he felt that he was a senior person and his tone became a bit harsh.

Li Long had good hearing, so he immediately threw away the leather and walked from the inside to the front.

Because the door leading from the inner room to the front was to the side and behind Li Qingxia, and Li Qingxia was facing that person, no one noticed that Li Long had already arrived at the door.

"I'm saying this is a full-grain leather. Look, there's a bullet hole here on the neck, and another one on the leg." The man's voice was loud. "When Boss Gu was in charge, this was the rule, and this was how we collected leather. This leather is worth at least one hundred and twenty!"

Li Qingxia's patient explanation was perceived as weakness by the other party.

Li Long laughed in anger. They really were taking advantage of his kindness!
P.S.: I returned from Wuhan yesterday after a five-hour flight, so I was a bit tired. That's why the chapter titles in yesterday's two chapters were a bit mixed up. I've corrected them after being reminded by my fellow readers.

Also, when I went to the meeting, I thought about seeing how short dramas were made, but I realized I'm not cut out for it, so I'll stick to writing this instead.

As I always say, I'll write slowly, and you can read slowly—actually, it's not slow at all. After communicating with other authors, I realized that my daily update volume is actually quite substantial.

(End of this chapter)