Journey 1995:Non-Stop

Chapter 145 Freedom
"Old Yan!" Old Guo was very surprised to see Yan Hui in the hotel cafeteria that morning. "I've been so worried about you these past few days! How's everything going on your end? How many buses have you dispatched yet?"

Yan Hui was still young, and upon hearing Lao Guo's voice, he couldn't hide his excitement and held up three fingers.

"Wow, that's amazing! To be honest, I still can't believe it. How did you find such a great client in Jianye? Do you have any relatives there? Is it the uncle you mentioned? I feel like he's even more capable than your uncle!" Old Guo didn't even bother to finish his meal.

"Maybe it was just luck; it really went quite smoothly." Yan Hui said this casually.

Yes, once it's done, everything seems to go smoothly.

"No relatives? You relied on yourself? What kind of luck is that! No, it's definitely not just luck!" Old Guo looked at Yan Hui, as if he had discovered something. "You...you've been slapped on the face?"

"It happened before, it's all over now." Yan Hui did have a scar on his face. It was something he had experienced recently, but he was too lazy to talk about it.

Actually, it wasn't just his face that was injured; he had also twisted his ankle once before, but it wasn't severe and he recovered in two or three days.

"Anyway, it's enough that I can see you. Last time when you went to the station to transport timber, I saw that there were too many people around you, so I didn't go over."

"Don't worry, I'm fine. I'll be staying here permanently from now on." Yan Hui took a vicious bite of the fried dough stick.

Fried dough sticks are really a good thing!

Fragrant, crispy, and filling. What would later generations criticize as a sugar and oil mixture was a treasure to the lean Yan Hui. He ate two of them every morning, and even so, his stomach was still flat.

This year! He'll definitely have gained some weight when he goes home for Chinese New Year this year!
"Okay, we're free for a bit. I'll take you to take a bath at 10 a.m. I know this bathhouse; they're changing the water at 10 a.m. today!" Old Guo suggested.

"Are you free this morning?"

“What could be more important than taking a shower?” Old Guo said matter-of-factly. “You rest for a while, I’ll go out and work for two hours to finish the job, then we’ll go take a shower.”

Spring had arrived in Tangwanghe, and the grass was lush and green everywhere. Yan Hui hadn't taken a bath in a while, so he readily agreed.

After finishing his meal, Yan Hui went to the landlady to retrieve his letters and package, and then went back to write a letter.

Yan Hui was used to reporting good news but not bad news about his family. He had always said that things were going well, but he never told the truth. Now he can write about it.

He didn't write in too much detail, only saying that business here has started to pick up and everything is going smoothly, and he should be able to make a lot of money this year.

Yan Hui didn't go into details about the replies from his brothers back home, only saying that he was on the right track.

Su Jin sent over some books, including the latest issue of "Story Club" and two books related to timber, one of which was about timber sales. Yan Hui was surprised that someone had published a book on this topic.

Upon opening the book, Yan Hui discovered that it was written by a professor who interviewed many timber merchants before finally producing this book.

The book categorizes costs into five main parts.

The first part is about manpower, including band saw workers, material handling, management, kitchen and supplies. It is described in great detail, and the wage differences for workers in different regions are also mentioned.

The second part is raw materials, mainly logs. Here are some raw material cost information from several major regions.

The third part consists of fixed expenses, including insurance premiums, processing plant equipment costs, forklift and crane costs, electricity costs, site costs, site construction costs, etc.

The fourth part is sales expenses, including salesperson commissions, referral commissions, and expenses for meals and business trips.

The fifth part is about freight costs, which lists the various price differences for different vehicles, road conditions, and distances.

The book's output calculations remain very detailed, including the reprocessing of auxiliary materials. The reprocessing of auxiliary materials is particularly meticulous; the book mentions a business owner who made a lot of money solely from auxiliary materials, having essentially monopolized all the scrap materials in that region.

The shop owner cut the scraps into strips, thin boards, wood strips, and plywood.
Next, the book went on to discuss a lot about plywood and compressed board, focusing on their processing costs and sales profits. Upon reading this, Yan Hui felt genuine admiration for the author. This book could not have been written without a year of extensive research and visits. Such a dedicated scholar!

Solid wood is several times more expensive than compressed board and plywood. The biggest difference is not strength, but also environmental issues.

The book also mentions a company called Yantai Synthetic Leather Factory, which supposedly produces excellent MDI. Its production line, established in 1995, had already reached advanced domestic standards. It also mentions that MDI is one of the core raw materials for PUR adhesive, being both environmentally friendly and effective. (Does any reader know what this company is called now?)
Yan Hui doesn't yet have a strong feeling about environmental protection; he only deals in raw timber, so environmental issues aren't a big deal for him. However, he still carefully studied a lot of information, which will be very helpful for cost control and expanding sales channels.

Once Yan Hui has money, he can even store up auxiliary materials and do secondary processing, then send a truckload of processed wood strips to Fengtian. Lao Guo will definitely be able to help find buyers; it's just a matter of price.

After glancing at it briefly, Yan Hui wasn't in a hurry. He put the book away and replied to Su Jin's letter.

Su Jin is about to finish her second year of high school and asked Yan Hui when he would have time to call her. Yan Hui was inexplicably touched when he saw the letter. He calculated the time and realized that tomorrow was Friday, so he could call her tomorrow night for a short chat.

It was almost ten o'clock when Yan Hui finished writing the letters. He put each letter in an envelope, affixed a stamp, and gave them all to the landlady.

Old Guo hadn't returned yet. Yan Hui had nothing to do, so he saw a water pipe by the door, took his dirty clothes there, and started washing them with the hotel's soap.

He first washed his underwear and hung it in his room. Then he started washing his clothes and pants.

Old Guo returned before he had even finished washing a third of the clothes.

"Want to do laundry? It hasn't rained for the past few days, so don't rush to wash your clothes. Come with me to the public bathhouse! The water won't be as good after noon!" Old Guo urged.

"What about all my clothes?"

"Leave it with the landlady at the front desk first. Hurry up."

"Alright then." Yan Hui put the clothes in a large basin and left it with the landlady. Then he went to the bathhouse with Lao Guo.

Having not taken a bath in a long time, Yan Hui was almost smelly. He washed and scrubbed himself in the shower before entering the warm water pool.

call.
Yan Hui felt a sense of relaxation he had never experienced before.

In the misty steam, Yan Hui felt light all over, as if he had never experienced any pressure.

The feeling of freedom was wonderful; it seemed as if the whole world belonged to me. My hands were stirring the warm water up and down, feeling resistance but not restriction.

After soaking for a while, Yan Hui had a body scrubbed by a bath attendant. After rinsing off, he went back into the pool.

Around noon, more people gradually arrived, and the bathhouse slowly became lively. Only then did Yan Hui and Lao Guo leave the bathhouse together.

The outside temperature was already in the teens, and Yan Hui felt refreshed. Lao Guo called Yan Hui to come back to the hotel for dinner, but Yan Hui refused.

Now he not only has some money, but more importantly, he has the confidence to spend it. He called Lao Guo and went to a restaurant for a meal of sauerkraut stewed with pork bones. He didn't return to the hotel until after 2 a.m.

When Yan Hui got back, he discovered that all his clothes were missing and immediately asked the landlady what had happened.

"My daughter washed it for you." The proprietress looked somewhat speechless, but didn't say anything.

"Huh?" Yan Hui was stunned. "You washed them all for me?"

"Yes, they're all hung up and drying in the backyard." The proprietress looked Yan Hui over carefully, finding the young man quite energetic and pleasant to look at. She simply sighed softly and said nothing more.

(End of this chapter)