Era: 1962, the rise of vocabulary and related terms

Since he had come back for a rare trip, Yan Xiao naturally met with his uncle Yan Mancang, aunt Yan Guiying and other relatives, as well as the brigade leader Ye Xingguo and others.

Of course, there were also a few families who paid for his soaked grains.

Before leaving, perhaps because of Wu Qian's words about returning empty-handed, Xu Chunwang distributed all the grain he had purchased from Qinjiacun in Yan Xiao's name.

"Thanks, Brother Xu." On the way back, Yan Xiao thanked Xu Chunwang, who was ahead of him.

"Don't be so formal. This little bit of stuff isn't worth much. Don't take it to heart," Xu Chunwang waved his hand.

Yan Xiao nodded, saying nothing more. He would keep this kindness in his heart and repay it when he had the chance.

On the way back to the city, Xu Chunwang continued to teach.

"You're a purchasing agent from the countryside, so if you're able, please help me out as much as you can. But don't go overboard."

"Didn't I tell you before? Every purchasing agent has their own territory. You come from the countryside, so it's only natural and reasonable for you to help out in the countryside. But after all, it's their purchasing territory."

"If we go too far and prevent the purchasing staff from buying anything good, that would break the rules."

Fearing that Yan Xiao might not understand, Xu Chunwang immediately gave several one-sided examples to illustrate.

Not everyone has a sense of propriety; some people are too familiar with you and are prone to taking advantage of you.

The procurement quota is limited, and it's impossible to take care of everyone. If we help too much, other procurement staff will complain, which would isolate the team.

"Too much of a good thing can be bad!" Xu Chunwang rattled off four or five consequences, bringing Yan Xiao to his senses. "I understand, Brother Xu. If you hadn't pointed it out, I almost made a huge mistake, doing more harm than good!"

Seeing that Yan Xiao had truly listened, his eyes filled with lingering fear and gratitude, Xu Chunwang nodded in satisfaction, a look of "a promising young man" appearing on his face.

"That's right. In the future, when you meet the purchasing agent in charge of your brigade's area, take the initiative to have a good chat with him and discuss things together."

"They're really unlucky to have run into a local bully like you," Xu Chunwang said half-jokingly.

After all, most of those recruited from rural areas end up in production workshops, and it's rare for someone like Yan Xiao to become a purchasing agent directly.

The village has only so many supplies; if we buy more in one area, we'll run out of supplies in another.

The two empty bicycles easily made their way back to the city.

When I got back to the steel rolling mill, the morning workday bell rang.

In an instant, a large number of employees rushed to the canteen to eat.

"They say it's better to arrive at the right time than to arrive early. Come on, follow me, let's go eat."

Xu Chunwang led Yan Xiao, avoiding the dense crowds, and rode for three to five minutes to another canteen—the fourth canteen.

"Our steel rolling mill has three large canteens and one smaller canteen."

"This small canteen is a bit far away. Usually, those of us who come back late at noon or leave the workshop late come here."

Sure enough, when I arrived at the fourth canteen, there weren't many people, only a couple hundred, and there were about five or six long lines.

After the worst of the famine passed, even the cooks in the canteen were willing to scoop vegetables out of the water.

Neither of them brought their own lunchboxes, so they spent an extra cent to rent a shared lunchbox from the cafeteria.

After quickly finishing his meal, Xu Chunwang patted him on the shoulder: "Alright, ride your bicycle back to the cadre building later, lock it up, keep the key safe, and then go back to rest. Go back to the department around four or five o'clock to check in, and we'll go to the countryside again tomorrow."

Although he knew that the purchasing department offered flexible work, Yan Xiao felt bad about it, knowing that it was his first day on the job.

Just like a white-collar worker on their first day of work, they haven't adjusted yet.

"Isn't it a bad idea to go back and rest like this?"

"What's wrong with that? Just do as I say, and you'll get used to it. Okay, don't worry. Wait for me downstairs around four or five o'clock, and we'll go upstairs together."

Now that we've come this far, who wouldn't want to rest?

"Understood, Brother Xu."

.......

Factory dormitory area.

Everyone else was resting at the factory, and Yan Xiao was the only one in the dormitory.

"I have to say, this time is really free."

After sighing, Yan Xiao closed the door and then looked at the new entry on the panel—"Abundant Harvest".

[Abundant Harvest (White): With each transaction, you can easily reap greater rewards.]

[Special Effect: Harvest gains an additional 10% and are automatically placed in the spatial ring.]

"A ring?" Yan Xiao then looked at the spatial ring on his right ring finger.

Sure enough, there were some supplies piled up in one corner of the ring. It had been empty before, but he took them all out.

There were a total of eight or nine coarse grains, including potatoes, sweet potatoes, and corn, as well as some wild mushrooms, wild vegetables, and wild fruits.

Yan Xiao weighed the coarse grains in his hand; they weighed a little over half a jin, less than a jin. Then he looked at the mountain produce.

Comparing these supplies with those he returned to Xu Chunwang, the difference is roughly 10%.

Yan Xiao quickly understood what was going on.

"So that's how it is! So that's where the extra 10% comes from!" Yan Xiao's eyes suddenly lit up with surprise.

"Having 10% more supplies out of thin air, if the quantity is large enough and the returned supplies are plentiful, can accumulate into a huge fortune over time. Although it doesn't involve a special space like in other novels, it's still quite impressive!"

"The key is that this is just a white-label entry. If it can be upgraded, wouldn't the return rate be even higher?"

"Good, good, good!" Yan Xiao's eyebrows and eyes lit up, and he couldn't suppress the smile that spread across his face.

This is simply a windfall, no, a sustainable windfall!

Now that we've found a method, the natural next step is to experiment...

"Perfect timing. Since coming to the city, I haven't had a proper chance to explore anything other than the factory and dormitory. I might as well give the supply and marketing cooperative a try."

Yan Xiao immediately stormed out.

We went directly to the nearest supply and marketing cooperative.

Having money alone isn't enough; you need tickets too.

Yan Xiao looked around and saw a middle-aged man in a worn cotton-padded jacket with his hands tucked into his sleeves leaning against the wall in a corner, seemingly casually observing the passersby.

Every now and then someone would approach him, whisper a few words, and he would quickly leave with the person, only to return alone shortly afterward.

"You're the one."

Yan Xiao strode over.

When ticket scalper Liu Lifu saw the unfamiliar face approaching, he instinctively turned to run away, but when he looked up, he noticed the young face and the thin, stick-like figure.

In an instant, feeling confident, he leaned against the wall and quietly watched the other person walk over.

Yan Xiao glanced around and said softly, "Hey, comrade, are you selling tickets?"

Liu Lifu looked at Yan Xiao and nodded: "Yes, what kind of tickets do you need?"

Yan Xiao's eyes lit up: "Do you have cigarette coupons?"

"Yes, what level do you need?"

"Level?" Yan Xiao scratched his head. "Could you elaborate?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Lifu immediately concluded that the boy was a virgin and had started smoking like an adult as soon as he came of age.

"Alright, I'm in a good mood today, so I'll tell you about these cigarette coupons. They're divided into grades A, B, and C, and different grades allow you to buy different kinds of tobacco. Grade A coupons are only valid for Grade A cigarettes, like Daqianmen, which cost at least 28 cents each..."

Ticket scalper Liu Lifu explained the cigarette coupons in just a few words: Class C cigarettes cost around 10 cents, Class B cigarettes cost around 20 cents, and Class A cigarettes cost 28 cents or more.

In addition, there are special-supply cigarettes, which are rarely seen on the market.

Finally, he added:

"Things aren't like they were two years ago. Back then, cigarette coupons had just come out, and you could buy any kind of cigarette with one coupon. Now they're divided into different grades. By the way, kid, what kind of coupon do you want?"

"I want a Class B ticket," Yan Xiao said directly, as this ticket was just right, neither too high nor too low.

"Second-grade cigarette coupons, one cent each."

The price of a ticket is generally half the price of the actual item. After all, they're in the business of making huge profits, so how could they not charge a higher price to justify their business?

"Give me two Class B cards and one Class A card first."

The two exchanged money and tickets.

Deal done!

Yan Xiao kept a close eye on the control panel, his heart pounding.

However... there was complete silence.

There was no beep, and the panel did not respond.

"How strange! Could it be that the ration coupons aren't working? Or are there some kind of restrictions?" He wasn't giving up and decided to try again.

He immediately added, "Comrade, do you have any tickets left?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Lifu seemed to straighten his back a bit, and patted his chest with a touch of pride: "What tickets? Hey! You've come to the right person! I've made my living around here by having all the tickets!"

"Grain coupons, oil coupons, cloth coupons, sugar coupons, liquor coupons... whatever's available on the market, I can get my hands on it! Go ask around, who doesn't know the name of the Coupon King?"

He boasted, but his eyes scanned his surroundings warily.

"What about the bicycle ticket?"

"Pfft!" Liu Lifu almost choked on his own saliva. His face turned red, and he couldn't speak with his mouth open.

"You...you little brat, are you trying to make fun of me?! Everyone who has bicycle tickets is scrambling to keep them; who would release them? Besides, don't you know you don't need tickets to buy bicycles anymore?"

Yan Xiao couldn't help but retort, "Huh? A bicycle doesn't need a ticket? Uncle, are you kidding? Isn't this a big-ticket item?"

Liu Lifu glanced at Yan Xiao dismissively: "You country bumpkin, didn't you go to the supply and marketing cooperative? Bicycles don't require tickets, but even without tickets, they cost at least 650 yuan each, which isn't cheap!"

"Having tickets can save you some money; it's 180 yuan plus 30 industrial vouchers."

"Oh!" Yan Xiao then remembered that there was a time when bicycles did not require tickets, but they were extremely expensive and ordinary people could not afford them.

But ordinary people can't get bicycle tickets; buying them with money is much easier than getting a ticket.

"Thank you for letting me know, sir. You have candy coupons, wine coupons..."

In the end, Yan Xiao bought four or five yuan worth of tickets from Liu Lifu, as well as the most important industrial coupons.

For every 20 yuan of wages, an industrial voucher was issued. These vouchers had a wide range of uses, including purchasing dozens of daily industrial products such as watches, radios, sweaters, aluminum pots, soap, and matches.

The transaction was completed, but there was still no notification sound.

Yan Xiao then entered the supply and marketing cooperative.