Reborn in the 1980s, starting with fishing and hunting to build a fortune

Chapter 107 Not Making Money Through Shady Practices

"Did we sell it at a loss?"

Li Xiangyang nonchalantly munched on his cornbread and slurped up his crucian carp soup.

Zhao Lijuan, with a serious expression, glared and said loudly, "They definitely sold it at a loss!"

I've heard that straw is now being sold for eight cents or ten cents a pound. You sold 1,800 pounds for three cents a pound, so even if we only calculate the difference at five cents, you'll still lose nearly ninety yuan!

"Oh, we lost so much?"

Li Xiangdong and Liu Xiulan, who were standing nearby, exclaimed in unison, both of them shocked by the number.

Who would have thought that someone as capable as Li Xiangyang would one day make a losing deal?

Li Zhenshan and Wang Guiying exchanged a glance, shook their heads, sighed, and without interrupting, slowly lit the copper pipe in their hands.

They were all veteran herders, and faced with such a natural disaster, although their family had stockpiled an excessive amount of straw at Li Xiangyang's suggestion and would not suffer any losses, they could not help but empathize with the perspectives of other affected herders.

They were all feeling a bit down.

Eight cents a pound of straw?

This world is truly a place where people are devoured.

After finishing his fish soup, Li Xiangyang casually wiped his mouth and asked, "Sister-in-law, would you buy straw that costs eight cents a pound?"

Have you calculated how much it would cost to buy 1,800 jin (500 kg)?

"This—" Zhao Lijuan hesitated; she really hadn't calculated this before.

Li Xiangyang smiled and said, "It's alright. You haven't calculated it, but I have. Buying 1,800 catties of straw, at eight cents a pound, would cost 144 yuan!"

As long as it's not a breeding ram or a pregnant ewe that froze to death, the difference between selling a live ewe and a frozen ewe is only a dozen yuan or so, totaling 144 yuan, which is equivalent to the profit from fourteen sheep.

"Fourteen sheep!" Li Xiangdong and Liu Xiulan were both quite surprised.

A question inevitably arose in my mind: fourteen sheep, if divided among the two families, each family would need to raise seven more sheep to make a profit, but how many sheep did they actually have in their pens? Was it worthwhile?

Seeing that everyone was silent, Li Xiangyang continued, "If it were me, I would rather let a few more sheep starve to death than buy straw that costs eight cents a pound to feed them. Otherwise, it would be even more of a loss if I managed to raise them."

"Ah, this——————"

Zhao Lijuan finally understood and realized what was going on. She then said somewhat awkwardly, "Xiangyang is much more thoughtful. I was only thinking about how much money I could make, and I didn't even consider whether people wanted to buy it."

"It's not just that," Li Xiangyang added quietly. "When I bought this batch of straw, I never thought about making a lot of money off the herders."

Eight cents a pound of straw! This is profiting from human suffering; the Li family doesn't do business like that.

Li Xiangyang said this not only to others, but also to himself.

Remind yourself to always uphold the bottom line.

Being able to live a second life and capitalize on the information gap to seize the opportunities of the times is enough to ensure that their family can live a comfortable life free from worries about food and clothing.

There's really no need to make that kind of dirty money.

Hearing this, Li Zhenshan was somewhat moved and quietly glanced at Li Xiangyang.

He nodded in satisfaction.

Of course, what pleased him was not how much money Li Xiangyang had made this time.

Instead, they were pleased that Li Xiangyang hadn't been blinded by money.

He had experienced a major snow disaster and knew how difficult it was for herders to survive during such a disaster.

Suddenly, he wondered if he should also take the two immature ewes at home to Wuzhen to sell for Xiangyang.

As he said, sell while prices are high, and buy back when prices drop after the snowstorm?

Dinner was spent in harmony. After Li Xiangyang finished eating, everyone went back to rest.

But the lights were still on in all three rooms, each with its own thoughts.

"Xiulan, it's so late, aren't you going to bed?"

Seeing that Li Doudou in his arms had fallen asleep, Li Xiangyang urged Liu Xiulan, who was still sewing clothes nearby, to go and go to sleep.

"You go to sleep first. I need to sew all these cotton waddings onto the front piece before I can sleep, otherwise I'll only be able to make one cotton-padded coat for the New Year."

"Ugh."

Li Xiangyang sighed. He suddenly regretted buying enough fabric for two outfits for Liu Xiulan at once: "Xiulan, come and sleep here. I can't sleep without holding you."

He was telling the truth; he wasn't being coquettish at all.

In his previous life, he spent most of his life feeling empty, lonely, and cold. No matter how empty he felt at night, he could only sleep with a cold pillow between his legs, feeling utterly miserable.

He never expected to be reborn. Now, he can sleep in bed with his soft and warm wife. He is so happy. He has become addicted in just twenty days.

I really can't sleep without holding Liu Xiulan now.

As Li Xiangyang spoke, he put down the sleeping Li Doudou, pressed his whole body against Liu Xiulan's back, and hugged her tightly with both arms: "Come on, come to sleep with me, I'll take it to Wuzhen for the tailors to make tomorrow."

"No, that would just cost more money!"

After a while.

"Hey—Xiangyang, stop fooling around. I really have something to do. You go to sleep first. You have to get up early to go to Wuzhen tomorrow. I'll do this for a little while longer and then go to sleep."

A few more moments passed.

"Hey, why are you hugging me? — Hey, you can hug me all you want, but don't move your hands around —"

Snapped!

A crisp sound.

Liu Xiulan got angry and slapped Li Xiangyang hard.

Thump thump ———— Thump thump thump ————

Just then, the doorbell rang.

"Xiangyang, Xiulan, are you two asleep?"

"Mom—?"

Li Xiangyang and Liu Xiulan exchanged a glance, then Liu Xiulan got off the kang (a heated brick bed) and went to open the door: "Mother's here, we haven't gone to sleep yet."

"Oh, you're still awake?" As soon as Wang Guiying entered the room, she saw a half-finished cotton-padded coat on the kang (a heated brick bed) and asked, "Still sewing clothes so late?"

"Yes, there's a lot of work during the day, so I don't have much time to do it. I just want to catch up at night."

Liu Xiulan said with an embarrassed look.

She walked over and put away all the tools, saying, "Grandma, please sit down."

"It's alright, it's alright, I won't sit here anymore, I'll just say something and leave right away."

Wang Guiying waved her hand.

"What's wrong, Mom? Why did you come over so late?" Li Xiangyang asked, puzzled.

"Your father told me to tell you that you're in charge now. You can handle the two immature ewes on our ranch yourself. You don't need to ask him anymore."

"What? Dad really said that?"

Li Xiangyang was a little surprised that Li Zhenshan's attitude changed so quickly.

Have you finally figured it out?

"I'll see—then I can just take it directly to Wuzhen to sell tomorrow?"

"Mmm." Wang Guiying nodded. "I asked your father, and he said it's up to you to handle it."

"That's great!" Li Xiangyang slapped his thigh and laughed.

The price of mutton is usually a little over 60 cents per pound, but now he is confident that he can sell it for 1.5 yuan per pound.

A 50-pound ewe can yield 20 pounds of meat, which can earn you an extra 18 yuan just from the meat alone.

There are also lamb bones and offal; if you add them all up, one lamb can sell for the price of two.

After the snow disaster, when the price of mutton drops, we can pick up two more ewes to replenish our supplies.

As for the brigade, they'll wait until he receives the sheep in the next couple of days, then call the brigade cadres over to check and remove the two ewes from the count.

"Then, Mom, please tell Dad to thank him for me."

"I won't say it. Go say it yourself." Wang Guiying rolled her eyes at Li Xiangyang and refused, "The two of you are only separated by a door. I have to relay every word you say to you. What kind of nonsense is this!"

"What—I have to go and say it myself?"

Li Xiangyang smiled wryly, not really wanting to go.

He just got a beating from his father this afternoon, how embarrassing would it be for him to go and say thank you now!

Men, they all care about their pride!

After thinking about it, Li Xiangyang decided not to go.

Let him come back early tomorrow, and bring back a bottle of good wine for his father while he's at it.

When men want to break the ice, there's no ice that can't be broken over one drink; if one doesn't work, then two drinks will do.