Official title: Refused to stay at the university, started his career in a rural town.

Three days after I finished dealing with the buyers, the phone kept ringing.

Manager Huang of the county fruit company said the goods were good, but the price needed to be negotiated. Director Niu of the city supply and marketing cooperative said they could try 300 jin first, as they were worried about overstocking if they ordered more. Manager Zheng of the provincial fruit company was the most agreeable, saying they would send someone to sign the contract next month, and the specific quantity would be determined later.

However, in general, there is no stable large order yet.

Yang Fan wrote down each phone call in his notebook. After hanging up the last one, he paused for a moment on the paper with his pen.

Geng Yan squatted in the courtyard of the township government, smoking one cigarette after another.

Seeing Yang Fan come out, he stood up, not even picking up the cigarette butt that had fallen to the ground.

"Mayor Yang, what do you say?"

"Everyone says they want to come and see for themselves."

"Have you finished watching?"

"Let's see first."

Geng Yan stubbed out his cigarette and wiped his hands on his pants. "So, how do we prepare?"

Yang Fan looked at him.

"Don't rush."

"How can I not be anxious? Twenty-two thousand catties, piled up in the warehouse, I'm worried about rain and mold every day, and I—"

"listen to me."

Geng Yan shut up.

Yang Fan squatted down, picked up a twig, and drew on the ground.

"Select the best mushrooms, wood ear fungus, walnuts, and chestnuts, the ones with the most beautiful appearance, and load them into a truck. Tomorrow we'll go to the city to sell a batch and build our reputation."

Geng Yan nodded.

"Find a few more large loudspeakers, the kind that can record sound, and make sure they're fully charged with batteries."

Geng Yan was taken aback. "What do you need a loudspeaker for?"

"call."

"What are you shouting for?"

Yang Fan didn't answer. He then wrote a few more words on the ground: Jiangnan Leather Factory.

Geng Yan leaned closer to take a look, but didn't recognize it.

"Mayor Yang, what's this?"

"A factory that went bankrupt."

"Why would you copy it if it's already gone bankrupt?"

"Learn how they sell out their stock."

Geng Yan fell silent.

The next afternoon, Geng Yan brought over three loudspeakers. They were borrowed from the township supply and marketing cooperative and were covered in dust.

Geng Yan wiped it twice with a rag, put in the battery, and tried it out. The sound was so loud that the yellow dog in the yard jumped far away.

Yang Fan took a piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to Geng Yan.

"Recite it, your voice should be deep and forceful, conveying a sense of grief and indignation."

Geng Yan took it, glanced at two lines, and his hand trembled.

"Mayor Yang, this..."

"read."

Geng Yan swallowed hard and read aloud:

"Anyang Qingping, Anyang Qingping, the Qingping Mountain Delicacies Factory has gone bankrupt! The largest mountain delicacies factory in Anyang Qingping, the Qingping Mountain Delicacies Factory, has gone bankrupt! That bastard Huang He, that bastard, gambled and drank, racked up three million in debt, and ran off with his mistress! We had no choice but to use the mountain delicacies to pay our wages! The original price was thirty or twenty yuan per jin, but now we're only paying six yuan! Huang He, you bastard, you're not human! We've worked hard for half a year, and you haven't paid us! Give me back my hard-earned money! Give me back my hard-earned money!"

He couldn't continue reading halfway through. Old Geng raised his head, his face trembling with wrinkles.

"Mayor Yang, isn't this a lie?"

Yang Fan looked at him.

Did we sell counterfeit goods?

Geng Yan opened his mouth.

Is the item genuine?

"It's true."

"Is the quality good?"

"it is good."

Is it true that farmers sweat?

"...It's true."

"Then what did you lie about?"

Geng Yan was speechless.

A group of people surrounded him: Li Dayao from Lijia Kiln, Zhao Min from Zhaojiaping, and several women from Nangezhuang.

Chen Ming craned his neck to look at the paper, and after reading it, his face scrunched up.

"Mayor Yang, if we shout this out, what will people say about us—"

"What are you saying about us?"

Chen Ming scratched his head. "Saying we're...shameless."

Yang Fan took the paper back from Xiao Chen's hand.

"Can your face feed you? Can it really pay the more than 10,000 people in Qingping Township?"

Chen Ming remained silent.

Li Dayao squatted on the ground and tapped his pipe against the sole of his shoe. "Mayor Yang, let me interject. Isn't that a bit too harsh a word? It's true that our mountain products can't be sold, but... but..."

He didn't know what to say, he just felt the lyrics were too...

Yang Fan glanced at him.

"You're very rich??"

Li Dayao was stunned for a moment.

"If your walnuts are piled up in the warehouse and you can't sell them all day, how can you sleep at night?"

Li Dayao stopped talking, put the pipe back in his mouth, and didn't light it.

"I can't sleep."

"That settles it."

Geng Yan looked at the paper again, and when he saw the last line, his eyebrows furrowed.

"Mayor Yang, what is this 'suggested retail price'?"

"It's the price printed on the bag."

"Why is it listed so high? Walnuts cost eighteen yuan a pound? We can't even sell them for four yuan a pound."

"If you write down 18 yuan and sell it for 4 yuan, the buyer feels they've gotten a good deal. If you write down 4 yuan and sell it for 4 yuan, the buyer still has to pick and choose, and compare prices elsewhere."

Geng Yan was stunned for a long time.

"Isn't this... this just playing mind games?"

"That's called marketing. If we sell at a higher price, the buyers will also offer a higher price."

"What if the buyer contacts us afterwards?"

Geng Yan asked a question.

Yang Fan folded the paper and put it back in his pocket.

"Then let's go into the city and block those selling counterfeit goods, so they won't dare to sell them anymore!"

"Alright, where are they? Who's going to call them?"

Geng Yan looked at Li Dayao, Li Dayao looked at Chen Ming, and Chen Ming took a step back.

Geng Yan then turned his gaze to the courtyard—Wang Dashan was squatting under the locust tree smoking a pipe.

"Old Wang! Wang Dashan!"

Wang Dashan raised his head.

"You have a rough voice, you do it."

Wang Dashan stood up, almost dropping his pipe.

"Shouting like that? I can't do it!"

Geng Yan handed the paper over, and Wang Dashan took it, read two lines, and his hand began to tremble.

"Secretary Geng, this... I don't know how."

"If you don't know how, learn it."

Wang Dashan looked at the paper again. When he saw the words "blood and sweat money," his lips twitched. After reading it, he returned the paper to Lao Geng.

"I won't shout."

Why?

"Shameful."

The courtyard was quiet.

Yang Fan walked over and squatted down next to Wang Dashan.

Wang Dashan put the pipe in his mouth, but didn't light it.

"Uncle Wang."

"Um."

"You believed me when I bagged the apples last year."

"Um."

"How much did you earn?"

Wang Dashan paused for a moment. "Six thousand."

"If you sell your mountain produce this year, how much profit can you make from your mushrooms and wood ear fungus?"

Wang Dashan did the math. "At least two thousand."

"So, are you going to shout or not?"

Wang Dashan took the pipe out of his mouth and stared at the ground for a long time. Then he stood up and tucked the pipe into his waistband.

"call."

Geng Yan handed the paper over again, but Wang Dashan didn't take it.

"Let me practice first."

He cleared his throat, his face flushed red, his mouth opened and closed, then opened and closed again, finally managing to squeeze out a few words:

"Anyang Qingping, Anyang Qingping..."

The sound was like a mosquito's buzz.

Geng Yan got impatient: "Old Wang, where's the voice you usually use when you yell at your wife?"

Wang Dashan glared at him.

"Scolding a woman is scolding a woman, but this is—"

He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and as if he had made a huge decision, suddenly shouted:

"Qingping Mountain Delicacies Factory in Anyang has gone bankrupt! The largest mountain delicacies factory in Anyang's Qingping district, Qingping Mountain Delicacies Factory, has gone bankrupt! That bastard Huang He, who indulged in drinking, gambling, and whoring, racked up three million in debt, and ran off with his mistress! We have no way to stop him..."

The noise was so loud that the yellow dog in the yard darted far away again. A flock of sparrows fluttered away from the trees.

After shouting, Wang Dashan opened his eyes, his face flushed red from the base of his neck all the way to the tips of his ears.

The courtyard was quiet for three seconds.

Then Li Dayao chuckled, followed by Chen Ming, while Geng Yan's lips twitched.