I Have a Lake as I Walk Through the Courtyard

On his first day as a purchasing agent, Lin Feng slept comfortably until 8 o'clock. When he arrived at the purchasing station, breakfast was already over!

When Lin Feng arrived at the office, he quickly found his desk. While he was tidying up, Li Mingwei rushed in.

"I never imagined you'd become my colleague!"

"Brother Li!"

"Hehe, no need to be polite!" Li Mingwei took out a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes from his pocket and offered one to Lin Feng. This was the first time Lin Feng had ever smoked such good cigarettes since he transmigrated. It wasn't that he couldn't afford them, it was that he couldn't buy them!

"Zhonghua cigarettes are Zhonghua cigarettes! They smell great even without a filter!" Lin Feng took a deep drag, while Li Mingwei eagerly pulled out a document.

"You're a long-time employee, so I won't stand on ceremony with you! There are eight factories in our area, and these eight factories are originally the responsibility of two purchasing agents. Before, when no suitable person came, I filled in. Now that you're here, starting from this alley, which side do you choose, the left or the right?"

Lin Feng glanced at the simple information. The steel rolling mill was on the right side of the alley, while the left side had a textile factory, a copper factory, a food factory, and a machine tool factory! Without thinking, Lin Feng chose the left side.

"That works too! Actually, both sides are about the same! Since you've chosen the left side, you can go and visit these four factories from now on. If you encounter any difficulties, you can ask me for help."

As Li Mingwei spoke, he picked out four documents from his drawer. "These are the names of the people in charge of these four factories. Just give them your names when you go in, and the security guard will let you in!"

Lin Feng accepted the documents with both hands. Needless to say, these were documents he had compiled privately; the purchasing station wouldn't have such a thing. "Thank you, Brother Li!"

Li Mingwei patted Lin Feng on the shoulder. "These four people have their advantages and disadvantages! It all depends on your own abilities. I won't say more! Just casually interact with them first, test their strength, and then come back to us if you encounter any problems!"

"Understood, Brother Li!"

After giving his instructions, Li Mingwei packed his things, glanced at Lin Feng meaningfully, gave Lin Feng a faint smile, and left.

Having worked as a cook at the recycling station for two years, Lin Feng naturally had some understanding of the station. The most difficult tasks to complete at the recycling station were dealing with metal and rags, followed by discarded bones. Purchasing staff did not have any hard tasks, but the difficulty was much greater than that of ordinary purchasing staff!

Lin Feng looked at the data of the four factories in his hand. If there were no surprises, the main indicators for metals and rags came from the two factories under his control: a copper factory and a textile factory, both of which were quite powerful units.

Lin Feng tossed the documents into his spatial storage, then rode his bicycle out of the purchasing station. Chen Liansheng stood behind the window and took a sip of tea.

"That kid actually went! Well, let's see what he's made of! Those guys can hold their liquor, we'll see if he even makes it to the table!"

After riding a bicycle for more than ten minutes, SF Express quickly arrived at the gate of the copper factory. This is a large factory with several thousand employees and a key enterprise in Beijing, as can be seen from the guards standing at the gate.

Lin Feng showed his work ID to the gatekeeper and explained his purpose, but the gatekeeper still stopped him.

After waiting at the entrance for a few minutes, the security guard quickly relayed the message: "Director Zhao is in a meeting! He's unavailable today. Please come back tomorrow."

Lin Feng smiled, not surprised at all. As someone who worked in sales, he knew that the paths openly presented to you in this industry were all dead ends! To succeed, you had to take the unconventional route.

Lin Feng pondered for a moment, then took out a pack of Daqianmen cigarettes from his bag and handed one to the gatekeeper. "Does your factory have any purchasing agents? Could you introduce me to someone? I have a batch of meat on hand!"

Upon hearing the word "meat," the security guard immediately became enthusiastic! "Brother, don't leave yet! I'll go and see if there's any left at the factory!"

A moment later, he jogged to the door with a muscular middle-aged man, still out of breath, and pulled a pack of Daqianmen cigarettes from his pocket. "Comrade! I'm Qian Chuan, the purchasing agent. Can we find a place to sit?"

Lin Feng nodded. "Hello, Ms. Qian, this is my work ID!"

Qian Chuan frowned after looking at the work ID. As he returned it to Lin Feng, he looked up at him. "Hey bro, are you here to mess around?"

Lin Feng lit a cigarette, put an arm around his shoulder, and the two walked to a secluded spot. "My uncle's mother has a grandson who's influential in the village. He calls the shots at the fishponds; hundreds of kilograms of fresh fish are no problem for him!"

Hearing this, Qian Chuan's brows furrowed even deeper. "My uncle's mother's grandson..." After a long pause, he scratched his head, a knowing smile spreading across his face as he looked at Lin Feng. "As long as the product is good and the price is reasonable, I don't care where it comes from!"

Lin Feng glanced at his watch. "Speaking of which, we're practically in the same business. There's a state-run restaurant in front of your factory, shall we go for a bite? It's my treat, brother, since you're new here!"

"Guests are guests, how can we let you treat us!" Qian Chuan said, and the two of them put their arms around each other's shoulders and went to the state-run restaurant not far from the factory gate.

"Sister Sun is bothering you again. Let's find a quiet place!"

"Little Qian, go upstairs. Your older sister will make you two cups of tea in a bit."

"Thank you!"

"Don't mention it!"

Sure enough, having connections makes things easier. They'd barely sat down when two cups of hot tea were served. Qian Chuan casually ordered four dishes, then looked at Lin Feng with a meaningful expression. "Now you can tell me, right?"

"The goods I have are of good quality, I'm not lying! However, I have conditions!"

Qian Chuan took a sip of tea. "Let me guess! Are you here for the scraps from your purchasing station? How many kilograms do you plan to get from our factory each month?"

"You're a true purchasing agent; you saw right through me! Before, when we stood here, we bought about 2000 jin (1,000 catties) of waste materials every month, and we've maintained that volume! I'll supply your factory at a 10:1 ratio: 2000 jin of waste materials, and I'll give you 200 jin (100 kg) of fish, large loaches and eels, lotus roots, and other aquatic products!"

Qian Chuan paused in his drinking. "200 jin? That's far too little! Our factory produces way more waste than that! If only..."

"Brother, it's not that I'm unwilling to give more, but this is taking away someone's livelihood..." Lin Feng said, winking at Qian Chuan.

"Haha, you really know the truth, brother!"

Lin Feng didn't mince words. "I don't like going to leaders' homes to give gifts. I like making money, but I don't like kneeling! If I take it all, I'm afraid your Director Zhao will be unhappy!"

"500 jin per month, you're responsible for delivering the goods to my factory, and I'll be responsible for delivering the waste to your station! The price will be based on the market rate!"

"What about Director Zhao's side?"

"We're both from the supplies department, and I can talk to him fairly well. Supplies are hard to come by right now. If you don't want to kneel, I will! I'll have to kneel somewhere else anyway..."

"Will it work? I don't want to offend anyone!"

"Don't worry, brother, I know what I'm doing. In our line of work, offending people is a major taboo!" Qian Chuan said, opening the bottle and looking at Lin Feng's glass. "So, it's settled then?"

Lin Feng placed his fingers next to the cup and tapped them twice on the table. Qian Chuan immediately smiled like a Maitreya Buddha.