The Life of a Son-in-Law in a Courtyard House

After Yang Dalin finished work in the afternoon, he told Ma San to go home first and tell him to pass on a message to his family that he would be back a little later today.

Tell them to eat first, as I have something to do and need to go to a colleague's house. I'll have dinner there and then go back home, so my family won't have to wait for me.

Ma San agreed and went back first.

After Ma San left, Yang Dalin first went to a state-run restaurant for a meal, and then waited until it was completely dark before disguising himself.

I put on a hat and a mask and knocked on Grandpa Duo's door.

Uncle Duo runs a pigeon market.

He usually goes early in the morning, and he usually stays home and rests early in the evening.

When I heard the knock on the door, I thought someone had come to buy something from me.

When I went outside, I saw a person covered up completely standing at the door.

Master Duo asked him, "What brings you here?"

Yang Dalin lowered his voice and said, "Master Duo, I have some good stuff. I hope you can help me sell it. Are you interested?"

Upon hearing this, Master Duo realized that this person was a bit strange.

It's not that I don't accept goods, but usually it's acquaintances who come to me.

They mainly sell antiques and agricultural products, and their business hours are generally from midnight to dawn.

They don't deal with firearms and ammunition, antiques (generally referring to newly unearthed items including bronzes and jades), or large-scale gold transactions. These are mainly sold on the black market, where there is a large quantity and high prices, making it a more strictly regulated market than the pigeon market.

The black market operates late at night, not until dawn.

So it's not surprising that people come to you asking to sell their things.

The key is to see what you're dealing with and avoid making any mistakes.

Also, try to get a referral from someone you know; strangers generally won't be served.

Otherwise, what if you get scammed?

So when Master Duo saw a person wrapped up tightly at the door, he was quite wary.

However, Master Duo did not directly kick them out. After all, even if the deal fell through, goodwill should remain, and he would not offend people for no reason.

Master Duo said, "I wonder what this friend wants to offer, and how he found me."

Yang Dalin looked around and asked, "Is Master Duo doing business right at the entrance?"

Upon hearing this, Master Duo quickly said, "Excuse me, please come in."

After entering the other party's gate and closing it, Yang Dalin didn't go any further inside, but said, "Master Duo, this is fine."

After saying that, he took off a bag from his body and handed it to him, saying, "Don't worry, Mr. Huo, it's nothing dangerous. We don't deal in dangerous things. It's all seafood that we catch ourselves from the sea. There are dried and fresh goods."

As for who introduced him, don't worry, it was an old friend from Beijing who introduced him.

We wouldn't try to cheat you for no reason. This is our first time in Beijing, and an old friend recommended you, saying you're the most meticulous and trustworthy person in business, so we came here because of your reputation.

When Master Duo saw that he wasn't telling the truth, he didn't care. This kind of transaction happened all the time, and it was normal for everyone to be wary of each other.

I picked up the bag, opened it, and took a look. Inside were some dried seafood. There was an electric light at the entrance, so I could see very clearly. The goods looked good, like they were dried by fishermen on the beach.

Master Duo asked again, "Besides this kind, there are some fresh ones, right?"

Approximately how much, and how will the transaction proceed?

Yang Dalin replied, "Yes, we can provide 1,000 jin of each item for the first time."

Since this is our first time doing business, how about we do the goods first and then pay later? That way, you won't have to worry.

Please provide a secluded spot for your people to leave for half an hour. We'll transport the goods ourselves, and then your people can return in half an hour. Once you've sold everything, by this time tomorrow, you can leave 90% of the payment in that warehouse, and the remaining 10% will be your service fee.

We can accept both money and coupons, but coupons like grain coupons are preferred. We don't need other coupons, and coupons only need to account for 20%. We can't use your coupons from Tianjin; we'd have to find someone to exchange them. Of course, national grain coupons are acceptable.

And so it goes, the next day you leave the payment for the previous day's goods, we drop off the goods, and we repeat this every day. We don't do large quantities, and these goods are considered agricultural products, so they're not dangerous.

What do you think, Master?

The "deliver first, pay later" model appealed to Mr. Duo.

After all, it was our first time dealing with them, and they had shown their sincerity.

These seafood items aren't considered taboo; 2,000 catties a day isn't unusual in a pigeon market.

It's possible that a few large factories could buy it all up, so it won't make a big splash. Besides, it's not sensitive meat or grain, so it's worth trying.

However, we need to renegotiate the fee for your hard work.

After thinking it over, Master Duo said, "This model works, but the service fee for the brothers is too low. How about a 30/70 split, with us getting 30% and you getting 70%?"

Yang Dalin shook his head: "Master Duo, this is too much. We also have costs, and we have to transport it over. The transportation cost is a major expense, and it's very troublesome."

There are too many people to bribe, both above and below.

At most 15%, any more than that is really not possible.

And I have to tell you in advance that this kind of fresh produce is only available in winter; it can't be transported in summer.

Master Duo naturally understood that, apart from dried goods, fresh goods could only be frozen and transported in winter.

However, 15% was still too little, so the two argued for a while and finally agreed on 20%.

Master Duo also asked, "Why did you come to me? Why didn't you use the black market to sell your goods?"

Yang Dalin explained, "A black market is too dangerous, and we don't have a large volume of goods here. Plus, we know where you live, so we feel at ease."

After thinking it over, Master Duo realized that his whole family lived there, and since it was the first time someone was doing business with him, he naturally wanted to find a reliable person to do business with.

The black market is rife with double-crossing; it's too dangerous.

There are also quite a few guns and ammunition. I heard that a group of people disappeared over there a while ago, and a lot of their goods were lost. It's definitely a good idea to find them.

Although he knew people in the black market, he only occasionally got some things from them. He didn't go to the black market himself.

Let's not mention an outsider.

Master Duo agreed and asked him to wait in a nearby place while he went out.

I'll be back soon after I've settled things in.

Yang Dalin knew that he had gone to arrange a place.

Yang Dalin was waiting for him nearby. Soon, Master Duo arranged a place, personally took him there, and gave him a key.

Then turned and left.

Everyone understands each other and follows the rules. If someone doesn't want you to see the person transporting the goods, you don't. You don't ask about useless things and just focus on making the money you can.

Curiosity killed the cat. Old Master Duo has managed to survive for so long; he must have some skill.

Seeing that Master Duo had turned and walked away, Yang Dalin listened carefully to the house he mentioned. There was indeed no one inside. Then he opened the door, went in, and unloaded 1,000 catties each of dried seafood and fresh frozen fish.

Yang Dalin didn't want to go through all this trouble, but he didn't want to trade with people in the black market, so he had no choice but to leave it at that for now.

This way it's much safer. We can sell 2,000 jin a day, and the goods in the space can last for more than half a month.

Once we get to know each other better, we can unload more goods at once, but it's still best to have them each unload 1,000 jin (500 kg) at a time.

The sheer volume attracted the attention of other black markets and regulatory authorities.

A steady, gradual approach is best.

Moreover, Master Duo knows many purchasing departments in factories, so the goods might be gone tomorrow without even needing to be shipped to Pigeon Market.