At ten o'clock in the morning, Song Tai's car came to pick up Ye Zhao, and the group went to the warehouse outside the pass to check the goods. The people of Song Rongji were quite satisfied with this batch of life-saving small yellow ginger.
After confirming that there were no problems, they signed the agreement and Song Rongji paid a 50% deposit.
Three hundred and thirty thousand in cash is not a small amount. For safety reasons, Mrs. Song specially asked the driver to drive Ye Zhao to a nearby bank to deposit the money.
Afterwards, Song Rongji arranged for someone to handle the customs clearance procedures and planned to take the goods away after paying the final payment tomorrow.
Ye Zhao disagreed. She demanded that the two previously discussed cooperation agreements be signed before she could pick up the goods.
Mrs. Song had no choice but to agree to go back and communicate now, and she would be able to confirm the details of the subsequent cooperation with her in about two or three days.
Ye Zhao did not follow Mrs. Song's car back to the interior. She saw Lao Qian in the warehouse and wanted to wait for him to finish his work and then talk to him.
Lao Qian was so busy that he was dizzy. There was a problem with one of his goods and he was now replenishing the stock to his customers.
Ye Zhao sat at the door of Lao Qian's office and watched the busy workers moving and counting various fruits and vegetables. It was already noon when Lao Qian finished his work. He prepared a box lunch for Ye Zhao, and the two of them squatted on the steps at the office door to eat.
Among the food suppliers that the canteen cooperates with, Lao Qian is the most reliable and smooth one. When Ye Zhao wanted to find a truck and a warehouse, he also asked several other suppliers, but the others were hesitant, wanting to help but afraid of being at a disadvantage. Only Lao Qian promised that it was no problem before Ye Zhao finished speaking.
So Ye Zhao had a good impression of him, and when he wanted to find a subsequent partner, he thought of him first.
Lao Qian inquired from her: "There is no Xishan small yellow ginger in the entire market now. You must have made a lot of money from this batch of small yellow ginger, right?"
Ye Zhao said vaguely: "It's not a lot of money."
Old Qian laughed: "You are too modest. Song Rongji comes to buy the goods in person, so it can't be cheap."
Ye Zhao drank a sip of soda, ate his lunch box, and changed the subject: "Are you usually so busy?"
"Every day is busy, but today is especially busy. This morning, a truck delivering vegetables had an accident and overturned in the village in the city. Fortunately, no one was injured, but half of the vegetables on the truck rotted. The remaining ones were snatched away by passersby nearby."
It is not uncommon for fruits and vegetables to be snatched by passers-by after a vehicle transporting fruits and vegetables has an accident.
Lao Qian continued to complain: "They are dealing with the accident, and I have to re-arrange people to deliver the goods. It's so hard to make money in this business, and it's all hard-earned money. There are also various payment terms. People like you are fine, you pay as soon as you have money, but some customers will delay as long as they can. You say you won't cooperate next time, but the previous accounts have not been collected yet, forcing you to continue to cooperate, it's a vicious cycle."
Ye Zhao didn't appreciate this kind of business life. She said, "Let me share a story with you. There were two sisters, both were tailors. The elder sister was very hardworking. She got up early and went to bed late every day to make clothes for people. She took on all kinds of work. In order to get more work, she lowered her price very low. She didn't make any money, but she was exhausted. She spent all her time on the small shop and didn't discipline her son well. She worked hard all her life and lived a miserable life."
Old Qian looked at Ye Zhao thoughtfully. What did the little girl mean? He waited for Ye Zhao to continue.
"My sister is smart. She knows how to make choices when doing things. She has practiced her skills very well and charges a relatively high price. She doesn't have many customers, but they are all high-quality customers who are willing to spend money. In the end, my sister made money, lived a comfortable life, and had plenty of time to educate her children well. She lived a smooth and happy life."
This story is a period piece about the little tailor control group that Ye Zhao had read online before.
After listening to this, Lao Qian fell into deep thought, "This story is quite inspiring."
"Yes, whether in life or work, you have to make some trade-offs." Although Ye Zhao is young, he has deep insights.
"I'm not happy with what you said. I'm that sister. I've been working myself to death in the past few years. I haven't made much money, and I haven't taken care of my family."
Ye Zhao took the opportunity to ask, "Do you want to work with me? I can earn money from high-quality clients without being so tired, and I can also take care of my family."
Old Qian looked at Ye Zhao. He couldn't figure out what the little girl meant. "Want to cooperate in trading ginger?"
Ye Zhao shook his head: "I have a partner for the small yellow ginger. Didn't you just ask me if I made a lot of money from this batch of ginger? I said it wasn't much. In order to deepen cooperation with Song Rongji, I made certain concessions."
Lao Qian became interested: "Please continue."
"In the future, I will become the only fruit and vegetable supplier in the mainland for Song Rongji's companies, supplying vegetables to Hong Kong. Are you interested?"
"Yes! Of course I'm interested! The requirements for vegetables supplied to Hong Kong are high, but the price is also expensive. I've always wanted to get involved, but unfortunately I don't have any connections to get into that circle. Your move is really smart. It seems that you have given up some of the immediate benefits, but in the end you can get involved in this industry and then cooperate for a long time. That's the long-term plan."
Ye Zhao had finished eating. She stood up and said, "If we cooperate, we may need to use your company's name to go through the quarantine process at first. After I set up my company, I can use mine. Is this a problem for you?"
"No problem, my company, you can use it as you like. How can we cooperate? Is it a joint venture?"
Ye Zhao didn't want to form a partnership with anyone. "I will cooperate with your company in my personal name. You will still be my supplier. However, you have to promise me that your main focus will be on serving me. You should stop doing unprofitable business. Let's work together to provide the best supply, serve Song Rongji well, and make long-term profits."
"I can definitely do my best in supplying goods! I've been in this market the longest and have the most experience!" Lao Qian took the lunch box from Ye Zhao's hand, "Give it to me, give it to me, I'll go throw it away."
Ye Zhao and Lao Qian chatted for a while about the follow-up cooperation. To put it bluntly, Ye Zhao didn't know anything about vegetables, didn't know how to purchase them wholesale, and didn't have any channels. She needed someone who knew the business to guide her into the field.
Afterwards, Ye Zhao took a walk around the surrounding vegetable markets, did some simple research, and only returned from outside the customs in the afternoon.
When they were almost home, they passed by the Sham Tseng Roast Goose Shop. The aroma of freshly baked roast goose filled the air. Ye Zhao couldn't help swallowing his saliva and walked over. "Is the shop open? Boss!"
"It's time to start! Cut it up, little sister! Regular or quarter?"
Ye Zhao, who had money in his hand, said generously: "Give me one."
As soon as we opened the shop, we met a big customer. The boss was all smiles and said, "Okay! I'll help you choose the most beautiful one! Look, this color is the most beautiful in the whole oven! Is this okay?"
"Okay, help me divide it into three parts."
Ye Zhao carried the roast goose home and met the mute first when she entered the house. The mute was very kind to her and was always willing to lend her his bicycle. Last time, he almost beat up her second aunt for her. He was kind and righteous. She handed a portion of roast goose to the mute: "Uncle Fugui! Freshly baked Deep Well roast goose!"
The mute was flattered and a little afraid to take it, so Ye Zhao forced it into his hands.
Fatty Ying, who was still playing cards, heard this and said with a smile, "Hey, Xiao Zhao, are you treating us to roast goose? Did you spend all your winnings last time? I asked Xiao Tian to give me the winnings so I could save them for him, but he refused. You kids."
As she was talking, Fatty Ying started bragging to her poker friends again, saying that her son's band won the championship and received so much prize money.
The card player was impatient: "Play your cards! You've already blown the whistle so many times!"
Ye Zhao smiled and turned around to hang another roast goose at the door of Li Ruixiang's house. Just as he hung it up, the door opened and Gao Yueyue was in the room.
"Why aren't you at work? This is for you." Ye Zhao handed her the roast goose.
Gao Yueyue took it and said, "The factory wants me to go to a party and sing, so I came back to prepare. Hey, let me tell you, something big happened today."
Ye Zhao went into the room and listened to Gao Yueyue telling her about the exciting things that happened in the factory at noon.
Finally, Gao Yueyue whispered, "This was definitely premeditated, they were trying to trick us! They must have thought we had misappropriated the deposit. Old Yao had already said that he would replace us after this. But before he could finish his words, you had someone deliver the money just in time and slapped him in the face. It made a loud slapping sound."
I have to say, if Gao Yueyue was on our side, she would definitely be a very good partner.
Gao Yueyue continued, "There are even more sinister things. Recently, there have been strict inspections, and every factory has been very cautious. As a result, someone called the police today and wanted to make a big deal out of it. Your father has spoken out, and the person who called the police must be found out. We will all go to the meeting tomorrow afternoon, and I have already taken leave."
"What meeting?"
"The canteen will also send representatives to attend the meal card incident investigation summary meeting. Let's both go."
Ye Zhao didn't want to participate because she had to go learn how to ride a motorcycle with Xiangzi tomorrow.
"I'm not free tomorrow. Things have developed to this point and have affected Irene's image. A group of people will definitely be dealt with. You can tell me the results then." If they are not dealt with, she will definitely make a big fuss.
"That's not necessarily true, you have to go!"
"We'll talk about it tomorrow."
Ye Zhao went upstairs. She put the roast goose in the kitchen. When Aunt Qiao came back from playing mahjong, she saw the roast goose and couldn't help laughing: "Oh, we've made a lot of money this time! Did you take Jiang away?"
"Not yet. Come back in a couple of days."
Aunt Qiao came over to her while tying her apron and asked, "How much is it per pound?"
During this time, thanks to Aunt Qiao's company in selling ginger, Ye Zhao did not intend to hide it from her. "Six dollars and sixty cents, don't tell anyone else."
Aunt Qiao covered her mouth in shock, "How many times can you earn from this pound?"
After calculating the total price and profit again, Aunt Qiao was even more shocked. She was rich, but most of her money was lost by her "ex-husband". She had never made so much money in one go.
"Oh my god, a net profit of more than half a million? If you put it in the bank and live on the interest, you don't have to work hard anymore."
Ye Zhao hushed, "I only told you the truth."
Aunt Qiao nodded and understood immediately. Making a fortune quietly is the right thing to do. "I will keep it a secret for you. If anyone asks, just tell them that I sold it for a little over one dollar."
Ye Zhao nodded vigorously: "Yes. I made a little money."
As he was speaking, the phone rang. It was Huang Dongliang calling.
Huang Dongliang had just returned from another place. He had listened to Ye Zhao's instructions and asked people to keep an eye on Chen Lianfa, and they had seized some evidence.
Ye Zhao asked: "Zhang Jun came to see me a few days ago. He said he would call the police when he got home. Did they call the police?"
Huang Dongliang: “I haven’t heard about calling the police.”
Ye Zhao nodded: "Sure enough! Or maybe he was stopped by Chen Lianfa. With the evidence you have and some on my side, we can call the police."
Huang Dongliang: "Wait a minute, call the police a few days later. It is said that Chen Lianfa is going to contact his superiors. I need to get some key evidence. We must not let this scumbag go."
Ye Zhao was a little worried: "Brother Liang, why don't you call the police first and let them keep an eye on it."
Huang Dongliang: "You are too naive. You called the police without sufficient evidence and were exposed accidentally. The police in these small places nowadays... You don't understand!"
Ye Zhao really didn't understand. It was said that the 1980s and 1990s were very chaotic, and the locals must know more than her. She could only remind Huang Dongliang to be careful.
Before dinner, Ye Zhao was too sleepy, so he lay down on the bed.
The system, which hadn't bothered her for a long time, quietly came out: "I've made a lot of money."
Ye Zhao smiled complacently, closed his eyes and ignored it.
The system said sarcastically: "You have to have a chance to spend it."
System: "You haven't completed any of the three tasks."
Ye Zhao: "Why are you in such a hurry? Aren't we all moving forward? Just finish the first task first, and then you can wish me good luck in the college entrance examination!"
System: "What if you fail the college entrance examination and score worse than Bai Lu?"
Ye Zhao: “Bah!”
System: "I'm talking about the possibility of something happening. Anything could happen. Just like this time, you missed the physics exam for some reason. Did you know that you lost your first place in the total score?"
Ye Zhao: "It's not the college entrance examination."
System: "What if you are like the original owner during the college entrance examination? You suddenly get sick and can't take the college entrance examination..."
Ye Zhao became impatient: "What do you want me to do? Just tell me."
The system said earnestly: "You have to do more than one thing. Since there is news about your mother, why don't you seize the opportunity and find her? Complete a task first and keep your survival period for three years. Can you help me achieve a KPI?"
Ye Zhao: "I have my own plan and my own steps."
System: "Your plan is to seize the opportunity to make money. You are obsessed with money."
Ye Zhao: "You too! You do it to meet your KPI, I do it for the money."
The system was speechless. It knew that this person was eloquent and good at arguing. It was also sensible and took the initiative to avoid him. It went around in circles and continued to persuade him: "Have you ever thought that this world has quietly changed and the development path is different from the original book."
Ye Zhao opened his eyes and thought seriously about the system's words for the first time.
System: "Now that Su Yingmin knows your mother's whereabouts, you should find a way to get her exact location from him."
If Su Yingmin could tell her easily, she would have found a way long ago.
System: "I'm afraid something might happen to him someday? For example, a sudden car accident..."
Ye Zhao: "In the original book, he was still alive and well in his sixties."
System: "The original book is the original book, and the current world is the current world. When you traveled here, the original book began to change. In the original book, Song Rongji did not go to Xishan Town to order small yellow ginger, but this time they went to order it. In the original book, Song Rongji eventually became the property of the Zhong family, but this time, because of you, the Song family came back to life."
Ye Zhao didn't respond.
The system continued, "It's like you bought a roast goose, and the lady across the street who was playing mahjong with Fatty Ying smelled the aroma and wanted to eat the roast goose, so after she finished playing mahjong, she went to the roast goose shop and bought the last roast goose. The person who originally wanted to buy the last roast goose didn't get it, so he had to take a detour to buy something else, and ended up having a car accident..."
"Stop!" Ye Zhao stepped on the brakes in time. "If you keep going this way, the president of the United States will step down tomorrow, and the reason might be that I bought roast goose today!"
The system nodded sincerely: "It's possible. The most important thing for you right now is to complete the task. After completing the task, you can consider the issue of money, okay? Anyway, you have made money now, so listen to Aunt Qiao and put it in the bank to earn interest."
Ye Zhao was firm: "I received your suggestion. But I will not accept guidance from a three-year-old system."
The system exploded with anger: "I disappear!"
Ye Zhao, who originally wanted to learn how to ride a motorcycle, was dragged to a meeting.
Now that he was here, Ye Zhao cheered himself up and chatted with the people around him about what happened yesterday.
She discussed the whole process with Li Ruixiang, Gan Xiaofeng and Aunt Qin separately, detailing every detail.
At 2:30 in the afternoon, they were in the office on the third floor again, but this time it was different. Ye Zhao was sitting at the table.
There were many people attending the meeting, including the heads of various departments and workshops, as well as administrative and financial personnel. Director Liang presided over the meeting, with Ye Dingguo and Su Yingmin sitting at the top, and the atmosphere was solemn.
Director Liang said that after yesterday's incident, he and the security team leader were both called by the Public Security Office to attend training, and their factory will be under close surveillance going forward.
When Ye Dingguo heard this, his face darkened and looked very ugly.
Su Yingmin asked Director Liang: "Have you found out who made the report call?"
Director Liang glanced at the head of the Finance Department and said, "The call was made from the phone in the office outside the Finance Department."
The head of the Finance Department looked back at her people. When the administration came to call for a meeting just now, they called everyone in their department, so she was mentally prepared.
Manager Chen, the head of the Finance Department, is an experienced accountant who has always been cautious and does not like to get involved in disputes. Manager Chen asked, "What time was the call to the police made?"
Director Liang: "We went to the post office to get the phone bill. The call to the police was made at 12:00 sharp. The call started at 12:00:13 and ended at 12:00:50. The entire call lasted 37 seconds."
Manager Chen: "Someone from the finance department asked for leave yesterday. At noon, only I, Sister Zhong, Afang, and Tutu were there. I got off work at 11:40 and went home."
Ah Fang also hurried to distance herself from the matter: "Tutu and I heard the noise outside, so we went down to watch the fun, and then ate in the cafeteria. It was almost 12:30 when we got back."
Director Liang asked them, "What time did you go down?"
“I didn’t check the time,” Afang said, suddenly remembering, “When Tutu and I were downstairs, the clock in the nearby clock tower was ringing, 12 o’clock.”
That left Sister Zhong. She pretended to be calm and explained, "The call was made from the Finance Office at 12 o'clock, right? I was not in the Finance Office at 12 o'clock. I was in Manager Bai's office at that time."
Bai Yunping hurriedly gave her evidence: "Sister Zhong came to ask me to have dinner. We were together after 12 o'clock. I can prove it. She didn't have time to go back and make a phone call."
Ah Fang also said, "We can prove it. When the clock struck 12, Tutu and I saw Manager Bai and Sister Zhong watching the fun from the window of Sister Bai's office. I even asked them if they were going to eat. Other colleagues saw it."
Ah Fang's evidence was so good that Bai Yunping immediately said, "Although my office and the finance department are both on the second floor, we are at one end and the other end, and the stairs are not connected. It takes two or three minutes to walk from my office to the finance department even if you walk fast."
Director Liang was puzzled: "If that's the case, who made the call? Who can go into the finance office and make a call?"
Sister Zhong: "Maybe I closed the door when I came out, but didn't lock it properly."
Ye Zhao laughed. It was too clumsy.
Everyone knew that the arrogant girl was the boss's daughter, so no one dared to ask her a question. Only Ye Dingguo asked irritably, "What are you laughing at?"
Ye Zhao ignored her father and said to Sister Zhong, "Sister Zhong, I remember you. Last time, in order to get us to hand over the deposit to you, didn't you swear that your finance office was the safest? You called us to a meeting and didn't let us go into the finance office. We could only talk in the corridor. How come you don't lock the door of the finance office of such a big factory when you leave?"
Sister Zhong's face was burning. "I... I left in a hurry. I came back to get my bag and locked the door."
Ye Zhao: "In other words, while you were in Bai Yunping's office, someone came and secretly called the police? Why? Aren't there phones in other offices? Why did they have to call your office?"
Sister Zhong smiled bitterly: "How should I know? What if the other party just wants to frame us?"
"Someone called your place and framed you? How did they know so accurately that you didn't lock the door? Or, how did you leave the door open for them so accurately?"
Sister Zhong said in a scoundrel-like manner: "It's just such a coincidence. I didn't know."
Bai Yunping spoke up for her: "It's meaningless to investigate the cause of a coincidence. When someone called the police at 12 o'clock, she was in my office. There are so many people who can testify. This is enough to prove Sister Zhong's innocence."
Ye Zhao stared at Sister Zhong: "Then when did you go back to get your bag and lock the door?"
Sister Zhong felt guilty: "After the bell rang, Manager Bai said he was going out to eat something, so I went back. I had to go down the stairs on the east side first, and then go up the stairs on our side. It would take two or three minutes to walk there..."
"Did you encounter any suspicious people coming out of the finance department on the way?"
Sister Zhong paused. Is there or isn't there? You can't say yes. If you say yes, you have to point out someone.
"No, they were all gone when I got back."
Ye Zhao: "Let me confirm the process with you again. When you heard the clock strike 12, you walked back to the finance department to get your bag and locked the door. You didn't encounter any suspicious people during that time? Is that right?"
Sister Zhong hesitated again after hearing this. Was there any loophole in what she said? She was a little afraid that Ye Zhao would suddenly confuse her.
"What are you hesitating about? If you didn't lie, you wouldn't hesitate. Only people who tell lies will hesitate and think about whether there are any loopholes in their words and whether they should fill them." Ye Zhao's tone was particularly calm when he said this.
Having her thoughts seen through, Sister Zhong quickly said, "No, I didn't hesitate. I was just a little scared by what you did."
Ye Zhao laughed coldly: "What are you afraid of? I won't eat anyone."
Lao Yao couldn't help but interrupt and change the subject: "Anyway, the person who called is definitely not one of us who is fighting on the front line. Director Liang and I are in the cafeteria."
"I haven't finished speaking yet. Can you please interrupt me later?" Ye Zhao looked at Lao Yao coldly. Lao Yao, who had wanted to help cover for him, instantly wilted.
Ye Zhao tapped the table lightly with his fingers: "You may not have noticed, but the clock in the clock tower has been inaccurate since last week. It has a slight time deviation. It is 2 minutes and 48 seconds faster than normal time. In other words, when the bell rang at 12 o'clock yesterday, the actual time was 11:57."
As soon as these words were spoken, Sister Zhong and Bai Yunping's faces changed.
Everyone present exchanged glances with each other. Those who were not present at the last melon-eating event were particularly excited today, but they did not dare to show it on their faces.
Su Yingmin glanced at Director Liang, and Director Liang hurriedly arranged for someone to go out and check the time.
Ye Zhao stared at Sister Zhong: "You just confirmed with me that you walked back when the bell stopped ringing. The bell stopped ringing at 11:57, and it took 2-3 minutes to walk back to the finance office. No suspicious people were seen on the way, and it was about 12 o'clock when you returned to the finance office. You were the only one in the finance office at this time, right?"
“No… I…” Sister Zhong defended herself anxiously, but it was no use.
"You returned to the finance office at exactly 12 o'clock, then picked up the phone and called the police. The call went through at 12:00:13..."
Everyone looked at each other, and Director Liang, who was not present last time, was stunned!
It fits perfectly and presses on step by step. What a genius in logic!
Sister Zhong's face was pale, and she didn't know how to respond. She was eager to prove her innocence, but ended up being framed by her own testimony.
"And you..." Ye Zhao said and turned to Bai Yunping.
(End of this chapter)