Chapter 72: Raising Prices from the Ground

The negotiation with the hatchery went smoothly, concluding around 3 p.m.

During Sun Jinshan’s previous visit for negotiations, as it was his first time in the county and he gained approval from both factory managers, he didn’t feel tired at all. In the evening, he could still boast for a few hours at the guesthouse.

But this time was different.

He had received a beating yesterday, carried Jiang Liping halfway to the county, and now he was completely exhausted.

Sun Jinshan suggested, “Let’s go to the guesthouse. It’s getting dark, and going back now is not safe.”

“Better to go back. Staying at the guesthouse is not safe,” Jiang Liyun said.

“Just use tables and chairs to block the door,” Sun Jinshan suggested.

Jiang Liyun had made up her mind to go back. “I want to go back. I have other things to do tomorrow.”

Staying in the county would unnecessarily waste a day.

Jiang Liping wanted to stay in the county, looking at Sun Jinshan with anticipation. “Brother Sun, are you feeling unwell today? How about we rest at the guesthouse, and my brother and sister can go back first?”

Sun Jinshan hesitated. “Wouldn’t that be inappropriate?”

He and Jiang Liping were not married yet! Of course, the guesthouse wouldn’t allow unmarried men and women to stay in the same room; they would have to stay separately.

But even if that were the case, Jiang Liping and Sun Jinshan spending a night alone in the county wouldn’t be appropriate.

“No worries, I trust Brother Sun’s character,” Jiang Liping said. She had already been married; reputation didn’t matter much to her.

Sun Jinshan was somewhat swayed by Jiang Liping’s trusting gaze and said to Jiang Liyun, “Alright, you two go back first.”

He really couldn’t manage anymore. Now, lying down would be enough to put him to sleep!

Since Jiang Liping and Sun Jinshan had decided, Jiang Lihai and Jiang Liyun separated from them and rode their bikes back home.

Jiang Liyun’s claim of having something to do wasn’t a lie.

Today was January 26th, and her engagement ceremony was on January 30th, just three days away.

Jiang Lihai had already informed the close relatives they needed to invite for the engagement. Although they didn’t have many people to invite, Aunt Jiang’s family, Big Aunt’s family, and Second Uncle’s family were essential guests.

Normally, they would also invite the maternal uncles, but Wu Xiaochun had escaped from the disaster area alone and without any siblings. There was no one to invite.

Jiang Lamei’s siblings, the people from He’s family, those who came from the matchmaker… There were about forty people to host at their home, just enough to fill five tables.

At this point, many people in life had children. Including Jiang Ershu’s family, his two sons, two daughters-in-law, and two grandchildren, they could already fill one table.

So, on the 29th, they had a lot of preparations to make.

On the 27th, Jiang Liyun planned to visit the village, finalise the details of the cooperative breeding project, and sign contracts with some farmers. On the 28th, after Sun Jinshan returned, they would visit the town’s food factory to sign contracts.

After dealing with everything, she would be able to have a proper engagement.

Jiang Liyun and Jiang Lihai were both very tired, but thinking about the upcoming engagement filled them with excitement.

On the way back, Jiang Lihai asked Jiang Liyun, “Liyun, will buying so much feed be too much?”

“It won’t,” Jiang Liyun replied. “Buying more now is cost-effective. In the future, many things might increase in price, and feed can be stored for months without spoiling.”

“Will prices really increase?” Jiang Lihai asked.

“I think they will,” Jiang Liyun said.

“If many things increase in price, people won’t be able to make ends meet,” Jiang Lihai sighed.

Indeed, next year, because of price increases, some people would struggle to get by.

In rural areas, people were relatively better off as they had their own grains and vegetables. Back in the 1970s or 1960s, they didn’t spend much money at all.

During the period of soaring prices, Jiang Lihai brought pickled vegetables to the brickyard and didn’t spend a penny. Moreover, he collected eggs in the village and sold them in Shanghai, making a small profit. At that time, he had broken up with He Chunlin and was determined to earn money to build a house. Eventually, he did manage to build one.

City dwellers were different; they had to spend money on everything they ate and used!

Those with savings were better off; some could even use their money to stock up on various items. But for those without savings, life was very difficult.

Of course, not all places were like this. Prices weren’t raised nationwide at once; initially, only some prices in Shanghai were liberalised.

At three o’clock, Jiang Liyun and Jiang Lihai set off from the county and arrived in town at six.

By now, it was already dark, but they were in a familiar place, so they weren’t afraid.

When they finally got home, Jiang Liyun didn’t feel like moving anymore and was extremely hungry.

Today was the Laba Festival, but the Jiang family didn’t make Laba porridge.

They didn’t have the custom of making Laba porridge here, probably because in the past in the countryside, it was difficult to find the ingredients for Laba porridge, so they simply didn’t make it.

However, later on, when everyone had money, some families did make it.

But Jiang Lamei and her husband had left food behind; the pot contained steaming white rice and stewed pork with dried bamboo shoots.

Jiang Liyun ate two large bowls of rice in one go, too lazy to wash up, and went straight to bed. The next day, she woke up feeling sore all over.

But sore or not, there were things to be done.

Jiang Liyun went to the village, then to the chicken farmers, and signed contracts with several families.

It wasn’t until late that evening that Jiang Liping returned. She seemed quite happy, but wasn’t too pleased when she saw Jiang Liyun.

She had thought that, after marrying Sun Jinshan, she would be able to overshadow Jiang Liyun. But unexpectedly, all the ideas about buying and selling chickens were Jiang Liyun’s!

Sun Jinshan was just running errands!

Jiang Liping was furious.

But she still liked Sun Jinshan very much. He was genuinely good to her and had money.

She just felt a bit annoyed when she saw Jiang Liyun.

Forget it; she didn’t want to think about it. Even if Jiang Liyun could make money, so what? She was just an ordinary person—nothing compared to Sun Jinshan!

Jiang Liping kept praising how great the county town was to Jiang Lamei and her husband, painting a picture that made them yearn for it. However, Jiang Liyun, listening to her, felt something wasn’t quite right.

How to put it, Jiang Liping talked about very few things, and much of it was yesterday’s observations. So, did they not go shopping today?

Indeed, Jiang Liping and Sun Jinshan didn’t go shopping today. Sun Jinshan slept until after nine, and after eating something, they slowly made their way back.

Sun Jinshan was too sore to ride, and they even walked for a long time in the middle. It took nearly six hours for them to finally return home.

By the time they got back, Sun Jinshan could barely stand.

Learning that they had to go to the town’s food factory the next day, Sun Jinshan even considered refusing. However, time was tight, and he couldn’t decline.

So, on the second day, the four of them were again standing at the entrance of the food factory.

Hmm, Jiang Liping had followed them again.

The boss of the food factory might invite them to a restaurant, and she wouldn’t miss such an opportunity!

During this time, they had frozen a lot of chicken in the food factory. The person at the gate recognised them and let them in.

Sun Jinshan, Jiang Liyun, and the others went to find the factory director.

When the two met, Sun Jinshan was stunned.

The director of the food factory was wearing a suit similar to his!

Well, the colour was the same, but it looked cheaper than his suit.

The boss of the food factory pointed at his suit when he saw Sun Jinshan and said, “I saw this leisure suit for sale in town and bought one to wear. It does look good!”

Sun Jinshan thought of the time when Jiang Liping gave him the suit, saying there was a similar style outside. and it was true?

After cutting off the sleeves of this suit, it became even more fashionable!

Sun Jinshan and the director of the food factory hit it off, chatting happily.

Jiang Liping: “…” The boss she had before actually made clothes based on the style she researched!

As for Jiang Liyun, at this moment, she remembered something. In her previous life, she enjoyed reading the success stories of entrepreneurs. In the beginning, one founder of a clothing brand had a private, small workshop, making clothes with a group of employees.

Once, during cutting, there was an error, and the suit sleeves were all cut short. Unable to do anything, they had to connect them with other coloured fabrics and put them up for sale.

Because at that time, the clothes on the market were too monotonous, and people, suppressed for a long time, liked new things. Seeing the new style suits, everyone loved them, rushing to buy them, making the founder earn a lot.

That founder wasn’t from their area, but she didn’t expect that a similar suit would appear here.

After explaining their purpose, the factory director took them to his office. “Our cold storage costs a lot of money every extra minute it’s open. In winter, it could actually be kept closed, but now, because we need to freeze your chicken, it has been open continuously.”

The boss of the food factory talked a lot, both directly and indirectly, implying that they needed more money.

“You come in and out, putting so much chicken in the cold storage. Our factory workers are not happy about it. They have been opposing it, even saying they want to throw your chicken out of the cold storage. Mr. Sun, I have a good relationship with you, but this food factory is not just mine; it belongs to the country and every worker.”

Listening to this, Sun Jinshan felt something was amiss. They were being threatened—an attempt to raise the rent!

If they didn’t pay enough, the food factory might not allow them to take the chicken away!

The boss of the food factory did have such intentions. Although he had a good conversation with Sun Jinshan, the factory had been running at a loss for years. If they continued like this, they might not be able to pay the workers’ salaries. In such circumstances, he was definitely looking for ways to raise more money!

Moreover, he planned to buy some foreign equipment to produce snacks that weren’t seen domestically. Right now, he needed money: “If you want to rent the cold storage, we can sign a two-year contract. As for the rent, if you pay it all at once, I’ll give you a discount.”

Jiang Liyun, looking at the factory director’s demeanour, knew that if they didn’t offer a satisfactory price, he would definitely cause trouble.

But she was used to considering the worst-case scenario when dealing with things. Although the situation wasn’t pleasant, she didn’t get particularly angry.

However, Sun Jinshan was furious: “You didn’t say this before!”

“I didn’t expect my employees to disagree,” the food factory director sighed.

Sun Jinshan felt he had lost all face. He thought he had handled the situation well, but…

Just then, Jiang Liyun suddenly asked the factory director, “Are you planning to buy a biscuit production line from abroad?”

The factory director looked at Jiang Liyun in confusion. He hadn’t taken this young woman seriously before, but now he realised she seemed calm and had a good temperament. “How do you know I want to buy a biscuit production line?”

Jiang Liyun lightly tapped the English documents on the director’s table: “It’s written here. You’re considering buying even those production lines that are broken and unusable. Are you in a hurry to shut down the factory?”

In her previous life, Jiang Liyun had expanded her online store to foreign countries and dealt with international businesses. For the sake of running the business well, she and Feng Yi even self-taught English, planning to travel abroad together when they grew old.

After Feng Yi’s death, she closed the store but continued learning.

Although she wasn’t proficient in English, she could understand it. The documents on the director’s table were information about a biscuit production line.

Seeing this, she recalled a story from her previous life. The town’s food factory went bankrupt, and it seemed to be because they bought a biscuit production line. At that time, the factory borrowed money to buy the production line, only to find out it was discarded by others after it arrived. Unable to repair it and with no way to produce biscuits, the entire production line became scrap, and the factory went out of business.

If everything went as expected, the biscuit production line the food factory borrowed money to buy was the one in front of her.

Of course, she couldn’t be sure about this. Jiang Liyun took the documents and carefully examined them.

The factory director, puzzled, looked at Jiang Liyun and said, “You can understand this information? You know English?”