Chapter 390 - Acquisition

After receiving the money, Wu Kexin finished eating quickly with Chen Yang, then they hopped into the van and set off.

Finding the right tables and stools was a significant task in itself, not to mention needing to buy plenty of grains, vegetables, meat, and so on—it was a considerable project.

Therefore, they had to start out early.

The two left Liuhu village at one o’clock and arrived at the county’s agricultural and miscellaneous goods market around twelve thirty.

To save time, Chen Yang and Wu Kexin decided to split up.

Wu Kexin was responsible for finding grain sellers, while Chen Yang looked for tables and chairs.

The county’s agricultural and miscellaneous goods market was quite large, so finding items with the right quality and price wasn’t easy.

After splitting up, Wu Kexin went straight to the section for agricultural goods, while Chen Yang headed to the area for miscellaneous items.

Chen Yang browsed several shops in the miscellaneous area but didn’t find any tables that were quite right.

Finally, it was only at a shop specializing in tables and stools that he found the kind of large, foldable tables used for banquets.

Seeing such tables hung on the wall outside the shop, Chen Yang walked straight in.

The shop owner was a relatively short middle-aged man, dressed in rather old-fashioned trousers and a shirt.

A belt was showing on the outside.

“Boss, how much for that table on the wall?”

Upon entering the shop, Chen Yang pointed and asked.

Following the direction Chen Yang was pointing in, the owner replied without hesitation, “Six hundred per table.”

“Six hundred?

That’s quite expensive.”

The owner’s pricing was as immediate as Chen Yang’s objection.

Although Chen Yang didn’t have a specific understanding of tables, stating they were expensive right off the bat was the appropriate move when given an initial price.

Indeed, as soon as Chen Yang called it expensive, the owner quickly indicated that the price was negotiable.

Chen Yang smirked in success, then asked, “How much can you reduce it by?

I need a significant quantity, and I’ve already looked at many shops, don’t try to deceive me.”

Hearing that the quantity was substantial, the owner’s smile grew even broader.

“How many do you need?

Give me the quantity, so I can give you another quote.”

Chen Yang thought for a moment, considering there were roughly three hundred people in the mine, at ten people per table, at least thirty tables were needed.

Thus, Chen Yang gave an intermediate number: “I need thirty-five tables.”

“Thirty-five tables?”

The owner was taken aback.

“Yes, thirty-five tables.”

Chen Yang nodded naturally.

“What do you need so many tables for?”

The owner asked again, surprised.

“I’ve set up a factory, and there are so many workers who need to eat.”

“I see.

Well, please take a seat, let me pour you a cup of tea, and then we can discuss the price slowly,” the owner said.

After his initial surprise, the owner’s demeanor underwent a significant shift.

Over thirty tables was a big deal, and naturally, he needed to be accommodating.

Chen Yang was aware that the owner was eager to do business with him, so he took a seat as suggested, and the owner poured him a cup of water.

Chen Yang took a sip.

“Boss, I’m in a hurry.

Give me a specific price, and let’s make it quick,” he asserted.

“Hehe, okay,” chuckled the owner, before pretending to ponder and then saying, “Given the volume you need, I’ll sell them to you for five hundred and fifty each, I’m knocking off fifty, that’s the bottom price.”

“Five hundred, if it’s five hundred apiece then let’s make the deal,” Chen Yang declared after the owner’s second quote, cutting the price decisively with little hesitation.

The owner’s expression changed noticeably at the mention of five hundred, but he didn’t outright reject Chen Yang immediately, instead showing hesitation.

After some thought, he eventually nodded in agreement.

“Five hundred it is, then.

I won’t make a killing, but it’s all about the volume,” the owner said through clenched teeth.

“That’s settled, then,” Chen Yang agreed, not pushing his luck any further now that the owner had consented.

For the first half hour, Chen Yang had inquired about the prices of many tables, so he knew that five hundred yuan was a very reasonable price.

Moreover, the store owner was running a business, and it was only fair to let them earn a bit.

After the two had agreed on a deal, the store owner immediately invited Chen Yang to sit down, have a couple of cups of tea, while he went to check the inventory in the warehouse.

Needing over thirty identical tables in one go was a large order, and it was normal for the store not to have them all in stock.

So Chen Yang sat in the store and waited.

About ten minutes later, the store owner came back.

“Boss, I’ve got the tables you need in the warehouse, but how do you plan to transport them?

Should I bring them here, or will you drive directly to pick them up?” the store owner asked Chen Yang with a smile.

Chen Yang stood up and said, “Do you have a truck in your store?

I definitely can’t take so many tables back by myself.

Think of a way to help me deliver them.”

Upon hearing this, the store owner’s expression became somewhat hesitant.

“Boss, I do have a truck, but transporting these tables isn’t free…”

The store owner’s implication was clear, but Chen Yang didn’t quibble over these details.

“You want a delivery fee?

How much.”

Chen Yang said readily.

Seeing that Chen Yang was willing to pay for the delivery, the store owner immediately brightened up.

“Boss is straightforward.

For such a big order, I won’t ask for much, just one hundred yuan for the fuel,” the store owner said with a smile.

“Alright, one hundred it is.

Start loading the truck now, I have to go handle something else.

I’ll depart when I get back.”

Chen Yang agreed to the hundred yuan, exchanged a few more words with the store owner, paid several hundred yuan as a deposit, and then he left to find Wu Kexin.

Chen Yang found Wu Kexin at the farmers’ market, who was buying vegetables at the food market.

“Village Chief, have you bought the rice?” Chen Yang asked as he approached Wu Kexin.

Wu Kexin was carefully selecting vegetables and didn’t look up.

“Yeah, I’ve made a choice, eighty yuan a bag, and this time we bought a hundred bags,” Wu Kexin replied.

“A hundred bags?

That’s a bit too much, let’s return some and only take fifty,” Chen Yang said.

“Ah?” Wu Kexin was startled and turned around: “One hundred bags too many?

We’re talking about feeding over three hundred men!

One hundred bags won’t even last half a month.”

Feeding over three hundred people did consume a lot of rice, requiring several bags a day.

But how could Chen Yang not be aware of this?

His insistence on only fifty bags had its own reasoning.

“Village Chief, I am well aware of the consumption for feeding over three hundred people, but we have our own source of rice, there’s no need to buy it here,” Chen Yang explained with a smile.

“Our own source of rice?

Where are you planning to buy from?” Wu Kexin caught the implication in Chen Yang’s words.

Chen Yang gave a faint smile and explained, “Village Chief, the mine is right behind our Liuhedong Village, and what is our village?

It’s the countryside!

Do you know what the countryside is never short of?”

“I don’t know, it feels like the countryside lacks everything,” Wu Kexin shook her head and said naively.

Hearing her say “lacks everything,” Chen Yang couldn’t help but want to laugh.

“In the countryside, the last thing they lack is food.

Every family grows crops, and the yield is high these days.

Who doesn’t have some surplus grain?”

Wu Kexin was quick-witted, and when Chen Yang put it like that, she immediately got his point.

“Oh, you mean in the future, if we need to buy grains, we can purchase them from the villagers?” Wu Kexin asked excitedly.

“Exactly.”

Chen Yang nodded: “Everyone has surplus grain at home, and it’s just sitting there.

It’s better to buy it off them.

They’ll have money, we’ll have rice, and there’s no need to let this ‘water flow to someone else’s field.'”

After Chen Yang’s explanation, Wu Kexin felt enlightened.

“You’re right, it’s a good plan.

Let’s go return those fifty bags right now!”