I can travel back and forth in 1986

Chapter 57 Expanding the Team

No sooner had Zhang Beichuan seen Boss Wang off than he was greeted by the young man who had casually brought back a few pounds of eels the day before.

"Boss, give me 100 jin of eels." After saying that, he squatted down and scooped up the loaches from the fish tank next to him. After examining them carefully, he said, "Give me 30 jin of loaches."

Yesterday this person only bought 5 jin of eels, but today they ordered 100 jin. It seems they were quite satisfied with the trial order.

"Okay, please wait a moment."

Zhang Beichuan responded and quickly began scooping out and weighing the eels.

"100.3 jin of eel, let's call it 100 jin, 4200 yuan; 30 jin and 1 liang of loach, let's call it 30 jin, 900 yuan, totaling 5100 yuan."

The young man readily scanned the code to pay without saying a word.

"What's your surname, boss? How should I address you?" Zhang Beichuan asked, seizing the opportunity to offer him a cigarette.

"My surname is Li, Li Tao." Li Tao took the cigarette, didn't light it, tucked it behind his ear, paid the bill, and turned to leave.

After seeing Li Tao off, Zhang Beichuan was making plans in his mind.

The resort that Wang Ping introduced, along with Wang Ping himself and Li Tao, together have a stable daily demand of over 400 jin of eels.

I thought 500 jin of eels was a lot, but actually it still seemed a bit insufficient at the Baijia Market.

We must mobilize more villagers from Shihe Village; relying solely on the villagers and children from Group Two is simply not enough.

On the one hand, there is the issue of the number of people; on the other hand, the villagers in the second group only have so many fields. If they continue at the current pace, it won't be long before they run out of land.

The remaining 300-odd kilograms of eels, due to their unique quality, sold out quickly without much effort.

After packing up his stall, Zhang Beichuan looked at the 23850 yuan that had just been deposited into his card, bringing his balance to 71440.38 yuan. He glanced at the time; it was just 4 a.m.

After locking the shop door, he was so tired that he couldn't stay awake any longer, so he drove straight back to his rented apartment.

......

In 1986, Zhang Dequan looked at the eels placed in the shady spot in the yard, which had gradually accumulated to about 300 jin (150 catties).

"Yingzi, I'll take some of it to the county town on my bicycle first, otherwise Xiaochuan might not be able to finish it all by tonight."

Lan Xiuying, who had just put down the steelyard, thought for a moment.

These past few evenings, after dinner, every household in Group Two has gone to the fields to catch eels instead of doing anything else.

Based on the current situation, and with the eels that have been caught and delivered tonight, the total quantity will reach 700 jin (350 kg), not even counting loaches, miscellaneous fish, and so on.

In addition, the eels need moisture to keep their skin dry during transportation, so these items must weigh around a thousand kilograms.

"Okay, I'll help you load it into the car."

"it is good."

Without saying a word, the two tied two plastic buckets to the sides of the bicycle's back seat, and also loaded one bucket onto the back seat, weighing about 200 pounds.

No sooner had Zhang Dequan arrived at Beichuan Department Store than Zhang Beichuan returned on his tricycle, with more than a dozen free-range chickens in the cargo bed.

These free-range chickens were collected by him after he returned to the county town in 1986, going door-to-door to collect them.

"Third Brother, you're here?"

Zhang Dequan, who was unloading the truck in the backyard, smiled as he looked at his youngest brother who had pushed open the back door, then glanced at the buckets piled up in the tricycle, and continued working without stopping.

Lan Baohong, who was helping, looked at Zhang Beichuan and called out with a smile.

"There might be a lot of eels today, and I'm worried that one truck won't be enough to hold them all, so I'm sending some over first."

"Approximately how many?"

"There are probably around 700 jin (350 catties) of eels." Zhang Dequan placed the bucket in a shady spot, poured some water on the eels inside, and then asked, "Xiao Chuan, are you sure your friend can collect all these eels?"

"Yes, he can take it. He has partnerships with the market in the provincial capital."

Zhang Dequan nodded, feeling much more relieved.

"That's good. Your sister-in-law was worried sick." After saying that, he remembered something else, "At this rate, it's not just the kids in our second group catching them, the adults are joining in too, and the number is increasing every day. What are your plans for transportation?"

"Third Brother, my friend has already told me about this. They send a truck over every morning to load the goods. I already talked to Baojun this morning and asked him to help me find a warehouse suitable for loading and unloading trucks."

"I see." Zhang Dequan paused, then said, "Then why don't you have them go directly to Shihe Village to pick it up? It would be easier and save money on renting a warehouse."

Zhang Beichuan smiled awkwardly, unable to express his grievances, and could only make up an excuse.

"Third Brother, I'd like to, but you know how arrogant truck drivers are these days. They don't want to drive that far, they think it's too much trouble."

"That's true."

After saying that, Zhang Beichuan pushed the tricycle into the backyard and put the chickens in the truck bed into the storage room to keep them temporarily.

He doesn't plan to sell these free-range chickens at the Baijia Market tomorrow; he intends to save them up and then deliver them directly to Boss Wang's childhood friend later.

As I came out of the storage room, Zhang Dequan and Lan Baohong had already properly settled the eels.

"Brother Xiaochuan, I'll go ahead and get busy then."

"Wait a minute." Zhang Beichuan called out to him, took out cigarettes from his pocket and handed one to each of Zhang Dequan and Lan Baohong. "Baohong, how many idle kids does your Lan family have?"

"There are way too many. Not counting the underage ones, there are at least seventeen or eighteen." Taking the cigarette, Lan Baohong asked curiously, "Brother Xiao Chuan, you're asking about this?"

Zhang Dequan looked at the fire his younger brother handed him, feeling curious.

"Well, my friend also needs free-range chickens. But at our current purchasing speed, it's simply not enough to meet everyone's demand. So, I'm thinking of having them buy chickens from nearby villages."

"Could you help me collect the chickens?"

"That's right." Zhang Beichuan handed Lan Baohong a lighter. "Of course, we won't let them work for free. For every chicken we bring in, we'll give them a dollar as a commission. The more they work, the more they earn."

Giving a fixed salary naturally reduces costs, but he doesn't really know much about the other boys in the Lan family, and he can't guarantee that everyone is as reliable as Lan Bao and Hong.

Therefore, the principle of "more work, more pay" is the most practical.

The more you earn, the higher your salary will be; if you cheat and shirk your duties, your income will be lower.

Hearing this, Zhang Dequan felt a pang of heartache.

The commission for each chicken purchased is one yuan. As long as you're willing to put in the effort, a young man can easily collect two or three chickens a day, it's like child's play.

This all came up in the 90 yuan monthly wage, but then he thought about it again. Given that Lao Yao is busy everywhere these days, it's really impossible to manage without hiring someone.

"Brother Xiaochuan, really?"

"Why would I lie to you?" Zhang Beichuan chuckled irritably and lit a cigarette for himself.

Lan Baohong smiled excitedly, "That's wonderful, Brother Xiao Chuan, you've really helped them a lot. We'll see..."

Before he could finish speaking, Zhang Beichuan quickly gave him a look, forcefully interrupting Lan Baohong, and then turned to look at his grandfather's pained expression.

"Third Brother, I'll leave the chicken-buying business in the village to my sister-in-law. It'll be the same, one yuan commission per chicken."

Coming to his senses, Zhang Dequan quickly refused, saying somewhat unhappily.

"What are you talking about? Your sister-in-law helps you collect some chickens at the farm, and you expect her to pay you? Is that even acceptable if word gets out?"

Zhang Beichuan smiled. "Third Brother, this is different from before. Before, my wife would wait at home to collect the goods, but now they come to collect them. Think about it, there's so much work to do around the house, can my wife manage it all by herself?"

Zhang Dequan was slightly taken aback, but quickly understood.

"You mean, you want your sister-in-law to find someone to ask door-to-door at this price?"

"That's right! No matter how much money my sister-in-law gives to others, I'll give her a commission of one yuan per animal."

He naturally left the task of gaining the villagers' favor to his grandparents.

Zhang Dequan thought for a moment, and then an idea suddenly came to him.

The youngest son has helped the family so much, and he often buys meat and candy for the three girls. They certainly can't earn that kind of money.

One yuan per piece is too high, but a commission of 50 cents per piece would be more appropriate. I think quite a few women would be willing to do this job.

Not only can it help the youngest son collect chickens, but it can also save a lot of money.

However, he didn't say it aloud, but instead planned to go home and discuss it with Lan Xiuying before making a decision.

"Okay, then when you get back later, you can talk to your sister-in-law about it yourself."

Considering there was a lot of cargo today, Zhang Beichuan asked Bao Hong to go back to the village with him to help push the cart.